​  “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,  but whose delight is in the Law of the LORD, and who meditates on His Law day and night.” – Psalm 1:1‭-‬2 NIV (http://bible.com/111/psa.1.1-2.NIV)

Really? Not fond of this verse, because I like mocking people. Not in public, or to their faces (that would just be cruel – and wrong). I make comments on the way people are dressed (“Seriously? Those are not baseball game shoes!” or “Walmart person! Oh my!) or their makeup or hair (“He needs a good barber!”). Yep, I am seriously flawed….. but then, we already knew that 😆.  

I am a sinner saved by Grace, not for anything I have done or could do, and I will continue to sin despite my best intentions. Unfortunately, that is the human condition. We have some great news, though. Once we have accepted the Gift of eternal Life from Jesus, we can count on this:

  “Who shall separate us from the Love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 

  As it is written: “For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

   For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the Love of GOD that is in Christ Jesus our LORD.” 

  – Romans 8:35‭-‬39 NIV (http://bible.com/111/rom.8.35-39.NIV)

I’m convinced; are you? It doesn’t mean that I can go out and do anything I please without any consequences. What it does mean is that I won’t be forsaken by my LORD in spite of my sins….EVER. Nothing can separate me from Him. I will face consequences when I face the Great White Throne Judgment, but I know that Jesus will be next to me as my Advocate, and I will spend eternity with Him instead of the enemy. Hallelujah!

As always, I am interested in hearing about your thoughts and appreciate the time you take to read these.

 

​  Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” – Genesis 4:6‭-‬7 NIV (http://bible.com/111/gen.4.6-7.NIV)‬

Is this you today? Are you downcast, and at the mercy of the sin crouching at your door? I wonder if Cain’s parents had told him and his brother about the Garden; about how breathtakingly beautiful it had been, and why they couldn’t be there anymore. I wonder if perhaps he was a little bitter and envious that they had lived in the perfect place, and because of their sin, he had to work hard working the land to grow his crops. His brother Abel kept flocks, and has difficult as that can be at times, it feels so rewarding to see your labor grow into beautiful animals. Personally, I enjoy gardening and the harvest that comes from it, but having animals… They click within my soul and bring me a joy and peace, much more than my garden. Could that be why Cain was jealous of his brother?

It isn’t a contest. God loves us the same, whether we plant like Adam and Cain, or we care for our herds like Abel, or we nurture and grow our family like Eve. It seems that so many of us spend our lives looking downcast and searching anything around us that we can treat negatively and disdainful. We feel superior to others because they haven’t dealt with the horrible life we have. We are so unfair and judgmental in our thoughts and our words… But what do we know about that person, really? They could have recently received news of a parent or sibling or child dying. Maybe their spouse had an affair , or left unexpectedly; they could have been fired or had a wreck or lost their home through some disaster. Life continues, even when our world is falling apart. No matter what we are facing, 

  “When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before You. Yet I am always with You; You hold me by my right hand. My flesh and my heart may fail, but GOD is the Strength of my heart and my Portion FOREVER.” – Psalm 73:21‭-‬23‭, ‬26 NIV (http://bible.com/111/psa.73.21-26.NIV)

GOD will never leave us or forsake us – it is us who do the leaving and forsaking, every single time. It’s such a rush, and relief, when we finally get it.

“But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”

“….. The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.” 

“In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”  This proposal pleased the whole group….  So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.” –Acts 6:1‭-‬7 NIV (http://bible.com/111/act.5.39-6.7.NIV)

What does this have to do with us? I’m not a Jew or of Jewish descent, so how does this work in my life and the life of the church today? This passage tells me that life within a church is messy, and it especially points out that it is not the pastor’s job to fix everything.

There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.  But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift.” – 

 

Ephesians 4:1‭-‬7 NASB (

http://bible.com/100/eph.4.1-7.NASB)

As a Christian, we are each called to do our part. If there is an issue that we recognize, or a thing that we know needs to be done, we don’t need to wait for the church leaders to fix it. As we are the church, we should be taking care of each other. One body, one spirit; multiple pieces. Whatever congregation or name or location, all Christians are parts of the same body. Just as our bodies have many parts and appendages, so does the church. Just as our Lord, we need to be modeling compassion and grace; not judging by appearances. Whether young or old, hipster, cowboy, millennial or baby boomer; homeless or Gaillardia, we are one in Christ Jesus.  

“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” – Psalm 103:8‭-‬12 NIV 

http://acts1.frontlinechurch.com/messiness-of-mission

​”Give thanks to the Lord , for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies.” – Psalms 107:1‭-‬2 NLT (http://bible.com/116/psa.107.1-2.NLT)

We are so discontent in our lives today, and I’m as guilty as anyone. We work so many hours in order to “improve” our lives, but do we really improve them with our actions? I wasn’t content with the appearance of my kitchen, so I’m spending time and money to change it. Will it be improved? For me, yes…. but for the next person in it, maybe they will hate it.

Will changing my kitchen/house (I have many more plans – heehee!) give me contentment? No. I can enjoy it more, but objects and surroundings – and people – are unable to provide the feeling for us. It has to come from within, and Fanny Crosby recognized it at an early age. Our contentment cannot come from outside forces; it has to come from our hearts, and the only true contentment comes through committing our hearts to Jesus. 

Fanny Jane Crosby wrote the hymn Redeemed, which is a favorite of mine. I just read today that she was blinded by an incompetent doctor at the age of 6 weeks, so she spent her entire life unable to view the world around her. Over her lifetime, it is estimated that she wrote over 8000 hyms, plus a number of books. She was a remarkable woman! She wrote this poem about herself:

“O what a happy soul am I!

   Although I cannot see,
I am resolved that in this world
   Contented I will be;

How many blessings I enjoy
   That other people don’t! 
To weep and sigh because I’m blind,
   I cannot, and I won’t.”

How many blessings, indeed. I can’t imagine going through my life unable to view the beauty of God’s creation. To walk outside and see the rain glistening on the leaves, to see the birds as they flit around the garden, even the beauty of an old iron fence or a dilapidated old barn…. those things bring me joy. Not to be able to view it, I just can’t imagine.

Redeemed 

Redeemed—how I love to proclaim it!
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed through His infinite mercy,
His child, and forever, I am. Redeemed, redeemed,
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed, redeemed,
  His child, and forever, I am.

2

Redeemed and so happy in Jesus,
No language my rapture can tell;
I know that the light of His presence
With me doth continually dwell.

3

I think of my blessed Redeemer,
I think of Him all the day long;
I sing, for I cannot be silent;
His love is the theme of my song.

 4 

I know I shall see in His beauty

The King in whose way I delight;

Who lovingly guardeth my footsteps,
And giveth me songs in the night.
Such beauty in words, and such a promise for those of us who love Jesus and have Him as Lord of our lives!

People hurt people. Unfortunately, that’s a byproduct of having free will. I’ve been deeply hurt over my lifetime, emotionally and physically. I have hurt others. We all have the scars to prove it! As long as we are alive and on this earth, we will continue to be hurt. Sad but true. Even the people who love us, and that we love, will continue to hurt us. We will continue to hurt others. Betrayal is a fact of life. That doesn’t make any of this right; it’s just truth. 

​”Don’t say, “I will get even for this wrong.” Wait for the Lord to handle the matter.” – Proverbs 20:22 NLT (http://bible.com/116/pro.20.22.NLT)
Oh, but I WANT the revenge….. 

I have to wait. I actually want to let God take care of the people who have wronged me (and who I have wronged), because: “It is written, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has known what God has prepared for those who love him.” (Isaiah 64:4)  – 1Cor 2:9 

God will judge, then He will be with us in the new world. EVERYTHING, EVERYONE will be new… No sorrow. No aches & pains, no disease, no disfigurement, no hunger or thirst. No mosquitoes, no ticks, nothing poisonous. Nothing scratchy or itchy, no ‘fashion police’. No abusers, and no more criminals. No discrimination or judgment for us after the Great White Throne judgment day, where GOD gives the ultimate vengeance to the wrongs we suffer here on earth. (SOOOOOOO thankful Jesus is standing up for me in front of this Judge!!!) 

“So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. For we live by believing and not by seeing.” – 2 Corinthians 5:6‭-‬7 NLT (http://bible.com/116/2co.5.6-7.NLT)

I am confident in Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I believe in the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit. His angels surround us. I am ready – come back, Lord Jesus, come back! Maranatha….

I love the story of creation! “Then the LORD GOD formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” – Genesis 2:7 NIV (http://bible.com/111/gen.2.7.NIV) Isn’t that the coolest image?

Picture God sitting there, cross-legged in the Garden, next to the stream, as He scoops His Hand into the mud and clay, and sculpts the first man! The image that comes to my mind is Michaelangelo’s David. Physical strength and beauty just radiate from the image. God took raw, unformed clay, and gently molded and shaped it until it was beautiful in His eyes. Then God breathed on His creation, and Adam took his first breath – opening his eyes to be staring into the eyes of God. Wow. I can’t even begin to comprehend the awe and the wonder and the love Adam must have experienced at that moment. PURE Love…. we can experience that Love, too. I have been bathed in that Light, and the absolute Mercy and Grace and Forgiveness that flows along with it are absolutely incredible, awesome, and completely indescribable! It’s like trying to explain the Grand Canyon to a deaf and blind person.

I stand in amazed in His Presence! 

1
I stand amazed in the presence
  Of Jesus the Nazarene,
And wonder how He could love me,
  A sinner condemned, unclean.
Refrain
  How marvelous! How wonderful!
  And my song shall ever be:
How marvelous! How wonderful!
    Is my Savior’s love for me!
2
For me it was in the garden,
  He prayed: “Not my will, but Thine.”
He had no tears for His own griefs,
  But sweat-drops of blood for mine.
3
In pity angels beheld Him,
  And came from the world of light
To strengthen Him in the sorrows
  He bore for my soul that night.
4
He took my sins and my sorrows,
  He made them His very own;
He bore the burden to Calv’ry,
  And suffered, and died alone.
5
When with the ransomed in glory
  His face I at last shall see,
’Twill be my joy through the ages
  To sing of His love for me.

The United Methodist Hymnal Number 371
Text: Charles H. Gabriel
Music: Charles H. Gabriel

I like having money. Having it allows me to go and do, or stay and do; having it helps to have a more comfortable life. Not having it gives me a headache from worry about how I am going to make it financially.

Jesus said “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” – Matthew 6:19‭-‬20 NIV (http://bible.com/111/mat.6.19-20.NIV)

I know He’s got it covered. How do I know this? Because He has shown me, time after time after time. The next verses are ones I think we all love to hate at times.

     “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. 
      Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 
     Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 
     Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?  – Matthew 6:24‭-‬27 NIV (http://bible.com/111/mat.6.24-27.NIV)

Jesus goes on to give us more reasons not to worry…. but we humans seem to require something to worry – and complain – about! If I think on it enough, there is always something that isn’t perfect for me. Clothes, food, house, yard, car, kids, spouse or the lack of one, animals, work, no work, coworkers, fellow students, family members…..did I leave anything out? How about the fear/worry of not being good enough; of not believing I’m worthy of His care.

He’s got that one covered, too. “For GOD so Loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have Eternal Life.” – John 3:16 NIV (http://bible.com/111/jhn.3.16.NIV)

Got the “Whoever” part? Jesus clearly says He will take care of us if we will let Him. I’m still not rich by earthy standards, and our income doesn’t allow for all the travel and goodies I would like to have. We have a comfortable home, and enough food to eat (too much, at times!). I am loved and I love my family. I don’t want for anything that I need, but I certainly don’t have everything I want (but don’t need!). Money is not evil, and there isn’t anything wrong with having nice things. It’s when we put the pursuit of money and things above God that we have a problem. I like to put it this way: do I give Jesus the same amount of time as we do for our pursuit of the “good” life? Am I spending more time and money chasing a dream than I can spare for God? Check your attitude for gratitude. I may not be wealthy but the world’s standards, but I am rich beyond words.

“Love, love, love… All you need is love, love; love is all you need.” The Beatles nailed it with this song, and thousands of songwriters write of love. All we need is love, because we are created to love. We need love to truly live, but not just any love. All we need is God’s Love, demonstrated by His gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. We all know we need it; it’s where, and how, we search for it that creates problems for us. Country singer Johnnie Lee sang:

“(Lookin’ for love) in all the wrong places
(Lookin’ for love) in too many faces
Searchin’ their eyes, lookin’ for traces
Of what I’m dreamin’ of
Now that I’ve found a friend and a lover
God bless the day I discovered you
Oh you, lookin’ for love.”

For years, that was me. I wanted love; I searched for love; I needed love. I was raised to know that true love is found only in Jesus Christ, but I was damaged and knew that He couldn’t love me. How can the pure and Holy God of the universe love someone like me who is dirty and sinful? I was beyond redemption…. that’s what that stinkin’ thinkin’ voice in my head kept telling me, over and over and over. Here’s what the Apostle Paul wrote about that:

     “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. {That means me, and it means you.}
     Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.
     But God demonstrates His own Love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:6‭-‬8 NIV
(http://bible.com/111/rom.5.6-8.NIV)

No one – I’ll repeat that – no one, not one single human who has ever walked the earth – is beyond the redemption offered by Jesus Christ. It took me years of searching in all the wrong places, to accept the mercy He was/is offering. He stands at your heart’s door, waiting patiently for you to answer and open your heart and soul for His forgiveness and mercy and grace. God’s promise:

#love, #Jesus, #Beatles, #redemption, #forgiveness, #mercy, #grace