Hurry!

When I was a kid there was a sign in Dr. Bahr’s office behind the receptionist that read, “The hurrier I go, the behinder I get.” It was the 60s, when all the technological breakthroughs were happening, enabling us to put more on our calendars because we could work faster and get more done in less time. In the late 1960s a study was done by the U.S. Senate because of the increased productivity created by computers. Due to these great technological advances they determined that, by 1985 people might have to choose between working 22 hours a week, 27 weeks a year, or retiring at age 38! Obviously that didn't happen. Instead, with the extra time, we simply found more to do. This desire to achieve and accomplish more created an interesting phenomenon in the human body; an illness, if you will. There is an actual medical condition called Hurry Sickness and is defined as:  “a continuous struggle to accomplish more things and participate in more events in less time, frequently in the face of opposition, real or imagined, from other people.” It’s really a thing!

In our society we seem to feel like we have to Go! Go! Go!  We are unfulfilled if we aren’t moving at all times, accomplishing something for someone and feeling guilty or lazy when we sit still. Among the “Christian community,” we have learned to rationalize busyness as a pseudo spirituality. There is a world to reach and limited time to do it OR there is a whole Bible to learn so we send our kids to every camp and VBS and religious experience within 25 miles of our home. If we embrace the athletic culture, we lean toward having our kids in multiple sports so they can find what they are best at, signing them up in more than one league or sport at a time so they get more practice and pushing them to perform on a daily basis in addition to their school work and responsibilities at home.

The phenomenon that I have observed is that the household responsibilities get pushed to the background. I suppose that’s because we are seldom home and nobody has time to come to our house so the mess is unknown to the world. Apparently we assume that our kids will magically figure out how to scramble an egg, fold their own laundry, live by a budget, put away their own belongings and maintain a vehicle when they become adults. Many kids today are not being taught to manage their life and accomplish the daily activities that will turn them into self-sufficient adults because there simply isn’t time for that. We aren’t actually in our homes long enough to do that, so rather than teaching them to pick up after themselves and use a vacuum, we work more hours in order to afford a housekeeper to carry that responsibility and instead of teaching them to prepare a proper meal, we make a less healthy choice and drive through and eat fast food.

Ancient, God inspired writers instructed their contemporaries to share their history, their heritage, their journey with God with their children. We see these instructions throughout the entire Bible. Are you allowing a restful rhythm in your life to provide quality time teaching and guiding your kids or is your life filled with go there, do this, accomplish that? Truly, the pace of your life matters and you are the one in charge of that pace. Other people/our culture/ life’s circumstances don’t have to determine the pace of our life in the manner that we are allowing it. This crazy fast pace prevents us from taking the time for the meditation needed to truly know God.

Knowing God takes time. In our culture, time is at a premium because we have become convinced that being busy equates with being godly, being good, being healthy, being compassionate, being humble and sacrificial. Yet, nowhere in God’s story do we hear this taught. There is no place in the gospels where Jesus teaches his disciples to hurry up and do more so that they can please God. On the contrary, we hear the message that we are to slow down; to draw apart; to meditate on His statues; to listen, to be still.

I have always believed that the Church’s role is not simply to transmit the truth of scripture to children, but to walk alongside parents, supporting them as they do so. I also feel compelled to shine a light on the path you are on to make you aware of the danger ahead on the road you have chosen.

After a few days at camp with children, age 6 – 12, seeing the medications they are on and hearing them talk about their anxiety disorders, I am convinced more than ever that our hurried pace has interrupted the rhythm God intended for His creation. It has actually been documented that a hurried life has been proven to increase addiction, stress, anxiety, depression.  In nature, God's intended rhythm is not defied. In the animal kingdom there is a strict adherence to it. We see it in the stars of the night sky,  the waves of the ocean, the changing seasons. It is only in humanity that we continue on the path the Eve set for us, believing that we can do life just a little bit better by our design than by God’s. 

Would you consider stepping back and looking through the windows of your family’s future as if you are being directed by the famous Dicken’s character, the Ghost of Christmas Future, and peer into the result of your busy, hectic, lifestyle to see the end game? Can you see the results of the anxiety your pace may be creating? Living in your vehicle running children here and there, sustaining them on fast food and lunchables? 

I have lived that over-achieving lifestyle, believing that “I am what I do.” I know where it leads and I wish I had time to recreate my youth. But, since I don’t, I hopefully pass on some advice to a younger generation while there is still time for you to create a heritage of learning and knowing and resting in the truth that God compels us to Be Still in order to truly know Him and to be yoked to Him in order to find rest. Allowing time to sit at His feet and learn of Him gives us “permission” to slow down and become who God intended from the beginning.

Thank You!

On a scale of 1 to 10, how good are your kids at expressing gratitude? Do they have any idea how blessed they are? Do they have a clue how the majority of the world lives in comparison? Are they content with what they have or always wanting more? Do they thank you when you fix dinner for them or pass the potatoes? Are they gracious when they get to go out to eat or on vacation or to a movie? Do they complain about writing a thank you card after their birthday party? Are they good at making eye contact and saying a simple “thanks” for something you have done for them?

Everywhere you look you can find someone talking about how kids today have entitlement issues. They expect life to be handed to them on a silver platter and don’t believe they should have to earn it. Whether it’s a trophy or a car, a shopping spree or their favorite ice cream, kids know what they want and expect you to give it to them. But, this is not a new phenomenon. The writer of Psalm 103, thousands of years ago wrote a song reminding people to remember God and all His benefits. Perhaps we would do well with that reminder. If we forget the greatness and graciousness of our Creator, Redeemer, Savior and Guide, then it is no wonder that the generations following us struggle to be grateful.

God is merciful. God is kind. God is not, however, our sugar-daddy handing us everything we think we want or need. He is our rescuer and often the enemy we most need to be rescued from is ourselves. Basically, no matter how well you have followed the rules or how hard you have worked or what family you were born into, you are nothing without the air supply provided by your Creator. You are nothing without the gifts and talents He programed into your DNA. That being said, how often and openly do you express gratitude to Him for “all His benefits?”

I would love to challenge you and your family to begin a gratitude journal. Every day, everyone in the family should list two things for which you are grateful. It may be air condition or post it notes or puppies or Jesus. The “what” doesn’t matter as much as the exercise in building a heart of thanksgiving. When my grandkids spend the night I tuck them in asking for 2 things they are thankful for and one thing they need God to help them with. Maybe you would consider doing the same with your children or your spouse or just with your God. It is good to be grateful to others, but it is imperative to be thankful to our Lord.

Let all that I am praise the LORD; with my whole heart, I will praise His holy name.

Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me.

Psalm 103:1-2

Reaping Joy

Let me ask you a question… When your kids grow up are they more likely to tell their children that they grew up in a home filled with joy or a home filled with sorrow? And one more…. Which do you want to permeate their childhood memories?

The second question is a silly one because we all want our kids to have fond memories of their childhood or they won’t let us snuggle and spend valuable time with our grandkids. A child records so many events in their memory and, upon tracing those memories, they are frequently unfounded. For instance, an adult child may speak of a tradition you observed every year at Christmas, but in reality, you did it once. It was just such a profound experience for them that it seemed like it happened many times. Likewise, children may register a negative emotion they felt as something far worse than it actually was. Childhood memories are collected and stored in a place that shapes our trajectory and our drive to get to a similar or a better place when we grow up.

Psalm 26 tells of the people of God who were slaves to another nation [which happened frequently throughout history due to repeatedly straying from the plan of God] and had been rescued by God and taken home to their land and their temple to worship the God who saved them. The people are rejoicing as they return home after their years in bondage and one of the verses compares their captivity in a foreign land and return home, to sowing their crops in tears, but singing with joy as they gather the harvest.

Both sorrow and joy are present in this song as they remember their bondage and rescue. As I read this Psalm, I can’t help but think how real life works. You don’t have to be a vile sinner with irreverent motives to find yourself captive to sin. Does any of this look familiar…?

Slothfulness – an unwillingness to move from where you are to the place God has planned for you.

Apathy – investing no thought into how your decisions today are shaping, not only your future, but the future of you family and truly not caring, one way or another.

Envy – the inability to be content with what you have because there is someone who has more and you don’t want to be the one with less so you continually invest in what you want rather than taking the time to see what it is that God wants.

Greed – constant striving for more of what the world values, without regard to what God wants you to work toward.

Selfishness – placing more value on what you want or “need” and less on the needs and wants of others.

Impatience – placing unrealistic expectations on your spouse or kids rather than focusing how you can improve yourself. Not allowing them to grow gradually but expecting them to instantly fall into place at the snap of your fingers or the wrath of God will be visited upon them through your words and actions.

Unresolved anger -  whether manifested in bitterness, revenge, hateful attitudes, unforgiveness, manipulation, or outburst, each packs a punch and truly impacts the way you live life and the legacy you leave.

Pride – Thinking of yourself and how things impact you more than you focus outwardly on those around you. Investing more in helping yourself than in helping others.

 For followers of Jesus, sin doesn’t typically look like the guy in the red suit with horns. We don’t rob banks or shoot people in a mall, but we still struggle with bondage to something that keeps us from being all God created us to be and it is WORK to overcome that sin. Richard Rohr describes it this way…

“Sins are fixations that prevent the energy of life, God’s love, from flowing freely. They are self-erected blockades that cut us off from God and our own authentic potential.”

Is there something that has control over you and is stealing your joy and keeping you from creating the environment in which you want your family to grow?

My dad often said, “Sin never pays what temptation offers.”

It may seem like you are simply doling out justice when you withhold your love or forgiveness or lose control of your emotions, but those are lies of Satan that have a negative return.

Put another way,

“Sin takes you further than you want to go, keeps you longer than you want to stay and costs you more than you want to pay.”

No matter how you look at it, sin is bondage and it will keep you in exile, away from the place God desires for you to live. Though it may be painful to break that cycle, and you may have to sow the good seeds in tears, it will be worth it in the end. It is not a labor that you must do alone, but one your Creator does in you as you submit to His leadership in your life. He provides the seed, but you have to be willing to plant them. When you decide to make those changes, don’t forget to ask for His help and guidance. Quietly listen for His direction. Your harvest will be great and you will find the joy of obedience to God’s plan for you and your family.

May your home be filled with joy and your memories be of growth, grace and laughter as you escape the clutches of your adversary, Satan, and fall into the love of your Redeemer. His desire for you is to grow in an atmosphere of joy and victory from the sins that bind you. May it be so!

Talk To Yourself

“Talk to yourself, don’t let yourself talk to you.” That is the phrase that stood out to me in the sermon on Sunday (https://thecreekonline.net/media) There are so many Bible verses that back this up that you can’t blow it off as some psychological mumbo-jumbo. The mind is a powerful thing and can hijack your world at any given moment by sowing seeds of doubt or jealousy or envy or self-deprecation. It can make the victor feel like the victim. It can make the strong feel weak and the weak feel strong.  

In Psalm 42 we find a series of woes, crying out to God, including...

“My tears have been my food day and night...”

That is a pitiful, sorrowful thought. He is hungering for the joy that God can restore to him, remembering better days when God was obviously by his side. The psalmist is contrasting those days to the present when people are mocking God because of his current state.

“while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”

Then comes the self talk…

 “Why my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? 

Put your hope in God for I will yet praise him…”

Perhaps his situation was truly bleak, but as soon as he finished his lament, crying out to God for aid, he immediately recognized truth and had a little talk with himself. “Why are you letting this negativity and pity party go on when all you have to do is open your eyes and see that God is sovereign and will rescue you in His time? Why are you whining about things not going your way; things not being fair; life being difficult? You know truth, so why fall for the lies of Satan that destroy you. Instead, praise God for who He is and what you have seen Him do in the past. Remember with gratitude all He has brought you through…then you will see Him as your all-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful God. Then your hope will win out over your fear. Then you can be the victor rather than the victim.

Do you ever feel yourself falling into a hole and knowing that if you don’t act fast you will be clear at the bottom without the strength to crawl back out? I think everyone hears that negative voice that causes them to have a “woe is me” attitude and feel like the world is ganging up on them unjustly. Or maybe it is your parent or child or spouse or ex or boss or neighbor or co-worker that is tearing you down. Or are they? Do they have that power? Only when you give it to them. “Talk to yourself, don’t let yourself talk to you.” Stop the downward spiral by reminding yourself that “you are God’s masterpiece” (Ephesians 2:10) created for a purpose, and you must “allow God to transform you by changing the way you think” (Romans 12:2).

The mind is a powerful thing. When you allow it to tell you lies or exaggerate the truth or meddle with your identity in Jesus, you must quickly ask God to meet your needs, to fill your hunger with His truth and meditate on the reality of who He is and the power that is at your disposal to stand against the negativity that is trying to blossom within your heart and mind. Talk to yourself and speak the truth that God gives you when you go to Him with your brokenness. It will change your attitude, change your day, change your life and it will change the atmosphere in your home.

Awesome!

Just up the road from my house there is a Butterfly Nursery. When we go for our evening walks, we often stop and take a peek to see if the eggs have become a caterpillar, how big the caterpillar has become and how many are beginning to form their cocoon or chrysalis, the last phase before the metamorphosis is complete and a beautiful butterfly emerges. When I listen to Cindy, the keeper of the Butterfly Nursery, speak about this amazing transformation and watch it with my own eyes I am filled with wonder and awe at the amazing creation and the amazing Creator.

It hit me today as I was showing my friend a Monarch chrysalis that I was describing it as if it was a beautiful piece of jewelry. It looks like pale jade with flecks of gold that really sparkle. I was comparing God’s handiwork to a necklace that would be fashioned by the hands of a human. Instead of saying that necklace you are wearing reminds me of God’s handiwork, I had it backward. As if I was saying that God is making something as beautiful as a necklace. Perhaps that is because I have been in jewelry stores, but Butterfly nurseries are kind of new to me.

We have had the great pleasure of walking on sand that feels cool to our feet even with the sun beating down on it at high noon and the temperature upwards of 90 degrees. We have seen mountains so grand they take your breath away. We have heard the powerful sounds of Niagara Falls and witnessed the birth of children that possess our DNA, yet have a DNA of their own that matches nobody else in the universe. There are so many marvels of nature that are so far beyond my ability to grasp. I have experienced the awesome power and creativity of God in so many different ways that you would think I would stand in awe of His mighty power rather than fret about how I am going to get everything done today. Perhaps, it’s like I stated before. I have been in the jewelry store… or in the world… more than I have been in the presence of the Creator.

I have a strong hunch that I am not alone in this. You don’t have to look very far to see that we live in a culture that would rather look at a fictitious relationship growing on a television show than spend time building the relationships under their own roof. We have been in the world more than in the presence of the One who created us to live in relationship. We would rather let our kids occupy themselves with screen time then to introduce them to the marvel of creation and the wonder of the stars we see at night that are so far away that we are seeing light from a star that burned out long ago. We feed them daily, giving no thought to the miracle of a tiny seed turning into the food on our plates. We are creating a generation of humans who have no awe, no wonder at the world God created for them. We take it for granted, so they take it for granted. It is the way of humankind.

How very sad to know that, if we don’t correct this, our children will not know the Master of the Universe who desires to walk with them, talk with them, teach them, care for them. They will not stand in awe of His power and His love and His goodness. They will simply grow up to be another adult, trying to get by and get everything checked off of their list. David wrote a song of praise and within it, he reminded us to pass down the wonders of our God to the next generation. Do you have time for that? Are you too wrapped up in work or hobbies or friends or polishing the silver (is that even a thing??) to point them to the awesomeness of God and all that He has created?

Those who would call themselves the Christian community get all agitated about the fact that our children are learning about science and creation from the schools in a manner that goes against the creation story in Genesis. If we are teaching them about the amazing things God is doing on a daily basis (even if you have to google it… technology can be a very good thing) then we don’t have to worry so much about what they are learning at school. You are the primary influence in your child’s life if you choose to be. It is when we abdicate that responsibility that our children fall prey to the world’s way of thinking. So, do we have any right to condemn the science teacher for teaching the curriculum they are given if we are teaching nothing at all?

How about beginning a bedtime ritual where before you tuck them in, you tell them one fun fact about God’s amazing power and creation in an age appropriate manner. Tell them something miraculous that He has done. Living life with an attitude of gratitude will help them to know that Creator God is an awesome God. You don’t have to be a genius to ask Siri how fast a raindrop is going when it hits the ground, yet does no damage to a fragile rose petal on impact.

I want to be part of telling the next generation about the awesome God that I love and serve. I want them to be undaunted by a skeptical world because they have heard the truth of His greatness every day. I want them to be able to take a stand against a world that does not believe because they have heard day after day after day of an amazing Creator and His love for them. I stand with David in proclaiming that He is most worthy of praise! Will you join me in shaping the next generation to stand in awe of their God?

I will exalt you, my God and King,
    and praise your name forever and ever.
 ² I will praise you every day;
    yes, I will praise you forever.
³ Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!
    No one can measure his greatness.

⁴ Let each generation tell its children of your mighty acts;
    let them proclaim your power.
⁵ I will meditate on your majestic, glorious splendor
    and your wonderful miracles.
⁶ Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue;
    I will proclaim your greatness.
⁷ Everyone will share the story of your wonderful goodness;
    they will sing with joy about your righteousness.

Psalm 145

Looking Right

There is such a good lesson to learn in Psalm 13. David is miserable. He is feeling alone; feeling forgotten, defeated, depressed and seeing no light at the end of the tunnel. Through the years I have had so many people sit in my office feeling those same emotions. Truthfully, I have been there myself.

It happens due to struggling relationships, challenging family situations, illness, loss, financial crisis. And sometimes they all come crashing down on you so hard that you feel like you will never get up again. But, David shares with us what we need. “Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death.”

Sometimes darkness overtakes us when life throws us a curve ball and a variety of things happen. Sometimes we look for someone to punch/blame/attack. We feel pain and someone has to take the fall for it. Or maybe we look inward and begin to blame ourselves and lament all the mistakes that we have made that have us saturated us in guilt and remorse. Sometimes we look to food or retail therapy or substances that temporarily help us forget the pain of life. But, David tells us exactly where we need to look. It may sound cliché, but David knew to look to the LIGHT that gives life.

Without the Light that comes from looking upward rather than inward or outward, we lose hope. We read books, we talk to a counselor, we spend time with our friends, we do a lot of good things to help us through the storms of life, but the best thing we can ever do is to look at God. He has the message that we need. He has the answer we need. He will open our eyes to see it, but we have to look in the right direction.

Once we get our focus on Him, our trust is restored. Sometimes it takes a while for His light to penetrate into our deepest pain, because we are human and enmeshed in our agony. But the hope will come if we keep looking to His light. It is then that we remember that He is always there and His love is everlasting. No matter what our situation, when we look to God, He will direct us to the path that will lead us to healing and redemption; to peace and joy. When our focus is on Him, we see that He is worthy of our praise and that is something that will never change.

How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
    How long will you hide your face from me?
² How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
    and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
    How long will my enemy triumph over me?

³ Look on me and answer, Lord my God.

    Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
⁴ and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
    and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

⁵ But I trust in your unfailing love;
    my heart rejoices in your salvation.
⁶ I will sing the Lord’s praise,
    for he has been good to me.

Psalm 13

He Holds Your Hand

When life is a nightmare and all we do is cry,

The struggles keep arising and we want to shout out, “WHY?”

We want to know the reason and we want to understand,

But all we really need to know is that God will hold our hand.

Your marriage is a mess and you want to say “good-bye,”

Even though you’ve done your best, your beloved just won’t try

They don’t even listen, or try to understand

But what we really need to know is, God will hold our hand.

Your heart is shattered with the news. It shouldn’t be this way.

Where is God and why are His responses so delayed?

This shouldn’t be the outcome of all those careful plans

But you must just remember that God will hold your hand.

The stack of bills is piling up and the money’s running out

You didn’t get the bonus, though you earned it, there’s no doubt

Your plans have changed so many times that you can barely stand

But remember that, no matter what, God will hold your hand.

The diagnosis isn’t good, the timing is all wrong

Courage hides its face from you and you just can’t be strong

Questions just keep coming like so many grains of sand

My friend, let me remind you, God will hold your hand

Life is unpredictable, no matter how we try

This broken world brings struggles and leaves us asking “WHY?”

That question has no answer, more times than we can stand

So we must hold on tightly to the God who takes our hand.

Jackie Brady

June 11, 2011

In Pursuit Of What?

        As summer dawns and school lets out, what will you find yourself pursuing in the coming weeks? A great tan? More relaxation time? Tasks marked off a list? Being kind to others ALL. DAY. LONG? More time in prayer? The best bargains online? Catching up on the real lives of others on social media? Eating right? Exercising more? Getting the junk drawer organized? Sticking to a Daily Devotional til the end? Being a good parent or spouse? Chances are, you are like me and that list of things I’d like to accomplish before I say goodbye to this world is very lengthy. It seems that human nature bids us to chase after something a little bit better than where we are currently… in a variety of areas… because we have come to understand that fulfillment is not a destination, but a journey.

        Last Sunday Ed Haines shared a great message regarding our pursuit of Jesus. He isn’t running from us or hiding from us. He is laying a path before us every moment of every day, but our “LIST” of what we should be pursuing is usually based on our family of origin issues or our mental and emotional health or whatever this world tells us we should have or become and has nothing to do with what God has planned for us. I would encourage you to listen to his message here: https://thecreekonline.net/media

       Paul reminds the first century church in Ephesus about the need for us to get rid of the way we are living, which may be fine according to the world, but not according to the plan created for each of us.

“Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God – righteous and holy.”

At my house, there is a hamper full of dress-up clothes that my granddaughters love to wear. They don’t just put on one bedazzled outfit and wear it to play for a bit. They put it on, come upstairs and parade it in front of us and then go down and hop out of it and into another one for their next walk down the runway. At the end of the day, there is evidence of the speed with which the change took place. The carpet is littered with their glamorous sequined garb from one end of the basement to the other. As I read this portion of scripture, I picture the quick change operation, and their delight as they rip off the old one, anxious to try out the next. If only we could do that with our worldly attire – cast it off in a hurry, in pursuit of what God has for us because we know that what He offers is so much better!

The places we go and the people we spend time with may be the very things that are keeping us from the renewal that God’s Spirit wants to refresh us with. Perhaps it is the things we are watching or reading. Maybe it is the way we spend our down time. Or the hobbies and recreation that we have chosen to fill our calendar. Whatever it is that is keeping you from full out pursuing a stronger relationship with God, it isn’t worth it. It will keep you empty and feeling cheated by the deception and lust that drags you down. Sin of some sort is a temptation to all of us, but it never pay the reward it promises. It simply leaves you experiencing a void in your life that can only be filled by the One who gave you life and purpose.

As summer begins and our schedules get crazy, I suggest that you put away those winter clothes rather than putting your summer clothes on over them. That would be ridiculous, right? Well, no more ridiculous than leaving the old sinful nature on when God is giving you new clean garments to wear that fit this season of your life. As you pursue Him, may you find Him transforming your attitudes and actions. May you discover this new nature that makes you righteous and holy and draws you closer and closer to Him and His plan for you.

Guilty!

I have asked this question plenty of times, but here I go again…lf you were put on trial for being a follower or Jesus, would there be enough evidence to convict you? And who do you hope would be on the jury?

How about your co-workers? Do they see that you actually KNOW the One you claim to serve? Would they be surprised to hear that you profess to be a follower of Jesus? Do you words and actions prove to your clients or customers or co-workers that God is guiding you daily? Do they see an integrity and value system that would pronounce you guilty or not guilty of being a God follower?

What about that person in other car experiencing your road rage? What if they were on the jury? Would they automatically claim the verdict of not guilty because if you were following God in that moment, you would certainly not have reacted as you did.

Would your parents and siblings do better as your defense attorney or the prosecutor?  They need your love and acceptance, but often get your brutal honesty, judgment or cold shoulder as you avoid them because they are so difficult and annoying. Do they see and feel loved by you as if the love of Jesus was flowing through you to them?

Do your children know that you are growing closer to God every single day? Do they see you in the Word, hear you speak to Him? Watch you meditated in silence listening for His guidance? Do the kids know that your values spring from your relationship with Jesus? Do you talk about Him at home and teach them about His love and the abundant life He has to offer? If they sat on the jury, would they determine that you are guilty of following Jesus or not guilty?

Here is a really tough one… Your husband. What does he see every single day? Does he hear you praising and thanking God for guiding and protecting you, or does he witness worry and fretfulness? Do your attitudes and words and moods reflect a connection with the One who promised to never leave you or forsake you? Does your language ooze love? Are you carrying blessings into your home with words of endearment and encouragement? Can he tell by the honor you show him that you are yoked with and learning from God daily?

And gentlemen… would your wife submit a guilty verdict… knowing beyond a shadow of doubt that you are a disciple of Jesus Christ by the way you love and honor her above yourself? Would she say that the way you make Jesus the priority in your life and in your leadership at home makes it apparent that Jesus is LORD of your life?

You and I and everyone I have ever known are broken. We are human and tend to be selfish and arrogant enough to believe that we can do this life pretty well, follow the rules, be better than most other people and come out pretty close to what pleases God and then someday find ourselves in heaven. But that is NOT what Jesus taught. It is not taught by any of the New Testament writers. Jesus taught that we can be convicted of being His follower by the LOVE we demonstrate to Him and others (Matthew 22:37-39). Everything is hinged on our ability to love and, frankly, we don’t do that well on our own. It’s just a human problem. Plain and simple. That’s why we have to take His yoke every single day and learn from Him. Connect with Him. Walk with Him. Listen to Him.

Letting go of our will and drive to be the best by our own definition and emptying our minds of the lies we believe about earning our way to heaven, and replacing what is false with the wholeness and purity of His love, is transformational. His love in us, overflowing to others will get us convicted of being a follower of Christ better than the best sounding prayer or the most scripture memorized or the most incredible adherence to a code of ethics.

Court is now in session. All rise! And may the JUDGE and the jury find us all guilty of following Jesus by His lavish love overflowing to our spouse, our kids, our neighbors, our community, our co-workers and even to perfect strangers who cross our path.

Heaven Now

In the past 2 years I have lost both of my parents. Their earthly bodies wore out and they left us here missing them. As much as I miss them, I know they are in a better place. Heaven is real, but it isn’t just a place to long for when we leave this earth. Here’s how I know...

Dad loved deeply with the kind of love that impacted so many people in so many ways. He put his heart on the line, vulnerably risking everything to love without limits. He learned to empty himself of his own thoughts and be filled with the thoughts of Jesus. Because he allowed himself to be vulnerable, he could live for others, rather than himself. And because he trusted Jesus to place His yoke upon him, he was constantly learning from Jesus how to love a little bit better and live a little bit richer life. Every time we were out in public and someone told him, “Have a good day,” he would always, ALWAYS respond with, “Every day you get is a good day.” And he meant every word of it. In the last month of his life, his body was too weak to take care of himself and he hated the thought of be a burden, but he graciously accepted what he couldn’t change and still found joy and shared it with others, with every ounce of strength he had left. Dad enjoyed heaven in the midst of his struggles, every day that I knew him.

Mom was different. Life was always a struggle for her and she would never claim to have found heaven on earth. Because of the scars in her childhood that never healed, she struggled to be vulnerable enough to love freely. She feared wearing the yoke that Jesus offered to help her synchronize her life with His, because she didn’t trust fully that He had a better plan. She liked to play it safe and not take the risk of loving and being hurt. She was a very good person, but she was never truly at peace until she knew that she only had days to live. She would tell everyone that the adage, “Old age is a privilege denied to many,” is a lie because her mind and body were so tormented with pain that life on earth was not a privilege to her. She read constantly trying to find the answers and discover the peace that God promises, but it always seemed to elude her. She read her Bible, memorized scripture, wrote in her journal, went to church faithfully and physically did the same things that Dad did as a follower of Jesus, but those things didn’t change her the way they changed Dad, and she didn’t experience heaven until she left us.

I feel very privileged to have the parents I had. Neither were perfect, but I learned so much about following Jesus from watching them. They taught me that our history has an impact on who we become. Dad’s childhood was scary. His family struggled with extreme poverty through the Great Depression.  He was no stranger to hunger and the ridicule of classmates because of his old and tattered clothing. His 3 older brothers all left to fight in WW2 leaving him behind as a youngster running from the war that was under his roof, a dangerous and mentally ill mother. Fearing her, he took to the streets finding anyone willing to play basketball with him. He became a talented athlete, but  didn’t make the basketball team, because his family was too poor to buy the uniform and his mother too unstable to risk having her at the games. His history impacted who he became. But it didn’t take heaven from him.

Mom was raised in a more affluent family, never wanting for anything. Except love. Her father wanted a son and she was the third daughter. Her memories of him were littered with angry outbursts and severe punishments. Her vague memories of her mother, who died when mom was 12, were tear brimmed eyes filled with sorrow. She had a step mother who was kind and gracious and cared deeply for her, but she missed her mom and Neva could never replace her so she unleashed her anger and resentment on the woman who tried so hard to give her a better life. Her history impacted who she became. She didn’t find heaven on earth, though she longed for it continually.

Watching Dad, I discovered that he was celebrating the joy of heaven and walking with Jesus while he was still living. Watching Mom, I witnessed the “hell on earth” that she often used to describe her life.

Why were they so different? Why did the struggles of their childhood impact them in such different ways? Why did one see glory while the other saw gloom? I’m not a psychologist, but it seems apparent to me that Dad learned to define himself by who God said he was, not what the classmates said or the coach said or his mother said. Whereas Mom defined herself as the failure her dad said she was. “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,” Jesus said. Connect with Me so that I can show you where to step and who you will become. Dad took that yoke. He allowed God to transform him into the man he was meant to be. Consequently, Dad began to experience heaven before he left this earth.

This may be a lot of babbling. Mother’s Day causes me to reflect… and cry a bit. I am sad that life was so difficult for my mother. No matter what she read or what we did or said, her joy was never sustained because her thoughts always centered on what she lacked. She lacked the yoke that would direct her steps into the peace of knowing who she was in God’s eyes. She had to leave this earth to escape the pain of life.

One thing I believe with all my heart is that we must allow God to transform the way we think (Romans 12:2) if we are to begin to experience heaven and the presence of God in our lives here and now. If we are to discover victory over the mess of our past, we must think differently and then we will begin to feel a transformation take place inside of us. As those feelings change, so do our behaviors and our words and our lives. We begin to let go of the person we have been defined as and embrace the person we were created to be. And when that happens, people begin to see heaven in us and gravitate toward us rather than running the other direction.

If we want to experience heaven inside us now, three things must happen.

First, we must see that doing life on our own is futile because we are all a hot mess.

Second, we must trust that His yoke is not a burden, but when placed upon our shoulders our steps become easier and our footing more secure as we learn His ways.

Third, we must learn to see ourselves and others through the lens of the Creator so that we can freely love as He loves, give as He gives and draw others to Him.

Anything less than that leaves us longing continually for a life we cannot find on this planet. I long to be the follower, the disciple of Jesus, that is daily learning and growing closer to Him, allowing Him to transform me by changing the way I think and feel and behave. I want others to see a glimpse of heaven in me. May it be so!

Choosing Heaven

Did you ever get bogged down in what different people believe about what the Bible teaches about salvation and eternal life? It’s easy to do. You listen long enough to enough different people and all you have is a lot of conflicting opinions so you don’t even know what you believe about where you stand, spiritually speaking. Some operate from a list of Do’s and Don’ts. Some say there is a minimum requirement for our salvation. Some indicate that there is a special prayer to pray. Others believe that once you are “in” you’re there for life and others feel that you can walk away from the agreement you made to follow God. But, what did Jesus say about eternal life and how it is to be attained?

John records the words of Jesus' prayer for His followers in John 17 where He states that eternal life is simply knowing God.

“And this is the way to have eternal life –

to know you,

the only true God and Jesus Christ,

the one you sent to earth.”

So the real question is, how well do you know God? Do you spend time learning and listening to Him? Jesus also said in Matthew 11:29  “take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” If you hope to truly know God, you need to be yoked to Him, experiencing His movements and not resisting, but falling in step with Him as you learn the rhythm of His ways. If you aren’t in the Word, reading and learning; if you aren’t in a fellowship of believers who are growing and worshiping together; if you aren’t making a daily commitment to follow Jesus and take His yoke and place it on your shoulders, then you can’t expect to truly know God.

As parents, how are you helping your kids to know Jesus? Do you talk about what Jesus said? Do you show them what it means to walk with Him? We all want heaven for our kids, but maybe what we should be striving for is not hoping to get them into heaven, but getting heaven into them. Jesus said that the Kingdom is within us and we can offer them a bit of the heaven on earth now by the way we live our life and share His teachings with them. We can’t ensure that they will follow Jesus, but I believe that they have a much stronger chance of choosing Him if they have watched what it means to connect to and move with Jesus in our day to day lives. If we are making decisions based on our fatigue or our history rather than on our relationship with God, they may learn our rules and expectations and even acquire good moral values, but that doesn’t direct them to God. Making your life an example for them of walking with God is so important if you want them to do the same.

Mom and Dad, is heaven your primary goal for your children? If so, then make God the number one priority in their lives. Don’t keep pushing family worship to the back burner because they need to be loyal to their team and not miss a game. Don’t remain silent about spiritual issues because you don’t understand the Bible in its’ entirety, but keep learning and digging and growing and sharing as you grow. Consider how many hours your child is awake each week and write down the hours you are guiding them to invest in different things. How does connecting with God measure up to connecting with sports or studies or chores or playing video games?

We live in a culture that teaches us to be devoted to our team or our sport and not let them down. Can we not take a stand against that philosophy and tell our team, right from the start, that our family values worshiping God together on Sunday and will not be playing in Sunday morning games.  Perhaps if we took a stand, the world would see the value of following and worshiping God. Perhaps our children would learn that Jesus is a priority over all else. Investing our time and energy and money into our physical bodies without considering the cost to our soul leaves us unbalanced. That lifestyle is taught nowhere in scripture. We are mind, body and spirit and must develop in all those areas to find balance and health and possibly heaven. Of all the things to neglect, please don't let it be the spirit that connects your child to their Creator and their purpose.

God gave these kids to YOU to raise for His glory. Not to the coach. Not to the school. Not to their friends. Begin today to put some heaven into them by openly following God in your home and showing them how to do the same. Be bold. Be kind. Be yoked to the only One who really knows how to navigate through life here with heaven right inside our hearts. Who wants to wait if you can have heaven right here and now?!?

The Empty Tomb Isn't Empty

Have you ever felt hopeless? In a situation where you have no control to resolve a difficult or scary situation? Perhaps a loved one who is ill or a vehicle sliding on the ice rapidly toward you? A relationship that feels like it is crumbling and you are powerless to fix it? A weariness in your mind, body or spirit that feels like a darkness coming over you and you can’t stop it?

The followers of Jesus found themselves feeling the deepest sense of hopelessness as they stood by and watched their Friend being beaten and crucified. They saw the One that had come to bring life to them have His own life taken in the most gruesome manner. They saw their hope shattered into a million pieces right before their eyes and were powerless to stop it.They were just beginning to believe that He was the Son of God. Surely He could have stopped it if that were true.

I believe every ounce of hope was torn from the deepest part of their hearts and they were left in a miserable state of hopelessness. Even though he told them what was going to happen and tried to prepare them, His words were obscured from their mind as they watched the brutal crucifixion occur. Hope was so lost that none of them expected Him to conquer death and arise to speak to them and actually spend time with them. Jesus’ resurrection was as much a surprise to them as it was to those who didn’t believe that He was the Son of God.

But Jesus did come back and before He ascended to heaven. He promised that He would be with them, that He would never leave them, that His Spirit would live within their hearts and they would have power. Power that overcomes the darkness of hopelessness and brings light into our blackest despair.

Is there a darkness that has stolen your hope? Are you finding difficulty believing that it can be better? That your marriage can recover? That your financial crisis will improve? That your health will be restored? That your children will work through this difficult stage? May I remind you that there is hope because Jesus is ALIVE! His Spirit in those who believe and choose to follow Him has power and provides wisdom and transforms us as we learn to hold on to what we cannot see.

The tomb held no body centuries ago, but in that emptiness, hope overflowed. The empty tomb is still full of hope for those who need Him today. There was no body, but that cavern of emptiness was filled with a hope that gives life. So, even though you may feel defeated, there is hope because in conquering the grave, Satan was defeated. Satan is the thief of all hope, but he can only take your hope and your joy if you give it to him. Hold on to hope and hold on to Jesus. He didn’t go to the cross for nothing. He went to the cross for you. And He is very much alive for you. The empty tomb is full of hope.