This week I saw a picture of a father playing with his little girl. At one point he lifted her over his shoulders and onto the back of his neck, her little legs dangling, her hands wrapped around his forehead. The father had his hands securely holding her legs so she would not fall.
Seeing this scene shot me back decades! My family and I were living in Illinois. I remember that we often went to a park. There were swings in the clearing which was surrounded by trees. Behind the line of trees there was a stream with the coldest water. I loved walking alongside the stream, throwing little sticks and rocks into the water, watching the splashes.
My Dad came up beside me and said, “Want to go to the other side?” I remember thinking that there was no way to get to the other side. It was so wide! Of course, it was only wide to my seven year old eyes. My Dad reached down and lifted me above his shoulders. I placed my hands on his forehead and hung on tight! I was scared but at the same time I wanted to go to the other side of the stream.
All of a sudden, with one long stride and a hop, we were on the other side ! That was so exhilarating to me! I felt like I had glided over an impassable body of water on the wings of a giant eagle! What fun! When it came time to cross back over, I jumped into my Dad’s arms, ever so ready and eager for him to put him on his shoulders; together we would fly across the stream, safe and happy.
Often in our lives there are obstacles that hinder us from getting where we want to go. Things seem impassable. Fear and frustration takes root. Everything we try doesn’t get us anywhere. What can we do?
Let’s remember that as we travel along our life’s road, there is someone who has already mapped out the route. He knows the best way. He loves to see us happy and peaceful. Our timing isn’t perfect, but our heavenly Father’s timing is never too early or too late. He’s always on time. There is no obstacle that He cannot cross over. There is nothing impassable that He cannot lift us up and take us over — in His perfect time.
“Like an eagle that rouses her chicks and hovers over her young, so He spread His wings to take them up and carried them safely on His pinions.” Deuteronomy 32:11
Those of you who read my blog often will have come to know of my deep appreciation and love of animals. Therefore, it will come as no surprise to you, the sight which I consider so very sad, that I gazed upon this week. I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind’s eye, so disturbing was it to me.
It happened just two days ago. I was driving through a nearby town when I noticed something in the corner of a parking lot at a run-down strip mall. It was a number of cages of varying sizes, probably only about twenty cages. As I drove nearer, I could see llamas and monkeys. They appeared hopeless, unmoving, resigned to their fate. But wait! What was that catching my attention? The movement of a bengal tiger pacing around and around in his cage of about ten feet by ten feet. I could hardly believe what my eyes beheld! Those poor animals! That majestic tiger who should have been freely roaming the hills of northern India, basking in the sunshine in open fields, leaping and climbing. How devastating to see what should be free, caged in such conditions.
All through the past two days, the sight of these captured animals keeps jumping into my mind causing a sadness to creep over me. It was during one such moment that the words of Paul, as he wrote to Timothy, came to my mind. He said in I Timothy 6:17, “…trust should be in God who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.”
Our Father has made available to us, all of of His spiritual riches. We can freely take what we need for our enjoyment, but what do we so often do? We put our own selves into cages of despondency, cages of worry, cages of fear, cages of unending sorrow, cages of feelings of worthlessness, cages of hopelessness. We don’t have to be caged! We can walk freely, overcoming any burden by taking from the riches of our Father’s comfort and peace and wisdom. It’s ours for the asking!
No one has to live in a cage of despair and hopelessness! We can all walk in “the joy of the Lord, which is our strength”, as we are reminded in Nehemiah 8:10. I absolutely love, and have often been encouraged, by the verse found in Psalm 34:8, “Taste and see that the Lord is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in Him!”
Too many of God’s children cage themselves, peering crestfallen through bars of entrapment; deceived by Satan into believing that the cage is their lot in life. Refuse to listen to the enemy! Determine, instead, to listen only to the loving words of your Father! Just taste! You will see all the goodness He has for you. Walk out of your cage, into the arms of loving refuge; be free and full of joy !
All through the night, throughout the mid-western and southern states in the U.S., the weather was fierce. Lightening flashed so bright it appeared to be daylight for just a moment. Thunder boomed across the heavens, so strong it vibrated the walls of the house. Wind was loud as it rushed about in its severe strength.
It was not a surprise that the weather was wild last night. All day yesterday the news reports were full of warnings. We were all warned that conditions could be ripe for tornadoes. No one knew if a tornado would come, but everyone was warned to be aware. “Get your safe place ready,” the weather reporters instructed. Tornadoes did touch down in Oklahoma and Mississippi.
As I lay in bed last night, feeling the storm shake the house, watching my room light up with the flashing lightening, I thought of something else that could come at any moment: the rapture of Christians throughout the earth! From the time of Jesus’ resurrection and ascension to heaven, Christians have been looking for the rapture to take place. It could happen today or next year or fifty years from now. Christians have always been looking and waiting.
In I Thessalonians 4 we read that there will be a great sound like a trumpet. At that moment, the bodies of those Christians who have died will break through the graves, joining their spirits who are already with Jesus. Then, we who are still alive on the earth will disappear so quickly, the Bible tells us this action is like “the twinkling of an eye!” Wow! Imagine what the news reports might be when millions of Christians are suddenly gone!
This will be so exciting for Christians as they finally get to see Jesus face to face. After this happens the antichrist will come on the scene. He will wreak evil upon the earth such as the world has never known. He will attack Israel in the biggest battle ever to take place in history. The antichrist will attempt to sit on the throne of David in Jerusalem, but this will not happen. Jesus will actually come to earth for the second time, setting up His perfect kingdom and we will all be with Him! Oh, how exciting is that!
The second coming will be amazing — but first — the rapture. There is a verse in I John 2:28 that so makes me want to be ready should Jesus rapture us during my lifetime. John wrote, “And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ, so that when He returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from Him in shame.”
How do we remain in fellowship so that we will not be embarrassed should Jesus come during our lifetime? We must make certain that our hearts are cleansed everyday. When we know we have sinned, and we all do, then we must ask forgiveness immediately. Jesus longs to keep us washed clean. Also, when we’re tempted to do something or perhaps go somewhere that we don’t feel comfortable about, we must ask ourselves — if Jesus comes today, would I be embarrassed at where He would find me? Would I be filled with shame at what I was doing?
We want to be full of joy, not embarrassment when He comes again. Let’s pray everyday, asking the Holy Spirit to keep us aware of unholy things that would creep into our lives and into our thoughts. Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom and courage to have the goal to live in holiness. Then, when that trumpet sounds — woohoo! no shame! Only joy!
One wold be forgiven for wondering why today is called good; after all, it commemorates the day that Jesus died. He was betrayed, flogged, thorns made into a crown were mockingly placed on His head, he was stripped of his clothing and nailed to a cross. Mockers filed by shouting insults as He hung dying. Why is this good?
It’s more than good; actually, it’s wonderful! You see, to die was Jesus’ ultimate purpose. He knew that the plan of His Father was to offer salvation to the entire world. Jesus wanted to fulfill that plan. It was love that compelled Him to die that terrible death. Jesus knew all along what would happen to Him. Did He have a choice? Oh, yes. He chose you and me.
You see, payment for sin required a perfect sacrifice. Jesus was the only sacrifice that could be given for our sins. Jesus, the perfect Son of God, was the only available perfect sacrifice. He went willingly to the cross. The Bible tells us in Hebrews 9:22, “Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.” However, it doesn’t end at the cross! The cross was the door that opened the way to our salvation. It was the resurrection of Jesus from the dead that cemented the way for eternity. Since Jesus rose from the dead, we too, will rise from the dead.
Where is Jesus now? The Bible tells us that He is with His Father in heaven, and that He is right now, “preparing a place for us.” John 14:2. When His Father gives the word, Jesus will come again and gather us all unto Himself. He will take us to heaven to live for eternity in that place that He Himself has prepared for us. Isn’t that the most wonderful news? Doesn’t it truly make today a very good Friday and it makes Sunday a glorious day of victory!
Because He conquered death, we conquer death! Because He lives, we live! Because He is victorious, we are victorious! It all began on the cross. He chose to die because of His immeasurable love. Doesn’t that love compel us to gladly receive that gift of salvation? To receive this gift, available to us all, one only has to truly ask forgiveness of their sins and to thank Jesus for dying on that cross. At that moment, He will come to reside in one’s life, sealing them forever as one of His own.
Yes, this is a wonderful Friday, indeed! Hallelujah, He died for us, rose from the dead for us, and will come again to take us to live with Him forever!
Yesterday at the animal hospital, my dear friend and wonderful boss, Mary, gave me a challenge. In the upper row of cages in CCU there lay a very sick terrier. He was so thin, and weak; his owners saying the day before, that the dog had simply collapsed. We had just finished doing rounds, the night shift handing over to the day shift, when I hear Mary exclaim, “We’ve got a problem! We’ve got a real problem!”
One glimpse at the cage and there was no doubting exactly what the problem was in the terrier’s cage. Sorry to be so graphic, but there was sticky and smelly poop everywhere! I mean, everywhere! This was the worse smell I had come across at the hospital thus far. I gagged and my eyes watered. Mary was right there gagging with me.
She picked up the dog, I unhooked it from its IV, and the massive task of cleaning began. There was poop all over the dog, in its hair, on the mat where it lay, even in the door of the wire cage. Mary removed the door to wash it. The mat was removed. A bath was given to the dog. It was not a task that one hopes to have at 9:00 in the morning!
While we were cleaning, Mary laughs and says to me, “I have a challenge for you; write a blog about this!” We laughed amidst the smell and the mess. Soon enough, the little dog had survived her cleaning ordeal and was laying once more in a clean cage. The dog was exhausted. (We were, too!) The little dog didn’t help its own case by all the wiggling it did. “Be still,” Mary and I would coax the dog. The situation was bad enough but the squirming certainly did not help.
That’s when the thought came: We get ourselves in messes. We want out. We want our troubled world to know peace again. We want lack of direction to suddenly point the way. Instructions on how to get through these ordeals is found in Psalm 46:9-10, “He causes wars to end throughout the earth. He breaks the bow and snaps the spear; He burns the shields with fire. Be still and know that I am God!” If we would just quit wiggling about in our fear, squirming in distrust, we would see that God is most capable of cleaning up our mess, no matter how difficult we may have made things for ourselves.
When the dog finally got cleaned, she lay in sweet exhaustion and slept. It’s the same for us. When we finally quit fighting and start trusting, we, too, can relax in our Father’s presence. Fighting our fears only makes the situation worse; trusting in stillness, is always a more peaceful option.
This morning I was making my usual cup of coffee to start my day when something in the kitchen reminded me of my Dad. I reflected for a moment, recalling a past conversation; then, more memories of many conversations began to flow. I stood at the window smiling. My Dad and I often said that he and I shared a sense of humor that was unique to us. What he meant was this: he and I could get each other laughing to the point of tears! It was bending over, stomach hurting laughter! To tell the truth, there have been few such moments of belly breaking laughter since my Dad went to heaven. No one makes me laugh like he did, and I don’t make anyone laugh like he laughed with me.
Those memories are precious to me. They don’t make me sad; they make me smile and chuckle to myself, and fill me with so much thanks for the Dad I had and what we shared together. As I was recalling all of this while standing in the kitchen this morning, my thoughts wandered from my earthly father to my Heavenly Father. I smile at things recalled concerning my earthly father, but great comfort and joy and peace comes when I recall things concerning my Heavenly Father. My earthly father is no longer with me, but my Heavenly Father is with me always. He speaks comfort into my heart when I am sad. He shares joy with me when I am happy. He places His own peace into my heart when I am troubled. He reveals guidance to me when I need to know the way. He gives me His own wisdom when I need to make a decision.
Memories of my earthly father give me great joy of things that have now passed. However, the things of my Heavenly Father lives on each day. He has always been, is now, and will always be. His words to me are fresh everyday; they give life, because His words are life itself. This mystery is told to us in John 1:1- 5: “In the beginning the Word already existed. He was with God, and He was God. He was in the beginning with God. He created everything there is. Nothing exists that He didn’t make. Life itself was in Him, and this life gives light to everyone. The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.”
How blessed we are to have such a Heavenly Father. He gives us so many wonderful promises in His living Word. Whatever we need to get through the tough times in our lives is revealed in His Word. When we choose to follow His Words, we are promised freedom from unrest; we are given instead, a peace that this world cannot understand. As the Psalmist wrote in Psalm 119:44-45, “I will keep on obeying your law forever and forever. I will walk in freedom, for I have devoted myself to your commandments.”
May you all be filled with peace and joy today as you remember the promises of your Heavenly Father in your own lives.
Isn’t it sweet to watch a little child do his or her best to imitate someone they admire? A little boy may smear shaving cream all over his face with pretenses of shaving. He wants to be like his Dad. A little girl is excited to get hold of her mother’s lipstick. She wants to be like Mom. Pupils may be inspired by a certain teacher. They want to study harder, to be like the one from whom they have learned so much. All though life we meet people, get to know them, and perhaps, if there is something in their lives that we admire, we find ourselves wishing that we could be like that person.
Imitation is said to be the greatest compliment. To try and emulate someone we hold in high regard and appreciate is a normal human characteristic. Jesus had something to say about imitation in Matthew 10:25. He was speaking with His disciples when He said, “It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher.” In this instance, Jesus was speaking about Himself and of those who learn from Him. To anyone who knows Jesus and seeks to be like Him, that person is a disciple of Jesus. To become more and more like Jesus will bring joy and peace to our lives. To become like Jesus will cause us to want to be a better person tomorrow than what we are today. There is no higher goal than to be like Jesus.
When we first come to know Jesus, we’re a mere babe in Christ. We try to imitate Him. We want to grow into a mature Christian. We want to talk like Jesus, to make godly decisions, to behave like Jesus. There will be days of good imitation, and there will be days when Jesus is unrecognizable in our lives. We all make mistakes. Sometimes we are even deliberate in turning away from our teacher, Jesus. We decide that we know best. How blessed we are to have His promise of forgiveness when we sincerely ask Him and determine to strive not to repeat the offense.
There are two things to be said about Jesus and His students: those who forget His teaching are those who grow in personal misery; those who focus on His teaching are those who grow in personal joy. There is no in-between. Those who remain faithful and diligent followers of the teachings of Jesus are those who maintain the peace of Jesus in the midst of turmoil. Those who follow His teachings are those who are given the wisdom of God, a holy discernment in matters of this world, and blessings from our heavenly Father that are far beyond anything this world measures as valuable.
The things of this world will pass away. Things of God live on for eternity. Let’s keep Jesus as our number one teacher. Peace in the midst of hurt, holy direction in the midst of worry, and joy of heart in the middle of all life’s turmoil, will belong to every student who seeks to imitate the greatest teacher; Jesus, who said to His students in Matthew 11:29,
“Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” What a promise from our teacher!
This week I decided to tackle cleaning the back porch. It was truly a mess! In fairness, I must say that we’ve been having some work done on the house, so naturally there was dust and debris, a few tools and empty caulking tubes laying about. Items had been stored on the porch and needed to be returned to the shed; other items needed to be washed, and the floor certainly needed a good sweeping.
Motivated for the task at hand, I set to work feeling rather jovial. However, after a good while of moving items, sweeping and washing, I stood back to take a look at my progress and — good grief! It was worse than when I began! What I thought would take maybe an hour, actually took half the day! I determined to stay with the job until all was looking good. When everything was thoroughly cleaned, and misplaced items back in proper places, the result made me feel that the effort was worth it. What a lovely porch to sit in, sipping coffee, enjoying the country view.
Can you remember times when you came to God and asked Him to clean up your life? You truly meant it! Your desire to trust your heavenly Father was strong. You gave yourself wholly to Him to begin making you like Him. The cleaning up of the house of your life began. Your Heavenly Father would go into every room, throwing away all that did you no good, sweeping away the dirt of all sin, polishing you to the point that the Light of the world — His Son — could shine through you, encouraging others to also give themselves wholly to Father.
But wait…it isn’t exactly all that easy, is it. Do you ever find that you have the desire, but not the patience? We want to be made like Jesus — and please make me like Him now! What we think will take but a prayer to do the job, is actually a daily activity of keeping ourselves surrendered to the holy cleansing of our heavenly Father. He does a thorough job. He searches our hearts and minds, dusting and washing, removing and repairing, daily making us a little more like Jesus than we were the day before.
I’ve enjoyed our clean back porch this week, but guess what? It’s already very dusty — again! I need to get the broom out. Next week and the week after, I will need to do the same to keep everything as it should be.
It’s no different in our walk with God. We get dirty feet walking around in the world. Our minds get cluttered with debris that makes concentrating on the things of God very difficult. Our hearts become tainted with unnecessary items of anger and bitterness, perhaps jealousy or arrogance. Those items need to be swept out and tossed away. Sometimes we may think to ignore the debris and unwanted items might not be all that bad. However, one day of unswept dirt just brings on more dirt the next day and the next.
Let’s not ignore the rooms in the house of our lives that need cleansing. Your heavenly Father is always ready to do His holy sweeping, and when He does, you’ll feel so much better! It’s not a one time only decision. My back porch needs regular cleaning; so does my life!
A wonderful daily prayer is found in Psalm 51:10: “Create in me a clean heart, Oh God, and renew a right spirit within me.”
My mother and I did some grocery shopping this week. I was pushing the cart up one aisle and down the other. Several others were busy with their own shopping. I noticed a young mother with a very little one strapped into a baby seat. Her toddler was walking alongside, his chubby fingers holding on tight to the wire frame of the cart. We met them often in our goings up and down the aisles.
Turning into another aisle, there was the young mother coming in our direction; but something didn’t look right. I stared at the picture of mother and baby. Where was the toddler? I kept staring, my gaze traveling up and down the aisle, hoping to spy the toddler nearby. I saw nothing. I could feel my forehead furrowing into a frown as my heart began to beat with anxious thoughts. Just then, around the far end of the aisle, there came the little one — running toward his mother! He ran halfway up the aisle to where his mother was selecting some canned goods. That half aisle must have seemed like a marathon to his eighteen inch legs. When he arrived at his mother’s cart, his hand reached up to grab hold of its wire frame. As he was running, I took note of the fear on his face. Understandably, he had been frightened when he realized that his mother was no where to be seen. However, as soon as he stood near his mother once again, those chubby fingers clinging once more to the cart, his countenance turned from fear to peace — just like that — in an instant.
Have you experienced times in your life when circumstances made you feel alone? Perhaps you felt that you had lost your way. You didn’t know in which direction to go. Fear began to take hold.
When those moments come (and they happen to us all) take the example of the little boy in the grocery store and run! Run to the One who knows you better than you know yourself. Run to the One who knows the direction in which you should go. Run to the One who gives you peace in place of fear. Run to the One in whom you can trust. Run to the One who never fails. Run to the One whose word is faithful and true. Turn your gaze from anything else in the aisle of trepidation, and gaze instead into the face of the One who is always there to take your hand. As God says in Isaiah 41:10:
“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”
Isn’t it aggravating how quickly dust returns to our window sills, table surfaces, and let’s not mention dust covered ornaments! We dust one day and in just a few days times, sometimes even the very next day, those unwanted, dirty particles have come back again!
It’s the same with our carpets and floors. We may or may not wipe our feet before entering the house, but it doesn’t matter; it takes hardly any time at all before we see hints of dirt gathering. Out comes the vacuum cleaner and we do our task of sucking up the dirt. We spend countless hours of our lives, which would add into months, of dust wiping and dirt vacuuming. It’s not the most pleasant task, but we certainly wouldn’t want to leave it undone, letting dirt pile up!
If we are set on cleaning up our physical worlds, why then do we so readily neglect cleaning up our spiritual worlds? No one is perfect. We all behave badly at various times in our lives. We all open our mouths and insert feet! Our lives become tainted with sin. Oh, what an ugly word! I wonder if the very word itself is why we so often try to ignore it. Perhaps we tell ourselves, if we ignore the sin, maybe it will just drift away, but that is not so. Ignoring the dirt in our lives will just pile up like the neglected carpet we fail to vacuum.
Our heavenly Father has made a way for us to get rid of the dust and dirt in our lives. He loves providing us with means to stay clean. It’s recorded in I John 1:9, “If we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong.” Isn’t that the most wonderful promise? God does not lie. The verse says He cleans us from every wrong!
Think of the dust and dirt that may have piled up in your life. Maybe you’ve tried to sweep it under the carpet of excuses. Maybe you’ve tried to brush it over onto someone else who “made you do it.” Remember this: there are no excuses we can give to God. The only thing we can do to remain clean is to confess the misdeeds before Him.
Someone once told me that they get embarrassed, even before God, to confess their sins. I can understand that feeling. I could not begin to count the times I’ve come to God with the ghastly feeling of — I’ve blown it again! However, when I do come, when I do admit the wrong I have done, the cleansing of heart and mind is instantaneous! Oh, does it feel good!
Saving up the dust and dirt in our lives will never, even one time, make us feel good all over. Go ahead, bring your dirt to your heavenly Father. Let Him do His holy vacuuming in your heart. You will only regret not having come to Him sooner.
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