A Good Fit

It's Christmas, and I get all sentimental and stuff.  Actually, I am becoming more sentimental all year long.  I reflect more; I feel more; I both laugh and cry, a lot.  Sometimes it's awesome.  I appreciate simple, quiet things, and I'm easily at peace.  It doesn't take much to entertain me and make me laugh, and since my memory isn't what it used to be, I get to enjoy the same things over and over.

Other times, there are downsides.  I can't hear a moving song without tearing up.  I can't watch TV shows or movies that have any sentiment at all without the tissues close by.  I can't even get through some of the commercials, although there are far fewer good ones these days.  When I think about how blessed I am I more often end up in a puddle than in what looks like joyous celebration.

One problem I encounter if I reflect too much is feeling like I've failed to live up to the standard of fruitful living that is commonly presented to us as Christians.  You've heard the messages..."Noah, Abraham, Joshua, David, Daniel, Deborah, Elizabeth, Mary...take your pick...was just an ordinary person like you.  He/she had faults just like you.  But when he or she surrendered fully to God, He did miraculous things, and He will do the same with you."

Will He?  Really?  He certainly may, but that choice is His alone.  I would propose that in the many centuries that people have walked with God there have been millions upon millions who surrendered their lives completely (no one perfectly) to the best of their understanding.  Only a handful of those have names that we recognize or that were ever recorded on this earth.  God has His own timing, purpose, and economy in using our lives.  Some are known and bear amazing fruit.  Others may be obscure and simply bring pleasure to His heart.

I would never weaken the argument for a complete surrender.  We must examine our hearts and keep them in a state of surrender to the Lord.  He promises that a life filled with His Holy Spirit will flow with living water, but He doesn't promise that it will be what we would call miraculously fruitful.  Maybe we need to reexamine what we think is miraculous...

The Creator of the universe becoming a baby in a manger.

The Lord of heaven living a sinless life so that He could die for our sins.

Resurrection.

Forgiveness.

Jesus giving us His Spirit to live in and through us.

A life graced with people to love and who love us.

Any measure of good health.

The privilege of prayer to an Almighty God.

A warm house and food on the table.

Opportunities to share what we've been given.

Difficulties that teach us to lean hard and trust His love.

These are the things that are miraculous.  Will a life marked by these miracles look impressive to man's eyes? Probably not, but God asks for our hearts not our efforts.  He has completed the requirements for us with His own blood.  He creates each of us for His own purpose and will complete what He has begun in us.  We should be open to possibilities, but He designed that we be free to be the people He created us each to be.  Our lives should be a good fit, with an occasional stretch, and filled with His joy and peace even in the midst of challenges.

If, like me, you sometimes feel "less than" you thought you should be, stop yourself.  Look again and see the amazing things God has done for you and in you.  You are His joy and delight, and He wants you to rejoice!  Not only at Christmas! 

Romans 9:20-21; 2 Corinthians 5:5-9; Romans 12:1-2; John 7:38; Romans 8:32;

Philippians 1:6; Galatians 4:16-18; Zephaniah 3:17; Philippians 4:4

The Light and the Dark

The world is a tough place sometimes.  We have good days and many blessings, to be sure, especially living as Christians in the United States.  But we don't have to look far to see a darker side of life around the world and here as well.  Poverty, abuse, disaster, tragedy, corruption, violence, and sin are parts of our daily exposure unless we live in a cave or a hobbit hole.  (I really wish I had a picture of my own hobbit hole right now.)

When the world and sin press in close to home, it feels much more personal.  How do we answer and live in these times?  We want to protect, and sometimes we just have a gut reaction of anger, indignation, or fear when we feel we can no longer do that.  I get it.  We want what is right and pure and holy to prevail.  And it will.  God wins.  I promise.

However, when we live by that initial reaction I think we give power away to sin and to Satan.  We, ourselves, have sinned in thought or in word and have confirmed the accusations of many who observe and judge us at that moment.  We do not participate in God's kingdom victory by our own wits and reactions.  You "Star Wars" fans remember how Luke opposed the dark side, but in opposing it, actually gave in to its influence through anger.  Suffice it to say that love and mercy must rule our hearts.

Christ is the light of the world, and if we have repented of running our own lives and given Him that place, then we are filled with His light and life.  So let's live like it.  I am speaking to myself as much as anyone else here.  We should be seeking to be filled with the Holy Spirit, enabled to live carefully and wisely, determining His will before we speak or act.  God has made every provision for us to live this way, and it's really not optional.



Speaking about the sin we see around us can become a slippery slope into our own pit of gossip, condemnation, and judgment.  Instead, God tells us to live out His light, light which exposes and overcomes darkness simply by being light.  The essentials of living out the light are blessedly few.

Keep being filled with the Holy Spirit.

Be full of joy.

Be thankful for everything and say so.

Put on Christ and His armor and stand, just stand.

Pray in the Spirit at all times,

on every occasion,

for everyone, everywhere.

Lives like that have power, His power.  They give off a fragrance that will cause some to shrink away, be repulsed, or be opposed to that power; some fear the light more than what may lurk in the familiar darkness.  Thankfully, that is not our responsibility except to pray for them.  In other lives that power and fragrance will be the first pure breath of life they have ever experienced, and they will be drawn to Christ, to light, and to freedom.  Thankfully, that is not our responsibility, either.  The Lord is perfectly capable of accomplishing exactly what He desires with our lives, but only if we let Him have His way.

Thank You, God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit, that You have provided all that we need to live Your way.  Thank You that You are never caught off guard, never wringing Your hands, and never wondering what You should do next.  You are in control of all things everywhere whether we understand them or not, and Your kingdom reigns both now and forever!  All praise to Your holy name!

Ephesians 4, 5, and 6

Promises

We were recently on a trip to Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park with Kelli's family.  Neither of us had ever been there before, and it was beautiful.  We saw lots of wildlife, especially buffalo, and the scenery was not only amazing,  but restorative.


Seeing God's beautiful creation always brings such wonder and rest

to my soul.  Another reason to love the fall, as if I needed one!

We drove through the Tetons a couple of days and each day was so different.  The first morning a few clouds cleared to a crystal clear view of the peaks.  So high, so strong, so powerful, so enduring.







Late in the day we drove back past the range along another road with a different vantage.  Heavy clouds began to move in over the ridge, dark with rain.  The tops of the peaks were obscured and you could no longer see their defining shapes as they blended into the dark clouds.  There was lightning and rain as the storm moved through with a different kind of power.

The second day lighter clouds were more settled along the tops of the mountains and the strong shapes were lost in the gray of the sky.











It's a lot like seeing God's promises.  On a clear day, free of trouble, we can see those promises of peace, strength, love, and well-being standing so tall.  They look immovable and rock solid.  We can look from different angles and see new details and wonders of God's grace, provision, and sovereignty.

Then a haze descends over the land---busyness, distraction, fatigue, poor habits, and bad patterns.  Soon clouds settle in over the peaks---sin, upheaval, chaos, monotony, or discouragement.  Our view is lower and the promises are obscured and vague.

Then comes a day when the storm comes charging over the peaks---illness, death, tragedy, grief, loss, setback, failure, betrayal, or mistreatment arrives in our lives with a power that shakes us to the core.  God's promises blur and seem to disappear as darkness swallows up the peaks, the mountains, the entire landscape, and all we can see is the storm.  "Where is God now?" we ask.  "Where are His promises?"  We look every direction and see nothing to help us focus our minds and hearts on His goodness.

Yet in all these things have the mountains moved or have God's promises changed?  No.  Even the clouds of the storm can be the approach of His feet as He draws near.  We must intentionally choose to see His presence in the storm.  We must know that He loves us, and even this storm cannot overcome His hands and feet as He draws near to hold us close.  We are under the shadow of His wings, protected, comforted, nourished, and never ever forsaken.  We must choose to stay there no matter how loudly the storm is raging.  His promises are solid, true, and real even when completely hidden from our limited sight, and they are fulfilled in His presence.  He will never leave us or forsake us.

The Hem of His Garment

The hem of His garment...the slightest touch of faith has the power to heal and restore all that is broken in us.  But how do we
approach Him?  We see Him working on behalf of others.  Their
needs seem greater than our own; should we even bother Him?
Do we come to Him with a hand stretched out in faith, trembling,
anticipating that His grace toward us will be all we need?  Or do
we hesitate and look for some guarantee that we will receive what
we want, never venturing or risking anything, carefully measuring, weighing, and counting to be sure it doesn't cost us to trust Him?

Let us be willing to receive what He knows we need with gratitude, thereby releasing the power and fragrance of Christ in our circumstance.  Healing, deliverance, or restoration can look very different in different situations.  Will we trust Christ to give to us, to be to us, exactly what we need the most?

From our perspective the physical healing seems to be the miracle, but in reading the Gospels we find that Jesus would very often forgive the sins of the sick person first and then heal to demonstrate that He had the authority to forgive.  In His view it would seem that the state of our soul takes priority over the state of our health.  We should ask for healing, but we must also be willing to repent of any sin the Lord would point out and receive His forgiveness and cleansing.

Even with my aches and pains (which are minor compared with many); I stand in far greater need of forgiveness and cleansing than I do of healing.  Father, are You using the physical maladies to point out the spiritual ones?  I tend to think the answer to my health lies in my physical state and would be remedied by physical healing.  I think I may have had it all wrong.

It now seems so clear that there is sin that I have excused to my own harm.  Self-indulgence and self-consciousness are simply parts of the self-life and are actually dead in Christ when I will reckon them so.  Focusing on me is a sin, a spiritual sickness that must be repented of, rooted out, and kicked to the curb.  I have no power whatsoever to do that, but the all-powerful blood of Jesus has overcome sin's legal hold on me.  He has purchased me back from the marketplace of sin, and His Spirit lives in me with the same power that resurrected Jesus from the dead.  The transaction has been completed; I must learn to live according to this truth.  I am fully His and need never again bow my knee to the master(s) I used to serve.

Free me, Holy Spirit, from the attachments and habits that were born in slavery that I may serve You in true freedom.  Open my eyes to see that You have accomplished all things and will keep perfecting me as I learn more and more how to yield to You in every area.

Will physical healing follow?  That I leave in Your hands.  I will continue to ask, knowing You will answer with the very best for me and for Your glory.  My desire is to serve You fully and abide in You, demonstrating Your love, bearing fruit, and praying effectively in Your name and for Your will.

I believe that my needs are important to You as I reach now for the hem of Your garment, fully assured that what You have for me will meet the need of my moment and the needs of my life.  I reach...and You are there.

Luke 9:40-48; 2 Corinthians 2:14-16; Matthew 9:1-8; James 5:14-16; Romans 6

Ephesians 1:18-21; Philippians 1:6; Ephesians 2:4-10; Galatians 5:1; John 15

A Familiar State of Affairs

The Gospels quote Jesus as saying, "If any of you wants to be My follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow Me."  Selfish is such a familiar word.  It has been around since Adam and Eve first tasted the fruit.  We've known about selfish for as long as we can remember.  From the time we and our peers discovered the concept of "mine", we have found ourselves often on both sides of that tug of war.

As we got older and our circle of acquaintances grew, we found out that some people had a particular tendency for selfishness.  They were the bullies on the playground, the kids who had to make everything about them, and the ones who needed and got all the attention.

Now that we've grown up, selfishness may be a bit more refined, but is often even more deeply ingrained in "those" people.  We can identify it in the lives of others, but we're pretty sure that we are better than that now.

What does it look like if we break down the word a little differently?  Instead of selfish, let's say self-ish.  It is something that reeks of me, anything that serves me, makes me look good, earns me respect, gets me attention, promotes my agenda, or benefits my interests.  The list would be very long.  It is impossible for us to completely purify every motive and disentangle ourselves from our self-stuff.

We can, however, turn our self-ness over to the Lord.  Matthew 11:28-30 says we should bring our burden to the Lord (turn from our selfish ways), take His yoke (take up your cross) which is custom made for Him and each of us to wear together.  We let Him lead and pull the weight (follow Him) finding rest for our souls.  He will be faithful to show us when we fall into serving  ourselves if we have surrendered our wills completely to His.  We give up our lives for His sake and we gain a life saved to something far higher and bigger than we could have ever imagined.  Let's help each other serve His ways over our own.

Mark 8:34-36; Luke 9:23-25; Matthew 11:28-30

When the North Wind Blows

Here in Iowa we know about wind.  Almost every day the wind is a substantial component of our weather, at least during the daylight hours.  Overnight it may settle down, but during the day you better plan on holding onto whatever is in your hands.  We don't get too excited about how hard it blows until it begins approaching 30-35 miles per hour.  Those are the days we call windy.  If you have a flag or a kite there's a very good chance you will be able to watch it fly on most days.

The kind of wind that really gets our attention is a cold north wind.  On any given winter day with a cold north wind blowing, the countryside is spotted with cattle and horses living in the open.  They stand facing south, their backs to the biting wind.  Their response is a reflex to protect themselves.

It's the same reflex we employ when we are threatened.  It may be a cold north wind, a driving rain, a possibility of danger or injury, a painful relationship, even a hurtful word, or an unexpected betrayal. When we face these things our first reflex is to turn our backs, literally or relationally.  We shield our faces and our vulnerable feelings from the attack and harshness that we encounter by turning away, covering up, putting up walls, withdrawing, avoiding, and even ending relationships.

We've all been there.  Your friend suddenly cut ties with no explanation.  The person you trusted betrayed your confidence and blamed you.  Someone embarrassed you with your past and seemed to think it was entertaining.  Tragedy hit, sickness entered, financial plans fell through, your integrity was questioned, the storms of life have hit, and you want to defend yourself.

There is a better way.  Living in Christ, the truth is that we are covered front and rear from every assault of every kind.  We have been given the belt of truth to hold us steady and the breastplate of righteousness to protect us where we're vulnerable.  Our shield of faith and helmet of salvation defend our hearts and minds from being misled and deceived about who we are and how much God loves us.  The word of God and prayer help us hear from God and give us truth to measure all other things by.  The Lord Himself both goes before us and is our rear guard defending us from what we cannot see, from the attacks that try to sneak up on us or invade full force from our blind side.  These attacks must come though Him before they can touch us, and if He allows them He causes them to work for our good even when we can't see it right away.

If we insist on defending and protecting ourselves, we are the only defense we have.  We have stepped out from under His shelter and protection and we are limited to our own wits and devices.  We can rest, instead, in the knowledge that our Lord is in control of even the things that make no sense to us.  He treasures our willingness to walk where we cannot see with only the touch of His hand and the light we need for the next step.  We need to help and support one another when these challenges come by praying that we walk in God's truth and trust in His love.  We must encourage each other to trust that He loves us in the face of all evidence to the contrary, and pray.  Pray for all.  Pray hard.  Pray long.

Isaiah 52:12; Isaiah 58:8; Ephesians 6:14-18; Romans 8:26-28; Luke 21:14-15;

2 Corinthians 10:17-18; Psalm 28:6-9

FRESH WIND

There's a song by Keith Staten titled "Such Joy", and there's a line in the song that goes like this:  "There's a joy no bounds can hold when the Spirit blows a fresh wind through my soul."  I love that.

Lord, blow a fresh wind through my soul.  

Open the windows, all the entry points to my soul:

the senses--the sight, smell, taste, hearing, and touch, and the thoughts.

Lord, open and clear them by Your Spirit of all the debris.

Clear the dust of compromise, the secret corners that are dark,

the webs of self-interest and self-obsession,

the entanglements that steal my time,

the stale air of my own perspective.

I give Your Spirit free reign over mine, today, right now.

It is a choice I must make every moment.

My Spirit answers like a rushing wind, unleashing prayer with power according to My will.  Pray.  Love.  Pray.  Each moment that you choose My Spirit's rule over yours will have the potential to change you and the world around you.  Pray My word over this world and be a participant in My sovereign kingdom.  Today, right now, moment by moment.

WIND OF THE SPIRIT

We've had rain; now we have wind,

an amazing and powerful force.

We hear it.

We feel it.

We see its effects.

The wind blows, but we cannot know

where it blows from or where it blows to...

...So is everyone who is born of Me, the Holy Spirit.  My presence in the life of My child is a mystery.  How did I come?  Where do I go?  How do I lead?  When do I speak?  Yet when I move in power it is like the wind which, though itself unseen, is unmistakable in its effects.  Do not hide yourself from My work by trying to remain sheltered in your religion and your safe ideas about who I am and how I do things.

It is My desire to not simply take up residence in your life and give you holy little nudges and warm fuzzy feelings.  I am the HOLY Spirit, and I would make you holy, as well.  It is My desire to burn away the chaff and useless trappings that collect in your heart and life.  I would have you full of My word and dressed in My armor to be a warrior in prayer, unafraid to ask, seeking for My will, and knocking until I answer.

I am your only source of love and compassion for the world around you.  I see every need, know every thought, and catch every tear in the lives you encounter day by day.  Do not jump to your own conclusions, but look to Me and know My heart for that person.  What you discern from Me is shown to you so that you may pray, never so that you may judge.  If you fall into a spirit of judging, you will no longer hear from Me with regard to that situation, and you will be deceived, having given Satan a foothold.  He is a clever and scheming enemy, and your only place of refuge is Me.  Let your heart constantly behold My face, and you will be able to test every thought and know whether it comes from Me, from yourself, from the world, or from the very pit of hell.  Any thought that does not come from Me is to be tossed aside and replaced with the truth of My word.

As your Comforter and Teacher, I will guide you in every area of your life, whether big or small.  There will be those holy little nudges, and you must never ignore them.  They are the key to your future usefulness in My kingdom, for if you are faithful in little I will entrust you with much.  Do not turn away from a path I lay before your feet because you are afraid you are unable to make the journey.  You are never intended to do anything in your own strength, and I will be faithful to do through your life all that My will intends.  It will be My work, My strength, My resurrection power working through a broken, but surrendered, vessel.

Let us go now into the unknown together.  Each day is an adventure and full of opportunities to see My hand at work.  Live with a present awareness of Me and be filled with thanksgiving.

John 3:6-8; 1 Peter 1:14-16; Ephesians 6:10-18; Matthew 7:7-8; Ephesians 4:20-32;

2 Corinthians 2:6-11; 2 Corinthians 10:3-6; Matthew 25:21; John 15:5;

2 Corinthians 4:7-18; Colossians 2:6-7

It's Done!

Our kitchen remodel project is done!  This is our kitchen "before".

We started tearing out the cabinets on February 4.

And a few days later it looked like this:

Next came the new ceiling.

Then things changed quickly!

New lights and face frames were installed.

Staining was done and under-cabinet lighting made the room start to feel beautiful!

We painted the walls a gray-brown color and added a lit china cupboard.

Doors and drawer fronts were next.  What a huge difference!

Countertop and then tile...we're getting close!

Sometimes it's the little things...something old....

Something new.

And finally the floor!

A few more after shots!

We can't say enough good things about our contractor, Mike Martin!  He was awesome!  Thanks to Brad (again)...what would our house be like without his help??  I want to especially thank Jon for all his hard work and careful attention to make sure everything worked out the way we wanted!  Love you so much!  Of course our biggest thanks to God for His many blessings...especially the ones we can't see...His presence, His love, His provision of Himself to meet every need and face every challenge!  To Him be all the glory!