name='verify-v1'/> Big God - little d: March 2011

Saturday, March 26, 2011

I Want You

"Now I am ready to visit you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you, because what I want is not your possessions but you." - 2 Corinthians 12:14

Two different friends asked for prayer today. In both situations, the Lord led me to 2 Corinthians 12:14. Paul is speaking to the people of Corinth, assuring them of his intentions.

I
don't want what you have; I want you.

Is that not God's heart cry to all of His beloved?

I want you.

Three words that speak volumes. Three words that reassure us that we are His focus...not what we have, not what we do, not what we think...but us.

With God relationship is everything.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Entertaining Angels

"In my distress I called to the LORD;
I cried to my God for help.
From his temple He heard my voice;
my cry came before Him, into His ears."--Psalm 18:6 (NIV)

The small chapel, located on the top of the cruise ship, was warm with filtered sunlight. I sat next to a family member and listened, as she poured out a heart heavy with grief and anger. Before long, the air was thick with the suffocating combination of heavy emotions and tropical heat.

My words of comfort fell on ears, too wounded to hear. The situation was on a downward spiral and I didn't know what to do.

Lord, help!

Moments later, the chapel door opened. An elderly woman slowly shuffled in, barging headfirst into what was, clearly, an emotional and private moment. She apologized even as she continued heading for the front of the room, all the while maintaining a running dialogue...

"Am I interrupting? I'm sorry I just had to come here. I'm 80+ years old. I've had cancer in my arm. See how it is all swollen up? God has seen me through. I didn't even know if I was going to be able to go on this cruise. I just had to come up here and sing. I've had other health issues. I shouldn't even be alive, right now, but I am. I just needed to come up here and sing a song to God. He is so good, isn't He? Sometimes you just have to sing, don't you?"

At which point, she stood behind the lectern, hung on for dear life, and began belting out an old hymn of praise and faith that completely captivated me and the one I sat alongside. One verse after another, her voice was sure and strong as she sang of God's love and goodness. Unabashed joy and love were all over her face. I sat and wept at the beauty of her faith, my companion in tears, as well. It was an incredible moment of worship for all of us.

When her song was over, we thanked her for sharing her story and her song with us. Picking up her monologue, right where she had left off, she shuffled for the door. Her voice was cut off as the swinging door closed behind her.

Both of us smiling, we sat in stunned, delighted silence. The air in the room was cool and fresh, as if a strong wind had blown through and cleaned house. Half-kidding, half-serious, my companion offered up a thought,

"Surely she was an angel. I wouldn't be surprised if she never shows up anywhere else on this boat."

Neither one of us ever saw her again.

"Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!" --Hebrews 13:2 (NLT)

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Car Seats

"Let all that I am wait quietly before God,
for my hope is in Him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress where I will not be shaken.
My victory and honor come from God alone.
He is my refuge,
a rock where no enemy can reach me.
O my people, trust in Him at all times.
Pour out your heart to Him
for God is our refuge."
--Psalm 62:5-8

Four days without feasting on Your Word.

Four days without writing any of it down.

Not because there hasn't been time...

but because I made the choice
not to spend time with You.

In those four days...
my spirit has lost its balance,
my vision has lost its focus,
my prayers have dried up,
my dreams are disturbed.

I have forgotten the sound of Your whisper.

Forgive me, Lord, I pray.
Life without You is not worth living.

And yet even as I long for Your Presence another part of me resists being still.

It reminds me of those times when my children were small and refused to be strapped into their carseats. I was always amazed at their show of strength and dismayed when I had to physically restrain them against their will. In those moments, it was not possible to reason with my children. The choice was to forcibly bodymold them into compliance or not go. With three small children and a limited amount of patience, I became an expert at bodymolding.

As much as I am embarrassed to admit it, I am in a similar place with God. The car is ready for the journey yet I refuse to get in. God will not strap me into the seat against my will. He waits for me to yield my will to His.

He waits.

For me.

Again, and again, and again.

I am ashamed to think of how much time I have wasted, over the course of my life, by not getting in the car.

For this day, I make the decision to ride with Him.

It's going to be a good day.

Just one request:

Can we ride with the top down?

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Denial

Peter swore, "A curse on me if I'm lying -- I don't know this man you're talking about!" And immediately the rooster crowed the second time.

Suddenly, Jesus' words flashed through Peters' mind: "Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you even know me." And he broke down and wept. -- Mark 14:71-72
(NLT)

It is a part of our faith journey -- denying the One we love.

Peter had been told in advance that it would happen yet he couldn't imagine ever doing such a thing. Like Peter, do I naively think that my love for Jesus is enough to keep me from denying Him? The answer is yes far more often than I would like to admit.

Am I living in such a way that there is room for the Holy Spirit to speak course-correcting words of direction and truth into my life?

And when I do hear His whisper convicting me of my waywardness, what is my response?

Am I brokenhearted, like Peter? (v. 72)
Or do I, like Judas Iscariot, pretend all is well by greeting Him with a kiss? (Mark 14:45)