Keeping the Door Open

“You will be accepted if you do what is right.  But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But your must subdue it and be its master.” (Genesis 4:6b-7)

 

Do you know how hard it is to have a philosophical conversation with a 7-year old? My youngest and I can have the best conversations and he is so smart and tries to rationalize everything. Last night we were talking Star Wars, which is actually a pretty normal thing since that is all he wants to talk about. As I was tucking him into bed the little guy said, “If I was Anakin I would have just learned as much as I could about the Dark Side but stayed on the good side of The Force.” I, with great trouble, explained to him that once you step over to the Dark Side it’s hard to come back. I tried to tell him that when you go to the Dark Side you are shutting the doors to the good side. Once those doors are shut everything gets dark and it’s hard to see and you can get back to the good side but it’ll take a lot of work because you shut all the light out so you will have to feel your way to the doors. It’s all about choices.

 

It’s all about choices. My dad used to say that for every bad decision I made I was shutting doors of opportunity and I shut a lot of doors. I walked in the dark searching for the light for a very long while. Once I saw where the light was coming from I would run to the door, only it seems to move or if lost focus at all I would loose the door and have to start searching all over again. Once I found the door and walked in it seemed as though I wanted to keep the door open so I could jump between the light and the dark just in case the light got too bright or the dark look to cozy.  

 

Now, I forget there is another door in the room most days. Even on down days, like yesterday, it never dawns on me to walk away from God or what His grace and His love have given to my life. I have seen too much, experienced too much, and seen God work too much to not believe that God is real and that this walk of faith is worth something. I am thankful that God kept the doors open for me and that He didn’t lock them shut and I am thankful for the yearning I had to start finding another way since what I was doing wasn’t working. Everyone walks in the dark sometimes but not everyone realizes that they can find their way back because God is keeping a door open until the last of days.

 

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Matthew 7:7-8)

We are the Circus

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

 

We saw the Cirque de la Symphonie on New Years Eve. It was an amazing night and a neat way to introduce a different genre of music to our kids. The music was beautiful, the acrobatics were shockingly amazing, and the talent was breath taking. I was torn between watching the faces of my family as new things flashed across the stage and watching the stage itself. How incredible that so much talent can be displayed in one night and on one stage.

 

Two women, in two completely different songs, demonstrated a strength and flexibility that had the crowd “oohing” and “awing” in sync. The juggler was amazing and my youngest happened to mention, at the exact moment I thought it, that it looked like that funny little clown had three arms whenever he was juggling because he moved so quickly. Another guy came out and had a hollow 3-D box that he twirled that may not sound too exiting but it had the effect of a laser show and I couldn’t keep my eyes off the box as it whirled around the guy. The “strongman” act was a true demonstration of strength as these two guys showcased a level of discipline and strength I have never seen before. And let’s not forget the music: it was fabulous! The Des Moines Symphony really out did themselves. Our youngest was quite impressed that they remembered to play a StarWars song for him. They also had a 13-year old come out and play a song on the piano and he will a rising star; I am sure of it. It was a night of beautiful talent and I am glad that we decided to go.

 

God gives everyone different abilities. If all the people in the Cirque de la Symphonie did the same thing, equally talented in exactly the same talents, the show would have sucked (honestly). We are the circus, my friends. God has given us beautiful talents and abilities and when we work together we can produce amazing things through our differences. Some of us are good at juggling, some of us are able to contort ourselves to make things work, some our strength and ability to work on teams gets mighty mountains of ministry moving, and still, some of us are that star that will move people and show them the beauty of life. We are the circus….we are the church and it’s time, everyday, to get the show on the road. Pray about what God is asking you to do and fix your eyes on it now. He’ll walk you through it and see you safely to the other side.

 

“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and  strength belong to God forever and ever! Amen.” (Revelation 7:12)

The Force

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:6)

 

I gave myself a chuckle this morning while I was doing my prayers. I have felt kind of off all week. I think we have just been too busy and it’s kept my mind away from God. Every morning this week, as I start this devotion process, I have had no idea what to write about and the words still flow. (This is further proof that God is writing these devotions and not me!) Anyway, about my chuckle: I was asking God what to write about because I didn’t have a clue. And then I started talking to Him about my fears of running out of things to say (can you imagine?) or not saying what He needs me to say. Then I stepped it up and was asking Him, once again, why did He choose me for this task? And then the voice from a Star Wars movie came into mind: The force is strong with this one. Isn’t that hilarious? I laughed and thanked God for the time He was spending with me.

 

I believe we can decide how strong “the force” is within each of us. We are all called to touch lives and change the world and I know so many people who do this so well. Teachers, daycare providers, nurses, business owners, pastors, secretaries, design artists, homemakers, firefighters, managers, drivers, painters, builders, administrators, accountants, general laborers and so many more who I have seen truly claim the gifts that God has given them and watch out for those opportunities to show Jesus to someone. When we accept God’s call for our lives and spend time in prayer and His Word, then “the force” will grow stronger within us and those mountains in our lives that we are having trouble moving will jump out of the way! And the more we reach out the closer we get to Jesus’ return because we will be helping win all the souls that He is waiting for.

 

“And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. as the scriptures say,

 

‘They share freely and give generously to the pour.

    Their good deeds will be remembered forever.’” (2 Corinthians 9:8-9)