Because He Lives

"And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen..." ~Luke 24:4-6

"Jesus died and...and He rose again!!!"  These six words, proclaimed by my 4 1/2 year old nephew to my entire church, were the highlight of my Easter.  Not because it was cute, though it was. Not because I felt chills go through me, though I did. But because of the tears it brought to mine and others' eyes, tears that I don't think we ourselves even understood....yet they came. It wasn't until later that day, that I would fully grasp what exactly had happened in that moment.

So why was my nephew asked to say that, randomly, right at the end of the children's program in the first place?  Because he had been saying it in his classroom, and, lucky for us, his teacher had caught it on video. She asked him to repeat it and tell it to the whole class. "Jesus died and...and He rose again!!!" I type it that way, because that's how he said it each time. "Jesus died" (looking one direction, somewhat calm demeanor, look of sadness) "and"..."and he rose again!!!" (straightened body posture, animatedly looking the other direction, amazed, excited look on his face, with a "you have GOT to get this!" sound in his voice) 

Later that day I found out how Easter day had begun at my brother and sister-in-law's house, who are the parents of this nephew and his twin sister. That morning when my sister-in-law woke up, my niece was already standing there, waiting. She asked if it was Easter. My sister-in-law affirmed that. Then my niece said, with sadness in her voice, "Jesus dies today...."  When my sister-in-law told me this my heart almost broke.  Apparently somehow in the midst of bedtime stories, Sunday school classes, Reaching Our Kids classes, one on one Jesus talks, etc., she had apparently not fully understood that Jesus didn't just die (and definitely wasn't about to die), but that He rose from the dead. Having talked to Him everyday, in prayer, she understood the fact that He was alive. So imagine the sorrow in her heart to think that He was going to die! My sister-in-law, of course, reexplained to her the truth about the resurrection.  I'm guessing at some point my nephew was either part of this conversation, or that my niece passed on "The Good News" to him. 

So what was it about his proclamation in church that had brought tears to our eyes?  I think it was the sincerity and freshness with which it was spoken.  "Jesus died..and..and He rose again!!!"  Maybe, just maybe, that was his first time to finally understand it...to finally understand that not just a man, but our Savior, the Creator of the universe, came to earth, as a man, to die for us, and rose again....Our Savior LIVES!!!

"O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." ~1 Corinthians 15:55-57

   

This brings to mind the lyrics of one of my favorite hymns: 

God sent His son, they called Him Jesus
He came to love, heal, and forgive.
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives.

How sweet to hold a newborn baby,
And feel the pride and joy he gives.
But greater still the calm assurance,
This child can face uncertain days because He lives.

Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living just because He lives.

And then one day I'll cross the river,
I'll fight life's final war with pain.
And then as death gives way to victory,
I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He lives.

  

Worth the Wait

So, normally sappy is not my writing style, but this blog will be one exception...For those whose faces distort into a sour face just at the sound of the word "sappy", this is your chance to turn back now...You have officially been warned.

 Lately I've been going through all 13,769,046 pages (or so it seems) of paperwork that I have accumulated through the years, in an effort to get rid of everything I don't absolutely need. In the midst of this chaos I came across something I'd written back in 2007, when I was doing mission work in Lithuania for the summer.  It's not a devotional, like I normally write on here, but rather it's simply words from the heart of a single missionary about something she just happened to observe one day and the impression that it made on her. It's about love....real love.

"I'm sitting here at the Vilnius bus station, waiting to leave for Riga.  When I first arrived at the platform, where I would eventually catch my bus, my attention was drawn to a certain young lady and young gentleman.  For the approximately thirty minutes that we waited for the bus I could tell that, as far they were each concerned, the other person was the only other one in the world. 

As they stood, holding each other close, I wondered what their story was. Was he leaving on just a short trip? A long one? Did he even live here? When did they meet? How did they meet? While I knew none of these answers, from where I was sitting I could see in her eyes that she truly loved him. 

It didn't end there. As we loaded the bus, she stayed by his side until she couldn't any longer. Then, for about thirty more minutes, she stood outside his window.  They both just looked at each other with sad eyes, every once in a while mouthing, no doubt, words of endearment to each other.  Every once in a while, when another bus would pull up, she would move out of the way, then move right back to the spot by his window. As we pulled out to leave she was standing there waving until the bus was out of sight.

A lot of times I get asked the question, "What are you waiting for?" Or, of course, "Who are you waiting for?" While I may not know who, I definitely know what I'm waiting for. I'm waiting for that kind of love.  Love in which I'd almost rather die than have to leave the other person.  A love where we can just look at each other, not a say a word, and yet a thousand be spoken. A love that, were it taken away, would hurt to the same extent that it felt good.  Most of all, I want a love in which I can give all of my heart, knowing He will give me back the same."

While  I wrote this years ago, my perspective still remains the same. I still believe that special person will indeed be worth the wait.

 Love is Waiting

Grace in Disguise

"But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord." ~Genesis 6:8

Often when we think of the story of Noah we think of the verse above... how Noah found grace in God's eyes, how Noah and his family were spared the fate that so many other people had fell victim to, by their own choice.

Rarely do we think about what grace looked like on that ark on the 23rd, or on the 32nd, or on the 39th day. Rarely do we think about the fact that grace is not always pretty when living through the preliminaries, especially when we don't yet realize they are simply just that....a beginning, not an ending.

The Bible says in Genesis 7:24 that "the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days." 150 days living with a bunch of stinky animals....Imagine how gross those stalls must have been!

The smells...the claustrophobia...5 months!!!

Oh, but then consider the alternative.

Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. ~Phillippians 4:11

Calvary was very ugly. It's hard for us to even comprehend the brutality that occurred on that day, but it was even worse for those who had walked with Jesus day in and day out, who had to stand by and witness God in flesh being treated worse than a criminal.

If  only they could have truly understood then, what we are so blessed to understand now.

Circumstances in your life may look bleak. You may feel like you have "drawn the short straw" ...possibly multiple times over. Know that His grace is sufficient. He trades beauty for ashes and makes all things beautiful in His time.

To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. ~Isaiah 61:3

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ~2 Corinthians 12:9

When God Winks

"And the Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you; do not fear nor be dismayed.” ~Deuteronomy 31:8 (NKJV)

When I say "when God winks", I'm not talking about when he winks in the Biblical sense of the word, as in Acts 17:30, where it literally means "to overlook". No, I am talking about when God winks, as in that sweet confirming feeling when that special caring and wiser elder individual in your life gives you that knowing wink. That assurance feeling. That "I've got your back" reminder. To me it's similar to a God Smile, but not quite the same. A "God Smile" is more an earthly pat on the back. When God "winks", it's His way of saying, "Keep your chin up; I've got your back."

Not long ago, I felt led to attempt to deputize in a few areas extremely far from home. This was a major decision for me, in part because the gasoline alone was going to cost about every penny I had. Starting out, I really only knew for sure a few places that I was going to be able to speak. Still, believing it was the right decision, but not wanting to be unwise, I asked God for confirmation as for what I should do. It came quickly and was undeniable. So, completely walking by faith, I headed out, still a little nervous, but knowing God's hand was in it.

For the next month and a half it seemed like almost every day I saw God wink. From doors opening like I never could have imagined, to the overwelmingly kind way people received me, to the special connections I was blessed to make, to even the little things...especially the little things. There are many things I might need or desire, but that I simply choose to go without. Usually God is the only one that actually knows what those things are. During this time God showed me over and over and over again that not only does He know, but that He cares. And that there is NOTHING so small that He doesn't care about. During this time of contemplating and coming to a more full understanding of this concept, I was meandering through a thrift store one day and right on top of of a book I'd been wanting for a long time was a book called "When God Winks at You".  Oh the irony. Needless to say, both of these books are now on my bookshelf.

While I still have quite a long ways to go in this deputational journey, God has truly blown my mind thus far and has shown me His glory in so many beautiful ways.  I am thankful I do not serve a distant impersonal God or a God made by man's hands that is nothing more than elements from this earth on which we walk, but rather I serve a God who smiles, who winks, who loves. I serve a God that will take care of me to the same extent that I choose to depend on Him. Never before have I walked so much by faith, and never before have I seen God work so much in my life.

"The love of God cannot be comprehended through knowledge; it can only be known through experience." ~Rev. Rodney Shaw 

"..for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him."  ~Matthew 6:8

Staging a Protest

“All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am presently reading a book called “The Devil in Pew Number Seven” by Rebecca Nichols Alonzo.The writer’s very creative narrative of her own birth made quite an impression on me:

 

I yelled.

My eyes were pinched shut against a light as harsh as a solar flare. They stung as if sprayed with salt water. From head to toe, my skin tingled as if a blast of arctic air had swept over me. Chilled to the bone, I couldn’t explain the traumatic change in the temperature. My body shivered, trembling like a leaf in the wind.  And, although I was suddenly cold, my lungs burned with each breath.

In vain, I cried out.

My legs, kicking without regard for the hands that attempted to hold me down, were no match for the masked faces surrounding me. I could not make sense of their muffled voices. Out of control, powerless to hold my head up, I was carried away against my will. With fingers curled into a ball of fury, face as red as Mars, I howled so loudly the wail could be heard down the hall.

Like all humanity before me, I entered the world staging a protest.

My first thought when I read this was “..and so it is with us.”  How many times in life does our flesh protest something God wants us to do or perhaps just something he wills us to endure?  How many times does He move us forward, while our heels are still dug in the sand?  How many times has He asked us simply to remain standing, yet we proclaim a sit in and recruit friends to join us.  

A baby’s options are death or life, nothing else, and so it is with us. Stagnation is a spiritual killer, as is letting down your guard, forgetting or neglecting to keep your spiritual armor on. Recently, while driving through the state of Missouri, I read alarming statistics posted on an illuminated sign beside the interstate: “Number of Deaths this Year: 711; 64% Unbuckled”.  I personally have been in at least one accident, in which I have no doubt that I would have died, had I not been wearing a seat belt. Instead, due to this precaution, and, no doubt, greatly due to God’s protection, I walked out of the car, practically unscathed. At 70 mph, the car had rolled multiple times and finally landed upside down, with a caved in roof.  When I read that sign reporting the number of deaths I just kept thinking, how low would that first number have  been, had, by chance, that second number been lower? And how much is this like us in the spiritual realm? How many casualties could be prevented if we simply remembered to keep our spiritual armor on at all times? (Ephesians 6:10-18)

Whether God has told you to move or whether He’s told you to stand. Don’t doubt. Don’t question. If He has spoken, you can rest assured that the path you will trod will be the safest. Why?  Because He has promised to be with you.

As the song goes…

“Many things about tomorrow

I don’t seem to understand,

But I know who holds tomorrow

And I know He hold my hand.”

So stand up, put down those protest signs, and get those heels out of the sand. God is FOR you. (Psalm 56:9)

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. ~Jeremiah 29:11