Life The Brings Hope - Revisited

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Down through the ages, the eyes of creation have been focused on one Life. This Life was promised long ago when death first extended its ugly tentacles to squeeze life out of a perfect Creation. This Life would bring light and hope back to a broken, shattered world.

Throughout history, many did not acknowledge this Life. Many did not realize the significance of this Life. But the promise of this Life, still reached out with hope to all.

Many others awaited the coming of this Life. They looked for it. They longed for it. They didn’t completely understand it, but they waited anyway – longing, hoping for its coming.

Then, the glorious news was given. The Life was about to... (read more)

Thankful for the Life

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During this month, I have written several posts about things I am thankful for.  Here are a few of th things I am thankful for.

• New Beginnings
• "Automotive Mercy"
• Smiles
• A God Who Came Near
• Someone Close Beside Me

If you haven't had a chance to read those posts, you can click the links above to read them now.

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In these final days before Christmas, with everything getting predictably busy, I hope you will bear with me if I share again with you several of the posts I wrote last year. I wrote them to coincide with the weeks of Advent as celebrated in my international church in Bali. I realize that there are a number of different ways of using the Advent candles to celebrate the birth of our Lord. Last year, the candles were used to represent the following:

• Hope
• Peace
• Joy
• Love

I hope you will re-visit these posts with me over the next few days, and reflect on how the coming of Jesus -- the coming of that Life -- brought all these precious things into our lives.

Thankful for Someone Close Beside Me

In only ten days, Christmas will be here. In the midst of all the hustle-bustle busy-ness of preparation for this holy day, we might tend to lose sight, practically speaking, of the significance of the birth of Jesus. 

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As I wrote in the previous post, by coming with the vulnerability of a baby, God invited us to come close to Him. It is also important to note that He actively came near to us. Jesus came to live among His creation. He came to walk alongside broken humanity. He came to touch those who hurt, to heal those who are sick, and to set at liberty those who were bound. He came to celebrate with the newlyweds and to cry with the bereaved. Jesus was "God with skin on" to the people of His day.

Even though Jesus is no longer with us in the flesh, He is still with us as His Holy Spirit works through His children. As I thought about this, I remembered a piece that I wrote in one of my newsletters back in May 2012, in a section I called "Things I Have Learned From My Little Girl". Please allow me to share it with you here. 

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 I Want Someone Close Beside Me

Rachel, my social butterfly,
with several friends shortly before leaving Bali.

That is a familiar cry from my little social butterfly.  I guess some kids actually enjoy spending time alone…for a while…, but not Rachel.  She needs to learn to do it, so I insist on some quiet time on a regular basis where she can learn to play on her own and entertain herself, but this virtually always meets with resistance. “I want someone close beside me!”  I remind her that Jesus is always with her.  “But I want someone I can SEE!”  Rachel knows Jesus is always with her, but as a human being, sometimes she just wants someone she can see and touch. 

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That is a common human condition. Yes, God is with us always.  His Holy Spirit can speak to us in our hearts in ways that no human being can speak.  But I believe he also understands that there are times when we need “God with skin on”.  That is why we...the church…the body of Christ is here.  God wants us to reach out to those who are hurting – to those who need to know that someone is close beside them.  God is always there, and He is perfectly capable of touching hurting hearts all on His own, without us.  But often, He chooses to offer comfort through the hands of His children reaching out, through the eyes of His children that can cry with those who hurt, and through the feet of His children who will go out of their way to offer practical help.

I wonder, who around you needs someone to be close beside them?  Will you be “God with skin on” to someone today?

**Originally shared in newsletter dated May 2012.

Thankful for a God Who Came Near

As I watch my customers pass through my cashier line at Hobby Lobby, the sight of new mothers with their babies brings a smile to my face. Not always, but often, I see a gentle smile on the faces of these these first-time moms as they gaze at the tiny miracle snuggled safe and warm in the infant carrier perched up on the shopping cart. This tiny little person is so helpless, and so dependent on her for everything. Miniature hands reach out to grip her finger...and her heart.

I remember how I felt that moment I first held Rachel. She was so tiny. She felt almost frail there in my arms. Her very vulnerability invited me to open up my heart to her. She needed someone to take care of her, provide for her, protect her. God had brought her to me, and I gladly took her into my heart.

It is an awesome thing to ponder that the Creator of the universe, the One Who holds the world in the palm of His hand, chose to come to us in the way that He did.

• Had He come as a general, people might have been afraid of Him.
• Had He come as a wealthy businessman, people may have been jealous of Him.
• Had He come as a celebrity, people may have admired Him, but they couldn't have gotten close to Him.

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Instead, He came as a baby.
     No need to be afraid of Him.
          No need for jealousy.
               No need for guards to keep His "fans" at a distance.

I am so thankful that God made Himself vulnerable. I am grateful that He came near to us. The Creator became utterly dependent on His creation. In doing so, He invited His creation to take Him into their hearts.

He invites us still. God is near. Is your heart truly open to take Him in? Is mine?

Thankful for Smiles

In case you didn't know, during this stage of my life, God has me running a cash register at our local Hobby Lobby. It is a far cry from the kind of ministry I had for the past twenty years, but I am thankful to have employment with a company that holds strong to the same beliefs I have.

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One of the things I enjoy most about my work is seeing the people pass through my check-out line. Many of them seem happy and content. In the few moments we connect, we share a bit of joy.

Some are tired and seem to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. I do the best I can to serve them with kindness and efficiency. Sometimes, a person who came to me with a somber face leaves with at least a little smile. Others walk away still grumpy.

I'm not ignorant. Whatever problems weighed my customer down when he or she arrived will still be there when they leave. Whether my customer leaves with a smile or not, they will still have to grapple with those problems. Even so, during those few moments when our paths cross, I hope that in my smile, people can see a glimpse of my Lord Jesus. 

I may not be engaged in full-time ministry right now, but I still see my work as a type of ministry anyway. I am thankful for the ministry of smiles.

Thankful for "Automotive Mercy"

When we think of the word "mercy" in a biblical context, we think of how God spares us in some way from the consequences we deserve. We usually think of those consequences having some kind of relationship to a particular sin. When the consequences are applied, justice is served. When we are spared the just consequences, mercy is extended to us. I am indeed thankful for that kind of mercy.

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A couple weeks ago, I experienced another kind of "mercy". It didn't involve being spared the consequences of sin. Consequences of stupidity, yes. But sin, no. Let's just call it "automotive mercy", for lack of a better term.

My nephew agreed to help me out by changing the oil in my car. He checked to see how much oil was there. The dipstick was absolutely dry. I have no idea how long I had been running my car with no oil. By rights, my engine should have been totally wrecked. But it wasn't. After refilling the oil, the engine is still miraculously running smoothly.

Oh, there are other things wrong with the car. The air conditioner doesn't work, but I won't care about that until next summer. In the meantime, the heater works. The dashboard lights that allow me to see the speedometer at night don't work. That is, I admit, a bit more problematic, but the car still runs. The radio doesn't work, but I can live without that.

The fact is that God provided me with an affordable car that gets me where I need to go. On top of that, He extended "automotive mercy" to me when I actually deserved the just consequence of a major repair bill.

So right now, even while I am thankful for "automotive mercy", I will also be careful not to presume upon that mercy in the future. How so? I think I'd better be a bit more diligent about making use of the dipstick between oil changes or else one of these days, I could expect to experience a bit of "automotive justice" instead.

Thankful for New Beginnings

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 I have been notoriously slow about posting new material on this blog, especially through the month of November. Life has been interesting and full...and time slipped away faster than I realized. It also didn't help that I was in the middle of a series of posts that required a significant amount of time and effort for each post.  I hope to do better this month by writing short posts more often.

Thanksgiving is just past and the Christmas season lies ahead. Throughout the month of December, I will focus each post on one thing that I am thankful for. I'll try to keep the posts short and sweet, and just maybe, I can end up with a nice list of things for which I am thankful

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For today, I just want to say that I am so very thankful for new beginnings. As we launch into the month of December, I am thankful for the chance to begin again and get a fresh start on something that had been lagging.

This new beginning brings with it a chance to:

• reestablish better and healthier routines.
• refocus my passion for writing.
• consciously use a God-given talent for His glory.

"...whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."
1 Corinthians 10:31b