I believe God often teaches us lessons through the things that happen in our everyday lives if we have our eyes and ears open.  One such instance happened to me the other day, and it involved an umbrella, a security system, and a dog.  We were about to leave the house and it had just begun to rain.  We have this precious little dog, who we try to protect from even the rain, so we always use a large umbrella to attempt cover both human and canine, while canine does her business on the lawn.  I had taken her out, and placed the umbrella, as I always do, on the front porch, leaning against the place where brick meets shutter, so it can dry and is ready for the next outing.

We left the porch light on when leaving the house, knowing it would be dark when we returned.  Turning into the driveway I noticed the umbrella was gone.  We immediately began to speculate about what had happened.  “Could it have blown away?” Mark said.

“We always leave it in that same spot, and it’s never blown away before,” I reasoned.  After some discussion, we concluded that someone must have stolen it.  It was disturbing not because of the loss of the umbrella, but because of the knowledge that someone could be casing the house and had probably looked in our sidelights to see the interior as they swiped the umbrella. 

Adding to the uneasiness this created for us, was the fact that one of the door sensors on our SimpliSafe security system was not working, and we were not sure that the whole system was even operational at that point.  We had not had time to make the call and try to troubleshoot the problem yet.  So, we were somewhat unsettled during the night, knowing that we were perhaps being watched and that our security system might not alarm if an intruder were to break in.  As you can imagine, this was not the best night’s sleep for either of us.

The night passed without incident, however, and the next morning, I went out with Lucy again, and what did I find, but that umbrella in the flower bed – it had in fact blown there the previous night, but we couldn’t see it in the dark.  We had spent the whole night operating under the wrong assumptions.  We didn’t have the truth.  Not having the truth led to fear and anxiety, to speculating about scenarios that would never come to pass. 

You probably see where I am going with this.  Operating without The Truth always leads us in the wrong direction.  Fear comes when we don’t operate in the knowledge of the Truth of God’s omnipresent and sovereign Hand at work in our lives.  Fear comes when we don’t trust.  Elisabeth Elliot once wrote, “Fear arises when we imagine everything depends on us.”

His word is Truth.  Jesus said, “I am the way, the Truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father but through me.”   Jesus is full of both grace and Truth, the Truth that illuminates every situation.

His Truth is transformational, and his Word is life.  

He wants us to live like we know it. 

When Mercy Met Justice

Where does our desire for justice come from?  We see a story on the news about some atrocity and we immediately want to see justice done, we want fairness to be meted out for the perpetrators.  Why is that?  Even when it doesn’t affect us personally, we have a similar reaction as when an injustice happens to us in our own lives. 

I believe it boils down to this:

Our desire for justice is rooted in our awareness of the sacredness of every person. 

We recognize the “made in the image of God” quality of each and every person.  We inherently see the sanctity of every life, and the right of that life not to be violated.  The Ten Commandments are a reflection of that awareness.  A person has a right to his life, to his property, to his reputation.

But what about mercy?  After all, Jesus says, “Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you” (Matt. 5:44).  Even as he was dying on the cross, he asked God to forgive the people who put him there.  How do we reconcile such mercy with the justice we so often seek? 

Justice and mercy met in the person of Jesus, who was full of grace AND truth.  We need to see both.  If we focus solely on truth, and ignore grace, we can become legalistic, believing we can work our way up to God by the things that we do, and setting up impossible expectations for people.  If we go “all grace and no truth,” then we ignore the standards that God has set up to reflect the sacredness of human life. 

We see the perfect display of the meeting of justice and mercy when Jesus encounters a woman caught in adultery (Matthew 8:1-11).  The Pharisees were standing there, holding their stones, ready to let them fly, after asking Jesus what they should do with the woman, stating that the Law required her to be stoned.  

Then those convicting and jaw dropping words came, “Let he who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her,” Jesus said. When one by one they dropped their stones and went away, he looked at the woman and said, “Where are your accusers – has no one condemned you?”

She said, “No one, Lord.”

“Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” 

The woman met the mercy of Jesus that day, while at the same time being warned about her sin.  Her actions were not excused, but forgiven. 

Grace and truth.  Mercy and justice.  It’s not either/or, but both/and. 

“And what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).

I pray we will.

Who Does She Think She Is?

Have you ever said that?  I have an idea all of us have.  At one time or another, we encountered someone who appeared to overstep her bounds, someone with an air of superiority.  Maybe they “got above their raisin’,” as my mother would have said. 

In any case, it’s a good question to ask – who does she think she is – and just as important, who do you think you are?  Do you know who you are, who God created you to be?

You see, when we live and walk in the knowledge of who God says we are, we don’t have to try and elevate ourselves.  We understand we are redeemed by God’s grace, created in His image.  Knowing who we are in Christ, (…the righteousness of God – 2 Corinthians 5:21), gives us the quiet confidence to walk in His way with humility.

 We are “…God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works…” (Ephesians 2:10).  His handiwork, his masterpiece, fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14).

So, who do you think you are? 

You are:

Chosen

Redeemed

Loved

Unique

Valuable

I hope you know.

God is a multiplier.  We see this even in the natural order, as he created living things to reproduce themselves.  Some of Jesus’s miracles involved multiplying things – bread and fish, for example.  When Jesus took the 5 loaves and 2 fish and blessed and multiplied them, it was enough to feed over 5,000 hungry people.  There were even 12 basketfuls left over.  Jesus calls himself “the Bread from Heaven” four times in the New Testament.  This miracle was no doubt a foreshadowing of his body, the Bread, that would be given for EVERYONE.

I have been pondering the first miracle recorded in the book of John, at the wedding at Cana, and the details surrounding it.  There is so much richness about the story.  The wine had run out, an embarrassment for the hosts.  Jesus’s mother asked him to do something about it.  Even though he had done no public miracles to that point, she knew who he was, and that he could remedy the situation if he chose to.  She told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

Jesus asked for ceremonial pots to be filled with water, up to the brim.  There were 6 pots, each one holding 20-30 gallons of water, normally used to cleanse dirty hands and feet.  It was the water in those pots that became wine at his will.  One thing that strikes me is the sheer quantity – 30 gallons times 6 is 180 gallons of wine.  Although we are not told how many people were in attendance at the wedding, 180 gallons would surely be more than enough for everyone.  The wine was given in abundance, and no doubt represented the blood he would later shed, the blood that would be for EVERYONE. Taking our dirt and filth and giving us something that brings joy, the foreshadowing of the blood that would cleanse our sin and give us righteousness in return. 

What He gives is always more than enough.   He offers us his body and blood.  He trades us life for death, praise for heaviness, and abundance for poverty. 

More than enough for EVERYONE. 

He sees you
He sees you in the day to day
The mundane tasks, the ho-hum
He sees you as you wipe that little nose for the hundredth time
And change the smelly diaper
He sees you as you clean up
After a dinner you have fixed for hungry mouths
He sees you rise up for another day and give Him thanks
He sees you worship
He sees you give of yourself
He sees you because He is intimately acquainted with you
He sees because He loves you
He sees you

Psalm 31:7

Why do people take offense? Today more than ever, people seem to be quick to be offended by what, in past times, would have been very innocuous statements.  When feelings and self are exalted above all else, becoming easily offended is a natural consequence.  Sometimes offense occurs because we perceive the offending person did not properly respect our position, our characteristics, or our opinion.

It seems to me, at the root of all offense , though, is the deadly sin of pride.  Pride is the opposite of love.  Pride seeks its own, while love is unselfish.  Pride is arrogant and rude, while love is patient and kind.  Pride insists on being right, but love rejoices in the truth. 

1st Peter 4:8 says, “Love covers a multitude of sins.”  I dug a little deeper in that verse recently.  It could really say love covers a multitude of “other people’s sins.”  One commentary said, “Where love abounds, offenses are frequently overlooked and quickly forgotten.”

I thought about when our children disappoint us, or even “sin” against us, how easily we can forget.  We don’t stop loving them or hold things against them- we are quick to forgive.  That is what Love does.

How would our homes, our churches, our workplaces, and our schools be different if we just Let Love Cover It, instead of taking offense?

I pray we find out. 
Let Love Cover It.

God is a God of order.  He brought order out of chaos.  He never intended for us to live at a phrenetic pace, with no time for quietness and rest. 

Our lives have seasons, to be sure, with varying levels of activity.  The Spring of life may be filled with new hope, new experiences.   Summer may be a time of harvesting some of those things we planted earlier, a time to roll up our sleeves and work hard.  Fall can be a drawing in, of gathering around hearth and home, where love and contentment abound.   We may trudge though a cold, hard Winter, where we walk through the valley of the shadow of death with a loved one.

It seems that whatever season we are in, we are always struggling for balance.  If we are raising children, we may be overwhelmed with various demands and feel like we have no time to just “be still.”  On the other hand, empty nesters and those left alone by the death of a spouse, may find they have too much quiet, and long for the days of activity and interaction. Human beings always seem to struggle with balance.   We need rest, but we need activity and stimulation.  We need fellowship and friendship, but we also need time to ourselves.

One thing you can be sure of though, is that if life feels chaotic, that is not a part of God’s plan for you.  He designed you to work and then rest.  There are things to be discovered at every age, but at every stage, we should be seeking the will of the Father.

“Be still, and know that I am God,” (Psalm 46:10) is one of the most well known verses of Scripture, but the surrounding verses in Psalm 46 give us context.   It starts out by saying, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”   Then in verse 2, “Therefore  we will not fear, though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.”  The Psalmist goes on to tell us what God will do, “The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts…He makes wars cease to the end of the earth.  He breaks the bow and shatters the spear.”  This is all before He tells us to “Be still.”   He is doing the work, and simply tells us to, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

In other words, no matter what is going on around you, He is at work, and He wants us to rest in his ability to handle the hard things for us.   He is God, and we are not.  So today, move in the awareness of His presence, his goodness, his love. 

Be still. 

I love a good book.  Audio books and e-books books are popular, but to me there is nothing like holding a book in your hands.  Regardless of which form you choose, when you get right down to it, a book is one of the few things that really has the power to change someone’s life.  

Books can contain information needed to learn a skill for a career, to think more clearly about a situation, to solve problems, to understand yourself better, or sometimes even to state the obvious in a relatable way.  And, of course, many books are written for the story, simply for pure enjoyment.  

But the Book of all Books contains the precepts on which we can build our lives, the precepts which cause us to turn to God Himself as our Life Changer, Holy Spirit as our Truth Teacher, and Jesus as our Savior.  He changes us into his likeness from Glory to Glory (2 Corinthians 3:18), and a transformed life is the result.  

The Apostle Paul says in this passage that the Corinthian people are “epistles written on our hearts…written not with ink but with the Spirit of the Living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of the human heart” (2 Corinthians 3:2-3).  In essence, he is saying the we have become the books, when our lives reflect the truth of Christ.  

Is your life a book others can read and find the story of God’s love written there?  I pray that it is, and that those who read your book and mine,  will find the hope only He can give, written on the pages of our hearts.