a JOY that can't be taken

"So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you." John 16:22

There are not many joys that last forever. Some joys are overtaken by the sorrows and sufferings of this world. Some joys become like ashes in our mouths when it is found that it was founded on untrue love and broken promises. Some joys are stolen by the grueling unstoppable hand of time.

There are not many joys that last forever.

Jesus promises a joy that no one can take away. A bliss that can't be blighted by the many sufferings of this world. An exuberance that no human being - whether it be a king or dictator, lover or enemy, friend or foe - can seize from you. A delight that time cannot diminish or dull.

What is this joy He is talking about?

John 16 is an amazing chapter. It's primarily all red - filled to the brim with the words of Jesus. He starts with a frank warning that dangerous murderous times are coming for His followers. His motives in speaking so plainly: "I have said all these things to keep you from falling away." (John 16:1) He speaks truly about the harsh realties coming for Himself (foreshadowing His being seized, arrested, and executed) and the sorrow His followers will feel at the loss of His physical, bodily presence. He counters those realities with a promise that these horrors are to our advantage because He will send a Helper.

The joy that Jesus references - this joy that no one will take away - is the joy of Jesus' resurrection.

Sorrows didn't define Him.
Suffering didn't defeat Him.
Death didn't destroy Him.

He said "I will see you again."  I will see you again after, after my earthly followers and spiritual brothers abandon me, after I am wrongfully tried and convicted, after I am mocked and mutilated, after I am crucified in agony - after, I will see you again. He foreshadowed that this seeing of Him resurrected, alive, glorified - will bring a rejoicing that is never-ending. "It is finished" He proclaimed from the cross. The question of unending joy has always been, "Do you see Him?" I plead with all of us to embrace the only joy that can't be taken; there is no joy like Jesus. xo

words are forever

I have been thinking about words the last couple days. As someone who enjoys reading and likes writing, words are to me what paints and clay are to an artist. Words can be such a comfort and offer joy to those between whom they are shared; words can be humorous or clever, fiery or calming.

But words for all their good, beauty, and versatility can also be used in devastating ways. Words said to us or about us that were cruel, vicious, unfair, maligning, disappointing - those words remain long after they've been spoken. On the other side, kind uplifting things said to us can be recalled to but often requires more effort to remember at least for me. Are you ever haunted by words said to you long ago? I can't imagine anyone saying no. Words are in very real sense forever. Proverbs 18:21 says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits." Whether written, spoken, and thought about - words have enormous importance.

John starts his gospel about Jesus this way... "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

It's amazing, incomprehensible even, to think of Jesus Christ not just as someone who communicated with words but who is the first and last, beginning and end Word.

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom..." Colossians 3:17

The Word of Christ can live and reside inside you.

"And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit..." 1 Thessalonians 1:6
The Word of Christ can be received or rejected, welcomed with joy or discarded with disdain.

"For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep." 1 Thessalonians 4:15

The Word of Christ gives authority to the things we say to each other.

"The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever." 1 Peter 1:25

The Word of Christ stands forever, it will never expire, tire, or fall.

What words are you using today? xo

Matthew 13 - The Parable of the Sower

top down problem

Last week I was looking out my office window to the parking lot below and there was a Volkswagen beetle that looked fine from every angle but the roof. The paint on the roof was badly damaged, maybe from prolonged exposure to some sort of corrosive tree sap or something. I don't know, I'm not sure, but it looked rusted and discolored while the rest of the body looked fine.


It made me think how we can be that way. We can give the appearance that we are doing the right thing and have it all together on the outside but all the while our "roof" aka our inner thoughts are a mess of anger, pride, fill in the blank with your vice. Appearances can be deceiving.


Jesus said in Matthew 23, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."


Seeing that car made me think how living a holy life is a top down problem. Our thoughts direct our words and ultimately our actions. We can't hope to act righteously when we starve our spirit giving it no Living Word to feed on but a 1000 other lesser things. 


We are fickle fallible mortals and we have to fight alot of things - genetics, hormones, past difficulties - and sometimes it's a tough fight and we can lose our way. I know there are times when I can look back on a part of the past and depending on my mood or mental state, the very same event can be a source of debilitating pain or proof of resiliency that sparks the strength to go on. It's the times of struggle when when we can't find hope or can't see the truth with our own eyes that we need most to see with His eyes. During His life on earth Jesus saw and experienced earthly sorrows but He also had the benefit of the eternal lens. I don't think we think about eternity enough especially in our society and culture of instant gratification. We are quickly fading flowers, here today and gone tomorrow. 


Jesus said, "For where your treasure is there your heart will be also." He doesn't mince words when it comes to telling us mortals that we are most often not honest with ourselves, much less honest with each other. However, there is one thing that will give away the real us every time: it's our heart. “Where our treasure is there our heart will be also.“ I find myself asking, "What am I treasuring?" xo

Fix it.

Sunday mornings are a bittersweet thing. One more day off from work for those with traditional job schedules but it's also only one more day off.

I was reading over my previous post this morning and I had a few typos and areas where my brain must have been working faster than my fingers because chunks of thought were missing. And with the push of two buttons I could fix it. I could correct the error and make it like it never happened.

But that's a fallacy of sorts. I corrected the error for the future but I didn't fix the past. Those who read the post prior to my corrections may have been confused by my errors and mistakes.

I used up the last of my carpet spot remover last night. As I was shaking the last drops out, it became obvious that I make/have a lot of messes in my life. One can of spot remover doesn't equate a lifetime supply for me.

When I think about my sinful attitudes, actions, and past - what spot remover can take away those black stains? Certainly nothing on the market. Knowledge and warning didn't prevent my wrongness either (law/commandments). So what can remove stains from the past and the present and tomorrow - because I will despite my best efforts spill in the future.

“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool." Isaiah 1:18

"He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world." 1 John 2:2

"For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified." Hebrews 10:4,11-14

The only ''fixer" is Jesus.

the WAY in the WILDERNESS

“Remember not the former things,

    nor consider the things of old.

Behold, I am doing a new thing;

    now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

I will make a way in the wilderness

    and rivers in the desert.

Isaiah 43:18-19

Feeling very much in the wilderness these last couple days at work. Back from the long Thanksgiving weekend and there has been nothing but conflict and tension swirling around me. I am trying not to let the external forces of other peoples drama disrupt my peace but it's a struggle I often lose. It's amazing how two days at work can feel like five. My little desk calendar had the offering of the above verse from Isaiah today and it was much needed.

There are times the word "wilderness" elicits exciting connotations - untamed, untouched by man, natural splendor, etc.. But the word "wilderness" can also imply a lonely, desolate place, full of predators.

A dear friend texted me a message quoting Proverbs 27:17 "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another." I mention that because I think we are all in wildernesses of some kind. We are all certainly sojourners, elect exiles while we live here on earth awaiting our being with Jesus in Paradise. It's crucial to have friendship founded on the mutual love of God and rooted in the joy of Jesus - who He is, what He's done, and the eternity of worship before us. The wilderness is real, but God has made the Way in the Wilderness through His only Son Jesus Christ. We elect exiles need to remind one another of this often so I say again, the wilderness is real, but God has made the Way in the Wilderness through His only Son Jesus Christ.

"Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone?" Ecclesiastes 4:11