A Familiar Face

Romans 8:1

I went to the mall after I got off work today. It's a Saturday, so the mall was pretty crowded. I feel uncomfortable in crowds. I wouldn't have gone, but I had to pick up a new sport coat that had to have alterations on the sleeve length.

I was ill at ease when I went into the store at the mall. Another way that I'm kind of a weirdo is that I don't like being touched, which is why I don't like crowds. I did my best to make a bee line to the part of the store where I had to pick up my new jacket. I wanted to get in and out of there as quickly as possible. I had to dodge quite a few people. I got my jacket, thanked the man at the desk and left. I was making my way out when I started to feel a little bit of anxiety. So many people. I looked around at all the strangers there and felt even more ill at ease. I wanted to be home so bad.

As I walked toward the exit, feeling more and more desperate to leave, I saw a familiar face. An old friend that I hadn't seen in years. Relief washed over me. It was good to see my friend. I stopped and talked to him for a few minutes and all anxiety melted away. A miracle, I thought as I bid my friend goodbye.

As I made my way to my truck, anxiety free, I was no longer focused on the crowd, but thinking how nice it was to see my friend.

I wondered if that is what it will be like when we get to heaven. Judgement taking place, and in our limited understanding, we start to feel anxiety. Then, there He is. Our Beautiful Savior. The Familiar Face. All fear, all doubt, all anxiety, all questions....gone. Only our Glorious King, who is happy to see us, and we standing in His presence with great joy (Jude 1:24).

Thank You, Father, that we will one day stand before You under the representation of Christ Jesus...innocent.

God is AWESOME!

Simmer Down Now

Psalm 46:10

"Don't worry about it." "Just trust God." Don't you hate it when this is the advice you get when everything around you seems to be falling apart? Then there are the well meaning people try to give you a spiritual pep rally. Boy isn't that just the best. I like the way Job's friends handled things (Job 2:13).

When life becomes one giant struggle after another, it is very difficult to focus on anything other than what is happening right now. Everything is so...loud. The noise of the struggle is deafening.

There are some trials that you just can't prepare for. We are blindsided by things. A spouse leaves the marriage for someone else, a child dies in an auto accident, a job is unexpectedly lost, a house burns down, an economy collapses suddenly...

The truth is that in these situations, once the initial shock (that time that you feel like what is happening can't be real, it has to be a dream) has passed, it's time to deal with it. Time to calm down and remember. Remember that we are in fact children of God. Remember that He is there and (even though it doesn't seem possible at the moment) is in control. Time to remember His promises to us. Remember that He is our Wise Father.

Philippians 4:4-7, John 14:27, John 16:33, The book of Job, 1 Peter 5:6-7. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but just a few that helped me through some rough times. As I said before, we can never prepare for some things, but with a solid foundation in Christ Jesus, we will be able to withstand the blow (Ephesians 6:13-17).

Thank You, Father, for adopting me. For loving me and providing me with the tools necessary for coping with bad situations. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit and the comfort and understanding that He gives. Thank You for giving us an "other side" of things, and the ability to say at the end, as Job did, "Before I had only heard of You, but now my eyes have seen You."

God is AWESOME!

Plain Vanilla

Romans 1:16-17

My friend Mark attended the Harvest Crusade in Anaheim, California. He told us about it at church tonight.

Mark is very eloquent. He is my Sunday school teacher, and he does a good bit of public speaking, so he is very skilled at painting word pictures and can be quite animated as he speaks. He described some of the people attending the crusade. Some of them were not your stereotypical church folks. "There was this one guy who looked like a pretty rough character, but when the praise music started, he stood with his hands raised and was just lost in worship."

Mark said something that captured my imagination. He said, "It wasn't anything fancy. Just a plain vanilla presentation of the gospel." Thousands came to Christ.

The Apostle Paul said that the gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. And that in it the righteousness of God is revealed (Romans 1:16-17).

It's just that simple. We as Christians are not obligated to sway anyone or convince anyone of anything. We are simply to present the gospel: John 3:16, Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Romans 10:9-10, 1 Corinthians 15:1-4.

It doesn't even have to be that much. You can just say something like, "Jesus died for your sins." Then simply bear witness to how He saved you and what He has done in your life.

It is so simple. It is "plain vanilla". We are the ones who make it so complicated.

Jesus said, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30.

Thank You, Father, for saving me. Thank You that You made a simple Way to restore my relationship with You. Thank You for the good news of Christ Jesus.

God is AWESOME!

Torn

Mark 15:37-38

In Jewish culture, tearing clothes is a sign of mourning a death. There are a lot of examples of this in the bible. Job tore his clothes when he got the news that his children had all been killed (Job 1:18-20). There are literally thousands of other examples of the tearing of clothes to mourn in the bible.

In the temple was the tabernacle. God's dwelling place. Around the tabernacle was a veil. God's robe. When Jesus took on all of our sins and God turned His back on His Son (John 1:29 & Matthew 27:46), God was grieved and wounded. Then Jesus died. God tore His robe. (Mark 15:37-38).

Thank You, Father, for Your grief. Thank You that in Your grief came our salvation. Thank You that You can turn such grief into inexpressible joy.

God’s Robe

(Matthew 27:51 and Isaiah 53)

He knew suffering
He knew affliction
He came to break our sin addiction
He is the beloved Son
He is the despised One
He took on my sin and put on my pride
He is the Advocate spoken of by Job
He poured Himself out and then He died
God limped away and tore His robe

God is AWESOME!

The Rock of Offense

1 Peter 2:4-8

Jesus is so much more than that little baby in the manger. He is so much more than the sacrificial Lamb. (Revelation 19:11-16 and Colossians 1:15-17)

People who do not believe find it offensive when we say that there is only one way to heaven (John 14:6). They become angry when confronted with the truth of their sin. When the light of Truth shines into someone's life, and their mask is torn away, they come unhinged. At the mere mention of Jesus' name, nice, smiling people form a scowl on their faces. They show their true colors for just a moment. They stumble. (Isaiah 8:12-15)

I read in 1 Peter 2:7-8 that for those who do not believe, Jesus has become a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. I had to ponder this for a while. As I rolled it around in my little head, a thought began to take shape.

We (I say we because all of us are in the same boat (Romans 5:8, Ephesians 2:1-9)) generally don't like to hear the truth about ourselves. It is that pride that so easily ensnares us. Pride is the sin that will sneak up on us. When you think you have done so well in resisting temptation and treating everyone as you would have them treat you, it is then that pride will try to enter your mind and produce sin (Genesis 4:7). It was pride that got Satan booted out of heaven (Isaiah 14:12-14).

Truth knocks at the door, Truth begins seeping in through all the cracks, shedding light on everything that is dirty. Truth holds out hope. Truth offers to clean up that which is dirty, to make it new, to restore everything. Pride wakes up and hears the knocking. "I can deal with it myself, thank you very much!"

Truth offends people because there is nothing you can hide that Truth can't find. Offended people become angry. Anger takes away focus, reason and balance. Without those three, a stumble is inevitable.

Jesus is Truth. The world offers a lie that sounds better than Truth. The world offers multiple ways around The Way and says that there is no Truth. So some exchange Truth for the beautiful lie (Romans 1:25).

But there is still the pesky Truth. Every time they try to step over it or go around it, they always manage to catch their toe on it...the Stone of Stumbling.

God is AWESOME!

In God We Trust

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust. It's something that has to be earned. It can be hard to come by.

When someone comes to me to confide something, it tells me they trust me. When someone trusts me enough to share something that they don't want anyone else to know, something deeply personal, it is one of the highest of honors.

When we get into a bus or a taxi or board an airplane, we are entrusting our lives to a stranger. We don't worry and fret the whole time we are in these vehicles. Why is it then, that we worry and fret so much when things in life get tough. Our Wise Father said that we can trust Him. He has a proven track record and He has our best interests at heart. He is not some stranger giving us a ride. He is absolutely worthy of our trust. When He makes a promise, He keeps it.

Some of my favorite promises from Christ Jesus that are the most encouraging and comforting are these:

1. Matthew 11:28-30
2. Philippians 4:6-7
3. Romans 10:8-9

Thank You, Father, for Your promises. Thank You for the knowledge that, no matter what, I can put my trust fully in You.

God is AWESOME!

The Two Wolves

Colossians 3:2

Our Sunday school class finished a study of Habakkuk today. My friend Jena lead the study. She is a great speaker. I always enjoy her lessons.

In the course of the study, Jena told the Cherokee legend of the two wolves. The legend goes like this:

A Grandfather from the Cherokee Nation was talking with his grandson. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight between two wolves." The young grandson listened intently. "One wolf is evil, unhappy, and ugly: He is anger, envy, war, greed, selfishness, sorrow, regret, guilt, resentment, inferiority/superiority, false pride, coarseness, and arrogance. He spreads lies, deceit, fear, hatred, blame, scarcity, poverty, and divisiveness." "The other wolf is beautiful and good: He is friendly, joyful, loving, worthy, serene, humble, kind, benevolent, just, fair, empathetic, generous, honest, compassionate, grateful, brave, and inspiring resting wholeheartedly in deep vision beyond ordinary wisdom." The grandson paused in deep reflection of what his grandfather had just said. Then he exclaimed; "Oyee! (in recognition). Grandfather continued; "This same fight is going on inside you, and inside all human beings as well." The grandson paused in deep reflection and recognition of what his grandfather had just said. Then he finally cried out deeply; "Oyee! Grandfather, which wolf will win this horrific war?" The elder Cherokee replied, "The wolf that you feed. That wolf will surely win!"

This story made me pause and reflect. Which wolf am I feeding? Sometimes it feels like the evil wolf is winning.

It is the political season. The Presidential campaigns and the debates are getting heated up. I allow myself to get all worked up about a lot of what is being said. I usually end up saying things that I regret saying.

I sometimes forget that it is of no real consequence who gets elected. It will be the one whom God wants in the office.

Our study in Habakkuk helped me to remember to focus on what is really important. To focus on the things above. God has the rest of it handled. My focus and trust should be on Christ Jesus.

The world has so many things in the way of distractions, yet nothing really very substantial or fulfilling to offer. I have been reminded to continue moving forward...to stick to the Plan.

Thanks, Jena.

God is AWESOME!