Final Answer

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die. John 11:25 NIV

We were all gathered in her room at the hospital. The past weeks had been full of ups and downs. One day she was doing really well. The next day not so much. So many prayers were prayed for her. So many whispers of “Please help her.” Every day we came. Every night in between a fitful sleep we pleaded for her healing.

On one of these days as we sat in the hospital room listening to the monitor alert as her oxygen levels went up and down, I prayed “God, we’ve been here praying. She seems to be getting worse. Is this your final answer?”

His response, “Jesus was my final answer.”

She passed away not too long after that night. And our worlds are not the same. There is such pain and sadness in the hearts of many. But, here’s the really wonderful news. She embraced Jesus and believed in his resurrecting power. And so while we are mourning her passing, the Final Answer has stepped in. He covered her with his blood and she is resting in Him.

Celebrating Christmas is harder this year. But here’s the thing. Jesus’ birth was God implementing his plan to save us. It was the start of the biggest miracle EVER. It was culminated in the biggest “I love you” statement of all time. Without the birth of Jesus, we would not have the hope we have that we will see her again.

So while celebrating Christmas will be harder because she will not be here with us, I want to try. I want to focus on the life we’ve been given because of Jesus instead of the death that is meant to break us. As hard as it is, we need to keep our eyes on things of eternity, not the things of this world.  This eternal hope is not just for her, it’s for all of us. Jesus’ Christmas gift to us loves us through the things we experience here into the life we will eventually live with him. I want to try to embrace this gift in my heart and remember the real reason behind the season.

Jesus, thank you for the best Christmas gift of all. You. Thank you for coming. Thank you for walking this earth and showing us who God is and how much we are loved. Thank you for making the ultimate sacrifice so we would be healed. Help us to remember all of it, this and every Christmas. In Your Mighty Name, Amen.

Unanswered But Answered Prayers

He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Matthew 26:39 (NLT)

Dink. Dink. Dink. Dink. That was the sound coming from my phone. I was in the ER. Earlier in the evening I went in and my symptoms were getting worse. Somewhere in the chaos I asked my husband to put me on the prayer chain. He did and the Dink, Dink, Dink was the response of the prayer warriors responding.

Shortly after my situation spiraled downward and I became critical. Honestly, I don’t clearly remember all that happened after that but I knew I was being lifted up and God was in the middle of it…..because of prayers. When I woke up the next morning (which is a PRAISE! in itself), I looked at my phone and there were all the text message responses of people answering the call of prayer. As I worked through all that had happened, those prayers gave me strength.

Today, as I pondered Good Friday and Jesus death on the cross, I realized that we could turn to him in prayer because the prayer he prayed in Gethsemane was not answered. God did not take the cup from him and Jesus did not turn back from his mission.

Humanly, he did not want to walk through what he had to walk through but he did. Because he walked through it, we can pray and know we are heard. Because he said “Yes” to the plan, we know that he loves us. We know he cares about us. We know that there is nothing he would not do to help us.

Today, I am especially thankful that because of Jesus’ death on the cross we can pray and know we are heard. I am praising His Name because there is no doubt in our minds that He hears us. None whatsoever. We know this because he prayed that prayer and when it wasn’t answered, He went to the cross anyway. For us.

A Minute In It - Who would have thought?

A minute in God’s Word will change your life. As I read through Isaiah 53 in the MSG, I was taken by the things that stood out; the things that grabbed my attention. As we turn our focus on Easter and the amazing sacrifice, these verses demonstrate that love so perfectly.

Isaiah 53 (MSG)
1 Who believes what we’ve heard and seen?
    Who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this?

2-6 The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,
    a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about him,
    nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over,
    a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and people turned away.
    We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—
    our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself,
    that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to him,
    that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
    Through his bruises we get healed.
We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost.
    We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong,
    on him, on him.

7-9 He was beaten, he was tortured,
    but he didn’t say a word.
Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered
    and like a sheep being sheared,
    he took it all in silence.
Justice miscarried, and he was led off—
    and did anyone really know what was happening?
He died without a thought for his own welfare,
    beaten bloody for the sins of my people.
They buried him with the wicked,
    threw him in a grave with a rich man,
Even though he’d never hurt a soul
    or said one word that wasn’t true.

10 Still, it’s what God had in mind all along,
    to crush him with pain.
The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin
    so that he’d see life come from it—life, life, and more life.
    And God’s plan will deeply prosper through him.

11-12 Out of that terrible travail of soul,
    he’ll see that it’s worth it and be glad he did it.
Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant,
    will make many “righteous ones,”
    as he himself carries the burden of their sins.
Therefore I’ll reward him extravagantly—
    the best of everything, the highest honors—
Because he looked death in the face and didn’t flinch,
    because he embraced the company of the lowest.
He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many,
    he took up the cause of all the black sheep.

He Did It On Purpose

The Father loves Me because I am willing to lay down My life—but I will take it up again. My life cannot be taken away by anybody else; I am giving it of My own free will. My authority allows Me to give My life and to take it again. All this has been commanded by My Father.  John 10:17-18 (VOICE)

Have you ever read the Bible in Job where God is saying "Look at my servant Job. Isn't he amazing!" (paraphrased) and then watch Satan focus on Job to try to break him? Have you ever thought "Lord, I appreciate that you might be proud of me but please don't point it out to Satan." I have. And then, I've read the text that says "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son" and think "No, thank you. I don't want God to give me to anything." And I've wondered what Jesus felt like being "given." It almost feels like he didn't have a choice.

And that thought would be wrong. He did have a choice. In today's text Jesus makes it very clear. "I was willing! It was my choice. I chose to die and I chose to take my life back again. No one forced me!"

In other words "I meant it! I meant it! I meant it! I love you and that was the driving force behind my decision." He wasn't forced. He chose the hard thing so we could choose life.

Jesus, oh Jesus, I sit and think about the magnitude of this love. I think about who I have that kind of unconditional love for and honestly, it's a pretty small list. But you, you died for every single person. No matter who they were/are, where they were or are from or what they have  done or will do....there is no distinction.  Oh Jesus, help me to love like you. Amen.

He Is Not Here!

He is not here; he has risen!  Luke 24:6 (NIV)

Amen! Possibly the best words one could ever hear. He isn't here! He's gone! Satan has been conquered forever! He has defeated death and because of this, so do we!

Praising God today for his magnificent love for his children!

The Gift Is Not Just Yours

Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. John 11:25-26 (NLT) emphasis added

It's been a strange kind of week. I believe that every day this week I've had a conversation with someone that had brought me back to Jesus' death and resurrection and who he actually died for. Let me explain.

There were two conversations where two separate young women didn't want to introduce their boyfriends to their families because when they showed them a picture of them the family made derogatory comments indicating the person might be bad.

There were a few conversations where people struggled to forgive someone for something they had done recently and/or in the distant past.

Each time as I thought through these, I kept hearing the word Resurrection. And then again when I was reading about poverty and the negative impact it has on folks, the word Resurrection kept popping into my mind.

I wish I could sit here and say I don't ever judge people by their outward appearance. I can't say that. I wish I could say I don't judge people by their actions. I can't say that. I wish I did more to help those in need. I am praying about all these things. But, here is what I do know.

When Jesus said ANYONE, he meant ANYONE. It doesn't matter what you look like, what you do for a living, whether you are rich or poor, what specific religion you are, your stellar or checkered past or if you are a Democrat or a Republican (a little humor for the Americans). None of it matters because Jesus died for all of us. Every. Single. Last. One.

As we celebrate what the Resurrection truly means, let's remember he died for everyone, even if we don't think they measure up.

Father God, teach our hearts to see everyone as you see them. Remove our blinders and open our minds. Let us feel the unconditional love you felt that day on the cross. In Jesus Name, Amen

Free....Indeed!!

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36 (NIV)

The dark cloud called gloom seemed to be following her around. It was hung so close to the top of her head that if she reached her arm up her hand would pierce the cold damp feeling that she carried in her heart. It had been there for weeks. And she was unable to shake it.

It started a while ago. Life was good. She was involved in a new church plant and God was moving. Her relationship with him had taken off. As she looked for him, he spoke. The entire church was having this fantastic God experience and they were growing. There was unity among the members and God was truly moving.

But then, temptation came knocking. Not just at her door but, this is her story not theirs. Temptation knocked and she threw open the door and invited him in. Somewhere, somehow, she lost sight of the special bond she was growing with God and decided that this….this would be more fulfilling than what God wanted.

And then, the Elders came knocking. She wasn't so happy to throw those doors open and after the conversation was finished, she was devastated. Not so much because they asked her to step down from serving but because this wake-up call made her realize she’d turned her back on her friend.

In the weeks that followed, the only prayer that she could utter was "Help me." She felt lost and ashamed. She had turned her back on God and had chosen a path that would temporarily make her feel better. What a hard way to learn that making oneself feel better with temporary pleasures is a fleeting experience. When the dust settled, she couldn't hear God's voice and the relationship seemed to be gone.

With a broken heart she moved through the motions of life always asking "Are you there? I'm sorry. Please help me."  Weeks went by. As she waited she realized that she had risked the best thing in her life. The closeness she felt with God over those months was like no other experience and she could not bear to lose it.

One day, as she was driving home from work she looked out the window and said it again "Please help me." For the first time in weeks a Bible verse popped into her head "If the Son has set you free, you are free indeed." As she processed this, she remembered. She remembered that Jesus’ gift to her, to everyone, when he died on the cross was forgiveness. That sin and death didn't hold her. They couldn't hold her if she claimed that gift and clung to its truth. The truth was that she was forgiven and with time she would be able to hear God's voice again. She would be able to seek him, mend the relationship and mend her heart.

Jesus died so we wouldn't be “dead men walking” but a people walking, skipping, dancing and laughing. He died so that when we mess up (and we always will) we can know that he is still there. He loved us then and he loves us still.

We are free......indeed!

Looking for Life

Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? Luke 24:5 (NLT)

The Bible is great at asking questions that are hard to answer or that make you think. So let me ask you, do you ever look for life by staring at death? We don't usually do that. We look for life among the living. When Jesus came the Bible says he came so we could live life abundantly. How often do we choose instead to live life boxed in?

When we choose to stare at our troubles and stay focused on our feelings of hopelessness, Jesus is not there. He told us we'd have troubles. He also told us he had already overcome those. He's alive!

When we focus on the past and not the future, when we decide that we cannot do anything worthwhile because of mistakes we made, Jesus is not there. He didn't die and rise again so we could walk through life on our own merit. He died and rose again so we can know we are forever forgiven and that in him all things are possible.

Most importantly, readjusting our thinking so we look at living our lives the very best we can because we've been given an opportunity greater than anyone could imagine, that is choosing life. And that is worship. We can bow down, praise and worship in the here and now because Jesus is not among the dead. He is alive!