Your Red Sea

“The Moses raised his hand over the sea, and the Lord opened up a path through the water with a strong east wind. The wind blew all that night, turning the seabed into try land. So the people of Israel walked through the middle of the sea on dry land, with walls of water on each side!” (Exodus 14:21-22)

 

I was walking with my brother-in-law to McDonalds®. My sister had finally been placed in a room after her stroke and everyone else had left. Troy and I were hungry and ironically enough, a renowned heart hospital has McDonalds® on its ground floor. On our way down I told him that I would have the entire state of Iowa praying by the end of the night, that I would have friends across the country praying and even prayers being lifted from England by the next day. On the short walk down he mentioned that he had thought about getting back to church. He had been thinking life would get easier if they were going to church. I couldn’t help it. I laughed out loud. I said that is the inside joke of Christianity. For some reason the people looking in think that Christians have this easy cake-like life. However, the reality is life gets harder when you decide to walk the narrow path. It was then he remembered doing an alter call in his teens. “It was like as soon as I did that the girls flew down on me.”

 

God brought the Israelites to a new destination in an incredible way. They may have been free from 400 years of slavery but that didn’t mean that the rest of their lives were a picture of leisure and ease. It was hard. It was long. Many didn’t make it through. It brings me to the testimony I am giving this weekend. I had an amazing experience, a God-moment if you will, and I was refreshed, renewed, on fire, and alive in a totally new way (that is the jest testimony if you aren’t going to make it to church this weekend). I kid-you-not, within two days my world was crashing around me. I was on my knees and I didn’t know how I was going to get through.

 

We all have some sort of Red Sea in our lives. It’s that moment when we are walking with God and we reach a point where it seems impossible to break through or cross over. God is telling us to trust Him and to put one foot in front of the other and know that He will provide the dry ground. His Word is our staff and our church family, friends, loved ones, prayers, the sermons we hear, missions we are involved in, and circles we live in are His pillar of fire and smoke guiding us and pulling us forward. We know that He will always bring us through. We may not understand it. We may not see it. But we know that our Heavenly Father loves us and will us guide us Home.

 

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

What do you think?

“But—‘When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy.  He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior.  Because of his grace he declared us righteous and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.’ This is trust a trustworthy saying, and I want you to insist on these teachings so that all who trust in God will devote themselves to doing good. These teachings are good and beneficial to everyone.” (Titus 3:4-8)

 

No where in this passage does Paul say that we did anything to deserve the salvation that Jesus Christ so freely gave. No where does it mention that some sinners are more deserving of this grace than others. No where does it say that the sins in our lives, and that is any sin because  they all carry the same weight, makes us more or less qualified to receive this salvation.

 

As I see the world and social structure change around us I see many Christians using their voices and really hurting the people that come in their path. We may say that we don’t agree with homosexuality or cohabitation of any kind without a marriage, for an easy example, but it’s not necessarily about what we do or don’t agree with. Our voices should reflect that of Christ and he didn’t like lying, stealing, gossiping, turning his church into a marketplace, being jealous, and not having self-control, gentleness, kindness, peace, joy, love, etc (Galatians 5:22-23). Every sin has the same weight as any other, so lying and cheating is just as disdainful to God as murder. And as much as Jesus wanted to set our minds and hearts against these things He also let us knows how much He loved us in spite of these things. He hates the sin but always loves the sinner.

 

 Look I know what I believe is right and what I think is wrong. But I believe that we are called to love everyone. We are to be the hands and feet of Jesus and when the prostitute was about to be stoned He didn’t throw the first stone and neither should we. Free will is a beautiful thing we can thank God for daily and we cannot try to condemn or condone people for using their gift differently than we would. I don’t know where I am going with this today. I just know the white-lie you told your boss is as deep a gash in Jesus’ back as the one it sits next from the person who robbed the bank.  The sin that put one nail in Jesus’ hand is no different than the sin that put the other nail there. Love each other and know that God loves each of you because we are ALL His children.

 

“For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Galatians 5:14)

He Knows

“Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with the fools and get in trouble.” (Proverbs 13:20)

 

I am in school but I take all my classes online. The fancy term is “distance learning”. I have enjoyed the benefits of being able to go back to school while still working and being there for my family without the hardship of physically going to class. I like it. When I switched the school I am at now I did take one ground course and I will admit there was something to taking a class where you see the people and I had a lot of fun. However, I am a creature of habit and I haven’t taken a ground course since.

 

Classes just started again for this quarter and I have never experienced the homework load that I have been assigned in this week alone for one of my classes but something neat happened. I noticed the one of the ladies in my class had a facebook and I recognized her picture from another class so I contacted her on facebook. We chatted online for hours that night as we did our homework, or started to do it. It was the first time in a long time I felt like someone knew exactly what I was going through. School like this can get kind of lonely and I have a feeling this quarter will not be so lonely, in fact it may be fun!

 

In this one area, college, I have been somewhat walking alone for a while now, this actually suits me just fine. It’s kind of like when I am at work: I am completely okay being by myself in a room working, or in the case studying. However, God must have known that this quarter I was going to need someone to walk with and a situation where I had someone to go to for questions or just venting or trying to get a laugh when the stress of an assignment becomes overwhelming. God reminds me daily that He will satisfy my every need and knows what I need even before I do. God is good and He makes me smile.

 

“And the same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)

My Friend Paul

“We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord.” (Romans 15:2)

 

As I was reading through Romans this morning and I got so excited reading Paul’s words because I realized that he and I have the same mission: get people to fall in love with Jesus! Today, more than any other day before, I saw the fire behind his words and the urgency in his thoughts. Paul wanted everyone to come to Jesus. He wanted to excite people to turn toward worship and turn toward each other.

 

Bring people to Jesus: for this reason I write and for this I get all excited and my heart starts racing. I wish everyone could experience the wonder of our Christian faith the way I do. I feel God giving me a renewed heart, mind, and vision daily. I grow closer to Him through reading His Word and I long for more people to dive into their Bibles and discover the joy within. And today I feel as though I have gained a friend in Paul and I feel blessed that I have His Words to help me encourage anyone listening to have a passionate love affair with Jesus.

 

I will honestly beg you to take a moment to tell Jesus you love Him in prayer. I will plead with you to read your Bibles (or listen on audio). I could never suppress how strongly I feel that we need to be in worship with our family of faith and we need to study the Word. All these things excite me because they all bring us closer to Jesus and closer to each other. If we are going to be spending an eternity together why not start to get to know Jesus, and each other, better now?

 

“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)

From a Different Angle

“Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection and take delight in honoring each other.” (Romans 12:9-10)

 

Last night I was standing in the driveway and watching the snow fall down. There are times when the snow looks like glitter falling down in the night sky with the way the light reflects off of the snow. Last night I didn’t see any glitter. I was really disappointed. However, if I walked around the driveway a little bit and changed my view I could see some faint sparkling but not nearly as much as I have seen in the past….but it was still there.

 

Then I started thinking about when we look at the people in our life. There are a lot of times when it’s hard to see where God has polished each other. Once we see someone in a certain light and form an opinion it’s hard to even realize you can move around and switch your perspective. But if you take the time to change your position around a little bit you may be amazed at what you might find out about the people in your life and how God is chiseling away at them day by day.

 

Think of all the ways that God has transformed you. I know I hope that people can see how God has changed me but they won’t until they try to look at me differently. I want to encourage you to look at everything differently; the people in your life, your family, your neighborhood, your church family and community, and even the weather. Try to see what God sees because you know if He can find the beauty in everything it’s there for you to see too.

 

“Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!” (Romans 12:16)

On the Way Out

“For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

 

I would like to say that I have no fears in death but I do. My death fear is that I would die before my children are grown. Because of this fear I talk with the kids about my death, and death in general, occasionally. I want them to know that I long to be in Heaven and nothing would make me happier than to be there. I want them to know that I love them and will see them soon. I want them to celebrate my new life and the love that we all shared. I have told them I want bright colors, fun music, and tropical flowers at my funeral. Even if I were to die today, I would die knowing that I was more blessed than I deserved, more loved than I could have imagined, and I went knowing where I was going, and that I had faith that God’s plan was still perfect…all things I try to share with the kids.  

 

Other than the tropical flowers what I want my children to know about my views on life and death are quite similar to everything Jesus tried to let us know while He walked this earth. Although we didn’t understand it, and sometimes we still don’t, Jesus knew and had confidence it was going on and as planned. He had compassion for the lost, last, and least. His teachings have spanned centuries of time and we are still hungry for more. On His way out, as He hung on a cross, He was still offering peace, forgiveness, and love. In our most powerful moments I pray that we can reflect Jesus in our own lives and give that comfort to those around us.

 

From the moment we are born we are on the way out. Every second we live, and every breath we take, brings us closer to the end of the first chapter, or introduction, to our part of eternity. How are you going out? Some days I am not going out as well as others. I have heard it said to live like this was my last day everyday but that is a hard thing to do. I just constantly try to keep my eyes focused on Jesus as I work my way through this life. I am scared to die but not because of what is on the other side but because of what I would be leaving behind. As long as I keep that thought in my mind I will remember to love my children, and the people in my life, the way that God wants and needs me to. And on that beautiful day when I die I pray that everyone knows that I am rejoicing and I am Home.

 

“For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.” (Hebrews 13:14)

High School

“I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation he [God] accepts those who fear him and do what is right. This is the message of the Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.” (Acts 10:34a-36)

 

 Toward the end of the election I started getting stuck on talk radio and it’s still on my dial. After the fourth teen suicide at a local school an afternoon program spent days talking with school officials, the superintendent, parents, and students about what is going on in that school. The DJ and others really brought me back to high school in my mind. I think any adult who wants to go back and relive high school is crazy. Even for the most successful student it could have been very rough. The peer pressure, the drama, the clicks, the expectations and the rejection of those crazy teenage years is not something I would want to revisit any time soon or at all.

 

As adults we need to remember how hard we worked in school. Not only did we go to school for eight hours but we brought home homework and by the crazy teen years we were either working or spending hours after school working out for sports (which, of course, was before or after a couples hours worth of homework). Gosh! Can you imagine that now?!? And to top that off teenagers are full of hormones, think they know everything, and every emotion and situation is intensified 100 times over again from what it really may be. We keep telling our children to just wait until they are adults and life gets really tough. I don’t know. Maybe adulthood is a reprieve from those teenage years.

 

What can we do? We can listen. We can offer an ear or a shoulder for the youth in our lives. We can live by example and be the mentors they need. We can be leaders in youth programs and we can pray. We can live our faith with our children and we can discipline them to teach them accountability and consequences. We can stay involved in our community and church so that are children are constantly surrounded by good example. We can ask our kids about their day, who they are hanging out with, and if they need any help. There is so much we can do but the one thing we can’t do is turn a blind eye. We cannot just assume our children are making the right choices. We have to stay involved. We have to stay connected. Our kids don’t need us any less just because they are older and independent. In some cases they may need us more. I need God in my life everyday and I need Him to walk with me, talk with me, correct me, comfort me, and lead me. If we are supposed to be like God should we do any less than He does for us?

 

“And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including new bodies he has promised us.” (Romans 8:23)

A Walk in the Rain

“When the king smiles, there is life; his favor refreshes like a spring rain.” (Proverbs 15:16)

 

Once upon a time there were two crazy ladies who were so bent on walking in the morning that, not only would they just show up at each other’s houses at five in the morning, but they would also walk in the rain. Okay, it’s not a fairy tale. This is the story of my life!

 

We knew we were exercising this morning but we had our locations mixed up and we waited for each other. When she didn’t show up, and I had left my cell phone at home, I decided to head back home. When I got home I gave her a buzz. She was already in my driveway because she had been waiting for me and when I didn’t show up she decided to find me. We decided to walk from my house down to the lake. At first, we were very thankful that we definitely got one more morning walk in before the possibility of snow turns into reality. Then it started to rain. It was a light rain but by the time we were done it had gotten heavy and we were soaked.

 

In all actuality it was a wonderful walk. We didn’t walk as long as we normally do but we sure did laugh a lot. There were a couple of times we, on different occasions, almost slipped in the mud. I can recall with excellent clarity the moment I stepped into a hidden puddle and my one shoe and sock were instantly soaked. By the end of the walk it was hard to see as the rain was irritating our eyes. We drew up a few metaphors and funny thoughts as we went along.

 

1.      We, of course, sang “Singing in the Rain” for a little bit

2.      We thought of what it might be like for people who live in a jungle (which was weird because we were both thinking about it at the same time.)

3.      We thought of the times it feels like we are walking in the rain in our lives.

 

The third thought, walking in the rain, was the most profound for me. As the rain kept coming down and getting harder I kept thinking about how sometimes one hard thing comes our way and we think it can’t get any worse or any harder but yet it does. That is what this rain was like. At first, it was a light dusting and by the end I could feel the drops dripping down my head and soaking through my clothes. By the end, when we were having trouble seeing, I thought of how in our own lives we sometimes have to simply put one foot in front of the other and trust that God will get us to where we need to go.

 

I wouldn’t have changed this morning for anything. I got to spend time with God, my friend, and taking care of my body. It’s times when the normal routines are changed that we can draw new ideas and appreciate the life we have more. I know I could maybe survive for 5 minutes in the jungle rains and that I have really good balance at five in the morning because I saved myself from many slippery mud messes. I, also, know that I walked through rain this morning and my friend walked with the entire way. We laughed at each other, complained to each other, and pushed each other to keep going.

 

Stay connected to people and don’t shy away from a little rain. God will be with your and reveal Himself to you through the people and trials in your life. Look up at the sky and thank God for everything in your life. Let the blessings pour down on you and soak through the layers you have put around yourself until you are sure that Jesus is right there to guide you Home.

 

“For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13)

It’s Private

“Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. And, how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets.  Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public.  Because of this, they will surely be punished.” (Luke 20:45-47)

 

The versus in Luke 20 didn’t make me think of pastors or laypeople who act out their worship for all to see, so I am not sure that what I want to share will coincide with the verse I picked for this morning. However, it made me think of worship and my own worship.

 

We had talked about worship at our last small group and we asked what was easier: public or private worship. At first I thought they were the same to me because I try to bring God and walk with God everywhere I go. But then I realized that private worship (praying, studying, and reading at home) is easier for me than worshipping and praying with others. I can’t tell you how many times I have wanted to lift my hands in praise at church and I haven’t out of fear of what someone else might think. I could never capture into words how crazy my fear of public praying, especially me leading the prayers, has been over the years…even though it has subsided over time. Sharing my faith with others is tough for me because I always think of the right words hours after a conversation is over. And, although I teach on Wednesday nights, I always feel unqualified and unprepared.

 

But then I remember that God knows what is in my heart. He knows that I am a work in progress and He is the Builder, the Architect, and the Designer. God may recoil slightly at my fear of the thoughts of man but I know He knows how much I love Him and I work so hard to let Him know. Honestly, nothing I say is a good excuse as to why I restrain myself sometimes. And, while I am being honest, and letting my fingers ramble on for me, God continues to love me, bless me, and comfort me even as I shy away from His embrace in public (like a teenage son) or as I slip over the same stone over and over again. I am not worthy of the light that He has brought into my life but I am forever thankful.

 

I don’t know what my prayers are for you today. I am not sure which direction to go. However, I do know that we each need to serve and worship our Father and not because we will get some grand reward but because we want to love Him and adore Him as much as He does us. Let everything that is in me and every breath I take say I love You, my Lord.

 

“We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.” (Luke 17:10b)

Safe Haven

“Jesus replied, ‘Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?’ Then he said, ‘Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.’” (Luke 12:14-15)

 

I spent much of last night tossing and turning. I was having a hard time sleeping and so I had a lot of time on my hands to think of the news, economy, up-coming elections, and anything else that came across my brain. However, the big thing on my mind has been the Nebraska Safe Haven Law. The law went into affect in July of this year (2008) and already 23 kids have been abandoned. Of these 23, at least four were teenagers…almost adults.

 

I actually can appreciate a law that protects children so well. I find it equally sad that such a law is needed but if it ends babies being found in trash cans or behind broken down buildings I think we are making progress. It’s the older ‘child’ that I am most sad for today. How does it feel to be 17 and dropped off and abandoned? Weren’t there any other options? Weren’t there family or friends that could have helped? What was the situation at home that his or her parents was protection them from?  Was it financial? Was it homelessness? Did it have anything to do with drugs or abuse? And, then, what happens to this teenager? What is the future like? Is it brighter? Is it safer? My heart pounds as I try to wrap this around my brain.

 

Then, as I have done so often lately, I am able to put my own life in perspective. We may not have a lot “extra” assets lying around but our bills are getting paid and we have food on the table, which is enough for me to feel as I am doing everything I need to do for my children and more. There may be things I want to do or I want the kids to do but it may not be in the cards today. However, our family is healthy, we laugh together, we fight together, we say our prayers together, we are part of a beautiful family of faith, and we are full of hope.  What kind of hope did these parents have that they gave up their kids? What kind of future is in store for someone who knows they were abandoned? What aren’t we doing, and what can we do, to reach out the community and help those who need it so that they don’t have to give up their kids?  

 

We are so blessed beyond measure, now is the time, and economic outlook, for us to reach way down within ourselves and see if we are giving, serving, and loving as much as we can to make this world a better place and to build up the Kingdom for Jesus.

 

“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his might power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20)