Jesus

Five stars for Narnia….

Then her face lit up till, for a moment (but of course she didn’t know it), she looked almost as beautiful as that other Lucy in the picture, and she ran forward with a little cry of delight and with her arms stretched out. For what stood in the doorway was Aslan himself, The Lion, the highest of all High Kings. And he was solid and real and warm and he let her kiss him and bury herself in his shining mane. And from the low, earthquake-like sound that came from inside him, Lucy even dared to think that he was purring.
“Oh, Aslan,” said she, “it was kind of you to come.”

“I have been here all the time,” said he, “but you have just made me visible.”  From Voyage of the Dawn Treader, C.S. Lewis

I went to see the latest in the Chronicles of Narnia series yesterday and I was not disappointed. If you want to be swept away from this world for awhile and enter into a world we all long for, where good always triumphs over evil in the end, then go see this latest adaptation of C.S. Lewis books. What I love about these stories as well as Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series is that yes, there is struggle and hardship and sacrifice, and though the battle between good and evil rages within our own hearts, ultimately the choice is made for good, and good wins. C.S. Lewis and J.R.R Tolkien had a Biblical world view and so this glorious backdrop of hope comes through in their writings. This is not the case of the Harry Potter series or more recently Avatar. While I enjoy H.P. and Avatar I always leave these movies with a letdown feeling. Not so with Narnia. C.S. Lewis knows that the ultimate victory as Christians is that our hope is in the Lord.

I may just go see it again……..

Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” Revelation 5:5

Where two or more are gathered……



“Again I tell you, if two of you on earth agree (harmonize) together, make a symphony together) about whatever [anything and everything] they may ask, it will come to pass and be done for them by My Father in heaven. For wherever two or three are gathered (drawn together as My followers) in (into) My name, there I AM in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:19-20
What is Advent, but God coming near? That is the great miracle that we celebrate. God comes to us in human form, but at the same time, He comes to us as Creator, Everlasting Father, Eternal and Righteous Judge. In Jesus we find every attribute of God the Father, in the form of a defenseless infant.
In every area of our lives we cry out for God to come near. We need help. We start life with optimism and enthusiasm but as we try to navigate along life’s twists and turns we sometimes lose hope. We wonder what happened. We don’t understand and we ask why. Families become strangers living in the same house. We wonder where the old feelings went and we long for those times to come back. Our lives become scattered pieces, and we don’t know how to put them back together. It seems everywhere we look we see shining examples of people with perfectly formed lives where all the pieces fit and it is discouraging. What it feels like is that God loves them more….But that is always Satan talking.
Maybe you feel like all is well in your life, great! Give Him thanks! And humbly realize that you need Him no less than when chaos reigns!

Always remember, He came because He loves you! He is the only One who can bring peace in the midst of chaos. A relationship with Christ is like standing in the center of a hurricane. While destruction and trouble whirl around us, we are safe in the calm, in the center with Him.With Christ we get that happy ending we always longed for, and no, it is not too good to be true! Advent has come, will continue to come until He comes for the last time.

The miracle of Christmas means that He is accessible, reachable, altogether approachable! Through prayer right now we draw Him close. We have hope that though circumstances in our lives may not be as we want them to be now, we believe Him when He says that one day He will set things right forever…..And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new ” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” Revelation 21:5

When Christ comes near to us we realize that this is finally possible and our hearts burst with joy unspeakable. This is everything we dreamed of. When Christ comes near, we begin to understand and believe in His promise at last. We have much to celebrate not only this time of year, but all year long.
  
Before I left home, at my folk’s house in the quiet of the morning firelight we were alone, just the three of us. I grabbed both of their hands and said I wanted to pray for them. As I did so, I could not speak for a few moments. I thought of what they mean to me, have meant all their lives. I thought of all the sorrow they have been through, how strong they have always been for me, how they love me…..my voice quavered a prayer and it quavered throughout the prayer, and that’s okay. Tears were shed, and I think Jesus shed one too. Together the four of us agreed, held fast by bonds of everlasting love.
Grab the hand of someone this day and thank them for being in your life, even if it makes them uncomfortable and they give you a strange look! Pray for each other and feel Him draw close. Give each other the gift of Advent today and feel eternity come near.
Photo by ForestWander Nature Photography.

Lauryn’s Angel

Angel by Lauryn

“Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “‘From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise’?” Matthew 21:16

This drawing may be a bit hard to see, but I had to post it today. My niece Lauryn drew this on the back of her big sister’s homework. They posted it on Facebook and it was a great way to start my day! Lauryn is a very late talker and has some of the characteristics of Autism. She is extremely engaged with those she is close to and very demonstrative now at aged 7. She is using new phrases all the time and I think she is extremely aware of everything going on around her. She is so very precious to me and I can’t wait to see her at the end of the month.

I was reminded of these verses when I saw it:

“And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. Matthew 18:3-5

I love how Jesus lifted the status of people, especially those who were considered on the lower rungs of society…..the poor, the lowly, the weak, the sick…..and of course women and children, wherever He went.

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. Matthew 18:10,11

I am so proud of you Lauryn, for all you have accomplished in your little life, we all love you! I just know that you spoke to the Angels before you spoke to any of us…..

Thoughts on a Sunday Morning…….

Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Luke 15: 1,2

Jesus knew that they were muttering, and He knew just what they were muttering about……then knowing full well they were hanging on His every word (they couldn’t help themselves) He zings them with the parable about the lost sheep. Luke 15: 3-7

I wish I could have seen their reactions……I was reflecting on how He must think of how we sometimes “do church.” Let me rephrase that, how I do church. I imagine Him answering the question much like this.

“If it doesn’t change your life, make you go out into my world and seek my lost sheep, do the work I sent you to do, then what good is it? I have plenty of people and angels to praise Me right here in Heaven. There is a whole world out there that needs saving, that is broken, hungry, cold, needs shelter, needs to see my Light in you…….Love them as I have loved you.”

I am thinking of happy memories today, grateful for a Baptist mother who wasn’t afraid to let us enjoy the fun parts of Halloween. My Dad came to the Lord later in life and after he did we still enjoyed dressing up and setting up the “spook” in the hall every Halloween. I can never pass a Halloween day without thinking of all of his grand costume ideas, and us carving pumpkins together on a crisp fall day. I just called him to reminisce and laugh about our memories and he told me that there was what was supposed to be a small event for Halloween that quickly turned into 400 people parading through the streets dressed in all manner of evil costumes. It is sad that something so innocent has turned into what it is now for some…..Lady Gaga dressed as meat. What next?

Celebrating the ways we are the same…..

In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good.In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it.No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval. 1 Corinthians 11:17-19

There was division in the early church, just as today. We are still getting caught up in our differences centuries later. When Yeshua walked this earth He saw a people scattered and broken, sheep without a shepherd He called them. With one act at the end of His earthly life, He made a way for us to be perfectly unified. The cross permanently bridged the gap for all time.


Today it is all about “celebrating our differences.” Has it helped us? It is certainly good to acknowledge our differences, but I think if we do nothing but highlight them, it only acts to draw us further apart. To me it is healthier to celebrate the ways we are the same, and that goes for the church as well. So many denominations, so many walls that separate….and yet, these are familiar words to everyone in the Christian church, whatever the denomination.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,


the Maker of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;
He descended into hell. [See Calvin]
The third day He arose again from the dead;
He ascended into heaven,
and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead……..

In many ways, we humans like to junk things up with religiosity and intellect. We have been doing it forever, and certainly when Jesus walked the earth we were. That is the one thing He so laboriously fought against. It is not about what we do or how we do it, it is what He did for us. When He said, it is finished, He meant it!
In Heaven there will be no segregation…..

And every time I am worshipping in a church service, grabbing hands across the aisles, seeing black, white, brown, crying the same tears, praying for each others needs, loving each other, I know…..

The Kingdom of Heaven is in deed, at hand!  

Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not take pride in one man over against another. 1 Corinthians 4:6
Photo from Brooklyn Tabernacle website

Multitude Monday

Photo courtest of Vermont Outdoor Guide Association

I see the man of sorrows and his long troubled road
I see the world on his shoulders and my easy load…..Sara Groves, “When the Saints”

Lately I have been speculating on what it really means to follow Christ. It’s a question I ask myself here in my sheltered comfortable corner of life. This is hard to put into words. I have been mulling it over for several weeks now. God has placed in my heart a question and a challenge. I have been aware of another road that is taking shape just beyond the edge of my thoughts. I see Jesus and others walking on it and I find myself wondering what my life would look like if I really stepped beyond the borders of my safe existence and said yes to giving Him everything.

For He is always asking something……I just don’t always listen. I was challenged yesterday when I saw a quote from Katie’s blog, in it she says,  “If we are really following Jesus, we will go to the hard places. Being a Christ follower mean being acquainted with sorrow. Because we must know sorrow to be able to fully appreciate joy. Joy costs pain, but the pain is worth it.”

I have the luxury of asking the question, the ones already doing the work of Christ know they are doing what He asks, they don’t need to ask the question……But asking the question is good. Just the asking takes courage sometimes. I don’t believe God wants us to browbeat ourselves and render us immobile with guilt. He wants us to look in our hearts and find out what He is asking of us right now, this very moment. There is always something He is asking us to do.  Being obedient to the simple things……. Knocking on a neighbor’s door, making a phone call to that person that God whispers to my spirit, driving across town to pray with a friend who is struggling.

Lord, help me right now to be obedient and open to Your Spirit. Help me never be afraid to ask the hard questions, for they can lead me closer to You. Keep my heart soft and my tongue filled with kindness and help me to see through Your eyes of compassion the needs right around me. Amen

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Matthew 9:36-38

I continue my endless counting today, with Ann and many others……….for there is much to be thankful for today and everyday…..Your tender mercies, friendly faces that smile back, cool breezes through the window, words that inspire, joy in simple accomplishments, yellow sliver moons, purple mountains at sunset, stars that shine in the desert, groceries in the pantry, courageous people being the Hands and Feet of God all over the world, Moms that send leaves in the mail. #496-#506

holy experience

Jesus, the original people person

 “Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Luke 5: 15,16
Crowds followed Jesus everywhere He went. He was the original people person. He wasn’t a people pleaser though. He wasn’t afraid to say what was unpopular, but He didn’t grandstand. He didn’t bring up controversial subjects to draw attention to Himself, although controversy followed Him because He spoke the truth, and the truth wasn’t always what they wanted to hear. But He always spoke the truth in perfect love. 
Jesus always had time for people. Maybe you feel as if you are in demand now, from your work, your friends, your family? Just try producing a few miracles and see how in demand you would feel then….remember the Calgon commercial? Take me away……..I think Jesus must have felt like that because the Bible says He went often to lonely places to pray. 
People like people who are people persons, not people who are people pleasers. With people pleasers you never really know if they are just giving you lip service. If they are really going to follow through. Do they mean what they say or are they just saying what you want to hear? This is just my humble opinion, mind you. I can say this because I have been a people pleaser at times, and I don’t like that about myself. I want to be more like Jesus and be a people person.
Ever been to a funeral and everyone gets up to speak and says how so and so “always had time for me.” We all know those special people who, no matter what is going on in their lives, they always treat you as if you are the most important person at that moment. They don’t look away, distracted by every little thing when you are pouring your heart out to them. I once knew a very special Pastor like that. People would line up out the door just to hug him. He always had time. He looked in your eyes and made you feel like you mattered….like he was so glad you waited so he could see you!
That is how Jesus was. I want to be more like that. It doesn’t come naturally for me. I think I would have been well suited to the cloister with a stack of books. But God wants us to invest in the lives of people. When I go to Heaven He will not ask me how many books I read. Darn.
When I look at Jesus, I see how far I have to go…….but He is happy when I try. He is happy when He nudges me and I pay attention.
Okay I am closing my book now……
 “One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret,  with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.” Luke 5:1-3

Remembering our Brokenness

“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14
Looking back is good sometimes. It reminds us of all that God has brought us through and I think it gives us the courage to keep walking. Remembering where we came from and what God has done for us is humbling. We remember the victories, the parts of us that were mended along the way, all the joys strewn along the path. We collect them like shining treasures, even the heartaches, because He got us through those too.
I broke a figurine the other day when I was dusting a little over-zealously. I heard a sickening thud and distinctly heard pieces break off. I was afraid to look. I already knew what it was, the little angel that I bought my roommate for her Birthday. “Don’t worry, she wasn’t expensive,” I said, “I wanted to go back to that store anyway. I’ll buy you a new one.”
“I don’t want a new one,” she said. “I will glue her back together.” She gathered the pieces and put them carefully on the shelf in her room. I was still insisting on buying her a new one, when she looked at me pointedly and said softly, “It means more knowing that someone loves her enough to put her back together.”
I think when she said that she was thinking of how God puts us all back together, but especially how He put her back together. She was remembering when she was broken. 
Her life was changed one morning in an instant when a truck driver who was thinking of too many other things pulled in front of her and broadsided the cement mixer she was driving. Yes, I said cement mixer. She has never been afraid to tackle anything. She remembers broken glass, and being pulled out of the truck by two good samaritans who happened to be eating their lunch close by and saw the whole thing. She remembers spending six long months in a body cast. Today she tells anyone who will listen that it was the best thing that ever happened to her. That it saved her life.
She fought through the pain of therapy and made a full recovery ahead of time. Then she moved to a strange town, my hometown, and ended up getting a job where I worked. At that time I was still grieving over the death of my husband but I clung to my faith in God and I guess she was watching me, because she started asking me questions about the God I worshipped. “How can you still be so positive?” she would say. “Because of everything He has done for me,” I said back.
About a year or two later, the woman who did everything on her own in life because there was no one to do it for her, met Jesus and was baptised in a river with a crowd of witnesses and me, and she has never been the same since.
 She has held that gratefulness fresh like a flower, close to her heart ever since. She remembers being broken. I think that is why she has an unquenchable desire to fix people, things, situations. That is her gift. She is a joy to be around and a strong witness for Jesus by how she lives her everyday life. She is the first to offer help to a neighbor, to sacrifice her time, to go out of her way, all
Because she remembers who healed her…..and who keeps healing her still.
She is a fixer, like He is a fixer. And we are all broken angels sitting on a shelf, just waiting to be picked up and glued back together if we will let Him. As He repairs us, we help to repair others……
Even Jesus was broken so that we could be healed of our brokenness…….”so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” Hebrews 9:28

Feeling Narnian Today

 “People who have not been to Narnia sometimes think that a thing cannot be good and terrible at the same time.”  Chronicles of Narnia
The Lion was coming on, always singing, with a slow, heavy pace….Though its soft pads made no noise, you could feel the earth shake beneath their weight….The children could not move. There were not even  quite sure that they wanted to. The Lion paid no attention to them…..It passed by them so close that they could have touched his mane. They were terribly afraid it would turn and look at them, yet in some queer way they wished it would. –C.S. Lewis

When Jesus went to the cross, He permanently bridged the gap between a Holy God and a people in desperate need of redemption. We can now freely come to the throne without fear, to boldly approach a previously unapproachable God. There is a point before salvation however, when we must feel the dread and fear that comes with knowing that we are powerless to save ourselves.
Everyone who has ever been shown just a bit of God’s glory has been struck dumb with fear, God is simply too overwhelming for us to handle in our present state, and yet this all-powerful, all knowing God, who created everything we see and even what we don’t see, willingly gives His Spirit to live within us! It is almost too much to think about for too long……God is so good.

Behold: The Lion of the Tribe of Judah

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account………

Jesus the Great High Priest
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 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. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:13-16

Good News for anyone with a need….

 “And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written….”  Luke 4:17
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor……
Notably, he stopped before He finished the entire verse which ends with …..and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn. Isaiah 61:1,2 
Why did He stop there? Because it wasn’t the time for judgment yet, it was the time for open arms reconciliation for a people who desperately needed God’s love and forgiveness. Although Jesus said that time would surely come, His first coming was to draw us close, back into the loving arms of God.
“Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Luke 4:20,21
I can imagine the stirring and rustling, nervous clearing of throats. They knew Jesus, they knew His family, they knew what they expected of the future Messiah and this wasn’t it. It was a huge stumbling block that they just couldn’t get around, even though they were amazed at His authoritative teaching. This was not good news for them. Jesus kicked the gate wide open for everyone to be able to receive salvation. They thought God’s favor was for themselves alone.
Jesus knew those words spoken in His hometown synagogue would be inflammatory, but He had to speak them anyway. Ever feel led by the Holy Spirit to say something that you knew would cause an unfavorable reaction?
He further incites them when He insinuates that it was because of their hard hearts that they refused to see who was standing right in front of them…..Their Messiah had come, but their own pride refused to let them believe it. “All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove Him out of the town, and took Him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. But He walked right through the crowd and went on His way.” Luke 4:28,29
There are many people right up to the present day who refuse to accept who Jesus really was, but the fact is, Jesus is God. Not only that, He is the only way to Heaven. He is God with arms of grace, extended for all who call upon His name. He wants to draw us close. He longs for it more than we can ever know, and all we have to do is reach out and take it. But to some people this is not good news. This kind of thinking is not popular in our politically correct, inclusive world. If we tell people this we will be labeled narrow minded, bigoted, backwards, simple-minded and archaic. If that is true, then I guess Jesus is all those things too!
The greatest tragedy is that some will miss out on God’s grace and forgiveness only because of the barriers in their own minds and hearts. Jesus removes walls. He removed them then and He removes them now. When He was on this earth, He systematically removed every single barrier the religious system of the day had set up. He took time for anyone with a need. He sat with sinners, the unclean, the broken, the sick, even with the ones who thought they had it all figured out.
He wants to draw you close today. Do you have a need? He stands ready to meet it, whatever it may be…..
I continue the counting of blessings today…..that I can recognize the mark of God in all these moments, #451 encouraging words from other bloggers, #452 the grasp of a hand across a table, #453 prayers that I know are heard, #454 the life in His words, #455 the kindness of strangers, #456 sunrise of pastels that change with each second, #457 the busy cactus wren outside my window, #458 talk of God between friends, #459 music that brings us to the throne #460 all who find rest from their labor today….

holy experience