Terrestrial Angels

"When God provides, it usually is in the form of people."  I read these words in the blog of a missionary family in Haiti who is in the midst of impossible situations, facing shortages, scarcity, violence, uncertainty and all kinds of trouble in the name of Christ...in a land where evil reigns and where hope seems to fade...but...God!

How many times we read in the Bible about circumstances similar to what is happening in Haiti today, then we read: "But God..."  Those two little words usher in encouragement.  They introduce the supernatural healing power of God's hand, and how He can, with one glance, change the seemingly inevitable doom that the visible course is directed towards.  And...if we think about it, often, such redirection is prompted by our encounter with a person.  When doom is impending, He sends someone.  It could be someone through a song, through a book or in flesh and blood...but a person, indeed.

Discouragement was threatening the stability of the souls of the missionary family in Haiti; but God sent tenderness and healing in the shape of a group of people who came to minister to them, leaving their hearts revitalized.  Loneliness threatens to push a dear one into the pit of darkness and desperation; but God sends the blinking light on the phone with fresh messages of hope from someone in the distance who deeply cares and is willing to be "there" for her.  Fear and anxiety threatens to swallow up the fragil resolve of the one who waits for results; but God sends a message of a prayer chain from those who support her with hands lifted up to the Lord.  Precious children are in grave need of life-saving medicine in a remote place in an island that hope seems to evade; but God sends a man willing to sacrifice security and comfort, to deliver the valuable medication into the hands of those who will safely bring it to where is needed.  The entire world was lost; but God sent His One and Only Son, Jesus to be the Christ who saves...

Today, we pray for us to recognize those "...But God..." moments that come around wearing the garment of the common folk; but who in reality are God's terrestrial angels who were willing to say "yes" to a mission that for many would be impossible.  I pray, specially and specifically for Sam, whom today is one of those angels...travelling across miles to spend an hour bringing hope for the future of the "least of these."  May God's grace, mercy, love and protection be with you.  May the Holy Spirit bring comfort and peace to your family in the knowledge that God is traveling with you...and in the trust that He is in control.  Godspeed, good friend.  Hoping to hear your stories upon your return.  In the Precious Name of Christ! Amen!

Making it to the Team

"Okay, Dylan, you've got to give 150%  of yourself.  Treat every open-gym as if it were the tryouts.  Actually, treat every practice as if it were tryouts.  That's how you show you're worth being picked for the team.  That's how you show you are valuable.  Perform well and they will want you!" 

Gosh...basketball season is exhausting and tryouts are still a week away.  We know it will be crucial for Dylan to make it into the school team this year, so we are pushing him more than ever to perform...that's how you get what you want in this life, right?  You've got to make it happen, otherwise, you get left out...

You've got to show your worth...or else, you get passed on for that promotion, or you don't get into your dreamed college, or you don't get picked to be part of the team, right?

"My kingdom is not about earning and deserving; it's about believing and receiving." These words from my devotional reading this morning (Sarah Young's Jesus Calling) challenged me and deeply convicted me and my way of thinking...

In a world where competition seems to be the only way to win...where performance is the only base to be rewarded...where our worth is measured on what we can and can't do...God stands on the complete opposite side...sending Jesus to tell us: Follow me!

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Luke 11: 9-10

The contrast between the way to achieve things in the world and the way to be fulfilled in Jesus is stark.  When the world says: your destiny is what you make.  Your efforts determine what you get.  Jesus says: Come to Me...seek Me...be still...trust...see...

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Romans 8: 32

Lord...forgive me for getting caught up in the traps of this world.  Forgive me for falling for its alluring and seductive ways.  Forgive me for forgetting that You are the Only Way.

The things that effort, performance and self-reliance can get us will eventually and inevitably fade away.  Dylan might make it to the basketball team and have a brilliant season.  But, years from now, what would that amount to if he does not have God in his life? And, on the contrary, even if Dylan doesn't make it to the basketball team, he will be alright as long as He stays on the path that Jesus has traced for him. The basketball team is irrelevant.  The team that matters, the team into which is crucial he makes it is the one labeled: Children of God...

May we understand this truth as we continue to guide our kids through the path that they should follow.  In Christ Precious Name! Amen!

Whatever is Excellent and Praiseworthy

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8

Do you ever feel so overwhelmed with life's worries/circumstances/situations that it seems as if you were trapped in the washing machine spinning cycle?

Lately, that's exactly how I have been feeling.  My stress level keeps rising, and often, I find myself irritable and numbed to what's around me.  I can't continue like this.  The spinning cycle must stop!  This is not what the Lord wants for us.  I lift up my eyes from the computer and stare at a big poster of a quiet, gloriously gorgeous beach I have hanging on the wall in front of my desk...and immediately, I start to long for that quietness I see on that picture.  Wouldn't it be nice to be there?  I can feel the warm sand on my feet and the salty breeze playing with my hair.  I hear the relentless sound of the waves crashing and the occasional seagull calling as it rushes pass by me in her pursuit for her daily fish.  What would I give to be there...summer morning...nothing to do...nowhere to go...just breathe and be still...

I move my eyes from the picture and the image collapses when my mind hits the reality of my surroundings: a messy desk, a needy dog, a dark/cloudy/rainy/cold morning, piles of work all around me and constant worries about upcoming tests, looming deadlines, threatening worries...

How can I re-create the peace and quietness of a summer week at the beach in my everyday life?

I think Paul has a hint as to what to do:  it's all about the things we think about.  We are called to control our minds, not to allow our minds to control ourselves.  How do we control it, you may ask? By choosing what we think about.  Whenever the daily worries start creeping in, we need to remember Paul's words:  "find the things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable...excellent and praiseworthy...and think about such things, and such things alone.

Excellent and praiseworthy is Your Name, O Lord!  In the moments of desperation, high stress, numbing fear and worry, may Your Name come to our minds as a lifesaver, to pull us out of the choppy waters and keep us afloat...more than afloat...alive and assured of the Power of Your Steady Presence, for there is Great Power in the Name of Jesus!

I can't think of anything more excellent and praiseworthy than the Name of Jesus!

Let it roll out of your mouth from the overflowing love of your heart and allow the sound of each letter to soothe your troubled soul as a tender lullaby.  Cherish each syllable as it's pronounced by your own voice, audibly, for the walls to shake and your heart to calm down.  And let His Presence bring you comfort, rest and peace to help your mind be still.

I Praise You and Thank You, Dear Lord for Your Precious Name!  How Excellent and Praiseworthy Your Are, Lord.  Your Name has the Power to calm my storms and quiet my mind.  Invade my soul with Your Presence and stop the crazy/spin cycle of my heart, in Your Excellent and Praiseworthy Name!