Who am I?

Who are you?  Who am I?  Thought about that one lately?  Who are you to your family, to your friends, to your husband, wife or romantic interest?  We spend a lot of time guessing on these things.  We want to know who we are to the people we care about the most.  Sometimes they say right out and sometimes keep it tucked away safely within their own walls to avoid hurt and frustration. 

Want to know what’s amazing in this game called life?  The most important being that ever has been, or ever will be doesn’t make us guess at all.  He lets us know from the beginning where we stand and where we will always be.  “Nothing in all creation can separate us from God's love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord!” (Romans 8:39, CEV)  Now isn’t that amazing?  We may sweat the small stuff if we want to, but God has already said He loves us!  His love is unconditional.  He loves us no matter what, with his special God love.  You see it’s because God so loved the world that He gave us His only Son to die to save us, to save you and to save me.

So now who am I that the Lord of all the earth would care to know my name, would care to feel my hurt?  It’s not because of who I am and not because of what I’ve done, but because of who God is!  God, you’ve told me who I am and I am yours.

We may wonder about those in this world, but the One who created the world knows you and me and guess what?  He loves us anyway!  AMEN!

God Bless!

At the Feet of Jesus

At the Feet of Jesus I lay my life down.  Ever thought about what that could mean for you and me?  If we would really put ALL our trust in Him what would our lives look like?  Would they look the same? Maybe more importantly, would our lives feel the same?  We become weighted down with the cares of the world and its worries.

 I am counting on the Lord; yes, I am counting on him. I have put my hope in his word. I long for the Lord. (Psalm 130)  What would it look like to count on the Lord, to put ALL our hope in Him?  Jesus Himself tells us to do that very thing in Matthew 11:28, "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”  Does weary and heavy laden sound familiar?  We have all been there.  It’s just important not to stay there.  Ever felt pain?  Ever felt rejected?  Jesus did, see Jesus can understand.  He’s been there.  He is waiting.

What do you have to lay at the feet of Jesus?  Is it something in your thinking?  Something you aren’t willing to let go of?  Are you just plain afraid?  Maybe something in the past or maybe it’s your future.  Something may be binding your hands and blinding your eyes to the reality that Jesus is right there.  Whatever it is Jesus is waiting.  He is waiting to give you rest, relief. 

Satan tells us that pain is an intimate emotion, an emotion that is not to be shared and especially not exposed.  But Satan is and always will be a liar.  Reach out, if we don’t, we are just lost in our own madness.  Jesus knows and Jesus cares. 

You see, evil doesn’t like the light.  Jesus is in the light and gives light to all those who seek to follow him.  Now is the time to step into the light and lay all that burdens you at the feet of Jesus.  God tells us in Joshua 1:5, “I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  God is there all the time, sometimes it’s just too dark to see.  Step into the light and put your hope in the Lord and your cares at the precious feet of Jesus.

God Bless!

You Are More

Ever felt like your past defined you, like people don’t see the real you?  I have been there.  I think a lot of us probably, at one time or another, have felt this to some degree.  Today I have good news for you!  Jesus isn’t like that.  He doesn’t care where you have been or what you have done in the past.  Jesus is all about making things right NOW and then moving forward as a new you.

This reminds me of a Tenth Avenue North song, “You Are More”.  Listen to some of their lyrics. 

But don't you know who you are,
What's been done for you?
Yeah don't you know who you are?

You are more than the choices that you've made,
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you create,
You've been remade.

Well she tries to believe it
That she's been given new life
But she can't shake the feeling
That it's not true tonight

She knows all the answers
And she's rehearsed all the lines
And so she'll try to do better
But then she's too weak to try

But don't you know who you are?

See Jesus sees us the same way.  We have been remade in Christ, or we can be if we will.  You see Jesus touched the lepers, ate with the sinners, looked past the old you and forward to the new person you could become.  He was all about forgiving and moving forward.

God doesn’t want us to be paralyzed by our past, but empowered because of it.

God takes us and forgives us right where we are, but he loves us to much to leave us there! Listen to Jesus in Luke 7:47-48, “Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” Then He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

You see those of us who have been forgiven much also love much.  Jesus will release you from the old.  I know.  He released me into such a beautiful place, but I had to take the first step.  Get up and go to Jesus.  He is waiting to forgive and remake you too!

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.” (2 Corinthians 4:16)

Don’t lose heart, look to Jesus!

God Bless!

Hang In and Hang On

Have you ever felt like things just were not going you way?  Wondered why in the world YOU had to go through this suffering again?  Some downright mean people around you seemed to be living it up and happy as could be.  I have been there.  Sometimes life just doesn’t seem fair.  Sometimes it’s hard to understand.

We all know what Paul wrote to the church in Rome in Romans 8:28. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”  So why in the world is this world such an unfair place sometimes?  Maybe we can dig deeper and find some answers.

In that same chapter in verse 18 Paul wrote this, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”  Paul is telling us that God hasn’t forgotten us, although I know full well that sometimes it can seem that way.

What if we just changed our way of thinking a little?  Max Lucado has a whole book explaining one good way to think about our suffering in this life, It’s Not About Me.  Having that though would help, but still doesn’t make it seem fair.

Listen to what Luke wrote for us in Acts 5:41.  “The apostles left the council and were happy, because God had considered them worthy to suffer for the sake of Jesus.” (CEV)  Worthy to suffer, what in the world are they thinking?  Maybe they were thinking the way we should.  Now I am definitely in this same boat.  Sometimes it just doesn’t seem fair. 

Paul tells the church at Corinth; “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.”  (1 Cor 15:19) See we have to have long range glasses.  Sometimes we have to look beyond this world and into eternity.

But Jesus also told the Apostles and tells us in Acts 1:7, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.”   So sometimes we have to wait many years to see how God has been working in our lives all along.  So hang in there and hang on to God, God has great things in store for you.

God Bless!

The Good Shepherd

Lost sheep.  Somehow poor sheep get the rap for being foolish little animals, and it may be true.  I am no shepherd.  I was just reading the parables Jesus told about the lost things in Luke 15.  Of course, my favorite is the parable of the lost son (forgiving fatherJ), but the parable about the silly sheep stuck out to me this time.  I gave it a closer look.  Here are Jesus’ words in verses 4-7.

“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?  And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’  I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.

When you dig a little deeper here about shepherds of the day you find that they were responsible for the sheep not only physically, but monetarily too.  If a sheep was lost and it couldn’t be proven that it was killed by wild animals then the shepherd would have to pay for the sheep.  So the shepherd would probably be looking franticly for that lost sheep.  He was looking for the one that was outside the flock, the one in danger.  I also love the picture, which many of us have seen, of the shepherd bringing the lost sheep home on his shoulders, probably with a sigh of relief.

This all helped me to get a better picture of Jesus as the Good Shepherd from John 10:11, 14.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”

“I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me”

You see while we were lost Jesus was trying frantically to bring us back to the flock.  Since we all were once lost, Jesus had to pay the ultimate price and “lay down his life for the sheep”.  He paid the price for each one of His lost sheep, similarly to how shepherds of His day had to pay for sheep they lost.  He brought each one of us home on his back rejoicing with the angels in heaven.  Isn’t it great to know that the Good Shepherd, our Lord and Christ knows us?  If you do not yet know Jesus now is the time.  He is frantically searching for your lost soul.  Come to the flock, its safe here.

God Bless!

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Moses put himself between a rock and a hard place in the desert at Kadesh.  The story is told in Numbers 20.  The Israelites had been moaning and groaning (murmuring) again, this time because they were thirsty.  I can understand them wanting water it’s terrible to be thirsty, but, as usual for them in the desert, they went overboard and began laying blame.  It landed square at the feet of Moses and Aaron.  They wondered why they had been led into the desert just to die of thirst. 

Moses did just what Moses always did and went before God for the people.  He was probably hot, frustrated again and thirsty too.  But he went and God provided a way.  He was to raise his rod and speak to the rock.  This is where the rock comes into our story.  This is where Moses frustration and pride got in the way as well.  We will pick up with Numbers 20: 9-12.

So Moses took the rod from before the LORD as He commanded him.  And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?”  Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.  Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”

This is where the hard place comes in.  We all could discount what Moses did here.  It was just a small mistake, but it was not only disobedience to God’s command, it was also a bit of pride coming up in Moses.  You see the “we” didn’t even include God.  Moses forgot to give God the glory.  What a lesson for all of us.  God is serious about sin.  Sinning against God puts you in a hard place.

Let’s skip ahead now to Deuteronomy 34, and the end of Moses days on the earth.  Moses was at the top of Mount Nebo and the LORD showed Moses the Promised Land, but reminded him that he wouldn’t be going on and Moses died at the ripe old age of 120 years, still bright eyed and full of vigor.  These next few verses are some of the most beautiful in the whole Bible, Deuteronomy 34:6, 10-12.   And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but no one knows his grave to this day.  GOD loved Moses enough to have a private funeral with him and to bury him HIMSELF.  What an honor.

But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, in all the signs and wonders which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypt, before Pharaoh, before all his servants, and in all his land, and by all that mighty power and all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.  

Moses was a great man and Prophet loved by God, but got between a rock and a hard place and took the wrong path.  Let’s remember that if Moses can mess it up, then we should be extra careful on the days we find ourselves between a rock and a hard place.

God Bless!

Anyone Thirsty?

Refresh, we all know what it feels like to be refreshed, or do we?  A cool drink of water might refresh us on a hot summer day.  A day at the spa or a day off from work might refresh our bodies.

Samson knew about being refreshed by God.  “Because he was very thirsty, he cried out to the LORD, “You have given your servant this great victory. Must I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?”  Then God opened up the hollow place in Lehi, and water came out of it. When Samson drank, his strength returned and he revived.”  (Judges 15:18)  His thirst was quenched and he was revived.

Saul was refreshed by music.  “David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well.” (1 Samuel 16:23)  David was refreshed by rest after travel in 2 Samuel 16:13-14.

How can we be refreshed today?  Not just physically, but much more importantly, spiritually?  I think Peter has the answer for us in Acts 3:19.  "Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”  Times of refreshing come from the presence of the Lord.  Wanna feel refreshed? 

Go to the spiritual spa and Master Refresher, Jesus Christ.  He told us already in John 4:13-14.  “Jesus answered and said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life."

Anyone Thirsty?

God Bless!

Real Freedom

Today is a day we, as Americans, have set aside to remember the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.  We remember not so much him as a person, but the ideas and leadership he provided for the equality and equal rights of all those in America.  He in a sense wanted freedom for all.  Dr. King had a dream, a vision, but his vision is far overshadowed by the vision set forth By Jesus Christ in the first Century, and carried on by His followers then as well as Christians everywhere today.

Listen to the freedom Jesus offers.  “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  (John 8:31-32)  Jesus was not offering an earthy freedom, but so much more.  Jesus was offering a freedom from sin, eternal freedom.  Paul emphasizes and further teaches this same freedom in Romans 6:22, “But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.” 

In Galatians 3:28, Paul also told us that through Jesus we can have equality here on this earth.  “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”  So Dr. Kings dream was nothing new.  I am not minimizing his ideals, but simply pointing out that Jesus had His answer all along.

“For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”  (2 Corinthians 3:17, NLT)

God Bless!

Melting Hearts

And Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.”                       Joshua 3:5

Isn’t the Lord (Jehovah, God) still doing wonders in the world today?  I realize that in this instance God was about to part the waters of the Jordan River, but doesn’t He still perform everyday miracles today?  God is still doing wonders among us!

Have you seen the magnificent colors, as they transform in a sunrise, the beauty, innocence and yet complexity in a newborn babe, the tapestry painted so brilliantly in a tree in autumn, or the mighty rush of water in a waterfall?  If you have seen any of these, and many others not mentioned, then you have seen the wonder of God. 

How do we react when confronted with the power and majesty of God?  Do we react like those around during Joshua’s time?  So it was, when all the kings of the Amorites who were on the west side of the Jordan, and all the kings of the Canaanites who were by the sea, heard that the LORD had dried up the waters of the Jordan from before the children of Israel until we had crossed over, that their heart melted; and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the children of Israel. (Joshua 5:1)

Their hearts melted, in this case, probably because of fear for they were on the outside looking in.  We, as were the Israelites at that time, are on the inside looking out.  We see God’s Majesty in a different light if we are Christians; our hearts melt with awe and amazement.  That our God would perform such miracles every day for us is truly astonishing to me!  Look around you today.  Be amazed.  Let your heart melt before the presence and majesty of our mighty God as he shows you His everyday miracles today.

I would love to hear how you feel and experience God today.

God Bless!

Peace

Peace.  When you think of peace, what comes to mind?  A waterfall?  A Meadow?  No Children for a day?  What do you think of when you think of Peace?  One thing that always seems to remind me of peace is snow.

Being from north Alabama, it isn’t often I see or experience snow.  You see the peace doesn’t come from the snow itself, but the experience the snow brings for me.  Ever been for a walk after a freshly fallen snow?  The world is quieter; like the snow takes away the sounds we fill the air with each day.  It is peaceful. 

Snow is also white, a very neutral, but ever so important color.  It is as white as snow.  Does that sound familiar?  Maybe like Isaiah 1:18, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”  It reminds me of God’s grace, and also of the peace we can know in Jesus.

The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace. Psalm 29:11

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”   John 16:33

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 4:7

Peace.

God Bless!

He Who Believes

Jesus, when you think of Jesus what do you think of?  Christ?  Messiah? Savior?  I think of all those things, as probably most of you do. 

But what about while Jesus was flesh and walked among us?  What do you think about when it relates to those times?  He told some great stories, didn’t he?  He told of the Prodigal Son, The Talents, The Unjust steward, the Fig Tree.  And that is just to name a few. 

He was very emotional and passionate about life and His message.  He cried. He got angry (but sinned not). I can see Jesus laughing with the children, but being very resolute when teaching His disciples.

And wow, the miracles he did!  Healed the sick, raised the dead, fed the hungry, freed those bound by demons.

That’s quite the resume don’t you think?  I agreed 1,000%, but listen to this.

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.  (John 14:12)

That’s Jesus speaking there.  See the “Me” and the “I” in that verse?  That is Jesus, the same Jesus who did all those things we just mentioned, and many more things not even recorded for us (John 20:30).

But now let’s get to the Good part, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do.

The he in this verse is who?  He who believes in Me (Jesus), right?  Thats you and me if we are Christians.  Have you ever imagined or even dreamed that WE can do “greater works” than Jesus?  He said we can.  I am not saying we can do miracles or save the world from its sin and everlasting death.  But I am saying the One who could and did those very things tells us we can do greater things.  How big can you dream?  How much do you want to bite off?  Jesus says you can do it.  What are you waiting on?  Let’s Go!

Snuggle with God

Children, we can learn so much from them if we will just listen and watch.  Jesus knew of the innocence and importance of children.  “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 18:3) 

My daughter, once again, left me pondering God and his word in the middle of the night.  You see when we are together she sleeps with me.  I think we both love the bond we get in doing that too!  But the point I am getting to is this: she likes to be touching me.  She likes to be close to her daddy.  Her daddy loves it even more than she does I think.  This reminded me of what God says to us through James in James 4:8, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” 

You see God likes it when we snuggle up to Him in life.  He especially loves it when we just want to feel His love, not because we need or want something, but just because He is God.  God is always there, no matter what.  But, aren’t the hugs you get for no reason the best? God agrees.  Let’s start the New Year by snuggling up with God.  He will snuggle up with you. 

(Paraphrase mine)

God Bless and Happy New Year!