Because of God, be brave

My desk calendar had this encouragement today “…believers are brave for their confidence comes from God alone”

That really struck me today because sometimes it seems like fear is all that is around us. “Will my loved ones catch COVID? Will my work furlough me?” “What will happen if there is surge of new cases?” “When will it be “safe” again?” “What happens when we run out of masks?” Those are our newer fears.

But there are of course the “old fears” – “Will I be single forever?” “What will happen if my parents get sick?” “What if the test results come back positive?”

Whether they are new fears or long held ones, examining our fears is important because only when they are known, can we take that self-identified frailty and lay it the feet of our strong Savior, who never grows weary and is never caught off guard.  

Isaiah 41:8-10 “But you, my servant, whom I have chosen, the spiritual offspring of Abraham, my friend; you whom I took from the ends of the earth and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off”; fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Come and have breakfast.

John 21:11-13
So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." None of the disciples dared ask him, "Who are you?" They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus had appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

I hope this Easter you find yourself having breakfast with the Lord. He is with us always and at every moment, but may we be conscious of that all the more today, as we celebrate His life, death, and Resurrection. How amazing it will be when we actually sit and eat with Him in Heaven! Even though distancing might be changing normal Easter plans, reflect on Him today. We thank You Jesus, honor You, and we love You. xo

Who do you say He is?

These last couple week have been filled with a lot of things many of never imagined would happen. Unprecedented events, great uncertainty, and inconsistent information has swirled since the Covid-19 Pandemic. Now the latest shelter in place orders from many state  governers have ramped up the anxiety meter at least for me. It's one thing to say stay-at-home it's another thing to order people to do so. 

Amid all the fear and anxiety the place where I have found comfort and courage during this time is in my faith in Jesus. I know some of you who read that might scoff and think to yourself oh no another Christian or shrug and say that's fine for you but I don't believe in religion

I totally get the scoffing. Likely you have encountered your share of "Christians" who judged without a speck of compassion, threw unloving unkind words at you or those you care about, left you to struggle in darkness as they placidly said they'd be praying for you. I get it. Believe me. If that's what Christians are like, no way you might think to yourself, would I want to be one. 

I get it. I really do. I've been the outcast. The misfit. And I want to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry for any Christian that failed to represent who Christ is to you. I'm sorry for the times I have failed to show you with my words, my actions, and my thoughts who Jesus is and the unfathomable depths of His Father's love. 

Christians are people and people mess up. Don't misunderstand, I'm not making excuses, I'm not saying the wrongs committed by Christians is ok. By no means. It's not ok. I'm just putting the all too factual reality of human fallibllty and frailty out there. Christians don't always get it right 100% of the time. But that doesn't mean Christ doesn't.

Sometimes the kindest most helpful people I have ever known weren't Christians at all. And sometimes the stingiest, most materialistic, harshest people were found at church. 

But Here is the Heart of the Issue: Who do you say Jesus is? Because at the end of it all (and all of us have an end which is still as 100% true today as it was before Covid-19) it's not about who they said or showed Jesus to be, it's about who you say Jesus is. I implore you, I plead with tears as I write these words, open The Gospels and read through what Jesus said and did. He asks each of us - Who do you say He is? Will you put your faith in Him? xo

Mark 8 — And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” And they told him, “John the Baptist; and others say, Elijah; and others, one of the prophets.” And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” 

Matthew 16 — When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.

the individual path

“Your life is a series of steps that create a path as individual as you are – and that’s just the way God planned it.”

No one’s journey is without pain, loss, and tears, just as no one’s journey is without joy, happiness, and laughter – our journey’s contain much of the same ingredients but they’re not added the same way. Individually we are all the same and yet all different. The bookends are the same for sure. Birth. Death. The middle, in-between the bookends, is all you and all me.

Our paths are as individual as we are.

Proverbs 16:9 “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps.”

The LORD commands us in his word not to covet, not to yearn to possess or have something belong to someone else. Think today about your unique individual path and for God to use it for his glory. xo

Spoil Me

When you ponder how you want your life to look like now and in the future, it isn't wrong that you think to yourself, "I want to be able to spoil (or a.k.a. bless) my children and my grandchildren."

That's a good thing to want.

But be able to spoil and bless them how? With stuff? With trinkets and toys? With trips and adventures? With a sharing of hobbies? How do you want and what do you want to spoil them with? What would it look like? What is the end result?

I would say, humbly, that the biggest spoils in my life were never toys or trinkets. I was spoiled/blessed most when I was given shared time, shared trust, and shared truth. Those are what were valuable and long-lasting and meaningful and "spoiled" me - those things blessed me then in the moment and the memory of them continues to bless me now, though many years have gone by. Words of Gods truth and knowledge of Him and kindness bubbling forth like from a spring - are worth more than a 1000 video games and 100 trips to Disney. It was the connection that has lasted not the confections.

Spoil your children and grandchildren with the greatest thing you can spoil anyone with - by glorifying God in what you say, and do, and eat, and drink, and watch, and read - in all you do. (1 Corinthians 10:31) Let them see that your spoiling of them springs from your joy and zeal in God. Be so filled with the goodness of God you must share it with others. Remember: Happiness is only real when shared, be happy in God. xo

not a consolation prize

Sometimes I will get 5 ideas for a post within a couple days. Other times, I can go months without anything inspiring me to write even a post-it note not to mention a paragraph. The title of this post is "not a consolation prize" based on an idea I had several months ago. It's been in draft form long enough.

I think that for all of us, there exists two potential authors of our life story.

Author one is ourselves. In this story we call the shots. Everything is perceived through how it helps us achieve our own self oriented goals. We are at the center. We are the most important character and those who help us achieve our desires are given a secondary character role.

Author two is God. When God writes our story he dictates each moment. Everything is perceived in how it glorifies Him. The goal is God and at the center is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was crucified on a cross, resurrected on the third day, ascended back to heaven, and now intercedes for us at the right hand of God.

There is a self authored portion of my story that has many chapters of me treating Jesus like a consolation prize. You see, and maybe you can even relate, I couldn't get what I really wanted with God so I consoled myself with thoughts of God. I wanted a dad in my life, a big functional family, a normal upbringing, freedom to live away from home, a healthy relationship, etc. If it's true "where your treasure is there your heart will be also" then my treasure was not Jesus only. Jesus was the consolation prize for not getting what I really wanted.

My internal dialogue went something like this, "No fiery hell for eternity - that's nice, that's really nice. That's amazing. But what about my list of my wants for this life, for the now? These aren't even bad wants; why won't He give them to me? If nothing is impossible for Him and He dictates each drop or rain and calls forth every star that's made - why are thing the way they are? Why was so much of my story sad? Maybe there is a shortcut to getting a better life. Other people seem to make it and they don't follow any of the things in the Bible. Over and over, I hear the pastor saying "following Him is the best way to live," but obviously they say that, they have everything already, family, friends, home, marriage, wealth, prestige, good easy jobs. Wallow in the muck here with me and say that."

So I walked away. God's authorship just wasn't appealing anymore. A consolation prize is nice but it's not essential.

But Jesus isn't a consolation prize and he isn't content to merely be that for anyone.

Honestly I was the author of my story most of the time. Gammy had taken me to church since I was a kid. I had heard the bible preached and I was baptized like Christians are supposed to be. I tried to go to church and get connected with other Christians. I wasn't looking for one night stands or hanging out in bars stumbling my way home every night. I wasn't escaping my life with drugs and sex. I went to a job I hated everyday like I was supposed to. I tried to "do the right things" but I was doing them for the wrong reasons. It was as if by doing the right things I felt I was owed a certain kind of result. I wasn't doing the hard work of finding out if the things I was doing were right because God said so or because I was told so by someone else thats what I should be doing. I was kept afraid and shelters, caged like a bird. Morals, convictions, and duties aren't essential if they're imposed and not owned. 

Question: When does one realize that Jesus is all they need?
Answer: When Jesus is all they have.

The road to rock bottom is different for everyone. The prodigals story is all our stories. Thank God he doesn't always give us what we want but he gives us what we need. Now I understand what Paul was saying in Philippians.

"But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ  and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,  and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead." Philippians 3:7-11

"For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." 1 Corinthians 2:2

"We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin." Romans 6:6

Is Jesus The Prize to you or merely a consolation? xo

exult before him

"Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the Lord; exult before him! Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. God settles the solitary in a home..." Psalm 68:4-6

Do you ever feel like your life is one big desert? You hoped for rain to fall but the dark storm clouds brought lightning and thunder but not a drop of water. You hoped for some warming sunshine but instead got scorching heat and burning rays. You thought the oasis was ahead but it was just a cruel mirage. You need to hear what Psalm 68 says - "Lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the Lord." The Lord doesn't take a detour around the desert; he travels right through it.

Do you ever feel like your unclaimed, unloved, or forgotten? You hoped your relationship with your dad had turned a corner for good but instead things just got worse. You hoped you had found some stability and security only to have been betrayed and abandoned.  You thought that you had found someone to share love and life with but they rejected you and left you to once again to find your own way. You need to hear what Psalm 68 says - " Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. God settles the solitary in a home."

Have you ever heard of a God like the one of the Bible? What other God cares about fatherless bastards and vulnerable widows. There is no one like Him. He deserves, He is worthy of the most praise.

Romans 8:32 says, "He (God) who did not spare his own Son (Jesus) but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things!" He has never, not for one second, forgotten you. Don't forget Him. xo