He's Got This

The grief is a mist that permeates the very walls of their home.  Every breath, every heartbeat is saturated with it.  There are so many ways that she and her sister differ, but the grief overwhelms them equally.  They handle it differently, though.  The tears, the gasping for breath are the same, but the places are different.  She wants to pummel something, preferably dough for bread.  But the ‘helpers’ had overtaken her kitchen.  They said that they are helping, but she wants them out of her space.  They won’t leave, though.  They cook for her.  They clean for her.  They eat her food and sleep in her beds.  They are there to help, but there is no help to be had.  Why won’t they just leave?!

Then she sees Him coming.  The One who was supposed to be here over a week ago.  Where has He been?  What was more important than being there for a friend?  How could anything be more important than a promise?  She runs out to meet Him. 

“Where have You been?  Why weren’t You here?  We sent for You?” she cries.  But her heart begs for answers to a much more painful questions.  Where were You when I needed You?  Do I matter so little to You?  Is this how You treat a friend?  I thought I was Your friend!

He answers that this is not the end…  Great.  Yeah, we will have an eternity together.  Thanks…  That really helps now.  That answer might have worked a week ago.  Now?  It’s just letters strung together to make words, then words strung together to make a sentence. 

If my friend, Duane, had been there in that moment, he might have said something to Martha that he texted me the other night. 

“He’s got this.”

You see, those aren’t just letters, words or a sentence.  It’s a promise.  He knows.  He cares.  And He’s going to do something about it.  That was the bleakest moment of Martha’s life.  She thought the days before had been hard, but watching the only One who could have changed the circumstances walk in late?  No, that made it even darker.  Because those doubts that had been hidden or explained away almost destroyed her when He walked toward the house.  It was too late and He hadn’t cared enough to get there any earlier.  That’s as dark as it gets. 

And yet, by nightfall, everything had changed.  The sun had risen, her brother was somehow with her again and those painful questions had disappeared.  Because it hadn’t been too late.  He was right on time.  He had it handled. 

So when it’s darker than ever and those doubts, those questions are getting harder and more painful?

He’s got this.

What is Beauty?

 

I must admit that I, like many others, have become addicted to Pintrest.  I can spend hours on that site, just looking and pinning to my boards.  I remember my reaction when I first heard about Pintrest, I could not understand why people would do this.  What good is a virtual bulletin board?  It didn’t take me long to start pinning.  I still can’t tell you what good a virtual bulletin board is, I just know I have wasted many hours building a board, organizing and pinning.  My latest board is one I call ‘What is Beauty?’ 

This is what I feel that the Lord is teaching me right now.  Beauty has nothing to do with size, race, age, religion or creed.  Beauty is a concept that people of today truly do not understand.  Today, every commercial, advertisement, indeed every facet of entertainment screams to teach us what beauty should be.  And they couldn’t get it any more wrong. 

So here’s my definition of beauty.  The creation of God.  Nature.  Men, women and children showing true and deep emotion.  Beauty is a woman holding her daughter’s hand, whether she is your neighbor or the first lady.  Children laughing, whether they are share your color skin or not.  Heroes who gave their lives to save others.  People, looking into the eyes of the ones they love.  This is beauty.  And it can’t be bought from a store.  A hairdresser or a makeup artist can’t give it to you.  Jewelry, clothes and as much as I hate this, a pair of shoes does not bring beauty. 

Where do we go to find it?  First check your mirror.  You are His workmanship.  I know, I know.  We are His workmanship.  It’s easier to see in the faces around you, in the ones you love.  But it’s there even in the ones we don’t love.  He loves us.  He made us.  He considers us beautiful.  Because we are His.  He is beauty.  And because He is, so are we.

Secrets

What secrets do you hide?  When you are alone, or when no one is paying attention, what do you think, do, want?  Are these secrets silly, immature or dangerous?  Are they shortcomings?  Are they sinful?  Do you fight against them?  And are you successful?  How often do you fail?  Does that failure not add to your secrets?

Is your secret your love for God?  Do the unsaved in your life know your beliefs?  Would they be shocked to hear you praise God on Sunday morning?  How would your church family respond to hear the language you use outside the church?

Is your secret rooted in fantasy?  If your pastor looked at the history of your Internet browser, would you be ashamed?  Do you use the previous channel button on your TV remote to hide so no one can see?

Is your secret dissatisfaction?  Life isn’t or hasn’t turned out the way you want, and all you can do is complain?  You don’t have the right job, the right house or the right car?  And you worry that you will never have the right anything?

Are you afraid, terrified even?  Does every sound in your home cause your imagination to run away with you?  Do you worry what will happen to you?  To the ones you love?  Does fear motivate everything you do?

Maybe you struggle with a few of these.  Maybe you struggle with all and more.  Let us face the facts, thought.  Really, only one fact.  Not a one of these can stand up to the Cross.  In part or in whole, the Cross of Christ cancels out all.  Jesus came to bring light to the world.  Light is the enemy of secrets.  Light exposes all.  Dust, spills and stains.  Secrets tie us up.  They keep us from worshipping.  Secrets don’t want to be anywhere near the Cross.  They keep us from reading the Word.  They keep us from prayer and communion with God.  And anything that stops us from those things must be brought to light.  They must be taken to the Cross.  There, the Blood of Christ completely cleanses us from secrets.  See you there.

A Remoteless Life

Have you ever counted the number of remotes you have?  There are ten in my home, not counting the remote for the alarm system or the ones for the garage door.  Remotes have become staples in the lives of Americans today.  An attempt to describe life without remotes to today’s children brings the same responses that we gave to our elders when they described life without television, color or otherwise.  Incredulity.

I remember a spring break of mine years ago.  I had the flu and both of my parents worked.  In an attempt to get out of the prison my bed had become, my mother set me up on the couch in the den.  She set the regulatory water glass, peanut butter crackers and sweet tea, close at hand.  The only time I needed to get up was to walk to the bathroom.  She also turned on the TV to a channel that specialized in old movies.  Because there was no remote, I ended up watching black and white movie after black and white movie.  I felt too badly to get up, walk to the TV and physically turn the knob.  I slept through some of the classics.  And all because I had no remote.  I didn’t even miss it.

Today, when I am sick at home, two or three remotes are at my side. One for the TV, one for the satellite and another for the DVD/Blue Ray.  I can’t imagine a channel that I would want to leave on for hours.  Unless it was Duck Dynasty.  I think I could watch that for hours!  It would certainly make me feel better, but I digress.

This brings me to my point.  With all these remotes around to change the channel to something more comfortable, mute words we don’t want to hear, and pause the action when someone interrupts, what do we do when remotes don’t work?  I don’t mean when they just need batteries.  I mean when there isn’t a remote for the situation or the person.  When life gets hard, there is no pause or fast forward button.  When you don’t like the words or conversations that are surrounding you, there is no mute button.  When you are bored or uncomfortable in a situation, there are no other channels to turn to.  If you miss a moment, life isn’t a DVR and you can’t rewind.

Scripture tells us that God speaks in ‘a still, small Voice’.  As time passes and technology grows, it becomes harder and harder to hear His Voice.  And while we may not have a remote for God, it is VERY easy to ‘mute’ Him.  We change the channel to hear and watch something, anything other than what He wants us to experience.  We know that He is patient and we know that He loves us.  So it can be such a temptation to just pause Him.  He’s not going anywhere.  He promises that He is always with us.  So what’s the big deal?

A few weekends ago, I did this.  I glanced at my YouVersion.  I remember thinking as I saw the scripture of the day and the daily devotional, I don’t have the energy for this today.  Just forget it.  I’ll read it later.  I figuratively pushed pause and mute on God and His Word.  I knew what I was doing, I just didn’t care. 

Now I didn’t stop loving God.  I know who He is and what He has done for me.  I just didn’t have the energy or will to acknowledge them.  Then on Sunday morning, in the middle of praise, I remembered that choice.  That foolish, temper tantrum choice.  Yes, He still loved me.  Yes, He was still there, waiting for me.  But I had lost time.  Time to hear His beautiful Voice.  Time to feel His love and Spirit wash over and through me. 

This is the crime, folks.  This is what is lost when we try to use a remote on a big God.  Moments.  Moments that change lives.  Our lives.  The lives of others.  Yes, He loves us.  Yes, He is always there, just waiting for us.  And those things will never change.  But what are we missing when we take these truths for granted?  Put down the remote.  Leave the volume and channel where they are.  Bask in His Presence.  Watch and listen.  Rest and heal.  He is there.  He is speaking. 

Fishing for what?

Well, I'm back.  I have found myself in a strange state of mind this last year.  Avoiding writing like the plague!  The only thing I seem to enjoy is looking up anything I can find on Facebook & Pinterest...  It's as if I am afraid of what is buried deep inside me.  You know, the things that creativity could bring to the surface. 

There have been times when I fell back into the safety of surface living, but my heart tells me that the Lord isn't pleased with it.  Do you ever have those moments when emotions seem too difficult to allow sway?  I find myself wondering if God is working deep in me or have I just stepped back from Him.  Do we have to be open for Him to work? 

Several years ago, I was worshipping God with my church's youth group and it was an amazing time.  I wondered why my own worship didn't seem to have the results that this service was bringing.  Suddenly, I saw myself so clearly and I saw something that frightened me.  It was as if I was standing in a room and God was in the middle.  But up to that point, I had been standing with my back to Him.  My back to Him, but I still expected an intimate conversation.  That intimate moment could not happen until I turned to face Him.  When my back is turned to anyone, I cannot have any kind of communication, much less an intimate one!

Is this what I have been doing?  Backing off?  Distancing myself from anything that would infringe on my 'space'.  Oh, I know God can still work in me.  He is God, after all.  But have I done what the disciples did after Jesus' death?  They had lived with, watched, and ministered with the very Son of God.  They should have had everything they needed to begin their own ministries.  But what did they do?  They went to what they knew.  Fishing.  And not fishing for souls.  No fishing for fish, just what they had been doing before Jesus even came into their lives. 

Is this what I've been doing?  And if it is, then why?  Wouldn't His work in me go much easier and faster if I actually took part in it?  And am I willing to turn around, put the phone down, log off of the social pages and step forward?  What will be the cost?  What will be the reward?

On this day, the world was still dark. On this day, loneliness took on an entirely new meaning. On this day, it appeared that evil had won. On this day, followers were in hiding. On this day, the future was unsecure for believers and unbelievers. On this day, hope was still lost. On this day, the tomb still held the Body of the Beloved. On this day, the stone was still. On this day, guards stood unchallenged. The earth still mourned its Creator. The curtain was still torn.

Do you ever wonder what was going through the minds of Pilot, the religious leaders and Barrabas? We spend so much time remembering the followers of Christ, but where were the minds of those instrumental in His execution? Were they holding their breaths, waiting for the third day? Or were they resting easier as each hour passed? My imagination has Pilate's wife in torment. She knew that her husband had crossed the line. But what about everyone else? I picture the earth as being on 'pause', just waiting for the Creator's reaction.

It's so easy, from 2000 years later to judge them. We know what happens next. We know that the stone is tossed away by the power of the Holy Spirit. The hidden followers become the great leaders of the Church. The curtain was torn and the presence of God was never held from man again. Hope was NOT lost. Evil had been defeated. Dawn was merely hours away.

He is risen! He is risen, indeed!

Promises, promises

"Nothing compares to the promise I have in You."

Along with the rest of the world, I discovered this song several years ago. It is one that touches my heart, deeply. I find myself closing my eyes and singing with complete abandonment when I do sing it. I'm ashamed to say that after about two years of singing this, I found myself asking, "What is the promise?" Now, I was raised my two Godly parents who had also been raised by Godly parents, so why did I have to ask? I think I wanted to specify so that I could honestly believe that there is nothing on this earth or in the heavens that could begin to compare to His promise. So, what is that promise?

Both the Old and New Testaments are filled with promises from God. Promises for a long life when we obey His commands. Promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel). Promises to the enemies of His people. Promises to the mighty men of Adam, Noah and Joseph. The beautiful and wondrous promise of the Messiah. The promise to cleanse our sins and carry our burdens. The promise of a living, breathing relationship with the Holy Spirit. The promise of His return and our eternal home. I mean, take your pick, people! His promises to us are numerous! To my, sometimes, literal mind I wanted something different. I wanted to know which specific promise was incomparable.

So, like Winnie the Pooh, I 'thunk'. I thunk and I thunk and I thunk. Why do we 'thunk' instead of just asking Him? Finally, I felt the gentle reminder of the Holy Spirit. He reminded me that I am never alone. That even to the ends of the earth and the ends of time, He is with me. He will NEVER leave me. He will NEVER forsake me. And that, my friends, is a promise that is beyond compare.