The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness —
on them light has shined.
Isaiah 9:2

I sometimes wonder if it happened all over again, would we stop long enough to notice, or try to explain it away? Sometimes I wonder about myself, as I start my day, get up, check things off “my agenda.”

But really God it is Your day, You have redeemed all my days and each one is a precious gift. I confess that I am sometimes too caught up in my plan that I ignore Your whisperings in my heart. Forgive me, Lord. Help me to slow down and have better Spiritual hearing. Help me to remember that my days belong to You.

“Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.” Psalm 139:16

2 Corinthians 12:9 (New International Version)
9But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

I posted a prayer to go with this verse and lo and behold, I hit a key stroke and POOF! It was gone…..So God will have to go with Me here and I will have to rest in Him alone. So the words remain in my heart and God knows how I feel…..

He remains my strength when I feel ill-equipped….

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:12-14

I feel as if I have discovered a treasure, on another blog I came across the writings of J.R. Miller. I tried to backtrack and find it so I could thank them but in all my online wanderings yesterday I lost track of where I was. He writes about something I have been working on in myself lately, being less critical and more kind. He uses the word “forbearance.” He has this to say:

“If we resent every apparent injustice, demand the righting of every little wrong, and insist upon chafing, and uttering our feelings at every infinitesimal grievance, and if all the other parties in the circle claim the same privilege–what miserable beings we shall all be, and how wretched life will become! But there is a more excellent way. The Spirit of Christian love inculcated in the New Testament will, if permitted to reign in each heart and life, produce fellowship without a jar or break.” And I love what he says about how “Christ puts a veil over our faults.”

A popular Christian author/speaker once challenged herself to not say one negative thing for a day. I can’t recall who it was, but she ended up being silent for the better part of the day.

I asked my Mom, “Did the world seem a kinder place when you were growing up?” She says, emphatically, “Yes!” I am talking about general terms here, because it is easy to romanticize the past, since we are no longer in it. But she says groups of teenagers, sometimes as many as 20 would go to the beach on a bus and nobody would even think of doing anything malicious. The boys treated the girls like gentlemen, and nobody got drunk or high. Everyone danced with everyone else, and they all looked out for each other. Wow. You could actually walk around in the middle of the night and have no fear. Kids respected not only their own parents, but the parents of their friends.

It is sometimes very hard to be kind. My friend took her Alzheimer’s afflicted mother to the store the other day. Her mom gets very sharp and unkind and leaves things she doesn’t want out of place, and argues about what she needs and doesn’t need. She has to go in the same entrance every time, otherwise she stands in the store and turns circles, lost. My friend is a master at the “soft answer” that turns away wrath, by God’s grace. It’s not easy, but it’s right.

In a world that sometimes seems very harsh, a kind act stands out and has the power to stop us in our tracks. I am now surprised when a young man holds a door for me…SORRY I miss this! I try to be nice to anyone in customer service, they have a tough job. My Mom has only two “people categories” either nice or not nice. I think there is some truth to that.

We have all heard these phrases:
“He has no life.”
“She deserves a life.”
“I have no life”
“Get a life”

The worldly mantra of life seems to be: “Do well in school so you can get the right job, so you can have enough money, so that you will never have to go without, so that you will be fullfilled and take wonderful vacations so you will never be bored; repeat cycle with kids, retire comfortably in Florida or Arizona.”

When we are born again into new life in Christ and start reading the Bible, we see that our earlier concept of life rubs up against what Christ teaches.

“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. Matthew 16:25

We try to get the two to blend, but they stubbornly refuse. It’s not so much that the first concept is wrong….school, money, good jobs, success; those are all good things, but as believers we have to be open to change course when God directs. The Holy Spirit prods us to ask different questions, not what do I want, but what does God want for my life?

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. Romans 12:1

Sometimes life interrupts life and does this for us. A parent becomes ill and all other siblings disappear, a grandchild needs raising and you are the only one left standing, a child drops out of school, the list goes on and on. Sometimes God gives us an unexpected call to serve, but if we are clinging so tightly to our first life we miss His voice….Sacrifice is hard, it’s not glamorous, you get dirty, sometimes you get no recognition, sometimes you are even ridiculed for your efforts. (Parenting comes to mind here)

You may feel like your life has become as predicable as punching a time-clock. You may feel defeated before the day even begins….But take heart, Jesus had something much bigger than whatever you are facing, and He did it for us! He did it so that we could know that whatever we do in this life has meaning, and an impact for all eternity!

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

And here is the miracle part…..the secret!(unlike the popular book of the same name that swept across the new age landscape awhile back) When we yield what we want and exchange it for what He wants, He brings eternity into the moment. Everything we do becomes a prayer because we can’t do it any other way; and somehow we always find the strength we need for each day.

So maybe your life doesn’t look like that “perfect” one over there, be assured, He is using your hands to make brushstrokes in His great masterpiece that will last forever.

We have a life, and it’s His!

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 15:58

This verse popped into my head during prayer time today and I always wonder what God is trying to tell me when that happens. When I think of being steadfast and immovable I think of these majestic redwoods. I heard His gentle Spirit prodding in my mind and then it went down to my heart, which sparked emotion. So many times, I am anything but. But I want to be…..

Paul is telling us in this verse that we are to be like these trees…..rooted into the rich soil of Scripture, knowing that whatever I do for the Lord is not in vain. If I am praying, seeking Him, listening for His voice, being obedient when He speaks, then I don’t have to worry if I am in His will or not.

As I dwell on these trees today my mind may be scrambled with worry over things I can’t change and things that may never happen, but let me rest in your promises Lord and know they are true.

Wish I had written this….

We thirst for something far greater than this world can satisfy. So we are always disappointed. Always. But disappointment is itself a gift. Disappointment drives our search for life. We go from one false promise to another, gobbling up things and people in great gulps only to find them go tasteless too soon. And that is the secret of contentment.

It’s when we discover that enough will never be enough that we can finally stop kicking and scratching our way through life, put it all down, and let God be the point of the compass for us. Then we are ready to link arms with the rest of the human race as partners in the great enterprise of life. Then we realize not only the insufficiency of the other on whom we have put the burden of our emotional satisfaction, but of ourselves as well. Because neither we nor they are God, we can finally be gentle with one another.

From Called to Question: A Spiritual Memoir by Joan Chittister (Sheed & Ward, 2004).

“You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” Augustine

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1,2

What does it mean to present our bodies as “living sacrifices” to God? We discussed this yesterday in Bible Study and we all decided that sacrificing can be very painful. Especially when God asks you to part with something very near and dear to your heart. Putting ourselves on the altar is tough; our flesh cries out in rebellion. Just try fasting for a day and you will see what I mean.

In all of our lives, there are areas that God is wanting us to deal with. When you start trying to live for God certain things cry out for immediate attention. You see what God expects and you think it is impossible, but “with God all things are possible to him that believe.” (Mark 9:23) As we walk further down the path of obedience we realize that God brings different things to our attention at different times in our lives. Lovingly, patiently, He heals us, questions us, turns us toward the mirror of His word of truth, but never leaves us without resources. And the process is sometimes very painful, like hacking off a limb, but:

“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” 1 Cor. 10:13 and we have an advocate in God Himself: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet was without sin.” Hebrews 4:15

So there is hope for every possible temptation of the flesh we are confronted with! God is not surprised by any of them, and He is big enough to handle them all.

Sometimes we feel like the thing that God is asking us to place on the altar is just too much of a sacrifice, but look at what Abraham had to do…..

(Gen 22) Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. {2} Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.” WOW! What was his reaction?

He didn’t argue….he didn’t ask why…he just saddled up the donkey, grabbed the wood, Isaac and went! Growing up I was taught that Isaac was a child, but further study into this made me realize that Isaac could have been a grown man! This means that Isaac had a part in this obeying too! He could have headed for the next caravan out of town, but he didn’t. Abraham had SO much faith in His God that He knew that God could raise Isaac from the dead. Nevertheless, I can’t imagine that it was a happy trek up the mountain for 3 days!

In that one act of obedience, Abraham took his belief in God so seriously that he didn’t hesitate to act. The story has a happy ending…Abraham and Isaac both walked down the mountain.

“And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. James 2:23

Maybe it seems like crawling up on that altar is the most painful thing you could ever do, but thankfully He has already been there, He knows the way, and He can get us to the other side!

Sometimes we carry around burdens that were never meant to be carried alone….We think we are being noble by handling it alone saying “I don’t want to burden them.” So we isolate ourselves and end up feeling more alone than ever.

We are hurting, but still we carry it around like a heavy stone, afraid to unload it. Or maybe we hang onto it because we have a bit of pride. The pride that says, “I should be able to handle this.” Maybe we strike out in little ways because we are wounded, with silence or slamming doors……we think they will ask us what is wrong, but when they do we say, “Nothing!” And so now there are two wounded people.

Finally when we just can’t carry it anymore we spill it over onto someone else, usually the one we love. In our haste and desperation to be rid of the burden we sometimes don’t go about it in the right way.

The way of love…..Can I hear an Amen on that one?

But true healing can happen when we approach with a spirit of humility. Which brings about…..healing…..restoration……love.

As it is brought out and held up to the Light together, a miracle happens…. We find out that they had their arms out ready to help all along. Burdens lift, the load is lightened.

Hope is restored. Two are brought closer together.

Jesus never asked us to bear one another’s burdens without actively seeking a helpful resolution and comfort. “Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ” Galations 6:2 But what is the law of Christ? It is love, so that everything we do must be done in the spirit and motive of love. There is good news! God has a ready supply and He shares.

For (Love) 7bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1 Corinthians 13:7