Christian living

Onto the green…..

In everything give thanks……..“Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18

As I walked outside this morning, I glimpsed one of those magic Arizona sunrises that I knew I had to capture. I got my camera and drove across the street to the golf course, where the golfer’s church, their form of Sunday service I suppose, was just about to commence. The announcer’s voice…..the morning lineup of who would tee off….

I thought, I could just about get used to this kind of service.

I don’t know if God was with them, but He was certainly with me.

Thank you precious Lord, for giving me the eyes to see You.

And this.

Amen

The door of peace

 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27
Every day we have a choice. Which door will I walk through? That of the Spirit or that of the world? In every circumstance a door of choice lays before us. Some people don’t even realize a choice exists, they just react, and react badly. I have realized my own capacity to veer wildly off the path, leave the way of peace in the dust and choose to react the way the world does.
I am amazed and ashamed at my own capability for white hot rage, or resentment that sticks like a burr in my heart. One minute I am praying in the Spirit and in the next instant I am ready to lash out……At what someone does, or says. This is the human condition, and one Jesus knew well. It’s one of the reasons He came. He knew we were hopeless and helpless without Him. Without His Spirit indwelling us, working through us and in us, we don’t have a snowball’s chance. (you know the rest)

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

Friends, this is a battle. And thankfully it is a battle that Christ has already won. I don’t have a chance of winning it on my own. Many times I still try. 

Today, moment by moment, choice by choice I can choose to lay down my weapons and walk peacefully through the door of the Spirit.

Come with me.

Pray for me and I will pray for you, okay? 

A Free Gift

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8,9
News leaves me cold these days. We are, all of us, inundated with information…..most of it useless. How did we get to be a society, a people, so influenced by culture and what it says. I don’t care about any of it so I scan over the headlines as quickly as I can. It makes me weary, nothing changes, only the faces of the latest celebrity of the minute, the hour, the week.  
I skim past them, glancing at headlines, stopping every now and again as I shiver at the violence, destruction, loss that is now part of our normal. At what shouldn’t be, but is.
I stay just long enough to know what is going on in the world. And I am reminded of one thing:
 What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 1:9
But faith is one thing that never gets old. It gets renewed again and again. Increases in power, with constant use. It is stretched but never can be broken beyond repair. It stays gleaming and shiny new as that moment when we first grabbed onto it. Whether it was out of desperation or hope as slim as a spider’s thread……it was real.
The other day in a book I was reading one of the characters said, “I just can’t believe, I don’t have that gift of faith.” That is when I remembered again what a gift it really is. To believe. To have faith in what we can’t see.
It is something we could never do on our own…..for even the act of believing comes from God Himself. Otherwise we could never do it. But He holds it out to us each day. And I believe, I really believe that though He will never force it on us, He holds out hope that we will accept it.
And I don’t believe it is too late until we take that last breath.
Thank you Father for such a wonderful gift. 

Going Deep

Sometimes I wonder why I am content to wade………and I wonder how my life would look if I dared to go deep with God. I have gone deep before so I know how it feels. When things are good and I feel like I have things under control I tend to stay in the shallows. I read my Bible and pray, but just enough……
Then when I get desperate, I submerge myself in Scripture……..Prayer……..Calling out to God…..fasting.….And of course, He is there. He always answers. The truth hits home, for when are we ever not desperate in this life?
When do we not need Him? I wonder how my life would look if I truly lived by the Spirit’s leading. If I listened to that quiet voice when it beckoned more often. 
What is it that prevents me from walking that close, that intimate with my Heavenly Father?
I guess it really comes down to fear of where He might lead, what He might ask….So much so, that I forget all the blessing that He assures me would come with it.

Then I remember that was the first sin of Adam and Eve…….He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid. 
His love for the children of His creation led His steps to the Garden,
To the Cross.
He even went so far as to fill us with His Spirit so that we may never be without Him.

Shouldn’t that be enough to convince me of His love? That where He leads I need never fear?
Yet sometimes I still fear. This life is full of it.
And still His Grace is with me, walking where I walk.
And someday, in that face to face place called Heaven we will walk again without fear in the Garden.
No separation, ever again.
The future is bright my friends.
You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:11

Always the Same

Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:7,8
 
God could have made every sunset and sunrise the same…..but He didn’t. I wanted to show these one after the other to show how beautiful and how miraculous each one is all on its own. They never happen just the same way…..
I’m not sure what these little birds are, but they were very entertaining. They raced to the retreating waves to dig for sand crabs, then they would race to escape the waves when they came back in. Sometimes they would get caught and have to fly out of the way. They didn’t like getting wet! A lazy seagull waited, watching them with interest. He tried to steal their spoil when he noticed they had something. Lazy guy.
This is the sunset I captured, racing breathless to the sea right before it sank beneath it’s depths on the other side of the world on our last night there. As my lungs burned and I tried to catch my breath, I watched as another work of art was displayed before my eyes. It was like watching a prayer…..
And I got a bunch of these pelicans flying right above the surf looking for their breakfast……
Since the beginning of time, when God set it all in motion, these events have played on. Sometimes we are so mired in the circumstances of life and the stress that surrounds us that we don’t notice, yet still they keep unfolding….just like God’s grace.
It is encouraging to me that whatever happens in my life, Jesus always stays the same.
All photos taken in Moss Landing, California by me

The Art of Being

 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Ephesians 4:1-6

He held us captive, with his antics.
As he went through a whole routine of bathing and grooming, he seemed to know we were watching.

He even gave us a big smile for the camera……
Then he hid his eyes……
As we all watched, enthralled, I was struck by how a group of strangers became friends for the whole time he put on his show. We were unified in our adoration of his antics, his free spirit.
The simple beauty of watching one of His creations just being him (or her) self.
At peace in his world.
And for awhile, we were at peace in ours.
He gave us a gift, this little guy did.
I asked God, if I could keep it, that peaceful feeling I felt on the shore. He said, “Yes, there is plenty of peace where that came from just as long as you rest in me, child.
………just rest in me.
So today I am taking a lesson from the otter, and rest in my place in Creation, just relax in the waves.
Just be.  
(click on pictures to make larger)

God Whispers Things

And the LORD will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. Isaiah 58:11

Sometimes God whispers things in the dark and silent moments between breaths…..and prayers. I was feeling so dry this morning. As dry as toast. Hollowed out. Like someone took my dreams and hopes for the future and blew them away with a puff of air.
 
I know I have Heaven…….I know what awaits me is better than anything I can imagine. I have nothing but hope there. But I need hope now, and for the rest of my life. Hope that it will all work out. Hope to fill in the holes.
 
He whispered……..”Those holes and empty places you feel? That fear of the future? Those holes are all the better for Me to fill.”
 
Sometimes He does empty us out so He can fill us with Him.
 
The reason I know it was Him?
 

It was still
It was small
It was immediate
 
And it put my fears to rest……………..as only He can.

The Miracle of the Promise

A man can no more diminish God’s glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, ‘darkness’ on the walls of his cell. C. S. Lewis

I was thinking this morning…..how it’s all a miracle. No matter what we have to go through, we are here. Someone had to think of us to bring us into existence. And maybe even if they didn’t God did. It is a miracle that I believe, that any of us believes. And not only believe, because even the demons believe, but put that belief into something that started with a decision.

If someone had never taken me to church or told me about God, I have never have known that there was even a decision to be made.

Or that there was a God……and that He wanted a relationship with me.

If someone in your life thought it was important that you go to church, you need to thank God for them today. That they took you.

Maybe it was a stumbling blinding path they were tripping on themselves, or maybe it was a rock solid firm foundation. Whatever it was, they got you ready and somewhere in their hearts they thought it was right…….when many others were doing other things you were swinging your feet on a bench where you heard “the old old story, about how Christ left His home in glory.”

and it planted a seed you could never quite forget.

I am thanking God today that no matter what I go through in this life, God cracked my heart open with the light of His love……and in all these years He has never stopped. Because I heard and answered the knock of a God who wanted to know me and live with me forever. And you.

“For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” Acts 2:39

picture from google images

Multitudes on Monday

I’m not sure when it happened, but somewhere along the way I have stopped physically counting. I posted gratefulness and thanksgiving, to be sure. I have said loud and long how I have remained oh so very thankful for all that God has done and has continued to do and I have……been grateful, that is. But I know now that the counting matters because each one is so important. And if you stop counting, before you know it they all run together and something is diminished…..lost in the shuffle.

It is Ann who made me realize this, in her book of One Thousand Gifts. You see, I didn’t buy it right away; even though I was captivated by her blog from the first time I happened upon it. And even though I don’t know her, I love her. The part of her that comes through her writing anyway……..

There was one copy left at the clearance sale at Borders, and I should have bought it then. When I went back it was gone. So I bought it at Barnes and Noble at full price. I can only say that by page 14, the tears were streaming. It touched some deep place in me that no book has ever done in quite the same way. By page 27 it had paid for itself.

and I will probably buy more for friends and family. This book is not one to read casually, it’s one to take when you are settling down for the night, or when you are settled and still on a rainy day, or at a corner table for one. I would keep tissues handy.

So thank you dear Ann, “without the fanciful e” for getting me to realize how important it is to keep the count alive………

“Rejoice always,  pray continually,  give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.  Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good…….” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-20

This is what stood out to me in this verse. I had always misread it! I had always replaced one word with another. God doesn’t expect me to be thankful for all circumstances, but to be thankful in all circumstances. That changes the entire meaning. All this time I had saddled myself with a burden He never meant me to carry.

The count continues again…….thankful that someone comes to collect my trash…..shoes with good soles, shoes that fit……..Never having to have my feet touch the bare ground, unless I want them to…….that I have the money to pay bills……..not losing the joy of simple things, being able to pause even while frustrated or angry to say a prayer of thanks to God for His creation, fresh brewed coffee, even better, people to share it with……a brand new book……that I can let some things slide that I never would before……elderly people around me who have not lost their zest for life or their gratitude for this good earth and their part in its joys and sorrows and last but not least, recapturing my joy in numbering these blessings #700-#713

God Goes Where He’s Wanted

A modern day evangelist lamented, “Whenever the Apostle Paul visited a city, the residents started a riot; when I visit, they serve tea.”

The church in Thessalonica, like many of Paul’s churches, was born amid violent upheaval. An angry mob took offense at Paul’s work and chased him out of town, accusing him of causing “trouble all over the world.” (Acts 17:6) From my introduction to the book of Thessalonians, with notes by Tim Stafford and Philip Yancey.

The curious phenomenon of church growth during times of intense persecution is reflected in these quotes from Christians in different parts of the world.

From a believer in Malaysia:

“We are so blessed because in Indonesia they are killing Christians, but here we just have to put up with discrimination and restrictions on our activities.”

and from an Indonesian Christian….

“We’re very blessed because in Malaysia, they can’t freely publish the Gospel. Here we still can.”

Philip Yancey has an interesting observation from his travels and interviews around the world talking to believers in many different cultures and countries…….

As I travel and also read church history, I have observed a pattern, a strange phenomenon of God “moving” geographically from place to place: from the Middle East to Europe to North America to the developing world. My theory is this: God goes where He’s wanted.

Quotes and selections from the book, Finding God in Unexpected Places, I heartily recommend this book, what a blessing it was to read it.

I tend to agree with him.

But Jesus said, “A prophet is taken for granted in his hometown and his family.” He didn’t do many miracles there because of their hostile indifference. Matthew 13:58

Quotes and selections from the book, Finding God in Unexpected Places