But Why?

            When I was in college, Algebra took every ounce of energy I had and still managed to confuse me!  I studied and did all the homework, yet nights would often end in tears because I just couldn’t understand it!  Thankfully, my daughters came to the rescue.  One lived in South Carolina and we would spend an hour or more on the telephone nearly every day I had Math just getting through my homework and doing practice problems.  She would ask, “Okay, Mom, what’s the first step?”  Most of the time I could answer correctly, and sometimes even when she asked, “What’s next?” I again could answer.  But most of the time I would either mess up the order of operations or forget a necessary step to get the right answer.  I found I could, however, count on her or my younger daughter to work with me over and over again until I finally got a handle on what I was doing.  The most frustrating part was it just didn’t seem to make sense.  I kept asking, “But why….?”   I finally accepted the fact that “why” wasn’t the most important element in the math problem, it was following the steps to get the right answer!

            Our lives with Christ can sometimes be like that!  We keep trying to go through life doing everything on our own.  We don’t consider that Christ knows much better than we, how to handle every circumstance that occurs.  We dive in with both feet, often splashing at life, like the water when it’s hit, in every direction.  We create a monsoonal effect on situations that don’t even need waves.  Then the waves have a ripple effect like water currents in areas that didn’t even need to get wet and then wonder why our life feels like an angry ocean!

            So what is the secret to being successful?  I believe it’s a matter of keeping focused on Christ.  As humans it is so easy to get distracted with all life hands us day in and day out with work, raising children and trying to make ends meet;  not to mention the media bombardment, sports and video games, TV, individual hobbies and any other thing that steals our time and attention away from Christ.

            It is necessary to bring our focus back to what is important.  When we are focused on Christ, even if life hands us lemons we are better able to make “lemonade!”  We are called to run the race for Christ, not stop and not give up.  Like the little ones racing for whatever the prize is in the photograph, we are to keep looking forward to our prize which includes blessings here on Earth while we wait for His return and then the eternal rewards when we join Him in heaven.

            It is in this arena where we are truly successful.  Ultimately, everything we earn here will stay here.  All our efforts in this lifetime, will lose their importance when we pass on.  Fame, money, material goods or anything else of this world is just that: of this world, and has no place in heaven.   I worked intently to get good grades in college but it’s what I do with my life for Christ that matters, not whether or not I earned the desired A in a math class.

            As the new year closes in, are you ready to commit your life to running the race for Jesus?  It’s the best New Year’s resolution you could make! And it is the one resolution that could have everlasting rewards.  It is the “secret to success!”  If you’ve never given your life to Christ, I encourage you to do that now.  Make 2013 the best it can be.

            Happy New Year everyone!

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;  in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.   Proverbs 3:5-6

Fly To Jesus

            A friend of mine said recently, “I tried to fly to Jesus, but He wasn’t ready for me yet.”  She had been in the hospital with a kidney stone and the medications they put her on for the procedures planned, sent her in full respiratory arrest. By God’s grace she made it through the process and was finally released from the hospital.  

            Her reflection included a heartfelt thank you to Jesus, along with the acknowledgement that while she would love to have been with Him, she accepted the fact that He felt her husband and children needed her here, a while longer.  The experience left her with a new perspective.

            Our faith is often tested in ways we can’t even imagine, and if our choices aren’t the right ones we can suffer awful repercussions.  We are a people of free will, but each choice, good or bad has consequences.  Our responses and behaviors affect those immediately around us and often well beyond our little circle of family or friends.  And when we are faced with a trial, the impact of our behaviors can have far greater effect on non-believers than it does on believers.  

            As Christians we are constantly being scrutinized to see if we really “walk the walk” every day or if we are another who just lives our Christian life on the Sabbath.  Do we “live in Him” from day to day, or only when it’s convenient or when we are trying to make an impression?

            When Jesus walked the earth, he lived a life that caused quite a commotion.   He went against the grain.  While professing to be the Son of God and the King of the Jews and even describing his Kingdom, he wasn’t what people imagined or expected.  He was kind and gentle rather than aggressive and domineering.  He loved people; all people, regardless of their station in life.  He was the perfect example of what we should be.  He taught us how we should live and even now gives us the strength to follow his example.  

            Christmas is upon us.  Jesus came as a tiny, humble child with the purpose of becoming the perfect sacrifice for a sinful world.  Do you know Him today?  Are you prepared to “fly to Jesus?”  If not, I encourage you to accept the greatest gift ever known:  The Messiah, the Christ Child, Our Savior, Jesus Christ.

            I wish each one a Blessed and Merry Christmas.  Hold your loved ones near and draw close to the Risen Savior. 

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him,  rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.  Colossians 2:6-7

No Promise of Tomorrow

This past weekend we learned of another rampage of violence beyond comprehension forced on an elementary school that took the lives of twenty innocent children and six adults.  How does this happen?  It makes no sense at any level.  It proves again, that no one is promised another day; and sadly, that even includes our young ones.  Each moment, every person is at risk of taking his last breath which makes the need to live life doing the very best we can, even more important.  We can plan and have expectations, but the finished plan or product is not promised!

            One of my sisters is a planner.  She delights in planning the details necessary for having a successful event.  I on the other hand, make a list, but I’m not sure it qualifies as a “real plan!”  I tend to ignore the details until near the time needed for completion.  I suppose in some ways this makes me less of a good hostess than she, when entertaining!  

            While I’m probably not the best hostess in the world, I do make plans, but they are more cleaning or sewing plans, or a plan to read a list of books, or subjects to study.  That probably makes me a little odd, but my “to-do” list is quite lengthy, which means I rarely ever complete my list!  So the unfinished item is added to the next day’s list if it’s really important, or it just gets bumped off the list completely until I can wrangle enough time to do it.

            I wonder if our Christian lives aren’t treated that way sometimes, too.  I have a Bible study and prayer list that I try to commit to every day.  But there are days when it just doesn’t happen; like those days when I have to leave the house particularly early.  I never allow enough time to get both of those items done before I leave and I’ve found that if I don’t do them first thing in the morning, other priorities capitalize on my time.

            Our lives have such a small time line in the whole scheme of things.  So what we do really needs to matter.  I admit that my Spiritual priorities get really messed up when I allow life to dictate what is important.  Jesus came those many years ago with a purpose.  His priority was my salvation; and he paid the ultimate price with his life.  So how relevant is my “cleaning” list next to my Spiritual list?  What matters most is the time I spend with my Lord and Savior.  I can’t have a relationship with Him, if I don’t follow through with my “planned” quiet time to study His word and pray, which is as intimate as it gets!  What better way to grow in spiritual maturity?  What other way is there?  It doesn’t just happen any more than my dishes get clean if I don’t wash them.  There is a process and the course of action I take is a clear indicator where my heart is!

 

            There is also the priority of telling the ones you care about that you love them.  Life is indeed short and none of us is promised another moment.  Prepare yourself spiritually this Advent season, allowing the Messiah to govern your life.  Follow that by drawing your loved ones near and hold them close to your heart.  This moment may be all you have.

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.  Proverbs 27:1

To Be A Butterfly

It’s a busy time of year, and I for one, seem unable to stay caught up.  There is always another thing that must be done and my timeline keeps growing smaller and smaller.  

As I contemplate all we attempt to accomplish in our little worlds, I realize there is something so much more important than I can ever accomplish.  All the accolades, for things I’ve accomplished, from friends, family and those who don’t know me, pale next to the Savior’s birth, and what He did through His death on the cross and resurrection.  Christmas and Easter are so tightly combined; it’s sometimes hard to know where one stops and the other starts.   The tiny baby that came so many years ago came with a purpose.  He was all God, yet all man.  He came to bring salvation to a dying world, which he accomplished with his death and resurrection that first Easter.

We are each given a purpose on earth.  That’s why we were born, to accomplish great things, even though they may seem small in our mere existence.  We were born to spread the gospel and further the Kingdom.  Isn’t that Christmas?  Aren’t we celebrating the birth of the Messiah who accomplished his purpose: providing the means of salvation by grace?  

I heard a story recently about two caterpillars and a butterfly.  The caterpillars saw the beautiful butterfly fly over them and one said to the other, “You’re not getting me up in that!”  Of course the caterpillar was completely confused considering he would one day be a beautiful butterfly!  Often, I believe we spend our lives afraid of what we might become if we step out on faith with our gifts much like the caterpillar!  We have the potential to live our life like the beautiful butterfly when we are in Christ.  But we cheat ourselves because we don’t make a commitment first to Christ with our life; and then even when we do, we tend to hold back and not utilize the talents and abilities we’ve been given.

There is much to be thankful for in each of our lives, even if we have no material things to show for it.  If we have the love of Jesus, then we have everything we need.  Our lives are but a whisper in the whole scheme of things.  The “glory” we receive here is nothing compared to the glory we will enjoy eternally if we know Jesus.  We are being prepared for something much greater.  Is your heart ready for His joy and glory?  Are you living life like the caterpillar, afraid and fearful or are you like the butterfly who chooses to be transformed in Christ, so you can soar?

As we near Christmas, I hope you will focus on the Christ Child, Immanuel, God with us, and recognize that if your life is committed to Him, you can, through faith, do great things with your gifts and experience life like never before!

1 Peter 1:24-25  For, "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,  but the word of the Lord stands forever." And this is the word that was preached to you.

Be Beautiful

            I remember in college an assignment where the professor said, “You can do your project on any topic you like,” and then further commented that other than the standard works cited page and other normal requirements, we didn’t have any further specific instructions.  I can tell you that threw me for a loop!  I was very concerned with the required page length, did she want an outline, a first draft, or any other particulars about topics.  I was terrified I would do it wrong, or at minimum, not include something that was considered important, at least by any other professor.

            The professor held her ground, even though we as a class, pressed for more instruction. Ambiguity in that situation unraveled me!  Instructors always gave specifics leaving little or no doubt to their expectations.  How could I write a paper without specifics?

            Sometimes we approach our lives in the same manner.  Because we have no specific rules or guidelines to gauge our interest, career choice, or other important circumstances we are faced with, daily decisions become difficult and murky, causing us to flounder, wondering what in the world we do next.  What can I do that matters?  We find we have interests in one area, but it doesn’t last long because the importance diminishes over time.  So we try something new and again find our concentration only lasts a short while, before we’re jetting off and trying yet another pursuit.

            We each have something special to share, a gift if you will, that only we can sustain and fulfill the way God designed.  I have what I consider a beautiful Christmas cactus.  It sits on my counter most of the year looking like nothing more than an ordinary cactus; but every year, near late November, I begin to see blooms.  I am awed as I watch this “plain cactus” transform into a thing of beauty.  We are in the Christmas season and like the Christmas cactus we have the ability to change our “plain lives” into something beautiful for God.

Complacency causes doubts even if we know what to do, and find we get off track.  So I ask you, do you celebrate with the beautiful gifts God has given you?  We are to obey Him and make wise decisions with our gifts.  He wants our best, which makes us beautiful, just like the cactus, rather than giving our leftovers, when we are too tired to even think!

  As we continue in this Advent season, a time when God gave us his Son, I suggest you ask yourself, “What did I give Him this week?”   I urge you to give your best and be beautiful!

Ephesians 5:15-17  Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.