Month: March 2018

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 3:14

It is interesting to recall how our Easter Egg Hunts have gone over the years in our family.  When our kids were small, we always hid the eggs in the most obvious places in our yard so they could easily see them and pick them up.  As the years progressed, the hiding places became more difficult – under a bush, behind a tree – more difficult but still expected places.  When we began to offer a Prize Egg, then the competition became rather intense and the hiding places became ridiculously hard!  They had to work for the prize.

Growing in the Christian faith is much like that Easter Egg Hunt.  We begin to learn the obvious roots of our faith by looking in the simple places where we are spoon fed the basics of the Bible.  Later, we begin to delve deeper into the faith by trying to discover the truths of our faith by Bible Studies or organized classes and services.  Lastly, we step out in faith and begin to personalize our faith and the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of it.  We need to know the goal or prize and pursue it through service to others and living the faith.

Sometimes this life can be so discouraging that we tire of looking for the prize.  We get tired, discouraged, and overwhelmed.  In these times, we need to remember why we follow Him in the first place.  As we strive for the prize or goal of spiritual perfection, we are blessed with an awareness of what we can be in the Lord’s presence one day.    The prize of focusing on our goal is the assurance that one day we shall behold Him.

On this Easter,  my mind turns to two very special people that won the prize recently.  Selfishly, we wanted to keep Grace and Robert here because we love them, but we can celebrate  their victory and joy as they have received the prize and  are beholding Jesus face to face.

As we go through the rest of this Holy Week and it’s sadness and suffering, it is good for us to see the prize and victory that Resurrection Day brings!

The sky shall unfold preparing His entrance; The stars shall applaud Him with thunders of praise;  The sweet light in His eyes, shall enhance those awaiting, And we shall behold Him then face to face.   “We Shall Behold Him”  Sandi Patti 

Happy Easter!                                                            

“Therefore to keep me from being conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh..”  11 Corinthians 12:7

Thorns represent sin, sorrow and hardship, but  the crown of thorns used on Jesus was also a brutal instrument that caused much agony.

Life’s little thorns can sometimes end up being lessons in disguise.  Last week, Randy noticed that water was pouring out of the meter in the yard between us and our neighbor, but more on the neighbor’s side.    We called the water department, as I was secretly thanking God that it wasn’t our yard!  Long story short, it turned out that the leak was between our houses, so they ended up digging up all my 30 year old juniper to get to the leak.

As I was moving the left over juniper brambles, a thorn or thistle lodged in my hand, and I immediately thought how sometimes everything goes wrong.  A thorn in the flesh can hit us with the chance to enjoy a good dose of self pity.

Thorns together with roses are said to represent pain and pleasure.  The thorn is an emblem of Christ’s passion, but it is defined as “anything troublesome”.  The latter statement helps put it in perspective for me.  Jesus wore an entire crown of thorns to demonstrate how much he loves us.

It’s easy when things are going well to thank God from whom all blessings flow, but when thorns crop up among the beauty of our lives, that’s another matter.  I read recently a quote by George Matheson which reads, “God, I have never thanked You for my thorns.  I have thanked you a million times for my roses, but not once for my thorns.”  It’s the thorns in life which make us value the the roses all the more.

We fall to our knees during thorny times, and it is during these times that we learn to value the thorns in our life.  It takes the thorns to push us into the corner of surrender where we totally rely on God for the sufficiency we need to get through our difficult situation and realize these are necessary conditions for blessings.  Thorns can be evidence of God working in our lives.  Sometimes it’s through tears that rainbows are seen.

The water leak is fixed, new juniper plants are planted, and the thorn is removed.  Sometimes God just needs to get our attention so we remember to be thankful for the thorns.

Christ wore that crown of thorns to the top of a hill called Calvary and there died to take away all our sins.

Don’t assume that you know it all.  Run to God.  Proverbs 3:7

Years ago when we were serving in Bowdon, Randy decided to take on the project of putting together a swing set for the kids.  If you know Randy, then you ascertain, correctly, that this is a monumental task for him.  He ordered the set, unloaded it into the basement garage, and locked himself down there for the duration.  It was to be a surprise.  On the second day of listening to banging, frustrated words, and  out of sheer curiosity,  I went down to check on the progress.  Now, I assumed that he was putting it together in sections and would then move the sections outside to assemble.  Never assume.  I really hated to mention that the set might  not make it through the garage doors, so I simply asked if he had measured to be sure?!  The answer was “no.”

A few weeks ago, I was the “Mystery Reader” for my youngest grandson, Reese’s class.   I assumed that I would be reading the book, but Reese surprised me and showed me what a great reader he is!   He read it sight unseen!  I was so proud!  Never assume!

I wonder how many times we assume a lot about others just looking on the outside.  There are many times when I hear of a divorce, an illness, a suicide, an addiction, or other terrible situation, or even more happily an unexpected accomplishment, and hear myself and others saying, “Well, I would have never guessed that about them.” We assume that all is well, but we haven’t bothered to listen to what they are Not telling us or showing.  We don’t bother to check in and see how people are really coping with life.  We hesitate to get involved because we think that we might be seen as nosy or judgmental.

In the day to day perfunctory greetings of “How are you today?” and the usual answer of “Fine, and you?”, we forget that our purpose is to get involved in the lives of others who might need us.  We shouldn’t assume that people don’t need the support we might be able to lend.  Never assume.

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”  Ephesians 2:10

I have a really bad habit of shopping for gifts when they are on sale, putting them away, and then forgetting I bought them.  This means that sometimes for Christmas, a birthday, etc., I have more than enough items for a gift.  Some of them must be returned after the event.  The other day, I had items spread out with corresponding receipts.  Randy came through and said, “Oh, are these the items that didn’t make the cut?  Are these the things that weren’t good enough??”

In this world today, I hear many stories of people who think they aren’t good enough to live and function in our society.  Atelophobia is defined as “fear of imperfection or fear of not being good enough”.

It’s hard to see people who are berated by others in our society.  Social media has opened doors that allow some to bully or berate others, especially our children. What I’ve found is that the ones least qualified to judge you are the ones most eager to do so.  The One most qualified to judge you, won’t.

In our society filled with school violence, bullying, anorexia, depression, and so many other things which might result from feeling inadequate or feelings of not being good enough, it’s time to make sure each person knows how much they matter and that we are all good enough.  Christ is more than ready to meet all of us and cover us up in His grace which is greater than any feeling of inadequacy or unworthiness.

“God’s strength is enough to fight and win our battles, God’s riches are enough to supply our needs, God’s wisdom is enough to teach and direct us, but most of all, God’s love is more than enough for all of us.”  copied

The Kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all seeds but when it is grown, it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.  Matthew 13: 31-32

“When Jesus told a parable, he lit a stick of dynamite and then covered it with a story.”  Clarence Jordan

Teachers of all kinds are very familiar with what is known as “teachable moments”.  These are the times in your classroom, your home, the ball field, the grocery store, and other places when you throw out the lesson plans for the day and go with the moment.  It may seem like a small thing, sometimes even an annoyance, but this deviation is usually the result of a question that is asked, a curious child, a wrong that must be righted, or a lesson that needs to be taught.  It must be addressed in the moment to be effective.

Jesus  liked to deal in “small things” and “teachable moments.”  He could have chosen hundreds of disciples, but He chose 12.  He could have performed thousands of miracles, but only 37 are recorded.  He could have come up with food for the five thousand, but He chose to use the five loaves of bread and two fish to make His point.

I don’t think He had lesson plans, but I do think that He used parables as teachable moments.   Parables are defined as earthly stories with a heavenly meaning.  People around him were drawn to the simple stories which taught them morals and spiritual truths.  Jesus engaged the people in the discovery of the gospel by using questions to guide their thinking so they would understand and believe.  How many parables contain questions like, “Which one of? Which of these? Who will?” to guide understanding?

The truth of God is understood spiritually, thus those interested in understanding the truth of the message will understand, while those uninterested will remain without understanding.  God gives people every chance to accept the message of Jesus and accept Him as the Messiah.

So many people could be won to Christ if we all threw out our lesson plans for our day, week, year, and ignited an explosion all around us by engaging in those teachable moments we encounter every day.