“There Will Come a Day”

³ I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.  ⁴ He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”  ⁵ And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” ⁶ And he also said, “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega—the Beginning and the End. To all who are thirsty I will give freely from the springs of the water of life. ⁷ All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children.  (Revelation 21: 3-7, NLT)

Of every promise in the Bible, this is the one that I hold onto with the most desperation.  I can’t tell you the many times that I have had to close my eyes for just a moment to meditate on this very thing – to know, on the bad days…when I am hurting…when I am frustrated…when I am lowly and discouraged, that one day I have the promise of EVERYTHING being made new…restored…perfected…that one day my tears will forever be wiped away by the very hand that created me.  That’s something I can be comforted by no matter what happens.

I can’t help but wonder…what will that feel like?  It is truly unimaginable!  We live amongst so much heartache and hatred.  We face it every day of our lives.  It’s in everything that we watch and listen to, and it’s on the faces of strangers that we encounter, and even in the eyes of our loved ones.   Because of the rapid progression of sin in our world, hostility, distrust and heavyheartedness have become commonplace for us all.  We are used to it, so a life lived without that is not something that I think any of us could ever envision.  However, even though I can’t fathom it, I desire it.  Life without worry, pain, uncertainty, and depression – without hatred, vengefulness, mockery, and prejudice – without death, destruction, destitution, and despair – I don’t know this life…but I want to live it.  I am not worthy of this sort of freedom, but because of God’s love for me, for us, it is a gift that He stands holding out to us.  We simply have to reach out to Him and accept it.

It’s like a gift card.  It may not seem like much at the moment – just a seemingly small thing – but it holds so much promise!  I can tuck it away, and sometimes just knowing that it’s there is enough to make me smile.  When I am having a bad day, I know that I have the promise of something good, something that is completely free to me.  Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Chick-fil-A, they are all great and something nice to look forward to, but SALVATION, PEACE, ETERNAL JOY… now those are promises that I can live for each day!

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, thank You for the promise of a day when we all will forever be reunited with You.  Though things here get worse what seems like every day, there is nothing I can’t endure when I know that I have the fully redeemable gift of freedom in You that never expires.  Until that day, I will hold onto that assurance, and I will give this life the best of me while I am here.  May it be all for Your glory.  Amen.

Search and Rescue

John 3:16-17- For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.

 

Aren’t you grateful for God’s goodness and mercy? His forgiving nature? His unconditional love?

I don’t know where I’d be without it! He is gracious to me in the moments I deserve it least of all. When I stumble, He gently picks me up. When I stop moving because I fear the unknown, He takes my hand and walks along beside me. He knows just what I need when I need it, and never does anything to hurt me. Even His rebukes are soft and kind. There’s no better friend, deeper love, or genuine forgiveness in all the world; we need to spread that around!

So many areas in life are readily available to reveal to us our shortcomings and failures.There are plenty of people around that will somehow remind us of how we don’t measure up to their expectations. We’ll discover things about ourselves that we don’t care for on the regular. Am I right?

See… we’re all the same in that aspect.  We need encouragement. Understanding. Patience. Love. Relationship. Kindness. Purpose. As growing Christians, we have to be careful that we don’t focus on the “do’s and don’t’s” when communicating with the world. They need to hear about “Who and what’s.” –  Who loves them immensely, and what He did/does to prove that each day.

I discovered a few years back how quick I was to jump on a bandwagon when it came to “standing for truth.” Now, don’t get me wrong- I still VERY much believe in doing that. However, I remember hearing a pastor say this once, and it struck a chord with me, “When you want to say something, you probably shouldn’t; when you don’t want to, you probably should.”

Our flesh likes to jump on in there and put someone in their place when they’re doing something we have no problem with. There’s a sense of self-righteousness that kicks in and we can wrongfully justify that by telling ourselves we’re “witnessing.” But, go back and read the two verses at the top of this page… God so loved the world that He gave what was most precious and perfect to Him. And He did that, NOT to condemn the world… (Condemn- express complete disapproval, typically in public; censure; sentence to a particular punishment, etc.) but that the world might be saved through Him.

We all know there are consequences to sin. There is punishment. But, there is hope! There is salvation! That should be our focus, shouldn’t it? Of course! That’s the focus of the very One Who came with the power to accomplish such redemption! (Matthew 18:12- For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.)

If we could imagine but for a moment, a traveler lost in the wilderness- He took a wrong turn, made a couple careless decisions, ended up on a trail never intended to be walked. He’s scared. He’s cold. He’s hungry. He’s alone. He’s angry with himself. “What if’s,” “how come’s,” and “if only’s” torment his mind. For days he battles harsh temperatures and uncomfortable scenarios. He cries out for help. Screams in agony at the thought of never finding his way to safety and comfort.

Then, all of a sudden, out in the distance he hears a faint sound. He stands motionless and strains to listen again. There it is, a little closer. He realizes it’s a group of voices calling out to him. Someone has come to lead him out of this mess! He yells, “Here I am! Over here!” and within minutes he is surrounded by those sent to find him.

What do you think he’s needing right now? Does he need to be reminded of how foolish it was to wander off on his own? Should he be scolded? Belittled? Left alone? Absolutely not. He should be welcomed. Hugged. Provided warmth, consideration, empathy, and assistance. Most likely, he’s learned his lesson and is just grateful someone was sent at the right time to lead him out of the mess he got himself into.

The “world” is the same. They’re lost. Whether they fully know that yet or not, they know something is off. When we, “the search and rescue team,” if you will is sent to them, we need to offer them the resources that will help them and heal them. God loves them. He doesn’t want to condemn them. He wants to save them.

We’re here to tell them that.

 

Prayer: Lord, thank You for saving me! Thank You for loving me! Give me patience and compassion for all those surrounding me. Help me shine the light of Your love and salvation each day that I live. May everyone I encounter sense Your presence in my life and come to know You. Give me boldness, courage, and reminders to speak of the hope only You can give. In Your name, amen.

 

Sink or Swim

(Philippians 2: 12-13)  Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear.  For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

No one ever said it would be easy…this pursuit of righteousness that we begin when we choose to live for Christ.  In fact, sometimes doing what’s right is the absolute hardest thing to do.  Sure, there are those who make righteousness and godliness look easy.  My grandmother was one of those people.  She just always did the right thing.  She was kind, thoughtful, reverent, prayerful, considerate, loving, generous, hard-working, accepting, forgiving, and just as Christ-like as a person could ever be.  Her life was a basket that was overflowing with every fruit of the spirit — and it spilled out into the paths of every person who ever had the pleasure of meeting her.  She made it look so easy.

Then there are people like me.  I have always sort of struggled with right and wrong.  I don’t typically see things in black and white, so the line between just seems a bit vague to me.  I’m a questioner and a skeptic, so I never take things as they are presented to me.  I want to know why.  I crave a deeper understanding.  I wanted to be one of those people who just ease into obedience and holiness without question, and I felt bad for having questions and for needing to know so much extra from God.  So many times I have stifled my own reservations and uncertainties, because I felt I should just be able to naturally trust and obey.  But it just isn’t easy for me…

But what are the “results” of our salvation?  Does that equate to ease and perfection?  Does that mean that we are all the same, without questions and struggles?  Of course not!  No!  These “results” are the obvious changes that are taking place in our lives as we go through our metamorphoses in Christ.  They are the things that make us unique individuals who are actively overcoming the battles that we face, both internally as well as on the surface. 

Whether we make it look easy, because it just somehow does come to us fluidly, never making any waves, or whether we are ones who jump in feet first and spend the majority of our swim thrashing and trying desperately to keep our heads above water, we are all in the same ocean together.  It’s a long swim, friends.  We are so blessed to have one another to hold onto when the waters get choppy and the waves overcome us.  We may look out at the vast and endless sea of our lives and think, “How can I do this with no end in sight?”  But God hasn’t called us to know it all — to have the answers we need.  He has called us to jump in, and our only job is to trust and obey, holding onto the anchor that is His word.  We can’t give up when it gets hard, because our lives are a testament to what He can and will do when we obey…so that others may see and know the beauty of this transfiguration that takes place when we offer our lives to Him. 

My life looks nothing like my grandmother’s life.  And do you know what?  That is okay.  It’s great even!  Because God created me to be exactly as I am.  My story will speak to others where my grandmother’s cannot.  My heart can go out to people that my grandmother’s could not.  My life is my own — in all of its frantic, mistake-laden, problematic flailing — it is mine, and I am going to work hard to show the results of my salvation.  When I mess up, I’ll keep on doggy-paddling, backstroking, treading water, or whatever I have to do!  Because I’ve come too far to drown now!

I can promise you this, you may not always want to do what’s right.  Sometimes it just feels good to be bad, because sin is what the flesh craves…day and night…and we tend to give into it from time to time.  However, remember that we are all works in progress.  God is doing a thing within us all — and if we are reverent, obedient, and daily seeking a deeper relationship with Him, then He will be faithful to His word…empowering us with the desire to please Him in every way with our lives.  Without Him, we simply cannot do it. 

It’s sink or swim, friends. 

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, when it feels like I’m in over my head, when things aren’t easy and I want to give up, help me to remember that I am not alone.  Give me every ounce of strength and desire that I need to keep my head above water…no matter what.  Amen.

PRAY!

I have been thinking a lot lately about where we are as a nation. Things are not looking good for America. It seems that everyday now there is an assault on Christian values. Values, in general, have changed. “Tolerance” is one-sided. We are “commanded” by the world to tolerate the sinful lifestyles, but they don’t tolerate those who choose to accept Scripture. We should not be surprised by this…Jesus told us that we would be hated just as He was hated.

Don’t misunderstand, I’m all for advancing revelation. I’m thankful that the church has moved off of some of the legalistic jargon that was so prevalent just a few short years ago. With that said, I’m concerned that we have abandoned true scriptural admonitions for the sake of convenience and popularity. For instance…it may be more popular to live together without the benefit of marriage, but does that fit with Scripture? It may sound cooler to use language that is suggestive, or crude…but how does that fit with not allowing blessing and cursing to come out of the same mouth?

To turn the tide, holiness must be reintroduced to America. However, I’m not sure that can be done by a group of Christians talking about it. While I’m certainly not opposed to Christians speaking out about their beliefs, I’m just not sure that anyone is listening. And, simply showering unbelievers with love is not going to address the issue of turning away from sinful lifestyles. Nor, am I interested in reintroducing legalistic “lists” that are impossible to maintain. I’m not much of a finger-pointer either. So, what is the church to do? Where do we even start?

It dawns on me that the most effective thing we can do is PRAY. I don’t mean just little “Lay me down to sleep” prayers. I’m talking about intense, directed prayer that specifically targets the sin of our nation. I’m talking about prayer that urges God to change the hearts of our nation…whatever the cost. I’m talking about asking God to change the hearts and logic of our government officials. What would happen if God allowed difficulty to come to the lives of our leaders with the express purpose of changing their hearts? God certainly has used that approach before…just check Biblical history.

I’m reminded of an old song that we used to sing…

It is no secret what God can do.
What He’s done for others,
He’ll do for you.
With arms wide open,
He’ll pardon you.
It is no secret what God can do!

When I was a teenager, I remember my mother praying that God would put me under such conviction for my sinful actions that I would not be able to sleep at night. She prayed that I would become physically ill if I was drinking for the purpose of getting drunk. She didn’t play games with my sin. She understood that hardship would cause me to turn to God. She knew that my soul was hanging in the balance. I know that many would not agree with that particular approach to prayer. But, what other options do we have? The world will not listen to “Christian” reasoning, and even if they listened they could not understand because they are not in covenant with God and His Word.

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

As I think about all that prayer has accomplished throughout history, I am convinced that it is capable of turning the tide. There is no shortage of power. Let there be no shortage of PRAYER!