Things I Know

And this is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent—Jesus the Messiah. John 17:3 (ISV)

There are some things I know that I wish I didn’t know. The other day I was at a lawyer’s office with a friend and I knew where the bathroom key was. I realized I wish I didn’t know that. I also which I didn’t know

• What it feels like to stand next to an open grave.

• The desperation that comes from standing next to a hospital bed after receiving bad news.

• The shock of being laid off.

• The sadness at having to lay someone off.

• The anxiety when you are not getting paid and there are bills to pay.

• The crush of divorce.

There are lots of other things I wish I didn’t know. I bet there are things you wish you didn’t know too.

But there are things I am glad that I know. I know that

• God has a plan for my life. (Jeremiah 29:11)

• God will never stop working on that plan. (Philippians 1:6)

• That when Jesus died and was resurrected, I was given the greatest gift ever! (John 3:16)

• That I am never alone. (Deuteronomy 31:6)

• With God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26)

• And there is a future where there is no tears, no sorrow, no death and no bathroom keys in a lawyer’s office. (Revelation 21:4)

There is one more thing I know that keeps me going. I know Jesus. And I know he loves me. He loves you too. Do you know that?

One God For All People

Our Father in heaven,
    may your name be kept holy.
May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth,
    as it is in heaven.
Give us today the food we need,
and forgive us our sins,
    as we have forgiven those who sin against us.
And don’t let us yield to temptation,
    but rescue us from the evil one.
Matthew 6:9-13 (NLT)

I heard a sermon recently....well, actually I heard a couple of lines in the sermon where the speaker pointed out in that in The Lord's prayer, it starts out with "Our Father." (That's where I stopped listening and started pondering.) Ours. Not yours. Not mine. Not a certain denomination, religion, race, gender or behavior but all of ours.

He doesn't belong to any one person. We are all in this together. The prayer goes on to say

Give us
Forgive us
Keep us
Rescue us

For those of us that somehow turn those into me statements, well, that's not what it says. How did our faith get so messed up that we began thinking it was about 'me'? How did we make it exclusive instead of inclusive?

God is so much bigger than that. I wish we were too.

Sing Your New Song

He has given me a new song to sing,
    a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see what he has done and be amazed.
    They will put their trust in the Lord.
Psalm 40:1-3 (NLT)

As she lay there at his feet weeping and trembling, thoughts raced through her mind. She was terrified. She had been caught in the act of adultery. The law said she would be stoned. Everyone knew this. There was no getting out of it. She was so overcome with fear she was frozen in place. The men were talking over her asking Jesus to validate what they were saying. She was holding her breath and waiting for the first rock to hit.

Jesus stooped down. He was writing something in the sand she could not see. What was it? After a long hesitation, he stood up and said something to the men. Then he stooped down again.

There was silence and one by one through her tears and hair she could see their feet leaving the circle that held her captive. Jesus stood up and said "Where are all the folks that accused you? Are they accusing you now?" "No." she said. Jesus said, "I'm not accusing you either. But going forward, stop sinning."

Jesus gave this woman a new song. Her life was exposed and healed because of her encounter with him. How about you? Maybe you don't have an overt sin in your life. Maybe life has just gotten really hard to deal with. Sometimes life just takes wickedly unexpected turns. The principle is still the same. As the old is flushed out it creates a space for the new and if you allow that new to be Jesus, your feet are replanted and redirected. You will end up with a new song to sing.

Yes, Jesus gave this woman a new song as he did Moses, Abraham, David, Rahab, the Disciples, you and me. Each time our lives take an unexpected turn whether it is because of something we did or circumstances we can't control, there is a different path we can take. Jesus will turn our story into a new song. And all of it will be for his glory.

Monday, Feb 27

He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. Titus 3:5 (NLT)

You know why I like this verse? I like it because it says Jesus saved us not because of anything good we’ve done but because of his mercy. Mercy here is defined as “kindness or good will towards the miserable and the afflicted, joined with a desire to help them.” I love that definition because some days we feel like we are miserable and afflicted. Some days (or weeks or months or years) it takes a lot of courage and energy to pick yourself up and keep moving. And some days we need a lot of help. It’s on those days that this promise is one to hold on to. You see, no matter what’s happening here, we always have ‘when we get there’ to look forward to. The promise of “it’s already done” gives us hope for tomorrow.   

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. Hebrews 6:19 (NIV)