Jackets, little shoes and can't we go NOW?

I was getting on little sister's jacket and shoes.  Big brother was anxious to go ahead without me, with all of his two-year-old energy ready to race outside into the world.  "You need to stay inside," I told him.  He wiggled and jiggled and begged to wait on the porch.  All of my experience told me, one step over the transom and all would be lost.

"I need you to obey in place," I told him.  Immediately, he stopped in front of the door, right where he was, and sat down until we were ready to go.

Obey in place.  Not over there.  Not where I think would be a better place, a greener pasture, a more strategic or comfortable location. But in place.  There is a purpose in it.

The phrase "in place" refers not to a random location, but a given place at a given time, strategically layered to fulfill the purposes in it.  Right here.  There are too many reasons to list, too deep to comprehend at the time, precise even when it is not apparent, a proper ordering, now in effect, even when I can't see it.  Ready to be used.  Already being used.

Obey in place.  Here, O LORD? Wouldn't over there be better?

Pray in place.

Serve in place.

Love God.  Love others.  Right here.  In place.

But you shall seek the place
which the LORD your God will choose
out of all your tribes,
to put His name
and make His habitation there;
thither you shall go...

                      Deuteronomy 12.5

God's profound purposes 
    and His faithfulness are seamlessly woven,
even when I don't understand.

Wherever He leads
every opportunity,
every encounter,
every direction,
              why am I here? 
To be faithful to Him,
                   even in this.

The Seven Words that Changed the World

At Christmas, the angels said,
          "He is here."

At Easter, the angels said,
          "He is not here."

Jesus didn't just come.
Jesus came to change everything.
               Even my heart.

Because He lives...

And very early
on the first day of the week
they went to the tomb
when the sun had risen.
And they were saying to one another,
"Who will roll away the stone
for us from the door of the tomb?"
And looking up,
they saw that the stone was rolled back
-- it was very large.
And entering the tomb,
they saw a young man
sitting on the right side,
dressed in a white robe;
and they were amazed.
And he said to them,
"Do not be amazed;
you seek Jesus of Nazareth,
who was crucified.
He is risen,
           He is not here.

             Mark 16. 2-6

He is risen.
He is risen indeed.
And nothing will
       ever be the same.
Not just another worldview,
        but the truth that is
                      a life changer.

Happy resurrection day, my friend!

Without Good Friday...

To most of this world, this day will pass like any other without any recognition at all, and yet, this day commemorates why Jesus came.

Why is this day largely ignored?  Because of what Christ has done for us.  And acknowledging that requires a realization of our own sinfulness, the selfishness that messes up our lives and takes God's rightful place in our hearts.

Jesus did not die because I am a good person.  "But God shows His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5.8  He came to earth and died because we cannot save ourselves.  He paid the price.  "Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins."  Hebrews 9.22

Christ's followers thought this was the end.  They expected a great political overthrow.  And now, here He was, dying on a humiliating cross.

They forgot the ancient prophecies about the coming Messiah that revealed how they would recognize Him. The prophet Isaiah wrote 800 years before Christ:

For He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
upon Him was the chastisement that made us whole,
and with His stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned every one to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on Him
          the iniquity of us all.

                             Isaiah 53. 5-6

Christ did not call for political revolution, but a call for personal repentance.  Little did they realize, that is where the revolution of hearts begins.

So also the chief priests,
with the scribes and elders,
mocked Him, saying,
"He saved others;
He cannot save Himself.
He is the king of Israel;
let Him come down now
        from the cross,
and we will believe in Him.

                  Matthew 27. 41-42

But if Jesus had come down
             from the cross,
if He had not died for our sins,
        He would not be our Savior.
That is why He came,
because He loves us that much.

Without Good Friday,
   there would not be Easter.

Four little words that reminded me this morning

Last evening, a sweet friend who God has recently put into my life shared an experience she had at work yesterday.  After giving the details about the situation, she smiled.

"God is at work," she reminded me.

I woke way too early this morning, a little bit overwhelmed by... well, everything, including headlines in the news, people I have only heard about, and situations where I am right in the line of fire.  And I began to drag each of these heavy boxes to the altar.  Show me Your way in this, O LORD.

But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
until I went into the sanctuary of God.

                         Psalm 73. 17

And I felt the words of my friend engraved in my heart:
             "God is at work."

That is the reality.

Reality is what actually exists.  As my father's 1931 dictionary defines it, "Reality is what is, despite appearances.  It is opposed to the imaginary, the make-believe, the fictitious, the merely apparent, the artificial, the ostensible, the world of make-believe."

And as God says, "I AM."

This is not a different perspective on things,
a positive outlook,
a coping mechanism,
             but the reality of who God is.

God is at work,
    far more,
    far deeper,
    far abundantly
         than I could ever imagine.

Sometimes we get a glimpse
              despite appearances,
the deeper work of God.
Circumstances are not the end,
but they are just what He uses
                 and what He redeems.

"God is at work"
are the four little words that reminded me this morning
               of God's faithfulness.

O LORD God,
You have only begun
to show Your servant
Your greatness
     and Your mighty hand...

                 Deuteronomy 3. 24

...that which only God can do.

If you see something, say something

Even as I am writing this, I looked up for just a fraction of a second.  There, running across the road and up the shaggy un-mown hill, was a red fox.  I have never seen one in this area.  And I would have missed it if I had not been looking.  The creature moved so fast that I was unable to snap a picture with my phone. It scurried through the tall weeds on its tiny foxy feet, here for just a moment and gone the next, like so many opportunities to share Jesus in one way or another.  Open my eyes, O LORD, to what is around me, to those who are right in front of my eyes.

I have found when I share the gospel with someone, there is inevitably a grandfather, a parent, an aunt, a sibling or a good friend, who is a believer and who has been praying, sometimes for years, not just for them, but for a believer to come into their lives.  God works through relationships more powerfully than anything else. 

In the New York subway system, there are reminders in unexpected places to be on the alert.

I would change that sign to read, "If you see someone, say something."

"Bring the name of Jesus there," said the late Henri Nouwen in his book In The Name of Jesus.  Into that conversation.  Into that relationship.  Into all that you do.  Find a place in your day, find a place at your table.  In word and deed.  Someone is praying for that person.  Someone may be praying for YOU.  "Bring a believer into his life."  "Please, O LORD, bring someone to tell her about Jesus."

You may be that "someone,"
you may be the answer to their prayers.

...that God may open to us
a door for the Word,
to declare the mystery of Christ
...that I may make it clear,
as I ought to speak.

                       Colossians 4. 3-4