The Joy of Holy Week

 Holy Week: A Week of Reflection

We rejoice in Christ year-round.

This season brings out the ugliness of the Cross AND the joy that was set before Jesus to endure it. The exciting news is that WE are that joy that was set before Him!

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” – Hebrews 12:2 (KJV)

We’ve heard the song (or at least the phrase) “While He was on the Cross, we were on His mind….” For me, that’s the most intimate part of the crucifixion. It’s deeply personal. He looked through time and saw me, and He saw you during the most painful experience of His earthly life. And when He breathed His last breath, He said, “It is finished.” The requirement for our sin was met, He willingly paid the price, because He loves us so much.

“For God so loved the world (US), that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not die but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world (US), but in order that the world (WE) might be saved through Him.” – John 3:16-17

The almost-too-good-to-be-true news! It doesn’t get any better than this! All He asks of us is that we believe – that He IS and that He’s a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6) And He’s already given us the measure of faith required to believe in Him! (Romans 12:3)

So many people reject God’s love simply because they don’t believe that God made it that easy to please Him. The Old Testament covenant was filled with laws and regulations to prove to us that we couldn’t measure up. But then Jesus came to fulfill the law and bring His new and better covenant to us. He calls it GRACE and He gives it to us freely!

What are you reflecting on this Resurrection season?

Yes, it’s good to reflect on what Jesus sacrificed for us. But oh, the joy of reflecting on why He did it!

Having Trouble Believing?

Recently I heard someone pray, ‘Lord, help me fully believe ____________________.’

Hmmm. What am I not fully believing God for? Prayers that have gone unanswered for decades? A clear concise answer from God on something specific? Or something even bigger?

Because I know people who live in a different reality than I do, I’ve heard tell that they don’t ‘believe in God’.  Or that to some, God is merely a higher power – out there somewhere beyond the universe. Or they have some concept of God that differs than mine.

Because I love these people, I’ve tried to put myself in their shoes for a minute and imagine what existence would be like without God. For me, it’s impossible. Because nothing would exist without Him, and I wouldn’t exist in the nothingness.

Without doubt, I can state that God is – and that He’s given to each of us a measure of faith. I can say this confidently, because His own Word tells us so, “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” – Romans 12:3 (NIV)

So even the atheist has been given his measure of faith.

What we do with that faith decides our future.

We can put that faith in ourselves. We can put our faith in karma, or in a god we don’t know. OR we can place our faith in the One Who gave it to us in the first place.

That’s what I’ve chosen to do. Because yes – it’s our choice.

Scripture tells us, “…without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

The only thing necessary to please God, is to place our faith (our trust) – in Him and believe that He rewards us for seeking Him out.

Our doubt doesn't scare Him. Just give Him that when you give Him your heart.

Sounds too easy, doesn’t it?

The God that created us doesn’t expect us to perfect ourselves and then come to Him. He knows we need to come to Him in order to be perfected (made complete).

“Seek first the kingdom of God (and everything else will be given to you).” – Matthew 6:33

How would you fill in the blank? What do you need help believing?

“Lord, help me fully believe ________________.”

I’ll believe with you….

Fear is Contagious

 

My program of choice this year (and last year) for reading through the Bible is called Bible Recap. It takes us through the Bible chronologically, keeping us on track to finish the Bible by the end of the year. I tend to read ahead. In part because something could come up and throw me off track, such as sickness or a trip that keeps me busy. In part because this program makes reading through the Bible so much more fun and informative. The hostess, Tara-Leigh Cobble does a little recap after each day’s reading, as well as at the end of each week and each book. She includes other helpful links, as well. So many times, I catch myself saying, “Ohhh! Now that makes sense.” I don’t just take her word as gospel, because I was taught to never let anyone spoon feed you the Bible. But her perspective is refreshing and she takes my thinking outside the box, where it’s been trapped for decades.

That’s my jumping off place into today’s points to ponder because I’m using a few quotes from Tara-Leigh.

“Fear is contagious.” – TL

This jumped out at me because I find it to be so true, and I imagine it’s always been true. One person gasps and what does everyone else in the room do? They first turn to see what caused the gasp, but their heart may have already started beating faster and their breathing probably went shallow for a few seconds until they justified the fear.

Look at the garbage our news channels bring us every day. I call it fearmongering, and I seldom watch it. I recall hearing that it was during the Vietnam War that war was actually brought into our living rooms for the first time. Yes, we wanted to be informed, but I think the media realized it found a gold mine when they saw we’d tune in nightly to see the horrors. That may have even affected how movies and television shows were made. Headline: Americans love to be afraid, let’s scare them. It’s gone way too far, at least in my opinion.

Another quote Tara-Leigh made caused me to grab a pen and make note. “Fear always magnifies the enemy and diminishes God.”

We’d just read the stories of the Israelites journeying through the desert. It was a much longer journey than it needed to be. Fear kept them walking in circles for decades. I’ve heard that it was only about a two-week journey from Egypt to the Promised Land!

What caused their fear? A report. Like a gossip report or a news report. Their report came from men who had been sent into the Promised Land to see if it was all that God promised it would be.

Twelve men went to spy out the land, but only two came back with a good report. The other ten brought fear with their words. While Joshua and Caleb insisted that they were well able to conquer the land as God told them they would do, the other ten spies brought reports of giants in the land that they could never conquer. The people chose to believe those ten spies rather than God’s promise to them. Do we do that?

Then Tara-Leigh wrapped up her pep talk by telling us that, “God is bigger than what keeps us from what He’s called us to.”

I had to sit in that thought for a few minutes and revel in how true it is. She encouraged us with the same reminder that God gave His people way back then: “Practice remembering what the Lord has done and Praise Him for it.”

I feel like I’ve stolen her message, but it’s been God’s message to us all along.

If a doctor ever tells me I have cancer, I can be encouraged and not fearful because the last time a doctor told me that, God took care of it. He took care of it His way, and quickly. Why should I fear another such report?

Let’s create a memory book. I say this because if I don’t write something down – I know I’ll forget it or get the memory wrong.

Let’s dispel our fear by following God’s instructions to practice remembering what He’s done and praise Him for it!

 

Turning The Page

 Turning the Page, “What does this look like, Lord?”

While reading the other day, I had questions about what I’d just read. I write in my books, that’s why I don’t like to borrow a book from anyone. I wrote my questions in the margin, like I usually do – in pencil. After reading another page or two, I found the answers to my questions. I went back and erased my question, because now I understood where the author was going with her line of thought.

I can be quite argumentative with the authors I read. Of course, they never know it. I challenge a lot of what I read. Just because someone wrote it, even someone I trust, doesn’t mean I’m going to agree with it. Feel free to disagree with anything you read that I’ve written, too, please.

As I completely erased my question, I was thankful to have discovered the answers I was looking for. I smiled. And – I could have sworn I heard God say to me, “This is how it is when you argue with Me, too. When you turn the page, you’ll find the answers. Keep looking.”

Great Word – however, just what did He mean by turn the page? That’s the question I’m looking for answers to, now.

We’ve been pondering a move for quite some time now; pretty much since Dave retired from the police department. Questions about this move consume our prayers often. When Lord? And where to?

We’re quite comfortable where we are. It’s beautiful here in Colorado. We have a great church family; we have plenty of friends and a nice home. We have family nearby. We have mountains to hike through whenever we’d like. We have a great healthcare plan.

Maybe it’s all the moves we made with the military, but I’m kind of feeling like we need another move. We’ve been here in Colorado for the likes of 30 years now. That’s the longest either one of us has lived anywhere.

We have family in Tennessee and in Ohio, and other places as well. Wouldn’t it be nice to live closer to them now? Yes. It would. We miss them so much!

We’ve weighed pros and cons. It’s actually more affordable to live where we are than in many other places. Plus, the cost of moving will be steep. There’s the headache of selling our home and buying a new one and settling in there.

The bottom line for Dave and I is: where does GOD want us?

What does God want us doing in this season of life?

If He wants us here, we need to be content here and be all about our Father’s business.

If He wants us to move again, we need to be patient and wait on His leading and His direction. I’ll admit, I’m not as patient as Dave. I feel like I’m spinning my wheels here.

But what if there’s more God wants to do with us here and He wants us to stay? What if there’s more to do here BEFORE we move? Plenty of questions.

Now I’m thinking those questions are answered on the next page. We need to turn a page.

Could moving be the page we turn?

No. I don’t think so. We need answers before we turn THAT page.

Please, join us in prayer as we pursue this.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, lean not to your own understanding. In all thy ways, acknowledge him, and he shall direct they paths.” – Proverbs 3:5

“Wait on the LORD, be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.” – Proverbs 27:14

We know this very well.

 

What's That Word?

 

Futility. That’s the word that came to mind. Yet upon looking it up to make sure I was using it correctly, I was wrong. Futility means pointlessness or uselessness.

Then the word redundancy came to mind. That one technically means ‘the state of being not or no longer needed or useful’.

So, no, that’s not the word I’m looking for, either.

Sometimes we find ourselves stuck in a rut where we know that what we’re doing has a point and is needed and useful to someone, somewhere.

Shout out to all my factory worker friends, those who stand on an assembly line doing their part; forever playing your role in the production of something useful to someone else, but perhaps never seeing or using the end product yourself.

I mentioned to a friend that sometimes it feels like we’re all cogs in a giant clock, each pushing the next cog forward one click at a time.

Maybe I’m just longing for a glimpse of the big picture. And I hear this whispered into my heart:

“Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the LORD!” – Psalm 27:14 NKJV

I feel like I have my spoon in a lot of pots, stirring up others to fruitfulness, while watching from the background. Maybe that’s my role. Maybe I’m right where I’m supposed to be.

But I can’t help but feel like there’s something more for me. Somewhere. A new pot to stir?

Is it just time for a change?

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” – Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV

All those years as a military wife were filled with upheaval and moving from time to time. And you know what? I loved it! Now I feel like I’ve been sitting in the same chair for too long. I need to get up and stretch my legs, if you know what I mean – before I get too old to get up out of the chair at all.

Right now, I feel like I’m pacing around in Limbo. Waiting. Not even knowing exactly what I’m waiting for.

But you know Who’s right here with me, waiting alongside me? You know Who knows the whole plan and sees the big picture? You know Who’s got His hand on my shoulder all the while calming my anxiousness? You know Who’s holding me on the faint days and dancing with me on the days I feel more ready to go than I am?

Yep. My Jesus. He’s with me.

I’m still fine. F.I.N.E.

[Finally, and] forever in need of Emmanuel.

I’m anchored in the Rock of Ages.

If you’ve ever been to the lake or an ocean and walked along the shore, you may have noticed large rocks or pieces of concrete with big metal links anchored deep into them. I have no idea what they may have been used for, but something was chained there for its own safekeeping. It was protected from drifting out to sea or from being lost in a storm or dashed against the rocky shoreline.

Jesus is my Rock. I’m safely anchored in His peace, living in my purpose. – Even when I can’t see the whole picture.

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.” – Isaiah 26:3-4 ESV

I guess the word I was searching for is TRUST! I’m TRUSTING GOD!

Write a Story of Your Own

 

The other day my youngest granddaughter was texting with me and asked if I’d written any stories lately. I’m a storytelling grandma.

I love this!

I told her that no, I haven’t written any stories lately, but that I’ve been trying to keep up with my blog posts. Then I suggested that I send her a picture prompt and she could send me one, and we’d swap the stories we came up with.

I love this, too!

We agreed to about 400-500 word stories and that we’d both begin the next day because it was already past bedtime for both of us.

The next evening, while talking with our oldest granddaughter and watching her work her magic with her sourdough, I wrote my story. Well, I wrote part one. I sent it off to her feeling quite satisfied. The next day I wrote part two – then three and now I’ve got four parts finished.

I got her story in my mailbox today. Fortunately, yes – I’m able to open and read google docs, because that’s what she sent me.

I absolutely LOVE her story! It, too – is a part one!

What magic we can weave together. I just thought I’d share this with YOU, my dear readers, to put this suggestion in your head, too. What an awesome way to communicate with your children and grandchildren. Actually, we could do this with our adult relatives and friends as well, your siblings, perhaps? Someone you don’t reach out to often enough…

Let’s stir up our imagination. That’s where stories begin and end, that’s where life’s plans take shape and come to fruition. That’s where the magic is!

Maybe you don’t feel quite confident yet about sharing your stories with other adults, so who better to practice with than the children in your life?

God gifted us with our imagination, make good use of it! Who knows what gifts He has for the world that are still wrapped up in your mind? Perhaps you’ve explored your imagination, or perhaps it’s something you’ve run from because you’ve been “too busy” for such nonsense. Let me tell you, it’s not nonsense. The dreams that have already been planted there in your imagination are from God. Uncover them! Start today. Baby steps are fine, at first. But get some movement going on in that beautiful head of yours.

God designed us to reach out and bless each other. Sometimes it will be personally; face-to-face. But other times it may be through a song or story we write, a memory we share or the testimony of how He brought us through something that we thought would break us. Our stories can come from our real-life experiences, or they can be complete figments of our imaginations. We get to choose!

I hope you’re becoming as excited as I am. What do you think? Are you willing to explore your own imagination and discover the dreams that God has already planted there? You may just find that God Himself is waiting there for you to discover more facets of His love than you can imagine.

 

“And thou, [Solomon my son,] know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.”

1 Chronicles 28:9 (KJV) 

What Was That Forbidden Fruit, Anyways?

 

Recently, at a women’s conference, the speaker read scripture from the book of Genesis. While tempting Eve with the forbidden fruit, Satan challenged what God had told her, stating that “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” – Genesis 3:4-5 (NLT)

While that wasn’t the focus of her message, it spoke volumes to me about the love of our heavenly Father.

When you have children and grandchildren – really, any child that you love, you want to protect them. Ideally, we wish that they never had to know evil at all. How wonderful would their lives be if they never even heard about, let alone experienced, all the evils in the world? It’s our sincerest hope and wish to protect them from all that’s evil. Oh, that they would never know about pain, insult, assault, rape, kidnapping, torture, murder, greed, heartbreak and so much more!

Alas, we know that they will be exposed to all those things through media and some of those things through their own experiences.

What if there was something we could do to protect them from it?

What if we could prevent them from opening the doorway to the evils of the world?

What if they could only know…..good?

In His love, mercy, compassion and goodness, God only had one rule for His children in the Garden of Eden: Don’t open this door – this door will lead to pain and sorrow and destruction, even death.

Yet through the subtle deception of the enemy, the door looked tempting, as Satan attempted (successfully) to make it look to Eve – and Adam there with her, like God was keeping something good from them. He wanted to make them believe that knowing good AND evil would make them like God.

But God didn’t want His family to know the torment of evil. He didn’t want us to know good AND evil – He only wanted us to know good, forever.

In wanting the best for His children, He sought to protect them with a simple rule. He’d already provided every good thing for them – and forbid the bad from destroying their lives by containing it in a single tree.

“You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” – Genesis 3:4-5 (NLT)

Knowing what we know now, they’d never have eaten from the forbidden tree. But – they didn’t yet know evil. They didn’t even know what evil was.

Sometimes, as in this case, rules are for our own protection. God didn’t want us to know evil – only good!

Because that fruit was eaten, we now need to be redeemed. In His great love for us, God provided for our redemption by sending His own Son to make the sacrifice necessary to bring us back into harmony with Him.

“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.”  – Romans 5:8-9 ESV

Yet, like Eve – and Adam, so many of us think we know better than God.