Tag: Jesus

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Scary Requirements

Dear sisters,

I was born in 1948. That makes me 70 years old this year. None of my decade birthdays bothered me much, but this year is different. I didn’t mind being in my 60s, but 70 seems old somehow. I don’t feel old. It just sounds old. My life flashes before me in all its fullness, joys and sadness, ease and difficulty, without Christ, in Christ. And I think of the future more these days. I think of my 95-year-old mother and all the things I did for her as her caregiver and I wonder who will care for me if God gives me that many years. My daughter has special needs. She won’t be caring for me.

God requires many things of us, some posing as choices with various consequences, depending on our choosing. Some are imposed. We have no choice. Some are easy if our personalities lend themselves to the required behavior. Other demands are more difficult and require much chiseling and refining from God’s hand. And occasionally God insists we undergo circumstances which are downright scary.

When I called 911 the other morning, I expected to follow the ambulance in about half an hour, knowing it would take awhile to get a patient situated in the emergency room. Had I not done this countless times? Little did I realize this would be the last time for my mama. I knew the symptoms were different, but I hoped against hope the doctors would fix it like every other time. As I prepared to get in the car, my phone rang and I immediately knew that on this occasion my husband would have to accompany me—and I was scared. And now, after that fateful and fearful day, I’m still afraid (when my thoughts become unharnessed from captivity to Christ’s truths), afraid of my unbidden and uncontrollable sobs, afraid of recurring black thoughts in the night hours, afraid of too-real dreams, afraid for my future, afraid of unknown prospects for the rest of my family and loved ones.

Those of you who have watched death in all its horrors head-on know the severing, the cutting in the heart, in the surroundings. Breathing and alive—and then the still chest and motionless body—all from one moment to the next. The beautiful blue eyes which warmed our hearts were closed, never to see this creation, this family, in this form, again.

Don’t tell me death is just passing from this life to the next. Well, actually that is what happens at the moment, but no matter how peaceful, no matter how much we believe the truths of the gospel and the promise of the glorious resurrection of our bodies, no matter that, for the believer, absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, death is ugly and an enemy—and enemies are frightening, in spite of how much preparation against them, no matter how much time we have to steady ourselves, no matter how much skill the undertaker plies.  When it happens, the shuddering and sobs, even primal anguish begin, and we are never fully ready for the amputation from our lives, the phantom pain which continues long after the initial loss. We come home and the symbols of life are everywhere. I open a drawer and there lie her pills. In the frig, her orange marmalade and queso. Her chair where her beautiful head once rested, now empty. The side table still holds her Bible, Tabletalk, and latest book she was reading. Her nightgown hangs in its usual place and her walker seat compartment reveals her glasses where she had just placed them the night before her breath was taken. I take out four forks to set the table before remembering we need only three.

This is not how it was supposed to be way back when God formed Adam from the dust of the ground which He had spoken into being just a few days before. Everything was perfect and death was barely a concept to that first man and his mate, until the tree, the fruit, the great deceiver and underminer…Then fear came into his heart, fear in living and fear in dying, never the original design, and he was banished from perfection and life in that lush garden forever while time remains.

I’m scared of death, the process, the missing, everything preceding and succeeding for the victim and the remaining living. But, if I were to leave you there it would be tragic and hopeless and frightening indeed. God warns us of the horrors of the final, universal humiliation (Hannah Anderson speaks beautifully of this in “Humble Roots”), but He gives us the remediation, the balm, the victory in the midst of great trepidation and sorrow. In John 11:25, Jesus comforts his dear friend, Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die [spiritually].” Therefore, for the Christian, in the middle of terrifying events for one’s self and for the in-Christ loved-one, there remains a joy and a victory based on the sovereign power, goodness, and control of Almighty God.  This final event will come, but He walks through it with us, and He has promised never to leave us or forsake us.

And then, Jesus says to Martha, after His resurrection promises and condolences, “Do you believe this?”

Oh, my sister and friend, how do we answer the Lord’s query? If this is not true, if our belief is not based in fact, we are undone in the face of death. But it is true. Christ is proof. Trust Him in the middle of grief and tears and confusion. His inexplicable peace will fill your soul and your shudders will subside and find rest and refuge in the One who walked this path to death, then resurrection, in front of us, in complete victory.

As for me, I believe what Jesus said, wholeheartedly believe it. But I also believe that there is a generation who will not taste death and I long to be in that company.  Jesus is coming back and “…we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore, encourage one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18)

Fear is meant for our good. It means to warn and keep our lives straight. It means to drive us to Christ, the One who alone can relieve the deep-seated fears of our souls by His grace. John Newton says it well. “Twas grace that taught my heart to fear—and grace my fears relieved…”

At the graveside, as we sat and reminisced and wept, my shy adult daughter with special needs astounded us all when she commanded, yes, commanded us to all turn and face the box in which my mama’s body lay. Then, in her broken way of speaking, reminded us all, “Grandma not here. Grandma get new body. Grandma with Jesus. Remember that.”

Yes, I am afraid of the death process. It can hurt. It’s not pretty. But, like everything God ordains in our lives, He gives grace in the journey, in the moment, in the final place. He never leaves. He never forsakes. Right up to the end. And then, our eyes are truly opened and we are safer than we have ever been. Completely and forever safe, never afraid again.

Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!

Your sister,

Cherry

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Bold From Broken

Simon Peter must have had red hair.  His loud, obnoxious, and no filter personality fits with what I know about red heads…probably because I am one. The gospel of Luke was influenced mostly by Peter as Luke travelled with Peter a lot after the resurrection and I can only imagine the history that Peter poured out to this detail oriented doctor.  What we are told is that Peter was a fisherman that left his full nets of fish to follow a stranger that called him.  He was so sure of this man being the Messiah that he trusted him with his life and sustenance.  Yet throughout the gospel, we read how he would confess his faith in Jesus…and then waiver a few verses later.  “Who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God (Lk 9:20).” Yet we find out in Matt 16:22-23, this same confessor told this Christ that he cannot die and be raised again a few moments after his amazing confession. Jesus then rebuked him strongly.

Then the time came for Jesus to die.  Despite the fact he told Peter over and over again that it must happen, Peter missed it. Peter proudly told Jesus in Luke 22:33-34 that he was ready to go both to prison and to death for Jesus even though Jesus had told him that Peter will deny Him three times. Jesus then called him to stay with him in the garden while he prayed but Peter fell asleep. He tried two more times and still, he could not keep his eyes open to comfort his master.  Then Jesus was taken.  Peter followed him to the courtyard and this great confessor melted under the boast of a little girl saying that he was with Jesus.  He answered her by cursing himself!  Then the rooster crowed.  Worse than that, Luke declares that Jesus turned and looked at Peter at the final echoes of the crow (Lk 22:61).  Oh my heart!  Yes!  I have done that too!  Boldly claimed my trust in Christ yet fold in the painful throws of adversary.  I balk at Peter, yet then realize how my faith wanes when circumstances don’t play out like I thought they would.

Will Peter ever get it? Will his faith remain in this Messiah despite what he sees or thinks will happen?

Jesus dies.  The earth shakes.  The skies darken.  The curtain is torn in two.  Dead people are now alive again and walking around Jerusalem.  Peter hides with the other disciples. What is going on!?!?! Friday ends, Saturday ends, then Sunday begins.

Suddenly a gate rattles and the disciples hear Mary yelling at them to open it!  They go to the women at the gate and listen as they hysterically proclaim that the tomb is empty!  They went to prepare the body, but now it isn’t there!  Peter ran to the tomb (Lk 24:12).  I’m sure he stood amazed in wonder.  What happened?  Could it be? Can he believe it to be true?  He went back to the other disciples to tell them what he saw.

Then suddenly, Jesus appeared!  He spoke to them! They freaked out and thought he was a ghost (Lk 24:36-43)! These men who walked with him for three years and heard him say he had to die and be raised, were in shock when it actually happened.  Jesus showed his hands, his side, and even ate to prove to them he was alive!  I can see Peter standing with his mouth open and heart full!  I can imagine him falling at his feet in sorrow for his disbelief yet shaking in the excitement of his presence!  He’s ALIVE! Death had been conquered! Forgiveness had been gifted to him, to Peter!  To all that trust in Christ!  The final sacrifice had been made!  Jesus walked them again through scripture, from the fall, through the prophets, that this must happen for man to be restored to God (Lk 24:44-49).  Then they watched Him ascend back to heaven to his rightful place next to the Father.

Peter changed.  He no longer doubted.  He travelled the world to tell everyone about this Christ.  He died by hanging on a cross…yet he did not want to die like his Savior, so he asked to be crucified upside down!  Who does that for a lie?  The resurrection changed everything for Peter!

How about you and me sister? Have you thought about how powerful this resurrection is?  How life changing it is?  It changed the calendar.  It changed the day we worship to Sunday. No other god out there has made this resurrection claim.  They can’t! They are all still in the grave! Our faith means nothing if this resurrection did not happen. We have no hope of being restored to our creator without it.  This brash, bold Peter who flipped his alliances so easily in the beginning never doubted again.  I want my red-headed personality to be like that!  To never doubt in the dark again what I have seen in the light!  The resurrection has changed me too!

Blessings and Grace,

Colleen

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Compassion For Today

Dear sister,

If I’m honest, I’d tell you I hate going through trials.  Hate it.  Yet it is in trials when I really need to cling to the character of God.  One of His many character facets is compassion.  He is a compassionate God.  But what does that mean and how can it help us in the depths of despair?  Sister, let us look to scripture to help us figure out why the compassion of God matters to us today.

Biblically, compassion seems to imply empathy (sympathy or understanding) with action.  In the Old Testament, God often had compassion on Israel after they had disobeyed Him.  He had compassion on them and forgave them of their sin or gave them relief from a trial.  Micah 7:19 says, “He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.” In Lamentations, Jeremiah writes, “but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love (3:32).”  As we move to the New Testament, compassion is mostly used just before Jesus healed, fed, or taught people (Mark 6:34, 8:2; Lk 10:33).  So scripture seems to teach that God’s compassion is most given when sin, sickness, or physical ailments abound.  When these people were in their most need, God had compassion.  He felt deep sorrow and pain with them and then met their genuine need.  He healed, fed, cast out demons, and forgave sins, not because they earned it, but out of His compassionate love, grace, and mercy.

We serve a God who sees.  In fact, that is one of his names, El Roi.  He sees us in our despair, however that looks in our lives.  Perhaps you need Him to help provide for your family?  Or for Him to heal a sickness that threatens you or a loved one?  Maybe you need Him to see a spiritual or mental anguish that needs to be released? Does God still see us and give His compassion to us today?

Yes, sweet sister!  The same God that healed the leper, that touched the woman that bled, that forgave Israel for her spiritual adultery can answer your prayer today.  He sees your pain and sadness and still acts on it with His compassion.  But there is also a dig deeper way that He has shown His compassion.

God has seen His broken creation groan under the curse of Adam for thousands of years.  Millions of deaths, untold numbers of sickness, pain, and sadness that we thought were unseen.  Yet God had compassion on this creation that once was good and sent His Son, Jesus, to come and live the life that we could never live, by obeying God perfectly.  Then Jesus died the death that we deserve because of our sin.  God’s action was killing His beloved Son.  Yet Jesus did not stay in the grave, He rose again three days later cancelling our penalty of death forever!  His compassion results in our forgiveness and eternal life!  What hope that gives us in our sufferings!  That God’s compassion will end all sorrow, pain, and suffering.  We will see Jesus face to face and only have joy forever in heaven with Him!  Yes!  God’s compassion matters to us today!

Your sister in Christ,

Colleen

 

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Faithful In The Storm

Dear Sister,

Hurricanes are not fun and that is an understatement. The constant news coverage for days and days before the storm arrives is enervating. By the time the winds begin to blow, the sapped energy gives way to fear-filled emotions overflowing to bursting. Fear for life. Fear for property.

As our family was undergoing storm preparations for this latest to overwhelm Florida, the relentless Irma, I thought about those tempests which rise suddenly and unexpectedly over the Sea of Galilee, allowing no time at all for preparations.  To be in a small fishing vessel in the black of night, being pitched to and fro with virtually no protection from battering winds and waves, desperately and fruitlessly trying to steer to a haven of safety, the physical and emotional dread must be overwhelming and incapacitating.

We read about a story in that setting in sacred Scripture. The disciples are involved in this scenario, terrified for their lives, desperate to save themselves. And where was the Master? Peacefully sleeping in the same boat. (Matthew 8:23-27)

This story scared me and thrilled me as a child and it thrills me now. I love how Jesus, the Creator of the weather conditions, the Sovereign over all our storms in life, was able to sleep while the little boat was being pummeled to smithereens. His desperate friends had to wake Him! Their plea of desperation was, “Save us Lord, we are perishing.” And what does He say? “O, my dear friends, I’m sorry you have to go through this. I didn’t realize what you were experiencing. I sure don’t want you to have to suffer like this.”  My pastor would say, “No, no, no, no, no!” What Jesus actually said was, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Sounds very much like scolding. They had just been through the Sermon on the Mount with Him. He had taught about not being anxious for life, about the wise and foolish men building homes on solid or shifting foundations, the observation of the crowds that Jesus had some kind of other-worldly authority, the cleansing/healing of an outcast leper, the centurion’s servant healed, not in person but from a distance, and people being set free from satanic possession and physical diseases. He had given His disciples plenty of evidence that He had all power over the physical and the spiritual. And yet, He has to now chide them about their fear and lack of faith. But Jesus doesn’t leave them in guilt over imperfect trust. “Then He rose (from sleeping) and rebuked the winds and the sea” as if these elements of nature had ears to hear and knees to bow low before the Creator. “And there was a great calm.” Shhh. Immediately the sea became quiet, not a ripple. The disciples did not seem to wonder at the how of His act but at the Who.  Scripture tells us, “And the men marveled, saying, ‘What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?’ ” I was reminded in a recent sermon I read that the parallel passage in Mark says the disciples were “exceedingly afraid”. During the storm they were fearful, but in the aftermath they were really, really fearful as they stood in the presence of God Himself. The Bible does not say they fell on their knees and worshipped. Not here, not yet. But they are beginning to get the picture.

During our hurricane I wish I could tell you I fell asleep in perfect peace like Jesus in the back of the boat. After all, my home is well-built of concrete block and double-paned windows. My Mama and my daughter did sleep through that fierce Irma, seemingly without a care in the world.  My husband kept his watchful eyes and ears on the goings-on. Me? I hid in my closet with my little battery-run radio on full blast to drown out the frightening noises of wind gusts and falling branches and tree trunks ominously thudding.  And I was scared, as I always am during hurricanes.

Dear Sister, I wish we weren’t such fearful creatures, sometimes asking the Lord what He’s doing or if He even cares about us or knows what we’re going through. Like the disciples, we’ve seen our God at work in the Scriptures, in the world, in our lives, but we still falter in our faith when the trials heat up, forgetting that God Himself is with us. Jesus is in our boat, so to speak.  He’s not riled up. He ordains the storms in our lives to teach us lessons about His good and purposeful character and to spur our faith on to higher heights and our love for Christ to deeper depths. He is faithful when we are faithless. Even if the disciples had drowned, Jesus would have remained faithful. They would have immediately been in heaven. He never leaves or forsakes. Even when God does not answer our prayers the way we would like, it does not negate His faithfulness. Some of the worst storms attacking us are our flesh, relationships or circumstances, our own troubled thoughts which are not settled on the truth of God’s Word. All these are as powerful and beyond our control as hurricanes. But not beyond God’s control.

He will keep us safe and for Himself, whether in this world or the next, whichever He pleases. After all, “even the winds and the sea obey Him”.

Love,
Cherry

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Please, Just Let Me Tie Back Your Hair!

“Hey Annabelle, come on over and I’ll pull your hair back so it won’t get stuck in the honey that’s on your toast.” An easy request, right? Simple, straightforward, clear, and for her own good. Yet, she didn’t come. In fact, she went the other way. “Annabelle, come here.” She grabbed her hair on each said of her head clutching all she could of her now sticky strands. “No mom, I don’t want to.” My insides churned. Oh I HATE defiance. I think I can use the word “hate” as defiance is the in-your-face disregard of obedience and submission while doing the opposite of what is asked. This has been the norm of late with this child that I love. Everything I ask is returned with defiance; whether it be quiet looks, delays, or loud fits. Not only does it drain me, it makes me realize how much of this defiance is in my own heart.

Instead of obeying my parents, boss, authorities, or submitting to my husband, I hold my prideful ground in defiance. This defiance does not come from a heart of love or a desire of the things of God, this defiance comes from me not wanting anyone else telling me what I should or shouldn’t do. Although our movies and news often hold those that defy authority in honor, we need to realize that this heart of defiance should not always be emulated.

Jesus again is our best example of how to use defiance in a way that honors the Lord. He defied Satan during his dessert temptation, but do you remember what he used as His ammunition? Scripture! Then, when faced with religious leaders that did not want the things of God, he gave them history lessons, parables, or scriptures that showed them what they were doing or thinking was wrong. After that, when He was told by His friends that He should not suffer as the Messiah, He again defied them with scripture and history. I have to admit sisters, my reasons for defying my authorities are not rooted in biblical history and doctrine; rather, they come from emotional anger that protects my prideful desires. Oh wretched woman that I am! Who can save me from this?

Sweet sister, Jesus came to live a perfect life that we could never live. He fulfilled God’s law and died for it. He rose again satisfying God’s wrath and curse that was meant for us! Then he gave us His righteousness so when God the Father looks at us He only sees us obeying and submitting like His perfect Son. He does not see our sinful defiance against the authorities He has placed in our lives.

In Annabelle, I see how the depraved heart responds to a call to obey and submit. The depraved heart will defy in anger every time. Yet sister, we have the spirit in us that helps us obey and submit when we don’t want to. Call on Him! Beg Him for help! And remember, when sinful defiance comes out, we have a Savior that died for that sin too.

Your Sister,

Colleen