God is love. ~I John 4:8
I don’t remember when I learned this verse.
It’s been part of my understanding of Who God is and how He works in the world as far back as my mind can travel.
But I freely admit: He may BE love, but I don’t always FEEL loved.
Read the rest here: Monday Musings: The Love of God
Oh, how I need to learn to practice the pause!
I’m getting better, but still react when I should reflect.
I need to do this EVERY time.
Lord, help my stubborn heart slow down and give me grace to yield and allow You to melt it, mold it and make it more like Your own! ~ ❤
Often this journey through the Valley of the Shadow of Death is dark and lonely.
I am frightened of what may lay in wait-tragedy has visited once, it could come again.
I know Jesus is my Shepherd and I never doubt His companionship. But if I’m honest, as much as I lean into that truth, it’s oh, so helpful to have a living, breathing human being walk with me.
So when a friend reaches out and takes my trembling hand it calls courage to my heart.
When we huddle together in the dark places, waiting out the storm of grief or doubt, it gives me strength to carry on.
Never, never underestimate the power of presence.
For now we see in a glass darkly, but then face to face, and now we know in part, but then we shall know fully just as we have been fully known
I Corinthians 13:12
So until then, what?
We feel our way in the dark.
Until we find each other.
We huddle together in the storm.
Wet and shivering, but together.
And maybe in the end it will be our huddling in the storm that gives us more comfort than our understanding of the storm.”~Ken Gire, The Weathering Grace of God
One of the things grief is teaching me is that I too often walk through the world like an angry giant, stomping around without any care as to where my large footprints land and what they crush underneath. I am intent on pursuing MY agenda, MY “to do” list, getting to My appointment or paying for MY groceries and heaven help the one who gets in my way.
I don’t want to be like that.
I want to be like Jesus.
I want to be gentle.
A broken reed He will not break [off] And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish [He will not harm those who are weak and suffering]; He will faithfully bring forth justice.
Isaiah 42:3 AMP
Jesus rested securely in the truth that His Father was near, that His Father had things under control and that His Father would redeem and was redeeming every little thing.
He was not anxious about outcomes. He didn’t have to prove anything or fight for status or control. He was completely free.
When I lean into the truth that God is My Abba Father and that He will and is redeeming every little thing in my life as well, I am equally free.
I don’t have to step on someone else to step up. I don’t have to put out someone else’s light so mine shines brighter.
My position is secured by the blood of Jesus. My light is the love of Christ shed abroad in my heart.
It’s ALL a gift.
It’s all GRACE.
It’s my privilege to live gently, be kind and give freely what has been given to me.
I’ve come to believe that my wounds and the grace God has provided in my woundedness are not my personal possession.
God did not cause my pain, but He is redeeming it. He is molding me into a different person than I would have been if Dominic hadn’t run ahead to heaven. And that person has more compassion and grace and mercy and patience than the person I was before.
If I hide my wounds then I am hiding the hope He has hidden in my heart.
I won’t do that.
“Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let’s not let it slip through our fingers. We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.”
Hebrews 4:14-16 MSG
Nobody escapes being wounded. We all ar wounded people, whether physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. The main question is not ‘How can we hide our wounds?’ so we don’t have to be embarrassed, but ‘How can we put our woundedness in the service of others?’ When our wounds cease to be a source of shame, and become a source of healing, we have become wounded healers.
Jesus is God’s wounded healer: through his wounds we are healed. Jesus’suffering and death brought joy and life. His humiliation brought glory; his rejection brought a community of love. As followers of Jesus we can also allow our wounds to bring healing to others. ~ Henri Nouwen
Thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that he is our Father and the source of all mercy and comfort. For he gives us comfort in our trials so that we in turn may be able to give the same sort of strong sympathy to others in theirs. Indeed, experience shows that the more we share Christ’s suffering the more we are able to give of his encouragement. This means that if we experience trouble we can pass on to you comfort and spiritual help; for if we ourselves have been comforted we know how to encourage you to endure patiently the same sort of troubles that we have ourselves endured. We are quite confident that if you have to suffer troubles as we have done, then, like us, you will find the comfort and encouragement of God.
2 Corinthians 1:3-7 PHILLIPS
Sharing our wounds makes us vulnerable.
When we allow ourselves to become vulnerable, we invite others to do the same.
In this community of mutual vulnerability, healing is possible.
It crosses my mind sometimes.
And it’s a topic of conversation among bereaved mamas:
Read the rest here: Beauty for Ashes
If I had been around in the intertestamental years of Israel’s history, I think I’d have been tired of waiting for that promised Messiah the prophets kept crowing about.
I mean, really-how long was it going to take?
What was God waiting on?
What was the plan anyway?
And then, when this young woman shows up claiming to have been overcome by the power of the Holy Ghost-well, that’s a nice fairy tale but hardly how I think God would work this whole thing out.
Except that was EXACTLY how He worked it out-God Himself sent His Son to be born of a virgin and to live as a perfect man and to offer Himself as the perfect and sufficient sacrifice for sin.
Jesus the Messiah, the Christ, revealed Himself to His disciples. He gave them a glimpse of His glory-the glory of the one and only Son of the Living God.
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John 1;14 NIV
We no longer have to wonder what God is like or what He is up to.
He is full of grace and truth and He is up to reconciling the world to Himself through the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus.
THAT is glorious.
When I was in school it was popular to ask a teacher after a test: “Will you grade on a curve?” The hope was always that since it was unlikely anyone would get a perfect score, the brackets would be moved downward.
Very few of us like absolutes. We prefer to be judged one against another instead of against an unbendable standard.
It’s no different with morality.
If you asked me to judge myself on a scale from Hitler to Mother Teresa, I would definitely put myself closer to her rather to him.
As long I measure myself against other humans, I am comfortable saying I fall in the top 50 percent.
Trouble is, that’s not the standard.
The standard against which my actions and heart attitudes are measured is unchangeable and inflexible.
It is perfection itself-the holiness of a holy God.
And when I place myself next to that measuring rod, I am woefully short.
Jesus shocked His followers by telling them that unless their righteousness exceeded that of the Pharisees (considered the most upstanding and holy in that day) they would never enter the kingdom of God. He expounded on every aspect of the Ten Commandments by addressing not only outward conformity (which, in truth, was impossible) but also motive and intention.
By that standard, even my “good deeds” are inadequate because they are often done with a wrong heart attitude.
I give because I want someone to think I’m generous.
I volunteer because I am a people pleaser.
I work hard because I want a raise.
Paul wrote in Romans “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” (Romans 3:23)
I can never “measure up” to the perfect standard of a perfect God. And while my flesh may be happy with “good enough” the holiness of God demands absolute perfection.
Truth is, I am a sinner-I miss the mark, I step outside the boundaries, I do what I shouldn’t do and don’t do what I should do.
Just like our first parents, I listen to my flesh and the evil one and question God’s goodness and His wisdom. I want to plot my own course, captain my own ship.
And also like our first parents, I find that I cannot do it.
I fall woefully short.
I am naked and ashamed, exposed in my sin and without hope for redemption by my own efforts .
In any other story, this would be the end-no hope, no second chances.
But God….
Two of the most beautiful words in the world!
God has not left me without hope.
He has not left me in my sin.
He has not abandoned me in my desperate state of alienation from my Creator.
He Himself has provided the Sacrifice,
the Perfect Lamb,
the propitiation for my sin.
I’ve always taught even very young children straight from Scripture because I believe there is no better way to introduce them to Jesus and God than by the words the Spirit breathed into the world through the pens of chosen men.
In preparation for sharing with the children of our community this week at VBS, I’ve been studying the Bible verses chosen for each day.
When I study, I look up parallel verses and use several Bible translations and some paraphrases to try to get a better grasp of everything God may be saying. I don’t use commentaries because I find them distracting and because I am convinced that the Holy Spirit can lead me into all truth.
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
John 14: 26 KJV
Since I’ll be busy these next five days, I thought I’d share my study notes with you.
The first day’s theme is “The Relationship Begins”:
Now Christ is the visible expression of the invisible God. He existed before creation began, for it was through him that every thing was made, whether spiritual or material, seen or unseen. Through him, and for him, also, were created power and dominion, ownership and authority. In fact, every single thing was created through, and for him. He is both the first principle and the upholding principle of the whole scheme of creation. And now he is the head of the body which is composed of all Christian people. Life from nothing began through him, and life from the dead began through him, and he is, therefore, justly called the Lord of all. It was in him that the full nature of God chose to live, and through him God planned to reconcile in his own person, as it were, everything on earth and everything in Heaven by virtue of the sacrifice of the cross.
Colossians 1:15-20 PHILLIPS
Jesus is God made visible! Selah
(Pause and think about that!)
The eternal, omnipotent God of the universe chose to clothe Himself with flesh and enter His creation as a creature. He subjected Himself to the same forces of nature I’m subject to. He walked like I walk, talked like I talk, was hungry, thirsty, happy, sad-just like me.
But He is also utterly unlike me.
He was before ALL things.
He MADE all things.
His power keeps all things TOGETHER.
He made me and as my Creator, He has the absolute authority to direct my path.
“Life from nothing began through Him, and life from the dead began through Him”-He is the Author of physical life and the Author of eternal life.
There is no life apart from Him.
Whether or not I acknowledge this truth doesn’t change that it IS truth.
Jesus said, “I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him. You’ve even seen him!”
John 14:6-7 MSG
Christ’s sacrifice and His blood make it possible for me to dwell with God eternally. He is the propitiation for sin, the payment in full for the penalty I deserve.
For that reason He is justly called, “Lord of all”.
God’s Son shines out with God’s glory, and all that God’s Son is and does marks him as God. He regulates the universe by the mighty power of his command. He is the one who died to cleanse us and clear our record of all sin, and then sat down in highest honor beside the great God of heaven.
Hebrews 1:3 TLB
This week has been challenging on multiple fronts and the challenges kept coming at the most inopportune moments. None of the things I faced was truly awful but each wave of stress swept over me exactly when I thought my head would be above water and I could breathe easy for just a bit.
I admit that by Friday morning my attitude was pretty awful.
And I was feeling rather justified and satisfied in my bad attitude-some people had let me down, some people had lashed out against me, my hips hurt, my feet hurt and my “to do” list had lengthened every day instead of getting shorter as I worked through the items. I was not looking forward to next week which is going to be filled with daily interaction with strangers and increased responsibility for children I don’t know.
But a conversation with my daughter (O Wise One!) helped turn that around.
She didn’t do it by shaming me or tossing Bible verses at me or refusing to acknowledge the very real challenges, stress and pain I faced.
She did it by turning my heart and mind to the children I would have the opportunity to reach next week in our community through VBS.
She did it by reminding me of the many children she and our family have known through the years that may not need to hear the ABCs of how to receive Christ (because they have heard that before) but may need the undivided attention of a trusted adult for just five minutes out of a long summer.
She helped me remember I love children and I love seeing their faces light up in the glow of genuine affirmation and encouragement.
She reminded me who I really am.
Sometimes we all need an attitude adjustment and her wise words helped adjust mine.
I have a shepherd’s heart.
It’s why I go to extraordinary lengths to save a member of my flock. It’s why I will drop everything to come to the aid of a broken heart. It’s why there is no such thing in our house as being “too busy” when someone reaches out and needs a hug.
But for a few days I forgot that.
I had forgotten my true identity in the frenzy of trying to live up to others’ expectations and in allowing others’ remarks or actions to dictate my own.
I forgot that the only One Who matters is the One Who made me.
When I remember that I am the beloved child of a loving Father Who has promised to meet every need I have through the riches of His bounty in Christ Jesus, I am free to be the person He created me to be.
And that’s who I want to be.
thelifeididntchoose 