Peek-A-Boo

Babies and toddlers love to play peek-a-boo. Ever wonder if it is because they are laughing at us for thinking we are hidden from them while they are fully aware we are behind that blanket all the time.  It is fun to watch the delight on their face when we suddenly reappear, but the terror on their face when they look up and you have vanished from their sight is quite the opposite. You were just there in the room with them and now you are not and a blood curdling cry rapidly follows that realization. Rightly so. We are their security. We are the ones who provide their food and their comfort and protection. Human babies are helpless without us to care for them, however, if we are always providing that care, we discover they never learn the art of self-soothing and as they get older, problem solving.

So, what do you suppose is happening in the heavenly realms when our Father has seemingly left us alone and we are terrified; powerless to take care of ourselves? Do you think that perhaps He is allowing us to develop our faith muscles? To begin to realize that we can depend on Him, even when it seems He isn’t there?

I think there is likely not a single person who has walked with God who hasn’t at some point felt that God has forgotten or abandoned them. I really don’t understand how my faith can be so strong in one crisis and then in the next I can feel like God is out to lunch. I don’t get it, but God does. He knows our weakness. He knows our hearts. He knows our questions. He Knows Us!

Read the Bible and you will find that those whom we call Giants of the faith have questioned God…. Wondered if He is on vacation…. Felt abandoned by Him.  I guess that means we are in good company when our doubts and fears arise. But one thing we can learn from them is that, after the fear and anger and whatever else we feel, there is God. He never forsakes us and, though we sometimes feel forgotten, there is God.  When our trials seem more than we can bear, there is God. When our sorrow weighs us down to the point of feeling crushed, there is God. When we don’t understand why or when life isn’t fair, there is God.

Voice your concerns to Him. Cry out to Him. Tell Him what is in your heart. He is ready to hear from you and is able to take whatever criticism you may have. In the end, you will find He is there, listening. He is there, ready to calm your soul. He is there, with a balm for your weariness. He is there. He never left. Perhaps He is just around the corner helping you learn to exercise your faith muscles.

My Lasso of Truth

If you had a super power, what would it be? That is a question I often ask kids just to get conversations started. I think I have landed on the same one, over and over again. TRUTH. Not like Wonder Woman’s lasso of truth that, once you have it around your waist, you are compelled to tell the truth. My super power of truth would allow me to open the minds of all people to see TRUTH.

It is a really important super power, because once you know the truth, you are set free from all the speculation, imaginings and lies of Satan that create fear, doubt and brokenness.

 Marriages crumble because of false perceptions about how your spouse is feeling or what they are thinking. Careers have been destroyed due to the suspicion not based on the truth. Court cases have been lost and innocent people found guilty, all because the truth is obscured from the mind of the jurors. Guilty people, conversely, have walked free because the truth was not told.

Students are wrongly accused, suspected of wrong-doing and they have to work doubly hard to restore the trust of their teachers and classmates. Even our own children have been punished by us because we don’t know what really happened.

So many things would be better if we knew the truth. Jesus even stated that it is truth that sets us free (John 8:32). He wants His followers to believe that He is who He says, and what He says is true. Not just on an intellectual level, but something that you know in your heart… so much so that you are compelled to follow Him. Completely. Totally. Surrendered.

I talk to people every day that live in bondage because they cannot see the truth that God loves and cares specifically about them. They have listened to lies about who God is and, ofen, about who they are. If only I could use my wannabe super power to help them to see God and see that they were fashioned by a Mighty Creator. I would help them to see that this Creator loves them and made them in His very image so that, if they walk with Him and learn from Him, His glory would be reflected in their lives. I would tell them that He truly made them with a purpose and they are no accident. His plan for their life is waiting to unfold once they see the truth of who they are and who God is and allow God’s redemptive grace to reconnect them to Him.

If I could make you see the truth, I would give you faith that the God who made you, loved you enough to leave heaven and become human so that His sacrifice could reunite you with Him for eternity. I would show you that death could not keep Him in the grave, but that He arose from the dead on the 3^rd day and returned to heaven to prepare a place for you. I would use my super power to convince you that the Spirit of God remains with you always, and will direct your steps toward God’s intended purpose for you.

But, alas, I have no super power… however, the One who holds all power in His hand is the Author of Truth. His heart’s desire is for you to know the truth about Him, and the truth about yourself. Ask Him to open your eyes and your heart to His Truth, and let Him set you free from the lies that Satan has told you. Live in the freedom of truth and not in the bondage of lies. It will change your life, forever!

I Believe

“I believe in Christ, like I believe in the sun. Not because I can see it, but by it I can see everything else.” C.S. Lewis

We see signs proclaiming, “I Believe,” all over…. But I’m not sure what it is that is being believed. At Christmas, is it Santa or the virgin birth of Jesus? At Easter is it the big Bunny or the Resurrected Savior? Do we believe in ourselves, our skills, determination and our ability to overcome adversity or do we believe in the power of God within us providing the strength and wisdom and courage to do so?

What do you believe?

On what truths would you stake your life?

Now, think about what you are doing in your home, with your family, to prove that.

If you are raising a family, what is it that you do and say that would be the evidence your children need to prove that you have placed your trust and belief in a God whose face we cannot see?  How are you demonstrating for them that Jesus is the only One to follow? What is His Light revealing to you?

You may be doing really good things. That makes you a good person. That doesn’t, however, connect you to Jesus in their eyes. Too often we direct our kids by telling them what they are to do because we are “the boss” and they just need to listen and obey. Now we have successfully taught them how to do good things, but haven’t connected those good things to the Guide who is honored by our obedience.

You can go to church every Sunday, have devotions every day, volunteer to help at church or in the community, but how will they know that what you are doing is because you BELIEVE that Jesus loves you, left heaven in order to reconcile you to God, died to save your life, and is the force within you that guides you daily and supplies your needs?

To be a light that reflects God’s love and goodness to your family, you don’t have to be the “perfect” Christian (as if there was such a thing) or always get it right. If you want your family to know that you do the things you do because you are following Jesus, you simply need to be vocal about it. For instance...

We tell the truth because Jesus tells us that lies will tangle us all up so that it is hard to live freely.

We are kind to others because Jesus wants us to treat others as we want them to treat us.

We do our best because any less is like stealing from God, since all our potential comes from Him.

We go to church to worship God because he requires we take one day in seven to focus on Him and push other things aside.

We help others because Jesus said that he came to serve others and we are to do the same.

We ask for less because Jesus wants us to appreciate what we have and show generosity to others.

We eat healthy food because God provides it for us so that we can grow strong.

We obey our parents and teachers because God put them in our lives to help us grow and learn.

We go to sleep without a fuss because God created our bodies for rest and wants us to take care of the body He made for us.

We listen more than we talk because God gave us 2 ears and 1 mouth for a reason.

We obey because disobedience dishonors God and our parents.

Take a good look in the mirror. Are you seeing a person that is compelled to live right because it is what you were taught as a child? A person who is a good rule follower? A person who is afraid of hell? A person who enjoys the comfort of tradition? A person who is following another person?

OR

Are you seeing a person who is sold out to the God that you BELIEVE in, even when you don’t understand? Maybe you are seeing a person who has lost it and needs to tell your family that you were obviously not doing or saying what Jesus wanted you to say and that you are sorry. Are you seeing a person who has the desire to draw closer to God and learn more of His love and His ways?

If the later paragraph is true of you, that is EXCELLENT!  Now let your family know who you are… a child of the King of Kings who is growing and learning and sometimes making mistakes. Let them know that you don’t always understand what God is doing or why, and you aren’t always paying attention to Him as you should, but that your heart's desire is to live as one who BELIEVES that Jesus loves you. Let them know that you BELIEVE because of the evidence of a resurrected Lord that you find in the pages of scripture. Let them know that He is working in your life and you can’t wait to watch Him work in their lives, too!

Live and lead like you truly BELIEVE!