A Tale of Two Sisters

"Only one thing is needed" Luke 10:42b (Jesus' Words to Martha)

During the holidays our lists expand and time with God often shrinks, as we hit the ground running. The whole 'reason for the season' is to have a time of reflection, remembrance, genuine thanks for all the blessings that The Lord has brought to us. Our minds understand this; but, soon our hearts are racing again, as we get caught up in the details & decorations. Often we wind up distressed, distracted & depressed. Guests will be arriving and we want everything go be perfect.

Most of us long for a simpler life. We daydream about everyone seated around the table, smiling, white picket fence rimming the home's perimeter. We want our lives to be like Norman Rockwell’s paintings of 2OthC Americana. But, guess what… family life was never that uncomplicated. This is a fantasy that we keep falling for! We compare our lives to one-dimensional paintings, romance novels, and happy-ending movies that do not depict real life. Then, we feel sad, like we were left holding the short end of life's stick. We struggle with questions like, "Why am I sick again, or divorced, or out of work...what gives?"

A surefire way to bring ourselves down, down, down.. is to imagine that everyone is living the perfect American Dream, except for us. Wake up! The truth is that life is complicated and filled with trials and roadblocks! Even if Dad went to work and Mom stayed home to raise the kids there were stresses that were never discussed, bills that piled up, and dreams that went unfilled. We all struggle, families struggled in the 1900's and they continue to struggle today.

Instead of focusing on the past, or on others, or on what you do not have, take a quick inventory of what you do have. Remember that you have been given the gift of life, that God created you uniquely, and with purpose, and He loves YOU. That's a good place to start! If you truly know that to be True, then nothing else really matters. You've found the secret, center your thoughts there. Joy springs from sitting with God's Word, (not Martha's or Oprah's or what some glossy magazine tells us that our homes should be like.) The Apostle Paul said the peace that passes all understanding is found in Christ, Alone. "Thanks be to God for His Indescribable Gift!" 2 Cor 9:15

QUESTION: Do you think that it's just modern, fast-paced living that causes us to loose perspective and overook God? What would you do if JESUS was coming for dinner?

Go with me 2000 years ago, to the home of 2 sisters, Mary & Martha, (Luke 10:38-41): “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Prayer for The Busy Woman:
Lord, teach us to be more focused on loving You and loving others; and less focused on having the perfect "Martha" table. Hospitality is wonderful and it is good to want things to be special for our family & friends. But, keep us focused on what is "better" as You said. Help us to sit at your feet and GIVE THANKS for the indescribable gift of You! Center our hearts on You. Do not let "the preparations" cause us to miss "the purpose" of our celebration.

http://www.atthewell.com/thanks/ Hymn of Thanks

Give Me Your Eyes

For God so loved the world that He sent His One & Only Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but TO SAVE THE WORLD THROUGH HIM. John 3:16-17

Question: What does God’s Son love? Answer: People.
Question: What’s hard for God's people to love? Answer: People.

Prayer for Spiritual Lasic, Adjust Our Vision, LORD:

O Lord help us SEE people THROUGH Your Eyes. ALL the people of the world, Lord, we all hurt, we all need You...the poor (and the rich), the broken (and the beautiful,) the victimized (and the incarcerated), give us Your Eyes of Mercy. Lord help us see the need in those closest to us; those who live across the street; AND those on the other side of the world. Lord, bring SPIRITUAL LASIC to Your people, revive us, refocus us, remove our cataracts. Shake the scales from our eyes as You did with the Apostle Paul. Help us see people & love them, with the same amazing love that You have lavished upon us.

Got 3 minutes to see what Jesus sees?Turn up your sound it takes a moment to cue

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KWjiS5X-98&feature=related

Lyrics to Brandon Heath's song GIVE ME YOUR EYES:

Look down from a broken sky, Traced out by the city lights, My World from a mile high; Best seat in the house tonight. Touch down on the cold black top, Hold on for a sudden stop, Breathe in the familiar shock of confusion, chaos. All those people going somewhere... Why have I never cared?

Give me Your eyes for just one second. Give me Your eyes so I can see, every thing that I keep missing. Give me Your love for humanity. Give me Your arms for the broken-hearted, the ones that are far beyond my reach. Give me Your Heart for the ones forgotten, Give me Your Eyes so I can SEE!

Step out on a busy street, see a girl and our eyes meet, does her best to smile at me, to hide what's underneath. There's a man just to her right, black suit & a bright red tie, too ashamed to tell his wife he's out of work, he's buying time. All those people going somewhere... Why have I never cared?

I've been here a million times, a couple of million eyes, just move and pass me by, I swear I never thought that I was wrong! I want a 2nd glance; give me a 2nd chance to see the way You've SEEN the people all along … JESUS GIVE US YOUR EYES!

Christian Limbo

Moses bowed down to the ground at once, worshiped God, and prayed:
"Although this is a stiff-necked people, forgive our wickedness and our sin, and take us as Your Inheritance." Exodus 34:8, 9b

As I moved from my teens to my 20’s, to my 30’s I remember feeling more accomplished and more self confident with each passing year. I graduated from college in my early 20’s, became a wife in my late 20’s and had a baby at 30. I did well in corporate sales, had lots of friends, and many interests. In my mid-30’s we moved to a larger house in a nicer neighborhood. But, by age 40 a sense of angst was beginning to grow. I took an inventory of my life and what should have added up to j-o-y, feel short somehow. I had a widening hole in my heart and I just could not figure out how to fill it. AND, to make matters worse, I had begun to feel guilty about it. I began stuffing more and more stuff into my life. If there was a committee I wanted to be on it...a worthy cause, then let me be part of it.

Hurrying from one commitment to the next with a jam-packed dayplanner made me feel important and in control....That’s the American Dream, right?

Adding on….more & more stuff….I even got active in church in an effort to increase the stuff of my spirituality! If there's many, many rooms in heaven, then, what would it take to get that penthouse suite? How many good deeds would be needed to eclipse the bad ones? I approached the Christian life in the same way that I did corporate life. Rediculous, but true, I wanted to be 'a perfect Christian.'

Our lives are so fastpaced, we are rushing so much that we even try to RUN to heaven! Unless we ask the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to the Truth we will never even see that we are living upside down, and contrary to how God intended us to live... It is about laying down, being still... listening... not running.... letting go of control.

I had the wrong operating system in place for the first 40-some years of my life. How could I change that? The answer is: I could not. I realized that it was about allowing the LORD to change me and work through me. Jesus layed down His LIFE; and He was calling me to lay down my pride and my busy-ness for Him. Christ was asking me to YIELD, to acknowldege that He was in control and let Him lead. I knew that only His Agenda would bring the peace I so desperately sought; yet, the process of laying down my will continues to be a daily event, sometimes a minute by minute choice.

Following Christ is not an upward quest, like climbing the corporate ladder; but a descending one. A call to go low, serve others, just as our C.E.O., Jesus, did when He was earthbound. "Christian Limbo," Webster defines LIMBO as "an acrobatic contest, requiring bending backwards, passing under a horizontal pole, which is lowered slightly for each successive pass of the participants."

Jesus, teach us to go low. Humble us gently, as You lower the pole and ask us to bend our stiff-necks. Transform us into people who desire to serve You and not exalt ourselves. Conform our will to Yours. Teach us see the world as You see it, Your Will be done.

Glorious Riches from Our Master

And my God will meet all your needs according to His Glorious Riches in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:19
We have a 3-year old, 55-pound, chocolate lab, named Jackson Brown. His coat is a shiny auburn color, his bright green eyes sparkle. He has a bubble-gum pink tongue, perfect white teeth and a sweet disposition. I'm sure part of the reason for his award-winning appearance is the “caviar” dog food that my husband purchases at the feed store in our town. Jackson loves his food, it is the perfect daily nutrition for him; BUT, just like the Israelites he has become dissatisfied of late. He does not realize that I am onto him...but, I am beginning to glimpse his true nature…. and it is a lot like mine.

Every morning I get his “manna” down from the cupboard and watch him devour it with intensity. Then, he always comes over, licks my hand to thank me, and appears satisfied…. but I see now that this is 'just an act.’ Lately, as I prepare my breakfast, he lurks, in another room, listening for a crumb to drop on the floor, then he comes rushing in, outta nowhere, swoops up the food and takes off running. EVERYONE tells me that “chocolates” begin to mellow out by about 3 years old, their curiosity wanes a bit, and they become the best dogs in the whole wide world…. not this one…he is unveiling a dark side.

My beloved Jacks, ate a turkey this past weekend… a raw 12-pound turkey! We figure he got up on the counter, lifted the defrosting thing up out of the sink, dropped it onto the floor, dragged it out back and feasted on uncooked poultry & gizzards for hours.

The naked carcass was finally discovered this morning, buried behind the backyard fountain and the plastic Willy-bird wrapper was tangled between thorns in the rosebush. The whole incident strikes me as such a betrayal. Just when I thought he was maturing and could be left alone without stealing, chewing, peeing or biting anything, he has managed to do all of the above. He is showing little sign of remorse. It just breaks my heart.

In the past he has eaten a pie, a birthday cake, several baguettes, shoes, sox, underwear, sticks of butter, a whole bottle of B vitamins, and half a bag of Hershey’s kisses. He is quick; he is sneaky; and he is not to be trusted. When questioned about his evil deeds, he adopts a “who me, head cocked to the side, look of innocence.”

How can he be so rebellious, when we are providing him with the best of everything? I got to thinking this morning about how much Jacks and I are alike. We are both people-oriented and lovable; yet capable of unspeakable things if push comes to shove. Are there things you do when no one is looking? Are there things that waste your time, or get you onto a downward spiral, or potentially hurt others? Are there behaviors that distance you from God?

I think, "Lord, what is wrong with this stupid dog?" and then I find myself eating out of a Ben & Jerry’s container in front of late night TV or finishing off a bottle of wine, or not returning phone calls. Lord, wake us up! You gifted us with brains that have the ability to know You and ask for help. We fall into bad habits so easily. Teach us to drop our pride, stop acting like we have it together, and admit our need. We need a Savior; thankfully we have The Ultimate Master, Jesus Christ, who always knows what’s best for us.

Lord, help us ingest more of Your Words of Life and less garbage. Thank you for loving us perfectly! Jehovah Jirah, Great Provider, humble us, remind us that every good thing comes from Your nail-pierced Hands, from the glorious riches found only in YOU.

Shining as Stars

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you SHINE LIKE STARS in the universe as you hold out the Word of Life. Phil 2: 14-16a

My friend Rosie forwarded this to me today:

"The Spirit's quiet whisper bids me bow before Your Throne,
'Til my heart's deepest yearnings are the echo of Your Own."
"Be still and know that I AM God" Psalm 46:10

(excerpt from Live A Praying Life, by Jennifer Kennedy Dean)

Sometimes a word of encouragement makes all the difference! As God encourages us through His Word, we can then encourage others: sprinkling our communications with His message of hope.

The choice is yours, you can light a room, or dim it with your presence . . choose to be a light and hold out the Word of Life to others. Shine for Jesus, aim to bring the sweet aroma of Christ into every conversation.

Sure & Certain FAITH

Now FAITH is being SURE of what we hope for, and CERTAIN of what we do not see. Hebrews 1:11

The above definition of FAITH does not seem like a definition for faith, does it? What are the words "sure of" and "certain of" doing in there? How can we have "certainty" in the unseen?

The world tends to think of faith as a feeling, a fantasy, something you can never be SURE OF. The world says, as long as we believe in SOMETHING; and, as long as it doesn't hurt ANYBODY, then great! Right?

What do you think? Are you sure of what you believe? Do you have certain faith in God? Do you look to God's Unchanging Word for answers to today's problems? Don't you want everyone to know the True & Living God? (me too)

I have a friend who often says to me, "I can NOT believe, that you believe, what you believe!" Recently, in the middle of an unrelated conversation, she blurted, "now you don't believe that Bible Story about the guy who spent 3 days in the belly of a whale and lived to tell about it, do you?" To which I replied, "Who Jonah, yep, I sure do, there is a whole book of the Bible written about him! And, 3 years ago on a trip to Israel we visited the town of Joppa (now called Jappa),where he was spit out onto the beach. There is a huge statue of a whale in this sea cost town and they say that Jonah's skin turned milky-white till the day he died, as a result of the digestive juices in the whale's stomach. God is always purposeful. When middle-eastern people saw Jonah, he looked like an albino after the cleansing and conforming to God's Will that took place inside the whale. His unique appearance stopped folks in their tracks! They listened to his message of repentance and they believed God because of him!"

I do believe because I trust that ALL SCRIPTURE IS GOD-BREATHED (2 Tim 3:16, NIV.) It is not up to me to decide which part I like and which part I don't like. It is an awe-inspiring, ALL-inspired, completely accurate account .... or else it's nothing but a fairy tale.

The places mentioned in The Bible are real. You can visit many of them today and you can study the surrounding historical events and find that they sync with the Bible events. They are not make-believe people, places and things; but, that is not WHY I believe. As God whittles away our pride and reveals more of Who He Is, we begin to see that He is Sovereign and His Words are faithful and true... all of them.

God rewards a little faith in Him with more faith, till we know, sure & certain, that it is HIM we hope for... even though He is not seen.

This same questioning friend told me "she believes Jesus, every red-letter word He said; but, none of the Old Testament." She says the Garden, the Flood, and the Whale are all allegories. She thinks that Jonah's Whale is less credible than the Easter Bunny. (Thankfully, she has yet to read about the talking donkey and Balaam, (see Numbers 22:21-33!) The Holy Spirit is the One who opens eyes, and hearts, and donkey's mouths to speak, if He chooses to. God controls all things and all creation is subject to Him.

I am praying for my friend and thrilled that she is seeking Truth and on the road to discovering Real Life. The Bible assures us that if we seek wholeheartedly we will find Truth. If she digs in, she will learn that you can't separate the Old Testament from the New. Much of what Jesus said is directly from the Old Testament. When the devil tempted HIm, He replied with Words from Deuteronomy. The Word does not change, it was a weapon against evil then, and it remains so today.

And, if you believe that every red-letter word that Jesus said is True, then you should believe in Jonah too, because Jesus compares Himself to Jonah. See Luke 11:29-32 & Mat 12:40-41 "For as Jonah was 3 days & 3 nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be 3 days & 3 nights in the heart of the earth."

ALL-inspired by God, EVERY WORD... sure & certain.

Made Perfect through Suffering

"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." Romans 8:18

Last weekend I attended a funeral for a little baby who died at 7 months gestation. His name was Maxwell and even though he never took a breathe of earthly air, he touched a lot of lives. The baby never had to suffer; but, was delivered out of this world and into heaven, absent from the body, present with the Lord. The parents had their son's perfect little footprints on display, along with what would have been his first outfit. When our friend, Tom, the Grandpa got up to speak, he said that often his daughter would call him to come over and fix something; but this one he could not fix.

The young parents attributed all their strength to The Lord for getting them through this time. Their love for each other and for God was amazing to obseve. Tremendous pain, but a purpose, you could already see, visibly see & hear God's Love, as they tenderly spoke to each other. This tragedy was bringing them closer, increasing their love and respect for each other. They stood together as a unit, united in pain, united in faith, united in hope, it brings me to tears as I remember it right now.

Just like Tom, the Grandpa, I wanted to say something, do something, anything to ease their suffering somehow. But God is not short-sighted, He is long-sighted. He sees past, present and future and He was a great plan for their lives. I believe that everyone grieved with this beautiful couple; but, also rejoiced to see that God was at work, and He was glorified.

(excerpt Made Perfect Through Suffering, by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman:)
"Our Father's love is too true to be weak. Because He loves His children, He chastises them that they may be partakers of His holiness. With this glorious end in view, He spares not for their crying. Made perfect through sufferings, as the Elder Brother, Jesus, was; the sons of God are trained up to obedience and brought to glory through much tribulation."