Psalm 91:14-15"Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.
If you are an avid soap opera viewer, or if you have ever watched a soap opera; you've seen more than a few cliff hangers. A person, usually a woman is left, due to some odd circumstance, hanging by a finger from a cliff, the side of a building, or even sometimes a moving car or semi truck. It looks impossible for the victim to survive. They seem destined to die an ugly, tragic death. But stay tuned....For the purpose of a soap opera, the cliff hangers always happen on Fridays, when you're on the edge of your seat, (refusing to miss the moment of the character's demise). Rest assured the music will play, and the credits will roll...out of time...sorry but you have to wait.
Monday, here comes the hero, who risks his own life, just in time to throw a life line to the desperate victim. And right when they've slipped from hanging from their finger to hanging from their finger nail; the hero grabs them by their finger nail (or a piece of their very high quality weave) and pulls them to safety, saving the day!In the case of soap operas, cliff hangers keep soap fanatics watching and excited.
In life, cliff hangers keep us praying and depending....depending on God. Cliff hangers often come when God allows our perfectly manufactured agendas to be shaken up to the point that we are in situations that were just not part of our plans. We are left hanging. Sometimes we may even feel that God has left us hanging and we are destined to fall.Life’s cliff hangers come when we have written the script to our perfectly planned out episodes, and realize our planned and memorized script has been replaced with unfamiliar lines. We are suddenly caught off guard, and unsure what to do. Stay tuned… and look to God. He is the director and producer of your life. He knows the next scene, and just the time to catch you before you fall.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Brand New
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (NKJV)
Sitting in church one Sunday. I was seated behind a family. As I was waiting, I was blessed to observe them. The family consisted of 4 generations. An about 4 year old little boy, his mother, his grandmother and his great-grandmother. The ladies were at different stages in their lives and had no doubt seen their share of “experiences”. The little boy was “new”; any experiences or trials that had come his way had been intercepted and handled by his parents. His parents sheltered him, therefore he remained “new.”
As children often are, the little boy was the center of focus for all the adults. He commanded their attention. Great-grandmother just stared at him, seemingly in awe. Her characteristics and her expressions told the story that she had seen and endured a little more than them all. Her demeanor was somewhat fatigued. She looked at the little boy seemingly remembering a time of more energy. Grandma allowed him to keep her busy, with that “grandma” look on her face. ..the look that says “this is the smartest and most beautiful child on the face of the earth.” Mama reeled him in when grandma allowed him to get too out of hand.
Eventually the service started and the little boy was too restless to sit still. Grandma reached in her purse and pulled out a tiny Bible and said to him, “here this is yours, you take care of it.” It was meant to occupy and quiet him. Instead of quieting down, he began jumping up and down saying, “this is my Bible, all mine!” He repeated this phrase with excitement. “this is my Bible, all mine!” He turned to my husband and I and showed it to us; “this is my Bible, all mine!” The grin on his face was irreplaceable. The excitement in his spirit could not be concealed. He was brand new.He was excited about this special gift. He wanted to tell others about this special gift. It was his. He was brand new.
I remind myself what it was like to be brand new. ..to have something so precious, so exciting I could not keep it to myself. I wanted to be brand new again. Experiences come our way and we allow them to beat us to a tired, fatigued demeanor. We sometimes forget that contained in the Word, that precious gift, is the story of how HIS blood washes us clean and makes us “brand new”. He is available to intercept our issues and handle them. He will shelter us from storms that wipe away our energy. If we allow him to….we too can be “brand new.”I picked up my Bible, renewed my commitment to read it with excitement, as if for the first time. I realized, it was my Bible, and it’s promises were “all mine”. When I treat the Word as if I am a “brand new” creation as it says I am….I can’t conceal my excitement, I have to tell as many as possible that they too can be “brand new.”
Sitting in church one Sunday. I was seated behind a family. As I was waiting, I was blessed to observe them. The family consisted of 4 generations. An about 4 year old little boy, his mother, his grandmother and his great-grandmother. The ladies were at different stages in their lives and had no doubt seen their share of “experiences”. The little boy was “new”; any experiences or trials that had come his way had been intercepted and handled by his parents. His parents sheltered him, therefore he remained “new.”
As children often are, the little boy was the center of focus for all the adults. He commanded their attention. Great-grandmother just stared at him, seemingly in awe. Her characteristics and her expressions told the story that she had seen and endured a little more than them all. Her demeanor was somewhat fatigued. She looked at the little boy seemingly remembering a time of more energy. Grandma allowed him to keep her busy, with that “grandma” look on her face. ..the look that says “this is the smartest and most beautiful child on the face of the earth.” Mama reeled him in when grandma allowed him to get too out of hand.
Eventually the service started and the little boy was too restless to sit still. Grandma reached in her purse and pulled out a tiny Bible and said to him, “here this is yours, you take care of it.” It was meant to occupy and quiet him. Instead of quieting down, he began jumping up and down saying, “this is my Bible, all mine!” He repeated this phrase with excitement. “this is my Bible, all mine!” He turned to my husband and I and showed it to us; “this is my Bible, all mine!” The grin on his face was irreplaceable. The excitement in his spirit could not be concealed. He was brand new.He was excited about this special gift. He wanted to tell others about this special gift. It was his. He was brand new.
I remind myself what it was like to be brand new. ..to have something so precious, so exciting I could not keep it to myself. I wanted to be brand new again. Experiences come our way and we allow them to beat us to a tired, fatigued demeanor. We sometimes forget that contained in the Word, that precious gift, is the story of how HIS blood washes us clean and makes us “brand new”. He is available to intercept our issues and handle them. He will shelter us from storms that wipe away our energy. If we allow him to….we too can be “brand new.”I picked up my Bible, renewed my commitment to read it with excitement, as if for the first time. I realized, it was my Bible, and it’s promises were “all mine”. When I treat the Word as if I am a “brand new” creation as it says I am….I can’t conceal my excitement, I have to tell as many as possible that they too can be “brand new.”
Take a Knee
Ephesians 3:14-19 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.
My son has played football a total of four seasons. I am his biggest fan. However, I confess I know very little about the game. I struggle to know the basics. I know there is a lot of pushing, shoving and knocking down. I know Chandler plays offense and defense and he needs to block. The more he puts the opposing team on the ground, the louder we are to cheer for him.
I do find one part of football practice fascinating. In the middle of mass chaos and legal violence among boys(while grown men love every second of it), my husband or one of the other coaches yell “take a knee”. The violence and chaos ceases, helmets come off , peace visits, and the boys are all focused on their leaders. They have a drink of water, hear a word of guidance or direction about the plays they will run. But most importantly… they listen.
Life sometimes violently comes to push, shove and at times “knock our block off”(learned that phrase this season). We are often confused and wonder what’s going on.When this happens…take a knee (or two). Drop to your knees, talk to your leader, drink of the living water, and most importantly listen for direction. In football, violence and chaos are expected. In life, God didn’t promise us we would not experience struggle. We will. He did promise he would give us a place of peace. Do not give up; instead take a time out and humble yourself by taking a knee before the father and go to that place. There you will find direction from your life coach and be given your strategy how to push through and endure until you enter the endzone.
My son has played football a total of four seasons. I am his biggest fan. However, I confess I know very little about the game. I struggle to know the basics. I know there is a lot of pushing, shoving and knocking down. I know Chandler plays offense and defense and he needs to block. The more he puts the opposing team on the ground, the louder we are to cheer for him.
I do find one part of football practice fascinating. In the middle of mass chaos and legal violence among boys(while grown men love every second of it), my husband or one of the other coaches yell “take a knee”. The violence and chaos ceases, helmets come off , peace visits, and the boys are all focused on their leaders. They have a drink of water, hear a word of guidance or direction about the plays they will run. But most importantly… they listen.
Life sometimes violently comes to push, shove and at times “knock our block off”(learned that phrase this season). We are often confused and wonder what’s going on.When this happens…take a knee (or two). Drop to your knees, talk to your leader, drink of the living water, and most importantly listen for direction. In football, violence and chaos are expected. In life, God didn’t promise us we would not experience struggle. We will. He did promise he would give us a place of peace. Do not give up; instead take a time out and humble yourself by taking a knee before the father and go to that place. There you will find direction from your life coach and be given your strategy how to push through and endure until you enter the endzone.
Walking Through the Storm
Matthew 8:24-27And behold, there arose a shaking great storm on the sea,And they came to Him and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!”He said to them, “Why are you cowardly afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and a great calm occurred it became perfectly calm. The men were amazed, and said, “What kind of a man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”
I arose one Sunday morning to a magnificent storm; complete with: hard, steady rain, an occasional bolt of lightning, and rumbling thunder. It appeared the storm would last for awhile. Like each Saturday night I had made preparations to be in church the next morning. It would have been easier to have slept in. It was just that kind of storm, the kind that says take shelter and avoid at all costs, hide from it, stay in and pray that it will pass, but by all means don't face it.
Even though, I had committed, I wrestled with myself several times about how tired we all were and that God would understand. All the while knowing the few times we had made the decision to skip church, our week had a sort of empty feeling. So, while wanting to crawl back into bed… I continued to prepare.We walked outside to a beautiful morning. The bully of a storm that had taunted us, telling us it was here to put limits on our day had ended much more quickly than we thought it would. We made a decision to walk through it to get to where we were going, rather than sitting still. The blessings of a word from God for us all, the familiar faces and love of fellow church members, and a renewed spirit to assist us in the upcoming week were waiting for us on the other side of the storm.
Our family's experience that morning came like the storms in life. The storms come quickly and threaten to limit our lives and shake up our plans. They are so fierce at times, our very lives feel threatened, and it seems they are here to stay. We want to hide, stay in the bed, and cower away from the storm. We have to keep walking. Our amazing God, doesn't tell us the storms won't come, but he promises He will be present during the storm. When He chooses, He'll step in and command the storm, "Peace, be still!" (Matthew 8:23-27) and put a halt to the storm that seems like it's here to stay.We have to keep walking and allow our spirit of power to kick in, and not lie down and allow the spirit of fear to consume us. (2 Timothy 1:7) Keep walking; it's the only way to get THROUGH the storm. God will always do His thing, and on the other side of the storm will be a blessing and a lesson.
Later the same day, as we were on our way to another destination; another storm popped up out of nowhere. This too mimics life. The storms may come one after another. We have to learn that storms will come…expect them. It doesn’t mean we look forward to them ; but learn to expect them. Many are in fierce storms right now. Keep walking; knowing that you don’t walk alone, and look forward to the blessing waiting on the other side.
I arose one Sunday morning to a magnificent storm; complete with: hard, steady rain, an occasional bolt of lightning, and rumbling thunder. It appeared the storm would last for awhile. Like each Saturday night I had made preparations to be in church the next morning. It would have been easier to have slept in. It was just that kind of storm, the kind that says take shelter and avoid at all costs, hide from it, stay in and pray that it will pass, but by all means don't face it.
Even though, I had committed, I wrestled with myself several times about how tired we all were and that God would understand. All the while knowing the few times we had made the decision to skip church, our week had a sort of empty feeling. So, while wanting to crawl back into bed… I continued to prepare.We walked outside to a beautiful morning. The bully of a storm that had taunted us, telling us it was here to put limits on our day had ended much more quickly than we thought it would. We made a decision to walk through it to get to where we were going, rather than sitting still. The blessings of a word from God for us all, the familiar faces and love of fellow church members, and a renewed spirit to assist us in the upcoming week were waiting for us on the other side of the storm.
Our family's experience that morning came like the storms in life. The storms come quickly and threaten to limit our lives and shake up our plans. They are so fierce at times, our very lives feel threatened, and it seems they are here to stay. We want to hide, stay in the bed, and cower away from the storm. We have to keep walking. Our amazing God, doesn't tell us the storms won't come, but he promises He will be present during the storm. When He chooses, He'll step in and command the storm, "Peace, be still!" (Matthew 8:23-27) and put a halt to the storm that seems like it's here to stay.We have to keep walking and allow our spirit of power to kick in, and not lie down and allow the spirit of fear to consume us. (2 Timothy 1:7) Keep walking; it's the only way to get THROUGH the storm. God will always do His thing, and on the other side of the storm will be a blessing and a lesson.
Later the same day, as we were on our way to another destination; another storm popped up out of nowhere. This too mimics life. The storms may come one after another. We have to learn that storms will come…expect them. It doesn’t mean we look forward to them ; but learn to expect them. Many are in fierce storms right now. Keep walking; knowing that you don’t walk alone, and look forward to the blessing waiting on the other side.
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