Our Song

 Pastor Dan has been unfolding a sermon series called "This is Your Song," which I believe has been a great blessing for all of us listening.  I have to admit that thinking of God as my Lord, Savior, Father, Guide, Redeemer, even as my Friend does not take much of an effort.  Attributes that emphasize God's Omnipotent Power and Might...Love...Light...Peace...Wisdom and all those are easy to assimilate.  Thinking of God as "My Song," however...is both challenging and fascinating!

Isaiah 12: 2 says:

Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He also has become my salvation."

I will trust and not be afraid because the Lord God is "my strength and my song..." WOW...I mean, like I said earlier, it is not difficult for me to understand and see the the concept of God being my Strength...but how is He "My Song"?  I read a devotional today that spoke a bit about it:

Trust Me and don't be afraid, for I am your Strength and Song. Think what it means to have Me as your Strength. I spoke the universe into existence; My power is absolutely unlimited! Human weakness, consecrated to Me, is like a magnet, drawing My Power into your neediness. However, fear can block the flow of My Strength into you. Instead of trying to fight your fears, concentrate on trusting Me. When you relate to Me in confident trust, there is no limit to how much I can strengthen you.
Remember that I am also your Song. I want you to share My Joy, living in conscious awareness of My Presence. Rejoice as we journey together toward heaven; join Me in singing My Song. (Jesus Calling by Sarah Young)

I love how this short reading reminds me what it means for God to be Our Strength.  It is very clear.  But I REALLY like the part about God being Our Song.  It is not super detailed, but it surely is intriguing as it sheds some light on what this idea means:  joy!  

By using the analogy of God as Our Song He wants us to understand that He is the Giver of all joy.  What is music if not beauty?  Have you ever listened to a song that is so beautiful it just makes you cry?  That is God's Song in us.  He is the Creator of music and it all belongs to Him!  Its purpose is enjoyment so deep that it touches our soul.  That beauty that evokes such profound joy can only come from Him who is Our Song! 

He didn't have to be Our Song.  He could have just been Our Master.  But that's not what He did when He thought of us.  He didn't want to be a Dictator of rules and Keeper of accounts.  He wanted us to have joy in abundance so He became Our Song to bring beauty to make the journey doable and bearable.  And for that we are eternally grateful.

May we always remember this about Our Great God.  Blessed be His Holy Name, Our Lord and Our Song.  Amen!

Light Yoke

 I love my job, but I'm exhausted.  Even though we just had spring break and I was able to relax a bit, being back to work has worn me out.  I think it's because I keep stressing out about two of my classes and also because I'm still doing some administrative job that I truly dislike...anyway...I'm just plain tired.  It was great to have Pastor Dan give a sermon regarding being weary yesterday at church.  His first point was just spot on for me:  "Know that Jesus came to strengthen you when you are weary." What a great reminder.

Weary is defined in the dictionary as feeling or showing tiredness, especially as a result of excessive exertion or lack of sleep.  The lack of sleep really rings a bell in my life.  I don't know why, but sometimes I just can't sleep.  My mind keeps racing and my thoughts keep me up at night.  I pray the Lord helps me sleep...but often the minutes become hours and before I know it, I have to get up.  Of course, sometimes I do fall asleep, but it is shortly before the alarm rings.  It feels like I just blinked and it's time to roll out of bed...and the vicious cycle of tiredness continues.

This is why it is such a wonderful thing to hear the good news that Jesus is the Great Help for the weary...for the exhausted...for the worn out...for the drained...for the depleted... for the dog tired...It is wonderful when you have someone bring back Matthew 11: 28-30:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Notice that Jesus is not telling us that we will be free from carrying our yoke, though...we will still have to carry it.  He is not going to magically take away my need to go to work just because I come to Him for help.  What He is saying is that we need to exchange the world's yoke for His.  We need to leave behind the things of this world that weigh us down and take up the things of His Kingdom so we can be relieved from unbearable burdens that don't take us anywhere but to a place of constant weariness, and instead, embrace Him and His will, which when performed according to His plan, it is light and allows us to find rest and contentment.  

A light yoke is an oxymoron if reasoned through the logic of this world.  However, when we see it through the reasoning of God's Kingdom where the first are last and the last are first, a light yoke is the perfect example of balance and abundance.

I pray I can keep these things in mind so as I walk through the weeks leading to the end of the semester, I can be renewed and refreshed when I drop the heavy load this world places on my shoulders and pick up Jesus' light yoke.  May we be strengthened by Him who came for that purpose.  Amen!

Happy Birthday, Dan!

 It's funny how birthdays cease to be about us as we become parents, isn't it?  Today is Dan's birthday and compared to when we were young, we didn't do anything "special" to celebrate...though by our current standards, I'd say, it was a pretty special day all in all.  

We went to church, which is always special.  Then, we had lunch with Grant and a couple of his friends from college.  That phrase in itself is SUPER special: "Grant's friends."  This boy spent his entire life before college pretty much on his own.  He had very few friends and he never really did anything with them.  He didn't go to their houses much.  They never came to ours.  Outside for marching band activities, he didn't really do or go anywhere.  Ever since he went to Geneva College, however, he has been blessed with a group of friends that seem to really get him.  He seems comfortable and more confident.  He seems happy...and to see that is an amazing gift.  I don't know about Dan, but I'd take that present over any other thing I could ever get for my birthday.

Later on, we went to Dylan's basketball banquet.  This event closed this year's season, which by our standards was fantastic.  The team did not win any championship or anything ever remotely like that, but it was the most exciting season for Dylan since he began playing the game in third grade.  He got to play more than ever and he learned valuable lessons that I'm sure he'll carry with him through the rest of his life.  Seeing him there sitting with the team, smiling and having fun was a true joy...another very special gift, more impressive than anything I could have bought, for sure.

We are wrapping up with night with a silly movie at home, a father-son video game soccer match, and the usual Sunday evening blues before another week of work starts, but praising God for the jobs we do have and for the moments of rejoicing we were able to experienced today to add to our memory boxes.  Nothing special by the world's standards...but plenty special to us...and for that we Praise Our Lord, because we acknowledge that:

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights...

James 1: 17

May Our Heavenly Father continue to bless Dan with good health and long life to spend it with us.  In the Precious Name of Jesus, Our Redeemer and Friend.  Amen!

Happy Birthday, Love!

Who Wants to Eat an Elephant?

Often, whenever I'm talking to anyone who is having a particularly rough time, I notice I tend to say things like, "try to take it just one day at a time."  However, when I think about it, I don't know how well I follow my own advice.  How about you? Do you find it difficult to live one day at a time?  How hard it is to eat that elephant?  Yeah...remember the elephant?  I don't know who ever came up with that saying about, "how do you eat an elephant?"  I mean, who'd want to eat an elephant in the first place?  I always found that adage kind of gross, but the truth that it encompasses makes up for it, I think.

Dan and I were talking about this hard-to-live-by general rule and we both agreed (at least I think we did) that it is very difficult, indeed.  We tend to want to project to the future, which usually causes a great deal of tension, added stress and unnecessary worries.  The future is not ours.  It was never meant to be.  All we have is the now.  I know we can't just throw caution to the wind and adopt a 100% YOLO lifestyle. But the opposite is not fitting either. 

I believe the answer is trust.  The One who promised is trustworthy, and He said:

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life...Matthew 6: 25a

Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? Matthew 6: 27

...do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6: 34

My devotional spoke about this today also.  I liked it so much that I will reproduce it here:

Trust Me one day at a time. This keeps you close to Me, responsive to My will. Trust is not a natural response, especially for those who have been deeply wounded. My Spirit within you is your resident Tutor, helping you in this supernatural endeavor. Yield to His gentle touch; be sensitive to His prompting.
Exert your will to trust Me in all circumstances. Don't let your need to understand distract you from My Presence. I will equip you to get through this day victoriously, as you live in deep dependence on Me. Tomorrow is busy worrying about itself; don't get tangled up in its worry-webs. Trust Me one day at a time. (Jesus Calling by Sarah Young)

Like Jesus said, "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness," (Matthew 6: 33a) and He'll take care of the rest.  Let's just keep taking one bite at a time, right?...and that elephant would be gone before we know it. 

Thank You Lord for your promises.  We know they are true.  We rest in Your arms.  We trust Your plan for us.  May Your will be done. In Jesus' Precious Name.  Amen!

We Sing for Him!

 What did you ever answer to the question, "what super power would you like to have?" I never knew how to answer that question.  The only thing that always came to mind was: "I want to be able to sing really well!"  Yeah...I know...that's not what the question meant.  But I always daydreamed about singing.  I thought it would be so totally rad to be the lead singer of a band or sing in a choir or be a backup singer...or just being able to sing in the shower and sound better than the pipes...sigh...

Anyway, I've been made aware of the fact that I am musically challenged, and I've made some sort of peace with it. But I still wish I could sing...sigh... It is particularly difficult at church, though, because I really, really love the songs we sing.  I love both, contemporary and hymns, but I just can't follow.  I can't find the right pitch.  I'm monotone.  I have no range.  If I ever were to sing in a choir, I would most likely be placed to sing among the men.  Therefore, singing is a bit problematic for me.  Often I worship by just reading the lyrics.  Hymns are especially troublesome.  I'm surrounded by people who can sing beautifully...so I just quietly read.  I refuse to subject anyone to my jarring and irritating, tuneless and pathetic attempts at singing.

OK...yeah...

Today, though, as I make my way through the Book of Revelations - talking about faulty attempts - I was reminded of something that filled me with joy: there will be singing in Heaven, lots of it! And it won't be just angels, important people, heavenly creatures and rock stars the only ones singing.  I will get to sing too!  

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb

be praise and honor and glory and power,

for ever and ever!” Revelations 5: 13

This passage doesn't say only those who made it to honors choir get to sing.  I believe what it says here means everyone, including me, no audition required.  It doesn't say anything about gorgeous voices only, pitch-imperfect need not apply.  I think I will be singing the new song too, and so will you!  The One who sits  on the throne and the Lamb just want our praise.  That's the only requirement.  There's no high-expectation levels or ranking on the performance...the only expectation is that we do it.  And how can we not!?

While I won't be the lead singer of any band ever here on earth, my dream will become true one day, and I will sing as if no-one else was listening except the One I sing for.  

May the Lamb who is worthy of all our worship and praise help us realize He wants us just like we are, so we may sing with confidence because we sing for Him!  Amen!

Walking in Love

 Kids are notorious for pushing boundaries and testing limits.  It's what they do.  And it sort of makes sense, I guess.  They don't really know where the "line" truly is until they experiment with it.  This is actually a learning process for them.  Thus the incredible importance of setting those boundaries.  Typically, kids that grow up without rules never learn and go through life thinking everything is permissible.  And their lives become chaos for them and for society as a whole.

In many instances, today, our world is becoming more and more chaotic probably in part to the fact that less and less people are interested in following rules and keeping within the borders that have been drafted and traced for our own protection.  Yes, we have freedom and we certainly want it, after all, "it is for freedom that Christ has set us free!" (Galatians 5: 1).  In our freedom, however, we ought to recognize also what Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 10: 23,

“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything"—but not everything is constructive.

In our freedom, then, as we seek our own good, we also must seek the good for others (1 Corinthians 10: 24).  Rules and boundaries exist so we respect and actively participate on pursuing what's good for everyone.  It's the rule of love, like 2 John 1: 6 says:

And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

Walking in love ensures that we remain mindful of others, even those who are not particularly lovely to us.  After all, Jesus did say, Do to others as you would have them do to you. Luke 6: 31.  He didn't say do unto those you like...or unto those who are nice to you...He said "others" meaning, all others.  But if we don't walk in love and in obedience to His commands, or put into practice what we read in the Bible...it's chaos.  So, let's be different.  Let's obey rules and live with a sense of morality based on God's Word.  I believe that's where the blessings are.

Just like with kids, Our Heavenly Father has established the regulations and set borders for the benefit of all...so we can coexist...so we can have some structure in life.  He is not the God of chaos.  He is the God of order.  And order is in place for our own good.  This is a hard pill to swallow in this day and age...but the alternative does not present a successful outcome.

May the Holy Spirit help us walk on His way, the way of love.  May Your Word be the lamp to our feet and the light on our path.  May Your Word, sweeter than honey and your commandments give us the understanding we need to acknowledge the need for boundaries and rules.  In the Precious Name of Jesus.  Amen!

Knocking on Doors

I don't like making phone calls or knocking on doors.  As an introvert, those two actions fill me with anxiety.  I stood at a counter today for a long while waiting for someone to come out from any of the closed doors around me to help me...but nobody did.  If I hadn't gathered the inner strength required to start knocking on doors, I'd probably still be there 2 hours later.  I'm not sure what it is that makes me nervous, but I guess it's something that has to do with the uncertainty of what I will find if someone actually opens the door or answers that phone call.  I don't want to interrupt or disturb anybody.  It bothers me to think that I am imposing myself upon anyone's time or circumstance...so I avoid calling or knocking as much as possible.  And when I can't avoid it...it takes a lot out of me...sigh...

Another consideration is that the person who does the knocking on the door is usually the one who wants or needs something.  The person who is inside decides if they want to open or ignore.  They are on a more powerful position than the one knocking.  Those inside have the prerogative to tend to the needs of the one knocking or not.  If you think about it, the person knocking on the door is kind of helpless and at the mercy of the one on the other side of the door.  Like when I'm angrily knocking on Dylan's door and he doesn't open because he: a. can't hear me because he has his headphones on or b. simply ignores me and I just stand outside his room ready to explode, but unable to do anything unless I'm willing to kick a whole on the door, which I haven't done yet since I don't want to pay for the repairs...I'm in a position that poses disadvantages.  Maybe that's why I don't like knocking on doors: because I don't want to be in a subservient position.  I don't want to be rejected.  I don't want to be ignored.

Knocking also involves waiting and I just can't deal with any type of wait...sigh...

You know who is not afraid of or bothered by knocking on doors?  Yep, you got it: Jesus.  Our Lord.  Our God.  Our Savior.  The Kings of Kings.  The Sustainer of all life.  The One through whom all things were made.  He humbles Himself to the position of being the one who knocks on our doors.  He lowers Himself to be the One at the mercy of those on the other side.    

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. Revelation 3: 20

There isn't much I understand of the content of the Book of Revelation, but this passage does speak to me loud and clear.  Jesus wants us.  He loves us enough to humble Himself and stand outside the door of our heart and knock...KNOCK...and then wait for us to open.  Jesus, who could say the word and demolish that door, knocks and waits for us to open...how amazing is He...I just pray, trust and hope I hear the call and rush to it to swing it wide open to let the dinner party begin!