Not Where I Thought I’d Be

“This is not where I saw my life going,” she said sadly. “I’m not even sure how I got here.” My friend once believed that God had a call on her life. Yet she drifted. Marriage, children, jobs, responsibilities, distractions, troubles, many of her own making. Yet every year on her birthday, she would look wistfully into the dusty box of what she had hoped for in her life and realize how far away it all was.  And how far away she was from God. Early morning devotions gave way to getting kids ready for school and herself to work.  Sundays became the day to catch up on chores at home. Her Bible was buried under stacks of bills and commitments. Before long, God was a distant thought; until her husband packed up and walked away.  She was a broken woman who thought she was a lost cause to God. My heart was so tender to her as I shared a story from the Bible that I pray offered her some hope.

The Israelites were about to cross over into The Promised Land. Moses warned them about their tendency to drift from God. He knew that once they were settled, they would become complacent and their hearts would every so gradually be drawn astray. They would become self-focused and push God aside for idols of wood and stone.  And they would be punished.  God would cause their enemies to overtake them and scatter them far from home. But He would not leave them there. Wherever they went, God said, “if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find Him if you look for Him with all your heart and with all your soul” (Deut. 4:29).

I took her hand and told her “If you will seek God, even from where you are right now as far as you may be from Him, you will find Him.”

“How do I do that?” she asked.

“Heart and soul – by telling Him that you know you are far away, but you want to come back to Him. And going back to what kept you close in the beginning – His Word and church and prayer.

“But what if I miss Him?” she asked with tears in her eyes.

“You won’t. He won’t let you.” I answered. “As soon as you start seeking, He will put Himself right in your path.”

I don’t know where you find yourself today Beloved, but I know for sure you are just a prayer away from God. Just say the words, “I want to come home.” He’ll meet you on the way.

The Wonder of Jesus

The gospels record Jesus’ miracles and wonders: healing the sick, casting out demons, raising the dead, walking on water, feeding the multitudes, calming the storm, just to name a few.   We read these events and think how exciting it must have been for the disciples to be with Jesus on these occasions.  But the gospel accounts only highlight a select few incidents on certain days in the Lord’s life.  Does that mean the other days they walked with Jesus were just ordinary, hum-drum days?   I find that hard to imagine.  I can’t help but believe that every single day with Jesus the disciples witnessed something wondrous.   John said, “Jesus did many other things as well.  If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” John 21:25.

Maybe your life feels like a drudge of laundry, kids, paperwork, telephones, machines, or assembly lines.  Day in and day out it’s the same routine, the same faces, and the same struggles.  Where is the extraordinary in that?  I believe we can find it if we have our eyes open to what God is doing around us.  Every sunrise is a wonder, those sweet babies are living, breathing miracles, and even our own bodies are a marvel to behold.  Nature offers us glimpses of God’s power all around us: the beauty and fragrance of the flowers, the warmth of the sun with the cooling breeze, and the glorious colors of the sunset all give witness to the awesomeness of God.  I also believe we can be part of the extraordinary by letting the Spirit of Christ work through us to accomplish incredible things.  Your testimony can be the springboard to the miracle of a transformed life.  Your kind words and caring actions have the power to restore hope—and if you’ve ever lost hope, you know that finding it again is nothing short of a miracle.

What wonders await our senses when we look for God’s hand in this world?  What miracle can He work through you in someone’s life today?  Beloved, I encourage you to look around with fresh eyes and a seeking heart for the extraordinary presence of God around you and inside you.  If you are a follower of Christ, no day is “just another day,” because nothing is ever ordinary when Jesus is there.

Death to Life

You may not know this, but I have a granddaughter – I know, I rarely ever speak about her. 😊 She is awesome. Funny, loving, generous, a wonderful dancer, brilliant conversationalist, and gives hugs that can cure whatever ails you. She is so very sweet and precious. Almost perfect – but not quite. At 17 months, she can be rebellious and stubborn. She knows she is not to stand on her toys. But she will do it while looking you dead in the eye. She also has a temper. I may know where that comes from. Bottom line: she has a sin nature. She got it from her parents. They got it from their parents, who got it from their parents, and on and on it goes all the way back to the original sinners, Adam and Eve.

This semester I’ve been digging deep into their story.  Uniquely made above all God’s creation, they were fashioned by His own hands out of the dust of the earth and given His own breath to bring them to life. They were also given His image to enable a relationship between the Creator and the created. They were perfect. But sin entered the picture through a chatty serpent who deceived them into doing the only thing they were forbidden to do: eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That one act condemned every human being ever born to share in their punishment – death (Romans 6:23). Not merely the ceasing of life, but death in the sense of separation from God. He alone gives life, and apart from Him, there is no life. Oh, we’re breathing and walking around in this world, but spiritually, we are dead. Dead people walking in our sin nature. Meanwhile, the image of God has been put to sleep in man.

We need to reverse that. Paul wrote, “Wake up, O sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you” (Eph 5:14). The sin nature needs to be put to death and the image of God in man reawakened. It’s the only hope we have. I can’t do it and neither can you. But Someone did. Paul said, “Those who received God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:17). Through faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the sin nature is put to death and the image of God is awakened. It’s not just the only hope you have Beloved, it’s the only hope you need.

The Place Where God Dwells

Sunrise over Jerusalem

It’s hard. This life in a fallen world is hard, challenging, painful, and sometimes downright cruel. Sure there are Joys and blessings and moments of delight. But as Job’s friend Eliphaz opined, “Man is born to trouble, as surely as sparks fly upward” (Job 5:7). Trouble comes seemingly out of nowhere, sometimes it comes from others, but most often it comes with our own fingerprints all over it. When trouble comes, however it comes, you and I need a refuge; we need a strong helper who will stick with us in it. Thanks be, we have both. “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).

Psalm 46 is a song, like out modern hymns of encouragement, to bring hope to the people of God. The psalmist talks about troubles that range from natural disasters to wars and enemy nations. I think we can say we’ve seen some of these world-wide issues in 2020. But for most of us, our troubles are closer to home. Financial troubles, health troubles, family troubles, job troubles, relationship troubles. We’re troubled by grief and pain and stress and strain. We begin to doubt if we can stand up under it all. Ah – but don’t forget about your Helper.

Hear this good word of hope as the psalmist lifts his heart for “the holy place where the Most High dwells.” “God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day” (46:4,5). But, you say, he is talking about a city, Jerusalem, where God dwells in the temple. In the immediate context, he is. But this word reaches forward to you and me. When Jesus promised to send His Holy Spirit, he said that “He lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:17).

Think about what that means. If you are in Christ, you are “the holy place where the Most High dwells.” Yes, YOU, with all your troubles. Stop for a moment and speak this affirmation out loud: “God is within me, I will not fall; God will help me at the break of day.” That’s not high-minded theology, it’s a promise that is as sure as the Promise Maker. God is with you – within you –  Beloved, He will not let you fall.

The Path from Despair to Praise

 “But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in You.”       Psalm 39:7

How do we reconcile our trust in God in the face of hard, devastating circumstances?  The writers of many of the Psalms were well acquainted with the conflict of faith amid disappointment.  I find tremendous help in their honest writings.

Psalm 77, for example, ranges from raw angst and discouragement – “Has [the Lord’s] unfailing love vanished forever? Has His promise failed for all time?” (v. 7) to glorious praise – “You are the God who performs miracles; You display Your power among the peoples.” “You lead Your people like a flock,” (vs. 14 & 20).  How did he swing from despair to exultation? Verses 10-12 are the pivot point in this Psalm. After heart-wrenching despair, he says, “Then I thought, ‘To this I will appeal; the years of the right hand of the Most High.  I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes I will remember Your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all Your works and consider all Your mighty deeds.’”(v. 10-12)    Asaph determined to turn his thoughts around and meditate on the long history of God’s miracles, works, and mighty deeds.  And as he followed this line of higher thinking, you can sense his spirit lifting as the words build to a crescendo that bursts forth in praise: “Your ways, O God, are holy.  What god is so great as our God?” (v. 13) He comes to the foundation upon which all faith must rest: God. Not just what He can do, but who He is. After digging through my exhaustive concordance, I lost count after 200 times that I read “That you may know Me…” It is the whole point of our faith.  Jesus said, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.” (John 17:3). Beloved, if your burden is heavy today, follow the path the psalmist laid out. Come to him in your honest despair. Ask the hard questions that weigh on your heart. He can take it. Remember His faithfulness to you in the past as you meditate on who He is.  Then let your angst be lifted up in praise.  I know it works – it is the road I traveled this morning.

Awe

“Let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe” (Hebrews 12:28).

A few years ago there was a three-year research project done on awe at U Cal Berkley, their report included such awesome findings as “Awe binds us together,” “Awe helps us see things in new ways,” and “Awe makes us nicer – and happier.” It also touted “the healing potential of awe.”  Suggestions for finding awe included observing nature, listening to music, and one I heartily agree with – putting down the ever-present cell-phone and simply looking up. [1]

I don’t dispute any of their findings or suggestions, but the article failed to ask and answer some very important questions, such as “Why do we feel awe?” and “What makes something awe-inspiring?” 

We feel awe because we were created for worship – and worship is at its purest and truest when it is accompanied by awe.  The article says “Awe is the feeling of being in the presence of something vast or beyond human scale, that transcends our current understanding of things.” (Dacher Keltner)[2]  Is there anything more vast or farther beyond our human understanding than the God of the Universe?  David declared “You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary” (Psalm 68:35)!

What makes something awe-inspiring is when we, in our smallness, stand in the presence of greatness.  I’ve seen the Grand Canyon, and it is awesome because it is huge and beautiful. Deuteronomy 7:21 says “The Lord your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God.”  When we sense the presence of God we have no other response but to stand in awe.  Actually, when we truly sense the awesome presence of God we cannot stand at all.

But I think the most important question is, “What happened to our sense of awe?”  Sin happened. Pride happened.  The sin of Adam and Eve, at its root, is the sin of pride.  Where pride reigns, we lose the necessary humility to be awed.  Beloved, if you ponder the fact that the holy, sovereign God of heaven and earth has singled you out for salvation and relationship and eternal life you should be humbled and awed.  Nothing is more incredible, more grand and glorious, and more awe-inspiring than that.

[1] Paula Spencer Scott, “Feeling Awe May Be the Secret to Health and Happiness,” Parade, Sunday, October 9, 2016, 6-8.

[2] Dacher Keltner is a psychologist who heads the University of California, Berkeley’s Social Interaction Lab, and helped create the new Facebook response button emojis.

What’s the Desire of Your Heart?

A couple of years ago in the Seedbed Daily Text, One of my spiritual mentors, J.D. Walt, said “Too often my sin is a secret lover rather than a mortal enemy.”

Mind. Blown. Heart. Convicted.

Sin and holiness are often at odds in my heart, and if I’m being honest, sin is often my heart’s desire. It is like an old friend who knows to use the “back entrance” to my heart because that door is never locked. And sin has access to my heart because I haven’t lost my desire for it. I know the only way to eradicate sin is to desire God more than I desire that sin. It is my desire that directs my actions and behaviors and my life.

James said it like this: Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.  After desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth do death” (1:14-15).  So the root of my sin problem is a deeply-rooted desire-problem. There is much work to do in my heart, where my desires grow.

But is it possible for me to change my desires? Yes and no. Yes because what I expose myself to feeds my desires. Music, T.V., movies, books, magazines, the internet, conversations, and, yes, even relationships. And no because God has to do a root-level work in me to redirect the desires of my heart. Transformation is the work of the Holy Spirit. My part is to seek it, to ask for it, and to cooperate with it. Which might just mean locking that back door and handing Him the key.

But wait – I’m going to correct myself. I said that the only way to eradicate sin is to desire God more than I desire sin. That’s not quite right. Truly, the only way to eradicate sin is to desire God instead of desiring sin. It’s not a competition between who gets the greater portion of my heart. It is full surrender.

God Always Comes

“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His Word, I have put my hope.  My soul waits for the Lord, more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. Psalm 131:3

The watchman waits with expectation.  The morning came yesterday.  It came the day before that and the day before that and all the days before.  It will come today. It is dark through the night but the morning never fails to come.

You can hope in God because He will never fail to come. He has come every time you’ve had a need. It is dark in the moment but He will come.

He will come with new mercies (Lamentations 3:23).

He will come with glory (Exodus 16:7).

He will come with redemption (Ruth 3:13).

He will come with listening ears (Psalm 5:3).

He will come with healing (Luke 6:19).

He will come with power (Isaiah 40:10).

He will come with rejoicing (Psalm 30:5).

He will come with strength (Psalm 59:16).

He will come with salvation (Psalm 62:1).

He will come with wonders (Psalm 65:8).

He will come with unfailing love (Psalm 90:14).

He will come with a sustaining word (Isaiah 50:4).

He will come with justice (Zepheniah 3:5).

He will come with resurrection power (Luke 24:1-6).

He will come with daily provision (John 21:4).

He will come with His Spirit (Acts 2:1-4).

He will come with truth (John 16:13).

He will come with the Morning Star (Revelation 2:28).

He always comes.

He comes with peace.

He comes with Joy.

He comes with promise.

He comes with even more hope. He always comes Beloved. Will you watch and wait for Him?

Words for Life

God had a word for me this morning, and He wants me to share it with you. It comes out of Psalm 37, so go grab your Bible – I’ll wait here for you. David wrote this Psalm as an old man, and it is full of wisdom gleaned from the highs and lows of his life. I want you to read the whole Psalm, but here are the high points:

v. 1 – Don’t fret – fretting is anything from worry to indignation – it is an emotion that eats away at us from the inside out like cancer in your mind.

v. 3 – Trust in the Lord – He has never let you down, has He? He is as dependable and faithful and His name and His Word. Trust Him.

v. 4 – Delight yourself in the Lord – Beloved, if the Lord is the desire of your heart, He will also be your delight. John Piper is a “Christian hedonist” meaning he has devoted his life to “enjoying God.” I think that’s a great way to live.

v. 5 – Commit your way to the Lord – Make God’s will the focus of your life in everything you do. I don’t just mean God’s will for your career or your spouse or where you live. I mean to make God’s will – His Kingdom – your will. Have no other will but His.

v. 7 – Be still before the Lord – this one is for me in this season of life. Be still. Be quiet. Let Me do the talking and the doing. And again God says, “do not fret.” Hmmm, I think there’s a connection here.

v. 34 – Wait for the Lord – He may not come till the last minute (or second as He often does with me), but He will come. Always. Wait – an while you wait, practice 1-7.

Wise words from a man who lived all out for God – and sometimes stumbled in the process.

Don’t fret.

Trust.

Delight.

Commit.

Be still.

Wait.

It’s not a formula, it’s not even a lifestyle. It’s a relationship. The sweetest one you’ll ever know.

The Stranger at the Well

She was a woman with a reputation that shocked everyone, but also provided endless conversation around the well each morning. “She has another man.” “She didn’t even bother to marry this one.” She’s trash.” The woman may not have been standing at the well, but she knew what they were saying. She felt it to the marrow of her bones – and in her heart, she believed their words were true. She was trash. She never meant to live this way – she felt trapped by her bad choices. It was a hopeless, depressing life.

She wiped the sweat from her brow as she carried the empty water jug in the hot, noonday sun.  As she drew closer to the well she stopped, startled to see a figure seated on the edge of the rock wall. It was all she could do not to turn back and run. But if there was no water at the house, there would be another beating tonight. She marched on, determined to ignore the . . . Oh, my! She sucked in her breath – a RABBI! What in the world was a Jewish rabbi doing in Samaria, sitting on the well in the hottest part of the day? She wanted to run, but he had already seen her and was following her with his eyes.  She braced herself and approached the well, lowering her water jug, as much to defend herself as to draw water.

She heard his voice, “Will you give me a drink?” For a rabbi, she thought, he’s pretty dumb. Jews don’t associate with Samaritans and a rabbi would never speak to an unaccompanied woman – especially one with her reputation. “How can you ask me for a drink?” The man replied, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” “Living water?” she laughed. “Where is his water jug? Where is his magic well?” And why is he here at all? Don’t they have water in Jerusalem? Jesus doubtless knew her thoughts, and in His great heart I am sure He said, “I am here for you.”

Beloved, whatever your shame, whatever your sin, whatever your regrets and mistakes and failures – Jesus is here for you. To give you living water. To give you life everlasting. To give you hope.

(John 4)