“All men are like grass, and all their glory like the flowers of the field. The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”                                                                                                                                                               Isaiah 40: 6, 8

A couple of days ago I was walking our dog, Mr. Hollywood, and enjoying the scenery. The grass was turning a rich green, purple violets were springing up all around, and forsythia bushes burst forth with bright yellow blossoms, while trees all over the neighborhood were decked in pink and white. Our own front yard had over a hundred jonquils opening to greet us and herald the spring. I smiled to think that one of my favorite times of the year had arrived, with all its colors and fragrances.

The next day, however, a blanket of white had buried it all. This would have been a beautiful sight a few months ago, as it was one of those snowfalls that coated every twig on every tree and reminded one of the tranquil scenes on a Christmas card. But beneath that beauty I knew lay a smothered spring. Flowers crushed beneath the weight of a heavy snow would probably have to wait until next year to display their colors again. Even sadder were the trees whose blossoms had opened too early, catching the weight of every flake. Now twigs, branches, and whole limbs lay strewn across lawns and sidewalks, their blossoms wilted, frost-bitten, and shattered. The branches that somehow hung onto the trees will likely bloom again next year, but those on the ground would soon be collected and burned.

Of course, if spring had progressed as it usually does, sooner or later the flowers and blossoms would have wilted and shattered, anyway. That wouldn’t have surprised me, although it always brings with it a kind of wistful awareness of the passing of time. But yesterday was a freakish blast from a winter that seemingly refused to be forgotten or dismissed, leaving a wake of destruction.

So sudden. So sad. But I had to ponder the times when life itself is like that, and the tragedy of having a sudden storm destroy the beautiful, shatter dreams, and crush the innocent. Although many of us will live to be a ripe old age, there are no guarantees. We can take care of our health the best we can, but ultimately our control is limited.

I was walking to the gym with my husband, who is not fond of working out and only participates because he’d like to stay healthy and live a little longer. As we stepped carefully over the ice and slush on the sidewalk, he grumbled, “This had better be good for me, that’s all  can say. If I end up getting hit by a truck, I’m gonna be [angry].”

But that is a possibility, isn’t it? As the bumper sticker says, “Eat right. Exercise regularly. Die anyway.” The question isn’t, Will it happen? but How and when? It could be like a regular spring, our youth and beauty fading with each passing year until we are hardly recognizable. (I’m not at all sure that’s preferable.) Or it could end suddenly, like the storm that destroyed the beauty of spring in a single night.

The all-important question is, Are we ready? The disadvantage of a sudden, unannounced death is that if preparation hasn’t been made, there is no time to prepare when the heart attack, the fire, or the accident occurs. On the other hand, the disadvantage of a slow demise is the tendency to take tomorrow for granted, because there have been so many “tomorrows.” So when the end comes, it could still take us by surprise, and we could still be found woefully unprepared.

The crucial thing to realize is that while death comes to us all, there are two very different destinies that we need to be thinking about now.

As the cleanup from the storm takes place, the branches that didn’t stay connected to the trees will be burned, but the branches that held on will live and bloom again next year. In the same way, whether or not we’re hanging onto Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life, is what will determine how we will spend eternity – whether seated with Christ as His Bride “beautifully dressed for her husband,” (Revelation 21: 2) or in “the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 13: 42) Jesus said, “If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire, and burned.” (John 15: 6)

Whether you are looking forward to the springtime of life and anticipating a bright future, or enjoying the prime of life now, or picking up the pieces after the storm and wondering if you have a future, the key to eternal life is the same for us all:

   Abide in Jesus.

 

Prayer: Father, in spite of Your many wake-up calls, we can still be so oblivious to eternity as we live our daily lives in the present. Open our eyes to the everlasting consequences of our choices, even our little moment-by-moment decisions, and help us in everything to abide in You. Lord, as we reach for You, take our hands and walk us through this life, and on into the next. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

 

 

 

“[C]hoose for yourselves this day whom you will serve … but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”     Joshua 24: 15

Emotions are a mixed blessing. Sometimes they are wonderful, pleasant, thrilling, exhilarating. Other times they make us miserable, anxious, terrified, grief-stricken, or enraged. But one thing is certain: Life would be very boring without them.

What part should emotions play in our lives as Christians? It’s certainly wonderful to feel God’s presence, His joy, His peace. But what about when we don’t? What about when our prayers seem to hit the ceiling, when darkness seems to be swallowing up the light, when we ask God for a sign and see nothing? What about when we are plagued with guilt and feel certain that God is angry with us and that we are alienated from Him with no way back?

Choices: There are times when our emotions and our minds tell us different things. For example, if you have ever seen a scary movie, you can remember feelings of terror, even though you know in your mind that you are seated safely in a theater or in your own living room. You have a choice to make: You can believe your emotions and run screaming from the room, or you can keep watching through the suspenseful part to see what happens.  You may be clutching your spouse or a sofa pillow, but deep down you know that ultimately you are probably safe.

The same can apply when the world, the flesh, or the devil messes with our emotions. We can choose to worry, or to trust that “my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19) When hurt or offended, we can choose to try to even the score ourselves, or to give it to God, knowing that He has said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay.” (Romans 12:19) When bitterly disappointed, we can choose to wallow in self-pity, or to trust God enough to thank Him for promising that “weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5) When guilty, we can sink into depression and self-loathing, or we can take responsibility, apologize to God and to the appropriate people, and trust that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9) And we can choose to make it right as best we can and go on, even if the feelings are still threatening to keep us mired in the mud.

Is any of this easy? NO! But it is a choice, a choice that no one else can make. And choosing God’s truth, even when emotions make it seem counterintuitive, eventually does affect the emotions. (I have found that it helps to speak God’s promises out loud, so that I hear myself saying them. It also helps to share them with another person, especially someone who will pray with and for me.) Eventually it will get easier – maybe not easy, but easier. In the meantime, hang onto Jesus, like “some of us” hang onto that husband or sofa pillow. Choose God’s perspective, obey what He has told you, and don’t let your emotions boss you around!

Prayer: Lord, we thank You for emotions that confirm the Truth, but we also acknowledge that Your Truth stands alone and needs no confirmation from us! Thank You for the emotions that motivate us to do what’s right, but also for the power to choose to do what’s right, even when we don’t feel like it! Thank You, Lord, that when emotions lie to us, they don’t get to define us, or to dictate what we say, do, focus on, or believe. YOU are King, not our emotions, and we willfully, purposefully delight ourselves in You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

 

 

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”            John 10:10

Researchers recently conducted a study to evaluate the different decades of life. According to their interviews, the happiest decade is the 60’s.  (One of my friends said, “Yeah, the 60’s definitely had the best music.” – No, the researchers were talking about age.) The second happiest decade of life turned out to be the 70’s. So a lot of us have some good years to look forward to.

I suspect these results came as a surprise to more than a few people – younger people, that is. I know when I was a teenager and in my twenties, my picture of someone 65 years old involved slow movement, aches and pains, and needing bifocals, hearing aids, and a cane. … OK, that may sometimes be the case, but there’s much more than that to life in one’s 60’s. My perspective on this season of life has changed significantly for several reasons, the biggest one being: I am about to turn 65.

We attend a church in Louisville where the vast majority of members are under 40. It seems half the women there are carrying babies, and the other half are pregnant. Many of the young men are seminary students with a passion to serve God. It’s a young, energetic church, and I love it, but I am definitely in the oldest 5% of the congregation.

The church we attend in Florida has a very different demographic. There are a huge number of retired people here, and that combined with the fact that it’s just a huge church in general, creates a cornucopia of opportunities for people my age. Here on “vacation” I am busier than I am back in Louisville. There are Bible studies or prayer meetings nearly every day of the week, special events for missionaries to share what God is doing all over the world, “hymn-sings,” outreaches, and just times of good fellowship in the coffee shop or book store. These people have amazing stories to tell. They are taking missionary trips all over the world, rescuing people from human traffickers, discipling younger Christians, teaching (and doing) spiritual warfare, engaging the world with the hope-filled message of the Gospel, and seeing miracles in the form of changed lives.

These people are not what I would have pictured forty years ago, and neither am I. Back then I had a grim picture of my future self hobbling into church, singing the hymns in a shaky voice, falling asleep during the sermon, and driving my antique car back home to feed my cat and take another nap. (The Beatles’ song “When I’m 64” was no help.)

But now it’s not hard to find inspiration from people God has used in the latter half of life. The most obvious “Exhibit A” in the Bible is Moses, whose ministry began when he was 80, and there are other examples that I won’t go into now. In more recent history one can read of massive revivals that began when two elderly people joined at a kitchen table to pray for their nation. Fast forward to the 21st century, where TV, radio, and the Internet make it possible to send a message to millions at a time. Most of the great preachers and Bible teachers I have listened to on the radio make mention of their grandchildren, so I know these aren’t twenty-something guys just out of seminary. I recently heard of a woman in her 80’s who has been sharing the gospel with a million Muslims in Pakistan. (Glory!) And we have just said goodbye to a giant of the faith, Billy Graham, who, having impacted the world immeasurably, passed into eternity at the age of 99.

So, people my age could conceivably have another 35 years to serve God. That being the case, I do not want to spend those years warming a pew on Sunday mornings and spending the rest of the week watching TV.

Yesterday as our ladies’ Bible study was wrapping up, I heard there was a prayer meeting starting in another room. I walked in to find a group of women my age gathered around a small table. They welcomed me warmly, and we spent the next two hours partnering with God to change the world, one prayer request at a time.

I have come to see people over 60 as an often overlooked resource in the Church. We are not over-the-hill has-beens! We are people who are finished with the 9-to-5 jobs, who are finished raising our children, and who now have the time to serve the Lord with all of our passion and energy – and we have plenty of both. We are ready to answer whatever call God may have on our lives. If we can get past the image that the world and the AARP have created (a smokescreen of the devil, I’m convinced), we are a force to be reckoned with. As I was reminded yesterday, God is raising up an army in these latter days, and I for one want to be a part of it.

Prayer: Lord, every moment of life comes from You, and we are each here for a purpose. Help me to recognize Your calling on my life and yield to Your plan, seizing every opportunity to make an eternal impact on my world; make me a glove on Your hand. Do Your will in and through me, in Jesus name and in the power of His blood. Amen

 

 

 

 

Then the angel said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited

to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’”   Revelation 19:9

 

Well, it’s official: White Castle is taking reservations for Valentine’s Day.

I did a double-take as I passed the billboard, trying to imagine who would consider a meal at that establishment a romantic thing to do on Valentine’s Day. With all due respect to those who love and crave “sliders,” frankly the two thoughts “White Castle” and “romance” had never crossed my mind at the same time.

What do you picture when you think of a romantic dinner – white  linen tablecloth? Candlelight? Crystal, silver, and fine china? Soft music? I had to laugh, thinking of a couple sitting in hard plastic chairs, eating fries, and the girl trying hard to pretend she thought this was remotely elegant. (Am I just showing my age here?)

But then I thought of God’s perspective. (I was on my way to church, after all.) Jesus told us that our eyes haven’t seen, our ears haven’t heard, nor could we even imagine what He had prepared for those who love Him. (I Corinthians 2:9) That means, compared with the feast that awaits us in heaven, that candlelight dinner with all the luxuries attached is more like digging in a dumpster. And yet that “high-class” type of lifestyle is what so many people run after all their lives.

I’ve been there. I was raised in a country club culture from the time I was much too young to understand or appreciate what I was being given on a daily basis. And yet my first taste of what it was like to be a child of God – forgiven, saved, filled with His Spirit – awakened in me such a craving for more that I knew no private club, no amount of possessions or membership in a worldly “inner circle” could satisfy.

So, while I smirk and roll my eyes at the thought of a Valentine’s Day dinner at White Castle, I should be equally amused – or grieved – that so much of the world is “settling,” having no idea that “Better is one day in your [God’s] courts than a thousand elsewhere.” (Psalm 84:10)

 

Prayer: Jesus, our Beloved, our heavenly Bridegroom, help us to have our eyes and hearts fixed on You. Help us not to be distracted by the glitter of worldly things that will fade and decay, when You have promised so much more to those who love You. Let us live in eager anticipation of that day we are are joined with You forever, and the Wedding Feast has begun. In Your precious Name, Amen.

 

       Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”  John 20:27

When I was diagnosed with arthritis in my hands, I was devastated. I was still in my forties and was in no way prepared for dealing with what I considered an “old person’s disease.” Besides, I played both piano and guitar, and music was a huge part of my ministry. Losing the use of my fingers was unthinkable. Whatever else I was doing and thinking about, for months after that first diagnosis there was a steady undercurrent of fear, as the thought of my deteriorating hands never fully left my mind.

I was lying awake one night, and as I often did in those days, I was “checking” my hands – opening and closing them to see which fingers were stiff and whether I could still make a tight fist. I began to pray, reminding the Lord (as if He needed reminding of anything) of what I needed those hands for – how I played guitar and sang for the cancer patients in the hospital and the residents in the nursing home, how I often led little children in singing songs about Jesus, and how I occasionally sang an offertory at church accompanying myself on the guitar or piano. I reminded Him of the weddings I often sang for, and how I used songs as a springboard to tell people about Him. Suddenly in the middle of my whiny spiritual resume, the thought of God’s sovereignty crashed my pity party. It settled in my mind in the form of two statements:

1. 1. If God wants to use my hands, He’ll fix them.
   2. If He doesn’t want or need to use them, then IT DOESN’T MATTER.”

I thought about that for a moment- IT DOESN’T MATTER! As the stress began to drain from my body, I found myself laughing. Of course! God hasn’t fallen off His throne. Silly me. And I drifted off to sleep.

It has been nearly twenty years since that night, and I am still playing guitar and piano, and I’ve added Celtic harp to my skills. I still love to sing. Needless to say, my fingers still work, with some help from a physical therapist and the stretches and exercises he gave me to do twice a day.

My hands work well enough, but if I’m not careful, I can get sidetracked by the dull joint pain, or by looking at the knobby knuckles and the finger brace I wear on one finger that small children invariably ask, “What’s that?” If I let myself, I can start thinking how pretty my hands used to be and restart the pity party that nobody wants to go to, including me.

At those times I remember the day Jesus reminded me of His hands. These were the hands that created the universe – that created me. As a carpenter Jesus probably had hands that were rough and calloused. And yet these were the hands that healed the sick with a single touch, that took the children in His arms and showed them the Father’s love. And these were the hands that were brutally nailed to a cross to pay for my sins.

Of course, Jesus is no longer on earth in a mortal body. He is in His resurrected, glorified body. He appeared to His disciples in that glorified body, but something remained from His mortal body that caused them to recognize and believe in Him: His hands still bore the nail holes that showed the depth of His love for them – for all of us.
From the world’s perspective, my hands aren’t the gorgeous specimens today’s women would like to have. But I have to ask myself, So what? From an eternal perspective, I think I’m in good Company.

       Prayer: Jesus, thank You for Your incredible love for us. As we think of the nails in Your hands and feet, the thorns on Your head, the spear in Your side, the scourge on Your back – as we consider the betrayal, the denial, the mocking – may we never, ever take for granted what You have done for us, and may that unfathomable love silence every trivial complaint that tries to enter our minds and hearts, in Your precious Name. Amen.

 

“You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.”  Matthew 23:24

In striving to live the kind of life God wants us to have, it seems there are two dangers:
One of them is legalism. Some denominations – and some personality types – like to have a list of  “rules” to follow. In seeking the divine life, they draw boundaries where God didn’t necessarily place them. Then, whether or not they’re having a “good day” is determined by their success in keeping within those boundaries, doing all the rituals, and not crossing the predetermined lines. If they’ve had a “good day,” the danger is being self-righteous and judgmental toward people around them who haven’t complied with their standards. If they’ve had what they consider a “bad day,” (Maybe their morning rituals were interrupted and they never got back to them.) they might spend the rest of the day listening to “the accuser” and beating themselves up.  This state of mind doesn’t leave God much to work with as far as telling others about His grace.

There’s nothing wrong with avoiding sin and wanting to do good, – we should! – but the obsessive person can fall into the trap of adding to God’s rules, as the Pharisees did in Jesus’ time. If we have that kind of personality and aren’t careful, even our daily devotions can have a certain routine that we follow either with a sense of compulsion or with our minds and hearts “on automatic.” (You can possibly recall a prayer you learned as a child that you can still rattle off without a thought about what it says.) If we’re set enough in the routine, we could even end up living a type of Christian superstition. (“A chapter a day keeps the devil away.”)

The other danger is getting into the opposite extreme: “cheap grace,” a. k. a. “sloppy agape.” Since Jesus died to save us from our sins, and since His death makes forgiveness possible, is sin really that big a deal? God knows I’m not perfect. He’ll forgive me. Since routine devotions can become an obsession and just going through the motions, maybe I shouldn’t have a daily quiet time at all. Devotions are so “religious.”

First of all, if we know that Someone loved us enough to die for us, how could we say we love Him and then have such a cavalier attitude toward the sin that breaks His heart? Knowing how much Jesus did for us, we should cringe at the very thought of grieving Him.

As for devotions, God doesn’t need rituals structured in exactly the same way every day. Still, regularly practicing certain ways of connecting with the Lord – reading Scripture (His love letter to us), adoration, worship, intercession – gives us a chance to connect with God in ways that we need. Repetition of certain vital prayers, such as asking for wisdom, is a way of following Jesus’ admonition to pray “Give us this day our daily bread.” It is a consistent and much-needed reminder to us of our constant  dependency upon Him. (On Him, not on our recitations!)

You might be asking yourself, Am I being consistent or in a rut? Am I being spontaneous or careless? You might find yourself fluctuating between obsession and apathy, along with the accompanying self-righteousness and guilt. I know I’ve been through all of the above.

I had a bit of a revelation a couple of years ago, after debating whether or not making a “New Year’s resolution” was something a Christian should even do.

January 1, 2016
My goal for this year is finding balance between sloppy and obsessive (regarding health, work, relationships, etc.). The biggie is in the spiritual area, finding the balance between “cheap grace” and legalism.
This morning I woke up early, inspired to WRITE!
“Cheap grace” would have said, “I’m tired, I’m going back to sleep. God understands. I’ll get to it later.” (I usually don’t.)
Legalism would have said, “Get up and write, but not until after you’ve had your regular devotions, prayed, read the Bible, put on your spiritual armor, etc.”
I did neither of those, but got up and immediately wrote what I believe God was inspiring me to write, and I’m glad I did.
Today’s lesson: there’s more than one kind of devotion, and God didn’t fall off His throne just because today was more spontaneous. I don’t necessarily have to start with 15 minutes of “putting on my spiritual armor.” (Especially when I don’t remember taking it off.)

I think I found the balance for that day, but since every day is different, I make no assumptions about any other day.

PRAYER: Lord, I acknowledge my utter dependency upon You, and I acknowledge that You are utterly dependable. Thank You for Your grace. May I never take You for granted, either by neglecting to connect with You, or by turning devotion into a routine chore. Help me to renew my love – my passion – for You every day, in Jesus’ name. Amen

“Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”                                                                                                           (I Samuel 16:7b)

Ladies, have you ever been barely out of bed and had a man come into your bedroom accompanied by twenty-five children? That’s what happened to me the other day,  in a Twenty-first Century sort of way…
I had been up for a while and done a few things, but those did not yet include washing my face, putting on makeup, combing my hair, or getting dressed. At that hour of the morning I looked like something that had crawled out from under a rock, but who cared? Nobody was coming over, and Marty was working in the basement.
The ringer of my cell phone was still turned off, but I heard a vibration and looked to see who it was. I was a little surprised to see the name of Joseph Nsereko, a man in Uganda who runs an orphanage I support. How did he get my number? I wondered.
I wasn’t going to answer it. Part of me thought, I haven’t prayed yet this morning, and I don’t want to get sidetracked already. But another small voice said, Hey, how often do you get to talk to someone in Uganda? The second voice won out, and I answered it, holding the phone up to my ear.
“Hello?” I said.
“Miss Annie!” Came a cheerful voice with a delightful African accent. I could hear the voices of little children in the background. Aww… I thought. How precious! This is going to be fun…
“Miss Annie, we can’t see you!”
Can’t see me? I thought, confused. Without thinking, I looked at the phone and realized (a split second too late to do anything about it) this was a video chat!
I saw two things on the screen – a smiling African man surrounded by adorable children in the sunshine of a Ugandan afternoon. And I saw another, smaller image in the corner – the face of a disheveled woman, hair a mess, no makeup, Dollar Store glasses perched on her nose.
Several things went through my mind at that moment. The first was how mortified I was. The second was the thought, I hope I’m not scaring any of these children! At the same time I was remembering that I had recently asked the Lord to deal with my vanity. OK, I guess He’s doing that… Dang.
The children didn’t seem frightened, so that was good. Some of them looked a little amused, but oh well. Joseph said “We have been having so much fun with the balls you sent. The children have been playing all day.” Sure enough, a couple of the kids were holding up the soccer balls I had sent, all smiles. I smiled too.
After a few minutes of conversation Joseph said, “We are going to pray now.” OK, I thought, and waited for him to say something. After an awkward pause, I asked, “Are you going to pray, or would you like me to?” As no one was saying anything, I went ahead and prayed for all the children’s needs to be met, and that they would keep having fun playing soccer – enjoying exercise, fresh air, and fun, and learning teamwork and sportsmanship. Joseph thanked me again, and as we said goodbye, he said “We love you!” and I’m sure I heard some smaller voices echoing, “WE LOVE YOU!”
I hung up and sighed. Oh well, I thought as I looked in the mirror and cringed. Thanks, God, You are dealing with my vanity. – Then I quickly “did my face,” brushed my hair, and changed from my ratty pajamas into something nicer. I checked the mirror and thought, Now I look almost human. (I guess He’s still got some work to do.)

Our culture puts so much emphasis on what a person looks like, and the advent of social media and the “selfie” has only made things worse. People, even Christians, can get caught up in the How-do-I-look? mindset, and I’m as guilty as anyone.
But God, Who created our bodies and everything good in them, doesn’t see appearances as the key issue. Most of us are familiar with the words God spoke to Samuel when he had come to anoint the future King of Israel. Now as it turned out, David, a “man after God’s own heart,” happened to be extremely good-looking, too, but if anything, his looks added to his trouble down the road, as he achieved the ancient version of rock-star status.
In contrast, Jesus had this said about Him by the prophet Isaiah:

“He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.” (Isaiah 53: 2b)

As a First Century Jewish Carpenter, the Lord was apparently a pretty ordinary-looking Man. (Looks can be deceiving!)

It’s now a few days after my early morning surprise video call. My vanity hasn’t been entirely cured. I still wear makeup. – In fact I now make a point of putting it on earlier in the day than I was doing before! But something has blessed me that took a day or two to sink in, and that’s the last thing those dear people said to me: “Good-bye, Miss Annie! We love you!”
They love me!
… They LOVE me! They don’t care that they saw a face they could fertilize their garden with. They just knew, here was a lady in America who cared about them and sent them some soccer balls so they could have some fun.
These kids don’t have tablets or smart phones or video games. If and when there’s food and it’s time to eat, they wave their bowls in the air and cheer, as though someone just scored the winning touchdown. There’s a sweetness and innocence that’s sadly rare in our culture. In them I see the face of God, and through the clamor of the looks-oriented culture of our day, I hear His voice:
It doesn’t matter. I love you.

Prayer: Father, help us to spend less time looking in the mirror, getting the world’s perspective, and more time looking into Your Word, getting Your perspective. We know from Your Word that You love us, as unlovely as we can be. Cleanse us on the inside. Make us beautiful to You, in Jesus’ name. Amen

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your reasonable act of worship.”                                                                                                    Romans 12:1

God’s Word says to surrender ourselves to Him, and most of us know that if we are to live in the will of God, surrender is necessary. So why is it so hard to do? Does our concept of surrender come from watching movies and TV shows about war and crime-fighting? Is there another way to look at surrender – God’s way? I wrote about this in my book BARRIERS (So, if prayers are so powerful, how come mine don’t get answered?):

“Some of us have a problem with the word ‘surrender.’ The reason is probably that we’re thinking of the kind of surrender that happens on the battlefield, where a beaten, bloody, half-dead soldier has no choice but to give himself up to his enemy. But that is only one kind of surrender.
“Would it help instead to think of the surrender that a bride gives her bridegroom on her wedding night? Depending on one’s attitude, surrender can be an indescribably joyous act of the will, and the peace it brings is beyond anything the world or its treasures have to offer.”          (BARRIERS, Chapter Fifteen)

 

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, help us to see You as our loving Bridegroom, Who deserves all that we have, and so much more. Let us daily offer ourselves to You as living sacrifices, in joyful self-abandon. We want to be one with You and Your purposes,  in Your precious name.  Amen

 

 

 

 

 

 

“What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”  James 14b (NIV)

“Forever” is a word we have heard all our lives, and if you’re like me, you have a vague idea of its meaning “a long, long, LONG time.” It makes sense that since “forever” is much, much longer than this life, we should be more focused on things that matter eternally and less focused on temporary things.

But are we? It seems as we hit the ground running each morning, those “temporary things” gobble up our time for “just a minute,” an hour here, a half hour there, interruptions, interruptions to the interruptions, and before we know it the day is over – perhaps with numerous regrets – and we realize that we haven’t even taken the time to connect with God. If we had – and if we had done it early on – perhaps we would have had His perspective on our day. Who knows in how many ways that day may have turned out differently?

Although the concept of eternity is beyond our comprehension in this life, I want to share with you one way in which I caught a glimpse of it – probably as closely as I will ever come to grasping it without having my head explode.

I was on my way to church to teach a Sunday school class on my book BARRIERS. It was the Sunday we were examining the barrier of wrong priorities. Before I left the house I had a sudden inspiration. I grabbed a jar, and on the way to church I stopped at the public beach and scooped up some sand.

When I entered the classroom, I set the jar on the podium as people filed in. As we were discussing the things we tend to pay attention to and fill our time with and obsess about, I took a single grain of sand out of the jar. I held it up on the tip of my finger, although I was sure most of the people couldn’t see it. We talked about how small that grain of sand was, compared with all the sand in the jar. Then we considered how much smaller it was when compared with the sand on the beach where I had picked it up.

“Now,” I continued, “imagine this grain of sand compared with the sum total of all the sand in the world – beaches, sand dunes, Sahara Desert, bottom of the ocean…” I paused, as we all took in the mind-boggling concept. “And yet, this grain of sand, compared with all the sand on the planet, is still more than the sum of our lives compared with eternity.” I let the thought sink in a moment.

“Now, what was it you were worrying about?”  A few chuckles rippled through the class.

PRAYER: Father, let 2018 be the year we gain Your perspective. Help us to keep our minds set on what You desire from us and to live our lives in the light of eternity, in Jesus’ Name.

 

 

 

    “Now we see but a poor reflection…” (I Corinthians 13:12a)

We can get in trouble relying on our own flawed perspective. In Scripture we are told “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2) When we learn to think the way God does rather than the way the world thinks, we will be transformed.
Welcome to “Seeking God’s Perspective.” Enjoy the journey.