When we want to know and love someone, and in return gain their affection, too; we typically clean ourselves up and “put on our best performance” so as to win their approval. It can be exhausting. Ironically the exact opposite holds true in regards to a relationship with Jesus. He knows and loves us just as we are-sinners. We do not have to earn His affection; we only have to accept His approval. The way we begin to know and love Him more is also counterintuitive to the world’s usual relationship paradigm. The more we see the poverty of our hearts, the more we understand that it is not just our actions, but also our thoughts and motives that are sinful, the more we know the depth of God’s great sacrifice for us. It is only in the honest examination of ourselves that a true love of our Savior is born. It is also there where grace covers our grief and freedom is born. May we all find freedom in our authenticity, not our acts. You are loved.
Tag: jesus
Fallen but Forgiven
Dear friend, I know you need to hear this today. It is perfectly normal that you are both a masterpiece and a mess simultaneously. You may say, “I do not feel like much of a masterpiece right now, but Oh, you are! See, it is confirmed here in God’s infallible word~Ephesians 2:10~ For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus. Yes, it is true you are a mixed bag. So am I! That is because we live in a fallen world, of fallen people, with fallen laws, fallen morals and a ferocious enemy who wants you to believe fallible ideas about yourself. Not one of us is perfect, but our freedom is not in our perfection; it is in the truth that we are fallen citizens, but forgiven children! You are loved!
Fixing Our Eyes On the Cross
If we are not keeping our eyes on the cross, we are no better than a blind man driving home.
Three crosses stand high above our church, Shades Mountain Baptist Church. The cross in the middle stands the highest, and the two on each side beneath the shadow of the larger cross. The two lower crosses represent the crosses of the two thieves who were crucified with Jesus. The higher one, representing the cross of Jesus. These three crosses, the highest one, in particular, hold a special place in my heart.
In September 2005, my parents were in town visiting. The second day they were here, my mom and I dropped my children at pre-school and headed to Sam’s. We had just parked when she got a phone call. It was my dad. “He said something has happened, and I cannot see.”
Our Sam’s trip was averted, and we rushed back to my house to check on him. We would later end up in the emergency room to find out he had a stroke in his eye; this would be my dad’s second stroke. The first had affected one eye; the second stroke now leaving both eyes impaired.
As hours passed, and the story unfolded, we found out he was in the car driving down Columbiana Road when the stroke besieged him. Our church sits on Columbiana Road. Although my dad had very limited vision, He said he could see ONE thing. The high cross that stands guard at the top of Shades Mountain Baptist Church.
He went on to explain that he knew if he slowly proceeded toward the cross, he could find his way to my home because I lived just down the street. Miraculously he drove himself back to my house, the cross guiding him the whole way.
I was recently sharing this story with a friend who said to me, “I do not understand how he drove home blind.” It was at that moment that God spoke to my heart. The message was very straightforward,
“If we are not placing our eyes on the cross we are no better than a blind man driving home.”
Wow! I had chills, and I love how God used that conversation to embed His message into my heart.
We are all just driving home, friends. Where are we fixing our eyes? On the world, on our problems, on our pain, on our possessions, or on the cross?
Sometimes my vision gets distorted. There are many things the world has to offer to distract my eyes. My flesh wages war against my sight. The goal is not perfect vision, but progressive vision. We must always be advancing, focusing and refocusing towards that one thing that now or later will make all things clear and guide us without fail, even in darkness-The Cross.
I know your “drives” sometimes become treacherous. I know your vision often feels blurry. Mine too, but Keep returning your eyes to the cross. It is the only way to get you home.
Hebrews 12:1-2~ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.
You are loved, friend!
I Am Guilty
I am guilty!!!
Isaiah 53:7 ~He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet He never said a word.
Here I am Lord. Make me more like you. May the concern of my heart be you, not me. When I am right with you no one else needs to know, understand or see; yet I turn my back and look to man for validation. I take way too much to the phone before I lay it at your throne. Turn my thoughts to you Father. Because you know and you see, let that be enough to be well with me. Amen.
It is From Brokeness That We Become Free
Friend, do you need to be encouraged today? I read the below quote recently, and it has become a “tattoo” on my heart because it is that beautiful to me. Maybe I love it so much because I grew up knowing the love of a horse, and the imagery is endearing and familiar to me; or maybe it is just simply that I know the beauty that only blooms from brokenness. Whatever the case, this quote captures one of the most hope bearing truths of the gospel. God is preparing you for things beyond your imagination in ways that sometimes only He knows and understands. I pray you find refreshment here today. “When a horse is finally tamed and trained, bearing the burden of saddle and human expectations alike, she is called broken. It is only then that she performs the duties expected of her.” ~from the book, Wild and Free
Good news
There are many things that I do, feel or say that shock me when I honestly look at my heart. Self-examination would be defeating, were it not for the good news of the Gospel. The Bible discusses every one of my flaws as a struggle for someone within its chapters. I am so thankful those things are there! Without God’s word I would either have to live a shallow life of pretend and denial; or under so much condemnation that anxiety, fear, shame and depression would likely be my best friends. The gospel is good news!
Just Come
The Lord allows nothing to be wasted in His economy, especially suffering. What if everyone’s mission was to use every ounce of pain that has ever touched their life to bring hope to the life of someone walking a similar road. From our grief, The Lord gives us gifts to be shared to help others. It is the most beautiful thing when our greatest hurts intersect another person’s greatest needs. Someone once said, we are all just walking each other Home. What a wonderful gift, and the greatest pleasure of life, to walk alongside a fellow traveler and say, I know. I am here. I see you, but more importantly, Jesus sees you, and He loves you just as you are at this very moment. There is no need to clean up, change clothes or comb your hair. He welcomes you as you are. Just come.
Tonight, Dare To Believe
Dare to believe tonight when it feels like everything is falling apart; Jesus is putting it together. When the whole world appears to be walking out, Jesus is walking in. The moment a sense of being lost enters in, dare to remember you have been found. Lastly, when your thoughts cry you are unworthy, inadequate or unlovable, remind yourself you are His prized treasure, loved and cherished, adequate and complete because He made it so.
From Our Struggles We Find Our Strength
It was June, the summer of 2005. We were preparing to move from Hoover, Alabama to Vestavia Hills, Alabama. Carter, my son, was six and Macey, my daughter, four. This particular week, the kids and I were participating in Vacation Bible School. I made a deal with them that if they learned our new address and phone number by the end of the week, on Friday after VBS we would get ice cream. Every morning on the way to church and every afternoon on the way home we practiced in the car over and over again.
Friday morning came and along our drive I asked Macey, “what is our new phone number going to be?” She answered with ease and efficiency. Then I asked Carter, “what is our new address going to be?” He too answered correctly and promptly. A silence fell over the car until a little voice piped up from the backseat. In the most curious of tones, Carter asked, “Hey mom, I was just wondering, what our new last name is going to be?” After I caught my breath from laughing so hard, I explained that there are some things we are born into, and they never change because they were given to us. I am not sure my answer made sense to him, but it seemed to satisfy his curiosity at the moment.
We have had to ponder a similar question a lot together over the past two years. His life was changed forever two years ago today, July 28, 2014 due to a traumatic brain injury. All of our lives were changed. Despite all the redirections, again I can tell Carter, some things will never change because they were given to us. The One we did not earn that was given to us for free will never change. Although our physical locations may change, and we change, our identity as a child of God will never change.
The moment we accept Jesus as our Savior, we are adopted into the family of God. Our identity, as his beloved son, or beloved daughter can not be altered by circumstances. He delights in us on our best days, and just as much on our worst days. No amount of good works or model behavior can earn us His love. They were imparted to us when we chose to believe.
Ephesians 2:8-10 ~God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
What a gift we have in Jesus. I cannot even fully comprehend the depth of His sacrifice. He has been a faithful friend to us through the hardest of times.
It is not because we have Him that our lives are easy. It is because we have Him that our lives are changed for the better. He brings purpose to our pain and consistency to circumstances that continually change.
Last night I was replaying the last two years in my head. I never knew looking back on my past tears would bring so much abundance to my present years. Situations that seemed like the hardest of times were in many ways the sweetest of times in retrospect.
Suffering is the soil most fertile for growth and change is often God’s conduit for the cultivation of hearts. We can joyfully and fully embrace our struggles because we later find we have walked out of them having found our greatest strengths.
We are all still works in progress in our family. It is a cradle to the grave process, but we can rest in the assurance that it is as it should be. Thank you Jesus for loving us in all our brokenness. Remind us everyday to rest in what was given to us and will never change-You. We love You Lord Jesus.
Be the Church
Black lives matter. Police lives matter. Unborn lives matter. These are all solid truths, but they are slogans that capture headlines not hearts. People don’t need to be convinced they need to be converted. I read many comments yesterday that said, “I don’t feel qualified to act.” “I don’t have the right to speak.” You not only have the right, if you profess to be a follower of Jesus, you have the responsibility! Jesus does not call you because you are qualified, but because He is. Being the church is far more important than being seen at church. Rise friends! Go above and beyond today. Don’t just tell people about Jesus; show them Jesus!