When I think about Resurrection Sunday I think of new birth. No, I don't think of the Easter Bunny and hiding brightly colored eggs and no I don't think of Marshmellow Peeps, I think of new birth.
I don't think that it is coincidence that I walked out of the wilderness as we were celebrating His arrival in Jerusalem. I don't find it strange that as we were preparing for Resurrection Sunday, I was struggling to see the light. I am especially thankful that as we celebrated His resurrection, I celebrated the beginning of a new chapter in my life. Things don't just happen, He is the great conductor and He orchestrates our steps and things happen in His perfect time.
I know I complained along the way. I know that not so long ago I wasn't very happy with where He was leading me and I know that I lost sight of His plans for me. But as a human, who is definitely not perfect, the One who was perfect, and yet died for our sins, has forgiven me yet again.
That's what Easter is all about, forgiveness. The One who was blameless was nailed to a cross and even in His agony, and even as He took His last breath, He asked for forgiveness for those that had tortured Him...but wait, I know I said I think of new birth when I think of Easter, not forgiveness. Don't worry I'm getting there...
So remember what I said a few posts ago about, "Don't try to put a period where He has put a comma." Easter is a perfect example of where people tried to put a period where He was going to put a comma. Commas are interesting, depending on where you put them they can make the same words mean something totally different. There is a great book called, "Eats, Shoots and Leaves." or is it "Eats Shoots and Leaves." well I guess you get the picture. When you put a comma in a sentence, it changes the meaning. If I wrote that sentence, "The panda eats shoots and leaves." you would know what the panda eats, but by adding that comma the panda becomes very rude and quite naughty.
Easter was the ultimate comma in our lives, His death and resurrection changed what would have been certain death into life everlasting. Easter brought us new life and to receive that new life we must be re-birthed or born again. Again it's not coincidence that Easter comes in the Spring, when even the world is being re-born. We don't even blink an eye when the grass turns brown in the fall and winter, but when Spring comes and the flowers start to bloom and the green leaves start to reappear, we rejoice. So yes, Easter equals new birth for you and I.
Re-birth also means seeing things in a different light, like a baby who is seeing things for the first time, we too get to take a new look at our lives and our surroundings after our re-birth. We take a closer look at those people we surround ourselves with, when we are given new life. We see the world through different lenses then before. We are more gracious, more loving and kinder to the people that we meet. Our hearts swell with an out pouring of the love that was shown to us at the Cross.
Easter, the ultimate comma, the ultimate beginning to your life...
Monday, April 25, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
His hope
I opened my Message Bible to this verse today:
When we have been burnt out on hope in people, places or things, He brings a new fresh hope in His Son, because He is the only one we can put our hope in that won't let us down.
I know that I am guilty of clutching onto hope so hard that I have lost dignity and respect in myself, but when we hope in Him we are restored. Even when we feel as though we are in the dark (the wilderness) we are given "A place in the sun."
So like I said, I've ventured out of the wilderness. I'm no longer walking in circles, or wandering without a flashlight. Like Martha, I put my hope in Him and not in my circumstances. It's interesting that it took me so long to figure this out, but the wilderness is dark and scary and like I've said before its easy to get lost. So I was on and off this path over and over again until the sun peeked out from behind the clouds and I was able to find my way out.
I am thankful that I only wandered for a short while, sometimes people wander for their entire lives. There's no secret passageway out of the wilderness, its a journey and a struggle. But when your on the other side you start to become grateful for the journey and you become aware of the strength that you had to muster to walk out of the wilderness. You start to understand that though your faith wavered, it never faltered. You begin to really feel good about yourself, because it was you and only you that walked out. Sure you had support, but you did all the hard work on your own. As you look back you realize that the steps you had been taking, even though they were in the dark and though you stumbled several times, the steps were the right steps. You start to see that the period was just the beginning of a new chapter.
The mistakes you made while in the wilderness start fading from your memory and you start looking forward to the next page turn. You want to go to everyone that supported you and thank them for all that they did. For holding you when you needed holding. For encouraging you when you thought you were at the end of your rope and for never giving up on you, even when you had given up on yourself.
Life is tough in the wilderness, but the journey is worth the struggle. What's the old saying, "He never closes a door without first opening a window." Well maybe that's not it exactly but I think you get the picture. After walking through the wilderness, you come out on the other side a different person. Your perspective has changed and your life will never be the same again.
We all have our minds on Easter, well at least I do. That verse is Old Testament foreshadowing to His death and resurrection. The title of that chapter is "Messages of Hope". Hope is sometimes all we have. Hope for the future. Hope for tomorrow. We have hope for most things that are important to us. We hope for people. We hope for change. There are lots of sayings about hope, the one that specifically comes to mind is "Hope springs eternal". We are always hoping for something, no matter how many times we are let down we keep on hoping."Guard my common good: Do what's right and do it in the right way. For salvation is just around the corner, my setting things right is about to go into action." Isaiah 56:1 The Message
I am a girl that definitely believes in hope. In fact I cling to hope sometimes. I'm sure you know that about me if you've followed me for any amount of time, but like I said..."Sometimes all you have is hope." You want to, "Put a comma where He has put a period." But when He puts in a period, nothing that we can say or do will turn that period into a comma. Oh man do we try and sometimes it works for a second, but it normally ends in more heartache, but the above verse gives us hope..."He rekindles burned-out lives with fresh hope, Restoring dignity and respect to their lives— a place in the sun." 1 Samuel 2:6 The Message
When we have been burnt out on hope in people, places or things, He brings a new fresh hope in His Son, because He is the only one we can put our hope in that won't let us down.
I know that I am guilty of clutching onto hope so hard that I have lost dignity and respect in myself, but when we hope in Him we are restored. Even when we feel as though we are in the dark (the wilderness) we are given "A place in the sun."
So like I said, I've ventured out of the wilderness. I'm no longer walking in circles, or wandering without a flashlight. Like Martha, I put my hope in Him and not in my circumstances. It's interesting that it took me so long to figure this out, but the wilderness is dark and scary and like I've said before its easy to get lost. So I was on and off this path over and over again until the sun peeked out from behind the clouds and I was able to find my way out.
I am thankful that I only wandered for a short while, sometimes people wander for their entire lives. There's no secret passageway out of the wilderness, its a journey and a struggle. But when your on the other side you start to become grateful for the journey and you become aware of the strength that you had to muster to walk out of the wilderness. You start to understand that though your faith wavered, it never faltered. You begin to really feel good about yourself, because it was you and only you that walked out. Sure you had support, but you did all the hard work on your own. As you look back you realize that the steps you had been taking, even though they were in the dark and though you stumbled several times, the steps were the right steps. You start to see that the period was just the beginning of a new chapter.
The mistakes you made while in the wilderness start fading from your memory and you start looking forward to the next page turn. You want to go to everyone that supported you and thank them for all that they did. For holding you when you needed holding. For encouraging you when you thought you were at the end of your rope and for never giving up on you, even when you had given up on yourself.
Life is tough in the wilderness, but the journey is worth the struggle. What's the old saying, "He never closes a door without first opening a window." Well maybe that's not it exactly but I think you get the picture. After walking through the wilderness, you come out on the other side a different person. Your perspective has changed and your life will never be the same again.
Friday, April 15, 2011
His glory, part II
I feel like I need to start this post with, "and now for the rest of the story..." Because I didn't tell you the entire story of Lazarus, in fact I left out the most important part. To read the first part click here.
Remember what He said? "The sickness will not end in death. It will become an occasion to show His glory by glorifying His Son." He said it wouldn't end in death but Lazarus was dead, in fact he had been dead for four days. The people of the day believed that someone's spirit lingered for 3 days after death and there was still a chance of reviving them, so when He got there 4 days later the people believed there was no more hope for Lazarus.
On the road back to Bethany, Martha says to Him that "I know he (Lazarus) will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." She had faith enough to believe that He could have healed Lazarus when he was still alive, she had faith that he would one day rise again but she lacked the faith in His powers to change things now. She was in her own wilderness, wandering around without a flash light. She had the moon to help but she was stumbling down the path He had put her on.
I think we are all like that now and again. We set out to do something, we have great faith in Him and in ourselves but then something goes wrong. We send out messengers looking for help. We spend hours on our knees. We hear, "The sickness will not end in death." We keep faith alive for a few more days but then it starts to fade as the ugliness of death stares us in the face. We forget that He too once stared death in the face.
Remember the second part of what He says, "It will become an occasion to show His glory by glorifying His Son." He turns to Martha and tells her to have the stone removed from the tomb. Martha looks at Him funny and says "but Lord the smell." Before she could say another word the stone was rolled back, He called out Lazarus' name and says to come out. In front of a large crowd, Lazarus walks out of his tomb still covered in his funeral attire even after being dead for 4 days.
I can only imagine what the crowd thought as the man they had been mourning stumbled out of his tomb. I wonder what was going through their minds as Mary and Martha began to unwrap Lazarus from his funeral cloths.
I know that we have hindsight because of the Word but a few weeks later He is put to death and even though many saw Lazarus raised from the dead, it seems as though most people were stunned when they find His tomb empty. Again they had faith in what could have been and what will be but not in the here and now.
I know I have spoken a lot about the wilderness, we all wander from time to time, me especially but I believe I have finally found the way out. I've found my faith in the here and now. I know it's taken a while but I have finally been able to grab hold of it. I've been focused on what could be instead of what it actually is. I've been so wrapped up in changing the future, I had forgotten that I still had some walking to do before I got there.
In my last post I talked about surrender, I thought I had surrendered in the past but I never actually completely let go. This time I completely let go, so much so that I feel different. I feel lighter and less burdened. I'm not dragging my burdens behind me any more, so instead of trudging through life, I have started skipping.
You know who skips? Kids skip, they skip because they are worry-free. When you have faith in the here and now, you begin to see things in a new light. You know there is a plan. You know that He has the lead. You really start to believe that you worth more then the sparrows. You start to understand why death sometimes has to come. You look forward to tomorrow and His new mercies.
Skipping is a lot better the trudging. Skipping brings joy whereas trudging bring anxiousness. May I humbly suggest that you surrender whatever it is that you are dragging behind you. Have faith in the here and now and start skipping down the path He has laid out for you.
Remember what He said? "The sickness will not end in death. It will become an occasion to show His glory by glorifying His Son." He said it wouldn't end in death but Lazarus was dead, in fact he had been dead for four days. The people of the day believed that someone's spirit lingered for 3 days after death and there was still a chance of reviving them, so when He got there 4 days later the people believed there was no more hope for Lazarus.
On the road back to Bethany, Martha says to Him that "I know he (Lazarus) will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." She had faith enough to believe that He could have healed Lazarus when he was still alive, she had faith that he would one day rise again but she lacked the faith in His powers to change things now. She was in her own wilderness, wandering around without a flash light. She had the moon to help but she was stumbling down the path He had put her on.
I think we are all like that now and again. We set out to do something, we have great faith in Him and in ourselves but then something goes wrong. We send out messengers looking for help. We spend hours on our knees. We hear, "The sickness will not end in death." We keep faith alive for a few more days but then it starts to fade as the ugliness of death stares us in the face. We forget that He too once stared death in the face.
Remember the second part of what He says, "It will become an occasion to show His glory by glorifying His Son." He turns to Martha and tells her to have the stone removed from the tomb. Martha looks at Him funny and says "but Lord the smell." Before she could say another word the stone was rolled back, He called out Lazarus' name and says to come out. In front of a large crowd, Lazarus walks out of his tomb still covered in his funeral attire even after being dead for 4 days.
I can only imagine what the crowd thought as the man they had been mourning stumbled out of his tomb. I wonder what was going through their minds as Mary and Martha began to unwrap Lazarus from his funeral cloths.
I know that we have hindsight because of the Word but a few weeks later He is put to death and even though many saw Lazarus raised from the dead, it seems as though most people were stunned when they find His tomb empty. Again they had faith in what could have been and what will be but not in the here and now.
I know I have spoken a lot about the wilderness, we all wander from time to time, me especially but I believe I have finally found the way out. I've found my faith in the here and now. I know it's taken a while but I have finally been able to grab hold of it. I've been focused on what could be instead of what it actually is. I've been so wrapped up in changing the future, I had forgotten that I still had some walking to do before I got there.
In my last post I talked about surrender, I thought I had surrendered in the past but I never actually completely let go. This time I completely let go, so much so that I feel different. I feel lighter and less burdened. I'm not dragging my burdens behind me any more, so instead of trudging through life, I have started skipping.
You know who skips? Kids skip, they skip because they are worry-free. When you have faith in the here and now, you begin to see things in a new light. You know there is a plan. You know that He has the lead. You really start to believe that you worth more then the sparrows. You start to understand why death sometimes has to come. You look forward to tomorrow and His new mercies.
Skipping is a lot better the trudging. Skipping brings joy whereas trudging bring anxiousness. May I humbly suggest that you surrender whatever it is that you are dragging behind you. Have faith in the here and now and start skipping down the path He has laid out for you.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
His glory
Tonight in Bible study we read about Lazarus. We've been learning about his sisters Mary and Martha and their first encounter with His Son; when He comes to their home in Bethany with His disciples. Their next mention in the Bible is when Lazarus is sick. They (Mary and Martha) send word to the Son that "the one He loves" is sick, His reply is "The sickness will not end in death." Relived the messenger returns to Bethany, only to find Lazarus getting worse and then later dead. Then to make things worse, the Son waited two more days before returning to Bethany. By the time He gets to Bethany, Lazarus had been dead for 4 days. In fact in one translation because he had been dead so long, when He asks to have the tomb opened the sisters look at each other and say, "He stinketh!" The Message says "Master, by this time there's a stench. He's been dead for 4 days."
Now when the messenger comes to the Son, not only does He tell him that, "The sickness will not end in death." He also goes on to say, "It will become an occasion to show His glory by glorifying His Son." I'm sure the messenger knew that He had healed others just by saying the word. He didn't have to actually touch them for healing to take place, so the servant left thinking that things would be fine and Lazarus would be alive and out of bed by the time he got back to Bethany, but he wasn't. I imagine that if Martha and Mary wouldn't have had their previous encounter with Him, He wouldn't have gotten the welcome He got when He finally arrived in Bethany four days later.
But because of that encounter when Martha hears that the Son in on the road to Bethany, she abruptly leaves her work at her home and all of her fellow mourners and runs to meet Him. When she gets to Him she says something very different then what she said to Him at their first encounter. She says, "Master, if you'd been here, my brother wouldn't have died. Even now, I know that whatever you ask He will give you."
What amazing faith had developed in Martha since the last time they were spoken about. During their first encounter, Martha all but reprimands Him for allowing Mary to sit at His feet and not help with the chores of the house. But now she looks at Him and says, "Not my will but Your will be done." She had surrendered.
I've given up trying to remember what I have talked about in other posts, I post what is on my heart at that time and yes I know I repeat myself, but the repetition is as much for me as it is you. I repeat things that I need to remember. Experts say you must hear or see something 7 times before it is stored in your long term memory. So if I've talked about surrender before, just know that your going to hear about it at least 5 more time and knowing myself the way I do, it might be more then that...
Surrender. Turning it over. Giving it to Him. Your will be done. This is no longer my burden to bear, take it from me. Sometimes surrender comes easily and other times not so easily. Sometimes it's simple to turn it over and other times we have such a hard grip on something its very difficult to let go of. But sooner or later we surrender. For me its normally later but eventually I look up towards the heavens and say, "I just can't deal with this any longer, its Yours."
I had that experience two weekends ago. Sitting at the metaphoric feet of His Son, I cried out and said those exact words. I had such a tight grip on my own reality that I had forgotten that its not about me and what I want. Its about what He wants and what He wants is not always what I want. The woman that wrote the book we are studying in our Bible study put it this way, "Never put a comma where He has put a period." and "Never put a period where He has put a comma." I had tried to insert a comma where He had put a period but reality smacked me in the face. I couldn't ignore it any longer. As my old boss said, "It is what it is."
Reality is ugly. I bet when Martha and Mary realized that the Son wasn't coming and the reality that Lazarus was actually going to die set it, I imagine they were upset and grieving. When he did actually die, many mourners gathered to sympathize with the sisters. Many people's reality was changed. "What would they do without Lazarus?" they thought. In fact when the Son saw all the people mourning Lazarus' death He even wept. Lazarus was loved and now he was gone and of course the people that were there doubted His love for Lazarus. They said, "Well, if He loved him so much, why didn't He do something to keep him from dying? After all, He opened the eyes of a blind man."
Why doesn't He always intervene? When bad things happen to good people, why doesn't He sweep in and save the day? Where is He when we need Him the most? If He is gracious and loving, He wouldn't want us to suffer, right?
Funny though while reading the assigned reading for our study I came across this line, "His plan is released when we believe and obey." Oh yes...let me repeat that line with my interpretation, "His plan is released when we Trust and Obey."
I had been searching for the answer to "Why do bad things happen to good people?" When I was reminded that, "The sickness will not end in death. It will become an occasion to show His glory by glorifying His Son." I was to trust and obey because the outcome would be for the greater glory. He had put a period, where I wanted a comma. But like all good stories the end of a sentence or chapter just means there is another one waiting to be discovered.
Though He doubted, though He was afraid, though He wept, even when He was beaten and mocked, especially when He was handed the cross, He kept His eyes on His Father, because He knew that the period in His sentence was just the beginning for us. So when you see that looming period on the horizon, have faith that though it might be the end of this chapter, it might be the beginning of an entirely new series written by the Author and Finisher of your life.
Now when the messenger comes to the Son, not only does He tell him that, "The sickness will not end in death." He also goes on to say, "It will become an occasion to show His glory by glorifying His Son." I'm sure the messenger knew that He had healed others just by saying the word. He didn't have to actually touch them for healing to take place, so the servant left thinking that things would be fine and Lazarus would be alive and out of bed by the time he got back to Bethany, but he wasn't. I imagine that if Martha and Mary wouldn't have had their previous encounter with Him, He wouldn't have gotten the welcome He got when He finally arrived in Bethany four days later.
But because of that encounter when Martha hears that the Son in on the road to Bethany, she abruptly leaves her work at her home and all of her fellow mourners and runs to meet Him. When she gets to Him she says something very different then what she said to Him at their first encounter. She says, "Master, if you'd been here, my brother wouldn't have died. Even now, I know that whatever you ask He will give you."
What amazing faith had developed in Martha since the last time they were spoken about. During their first encounter, Martha all but reprimands Him for allowing Mary to sit at His feet and not help with the chores of the house. But now she looks at Him and says, "Not my will but Your will be done." She had surrendered.
I've given up trying to remember what I have talked about in other posts, I post what is on my heart at that time and yes I know I repeat myself, but the repetition is as much for me as it is you. I repeat things that I need to remember. Experts say you must hear or see something 7 times before it is stored in your long term memory. So if I've talked about surrender before, just know that your going to hear about it at least 5 more time and knowing myself the way I do, it might be more then that...
Surrender. Turning it over. Giving it to Him. Your will be done. This is no longer my burden to bear, take it from me. Sometimes surrender comes easily and other times not so easily. Sometimes it's simple to turn it over and other times we have such a hard grip on something its very difficult to let go of. But sooner or later we surrender. For me its normally later but eventually I look up towards the heavens and say, "I just can't deal with this any longer, its Yours."
I had that experience two weekends ago. Sitting at the metaphoric feet of His Son, I cried out and said those exact words. I had such a tight grip on my own reality that I had forgotten that its not about me and what I want. Its about what He wants and what He wants is not always what I want. The woman that wrote the book we are studying in our Bible study put it this way, "Never put a comma where He has put a period." and "Never put a period where He has put a comma." I had tried to insert a comma where He had put a period but reality smacked me in the face. I couldn't ignore it any longer. As my old boss said, "It is what it is."
Reality is ugly. I bet when Martha and Mary realized that the Son wasn't coming and the reality that Lazarus was actually going to die set it, I imagine they were upset and grieving. When he did actually die, many mourners gathered to sympathize with the sisters. Many people's reality was changed. "What would they do without Lazarus?" they thought. In fact when the Son saw all the people mourning Lazarus' death He even wept. Lazarus was loved and now he was gone and of course the people that were there doubted His love for Lazarus. They said, "Well, if He loved him so much, why didn't He do something to keep him from dying? After all, He opened the eyes of a blind man."
Why doesn't He always intervene? When bad things happen to good people, why doesn't He sweep in and save the day? Where is He when we need Him the most? If He is gracious and loving, He wouldn't want us to suffer, right?
Funny though while reading the assigned reading for our study I came across this line, "His plan is released when we believe and obey." Oh yes...let me repeat that line with my interpretation, "His plan is released when we Trust and Obey."
I had been searching for the answer to "Why do bad things happen to good people?" When I was reminded that, "The sickness will not end in death. It will become an occasion to show His glory by glorifying His Son." I was to trust and obey because the outcome would be for the greater glory. He had put a period, where I wanted a comma. But like all good stories the end of a sentence or chapter just means there is another one waiting to be discovered.
Hebrews 2:10 says this, " 10For it was becoming to Him, because of whom [are] the all things, and through whom [are] the all things, many sons to glory bringing, the author of their salvation through sufferings to make perfect..."
He was, as my young daughter used to say, "The bestest person ever!" to walk this earth and look what He had to endure. The Message translation says it this way, "Keep your eyes on Him, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever."Hebrews 12:2 says, " 2looking to the author and perfecter of faith -- Jesus, who, over-against the joy set before him -- did endure a cross, shame having despised, on the right hand also of the throne of God did sit down;"
Though He doubted, though He was afraid, though He wept, even when He was beaten and mocked, especially when He was handed the cross, He kept His eyes on His Father, because He knew that the period in His sentence was just the beginning for us. So when you see that looming period on the horizon, have faith that though it might be the end of this chapter, it might be the beginning of an entirely new series written by the Author and Finisher of your life.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)