I hope you all had a very happy Thanksgiving and are enjoying a day off with your families! Rest, relax, and recover from all that turkey you ate yesterday. And since I’m from Texas, how about them Cowboys?!?!?
Monthly Archive for November, 2008
I started reading the book of Psalms from the Old Testament of the Bible during my prayer time. This morning the following verse from Chapter 18 just leapt off the page:
“God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.”
I thought that sounded so beautifully poetic. Can’t you just picture your heart opening up to God and allowing God to rewrite your life story? It reminds me that God doesn’t force his way into our lives. Our loving God doesn’t make us change against our will. God simply waits until we open our hearts, until we open the door, and we give God permission to transform us.
If you’re sitting there today feeling like you have no hope, like your situation will never change, I want to encourage you. Just open the book of your lives to God’s eyes. God loves you, no matter where you’ve been or what you’ve done. He’s witnessed it all and still loves you. Today take that first step to allow God to touch your heart and help rewrite your life story.
“I admit to living in hopeful anticipation that God will raise the dead, both the good and the bad.” (from the book of Acts, Chapter 24, in the New Testament of the Bible)
The parents of 2 of my daughter’s best friends have died in the past 2 months. One was a father, the other a mother. One was 49 years old, the other I’m not sure but probably around the same age. One was Jewish; the other Christian. One suffered from being bi-polar and the other suffered from a recent diagnosis of cancer. Both leave behind a spouse and one child who’s a freshman in college and another who’s a sophomore in high school.
I will never understand the reasons persons in the prime of their lives or children, for that matter, are struck down with life-threatening, sometimes life-ending, diseases. It seems so unfair. I know if my spouse were to die unexpectedly and I was left on my own, it would be difficult to go on. I, too, have one child who’s a college freshman and another who’s a sophomore in high school. It would be challenging, to say the least.
I was thinking about these things when I read the words at the top during my prayer time yesterday. You see, even though my immediate gut reaction, my initial perspective may be that the unexpected death of a loved one is unreasonable and hard and may even test my faith, I would still have a hope in God. That’s what happened when my beloved father died almost 19 years ago at what I believe was a young age. I missed my dad terribly, but I never forgot that our gracious God did not leave me on my own. And I took comfort in the fact that God does indeed raise the dead. I will see my dad and my loved ones again.
Whatever struggles you are dealing with today, I encourage you to live your life in hopeful anticipation. God wants you to keep going, to keep living, to never give up. Our loving God wants you to know today that no matter what happens, no matter what you’re facing, God is with you. Let that fact bring you comfort and hope in all the days ahead.
It’s been such a great day so far. I spent the morning at Ridglea United Methodist Church preaching at both of their worship services. One man came up to me after the late service and said, “You really looked like you were enjoying yourself up there.” I really was. In fact I told the man, “It was a blast!”
Any time I am given the opportunity to get up and tell a group of people about the love of Christ, it’s a wonderful day. I am so glad that we live in a country where I am free to do that and don’t have to worry about being physically harmed or hauled off to jail for my beliefs. I am really glad I am part of a denomination that allows me as a woman to go out and preach the Word. A denomination that affirms that God has given us all different gifts for ministry and that I have as much right to proclaim the Word of God as a man does. I just feel so happy right now that God has entrusted me as a spokesperson for Christ that I want to shout from the top of my lungs to all who will listen, “Jesus loves you! Jesus forgives you! God will never abandon you!”
I have to say it again. What a wonderful day!
I just finished reviewing the sermon I’ll be preaching this Sunday. It’s entitled “Get in the Game.” I’m assuming most of you won’t be traveling to Ridglea United Methodist Church to hear me preach, so I won’t be spoiling anything by talking about it here. My message is about doing what God wants us to do and how we oftentimes like to pretend we don’t hear God, or we make excuses, or we negotiate with God. Sometimes we want to do anything else in the world EXCEPT what God wants.
Is it because we’re afraid? We feel inadequate? We don’t want to change the status quo? We all have our reasons.
A famous pastor named Andy Stanley says that our maturity as Christians is gauged not so much by contemplation but by application. By that standard it seems that it’s not as important what we think as it is what we do. I read something once that said we Christians spend so much time arguing over whether a whale really swallowed Jonah when this time would be better spent feeding the hungry, visiting the sick and imprisoned, welcoming the stranger, etc. In other words, a little less contemplation and a lot more application is called for. What do you think about that?
Whatever your reasons for not going out and doing what God wants, please remember this. God never says go, do, without also adding, “I’ll go with you.” So don’t be afraid. You’re not alone.
I read an article recently about the dream of Bishop Wesley Frensdorff (I have no idea who he is). I won’t type the whole thing here, but let me share some of the highlights for me.
“Let us dream of a church where worship is lively and fun as well as reverent and holy; and we might be moved to dance and laugh; to be solemn, cry, or beat the breast. A church affirming life over death as much as life after death, unafraid of change, able to recognize God’s hand in the revolutions, affirming the beauty of diversity, abhorring the imprisonment of uniformity, as concerned about love in all relationships as it is about chastity. A church without the answers, but asking the right questions; holding law and grace, freedom and authority, faith and works in tension, by the Holy Spirit pointing to the glorious mystery who is God.”
“Let us dream of a church with a ministering community rather than a community gathered around a minister. Let us dream of a church that it really would be missed if no longer around. Its worship, its quality of caring, its eagerness to reach out to those in need cannot be contained. A community: an open, caring, sharing household of faith where all find embrace, acceptance, and affirmation.”
“Let us dream of a people called to recognize all the absurdities in ourselves and in one another, including the absurdity that is LOVE, serious about the call and the mission, but not, very much, about ourselves, who, in the company of our Redeemer can dance and sing and laugh and cry in worship, in ministry, and even in conflict.”
This is my dream for New Day.
In case you’ve forgotten (like you would really forget), today is election day! Get out and vote if you haven’t done so already. I am so excited about this historic election. Some people are very concerned about the outcome. My junk email box can attest to that. But you know what? Regardless of the outcome, we can trust God to be faithful to us. Like I always say, tomorrow when all is said and done, God will still cause the sun to rise. You just never know what the new day will bring!