Life as a Christian Woman

What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

from Nothing but the Blood
Words and Music by Robert Lowry

A couple of years ago we took the family to DisneyWorld. I was beyond excited, spent an entire year planning the trip. Our daughter was four when we made the pilgrimage to Orlando, Florida. I was told that would be the perfect age to meet princesses and ride Dumbo, and what a great time we would all have. I loaded the family cameras with digital cards and got ready.

The night we were going to leave, my little girl was playing outside when she fell and skinned her cheekbone up pretty badly. Big, ugly, red scab. Lots and lots of tears. Once she calmed down, we loaded the car and hit the road.

We had a wonderful time (except for the fact that my daughter was afraid of all the characters except princesses, so we spent our time running from Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, et. al.!).

When we got home, I uploaded the pictures to the computer. Lots and lots of gorgeous pictures of my daughter with Cinderella, Belle, on the rides, you name it. And in each one, there it was…

The big, ugly, red scab.

It looked awful.

So I did what any mom would do… I pulled out the Photoshop and erased the scab out of every single picture. You can’t even tell it was ever there.

And that is was Jesus’ death on the cross did for us. We are all full of sin, big, ugly, blood red sins. They are all over us, around us, everywhere. But once we ask Jesus into our lives, those horrible, ugly sins are erased, and we are cleansed of it all.

There’s no other way to rid ourselves of our sinful nature. Jesus’ blood. That’s it.

Not good works, not money, not living a good life, or taking a vow of poverty.

Jesus. Just Him.

I want you to want me.
I need you to need me.
I’d love you to love me.

(from I Want You to Want Me, by Rick Nielsen)

Isn’t it wonderful to be wanted?

I mean, I know we all gripe about it now and then. You cringe when you hear your boss call your name, knowing she has an assignment for you. Your think you’ll scream if you here one more “Mommy!”

But the opposite of being wanted is being… unwanted.

And while there are times that might sound appealing, we actually all need to be wanted.

Whether it is providing some work service, or just a hug, being wanted gives us a reason to get up in the morning, a reason to put one foot in front of the other. Sometimes it is the only thing that can keep us moving when we would otherwise just shut down.

There is a difference between being needed and wanted. A child needs us when she is sick. But sometimes she just wants us.  A boss needs us to complete a project.  But she wants us lead a project.

Being needed is fine. Being wanted is divine.

So, how does this all fit into Life As A Christian Woman? I’m glad you asked!

We all need God. When we are sick, broken, down, depressed. That’s when we call on Him. We need Him.  But when things are all sunshine and warm breezes, we don’t call on Him, talk to Him. Remember the stories of the Garden of Eden? In the “cool of the day”, God would come down and walk with Adam and Eve, talk to them.  They weren’t asking for anything, there was no sin yet. They just talked.

God would love us to just come talk to Him. He wants to hear our needs, of course. But He wants us to want Him, to desire to be in His presence in good times as well as in bad.

I was reading a book to my daughter tonight and got a good laugh.

The book was a book of Bible stories that was given to her when she was born by my mom’s best friend. My daughter has only recently gotten to be old enough to really grasp the stories. So we have started reading a few each night and talking about them.

Tonight, one of the stories we read was about Moses.  Specifically, it was about the Israelites crossing through the parted waters of the Red Sea.

When we got to the part of the story where Moses puts up his staff and the waters crash down upon the Egyptians, the book reads, “The Israelites were amazed at God’s power, and praised Him and quit complaining… at least for a little while.”

I just got a kick out of how it was phrased: “at least for a little while.”  Isn’t that the way it goes? We pray for a miracle, a blessing from God. We get it We praise God, we are amazed by Him and His power. We comment on this life changing event.  And for a few days we really are changed.

And then we go back to our whiny, complaining selves.

Oh, we can’t really help it. It is our human nature. But isn’t it funny, in a kind of sad way, how we are so quick to forget the miracles in our lives and to jump on the junk? The entire book of Exodus is such a great example of that side of human nature.

Israelites: Rescue us from Pharoah!

God: I’m taking you to the Promised Land.

Israelites: The Egyptians are coming! Save us!

God: I’ll cause the Red Sea to swallow them up, after parting it to give you safe passage.

Israelites: We need food! We are starving in the desert!

God: Every morning there will manna to eat, along with other things, and water to drink.

Israelites: …

Well, you get the idea.

Even after miracle upon miracle handed to them, they balked, whined and sinned. We say, “If God parted the Red Sea, I would never doubt Him again.”

Really? I bet if we all stop to think about it, we can come up with miracle after miracle in our own lives. Maybe not the parting of the Red Sea, but a miracle just the same.

It may be human nature to whine and complain, but it isn’t God’s nature.

I’m tired. Sad. Disheartened.

Sometimes, no matter how blessed we may feel, sorrow and fear creep in. We live in a world that is filled with God’s wonders, yet mankind’s dark side is evident daily, whether we read about it in the newspaper, see it on television, or live next door to it.

No matter how happy in God we are, we are all touched by sadness. No matter how strong our faith, we are riddled with fears.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if accepting Christ into your life meant things got easy? That suddenly you were protected in a bubble of God’s love from the hurt that fills this world? But it isn’t that way. We have to exist in this world, with all it’s pain and suffering.

I have a friend who tonight is staring potential death in the face. Not her own death, but that of her nine month old baby. I have another friend who has lost everything– home, car, business — to the ravages of the economy. And yet another friend who is in the midst of a painful divorce.

But all three have something in common… their love of God, and their belief that He will care for them in their lowest moments.

I look at each of them and wonder how they can survive the heartache. Each has reached the breaking point several times. Yet at each step of the way, God cradles them in His love, and they feel it. They hurt, they are broken.

They are loved.

Life with our God on this earth doesn’t protect us from evil, from hurt. But it does assure us that this world is only temporary. Our “forever home” awaits us, where all this junk we deal with every day will be over, done, forgotten.

One of my favorite songs is Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus. This old hymn so eloquently speaks of the darkness that descends, yet reminds us to turn our eyes to Him, and this will all fade away. The light of God turns away all darkness.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:5 we read:

You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.

The better day is coming!

Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

Words and Music by Helen H. Lemmel, 1922

O soul are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Saviour,
And life more abundant and free:

Chorus:
Turn you eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face;
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.

Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow Him there;
Over us sin no more hath dominion
For more than conqu’rors we are!

Chorus

His word shall not fail you He promised;
Believe Him and all will be well.
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!

Chorus

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Matthew 28: 20(b)

I heard someone talking the other day, relaying a story of hardship that had befallen a family. The husband was out of work, they were about to lose their home to foreclosure, and one of the children was sick and there was no health insurance. Things were definitely tough.

Then the person relaying the story said that an amazing thing happened.

“God showed up,” he said.

Hmmm.

I understand what the man meant, but I strongly disagree with the sentiment. This isn’t the first time I have heard the phrase “God showed up.” Frankly, I think it is probably pretty insulting to God.

Here is the fact: God is always here. Always.

Christ promised us that He is with us always as He ascended into Heaven, in what has become known as The Great Commission:

19) Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20) and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Matthew 28: 19-20

We trivialize God when we believe that He “shows up” only at certain times. We are told He knows every hair on our head (Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Luke 12: 7), that He knew us as we were being knitted together in our mother’s womb (Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart;  I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. Jeremiah 1: 5) …. yet we believe God only “shows up” on certain occasions?

God walks with us, lives in us, and loves us more deeply than we will ever be able to comprehend. It only stands to reason that He is wherever we are, waiting for us to acknowledge Him, and love Him in return.

Cause you’re all I want, You’re all I need
You’re everything,everything
You’re all I want your all I need
You’re everything, everything.
You’re all I want you’re all I need.
You’re everything, everything
You’re all I want you’re all I need, you’re everything, everything.

from Everything, by Lifehouse

The youth at our church recently put on a dramatic skit that was amazing. With a little research, I found out that it is actually sweeping the country and the internet with amazing results.

The wordless play, to the song Everything by Lifehouse, depicts a young woman as she begins her life with God. He shows her the world and it’s wonders. The woman is happy as she is with her Lord, but then the sin of the world begins to creep in…  sexual immorality, greed, alcohol, the desire to be beautiful, and finally, as she reaches lower and lower, she begins cutting herself… and considers suicide.

The entire time, God is there, trying to get her attention. But the world has blocked Him from her. Suddenly, as she hits her lowest point, she turns and sees Him, and fights to get back to Him, yet greed, lust, all manner of evil, blocks her path, fighting to keep her down. Then God steps in, blocks the sin and takes it on Himself. He fights the battle as she returns to Him. Finally, He lifts her up, restores her. Evil is defeated.

Honestly, if you haven’t seen the drama, you need to watch the video. It is only about four minutes long, but my words cannot begin to do it justice.

It debuted in Knoxville, Tennessee, at Winterfest 2006, performed by Mission Baltimore. It was written by Mission Baltimore director Tim Houston. The resulting phenomena has been nothing short of a miracle. With more than 10 million hits on various websites, and hundreds of churches performing the skit, countless lives have been changed by this simple dramatic mini-play.

Please watch and be moved by Everything. If you have trouble viewing, please follow this link, or go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyheJ480LYA.

Everything

written by Jason Wade

Find Me Here
Speak To Me
I want to feel you
I need to hear you
You are the light
That’s leading me
To the place where I find peace again.

You are the strength, that keeps me walking.
You are the hope, that keeps me trusting.
You are the light to my soul.
You are my purpose…you’re everything.

How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

You calm the storms, and you give me rest.
You hold me in your hands, you won’t let me fall.
You steal my heart, and you take my breath away.
Would you take me in? Take me deeper now?

How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?
And how can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

Cause you’re all I want, You’re all I need
You’re everything,everything
You’re all I want your all I need
You’re everything, everything.
You’re all I want you’re all I need.
You’re everything, everything
You’re all I want you’re all I need, you’re everything, everything.

And How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?
How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

³⁴“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

John  13: 34

Why do we Christians fight each other? Why do we argue?

I’ve asked this question before, and I never get an answer that satisfies me. I’ve been told that this denomination is wrong because they do things this way, and I’ve been told that one is wrong because they don’t do this or that.

I don’t get it.

Please understand, I know that there are sects that are abominations to God’s word, that take scripture and twist it until it is unrecognizable, all to prop up some agenda of hate or separation.

But within the mainstream of faith, there is so much petty bickering over things that, at the end of the day, just don’t matter.

There is so much more that unites us than there is that separates us. Our love for God. His love for us. Our acceptance of Jesus Christ as the risen Lord. Yet we get so bogged down in the mundane, day to day of spiritual life.

Pray this way!  No, that’s wrong! Pray like this!

Baptize by immersion! No, sprinkle as an infant!

Sing! No, bow!

On and on. I have to believe that all of this breaks our Savior’s heart. In His name, we turn on our brothers and sisters in Christ. We look down our holy little noses at other denominations.

The pastor at my church was talking about Heaven, and although what he was saying wasn’t on this topic, it sure is applicable. Heaven will be crowded. And you won’t know everyone there. And they won’t all be from your church.

That’s right. A Baptist might end up next to a Catholic, next to a Lutheran, next to a non-denominational, etc.

So what will you do? Walk out of Heaven? Heck no!

So, if it isn’t going to be a big deal then, why should it be a big deal now? Aren’t we all brothers and sisters of the God of Love?

It’s important to find a church where you grow spiritually, where you are fed from God’s word, where you feel nearer to Him. And where you can bind with others who love God, to form a community. But it is equally important to let your neighbor find a church where he or she is fed… and that might not be the same church.

But it’s the same Savior.

I’m coming back to the heart of worship
And it’s all about You
All about You, Jesus
I’m sorry Lord for the thing I’ve made it
When it’s all about You
It’s all about You Jesus

from The Heart of Worship
by Matt Redman

¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13:13

We were on vacation a couple of weeks ago. I did a good job of not giving in to the temptation of buying t-shirts, pencils, magnets, or anything else that I usually spend money on during a trip. I was proud of myself, especially, when I managed to make it out of a mall with no purchases. I asked my husband if he noticed. He replied, “I’m impressed by your self-control.”

My reply?

“Self-control isn’t much fun.”

And it’s not.

It would be a lot more fun to buy what we want, do what we want, live how we want, with no regard to the future, our budget, or society. And some people do live this way, to some extent.

But just because you have a lot of money doesn’t mean you should buy everything you want. Just because you turn 21 doesn’t mean you should run out and get drunk.

You get the point.

The tenth commandment tells us not to covet what isn’t ours. Talk about fighting human nature? Who hasn’t seen a nice house, a pretty dress, and wished it was yours? There goes #10 right out the window!

Truth is, self-control isn’t fun. It’s boring. It gets in the way of getting “stuff.” But as long as we keep trying to fill ourselves up with “stuff” instead of filling up with God, we will continue to run on empty.

And when we want “stuff,” when we make that desire the centerpiece of our existence, we run smack into the first commandment:

³ “You shall have no other gods before me.”  Exodus 20: 3

When you make the stuff more important than God, when you yearn for things more than you yearn for Him, you are making that stuff into gods, earthly gods. Whether it is a house, a car, or even a spouse or friend, nothing can come before God.

Nothing.

I’ll end with a line from the song “Stuff” by Diamond Rio. Very funny, but pretty darn true, too:

Stuff!  Oh it’s treasure till it’s mine then it ain’t worth a dime!

As I wrote here the other day, I found an old Bible of mine from when I was a teenager, and all the accompanying notes, bookmarks, etc. One of my favorites, something I have never forgotten but was glad to actually put my hands on again, was a piece of paper called Prayer for the Man that One Day I Will Marry. It goes like this:

Dear Father,

Help him grow into the kind of man you want him to be;
a man in the truest Biblical sense of the word. One whom I
can trust as head of the home we will share.  Amen.

Nothing fancy, just short and sweet, and to the point. But as I look at the words now, and think of the things I thought were important in a mate when I was a teenager, I realize the prayer may have done more for me than I realized.  I’m not sure where I got the prayer from; it could have been from a youth pastor, or perhaps we actually were asked to write a prayer ourselves. Either way, the first sentence is the key to the whole exercise.

Help him grow into the kind of man you want him to be.

Obviously I thought that the “you” was important, because I underlined it. In retrospect, I’m darn glad I wasn’t asking for the man I wanted! My list of important things at age 15 were along the lines of cute, funny, cute, smart, cute, nice car, cute, athlete.

You get the idea.

But that isn’t what God was concerning Himself with. All those things are earthly, but God sees the bigger picture. He knew that my future spouse should be a man who loves God, who will be the spiritual leader of the family.

And that is the way we are intended to pray for every matter in our lives, whether it is for our future spouse, for our health, for friends, for a job. As Christ taught us in The Lord’s Prayer, we should always acknowledge that God’s will is our desire, not our own.

Hard, but necessary… and in the long run, rewarding.

⁹“This, then, is how you should pray:
” ‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
¹⁰your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹Give us today our daily bread.
¹²Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one

Matthew 6: 9-13

Indescribable

by Chris Tomlin

From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea
Creation’s revealing Your majesty
From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring
Every creature unique in the song that it sings
All exclaiming

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God

Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go
Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow
Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light
Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night
None can fathom

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God
You are amazing God

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
All powerful, untameable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God
Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
Incomparable, unchangeable
You see the depths of my heart and You love me the same
You are amazing God
You are amazing God

While I was driving home tonight I saw the beginnings of the most amazing storm I have ever seen. Lightning flashed all around us, thunder rolled, rain poured.

As soon as I got home, I went to a window and watched the storm roll in. Lightning so bright it lit the sky like the sun, so bright the street lights were fooled into thinking it was daytime and shut off. Streak after streak of God’s electricity shot across the sky. It went on and on, lasting more than two hours. At one point, it seemed that our little house was smack in the middle of all the action, with lightning on all sides. The thunder shook the walls. The rain pounding on the roof.

It was awesome.

And it reminded me of a song by Chris Tomlin, “Indescribable.”

(Click HERE if you are having trouble viewing the video)

Nothing in God’s world happens by accident. He knows where every bolt of lightning is headed, before it leaves the heavens. He knows where the sun will shine, and where the rain will come down.

God’s world, the world He has given us to live in, is by His design. This world is amazing. We look around and see grass that needs to be mowed, or hedges that need to be trimmed. We see gardens that need to be weeded. When it’s hot, we want cooler weather. When it’s cold, we long for warmth.

That’s all fine, that’s life. But every now and then we need to sit back and be amazed at this world. Amazed that God has pieced it all together, from the smallest insect to the largest mountain. And that it all fits so perfectly.

God’s world is perfectly made. Take a little time to be amazed by His handiwork.

⁹Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2: 9-11

I was watching the Michael Jackson memorial last. The preacher who spoke last (unfortunately I didn’t hear his name) made a comment that summed up this life and the next.  He said that Michael Jackson, the “King of Pop,” was now bowing on bended knee before the King of Kings.

And that is how we will all end up, on bended knee acknowledging the true king. No matter how lowly a life or how mighty a position a person has on this earth, when coming face to face with our Father, all will be humbled.

Our world tends to elevate individuals to “pedestal” status based on ridiculous reasoning. She’s a great actress? I want to be like her! He can run faster and score more touchdowns than anyone else? He’s a role model!  She can bake a cake from scratch? She’s a hero!

But often, once we elevate these folks, they fail to deliver. They let us down. They can’t help it, really, because they are human. We expect them to be more than they really are.

But God delivers. He keeps His promises. No matter how high on a throne we put Him, He never lets us down.

I love to imagine walking up to Him, seeing Him. Bowing before Him.

But I get a kick out of imagining others doing the same thing… all those “big wigs” and stars from our earthly world, bowing before their creator.

We really are all created equal. None is greater than the other. God made us all. One set of skills is not greater than another. That star running back? Good for him, but at the end of the day the mom down the street who works as a waitress is on the same playing field.

Can’t wait to be on bended knee in front of my God!

¹If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. ¹¹When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. ¹²Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

I Corinthians 13 (The Love Chapter)

I’ve been on an organizing tear lately. I used to be hyper-organized, but marriage and childbirth have pretty well taken care of that. Recently, however, I hit my limit. Time for a major purge of the house.

During tonight’s purge and toss I ran across a small piece of paper, the size of a business card, that I had written notes on from a sermon when I was around the age of 15. The sermon was on the four different words that the ancient Greeks used for “love.” The four words are:

• Storge - Instinctive, natural affection.
• Eros - Passionate love.
• Philea - Friendship love.
• Agape - Total and unconditional love.

Our word Love is thrown around so easily that I wish we had several words like the ancient Greeks to convey the deeper meanings. But there is one descriptive word for love that is missing from the ancient Greek.

Narcissistic love.

And it runs rampant in our world today.

Narcissism is defined on dictionary.com as “inordinate fascination with oneself; excessive self-love; vanity.” Sort of a “I’m so great aren’t you glad I’ve let you into my world” kind of love.

We use the word love expecting something in return, kind of a payday for our affection. But that isn’t the way we are supposed to love. While we might not be able to truly love unconditionally, we need to love honestly and without regard to what we get out of the deal.

Love is hard. Whether it is the love between a husband and a wife, love between mother and child, or love between friends, there will be rocky times. There are going to be times when you wonder just what you were thinking when you invited that person into your life.

But what love means is that you can’t give up on that person. You can get mad, get sad, get over it. But you can’t just walk out. To do that is to deny that the person you are walking out on is a gift to you from God.

But that’s what we do. We get mad. We feel cheated. We didn’t get the deal that we signed up for. So we walk. And we look for the next bigger, better deal. And odds are we will walk out on that one, too. Because we have such an inflated vision of who we are, no one can live up to our vision of who we “deserve.”

I have seen good people, smart people, toss friendships of a lifetime because of a hurt, something that could have been worked out with effort. I have seen marriages end because one spouse wanted more than the other could deliver, and rather than reach a compromise or understanding, it’s just easier to file a paper at the courthouse and walk away.

And if I hear one more person tell me how resilient children are when faced with the loss of family…

Well, you get the picture.

I understand that there are situations where friendships and marriages end. I’ve lived in this world long enough to lose friendships because of my own stupidity, and I’ve walked away from friendships that were unhealthy. And I’ve had dear friends suffer through relationships that were marked by abuse and cheating, where divorce was the only answer.

But I’ve seen way, way too many folks, smart people, Christian people, walk out just because they were selfish and self-centered, unwilling to compromise or adapt.

We are bombarded every day with images of “perfection.” The right size, body type, hair, eye color and clothes are the road to a happy life, or at least that’s what we are led to believe.

In other words, appearance is everything.

And I agree.

But it’s a different kind of appearance that really counts. It’s how we appear to others through actions, through our daily life, that will have a huge impact on how we are percieved, which in turn will impact how well we can communicate our faith to others.

We can’t talk the talk unless we are willing to walk the walk. We can’t condemn someone for an action if we do the same, or a similar, thing (we shouldn’t be condemning anyone in the first place!).

In Philippians 4: 8 we read:

⁸Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

We need to live our lives as much above reproach as possible. We need to think before we act or speak. We need to “lead with love” towards our world.

Can you imagine if Jesus had preached love, yet behaved like an old grump? We would be left with the ultimate mixed message! But he spoke love and lived a life that showed love to all, even those deemed the most unworthy.

Recently I was in Chicago with my family for the weekend. As we walked back to our hotel after dinner, we saw a large box of coats, shoes and scarves sitting on the corner. I wondered who had left it there. Then I saw another box about a block down, then another and another. Turns out that, since the night was going to be pretty cold, a Good Samaritan group was putting boxes with blankets, coats and other cold weather gear out for those who might need it, those down on their luck or homeless. It was a mission of several of the churches located in the downtown area.

Those unknown (but to God) folks gave of themselves through a heart of love. They bettered their world by not sitting around complaining about those who may ask for money, they wordlessly provided gifts of love to those who needed them most.

I don’t know who they were, or what they looked like. But I bet to God, and to those who were able to stay a bit warmer on a cold night, they looked like angels.

²And he [Jesus] said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.

Luke 11: 2

We are instructed from an early age about God’s will. God’s will is what we are supposed to seek out, and also what we are supposed to follow.

But we have morphed it into something it was never intended to be. We throw around the phrase “It was God’s will” or “God willing” like rain falling from heaven.  We distort God’s will to meet our wants and desires, rather than the other way around.

When I was dating my future husband, he got a job in a city about 500 miles away. After much talk, we decided I would move, too, and find a job in that area. We also decided to move in together.

We knew it was wrong, as the Bible is pretty upfront about premarital sex. We tried to analyze that God must be ok with this, because there was no way we could afford two households in such an expensive area.

Talk about rationalizing!

Anyway, I told a Christian friend of mine about our decision. She looked me dead in the eye and said that she had no doubt that God had brought us together, and that God was driving our relationship. But she equally had no doubt that He never intended for us to commit this sin as a part of our coming together.

I knew she was right… but I kept rationalizing. “This way I’ll know if he is really the man I am supposed to marry,” I argued.

“Do you believe God brought you together?,” she asked. I did. “Then trust Him to lead the relationship, don’t take over and drive it yourself.”

Of course, I ignored her. Her words at the end of the conversation have proved true. She said, “I believe that God brought you together, and that you will have a happy life. But I also believe this sin will manifest itself in the future.”

She was right.

A few years later, after we were married, a relative announced she was moving in with her boyfriend to “try things out.” I told her that she knew that went against her faith. Her words?

“You did it.”

We play with fire when we try to corrupt God’s will to fit our lives, instead of the reverse. God’s will is perfect, our will is flawed and driven by desire, fear, and a million other things of this world.

When we pray for God’s will to be done, we need to make sure that those aren’t just words.

Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.  What can man do to me?”

Hebrews 5: 6

I have a friend who tragically lost a baby several years ago. Before the birth, they were told that their little girl most likely wouldn’t survive more than a few hours. When she was born, she lived five days. The family continues to celebrate those five days each year with a party and special time to remember.

Sometimes something wonderful comes out of something horrible. Oh, the pain never goes away. It stays there. Many of you have felt a similar pain, the loss of a loved one or a broken heart. Initially it is unrelenting, raw. There is anger, there are tears.

But God is the Great Physician. He waits to heal our hearts, but we have to turn our hurt over to Him, rely on Him to lead us through the “Valley of Death.”

Just minutes ago I read a wonderful story of a family, touched by a life that lasted only six years.

Their daughter.

They knew from birth that she would not live long. Doctors said six months, but she was a fighter. They said she would never smile. She did.

But the fears and the pain of knowing they would have to let their little girl go one day soon, not knowing when and wondering each day if this was the day… that pain ripped them apart.

Through counseling, they turned to God. Their faith grew. The faith of their other daughters grew deeper. The family turned as one to God, and He, as usual, delivered.

No, there was no miraculous healing of their daughter. But there was a healing of their pain, and an acceptance of God’s will in their lives.

Please follow the link below to read the story of the Gran family. Seeing God work through the pain and heartache of someone else’s life is always a reminder to us that He is there for us, as well.

Click here to read the story on the Gran Family from the Knoxville (Tennesssee) News-Sentinel.