Do It NOW!

Am I the only one who procrastinates?  We had lived in our home almost seven years without a handrail to help guide us safely to the basement.  Every time I went down the stairs I would think, “I wish there was a rail.”  When our grandkids came to visit, I would think we really need a rail.   But still day-by-day, week-by-week that turned into month-by-month and then year-by-year, we had no rail.  Then one day I said, “Let’s go look at rails.”  We found out that it would not be that expensive but we did not buy a rail.  Then one day we said “Let’s buy a rail” so we drove to Menards but I was worried about the rail hanging too far out the back of the truck and it would be dark by the time we got home, so we did not buy a rail.  Then one day we drove the 4 miles into our local lumberyard to buy a rail.  Still I hesitated.  We could buy the rail at Menards for $10 and I would have to pay $20 locally.  I don’t know why, but that day I threw caution to the wind and bought the $20 rail.  I now have a rail that guides me safely to my basement.  I smile every time I go down and I wonder why I waited 7 years for a $20 handrail.

Putting off buying a $20 handrail is one thing but sadly I have the same tendency in lots of areas of my life.  I know the most important thing I can do is spend time with the One who will guide me safely through life.  I keep thinking I will do it later and I have as many excuses as I did for not buying the $20 rail.   I am sure most of you have seen the picture of Jesus standing outside a door knocking. One of the amazing things about that picture is that there is no doorknob on the outside.  If the door is to be opened, the one on the inside will have to respond to the knock and open the door to allow Jesus to come in.  So many times I know the Lord is knocking but I keep saying later.

A Letter from GOD

As you got up this morning I watched you and hoped you would talk to me, even if it was just a few words, asking my opinion or thanking me for something good that happened in your life yesterday.  But I noticed you were too busy trying to find the right outfit to wear.  When you ran around the house getting ready, 
 I knew there would be a few minutes
 for you to stop and say hello, 
 but you were too busy.  At one point you had to wait
 fifteen minutes with nothing to do
 except sit in a chair.  Then I saw you spring to your feet.  I thought you wanted to talk to me 
but you ran to the phone and called a friend
 to get the latest gossip instead.  I watched patiently all day long.  With all your activities
 I guess you were too busy to say anything to me.  I noticed that before lunch you looked around, 
 maybe you felt embarrassed to talk to me and that is why you didn't bow your head.  You glanced three or four tables over 
and you noticed some of your friends 
talking to me briefly before they ate, but
 you didn't.  That's okay.  There is still more time left
 and I hope that you will talk to me yet.  You went home and it seems as if 
you had lots of things to do.  After a few of them were done, 
 you turned on the TV.  I don't know if you like TV or not, 
just about anything goes there 
and you spend a lot of time 
each day in front of it 
not thinking about anything, 
 just enjoying the show.  I waited patiently again
 as you watched the TV and ate your meal, but again you didn't talk to me.  Bedtime I guess you felt too tired.  After you said goodnight to your family 
you plopped into bed and fell asleep in no time.  That's okay because you may not realize
 that I am always there for you.

I've got patience, 
more than you will ever know.  I even want to teach you how 
to be patient with others as well.  I love you so much that I wait
 everyday for a nod, prayer, thought, 
or a thankful part of your heart.  It is hard to have a one-sided conversation.  Well, you are getting up once again.  And once again I will wait
 with nothing but love for you.

Hoping that today you will give me some time.

Have a nice day!

Your friend, 
 GOD

Author Unknown

Revelation 3:20  “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.

In The Morning I Will Give Him Glory

I am almost positive that there is a flower addiction intervention, that will be led by my husband, in my future.  Every fall after our first really hard frost, I head out to my berms, flowerbeds, and deck to get everything ready for the winter ahead.  Every fall, I swear that next year I am not going to plant any new flowers and I am not going to have as many flowers on my deck.  Then about mid-winter I start getting those spring catalogs from nurseries flaunting the new and improved varieties for spring and every spring I plant new flowers and add a few more baskets on my deck.  This spring would be no different. Early one morning I headed out to our light pole with a pack of tiny little morning glory seeds.  I carefully planted them at the base of our light pole with visions of the vine climbing its way to the very top of the pole and being covered with beautiful blue blooms.  After a few weeks, little plants shot up and I did my happy dance and watched over them like a momma hen over her baby chicks, making sure they were protected from the early spring cold air.  They began their climb upward and I smiled.  I placed string around the pole for them to climb on and here and there I strategically placed a nail for the vine to wind around.  The little vines continued their march upward.  They grew higher than I could reach so out came the ladder as I continued to make a way for them to go even further up the light pole.  I waited expecting any day for a bloom to appear.  Nothing.  I fertilized, I watered, I waited.  Nothing.  By midsummer there were still no blooms.  I googled morning glories to see why my little vines were not blooming and came away shaking my head.  I resigned myself to no blooms and debated whether to let them come back up from seed next year or buy a plant from the nursery.  Finally, it was late summer and still no blooms.  In October, we headed out to North Carolina to do a fall leaf tour in our vette up the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It was breathtaking and I took one picture after another.  After eight states in seven days we came back home.  As we were unloading the car, I glanced over and to my amazement the vine on our light pole was covered with beautiful blue and white blooms.  On that gorgeous October  morning they blossomed in all their glory.  I think God saved them as a special bouquet for my welcome home. 

I began to think of my journey with the Lord.  When I was just a little girl, God came and planted a tiny seed of His love in my heart with visions of His love growing in my life until one day I would show forth His glory. I know that He rejoiced as He watched His love take root in my life and begin to grow.  Looking back I can see that He has always had His watchful eye on my life making sure that I was cared for and protected. I wonder if He ever shook His head and wondered why His glory was not blooming in my life?  I know that He has strategically placed me in churches, in friendships, in situations where His love could continue to grow in my life and He has waited.  

Today as I reflect on His loving and tender care I can’t help but proclaim His glory.  Today is the day to show forth His love in my life.  So today I give my life as a special bouquet to the One I love.

1 Chronicles 16:29  (NLT) Give to the Lord the glory he deserves!

Bring your offering and come into his presence.

Worship the Lord in all his holy splendor.

His Praise Fills the Whole Earth

The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;  where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy.                                           

There are times in my life when I feel like Elijah when he was running from Jezebel.  It seems like the whole world has forsaken God.  It seems like evil runs rampant and unopposed.  It seems like Satan has the upper hand.  It is then, just like Elijah, I am reminded of the greatness of my God and I am reminded that God still has a people who praise His name.  I am reminded that the praise of the redeemed is still heard throughout the whole earth.  I am not alone and my life and my praise are only a small part of God’s amazing orchestra.

Have you ever had the pleasure of hearing an orchestra?  There is just something about the ebb and flow of beautiful music that touches the deepest recesses of my soul.  My musical knowledge would not even fill a thimble but there are just a few very simple observations I want to make.

A symphony or philharmonic orchestra has approximately 100 instruments and those 100 instruments are typically broken down into sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion.  The largest section would be the strings and they, oftentimes, provide the melody.  The woodwinds join in and weave warmth and color through the melody while the gleaming brass instruments scatter bright and majestic touches. The percussion section carries the music along on strong rhythmic underpinnings.  Each section brings a special element that is integral to the sound of the whole orchestra.  Without just one violin, one trumpet, one clarinet, one drum, or even one triangle, the sound and beauty produced would be diminished. 

If the world’s population were broken down into a 100-piece orchestra, there would be approximately 60 Asians, 14 Africans, 12 Europeans, 8 Latin Americans, and 5 Canadians and US.  When I see these numbers, I am humbled and I am reminded that God has children scattered throughout the entire world from every race and nationality and that Americans are among the least and then there is me.

God’s orchestra has multitudes of children whose melody of praise rises without putting limitations and restrictions on His response.  Their praise is unhindered and does not have to be either or but leaves room for God to be God.  It is as if their praise is the overriding melody of God’s eternal and unstoppable love. Then I picture those whose praise comes from a place of having known the depth and darkness of bondage.  Those who have known the cruelty of the chains of oppression begin to weave their praise in and out of the melody of God’s boundless love adding warmth and color to the melody of His eternal and unstoppable love.  Another section then joins in with deep resonating tones of reverence.  Cathedrals throughout Europe were meant to speak to those who entered of the majesty and greatness of God and the smallness of man.  From the lips of Europeans, comes praise ladened with majesty and glory and awe.  Now I can feel the eternal unstoppable anthem of love swell, warmed with the praise of those who know the reality of chains broken  and bright tones of majesty and glory scattered throughout.  But that is not where it ends.  The praise that comes from God’s Latin American children is one of great joy and exuberance.  Their praise is a celebration of the life they have in God that is not dampened by their present circumstances. And last but not least, Americans provide a loud and steady rhythm that moves the music along.  God has blessed us materially so that this anthem of praise can be carried to all nations. According to statistics, out of the 100 people, 5 would control 32% of the entire world’s wealth, and all of them would be US citizens. So as God’s children join together they sound forth praise that will stir the hearts of all who hear. God’s eternal, unstoppable, majestic, and joyous love is triumphantly carried around the world by His vast orchestra.

What I am trying to say is, I am not a one-man band but I am a part of an orchestra that is made up of different tribes, different tongues, and different nations and God stands as the conductor before us all.  God unifies us, sets the tempo, adjusts the volume, and guides us so that the blended sound of praise is greater than any one individual.  There is nothing that can stop the anthem of God’s love.

“Have you seen a symphony orchestra?...There is a chap at the back carrying a triangle.  Now and again the conductor will point to him and he will play “ting.”  That might seem so insignificant, but in the conception of the composer something irreplaceable would be lost to the total beauty of the symphony if that “ting” did not happen.”  Desmond Tutu

The whole world has not forsaken God.  Evil may be rampant but it is definitely not unopposed.  Satan does not have the upper hand and I am not alone.  In my mind’s eye, I see God’s orchestra coming to one final amazing crescendo that will usher in the return of our victorious Lord and King.  I am watching for Him to point my way so I can add the  …

TING!

I Am A Pumpkin

I once heard Bill Hybels talk about his book on personal evangelism called, Just Walk Across the Room. He had challenged his church to write out their personal conversion story in 100 words or less.  We all know how we came to know Jesus, but to refine our story to 100 words or less is hard.  When you throw out all the “churchy words” so someone who does not have the church vocab can still understand, what words do you use?

We all know that the opportunity to share with someone who does not have a personal relationship with Jesus comes at unlikely moments when we are least prepared.  We are just having a regular conversation when, all of a sudden, the other person is asking about our faith.  You strike up a conversation with a waiter, someone next to you on a plane, or waiting in the line at the DMV and out of nowhere the subject of God comes up.  At that moment, our brains go into overload as to how much information does this person really want?  How do I explain salvation, justification, and sanctification?  Is this like a child asking where does a baby come from and all they really want to know is which hospital or does this person really want to know all the details?   Or you are having lunch with colleagues and someone just casually makes the comment that they don’t believe in God.  You are already 30 minutes into a 45-minute lunch break so your hour sermon will have to wait.  Can you tell your story in under a minute? 

I think the challenge to refine and condense our story is a good one.  We are ready on a moment's notice to share our story and then, if the person asks for more we can give more, but if not we have planted a seed that someone else will water, and then someone else will harvest.  But remember someone has to plant the seed before there is a harvest.

My story is simple and short just like me. 

As a little girl, I was told about how much Jesus loves me.  I opened my heart for Him to forgive me and make me His little girl.  Jesus has been with me since that day.  I wish I could say I have been as faithful to Him as He has been to me, but that would be untrue.  There were times in my life that I kept Him at a distance but He was always watching over me.  Today I am so thankful for a God who still loves me and still thinks of me as His little girl.  

Until you can take some time and think through your own personal story, (and I challenge you to do just that) use this one. 




“What is it like to be a Christian?”

The co-worker replied,

“It is like being a pumpkin. God picks you from the patch, brings you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. Then he cuts off the top and scoops out all the yucky stuff. He removes the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc., and then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside of you to shine for all the world to see.”

October 29, 2009 by Rest Ministries