My Prayer for Us

I began writing this letter for a friend and then I realized that I needed to hear these things as much (or more) than she did. Later it occurred to me that maybe there were more than just the two of us, so I’m sending it to all of us.

Merry Christmas!
*****

Dear One.

I pray that you will come to see and love and appreciate the person that those around you see and love and appreciate. God CHOSE YOU to live and declare His works and bring Him glory. He did NOT make a mistake. He loves you with a love that is so intense, it moved Him to give His greatest gift ever. But that gift is much bigger than you think. Jesus did not die simply to save us from the horrors of hell, as enormous as that gift is. He died to give us life.

A full and complete life - Now
A life that is reconciled to God the Father- Now
A life that is free of the bondage of sin and the darkness of this world- Now
A life that is filled to overflowing with love

Love that flows from the heart of the Father, encompassing our own hearts, covering those closest to us, and spilling over to everyone we encounter. Not our own love, but His love flowing through us.

Considering all this, I encourage you to think twice before you throw this love back in His face.
Before you hoard your love
Before you refuse to obey His commandments
Before you abuse your body in any way
Before you speak with less than love – to anyone, including yourself

Now, lest you misunderstand, I am not talking about elevating yourself in a prideful way or being selfish. I am talking about respect. I am talking about applying the Golden Rule in both directions.

“And as ye would that men should do to you,
do ye also to them likewise.”
Luke 6:31

If you would never treat the people you love in a harsh or demanding way, then don’t treat yourself that way either. And if you would not demand such a high level of perfection from yourself, don’t demand it of others- family, friends or strangers.

Jesus great gift of love grows as we use it. Embrace it fully and share it with everyone you meet. Let Him set you free.

With much love,

Your dear friend

What is God Preparing?

Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah.

And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Jonah 1:17

How long did it take to grow this fish? It is possible that God had been dealing with Jonah’s rebellion for a long time. It is possible that this struggle began in Jonah’s childhood and grew unchecked through the years. However long it had been, God knew Jonah’s heart and He knew that it would take something drastic, painful and extraordinary to break through Jonah’s rebellion and bring him to his knees.
Even though God had prepared the fish, in his mercy He gave Jonah one last chance to repent before He lowered the big guns. He sent a storm to rock Jonah’s boat. A storm so great that the seasoned sailors on the boat were afraid for their lives. Even as Jonah acknowledged his sin and it was revealed to the men on board, he refused to repent of it.
When Jonah was thrown into the sea and the water covered him and the waves broke over his head and the wind and the sea battered him mercilessly, he refused to repent. When the fish came along at the exact moment and the exact place where Jonah was and swallowed him – ate him alive- he refused to repent.
Jonah was given opportunity after opportunity to repent and obey God but he refused. The worldly sailors recognized God’s sovereignty and did as God required. Even the fish obeyed God and fulfilled its assignment to swallow up Jonah. But Jonah, a prophet of God, refused to bend his will to that of the God he served.
Now Jonah is inside the belly of the great fish. It is dark. Totally black. The sounds are all unknown and frightening- gurglings, rumblings, the splashing and thrashing of other sea creatures as they struggle against the acid pool’s death grip. There is no place to sit, no place to lie down, no place to stand. There is no place of rest or relief. The acid burns his skin, his eyes, his nose, his throat. The stench is overwhelming. His own retching contributes to the foul brew.
Hour after hour Jonah struggles to stay alive in a situation that is uncompromising. The muscles of the whale’s belly contract, churning the contents. The other creatures writhe and moan and lash out, fighting and biting and stinging each other and Jonah. Seaweed wraps itself around Jonah’s arms and legs dragging him beneath the acid’s surface. It wraps itself around his head cutting off what little air he can breathe. From time to time a new influx of salt water and sea life is added to the mix. New creatures to try to avoid or fight with. Salt water that sears the openings in Jonah’s flesh that the fish’s stomach acids have opened up. There is no relief. There is no water to ease the parched searing throat. There is no water to wash away the bile that continues to rise up as the odors overcome him.
A day of horror passes and then a night. Jonah’s clothes begin to deteriorate. Jonah realizes that there will be no rescue. He will die here, alone in the belly of this fish. But still he refuses to repent.
A second day and a second night pass. The burning is relentless. There is not a place on Jonah’s body that does not scream out in pain. Pain that is intense, searing and raw. What skin he has is either raw red or bleached white and his clothes are almost gone. He has bloody open sores all over his body. Anger rises up within him. This is so unfair! How could God allow this to happen to him? To him! He was a prophet of God! Those wicked people of Nineveh did not deserve God’s mercy or grace! THEY deserved punishment, not him! But no, instead, here he was, a man of God, suffering a vile and unspeakable death. God was NOT being fair! He cried out in anger to God. He railed against the unjustness of God. But he did not repent.
The third day passes. The anger drains from Jonah as exhaustion overtakes him. God gently begins to remind Jonah of his own not so perfect past. Events come to Jonah’s mind of his failure to obey God. Time, after time, after time. Of God’s mercy and grace toward Jonah even as he rebelled. Times when Jonah should have died but was spared. Times when Jonah’s actions and words caused pain to those around him. Times when his self-righteousness kept others from turning to God.
As the third night passes Jonah’s internal pain begins to match his external pain. He sees his own wickedness through God’s eyes. He sees his sin in the light of God’s holiness. Finally, seeing the end of his life near and fearful of facing God in disobedience, he cries out for forgiveness, repenting of his sin.
And the great, merciful, ever-loving God does a miraculous thing. He releases that fish from its assignment and causes it to give up the contents of its stomach. At just the right time and just the right place to put Jonah on dry land.

(Expanded from a teaching by Dr. Ed J. MacWilliams)

How much of Jonah’s story is a reflection of our own? What will God have to prepare for us, to bring us to a place of repentance? What will it take for us to turn to God with our whole heart?

What will He have to do in me?

Adjusting Focus

Something I ate yesterday is not pleased with me, so I adjusted my plans for the day to accommodate the situation and came to my computer for a bit of encouragement. (And, because I can sit here and not feel like the whole day is being wasted because I don't have the energy to move around.)
Yesterday and today, Nancy Leigh DeMoss at Revive Our Hearts broadcast excerpts of a talk given by a young Canadian woman named Rachel Barkey. Rachel was a breast cancer survivor who has recently found that the cancer has returned with a vengeance. This time there is no cure.Her courage and candor are truly inspiring. Makes my tiny trial seem insignificant by comparison.

You can watch or listen to her complete talk here:
http://deathisnotdying.com/

Or read or listen to the excerpts here:

PART ONE:
http://www.reviveourhearts.com/radio/roh/today.php?pid=10243

PART TWO:
http://www.reviveourhearts.com/radio/roh/today.php?pid=10245


I promise it will be worth your time.

We Esteemed Him Not

"He is despised and rejected of men;

a man of sorrows,

and acquainted with grief:

and we hid as it were our faces from him;

he was despised,

and we esteemed him not."

Isaiah 53:3

I've been in this verse for 2 days now and that last line keeps playing through my mind today. "we esteemed Him not"

We, as a group and as individuals, did not value Him, the Son of God, who was born specifically to die as a payment for our (my) sins. Even after all that He went through- being despised and rejected, filled with sorrow (over my sins?), acquainted with grief- even after all of that, we hid our faces from Him, we turned away and did not value Him or hold Him in high regard.

Isaiah is speaking of a future time from the one in which he lives, to the time when Christ would actually walk on this earth and the reaction of the people of that time to Him. I find it interesting, though, that he is also describing perfectly the reaction of the people of our own day as well. As a society at large we still turn our faces away from Him and do not value Him or hold Him in high regard.

It is not too surprising that those who do not know the Lord would not value Him. The question is, do those who DO know Him, truly value Him? Do I? This is what has been haunting me today. Do I live in a way that demonstrates that I value Jesus and all that He has done for me? Do I really? How is this played out in my daily life? If I say that I am in relationship with Christ do my actions reflect that assertion?

I have a few close human relationships. In order to maintain them I must spend time with those people on a regualr basis. I must talk to them, sharing my experiences and my thoughts with them. I must also listen to them, sharing in their experiences and hearing their thoughts and opinions on things. I study them, learning the things that they like and don't like so that I can please them- giving them gifts that will bring them pleasure and steering clear of things that might hurt, offend, annoy or anger them. If I do something that wounds our relationship, I seek out their forgiveness and work to repair and restore the closeness that we had before. I think about them even when I am not with them and look forward to being with them again.

If I do these things with the humans in my life and if I value my relationship with Jesus, shouldn't I be doing these same kinds of things to build my relationship with Him?

Do I spend time with Him alone on a regular basis?

Do I talk to Him, sharing my life and my heart with Him?

Do I listen to Him?

Do I read His letters to me, learning more about Him and His likes and dislikes?

Do I strive to please Him?

Do I look for opportunities to give to Him?

Do I give regularly of my time, my talents and my resources?

Am I careful not to hurt, offend, annoy or anger Him?

If I do any of these things am I quick to seek His forgiveness and work to restore our closeness?

Do I think about Him even when I am not specifically spending time with Him?

Am I conscious of His presence with me every moment of every day?

Do I esteem Him, value Him and hold Him in high regard?