journey onWord with us

It has happened to all of us.  A meeting is going to take place and we want to know what will be said, plus we want to know all of the important information about the meeting.  The meeting could be job related, or it could be a church leadership meeting.  On a more global scale, we would all like to know the content of any meeting that affects our country, our personal rights and our religious freedom.  We’re all inquisitive about meetings that could in some way impact our life.  It doesn’t matter if the effect is large or small; it concerns us.  We want to know what was said.  You have probably even said, “I would like to be a fly on the wall during that meeting”.   Consider with me the content of an interesting meeting (prayer meeting, that is) that took place close to the end of Jesus’ earthly life.  Consider it in the context of the power that it has to impact our lives.

With the narrative having been recorded (John 17), we all have the privilege to be a fly on the wall for this particular “meeting” Jesus had with the Father. We are blessed to be able to look at the words of the prayer, study their meaning and gain an incredible picture of how Christ related to the Father plus see what was on His heart in those final hours before heading to the cross.  The words are simple, yet profound, and what an amazing privilege to pour over them word by word.

In this magnificent passage, you can hear what Christ prayed for Himself, for his disciples and all of those who would come to faith in the years to come.  His prayer was specific and full of meaningful content.  I find it quite interesting that Jesus chose to let us in on some very personal, powerful moments that He spent with the Father before He would willingly suffer and die on the cross for the sins of all mankind.

John 17 is known as the “high priestly prayer” of Jesus.  Warren Wiersbe, in his commentary Be Transformed, paints a far better picture of this chapter than I ever could.

“Whether He prayed it in the Upper Room or en-route to the Garden, this much is sure: it is the greatest prayer ever prayed on earth and the greatest prayer recorded anywhere in Scripture.  John 17 is certainly the ‘holy of holies’ of the Gospel record, and we must approach this chapter in a spirit of humility and worship.  To think that we are privileged to listen in as God the Son converses with His Father just as He is about to give His life as a ransom for sinners!”

A prayer so incredible is worthy of more than just a cursory reading, but most Christ-followers find themselves doing just that.  Reading the powerful words and not allowing them to settle into the very center of your true self would be a waste of a sacred opportunity.  We should be just as interested as we are in those “meetings” that affect our lives in other ways.  We don’t have to worry about the content or secrecy of this meeting because we have been given full access.

At Journey onWord, we have decided to give this chapter special attention.  Our reading format for this week is singularly focused. John 17 is the assignment every day.  A prayer so powerful should be carefully examined.  Even if you don’t normally follow our reading schedule, would you turn your heart to this one single chapter for the next several days? With a heart which is open to listen, you will meet Christ in the words of His prayer and be better for it.  You may read the full prayer every day or break it into sections, it doesn’t matter to us.  Simply block out all other distractions and spend this week solely focused on this intimate and sacred prayer of the Son of God to his Father in heaven.  We cannot wait to see what it might mean to the forward trajectory of your life!  May your week become strong!

You have been where I am today. At the end of a busy few weeks, being tired is the norm, having less emotional energy is realistic, and wanting to just do nothing is enticing. If only there was nothing to do! For me the last few weeks have been busy, and doing nothing does look enticing. But there is something that is far more enticing and exceedingly more meaningful. Over the last week, my mind has been constantly challenged with the call to cease striving from Psalm 46:10.

Since these words have been resonant in my life and I have a suspicion you might feel the same (with the busy Christmas season coming), I decided to challenge both you and me with some words from my past.  A book I read in the 1980’s, Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back, by Charles Swindoll, gives wonderful insight for anyone serious to cease striving. One particular chapter caught my eye related to stress. Stress speaks loud in all of our lives and can become the enemy of a quiet heart. How then can we confront stress when we are tired, our tank is low and we are yearning to do nothing with Christmas on the way?

Cease striving and know that I am God
Psalm 46:10a (NASB)

These words are often quoted with great conviction. Who doesn’t want to live with a heart that is quiet and at peace before the Lord? But striving after our objectives can easily dominate our lives and create stress. Every Christ-follower should be willing to examine their level of stress vs. their willingness to cease striving. A closer look at the word cease gives clarity. The Hebrew term for this word means relax. It’s counter-intuitive to think that I can accomplish more in my walk with God by relaxing rather than striving, but ceasing to strive and daily dependence on the Father accomplishes far more than trying to stress my way to success (especially when I am tired, low on emotion, wanting to do nothing, and Christmas is coming).

If you are as serious as I am about a restful heart and are willing to cease striving, your spirit will likely resonate with some words quoted in Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back. Swindoll quotes some words from Tim Hansel’s work, When I Relax, I Feel Guilty.

Slow me down, Lord.
Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind.
Steady my hurried pace with a vision of the eternal reach of time.
Give me, amid the confusion of the day, the calmness of the everlasting hills.
Break the tensions of my nerves and muscles with the soothing music of the singing streams that live in my memory.
Teach me the art of taking minute vacations – of slowing down to look at a flower,
to chat with a friend, to pat a dog, to smile at a child, to read a few lines from a good book.
Slow me down, Lord, and inspire me to send my roots deep into the soil of life’s enduring values, that I may grow toward my greater destiny.
Remind me each day that the race is not always to the swift; that there is more to life than increasing its speed.
Let me look upward to the towering oak and know that it grew great and strong because it grew slowly and well.

Read and re-read those words. As you gear up for Thanksgiving and then Christmas, are you willing to join with me to cease striving? Is the word relax even in your current vocabulary? Stress will always war against your desire to rest in Him, and there will always be a new burden to bear. But for us to live wisely and well, we must live under the umbrella of God’s power and relax.

I don’t believe that “cease striving” has been on my mind for no reason. I don’t believe that you and I can accomplish it without focusing on Him. He is God, in control and able to guide us through the busy-ness of life. Enjoy the journey!

Cease striving and know that I am God.

Walk with me through a brief story of our family and see if you can place your circumstances into the story line. It was over fourteen years ago when we dropped our daughter off at college. It was her first extended journey from home, and not something that either of her parents was looking forward too. As we arrived at the college on Friday and started preparing her dorm room, there was an ominous cloud hanging over my wife and me. This was it, and it would never be the same again. Can you relate?  I expected my wife to be weepy … but not me!  By Saturday afternoon, our daughter politely proclaimed that it was time for us to go and we grudgingly drove home teary-eyed, knowing that a new and different season of our lives was upon us.  Separation from those we love is deeply emotional, and I have been trying to wrap my arms around what it must have been like for the disciples when Jesus discussed leaving them.

Think of what it must have been like for the disciples in John 13:33 when Jesus said, “Children, I am with you for only a short time longer.”  He was their mentor, counselor, friend and the only person in their lives that had always given them perfect advice, spot-on wisdom and unfiltered love.  They had never seen Him sin, mislead them, deceive them or selfishly seek His own way — and now He’s leaving! Do you think there could have been some palpable emotion weighing on the men as they contemplated His words?  A new season of life was quickly approaching.

In John 13:34-35, in the midst of this emotionally charged scene, Jesus instructs the disciples with words that were powerful for them and instructive for all true believers today.  It is interesting that John 13 starts with Jesus showing love to the disciples and ends with a command for them to love.  As you read His words of instruction, take a moment to think of the depth of meaning found in them.  “Let me give you a new command: Love one another. In the same way I loved you, you love one another. This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.” (MSG)

What kind of love had the Savior loved them with?  And could they possibly love one another in the same way? If so, the results would show that they were His disciples.  Christ used the words new command, but wasn’t “loving others” found elsewhere in Scripture? Without going into too much detail, I believe the new command was tied to the new covenant that Jesus would ratify with His own blood.  These men had seen His love for them (most recently by washing their feet), but they would understand it far more deeply through the Cross. Think about Christ telling His disciples (and ultimately all Christ-followers) to love as He had loved them.

I believe the love Christ wanted modeled was a self-sacrificing, others-focused love for fellow believers.  The result: “This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.”  There is definitely a model of love that Christ wanted His followers to live out — and He would never ask for the unattainable!  Sure, no one but the Savior loved perfectly, but all Christ-followers can love in a self-sacrificing, others-focused way.  This kind of love distinguishes who we are.

It would be easy to discuss the failure of love within churches and communities of faith. But let me be personal with you for a moment.  If you are in Christ, you can love others with the kind of love mentioned above.  Will you simply give your life to His kind of love today?

What a rough day. No matter which way I turned, nothing seemed to go right. I could have played Alexander in the new version of the movie, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day. But yesterday is over and my pouting needs to end. There are probably days that you also felt like you were auditioning for the role of Alexander. Days that are filled with issues out of our control (and we all like to be in control), remind us of our weaknesses and create a sense of humility (after we adjust our prideful attitudes).  My attitude seemed to turn on a 5-hour car earlier this week. A friend played a song for me that spoke of a pretty rough day in the life of Christ.

My reading the very next morning fell in line with that rough day in the life of Jesus. Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, “Father, save me from this hour”? But this is the very reason I came! Those are Jesus’ words from John 12:27 and it just happens to be the verse I used in the first Sunday school lesson I ever taught. The verse still rings with a clarion call in my mind every time I read it. Christ came for a reason. Nothing would deter His purpose and the sins of mankind weighed in the balance. But He was troubled! And although we could never know the depth of His struggle, I believe the anticipation of separation from the Father and bearing God’s wrath for the sins of mankind caused Him to be deeply troubled.

This song I keep referring to was a song that I had never heard before, from a group I knew very little about (Karen Peck and New River). Picture your rough day and then visualize His rough day … for you and me. Just a couple of stanzas of You Did it Anyway will remind you and I about what that rough day was like.

You prayed to pass the cup
As the angels watched you kneel
You already knew just how the cross would feel
How deep the spear would go
How sharp the thorns would be
And that your father
Would forsake you in your agony

You did it anyway
You walked on up that hill
And the sounds of sacrifice are ringing still
You knew the magnitude
Of the price you’d have to pay
But for me, you did it anyway

Because He did it anyway, all who have a relationship with Christ in salvation can live in peace, even on the roughest of days. He knew what my Alexander day would be like. He cared, and I could have reflected more on His grace, peace and counsel during that earthly, horrible, rotten, no good very bad day. Mike (Alexander) felt the need to control what he couldn’t control, but at the reminder of what my Savior did for me (and you), my perspective began to change. My bad day could never compare … but He did it anyway!

I will have bad days again, and so will you. I hope the words of this song will ring loudly when I start to pout. He hung on the cross, died for our sins, and rose again to give us eternal life and peace on the journey….even on the “Alexander” days!

The words below were written just a week after losing the dear friend I mentioned in our last post.  I have sat with these words for several weeks.  I have poured and prayed over them.  I have sought wisdom and counsel in sharing them.  Through it all, I have been gifted a peace that does not source from my understanding, and release them now with the solemn prayer that He will use them.

How does one measure the weight of a heart?  An odd question, no doubt, but one that entered my mind as I considered my right now and how it compares to the vast expanse of my yesterdays.  If there was, in fact, some way to calculate it, I expect the resulting answer would show my heart is as heavy as it’s ever been.  A week ago, I had to communicate a message to the person I love most in this world.  This message buckled my own knees in receiving it, and I was certain it would do far worse to my wife.  How do you tell the woman you love most that her best friend in the world (apart from you) is gone?

My dear friend Lisa was a warrior princess.  She would be the first to admit that she was not perfect, but she was the perfect friend to my wife, Kristyn.  She was a woman of God who started each and every day with some combination of a Bible, a devotional, a journal and a cup of coffee.  Lisa was a devoted and faithful wife, a brilliant mother, a treasured daughter, a beloved aunt, a true friend and a bright light to anyone God delivered into and through her life.  God had numbered her days, and they were far too few for all those who loved her.  God is good.  We are holding onto that truth as tightly as we can in navigating the beautiful memories of our shared past and painful reality of our right now.  We do not mourn as those who have no hope.  We claim and lean on that hope, as we do the Author and Giver of it.  God is good … all the time.  All the time … God is good.

I found myself alone in the drive-thru at McDonald’s the day my boys and I were set to travel and join my wife and Lisa’s beautiful family for her viewing and funeral.  I wasn’t starving but needed something and decided on a menu choice that triggered a spontaneous, sad chuckle.  I was anything but, when I asked the polite drive-thru clerk for a “happy meal.”  As she confirmed my hamburger with no onions and apple slices, she asked me a question that quite unexpectedly buckled my knees again.  It was all I could do to answer, “for a boy, please.”  I’m not completely certain why things hit me like they do, but her question hit me square.  “Is this for a boy, or a girl?” she innocently asked.  It was as if the very words of the Spirit that lives inside me were asking the same question of my suffering.

I have an earthly father and mother whom I love deeply.  There was a time in my life when I was completely dependent on them.  As I began to grow, my parents lovingly and intentionally taught and guided me.  They did so with the knowledge that it was best for me to leave them one day, and they equipped me for that day as well as any parent could.  I was given freedoms and responsibilities which ultimately prepared me to establish a life for myself and to love, care, and provide for the wife and two boys that God had specifically chosen for me.  This, for me, was the natural progression of growing up as a man — to feel responsible and be responsible.  And this was what I was desperately trying to feel and be for every person whom I loved who was hurting in the hours and days after Lisa’s death.  My motives were pure, my intentions were good, but I was acting as if my strength was what was required of me.

In what seemed like an instant, the completely unrelated, yet essential question from the drive-thru clerk penetrated the tough outer layer that had already begun to form around my heart and mind.  The kind of layer we tend to believe is necessary to stand firm against an attack of this magnitude and be a shield and support for those we love.  In what seemed like an instant, the Spirit of God whispered words of comfort and permission; permission to admit, “I am just a boy.”

I’d like to believe I’m a maturing boy, but I am a boy, nonetheless.  My heavenly Father is lovingly and intentionally teaching and guiding me, but it is not for the same purpose as my earthly parents.  To meet this moment of suffering as a “grown man” and to be worthy as a husband, father, brother, uncle and friend are not what God expects of me.  I am just a boy.  I am a boy in a world that was not created to experience loss and pain.  I am a boy whose heart can only be hardened by it, if I try to experience and conquer it on my own.  I am a boy who is made strong only in as much as I choose my own weakness and my Father’s strength.  I am a boy who needs the refuge of my Father’s arms and the comfort of Abba’s lap.

In the grief-filled moments that followed my drive-thru exchange, a beautiful peace poured over me.  For all the responsibility I felt since receiving the news, I had been invited into the only thing that God expects of me; to answer my suffering with the response, “for a boy, please.”  In the midst of the “hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” a voice comes over the drive-thru speaker and speaks directly into my suffering.  I wonder if you need to hear that too in the midst of your right now.

If so, join me … say the words.

“For a boy, please.”

“For a girl, please.”

I closed my eyes, smiled wryly and let out a deep sigh when I looked ahead in the schedule to confirm the daily reading for today (John 11:28-37).  It was early in the week, and I had been given the opportunity to write today’s post.  I wanted to begin digesting the passage and see if there was any initial bit of resonance that I could begin to explore.  I have become so mindful of God’s presence in the details of my life.  Sometimes I chuckle or blurt out a full belly laugh when I’m standing and waiting or casually walking along and the Spirit goes on ahead of me and throws open the door to what God has for me next.  Have you experienced God’s “sense of humor” or deep intentionality before?  Maybe you’d nod in agreement with the reaction I described above.

So, here’s the source of that reaction … I am grieving the loss of a dear and treasured friend a month to the date last Sunday, and wouldn’t you know that my first opportunity to write since her passing is the story of the death of Jesus’ dear friend Lazarus.  I guess the Spirit just walked a few steps ahead of me and threw open another door.  And now I will step through it in His power.  God is so good.

There are a couple of events within the larger narrative of Jesus’ life which have had repeated and lasting impact on my life.  Within those events there are two specific intimate moments and “mysteries” which have long fascinated me.  Our reading today possesses one of those mysteries.  Another happened a couple of chapters back in the book of John during a monumental moment of confrontation in the story of an adulterous woman who was about to be stoned.

A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”  They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger.
John 8:2-6 (NLT)

What did He write?!  What was the word(s)?!  Oh, to have been there to experience that moment of unadulterated and saturating forgiveness.  That story is one of my favorites, and I would so love to know what Jesus wrote in the dust.

I have a similar longing with one of the details of today’s story.  Namely, to know the true source of Jesus’ “deep anger” with the mourners gathered near the tomb of Lazarus.  As the story goes, Mary runs to, and reaches Jesus.  She falls at His feet and unknowingly repeats the words her sister spoke just a short time before.  “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:32b)  I think we can all hear our own thoughts and words in the one’s Martha and Mary cried out to Jesus.  Then John continues in verse 33…

When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. (NLT)

A deep anger wells up within Jesus as He surveys the scene.  In researching, I found moving imagery in this phrase that the NIV translates as “deeply moved in spirit and troubled.” The Greek word translated in the NIV as “deeply moved” is “embrimasthai.” It is apparently used in Classical Greek for a horse snorting.  Those of you who know horses or have been around a highly agitated one, will have a clear understanding and vivid picture of the emotion which welled up inside of Jesus in that moment.

There are several suggestions given by scholars as to the source of Jesus’ anger.  I tend to lean in one particular direction, having given the question some thought before seeking out those scholars.  I think I’ll leave my own thoughts unspoken, however, in the spirit of John not speaking to it himself.  Perhaps certain words written in dust and emotions welled up within the heart of the Savior have been left for us to consider more deeply in our personal conversations and daily walk with God.

One meaningful thought I will choose to share, which has been a great encouragement to me and which I pray will also be of encouragement to you, is Jesus’ choice to stop and grieve the very real separation from His dear friend.  I believe this choice is also echoed much later in the garden as Jesus sweats blood while crying out to his Father, “if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me.” (Luke 22:42 NLT)  I have come to believe “this cup” is the separation He knows He must endure as the final price of His redeeming work – a very real separation from the Father in His last three hours on the cross.  In these moments of deep grief, Jesus mourns separation.  I am experiencing this right now in the loss of my dear friend.

In two powerfully intimate moments, Jesus stops and grieves loss.  In doing so, He enters the very personal space of my own grief and says, “I know.”  That knowing far surpasses an intellectual association with my season of grief.  Jesus doesn’t just “get” what I am going through, He joins me in it.  He knows my specific suffering.  He looks at me when I say “but Jesus, Lisa” and says, “Mark … Lazarus.”

My dear friends, don’t miss this monumental moment as you check off the task of your daily reading today.  I know the temptations or fatigue that can surface in a discipline of reading daily, but please don’t miss this today.  The very voice of the One who spoke creation into being, speaks the words “I know” into my heart today … into your heart today.  If you are suffering or grieving, Scripture (and even the rocks) cry out that Jesus is truly “a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief!” (Isaiah 53:3)

He knows.

He cares.

He joins you today.

a short note before going …  I hope you will consider reaching out to us if there is some portion of suffering that we can join you in today.  We cannot be all that Jesus can, but we can certainly lift you up to Him and join you in a space where you might be convinced no one else stands with you.  We will.  And in doing so, we pray that it shouts to you that “He does!”

It was in the Fall of 2009 that a dear friend and work colleague learned that he had a devastating form of cancer. There were many highs and lows in his battle before he entered eternity in May of 2010. How could Jim be the one that got sick? He was the one that seemed to always watch his diet and continually maintain his health. At age fifty-nine, he was beginning what looked to be a great retirement. Of all people, Jim!  As I was thinking about this article, my mind also wandered back to another friend that I haven’t seen in over 28 years. He had MS, and lived with a smile and focus that always intrigued me. I will never forget the time he told me that he looked at his disease as a “ministry of suffering.” His life and words still challenge me.  There is so much about sickness that I don’t understand, and it is easy to question the “whys” of disease and suffering.

It seems we are always trying to figure out the “whys” of suffering and disease, even though we know the futility of our searching. We may even begin thinking, as the disciples did in John 9, was the suffering because of sin? This was the question the disciples asked Jesus about the man born blind from birth. Their question could so easily be asked of the suffering that is happening in our own lives and those of the ones we love, today.

I would guess the answer Jesus gave surprised and confounded the disciples.  Note their question and Jesus’ response.

“Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”  “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him”.
John 9:2-3 (NLT)

Look at Charles Swindoll’s words about chapter John nine. His insight is helpful. “The disciples’ question reflected a common understanding of sin in first-century Judaism, one that is sadly common today as well. The disciples saw the man’s affliction as the just penalty of someone’s sin, either his own or that of his parents. It’s human nature to find someone to blame…As the story unfolds, we learn that their ‘chance meeting had been scheduled since the beginning of time, and the man’s ‘meaningless’ affliction had been given divine purpose from the foundation of creation”.

We all understand that all suffering and affliction are the result of our fall in Adam. Without his disobedience, there would be no sin or death. But to peg specific issues to sin is really beyond our scope. Only God understands the depth and purpose of suffering, and He can certainly turn afflictions in to trophies of His grace. Although not easy, we are all best served to relinquish the desire to know “why” some die young and babies are born with handicaps, while others live long lives into the hand of God. We should also refuse to play God, by determining that someone’s sin caused their pain.  God knows the “whys,” and we can trust His sovereignty.

I am conscious that I have never dealt with pain like many reading this article; so I would like to close with quotes from a trophy of God’s grace, Joni Eareckson Tada. Her story of deep pain and a ministry of suffering has touched millions. Let her quotes speak to the desire we have to understand, and sometimes even chastise the pain of others.

“Suffering provides the gym equipment on which my faith can be exercised.”
Suffering: Making Sense of Suffering

“He has chosen not to heal me, but to hold me. The more intense the pain, the closer His embrace.”
A Place of Healing: Wrestling with the Mysteries of Suffering, Pain, and God’s Sovereignty

“Contentment … has an internal quietness of heart that gladly submits to God in all circumstances.”
When God Weeps: Why Our Sufferings Matter to the Almighty

 “Whys” may overwhelm us, but it is trust that settles us!

Last week was one of those weeks.  Everything hit at once.  Everything had a deadline.  Every day was full and every evening was spoken for.   Have you heard the metaphor of the hamster on the spinning wheel?  Well, I was living it last week.  On the assumption that you sometimes get caught in one of those weeks, I thought this story would give you cause for reflection.

In the book, The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning, there is a humorous, yet thought-provoking story about the monk who was chased by a tiger.

The monk raced to the edge of a cliff, glanced back, and saw the growling tiger about to spring. The monk spotted a rope dangling over the edge of the cliff. He grabbed it and began shimmying down the side of the cliff out of the clutches of the tiger. Whew! Narrow escape. The monk then looked down and saw a quarry of jagged rocks five hundred feet below. He looked up and saw the tiger poised atop the cliff with bared claws. Just then, two mice began to nibble at the rope. What to do?

The monk saw a strawberry within arm’s reach, growing out of the face of the cliff. He plucked it, ate it, and exclaimed, “Yum! That’s the best strawberry I’ve ever tasted in my entire life.” If he had been preoccupied with the rock below (the future) or the tiger above (the past), he would have missed the strawberry God was giving him in the present moment.

In this very moment, you may have regrets or fears from the past week, and anxiety about the future.  I wonder if it all feels like a spirited run on the hamster wheel. After reflecting on the tiger and the monk, I am reminded that we only are guaranteed this moment and to give it away is foolish. Stop with me in this very moment and consider a verse in the book of Psalms which has been especially meaningful to me personally, and speaks directly into this very real battle:

Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.
Psalm 90:12 (NLT)

What you and I miss in our preoccupation with yesterday and tomorrow can never be retrieved. Wisdom available from God can help us live in the moment, and realize how brief our lives really are.

Those who get lost in one of those weeks need to look away from their tiger and jagged rocks. I am sure you can relate. Moments matter! The end of my week brought great blessings through some unexpected people and events – in abundance beyond any expectation I harbored … my strawberries!   Strawberries may not be in season for you and me right now, but what is stopping us from having some strawberry moments? I have no idea what you are facing, but I’m sure if you slow down and start looking for God’s strawberries, you can begin to enjoy each moment. You can’t re-live yesterday or control tomorrow, but finding the strawberry in this moment can turn one of those weeks into a reason to smile.

My experience in public speaking has taught me that you have to be careful with words. Inevitably, words that are reckless, ill-timed or simply misstatements can over-shadow all the well thought out appropriate statements we make. I once used a word in a humorous illustration that took on a life of its own. To this day, I cringe at the very thought of it, but there was no retracting it.  Our words have meaning to those who hear them, whether reckless or full of wisdom. Thankfully, we have a source of words that is always right and full of wisdom.

Words from the lips of Christ never came without meaning. As I am traveling through the Gospel of John, I am reminded of His life-changing words that present salvation, abundant life, resurrection power and confidence in prayer. You may have read and re-read these statements over the years. In them we find hope for eternity and joy for living. Take note of these words of Jesus, and think on their meaning.

To the woman caught in adultery, He said, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

His purpose for Christ-followers is seen in the words, “I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly.”

When He came to the tomb of Lazarus, Christ cried out, “Lazarus, come forth!”

He left no doubt about the only way of eternal life with His words, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Christ gave us confidence to pray with these words, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.”

These scenes from the life of Christ give us clarity on the heart of our Savior; His incredible wisdom and unparalleled compassion in forgiving the woman caught in adultery and His desire for His followers to have abundant life.  They clearly demonstrate His power as He speaks and His dear friend Lazarus is raised from the dead.  They proclaim the absolute truth that there is only one way … through Him. And they offer a promise and gift absolute confidence if we simply abide in Him and His words abide in us.

These words of Jesus and every other one He spoke in Scripture can be trusted. Too often, we read the marvelous counsel He gives us and then refrain from applying it. To know the forgiving Savior, who is the only way to heaven, and who promises abundant life to His followers and who tells us He will answer prayer is, to say the least, life-changing. And to top it off, He has the power to resurrect, and did so Himself. Forgive us God when we are not careful and your Son’s life changing words become too ordinary and lose their emphasis.

In making my point on the day of my ill-timed illustration, I wonder what most people remembered. Was it the presentation of biblical truths relevant to their lives, or my faux pas? What we all need to seek and remember (from the words of Jesus) is the life-changing power of God available to us in salvation. His words tell the story of forgiveness, hope, and abundant life, and they are right at our finger tips in the pages of His Word. We must all look inward and evaluate if His life-changing words are fresh and vibrant, or have they become too ordinary.

How will you answer? What should you do?

If I was completely honest, I would have to admit that I avoid mirrors.  In a department store, I’ll rush past one, being careful to lock my gaze in the opposite direction (how dumb does that sound?!).  It seems like an odd thing to share with “the world,” but it’s absolutely true.  I’ll never argue the truth that God doesn’t make mistakes, but in so many ways I grade myself harshly in what I’ve done with the body and spirit that He gifted me.

That critical nature was tweaked a bit recently as I listened to a song from an artist I love.  The song is, “I Am New” by Jason Gray and it speaks of being made new in Christ.  “I am not who I was, I’m being remade, I am new,” the chorus begins.  Just before that chorus kicks in, at the very end of the third verse, you’ll find the following words…

But the One who is making everything new,
doesn’t see me the way that I do.
He doesn’t see me the way that I do.

Those words nestled themselves deep in my soul and tweaked the critical nature I just confessed.  Oh the immeasurable gift it would be to see with His eyes … even one time and just for a few seconds.  To see myself, not as the physical or spiritual reflection in my earthly mirror, but as He sees me!

So much of my life is lived in the powerful shadow of my guilt and shame.  So many times I stop short of doing something for Him because I convince myself that I’m not worthy or I’ve failed Him far too many times to be of any use.  How stuck I can get in the mire of my past.

As I continued in thought, I was reminded of some life-breathing words from a favorite daily devotional (Reflections for Ragamuffins by Brennan Manning).  The specific entry is titled, “Responses to Jesus,” and offered a beautiful reminder of the lineage we have in this life of faith.

These biblical characters, however clean or tawdry their personal histories may have been, were not paralyzed by the past in their present response to Jesus.  Tossing aside self-consciousness, they ran, clung, jumped and raced to him.  Peter denied him and deserted him, but he was not afraid of him.

In reading the full entry, I was reminded once again of the thread of imperfection that runs through the body of Christ.  The biblical characters who Brennan was referring to were Mary (sister of Martha), Mary Magdalene and Peter.  They are central characters in God’s love story, and yet they are fully flawed human beings.  The thread of imperfection runs through them all and extends to you and me.  Yet at the same time, they (and we) are perfect examples of the power that exists in the name and redeeming blood of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

They “were not paralyzed by the past in their present response to Jesus.”  Yes Jesus, I want that to be said of me.

How are you with mirrors?  And what about your past?  If everything I’ve confessed resonates with you, join me.  If even the smallest part of something I’ve confessed resonates with you, join me. If you see my confessions in the rear view mirror of your own journey, we’ll join you.  Let’s all run, cling, jump and race to Him together!