Posts Tagged ‘Jesus’
Safe in His Arms
Posted on: 7-15-112015
My two-year old grandson is fascinated with exploring in the woods behind our house. He will spend hours investigating every stick, rock, leaf, and pine straw he can get his hands on. He squeals with delight when he hears the birds chirping and the squirrels scurrying through the trees. I get the privilege of watching him explore, observe, and discover new things each day. One of my favorite things to see him do is look up at all of the trees towering over him. He will just look up and say, “Wow!” over and over and over. And then, all of a sudden, he will run to me and want me to pick him up. The first couple of times he did this, I didn’t quite understand why he wanted me to pick him up. However, I finally figured it out when I picked him up and he said. “Big, big trees!” I realized that, as he was looking up into those towering trees, he suddenly recognized the fact that he was so much smaller in comparison. He needed the security of his Nana’s arms to know that he was safe and that it was okay. As I think about him and his reaction to the trees, I realize that we all can be intimidated by the towering “trees” in our lives. Our “trees” are not literal trees, of course. Instead, they are financial problems, marital disasters, relationships in turmoil, health issues, and numerous other trials and tribulations that we face on a daily basis. If we focus too long on how these things loom over us, we can become intimidated and feel like we are no match for them. We can feel afraid and very small. But, just as my grandson can run to my arms and receive comfort and security, we, too, have someone to run to. Our heavenly Father is watching us and is just waiting for us to run to Him so He can scoop us up and comfort us and be our security. He wants us to trust Him and depend on Him. He wants to help us feel safe and confident when we face the towering problems in our lives. He doesn’t want us to face them alone…He wants us to face them with His arms wrapped around us.
“The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.” Proverbs 29:25
God’s Intimates
Posted on: 7-15-112015
I came across the following statement in my devotional a few days ago:
“God doesn’t have favorites. He has intimates – those who are willing to walk in His will and rely upon Him to show the way. This requires trust, faith, and complete surrender.” Charles Stanley
I’m sure most of us have felt that someone else has been favored over us at one time or another in our lives. As a child, we can feel that our parents favor another child over us. We can feel our teacher favors another student over us. As an adult, we may feel that one of our co-workers is the favorite of our boss. And for many of us, we may feel that another Christian is favored by God over us. The truth is, as Charles Stanley said, God has no favorites. He loves each and every single person who He created exactly the same. However, there are those people who set themselves up for His blessings to be very evident in their lives, thus giving the appearance of favoritism. These people are dedicated to their pursuit of God and they put great effort into working on their relationship with Him. They spend time in prayer, they spend time in His Word, they spend time praising Him, they spend time serving Him, etc. They do not let their fears get in their way of serving God. They trust Him unconditionally, even when they don’t understand the whole picture. They are willing to put in the things required of having an intimate relationship with Him because they know the more intimate their relationship with Him, the more favor he lavishes upon their lives. His favor upon our lives is ours for the taking…we just have to be willing to pursue Him with everything in us.
“For God does not show favoritism…” Romans 2:11
Eagles in the Snow
Posted on: 7-15-112015
Many across the nation have been following the story of two bald eagle parents in Codorus State Park in Hanover, Pennsylvania. The two eagles have been taking turns sitting on their nest which contains two eggs and have been diligent in their parenting responsibilities despite the fact that several inches of snow have fallen and they have been literally buried in snow. Several pictures taken of the mother eagle have shown her sitting on her nest with only her head sticking up above the snow. In order to keep the snow from completely covering her, she shakes her head side to side to knock the snow off of her head. Nothing is going to stop these parents from doing whatever it takes to protect their young. Our heavenly Father, in much the same way, protects us. He gathers us under His wings, draws us close to Him, and guards us with His life. Just like the eagles who will not let anything draw them away from the nest, God will not let anything draw Him away from us. There is nothing that will ever cause Him to leave us or forsake us. He knows His role as our Father and He is in it for the long haul. When times get tough, He just tightens His grip on us. When the storms rage around us, He draws us closer and keeps us safe. He gives no attention to His own self, but only concerns Himself with our well being. He sacrifices for our good. His love for us is beyond compare. If you think of the eagles protecting their eggs, I hope you will also be reminded of God’s love and protection for you. I hope you will realize how precious you are to Him and the lengths He will go to in order to show that love to you.
“He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge…” Psalm 91:4
Living Proof of His Love
Posted on: 7-15-112015
One of my favorite songs is “Proof of Your Love” by King & Country. The song talks about how we can do things in our life, but if we do them without love, they are basically just empty things. If we are to be anything like Christ, everything we do must be centered in love because Christ was the very definition of love. The chorus of the song says this:
“So let my life be the proof of your love.
Let my love look like You and what You’re made of.
How you lived, how You died
Love is sacrifice
So let my life be the proof,
The proof of Your love.”
When I look at my life, I wish I could always say that what I do is the proof of God’s love, but I can’t. I wish I could say my life always looks like Christ and what He’s made of, but I can’t. I wish I could say my life always exemplifies sacrifice, but I can’t. Unfortunately, my life at times can be characterized by empty motives…things that are not Christ centered. My life at times can be characterized by selfishness instead of sacrifice. My life at times can be characterized by proof of love for myself instead of love for others. My earnest prayer is that the places in my life where you can see glimpses of who Christ truly is will become more and more the norm and the places where you can only see me become a thing of the past.
If you are familiar with the story of Cinderella, you know that one pair of shoes can change a person’s life completely. As Cinderella slipped on the glass slipper that she had lost at the ball, her world was changed forever. Her Prince Charming had found her and would rescue her from her evil stepmother and stepsisters. She would be moving from a life of misery to a life of luxury. Those glass slippers definitely changed her life. I think John the Baptist would concur that a pair of shoes can change your life. Well, maybe he wouldn’t exactly say one pair of shoes could change your life, but he would tell you that there was one pair of shoes he encountered in his lifetime that belonged to the One who could change your life forever.
“He is the One who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.” John 1:27
John the Baptist recognized his place in comparison to Christ. He knew he was unworthy when compared to Christ. He knew that, apart from Christ, he was nothing. Have you encountered the One whose sandals John the Baptist was unworthy to untie? You may never have a pair of shoes that can change your life, but you can certainly know the One who can change your life.
The Place Where I Fix My Eyes
Posted on: 7-15-112015
A couple of weeks ago, a group of youth did the music for our Sunday morning worship service. They did an excellent job and I enjoyed it immensely. One of the songs they sang included the following line:
“Be the center of my life…be the place where I fix my eyes”
I’ve thought about that line several times over these past few days. What would happen if I truly made God the center of my life and made Him the place where I fixed my eyes? What if He was my number one priority instead of work, household chores, and even family and friends? What if He was my number one priority over my own self? What if I fixed my eyes on Him instead of my situation? What if I fixed my eyes on Him, the One who is all powerful, instead of fixing my eyes on the difficulties that are in my path? What if I put Him first all day every day instead of shoving Him to the backburner and allowing other things to take precedence? How would my life be affected if He was my greatest concern? How would the lives around me be affected if He was my greatest concern? When I ask myself these questions, the answers are very obvious…everything in my life would be better if God was the place where I fixed my eyes. And just as obvious as those answers are, so is my next question to myself…if I know everything would be better, then why do I allow other things to take His place? I think Paul answered this question best:
“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.” Romans 7:18-19
A Life Without Limits
Posted on: 7-15-112015
I came across this a few days ago when I was reading:
Peter had a temper
David had an affair
Noah got drunk
Jonah ran from God
Paul was a murderer
Gideon was insecure
Miriam was a gossip
Martha was a worrier
Thomas was a doubter
Sara was impatient
Elijah was moody
Moses had a speech impediment
Zaccheus was short
Abraham was old
Lazarus was dead
All of these people have two very important things in common – they were flawed and they were used in mighty ways by God. Like each of them, you and I are flawed individuals. We, like them, have things in our lives that can cause us to consider ourselves limited or unable to be of any use to God. The good news for us is that, just like them, God can use us in mighty ways no matter what our limitations may be. In fact, it seems to me that God loves to use us the most when we have absolutely the least to offer. We look at our imperfections and see inabilities, but He looks at our imperfections and sees a chance for His strength to shine through. We may be limited, but He is not. We may have imperfections, but He does not. No matter what flaw(s) you have that may be holding you back, God can and will use you if you just make yourself available to Him. One of my favorite sayings is this:
God doesn’t call the enabled…God enables the called.
If He calls you to do something, He already has a plan in place to equip you to do whatever He is calling you to do. Don’t look at your limitations…look at the One who has no limits.
Refined As Silver
Posted on: 7-15-112015
Recently someone shared a story with me about a silversmith. He said that the silversmith was asked how he knew how long to continue heating the silver to ensure that it came out as it should. The silversmith said he continued heating the silver until he could see his face reflected in the melted silver. At that point, he knew the silver was perfect for his use. In much the same way as the silversmith heats up the silver to refine it, God allows trials and tribulations in our life to refine us. He allows our circumstances and situations to “heat up” to the point where our own self melts away and His image is reflected in us. Although it can be very difficult to go through the refining process, being a reflection of Him is more than worth it.
“For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined.” Psalm 66:10
The One You Feed Wins
Posted on: 7-15-112015
I read the following a few days ago:
“An old Cherokee told his grandson, ‘My son, there is a battle between two wolves inside us all. One is evil. It is anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, inferiority, jealousies, and ego. The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, empathy, and truth. The boy thought about it, and asked, ‘Grandfather, which wolf wins?’ The old man quietly replied, ‘The one you feed.”
The author of this story is unknown, but whoever it is certainly spoke volumes of truth in these words. Each of us has a battle going on inside…a battle between good and evil. We may refer to it as a battle between our fleshly/worldy desires and our spirit/godly desires. Just as in the story, it is the one we feed who wins in the end. If we feed our fleshly desires, they will grow stronger and stronger until they overpower our spiritual desires. If we feed our spiritual desires, they will grow stronger and stronger until they overpower our fleshly desires. As Christians, we know that we need to live according to our Spirit, not according to our flesh if we are to be an example of Christ. So, the questions is, how do we make sure we are feeding our Spirit? I don’t know about you, but I’m a fan of bread anytime I’m feeding myself, so maybe we should make sure we’re feeding our Spirit some Bread…as in, Jesus, the Bread of Life. Whatever time we spend in God’s Word, learning about Jesus would feed our Spirit. Whatever time spent in prayer to Him would feed our Spirit. Whatever time spent praising Him and worshipping Him would feed our Spirit. Whatever time spent serving others in His name would feed our Spirit. Basically, anything we do that involves Him would feed our Spirit. Feeding our Spirit and growing it stronger is the only way to overpower our fleshly desires and allow our Spirit to win.
“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16
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