Monthly Archives: September 2011

He was sitting at the piano at the front of the church sanctuary when we arrived.

This was the young man our congregation had been praying for, asking our great, loving and powerful Savior to deliver him from the drug addiction that currently consumed him and was ruining his life.

While the others greeted each other and chatted before the evening service began, this young man sat alone by choice, his fingers drawing soft, melancholy notes from the piano keys. He was very thin. When he occasionally glanced up, I could see that his eyes were hollow, empty. It is not an exaggeration to say that sadness and hopelessness seemed to surround him. The Enemy’s calling card and handiwork were on full display.

As the service began, he was sitting in my line of vision. Restlessness overtook him. At any moment, it looked as if he would bolt right out of the sanctuary like he was on fire.

It’s called conviction.

When His blazing, pure light shines on our darkness, all we want to do is hide.

I prayed the entire service for this young man, that Jesus would open his eyes to see the truth…the beautiful and stunning truth that there is a Savior who is Hope and Peace and Joy and Light and Deliverance…One who is LIFE in all its fullness.

Jesus was calling out to this young man to come home.

He disappeared into the dark night shortly after that service and I didn’t see him again. Eventually, word reached us that he had been accepted into a year-long Christian treatment program and the prayers for his salvation and healing continued.

This past Sunday morning, this young man returned to our church.

I didn’t even recognize him.

Gone was the thin frame, the hollow eyes, the air of hopelessness. In place of the former emptiness was a man who was bursting with vitality, hope, peace, joy and LIFE!  His eyes sparkled and his smile was as wide as Texas.

He made his way to the front of the church, clutching a prepared testimony. Despite obviously being uncomfortable in the spotlight, he was willing to testify about his redemption.

He shared how he encountered Jesus at this treatment facility. In his desperation and despair, he  finally reached out to the One who is always willing to redeem, restore and renew.

Darkness gave way to Light. Shame was replaced with honor and dignity. Sadness had been traded in for supernatural joy that has nothing whatsoever to do with earthly circumstances. Hopelessness was eclipsed by blazing Hope.  Self-loathing was no more, as he now knows that he is always and forever dearly beloved by his Creator. Bitterness had been replaced by forgiveness. Deep wounds had been healed by the Healer Himself. Emptiness was now filled-to-overflowing with purpose and passion. Death was forever conquered by the eternal LIFE that Jesus secured for him at the cross.

He closed his testimony by reading Zephaniah 3:17: “The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in His love He will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”

Nothing and no one is too broken for Jesus.

As Steven Curtis Chapman writes in his book  Restoring Broken Things : ” Though all brokenness will be eliminated when Jesus returns, He is in the business of restoring broken things. And He is mightily at work today, accomplishing great things beyond our asking and imagining. Some of the very messes we concede as hopeless are the exact places God’s mercies prove to be matchless.” (p. 98).

As long as a person is still breathing, there is always hope.

If there is someone in your life who looks like a lost cause, don’t you dare believe that. Your Savior lives and nothing is impossible with Him. As long as there is breath in your body, you pray for that dear one. Praying an appropriate Scripture over that precious life is even better. Pray God’s powerful Word back to Him and believe with everything you’ve got that He will act in His perfect timing and with perfect wisdom.

Especially if that person is you.

As I was listening to the powerful  testimony of this young man, a Don Francisco song began to run through my mind. It is called “Give Your Heart A Home” and it is written from the perspective of Jesus. I hope you can “hear” His heart for you in these words:

I hear your hollow laughter, your sighs of secret pain
Pretending and inventing just to hide your shame
Plastic smiles and faces, blinking back the tears
Empty friends and places all magnify your pain

If you’re tired and weary, weak and heavy-laden
I can understand how it feels to be alone
I will take your burden, if you let Me love you
Wrap My arms around you…give your heart a home.

It hurts to watch you struggle and try so hard to win
Trade your precious birthright for candy-coated sin
Wasting precious moments, restless and confused
Building up defenses for fear that you’ll be used

Take My yoke upon you and walk here by My side
Let Me heal your heartaches and dry the tears you’ve cried
Never will I leave you, never turn away
I’ll keep you through the darkness and lead you through the day

If you’re tired and weary, weak and heavy-laden,
I can understand how it feels to be alone
I will take your burden if you let Me love you
Wrap My arms around you, give your heart a home
Wrap My arms around you, give your heart a home.

Your true home is only found in the heart of Jesus.

If you are hurting today, run straight toward him as hard as you can. Immerse yourself in His love letter to you. Let Him speak words of LIFE into your tired soul. Know that even at this moment, He is singing over your precious life.

He is waiting for you with open arms.

Photo credit: DancingWithTheStarsFanClub

I will admit that I love to watch “Dancing With The Stars.”

I have two left feet and no rhythm whatsoever, so I am fascinated by the graceful movements of dancers.

While I was watching the results show tonight, I caught a backstage moment between one couple. The woman (who was the amateur) was anxiously looking out at the crowd as she waited to perform. Her partner (the professional) came up behind her and called her name. She didn’t even hear him as her eyes continued to search all those faces, which caused her to look even more nervous.

Her partner once again called her name and she dragged her eyes away from the crowd and turned to look into his face.

Looking intently at her, he said authoritatively, “They don’t exist. It’s just us out there. Concentrate on me.”

She took a deep breath and nodded before taking his hand and allowing him to lead her onto the dance floor. She did as he asked and they gave a lovely performance. He led, she followed, and the result was a delightful dance that was a joy to watch.

I could not help but think of how often I have found myself in the same position as that amateur dancer. There have been many times when I know that Jesus wants to lead me out onto the dance floor, so to speak, but I am way too focused on others. What will they think? What will they say? What if I fall down? What if I look ridiculous? Why didn’t He ask So-and-So to join Him in this particular dance? She’s much prettier, smarter, talented, (fill in the blank with another adjective) than I am!

Sometimes He has to call my name a second time before I will allow His voice to break through all the “noise” and choose to focus exclusively on Him.

I have a choice: I can accept His invitation to join Him in a divine dance and let Him lead me into a new exhilarating adventure as I keep my eyes firmly fixed on Him…OR I can choose to allow myself to be overcome with fear of the faces of those who will watch…and remain on the sidelines. Unfulfilled. Scared. Lonely. Sad. Full of fear.

Is Jesus calling you out onto the dance floor today?

If you are hesitating, why?

True, abundant, and joyous life is never found on the sidelines or in the shadows.

Accept His invitation.

It’s just the two of you out there. Concentrate on Him.

…There is a time to dance…” (Ecclesiastes 3:4)

Photo credit: "the sis"

Years ago, God gave us the desire of our hearts and provided an opportunity for us to leave south Florida and return to the place we love the most, which is the beautiful state of New Hampshire. It was a gloriously happy time.

There was one small snag, however. The housing market in Florida had completely tanked and nine months passed with no offers.

It was at that point that a family member felt the need to tell me that the fact that our home was still on the market must be proof that God did not lead us to New Hampshire.  In this person’s mind, if God was in this, our house would have sold immediately.

This was hurtful to me and I made an effort to share how clearly the Lord had led us here. I also gently reminded this person that when the Lord led the Israelites into the Promised Land, they still had giants to fight. In other words, a problem-free life (which doesn’t exist for anyone I know) is not proof that one is in God’s will.

Recognizing that this was a ploy of the enemy to drag me into doubt, fear,  and confusion, I turned down his “invitation” and asked the Lord to make my faith stronger than ever by speaking to me from His Word.

He wasted no time in answering my prayer the very next morning as I read Exodus 13 and 14. As I began to read the familiar account of the exodus from Egypt, He caused me to pay particular attention to things I had never noticed before…and how they applied so perfectly to our situation at that time:

1) The Lord LED the Israelites directly to the edge of the Red Sea: “When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter…God led the people around by the desert toward the Red Sea…By day, the Lord went ahead of them in pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light, so they could travel by day or by night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. (Ex. 13:17-18, 21-22; emphasis added).

The Lord knew EXACTLY where He was taking His children…just as He knew exactly where He was taking our family. He is in COMPLETE control at all times.

He chose not to take the Israelites by the “easy” way; just as he chose not to sell our house right after Doug accepted his new position. One of my girlfriends left south  Florida at the same time we did and her house sold almost immediately. I had to learn to not  compare her journey with mine. God has something different and unique in mind for each of us.

Would I prefer the easy way? Of course! Our flesh always wants whatever causes the least pain and inconvenience. But is easy better? Not necessarily. The Israelites must have wondered at God’s actions in taking them the long way…the certainly complained about it!

Little did they know, they were being set up for a divine miracle!

2) God has rescued the Israelites from Egypt (just like He had ‘rescued’ our family from south Florida, which was our personal Egypt); YET there they were in the wilderness with Pharaoh’s army closing in on them. In the natural, things looked grim and they were “terrified.” (Exodus 14:10).

Why?  Because they were ONLY looking at what was SEEN.

This was similar to our situation at the time. With two homes to pay for (and no end in sight) our financial situation looked tenuous. Based on what we could see, we were in big trouble. We could not “see” how this would possibly work for our good. Like the Israelites, I had my moments of panicking. However, I took great comfort in what Moses said to the terrified Israelites who saw no way out:

“Do not be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord’s salvation He will provide for you today…the Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you and you must hold your peace.”—Exodus 14:13-14

The original word for “fight” means: to make war, overcome, devour, prevail.

In other words:
*The Lord will prevail over the enemy!
*He will make war against the enemy!
*He will devour the enemy!

The word for stand still means: stand fast, withstand, present oneself, take one’s stand.

When you are facing your own Red Sea:
*Take your stand against the enemy in Jesus’ Name
*Stand fast in the TRUTH (not what you feel and can see)
*Withstand this season of uncertainty in HIS strength
*Present yourself to Jesus and ask Him to fight for you.

When we are at the edge of our own “Red Sea” we may not understand, but we can know:
a) God led us there
b) He WILL deliver us…possibly in ways that will blow our minds!

As I continued to read the familiar narrative, I noticed something I never had seen before. As the Egyptians were closing in on the Israelites, which in the natural would have meant certain death, an amazing thing happened: “Then the Angel of God, who was going in front of the Israelite forces, moved and went behind them. The pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and stood behind them. It came between the Israelites and the Egyptians. Throughout the night, the cloud brought darkness to one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.” (Exodus 14:19-20)

Wow! I love that the Lord not only went before His people to lead them into new territory but when there was a severe threat, He moved behind them so that anything that tried to harm them had to face Him first! (no contest there! 🙂 ).

Also, there was darkness…YET He lit up the night. He always does. In Him, there is no darkness at all. (Psalm 139:12)

That was exactly the position in which we found ourselves at that point in time: that in-between place between Egypt and God making a way for us through our Red Sea.

When you are in the same position, you can KNOW that Jesus is assuring you of His Presence and protection over your life during the scary times.  He has gone before you to lead you and during your season of waiting, He is standing guard over you, protecting you and shining His Light on you through His Word.

Our home did eventually sell after one year on the market, allowing us to buy the home we had been renting. There was no financial ruin. As hard as it was, that season taught us to rest in the rock solid promises of His Word, trusting that His timing is perfect. We experienced firsthand His incredible faithfulness to us when we faced our Red Sea.

During that time of waiting, I wrote out this prayer in my journal. If you are encountering a Red Sea in your life right now, maybe you can pray this as well…

“Lord, let us stand strong as we wait on the shore of our Red Sea, desperate for You to act on our behalf. Give us a solid, fearless faith that will make You proud. We look forward to the day of Your deliverance and we will say with Moses: “I will sing to the Lord, for  He is highly exalted. The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea. The Lord is my Strength and my Song; He has become my salvation. He is my God and I will praise Him…The Lord is a Warrior; the Lord is His Name…Your right hand, O Lord, is majestic in power. Your right hand, O Lord, shattered the enemy…Who among the gods is like You, O Lord? Who is like You…majestic in holiness, awesome in power, working wonders?” (Ex. 15:1-3; 6,11).

Amen.

Photo credit: marizucca

She and her family sat in the pew in front of us at church just a few months ago.

The first thing I noticed was her absolutely radiant smile.

The sun streaming through the stained glass window bathed her in a golden light and she just seemed to sparkle and shimmer.

It was when she reached over to hug her mother that I noticed how painfully thin her little arms were. Then I noticed the slight wisps of hair escaping from the festively-colored knitted cap she wore despite the fact that it was a blisteringly hot summer day.

A lump arose in my throat as I realized that the little girl must be battling cancer.

I found myself distracted for the rest of the service. I watched her whisper to her sibling from time to time and sing along with the music. The smile rarely left her face.

I watched her mother quietly wipe away the tears during the sermon as our pastor taught the treasures and comfort of the Word.

When we stood up to leave, I noticed that she had colored a picture on the back of the bulletin. The most prominent drawing was of a giant, smiling sun.

On the drive home, my husband and I both had tears in our eyes. Our kids had been spending that weekend with their aunt and uncle and when they returned home, we hugged them tight, whispering prayers of thanks for their good health. For the precious gift of life.

This morning in church, Pastor Steve announced that this same little girl’s earthly fight was over and she had been swept up into the arms of Jesus and ushered into the joys of Heaven the day before.

We grieve when we hear such news…and rightly so.

But we do not grieve without HOPE.

I am reading through the Bible this year and for the past several weeks, I have been in the book of Revelation.

When I heard that news this morning, my thoughts turned immediately to what I had read earlier from Revelation 21:1-5

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more, neither shall there be any mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.

And He who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” 

I have been meditating on those most beautiful and breathtaking verses.

They burst forth with blazing hope and ecstatic joy and magnificent, exquisite LIFE!

Those eternally true words cause a soul to rise up and transcend this fallen world, providing a mercifully healing balm to a hurting soul.

This life is not all there is!

Jesus has graciously given us this window into the coming world so that we will not lose heart when life gets hard and we feel that our heart is breaking.

It is the only way I can process distressing and grievous events. My Savior lives and reigns and promises pleasures evermore to those who love Him. (Psalm 16:11) .

There is coming a day when He will make everything right.

Until then, we choose to trust Him with what we do not understand.

We accept His invitation to pour out our hearts to Him and allow Him to heal us in the deepest part of our wounded hearts through His powerful Word.

We cling to His promises with all the strength we possess…and then we dare to believe them and stand in faith on the truth of His Word alone.

We rejoice in the sure and certain hope of Heaven.

If life hurts right now, spend some time meditating on Revelation 21 and 22. Make copies of those two chapters and read them at every opportunity. With spiritual eyes, view your current trials through the lens of those Scriptures and allow His peace and joy to permeate your soul.

One glorious day, death will be forever swallowed up in the victory Jesus secured for us on the Cross. It was there that He absorbed all the ugliness of our sin so that He could give us the beauty of His righteousness.

He is making all things new.

Praise His Name.

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.—I Corinthians 2:9

photo credit: Coach_Bo

The email announcing  where the youth group was meeting read as follows…”be prepared for anything (meaning you may get messy!)”

When I read that to my son, he wrinkled his nose in distaste.

Josh has never liked to be messy. When he was a baby, just learning how to talk, he would point to something on the carpet and say, “FUZZ!” then look at me like I was supposed to do something about it. (I do admit to being a  tad overzealous in my vacuuming, as we had a Border Collie named Charlie at the time who was always shedding).

I am not exaggerating when I say that Josh was already wanting to use a spoon at nine months of age. I don’t have any photos of him “wearing” his birthday cake in his hair or on his clothes because he just never went there. All I ever had to do was wipe down the sticky icing from his hands and face and that was it.

So it was no surprise that the idea of getting messy at youth group didn’t appeal to him. Not that that will stop him from attending. He is a boy, after all.

As our discussion drew to a close, I said over my shoulder, “Josh, sometimes you just have to surrender to the mess.”

Those words stuck with me as I walked to the car to take the kids to school. I recalled my words from just the day before when I had been relating a painful situation regarding a loved one to my mom. After I told her the story, I found myself sighing and saying, “It’s all just such a mess.”

We all have messes in all of our lives.

Life is messy.

People are messy.

Not one of us gets through this life unscathed by pain.

Then, as I opened the car door, I looked up to see this stretched across the sky…

It was such a wonderful reminder of the fact that there is beauty to be found in our mess…because Jesus lives and moves and works and loves in the midst of it all.

That beauty is all around us if we have eyes to see.

However the most breathtaking beauty of all is found within the pages of our Bibles…for it is there that Jesus is revealed in all His glory and beauty. The thousands of promises He gave us there shine and sparkle like a brilliant flawless diamond set against a backdrop of black velvet.

If you find yourself in a mess this day, surrender to your Savior right in the midst of it. Then cling to His precious promises with all your strength.

If you do that, He will give you beauty  for ashes. He will transform your mess into your message and ministry. He will allow you to gaze on His beauty in a way you may have missed otherwise. He will tie all the loose ends together—if not here on earth, then in eternity—to His great glory and your highest good.

Jesus is Lord over all…including your mess. He knows what He is doing. He can untangle all the knots.

Creating masterpieces is His specialty.

Rest in that today.

Your mess is not bigger than your Savior.

Abandon yourself to His tender loving care.

Relinquish your desire for control over the situation. The only thing you can ever really control is your attitude and your focus.

Choose radical trust over debilitating fear.

Then watch to see what He will do.

photo credit: survelliant

A few days ago, I woke up feeling irritable.

This is an unusual occurrence for me. I love mornings and generally wake up happy to see another day.

However, something had happened the day before that left me feeling drained, put-upon and resentful. The fact that I woke up still thinking about this issue was proof that I had not let it go.

As I got ready to head out to run some errands, my mind still spun with “I should have….”…”I can’t believe they…”…if only I had…”

I know better than this; yet I indulged my flesh rather than taking all my grievances to Jesus.

I got into the car and the wonderful voice of Travis Cottrell immediately filled the space. His ” Live”  album is one of my all-time favorites and I listen to it nearly every day.

Instinctively I began to sing along with Travis and slowly tuned into the words I was singing:

He will live our sorrows sharing, Jesus saves. Jesus saves.
He will die our burdens bearing, Jesus saves. Jesus saves.
“It is done!” will shout the Cross; Christ has paid my redemption’s cost!
While the empty tomb’s declaring, “Jesus saves! Jesus saves!”

Gradually, my spirits began to lift, as the concerns of earth faded in light of the most glorious event in the history of the world: the Cross.

As John MacArthur recently said, ” On the Cross, God treats His Son as if He lived your life so that He could treat you as if you lived His life.”

There is an empty tomb!

I have been forgiven!

I have a place in Heaven that is being prepared for me by Jesus Himself! (John 14:2-3)

He is coming back!

My eternal future is secure!

My life is held safely in His powerful hands!

I have been rescued, redeemed and restored!

I can never lose sight of this astounding, breathtaking and momentous truth.

As my pastor in Florida always used to say, “Preach the Gospel to yourself every single day.”

In light of all this, my irritation was seen for what it was: silly, petty, ridiculous. It was time to move on and get over myself.

His Light broke through my day and rather than muttering discontent, I began to praise Him for the amazing grace that He has bestowed upon me.

“My very Presence radiates Joy in vast, unmeasured fullness. When you praise Me, your joy increases.”—(Dear Jesus by Sarah Young, p. 20).

Rather than allowing myself to go into a downward spiral, Jesus lifted me upward instead. He is always willing to do that if we will cooperate with Him.

Compared to eternity, this life is a blip.

Today, choose to focus on what truly matters…and let the rest go.

“Never let anything so fill you with sorrow as to make you forget the joy of Christ risen.”—Mother Teresa