2008 In The Rear View Mirror

As I write this Christmas is over and 2009 is less than 48 hours away. I am not sure I am ready for 2009.

2008 was a great year for me. I spent more time with my husband and my family. My husband and I celebrated 30 years of marriage and our relationship is better than ever. I saw my son graduate from college with honors. I watched my daughters navigate some difficult things in their lives with courage, grace, and tenacity. I delight to see all my children walk with the Lord. They are by far more spiritually mature than I was at their age.

I have enjoyed teaching and ministering to people this year. I have had delightful times with the Lord this year in which He has taught me some lifelong lessons.

My husband and I reconnected with some dear friends, Gus and Karen Bess, which has led to us being involved in a new ministry; which is always energizing and exciting.

It has been one of those years that I am reluctant to see end because it has been so good. The five years previous to 2008 were hard years for me. The 2003 Paso Robles earthquake set off a 4-5 year period that was fraught with difficulties and trials in both my personal life and ministry; personal physical problems, family illnesses, and the loss of some family members. Sometimes just getting through the day, week, or month was the best I could do.

But about the spring of 2008, the clouds began to lift and life became enjoyable again. The journey became a little easier, the burdens a little lighter. I was able to concentrate on coming alongside others who were struggling and help carry their burdens. What made the difference? I got drenched in God's grace.

Though I knew that through all the hardships and struggles God was working on me, still I fought Him on many things. I wanted life to be fair. I wanted people who had hurt me to repent; I wanted the people I loved to not hurt; I wanted God's people to thirst and hunger after God; I wanted to be in control. I realized that I wanted God to run my life according to my plan not His. But fighting God's sovereign control of my life left me exhausted and exasperated.

Finally, in the fall of 2007, God used the life of David and an odd character in the Bible named Mephibosheth (read about him in 2 Samuel 9) to show me the wide-screen, high-definition version of His amazing, limitless, compassionate, all encompassing grace. The result was that my view changed. Instead of focusing in on what God has not done for me or what I thought I deserved; I focused in on what God had done for me, which was far more than I deserved.

God cannot love us any more than he does now, and He will not love us any less no matter what we do. Nothing we do can increase or decrease God's love for us. This is grace.

See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! 1 John 3:1

2 Samuel 22 says that God "…reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep waters. He led me to a place of safety; because he delights in me."

God delights in me: ME. That is astounding to me. Sometimes I don't even like myself. This helps me to have a more accurate view of who I am in Jesus Christ which helps me to continually conquer my worst sin, pride. It also makes me more compassionate and patient with others. God in His mercy has shown his abundant grace towards me. How dare I not extend a small measure of that grace to others who are image-bearers of God?

I will be honest. This has not been easy to do. I did not by any means turn into Mother Theresa (which my family will attest to) overnight. But I have seen progress in my life. I hang on less to past and present hurts. I forgive quicker, both others and myself. I am more compassionate toward others. I focus more on who I am in Jesus Christ instead of what I do for Jesus. I serve him out of love and not out of obligation because I am following a list of do's and don'ts. This is freedom. This is love. This is grace.

I hope 2009 is a year where I continue to be overwhelmed by His grace on a daily basis. May it be that for you as well.

God’s Amazing Gift

The incarnation—a miracle of God planned from the beginning of time. God knew His creation, man, whom He had lovingly sculptured in His own image, would fall. But God loves man and so He made a way to redeem him. Man's spiritual death would be redeemed by a birth- the birth of God Himself to a lowly, young woman. The incorruptible God entered the world through a corruptible woman.

He could have come as a man, fully grown, ready to start His ministry. But God chose instead to leave His heavenly world, spend 9 months in the body of a woman, make the arduous, messy journey out of the woman's womb, through the birth canal and into a sinful world. He took the form of a newborn baby, the most helpless of all humans, and at that moment in time, hope entered the world and His name was Jesus.

He chose as His vehicle a young Jewish girl, Mary, called "highly favored one" by an angel who visits her. She was, as T.S. Eliot says, "the place of impossible union where past and future are conquered and reconciled in incarnation." Mary is the one constant is Jesus' life. She brought Him into the world and watched as death took Him from this world. This "most favored woman" does not question God but presented herself as God's servant and said "let it be to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38) Her faith was simple yet deep. Perhaps she remembered the many Old Testament scriptures that prophesied the Messiah's birth. God had been in fact preparing the world for His arrival since before the world was created. The entire Old Testament is the story of a special preparation.

"Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel." Isaiah 7:9 2

"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times." Micah 5:2

"The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land." Jeremiah 23:5

The miracle of the incarnation made possible the miracle of salvation. We marvel at how God, the creator of the universe, could become man. Yet we should also marvel at how God could love us so much that He would leave His heavenly throne to become like us. The miracle of Christmas is not just that "the word became flesh and dwelt among us" but that God chose to love us at all. The ancient scholar Irenaeus wrote, "The word of God, Jesus Christ, on account of his great love for mankind, became what we are in order to make us what he is himself."

Take time this Christmas season to ponder, wonder, contemplate and reflect on this great love!

"See what an incredible quality of love the Father has given, shown, bestowed on, us, that we should be permitted to be named and called and counted the children of God! And so we are!" I John 3:1 (Amplified Bible).

The season of Advent means there is something on the horizon the likes of which we have never seen before…What is possible is to not see it, to miss it, to turn just as it brushes past you. And you begin to grasp what it was you missed, like Moses in the cleft of the rock, watching God's back fade in the distance. So stay. Sit linger. Tarry. Ponder. Wait. Behold. Wonder. There will be time enough for running. For rushing. For worrying. For pushing. For now stay. Wait. Something is on the horizon. Jan Richardson, Night Visions

Window Shopping

I love living on the Westside of Paso Robles. With the renovation of the downtown area, Paso has been able to keep the small town atmosphere alive and well on the Westside. This is a great time of the year to stroll along the streets of downtown. The shopkeepers are all busy decorating their store fronts for the holidays. I love window shopping at the furniture and decorator stores. The displays of their living areas are warm and inviting. The rooms are always accessorized perfectly. There is never anything out of place. As I gaze longing into the windows, I imagine myself sitting on one of the cozy sofas with a cup of coffee and having a long chat with a dear friend. It is entertaining to imagine living in that perfect room in the window, but reality soon creeps in. I live on the other side of the window in a world where life is not perfect, where my living room is not accessorized perfectly. Dirty cups reside on the table and stray socks hide under the sofa. So it is with our spiritual lives. My heart longs to live in a perfect world with a perfect family, perfect friends, and a perfect church. I desire to be a perfect wife, mother and friend. But I am a sinner living in a world marred by sin where perfection is an illusion. I am thankful that my family and friends love me enough to forgive me of my sin and imperfections. I am thankful that my Heavenly Father uses this imperfect world to refine me and smooth out my rough edges. I am thankful that Jesus challenges me to live out the Sermon on the Mount, causing me to struggle with the same questions; "who is my neighbor; how many times must I forgive; what does it mean to be light to the world?" My heart also longs for God. David cried out in Psalm 63, "My soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water." David could not quench his thirst for God. Often I try to fill my hunger for God with other things, other enticements, but they never satisfy. They are only temporary distractions. Perhaps our longing for God is not meant to be satisfied until we reach heaven. The prophet Isaiah said in Isaiah 26:8, "Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you." C.S. Lewis said in his book, The Weight of Glory

"At present we are on the outside of the world, the wrong side of the door. We discern the freshness and purity of morning, but they do not make us fresh and pure. We cannot mingle with the splendors we see. But all the leaves of the New Testament are rustling with the rumor that it will not always be so. Some day, God willing, we shall get in."

We are on the outside of the world, strangers in a strange land. But it will not also be so. Jesus promised the disciples and us in John 14 that someday we would dwell with Him in our Father's house. I long for the day when I shall get IN, when I can mingle with the splendor. When that day arrives, I will no longer be on the outside of the window looking in. I will be sitting on a cozy sofa having a long chat with a Dear Friend.

The Power of Words

Words. Words can bring great joy.

"Will you marry me?" "It's a boy!"

Or great sorrow. "It's cancer." "I'm sorry. He didn't make it."

Words have begun wars and ended them. Words can hurt or words can heal. Words make the world go round. Consider these facts. There are over 55 million newspapers delivered in the United States on a daily basis. Over 300 talk radio shows air on a daily basis. No one has accurate number of websites currently on the World Wide Web but it is estimated at 100 million. Facebook and MySpace, social utility sites for connecting individuals, both have over 110 million users. Words are vital to our daily lives and yet we often toss them around carelessly. The Bible has a great deal to say about our words and the use of our tongue. James says in James 1:26, If you claim to be religious but don't control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.

Jesus himself says that we will give account for every careless word we say. "Let me tell you something: Every one of these careless words is going to come back to haunt you. There will be a time of Reckoning. Words are powerful; take them seriously. Words can be your salvation. Words can also be your damnation." Matthew 12:35-36 (The Message)

The Lord has been working on me lately about my words, how I use them, how I say them, and what I say. One of my greatest desires is to be a mature believer, one who glorifies the Lord. James says in his epistle that a mature believer is one who can control his tongue. James goes on in chapter 3 of his epistle to tell us how difficult that it is to control the tongue and the words that proceed from it.

James 3:7-8. This is scary: You can tame a tiger, but you can't tame a tongue—it's never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer.

I grew up in a family where sarcasm was our family sport. We teased and poked fun at one another often, but it was always in love. However, when I became an adult and used this tactic with others it sometimes went very wrong. I have had to learn to control my sarcasm and my tongue and it has not been easy. Proverbs 12:18 says, Speaking recklessly is like the thrusts of a sword, but the words of the wise bring healing. I regret to say that I have used my words like a sword to cut and wound others.

Reading the book of James, I wonder if the writer also had this problem. James was the half brother of Jesus. Did he ever use his tongue sarcastically to belittle his older brother? Can you imagine growing up in the shadow of a "perfect" brother? Talk about a family being ripe for sibling rivalry! Yet James writes this about the power of words:

James 3: 3-5. A bit in the mouth of a horse controls the whole horse. A small rudder on a huge ship in the hands of a skilled captain sets a course in the face of the strongest winds. A word out of your mouth may seem of no account, but it can accomplish nearly anything—or destroy it! It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.

Did James write these words from experience, I wonder? Did he know what it was like to throw out a careless or wrongly placed word? Proverbs says, Death and life are in the power of the tongue. All of us at one time have been the recipients of words which have felt like death to us.

Before we came to FBC, Mike pastored a church in another city. We left that pastorate in 1994 and six months later we received a very hurtful, ugly,anonymous letter in the mail accusing us of ruining the church. We were already grieving the loss of our church and church family The letter came at a very low time in our lives and for years was a painful heartache for us.

James 3: 9, Sometimes our mouths praise our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. 10 And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!

With the invention of the personal computer, the internet, and email have come another way we abuse one another with our words. How easy it is to fire off an angry email at someone saying things and using words we might never say face to face. We think that email is impersonal and less confrontive when actually it is more harmful. There is no way of knowing the "tone" of an email and so we tend to read our own bias into it. We curse those "made in the image of God" through our words in an email.

What are we to do, then, to control this tongue? Shall we remain mute to keep from sinning? Jesus said that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. If we wish to change our speech, we must first change our hearts. This is something we cannot do but through the power of the Word of God. We must pour the Word of God into our hearts and let it change us from inside out.

My husband used to love to visit a restaurant called Cahoots on Park Street. He would go every Thursday and order the Thai Chicken Salad for lunch. When I came home on Thursdays, I knew what he had for lunch because of the "fragrance" of garlic around him.

Our lives are to give off the fragrance of Christ. What we put into our lives is what will come out. James tells us that our outward lives should reflect our inward beliefs.

James 3:13, "If you are wise and understand God's ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom."

How are we to obtain this wisdom? James says if you lack wisdom, ask God for it.

We are to pour scripture into our life. We are to prayerfully ask God to convict us of our sins, change our hearts, and give us wisdom on how to live holy lives that reflect his glory.

I can't help but think that it was through prayer that James was able to control his tongue. James' nickname was "camel knees;" a name he given to him because he spent so much time on his knees in prayer.

Oh how I desire words of blessing to come from my mouth; words that might bring life to another. The prayer of my heart is found in Psalm 19:14. I hope it is your prayer too.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer.

Proverbs 17: 27

A truly wise person uses few words; a person with understanding is even-tempered

Proverbs 25: 11

Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances.

Proverbs 21:23

Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue, keeps himself out of trouble.

Proverbs 10:11 The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life.

"Let my words be sweet for tomorrow I may have to eat them."

The Lord of the Harvest

October is harvest time on the central coast of California. From Santa Margarita to San Miguel, vintners are harvesting their grape crop. They are reaping the rewards of their hard labor. They have spent many hours planting the vines, pruning the vines, watering the crop, weeding, and controlling the pests which could threaten the crop and destroy it. The grower worries about how the weather will affect his crop. Rain is good but not too much rain. Hot dry weather is good but not too hot and not too soon in the growing season. Cool nights are good for the grapevines but if it is too cold frost will destroy the fruit. Then the fruit must be harvested. This too takes a certain amount of calculation. The grape must be harvested when the fruits' sugar is at a certain level to produce the necessary results. Harvesting too soon or too late can be disastrous.

My husband fancies himself a farmer. He spent many boyhood years on the family farm. He feels a deep connection with earth. Because of this he thoroughly enjoys mowing the lawn. I think it helps him to rekindle his connection with dirt. Shortly after we moved to our home on Vine Street, the farmer in him came out and he planted some grapevines in our backyard. Our grapevines however do not look like the ones I see spreading over the hills of Paso Robles. The vines which dot the hills around the North County are healthy, green and lush. They are pruned and tied to grow in a certain direction. They produce lush, lovely, and abundant fruit.

Sadly, our grapevines have not been taken care of. Though my husband desired to grow lush lovely grapes, he lacked the time to take care of them. I have endeavored to care for the vines, but I hate yard work. Our grapevines do not produce lovely fruit. They hardly produce any fruit at all. We rarely prune them so the branches are spreading in every direction. The leaves have spots on them which is probably a fungus of some sort. They do get water, sometimes, and they are so sad looking that even the pests leave them alone. We have yet to harvest a crop for our grapevines.

In John 15, Jesus compares our relationship with Him to a grapevine. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (v. 5) The branches cannot bear fruit on their own. They must be connected to the vine. In the same way, we cannot bear fruit on our own. We must be connected to Jesus Christ; we must abide in Him, get our nourishment from Him.

Jesus also tells us in verse 1 that God is the vinedresser."I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it, that it may bear more fruit." The vinedresser is in charge of caring for the vines. It is his job to cut away the dead branches and prune the good ones. By cutting away the unnecessary branches, more nourishment can be directed to the healthy part of the vine thereby producing sweeter and more abundant fruit. It is quite a skill to prune grapevines. One must know just the right branches to cut away and which to leave. Because God knows us intimately, he knows which branches in our lives to cut away. He prunes our lives with skill and love so not to leave us downtrodden. He uses His Word, His church, and His people to convict us of our sin and shed those things in our lives which keep us from bearing sweet, lovely, lush fruit.

The branches do not bear fruit to please themselves. The vinedresser harvests the fruit to give away to others. Such it is with the fruit that Christians produce. We serve others by bearing fruit. We also glorify God. John 15:8 says, "By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples." The loveliness of the branches and the quality of the fruit is a testament to the hard work and care of the vinedresser. By bearing quality fruit in our lives, we testify to God's love and care for us. As Christians, it is our job to stay attached to the vine, Jesus Christ. We do this not only by cultivating our personal walk with Christ, but also by being a vital part of a local church body. Both elements add to our nourishment which allows us to bear fruit. The producing of fruit comes naturally to a healthy branch.

The grapevines in my yard are not productive because I did not want to do the work necessary to produce good grapes. When I look at my spiritual life, I do not want to be a shriveled, barren branch. I desire to be a healthy branch that produces much fruit. So I will abide in Christ, and I will submit to the Father's pruning, knowing that His loving hands will prune only what is necessary; not too much and not too little. And I will spread my branches out in the direction the Father desires and watch as He harvests the sweet and lush fruit for His glory.

Gods Waiting Room

At some point in our lives most of us will find ourselves in what I call God's Waiting Room. It is a time when life as you know it comes to a screeching halt. You are thrust into a waiting room experience where God is often silent and feels distant or absent from your life. It is not unusual to feel that you are the only one to ever have this waiting room experience.

The Bible has several stories of prophets and saints who also spent time in God's waiting room and the book of Habakkuk is one of them.

The book of Habakkuk was written when the country of Israel had been divided in two. The North Country, Israel, had been conquered by the Babylonians, who now had their eyes on the south kingdom of Judah. Judah was ruled at that time by Jehoiakim, an evil, ungodly, rebellious king. It is in this context of war and strife outside the country, and violence, greed, and injustice within the country, that Habakkuk records his very honest conversation with God.

"How long, O Lord, must I call for help? But you do not listen? "Violence is everywhere!" I cry, but you do not come to save." Habakkuk 1:1-3

Most of us have felt ignored or angry with God at some point in our lives. I know I certainly have. And yet there is often an unsaid principle in the Christian world that it is wrong to be angry at God and to express those feelings is nigh to blasphemy. Well, guess what? He already knows how you feel! Ps 94:11 says the "Lord knows the thoughts of man." So who are we fooling when we are less than honest with God. Habakkuk is not afraid to spill out his innermost feelings and frustrations. He feels that God is not doing His job and there is chaos all around him.

We often want God to control and bless us with good things but not have control over our lives if it entails trials and hardships. We want 2 things which cannot exist together; God's absolute control and life's absolute freedom. We know that's not possible but we still try to wrestle that control from God. Some of us are pretty stubborn and do not give up easy. Habakkuk is facing that question here. He wants God to be control; he knows that God is in control but he looks around and sees chaos. He doesn't understand why God willfully chooses to do nothing. Then the Lord replies to Habakkuk, "Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn't believe even if someone told you about it." Habakkuk was amazed for God goes on to say that He plans to use the Babylonians to destroy Judah and it will be ruthless and quick for they will (in v. 11) "sweep through like the wind and pass on." This puzzles Habakkuk even more and this certainly was not the answer he was looking for.

Habakkuk's focus at the end of chapter 1 changes from the problems surrounding him to the person in control. Habakkuk does not understand what God is doing. He does not understand why God has been silent. And He demands answers. So he says in chapter 2:1:

His attitude reminds me of a toddler who crosses his arms and sticks his chin out and says "You'd better give me what I want, cause I am going to wait here until you do!" So He waits. He does not know what the answer will be or when it will be but he waits. Like Jacob who wrestled the angel and didn't give up, Habakkuk waits on the Lord.

What are you waiting for? We will all be in God's waiting room at sometime in our lives. Waiting for an answer, yet hearing only silence. In the waiting room we often experience the silence of God and a feeling that He has deserted us. There is no joy there when we first arrive, only sorrow, bewilderment, darkness and despair. We ask many questions yet receive no answers. We feel abandoned and alone. No one, we think, not even God, knows how we feel. We need to realize that even when God is silent and His face cannot be found, He is up to something in our lives.

Be assured that most of God's saints have spent some time in that waiting room. You are not alone. Habakkuk was there. David was there. David writes in Psalm 13:1-3, "O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way? How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand? Turn and answer me, O LORD my God! Restore the light to my eyes, or I will die."

Darkness surrounds David. He cannot see where he is going or where life is leading him.

Job was there. Job's intense frustration was not just the devastation that visited him but his inability to find God. He reached a point of utter despair when God's face was hidden from him.

In Job 23:3, 8-9 he says, "If only I knew where to find God, I would go to his throne and talk with him there….. "I go east, but he is not there. I go west, but I cannot find him. I do not see him in the north, for he is hidden. I turn to the south, but I cannot find him."

God has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us. Charles Lamb says we sometimes experience the "mumps and measles of the soul;" and though our life may feel out of control, our ship is still anchored to the Rock. God is still good and gracious and loving.

When Habakkuk received God's grim news he was terrified. But he relied on his knowledge of God. Someone said, "There is grace in the unanswerable why for it leads us to the heart of faith; a patient trust in God." Habakukk learned this principle. Hab 2:4 "The righteous will live by his faith" (cf. Rom. 1:17).

We do not know how long Habakkuk kept watch but he did receive an answer from God and chapter 3 of this discourse is a hymn of praise to God that signals the end of Habakkuk's journey. In Chapter 1, we see Habakkuk's anger and he questions God. In Chapter 2, he demands a answer to his question but patiently, reverently waits for God's reply.

Then, Chapter 3 is a prayer and song of praise to the Creator of the Universe. Did Habakkuk's circumstance changes? No. What changed was Habakkuk. He had a glimpse of God. He had come to the realization that no matter what his present afflictions, they will never outweigh the importance of his devotion and worship of God. Catherine Marshall said, "I need you and your presence in my life more than I need understanding…I trust You to give me understanding and an answer to my Whys only if and when You choose." This is the supreme lesson to be learned in the waiting room: that His presence in our lives is more important than our comfort.

I have found that in my darkest hours, God has been silent. I have yet to understand why, but I know that in those days my faith narrows so that I focus only on Jesus. My faith seem to go backward as I cling to His promises with a baby-like faith that says, "I don't know much about You or what You're doing, but I know I need You. And I am unwilling to choose the alternative of facing a life without You." I have often thought that the upheaval in my life, that the pain I was experiencing was just too costly. I wasn't willing to pay that high of a price for spiritual growth. But how can I tell my Savior that the pain of my present trial is too costly when it cost him everything.

If you find yourself in God's waiting room today know that you do not wait alone. God waits with you along with many wonderful saints. And God will answer your questions in His time. What was his answer to Habakkuk? "But the Lord is in His Holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him." Hab. 2:20 God is good and God is faithful and He will see you through whatever difficulty and hardship He brings into your life.

"Therefore do not lose heart. for a momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison." 2 Corinthians

Letting Go

It is almost September again, the time of year when mothers and fathers are sending their children off to pre-school, kindergarten or college for the first time. Some children will laugh and run right into their class. Some will hang on tightly to mother's or father's hand. Some parents will be celebrating their new freedom; some will be mourning the loss of a childhood. Whatever the scenario, I've come to realize that letting go of our children is a natural progression of life.

I remember several years ago when we dropped our son off at college for the first time. We packed all his worldly belongings into a 1995 Ford Taurus and headed for Biola University in La Mirada, California. He was almost 21 at the time and had worked and gone to junior college for several years before transferring to the university. He was ready to go and I felt confident that he would do well there. I was ready for him to go; ready for him to experience life outside of our small town; ready for him to know what it is like to live on his own; ready for him to meet new people and make friends whom he will hopefully have for a lifetime. And yes, ready for him to meet a "nice Christian girl" and settle down. I was ready to let go.

Letting go is a process. Their first step, their first sleep-over, the first day of school, to their first trip without you is a progression of trust for both parent and child. The child trusts that mom and dad will still be there when they return and will joyfully welcome them home. The parents trust that the child will remember what they've been taught and wear clean underwear.

Each new adventure our children have tests our parenting skills and our faith in God. It is through the raising of our children that we learn about God and about ourselves. Our children teach us how to live and love like Jesus. We learn what it means to love unconditionally. We learn how to care about someone other than ourselves. We know how it feels to love someone enough to give our life for that person. We learn how to trust God more completely as we must now trust him with our most precious possession. We learn how to pray.

After my son Joel preached at our church for the first time, I received many compliments. "You have done a great job parenting", people said. "You have raised him well." The truth is he has raised me well. He has made me a better parent, a better person.

They say when you become a parent your heart is never again your own. I suppose this is true as it feels that a part of my heart is now at Biola. The humorist Erma Bombeck said children are like kites. "You spend a lifetime trying to get them off the ground. You run with them until you're both breathless ... they crash ... you add a longer tail ... they hit the rooftop ... you pluck them out of the spout. You patch and comfort, adjust and teach. You watch them lifted by the wind and assure them that someday they'll fly. Finally, they are airborne, but they need more string and you keep letting it out. With each twist of the ball of twine, there is a sadness that goes with the joy because the kite becomes more distant, and somehow you know that it won't be long before that beautiful creature will snap the lifeline that bound you together and soar as it was meant to soar -- free and alone. Only then do you know that you did your job."

I am ready to stand back and watch my son soar to new heights and a new direction knowing that his kite string is still fully in hands of his Heavenly Father.

As I finished this article my phone rings. It is my son. He needs my help, he frantically says. "What is wrong!" I reply. I am already calculating how long it would take me to get to La Mirada. "I've gotten a piece of dental floss stuck in my tooth and I can't get it out!" he exclaims. As I try to contain my laughter he continues, "It is not funny, Mom! I have class in an hour and this piece of floss is so big you could hang something on it."

Ever the loving supportive mother, I give him some tips on removing the floss, but not before I ask him to send me a photo of his predicament with his camera phone. As my cell phones beeps again with the incoming photo, I sigh. "Ah, my son still needs me."

Theres No Place Like Home

"Close your eyes and tap your heels together three times and say "There's no place like home, there's no place like home…"With those words, Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz is transported back to her beloved home in Kansas.

The word "home" evokes warm memories and feelings for most of us. Home is where everyone longs to be. Where we are loved, nurtured, and unconditionally accepted with all our faults.

After the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade center all the travelers who were stranded just wanted to go home. It did not matter where home was or what it looked like. Home could have a high-rise apartment in Manhattan or a farmhouse in Kansas. They just wanted to go home. Did you know that God makes His home in you? Jesus told the disciples in John 14:23

Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

God makes His home in us! Imagine the Creator of the universe living inside us! What a privilege and honor to be the dwelling place of the King of Kings and Lord of Lord.

In our home on we have entertained many guests from missionaries to the town mayor. When those occasions occur, I drive my family nuts by insisting that the house be spotlessly clean. When I consider that the God of creation makes his home in me, I realize how little I pay attention to the cleanliness of His home – me. Just as we need to clean our earthly homes every day so we need to clean our spiritual lives every day. Sin creeps in one cobweb at a time.

Many years ago we had a roof leak in our home. The leakage caused some plaster to fall down from the ceiling in the entry way to our home. It left a barren patch of lath boards about two feet by three feet. Each day I would come home and look up at that barren patch wondering when it would get fixed. It was left in disrepair and pretty soon I stopped noticing it. Months later someone would come over and comment on the hole in our ceiling. "Oh", I'd say, I'd forgotten it was there." Sin is like that. If you live with it long enough you don't notice it.

Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

2 Corinthians 7:1

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I John 1:9

We need to cleanse ourselves and God's home on a daily basis, not just of the little sins but the big ones too. Often we focus in on the small sins in our lives and overlook the obvious larger ones. Are we treating our families with love and kindness? Are we following His commandments? Are we living for God and not the things and pleasures of this world? Are we staying sexual pure in mind and body, whether married or single? Do we allow anger, envy, and pride keep us from glorifying God?

Take a daily inventory of your spiritual life. It is easy to let the world's standards become ours. Jesus gives us in the book of John a different definition of home. He did not have an earthly home in his adult years. Christ was at home with God no matter where his body was. Jill Briscoe says "Home is the will of God for the child of God." The most wonderful earthly home would become a miserable dwelling place if we are living outside the will of God.

God makes His home with us but He is also preparing another home for us. Christ said in

John 14:2-4, "There are many rooms in my Father's home, and I am going to prepare a place for you. If this were not so, I would tell you plainly. When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. And you know where I am going and how to get there." (The Living Translation)

This world is not our home yet many of us put down roots like it is. We try to fill our longings with material and worldly pleasures.

"Most of us find it very difficult to want 'Heaven"' at all – except in so far as 'Heaven' means meeting again our friends who have died. One reason for this difficulty is that we have not been trained: our whole education tends to fix our minds on this world. Another reason is that when the real want for Heaven is present in us, we do not recognize it. Most people, if they had really learned to look into their own hearts would know that they do want and want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise." C.S. Lewis

The world does not satisfy for we were made for another world. Our eternal home is with Christ in heaven and as pilgrims on a journey we long for that home. Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz had the power to go home all along and did not know it. We have the power to be at home with God every day while on this earth and the privilege to spend eternity in His presence.

Oh to be home! To bask in the presence of the Almighty- To be free from our earthly pain – To be reunited with loved ones – To see and touch the nail scarred hands – To worship at the throne – to be Home!

"These last few days! Every little nuisance every stale or tiresome bit of work every feeling of that estrangement which I never quite get over in another country serves as a delightful reminder of how different it will all be soon. Already one's mind dwells upon the sights and sounds and smells of home…."

In The Good Old Summertime

About the middle of June on a warm summer day, thousands of children wait with anticipation. They anxiously watch the slow ticking clock. Somewhere in the background, a teacher's voice drones on and on. They do not hear the words as they wait expectantly for The moment to arrive. The moment when they will all experience the euphoria of "Summer Vacation."

I grew up in the San Fernando Valley in the '60's and early '70's. The "Valley" at that time was suburbia at its finest. The streets were safe and clean, the schools were safe, and there was no such thing as gang violence. Most of us had dads that worked and moms that were home. The "Valley" in the sixties was the hub of many a western movie, especially Roy Rodgers and Gene Autry. Life, as a child, was good, simple, and fun.

The day after school got out I would bug my mom to drive me to the local library. She usually dropped me off as I would spend hours searching for just he right books for my summer reading. I would check out 8 books each week (the maximum you were allowed to check out) and take them home. I would settle myself on my bed, or out in yard on a blanket if the house was too hot, and read to my heart's content. When I finished my pile of books, I would return to the library and choose some more.

During my childhood, summer was play time. We would gather near the home of April Showers (that was her real name) and play baseball, dodge ball, and football. When it got too hot we would go to my house where my mom always had home-made Popsicles in the freezer made with a plastic Tupperware set and Kool-aid.

Once a week we were allowed to go to the local pool to swim for the afternoon. Admission was 25 cents which seemed like a lot of money to me then. Our pool had a high dive which was my favorite. I loved the excitement of jumping off that high tower and feeling the pit of your stomach lurch up into your throat. Once you came up for air though you always had to dig your swimsuit out of certain places but it was worth the "rush."

Summer vacation seemed to last forever. Next to Christmas, it was the best time of the year. But September always came. Nine long months we had to wait until summer came again.

As good as summer was, it pales in comparison to what Heaven will be like for those who know Jesus. Revelation 21:2-4 talks about the New Jerusalem which is a picture of what Heaven eaven will be like.

"And I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a beautiful bride prepared for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, "Look, the home of God is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will remove all of their sorrows, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever." Rev 21:2-4

The endless joys of summer vacation cannot compare to spending eternity with God and having the joy of living with Him. Hebrews 12 describes heaven as the "city of the living God," where there are "thousands of angles in joyful assembly."

Christian artists, MercyMe, have written a powerful song about the day we arrive in heaven.

I can only imagine What it will be like When I walk By Your side I can only imagine What my eyes will see When Your face Is before me I can only imagine

Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel Will I dance for You Jesus or in awe of You be still Will I stand in Your presence or to my knees will I fall Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all I can only imagine

I can only imagine When that day comes And I find myself Standing in the Son I can only imagine When all I will do Is forever Forever worship You I can only imagine

We can only imagine what that day will be like. But I imagine that it will be an endless summer vacation in the presence of the living God!

The Greatest Mystery of All

Summer is here; the most anticipated time of year, next to Christmas! For some it means family vacations, trips to the beach and the lake, ice cream for dinner, or lazy days at home. For me summer has always meant summer reading! When I was in grade school I couldn't wait for summer to arrive for it meant that I could spend my days reading endlessly (after my chores were done of course). I would spread a blanket outside under the big shade tree and devour the latest mystery I had borrowed from my local library. When I begin a new mystery I can hardly wait to get to the end of it so I can discover the answers to all the secrets.

There is one mystery that I have discovered though that continues to baffle and amaze me. It is found in the book of Colossians. Paul writes to the church at Colossi about a mystery which has been kept secret for generations. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 1:10-11 that even the prophets of old wondered about this mystery and wanted to know when this mystery would be revealed.

What is it?
This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God's people. For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory. Colossians 1:26-27 (NLT)

The mystery is first that the gospel message, the good news of salvation, is not just for the Jews only but also for the Gentiles. That's most of us! And second, that the Creator of the Universe, the Son of God, the visible image of the invisible God, lives in us.

When we come to know Jesus as our Lord and Savior, He comes to live in us. And in Jesus lives the fullness of God. There is a popular movie out where one character is called "mini-me." Mini-me is a mini version of the main character. Jesus is not a mini-God. He is all God. "For God in all His fullness was pleased to live in Christ." (Col. 1:19)

These concepts are so wonderful, so profound, that Peter says in the book of 1 Peter these are "things into which angels long to look." Angels long to understand, know, and to experience this mystery. But it is a mystery preserved for you and me. Christ in you; the hope of glory.

I have a difficult time wrapping my brain around this. It is not just that Jesus lives in me, but that he would want to live in me. Somehow he guides me, directs me, and empowers me to do the things he has called me to do. Because of this mystery, I am able to experience the very presence of God, an experience most of the world is longing for.

Frederick Buechner says it better than I in his book the Magnificent Defeat.

"For what we need to know is not just that God exists, not just that beyond the steely brightness of the stars there is a cosmic intelligence of some kind that keeps the whole show going, but that there is a God right here in the thick of our day-today lives who in one way or another is trying to get messages through our blindness as we move around down here knee deep in the fragrant muck and misery and marvel of the world. It is not objective proof of God's existence that we want, but the experience of God's presence. And that is also I think the miracle that we really get."

As I mediate on the fact that Christ lives in me and I live with Him, it causes me to be profoundly grateful. I am grateful for all I have, for all He has done for me, and grateful for the very breath of life He has given me. It also keeps me on my knees in humble adoration for the miracle and the mystery of Christ in me, the hope of glory.

Come and See

“As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and then declared, "Look! There is the Lamb of God!" Then John's two disciples turned and followed Jesus. Jesus looked around and saw them following. "What do you want?" he asked them. They replied, "Rabbi" (which means Teacher), "where are you staying?" "Come and see," he said. “John 1:36-39 Come and see. It was more than an invitation to see where Jesus lived. It was an invitation to see how Jesus lived. The two disciples, John and Andrew had been seekers for a while at this point in the scriptures. They had been following John the Baptist. Now Jesus comes on the scene and John fulfills his role as messenger and directs the disciples to the Lamb of God. And what do Andrew and John do? “Then John’s two disciples turned and followed Jesus.” No debate, no hesitation, no looking back. They turned and followed. Jesus then tests their motives with the question, “What do you want?” Doesn’t Jesus know everything? Surely He knew what they wanted. I think he wanted the two disciples to voice what he knew was in their hearts. “Teacher, where are you staying?” implies we want to learn from you and we want to go with you. It is then Jesus issues the divine invitation to come and see. Later in the book of John, we see Andrew bringing his brother Simon Peter to meet the Lord. John also at some point brought his brother, James to meet Jesus as evidenced by the fact that throughout the gospels where you find John, you will also find James. Come and See. I want this to be the anthem of my life. Jesus issued the invitation to John and Andrew. John and Andrew issued the invitation to James and Peter, and the four of them took the invitation to the world. As Bob Bennett said so eloquently in his song, “Come and See,” “Come and see, come and see Come and see a Man from Heaven Come and see, hear Him speak He has seen the face of God Come and see, come and see This Jesus of Nazareth Come and see the One that we Have heard of all our lives.”© I want my life to be an invitation to meet Jesus. I have come to realize that the invitation is given in quiet ways. It is given with a smile to the cashier and a “thank you” to the clerk. It is given by holding open a door for an elderly woman or to a mom pushing a stroller. It is given by serving my family and my neighbors. After ten years, I am just beginning to know my neighbors. I have struggled to love my neighbor across the alley, Christina. She is quite eccentric and a bit odd. She wears clothes that are too big, speaks a mixture of English and Spanish and has only a few teeth. She collects junk (mostly the neighborhood cast offs like our old recliner) and piles it into her backyard. She has two Great Danes who stay in the house all the times and 20+ cats that live outside. Her cats like to use my backyard and at one time my dirt basement for their litter box. I saw Christina as an annoyance not a neighbor. She has started to lose her memory lately. She has come to my door many times to tell me about our house which she thinks she owns. I came home the other day and she was outside with only a flannel shirt on. No shoes, no pants, no underpants. I gently took her by the arm and escorted her into her home to help her find some clothes. She asked my name and where I lived many times in the course of our conversation. She told me about her life in old Mexico and how she used to be a rich woman. We had a lovely conversation and I thanked her for letting me visit. Several days later I found her wandering down the block late at night looking for her daughter. She was worried because her daughter had not come home yet. I walked her home and we discovered that her daughter was indeed home and did not know that her mother had left the house. Jesus said the greatest commandment was to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves. When asked, “who is my neighbor,” Jesus told the story of the good Samaritan and ended it by saying the neighbor is the one who showed mercy. “And Jesus said to him, "You go, and do likewise." (Luke 10:29) That is why I will not judge Christina or her daughter. I have not walked in their shoes. Nor will I try to “fix” their problem or rescue her from what some may see as a bad situation. I will care for her, try to keep her clothed, feed her, and bring her home. I will show mercy and I will show love, and hopely my life will invite her and her daughter to “Come and See.” “Follow Me, Follow Me And I will show you My Father Follow Me and you will see The Heavens opened wide Come and see, come and see Come and see this Man from Heaven Oh, could it be? Could it be We will see the face of God?” © W/M: Bob Bennett & Michael Aguilar© 1982 Straightway Music (ASCAP) used with permission

Grace In A Desolate Place

If you ask most Christians to define grace, they will say “God’s unmerited favor.” Ask them how that impacts their daily walk with Jesus and you are liable to get a blank stare. We know what God’s grace is but how does that flesh out in our daily lives?

One of the most profound examples of God’s grace is told in 2 Samuel 9. It is the story of David and Mephibosheth. David has just been crowned King over all of Israel after 25 years of running from Saul and fighting his enemies. He and his family have moved into the palace at Jerusalem and there is peace in the land, albeit temporary. David is pondering his life and he asks a servant “Is anyone in Saul’s family still alive that I may show them kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” The servant replies yes and David bids the servant to go and bring him to the palace.

The servant travels to Lo-debar, “land of the dry pasture”. He finds Saul’s grandson, Mephibosheth, “the shameful one”, living with a distant relative as he is crippled and cannot provide for his family. Mephibosheth obeys the call of the king and goes to the palace. Most likely he was frightened and uncertain as to his fate. I’m sure he thought, “Oh no. This is it. David has found me and now I will be killed.” It was common practice to kill off the family of your enemies so that they would not try to overthrow the throne.

David, however, extends grace to Mephibosheth. He tells Mephibosheth in front of all at the palace that he will return to him all the lands and wealth of his grandfather Saul. He then instructs the servant, Ziba and his family to farm the land for Mephibosheth and give all the food to Mephibosheth’s family. “But,” David adds, “Mephibosheth will dine at my table.” “From then on Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem and ate regularly at the king’s table.” 2 Sam. 9:13

What an incredible picture this is of God’s grace towards us. David sought out Mephibosheth, his enemy (the shameful one), and showed him grace because of his loving kindness. There is nothing neither lovely nor righteous in Mephibosheth that makes him worthy of David’s love, yet David seeks him out for the sake of another (Jonathan). Mephibosheth is given a room in the palace and a place at the king’s table. David adopts Mephibosheth and makes him part of the royal family. He receives all the benefits that one born into royalty would receive.

In the same way God seeks us out, we do not seek Him nor can we as we are shameful and crippled in our sin. Before we are redeemed we are enemies of God residing in a desert. There is nothing neither lovely nor righteous in us, yet God plucks us out of our sinful, desolate place for the sake of His son Jesus Christ. God gives us a room in His palace and a place at His table. He adopts us and we become part of His royal family

God our Savior showed us how good and kind he is. He saved us because of his mercy, and not because of any good things that we have done. Titus 3:4

God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. Ephesians 1: 5

See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! 1 John 3:1

This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 1 John 4:10

God cannot love us any more than he does now, and He will not love us any less no matter what we do. Nothing we do can increase or decrease God’s love for us. This is grace.

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

Why would God treat us this way, ill-deserving as we are? 2 Samuel 22 says that God “…reached down from heaven and rescued me; he drew me out of deep waters. He led me to a place of safety; because he delights in me.”

The Creator of the Universe, the Most High King, delights in us. He wants to spend time with us. What does that mean for you and me in our daily lives? It should mean that we want to spend time with our Father who is loving, kind, generous, and merciful. Mark Driscoll, Pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle says this about grace;

“God’s grace and love transforms holiness. We are not trying to be presentable so that we will get picked for adoption. We are the kids that are so well loved that we want to obey our Dad because he’s the best. We want to follow our Dad because we trust him. We want to honor our Dad because he’s been so kind, and since he has already given us his last name, we want to live in such a way as to bring honor to his name. God adopts into his family that is the church. He gives us the name of Christian. He chooses to do us good. It is his kindness that leads us to repentance, and it changes us into different kids.”

God’s grace changes us into kids who obey their Father because they want to not because they have to. Grace transforms our daily walk from one where we check off a to-do-list to a life that freely loves, serves, and gives.
What was Mephibosheth’s reaction to David’s grace? Later on in 2 Samuel, David is forced to flee Jerusalem. Mephibosheth does not come with him and David is told by Ziba the servant that Mephibosheth has betrayed him. Believing this to be true, David gives Ziba, all of Mephibosheth’s wealth. When David final returns to the palace sometime later, Mephibosheth greets him with dirty, torn clothes and an unkempt appearance, a sign of mourning. David asks him why he did not come with him. Mephibosheth says that Ziba deceived him and that he was unable to leave as he was crippled. David does not know who to believe so he splits the wealth between the two of them. Mephibosheth, however, is as a man who understands grace. “Give him all of it” he says, “it is enough that I get to dine at your table.”

God’s grace allows me to be free from the comparison trap. It does not matter what I have or don’t have. It does not matter if He chooses to bless others and not me. It is enough that I get to live in the palace with the King and dine at his table.

Whose Life Is it Anyway?

The movie The End of the Spear tells the true story of five men, Nate Saint, Jim Elliot, Ed Mcculley, Peter Fleming, and Roger Youderian, who, in 1956, were killed by the Waodani Indians of Ecuador while trying to share the gospel with them. Nate Saint’s sister, Rachel, and Jim Elliot’s wife, Elizabeth eventually went to live with the tribe and succeeded in sharing the Gospel with the very men who murdered their brother and husband. Rachel Saint lived out her life with the Waodani people and was often visited by Nate’s son Steve. Upon her death, Steve traveled back to Ecuador to preside over Rachel’s funeral and gather her belongings. Steve reconnected with the Waodani people and their leader, Mincayani, whom he calls Grandfather. In a very dramatic moment in the movie, Mincayani takes Steve to the very spot where his father was murdered. There Mincayani confesses that it was he who murdered Steve’s father, Nate. “I took your father’s life,” Mincayani confesses. After struggling with his emotions, Steve replies. “You did not take my father’s life. He gave it.” Luke 9:23-24 Then he said to the crowd, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life.” What does that mean for me and for you? What does it mean to deny ourselves daily and follow Jesus? Back in 1956, for five men denying themselves meant moving to Ecuador and living with the Waodani people that they might win them to Christ. That decision cost them their lives- their futures. They never lived to see their children born and grow up. They never lived to see the Waodani people embrace Christianity and become a people of peace instead of violence. Some people would say their wasted their lives. In this passage in Luke, Jesus poses some probing questions to challenge our assumptions about what is most profitable and worthwhile. Every decision we make in life will determine the type of person we are become. These decisions mold our character and to some extent determine our future. Are we going to live for ourselves? Are we going to pursue success as the world defines it, wealth, large houses, trendy clothes, the latest ipods, cell phones, the best car, etc. Or are we going to live for Christ fully committed to him and ready to lose our life for His sake. My Life or God’s? It is a choice we make many times each day. The cashier gives me back too much change. My life or God’s? A car cuts me off on the freeway. My life or God’s? A friend deeply wounds me. My life or God’s? A family needs financial assistance. My life or God’s? My physical health has taken a turn for the worse. My life or God’s? My spouse walks out on our marriage. My life or God’s? Given the choice to serve yourself or serve others as Christ would, what would you choose? Robertson McQuilkin is one man who knows what it means to lay down your life for another. Mr. McQuilkin was president of Columbia Bible College and Seminary for many years when in 1978 his wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. By 1990, His wife’s illness had progressed to where she needed full-time care. Robertson resigned his position to care for his wife. He writes this of his decision to resign, “When the time came, the decision was firm. It took no great calculation. It was a matter of integrity. Had I not promised, 42 years before, ‘in sickness and in health . . . till death do us part’? It is all more than keeping promises and being fair, however. As I watch her brave descent into oblivion, Muriel is the joy of my life. Daily I discern new manifestations of the kind of person she is, the wife I always loved. I also see fresh manifestations of God's love-the God I long to love more fully.” When someone asked Robertson McQuilkin if he regretted giving up his career to care for his wife, he replied,“I don't feel like I've given anything up. Our life is not the way we plot it or plan it. And so I guess all along I've just accepted whatever assignment the Lord gave me. This was his assignment.” Jim Elliot said “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." Jim lost his life in 1956 along with Nate Saint at the hands of a Waodani Indian named, Mincayani. Mincayani now travels the U.S. with Steve Saint, grandfather and grandson, telling others their story of redemption, forgiveness, and how to find true life. The choice in yours. Your life or God’s?

Do-Overs and Second Chances

As a child, whenever we would play a game and we did not like the outcome, we would shout, “DO OVER.” It meant you could start over. Didn’t like the roll of the dice-“DO OVER” Didn’t like the outcome of your opponent’s turn-“DO OVER.” What would happen if we could have “do overs” in real life? This thought has given birth to many movies over the years. Someone is given a second chance to “do over” the mistakes of their life thereby improving their life and the lives of others. Do overs are a reality only in the movie and children’s games. The mistakes and sins we commit each day, each year cannot be erased. But Our God is a God of second chances! Each day God provides us with the opportunity to start our lives fresh, to wipe the slate clean. Lam 3:22-23 says, “The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Nowhere is this seen more profoundly than in the life of the apostle Peter. Peter probably had the most intimate relationship with Christ of all the disciples. Up until his denial of Christ, wherever Jesus was, Peter was there also. Peter is referred to almost two hundred times in the New Testament, more than any other disciple (John is referred to only thirty-one times). He was the first to be called by name by Jesus (John 1:40-42) and is the central character in many of the stories in the Gospels. Peter was passionate, profound, yet impetuous. He was a fisherman, the equivalent of a blue-collar working man. Yet Jesus saw in Peter the making of a great disciple and evangelist. Upon their first meeting, Jesus bestows on Simon a new name, Peter or Cephas which means rock. It does not describe what Simon is but what he will become. Throughout the Gospels we see Simon Peter saying and doing some amazing things. We also witness his mistakes, his pride, and his sinfulness. We watch him go from the incredible high of walking on water to the deep despair of denying his friend, the one he loved. I wonder if Peter would have liked a “do over” after that night in the courtyard. Fortunately for Simon Peter and for us, the story does not end there. Peter, feeling the weight of his mistakes, decides to return to the life he knows best, fishing. His is out on the boat with the other disciples fishing and not catching anything. A voice from the shore tells them to cast their nets to the side. Peter recognizes it as the Lord, jumps into the lake and swims to shore. They feast on the bounty of fish they have caught. As they are relaxing after the meal, warmed by the presence of Jesus, Jesus asks Peter three questions. It is actually the same question asked three different ways. “Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs." He said to him a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" and he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep….And after saying this he said to him, "Follow me." John 21:15-17, 19. Three times the question was asked, but not because Jesus needed Peter to repeat himself. Jesus asked him three times, once for each time Peter denied knowing Christ. Jesus was sending Peter a message. I forgive you, I forgive you, I forgive you. He chose to do this in the company of the other men to show them his forgiveness and restoration of Peter. This moment became a turning point in Peter’s life. He would leave the fishing business for good and become a shepherd. Two months after this encounter with Jesus, Peter would preach the most powerful sermon of his life. He would cast out his gospel net and three thousand souls would be caught. He would go on to preach before rulers and magistrates, fishermen and shepherds. He would be jailed, beaten and crucified for his devotion. He would become “Peter, the rock,” all because our God is a God of second chances, and third chances, and………. We don’t get “do overs” in this life, but with Jesus’ forgiveness we do get new starts. He mercifully covers our sins each day and sets us on the right path. The gospel of Luke says, ….His mercy flows in wave after wave on those who are in awe before him. …He embraced his chosen child, Israel; he remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high.” (Luke 1:50, 54 The Message) I pray that you will take time to consider God’s mercy in your life, how it flows in on us wave after wave; how God piles it on high. Thank Him each day for the opportunity to live out your devotion to Him.

The Quiet Whisper of God

>My son Joel is a student at Biola University. Several years ago God called him into ministry and he is now in training for that calling. About 7 years ago Joel was on a mission’s trip in the Philippines with the youth group from First Baptist Church. At one point in the trip, Joel was having a conversation with a young Filipino pastor about ministry. The pastor said to Joel, “When you are a pastor, you will know.” That comment reverberated in Joel’s mind for many weeks and months later. Joel said, “What struck me was the pastor said when you become a pastor, not if.” God used that comment to whisper in Joel’s ear “I want you in ministry.” In the book of 1 Kings we find God whispering to his prophet Elijah. Elijah is God’s appointed prophet for this appointed time. After Solomon’s reign the kingdom had been divided in two. The northern kingdom was Israel and the southern kingdom was called Judah. Israel was ruled by Ahab and he did “what was evil in the Lord’s sight, even more than the kings before him.” (I Kings 16:30) Ahab was married to a princess Jezebel who turned his heart even farther away from God. (Jezebel was so evil that her name has become a description for all wicked women). God uses Elijah to show Ahab, Jezebel, and the people of Israel that He alone is God. With Ahab watching, Elijah instructs the worshippers of Baal to prepare an offering of a bull and set it on an altar. The prophets of Baal are then instructed to pray to their god to set fire to the offering. All day they pray for fire but it never comes. Finally Elijah prays to God and immediately the Lord sends fire down from heaven to consume the bull and everything around it. Ahab goes home to Jezebel and tells her what Elijah has done. Jezebel threatens to kill Elijah and so he flees to the mountains and hides in a cave. Discouraged, he tells God that he has had enough. This man of God who watched the Lord do mighty miracles is now cowering in a cave. "So Elijah, what are you doing here?" I've been working my heart out for the God-of-the-Angel-Armies," said Elijah. "The people of Israel have abandoned your covenant, destroyed the places of worship, and murdered your prophets. I'm the only one left, and now they're trying to kill me." Then he was told, "Go, stand on the mountain at attention before God. God will pass by." A hurricane wind ripped through the mountains and shattered the rocks before God, but God wasn't to be found in the wind; after the wind an earthquake, but God wasn't in the earthquake; and after the earthquake fire, but God wasn't in the fire; and after the fire a gentle and quiet whisper. When Elijah heard the quiet voice, he muffled his face with his great cloak, went to the mouth of the cave, and stood there. A quiet voice asked, "So Elijah, now tell me, what are you doing here?" I Kings 19: 9b-13 (The Message) Elijah had a misconception of God’s presence in his life. He tended to believe that God was present if he could see his power revealed through mighty acts, such as what he had just witnessed with the consuming of the offering by fire from heaven. Elijah thought that God spoke only in big and mighty ways. But God showed Elijah that He also speaks in the quiet whisper. In our day we often do not hear the quiet whisper because we are too busy or our lives are too noisy to hear God speak. God spoke to the boy Samuel in I Samuel chapter three when Samuel was still and attentive. We must learn to still our minds and be attentively listening for God’s voice. God speaks to us through His Word. I have found that the time I hear God the clearest is right after reading or hearing God’s Word. Many years ago I attended a conference in Nashville. After a weekend of hearing God’s word taught, I clearly heard the voice of the Lord calling me to a new ministry. It was not an audible voice, but a confirmation in my spirit from the Holy Spirit that God was going to take me in a new direction in the future. I did not know when that would be but I had that assurance. It was more than a year later when I finally got the go ahead from the Lord to step into that ministry. In most of our lives God speaks to us in quiet ways. The unsettling of our spirit when we have sinned against another, the urging of our hearts to say a kind word or do a kind deed are all ways in which God speaks with a whisper. When we respond to God’s voice, He is glorified and we are blessed. Sometimes he speaks to us directly and sometimes He uses other people to speak to us. My friend Chris was driving with his son Tyler one day when they passed a homeless man who held a sign that read, “Hungry. Can you spare some food?” Tyler is ten years old and it is already evident his spiritual gift is mercy. He had some candy that he had saved for later in the day. Realizing that this man was hungry, Tyler insisted that Chris turn the car around so they could give the candy to the homeless man. Chris did not want to discourage his son’s mercy and generosity so they did indeed turn around. Tyler handed the man his candy. The homeless man took the gift of food, looked Tyler in the eyes and said, “God is with you.” Tyler’s mouth dropped open and he turned to his dad and said with astonishment, “How did he know!” From our adult point of view we may think that the man says that to everyone. But to Tyler it was as if the words came from God himself. Perhaps Tyler was responding as Samuel did to the voice of God when he felt compelled to give that homeless man his candy. As result, Tyler himself was blessed. And the homeless man blessed Tyler by affirming that God had indeed spoken to him and was with him……a huge lesson for a little boy. Is God whispering in your ear? Perhaps He is asking you to come out of your cave and serve Him. Elijah finally left his cave per God’s instructions and found Elisha and anointed him as God’s next prophet. Keep your ear finely tuned to hear God’s whisper through His Word. You never know when your obedience to the Lord’s voice might feed a hungry person or affirm a calling.