BIG ENOUGH

One billion trillion.  Stars in the universe. That's just an estimate.  That's just what scientists think.  They haven't actually traveled the universe and counted each star, each sun. There are probably way more than a billion trillion.  One billion.. what is one billion?  A billion is one thousand millions.  A trillion is one thousand billions. These are astronomical numbers. I cannot imagine the magnificent greatness of that, much less the majesty of the One Who created it all.

This week I read a verse I had never noticed before - "He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name." (Psalm 147:4). What exactly does that mean? I mean, exactly translated? I mean, someone doing an in depth study of each word? It means - He knows how many stars there are and took the time to name each star and he knows the number and the name He named every star.

OK.. so.. so.. so what? So... how great is this God who can count and number more than a billion trillion things? I forget the names of people who attend my church, and I go to a small church. God numbers and names the stars.  And remembers the number and name. 

This reminds us that we have been given more than we can imagine...to have the mind-boggling privilege, through Jesus, of BOLDLY, CONFIDENTLY approaching the Throne of this MAGNIFICENT, MAJESTIC, ALMIGHTY GOD. I mean, why does God even bother with us? What kind of LOVE is this?

Jesus told us more about the nature of God when He told the people that God sees to it that the ravens are fed and that the lily's of the field is the way God decorates and clothes GRASS. (Luke 12). 

OK... so..so..so what? So Jesus point was to remind the people that if God - OUR FATHER - cares enough to feed birds and decorate grass.. HOW MUCH MORE DOES HE CARE ABOUT US - AND - THE THINGS WE CARE ABOUT?

FINALLY.. GETTING BACK TO PSALM 147....

The verse BEFORE the one about God naming the stars reads: "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." (Psalm 147:3) I am encouraged when I have the most infantile, basic hint of understanding about how great and mighty and majestic and awesome my Father in Heaven is... AND YET...
HE HAS HEALED MY BROKEN HEART.
HE HAS HEALED THE WOUNDS MY BROKEN HEART GAVE ME.

I want you to be encouraged also.  He is SO BIG that He numbers and names every star.

IS HE BIG ENOUGH TO HEAL YOU? HE IS.
IS HE BIG ENOUGH TO PROTECT YOU? HE IS.
IS HE BIG ENOUGH TO FORGIVE YOU? HE IS.
IS HE BIG ENOUGH TO UNDO YOUR MISTAKES? HE IS.

He is SO LOVING that He also sees each broken heart.
He is SO FILLED WITH COMPASSION that He heals each broken heart.
He is SO MERCIFUL that he binds the wounds and the pain and the consequences of the broken hearted.

BE ENCOURAGED TODAY....
God is 
BIG ENOUGH 
to care about 
THE SMALLEST DETAILS OF YOUR LIFE.

"Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit."

Psalm 147:5

    

BLAMING BARUCH

They were God's people... and they were terrified... TERRIFIED.. of the Babylonians... (and who can blame them?)and wanted to escape from Israel and go to Egypt...where they assumed they would be safe.  

As they were on their way... already kind of deciding what they thought they SHOULD do.. they approached Jeremiah to ask him to inquire of God.. Should they go? Should they stay in Judah? This is a curious thing that they did - because they had already started out to go to Egypt. If I were Jeremiah I might have asked them,"Why are you asking? It seems like your mind is already made up and your feet are already following the path you have decided is the right thing to do." 

Furthermore, they told Jeremiah, "May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with everything the Lord your God sends you to tell us. Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the Lord our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it will go well with us, for we will obey the Lord our God." (Jeremiah 42:5-6).

Jeremiah inquires of the Lord. God tells Jeremiah to tell the people to stay in the land.. their land..His land... and if they do He will bless them and build them up and prosper them.

The people reject what Jeremiah tells them that God has told him.  They accuse him of lying and being influenced by his scribe, Baruch.  And they accuse Baruch of lying because he wants them to be handed over to the Babylonians and killed. What they never ask themselves is, "Why would Baruch want that for us?" and "How can we possibly know what Baruch is thinking or saying and why we think Jeremiah would be influenced by it?"

What?
So they disobey, go to Egypt and are destroyed and led in to captivity.

Sad story. So what?

Have you ever met people who say they want God's will but they have already started to go in the direction they want to go?  

I have.

They ask you what you think and when you offer them God's Word they reject it. 
They "Blame Baruch"...they refuse to accept that God's Word is God's Word and blame the Bible as an unacceptable answer to what they have already decided to do.  

IT'S TRUE THAT SOMETIMES... we all face TERRIFYING BABYLONIANS... we face things that we cannot control.. we cannot overcome.. .we are convinced it will destroy us.

So we run to Egypt.. we run to what makes sense.. what we can control.. because we refuse to believe God is good and can protect us... WHERE WE ARE.. IN THE MIDDLE OF WHAT WE ARE FACING.

The Babylonians were cruel and destructive. No one can blame them for being afraid.
So is cancer.
So is betrayal.
So is death.
So is financial fear.
So is rejection.
So is the world.
So are the leaders of our nations.

It's natural to be afraid of and affected by those things.

It seems unnatural to trust an unseen Being who doesn't let us hear His voice when we want to. 
We want to trust ourselves.
It makes sense to take matters in to our own hands.

You don't have to believe the Bible is God's Word.
You don't have to believe He will walk with you, next to you, help you. You don't have to WAIT until the victory is evident.
You don't have to ask the Holy Spirit to help your actions conform to what the Bible says.

You can take matters in to your own hands - or trust your life in to the Hand of God. That's your choice also.

God's Word is God's Word... And in it He makes promises that will never be broken.  He gives assurance that no matter what you are walking through, He is walking right next to you.

And you have been given the freedom - BY GOD - to believe it and receive and live it.. or not.

Many people say they want to know God's will, but when the Bible seems to indicate that the path they are on is not the path God has offered them.... they brush it off as words from an archaic Book.

Blaming Baruch is often the first step toward our own demise.

THE SEASON CHANGER

Just like most of the country, this has been a very cold winter here in Tennessee.  In the twenty years I have lived here, I don't remember it being this cold for THIS LONG.  This year, winter is longer. It is colder. It is harder. 

When I was younger I don't think I fully grasped three truths about seasons.

1. I have no control to keep or change the season I am in.
2. Seasons change. 
3. I have to change with the seasons.   

Here's some stuff I have learned. 

"Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons;"                (Daniel 2:20-21)

When seasons change, I can tend to panic because I don't like change. I fear the unknown.  I finally came to understand that just because I am not in control doesn't mean things are OUT OF control. Just because I don't like change, doesn't mean change isn't necessary.  

And ultimately in every season I must always remember that The Season Changer is God Himself.  And my choice - which He allows me to have - is whether I will trust His love in every season or not. 

I cannot explain the reason that we have seasons of suffering, or seasons of grief, or seasons of pain.  Long ago, I resigned as God's Public Relations Representative. I used to feel it was my responsibility to make God look good to people who thought God looked bad. Who did I think I was?  Only the Holy Spirit can explain the ways of God to someone who is confused. And only to someone who wants His answer. Only His Word, revealed by the Holy Spirit, gives us any true answers.  

I cannot explain the ways of The Season Changer. I can only explain that when I have asked Him, He has been there in the difficult cold winters of life. I can only proclaim that although there is rain, He brings life. Sometimes I can see the growth that results from a difficult time. And sometimes, I cannot.   Although there is pain, He brings healing.  When I have sinned, He has forgiven. What I have destroyed through pride and selfishness.. He has repaired.  When I felt lost, He continued to lead. When I let go of Him, He held on to me.

Why? I don't know why.. except that He is faithful. He is love.
He is in control. 
Even when life seems out of control.  

The only way to make it through each season of life is to put your life in to hands of The Season Changer.  And to ask for the otherworldly faith to endure and believe while you are enduring.

You can choose to believe me.
Or not.
You can choose to call out to Him.
Or not.

In a few weeks, for sure, I will be picking daffodils and putting them in vases all around my house.  This I know before I even see it. 

""Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord"

Psalm 40:4

STUPID MISTAKES

“Stupid mistake” is a redundant phrase if there ever was one. There is no such thing as a “smart mistake”. Lots of highly intelligent people have made lots of stupid mistakes. According to some, the stupidest kind of stupid mistake is when the person who is making the stupid mistake “should have known better.” People who “should have known better” become people (according to the Perfect Ones) who have “made their bed and now have to lay in it.” ("lie"in it?)  You made your bed. Now lay in it and SHUT UP.

Which is why Psalm 107 is one of my favorites. It starts out by advising “the redeemed of the Lord” to do something. What does it tell them to do? “Tell their story!” This is the OPPOSITE OF SHUTTING UP. They are to TELL THEIR STORY.What story? The story of how “HE redeemed them from the hand of The Foe.” (v2). People like:

1. The Wandering Ones (v.4-7) They couldn’t find a place to settle, they are never a part of society. They never have a home. The outcasts. The losers. The unemployed. The drifters. They never had enough money. Or food. And their lives were “ebbing away.” To the world, these people didn’t only make mistakes - they WERE mistakes. WHEN THEY CRIED TO THE LORD IN THEIR DISTRESS - GOD HEARD THEM and DELIVERED THEM. And led them to a place to settle, to feel secure and cared for.
2. The Rebellious Ones. (v. 10-16). These people are the epitome of the “should have known better people.” They knew God’s commands and rebelled and despised His plans. As a result, they were in darkness. They sat as prisoners in chains. Their labor in life was bitter and difficult. They were getting what they deserved. But when they cried to the Lord in their distress, He saved them from utter darkness and BROKE AWAY THEIR CHAINS. He gave them what they did not deserve- FREEDOM AND LIGHT.
3. The Paying The Consequences of Sin Ones.(v. 17-22) These people had rebelled so completely that they become “fools” as in the “fool has said in his heart there is no God.” GOD? They never gave Him, His Law, His Will a thought. So completely did they disregard God that their choices caused their physical state to bring them to the “gates of death.” When they “cried to the Lord in their trouble” He sent His Word and HEALED THEM. He gave them what they did not deserve - HEALING AND LIFE.
4. The Storm Survivors.(v. 23-32) These people didn’t make any mistakes, but as they went about their lives they hit a ferocious storm. The mistake they COULD HAVE MADE is to think that God had abandoned them in the storm. They cried out to the Lord and He “stilled the storm to a whisper, and the waves of the sea were hushed.”

No matter the storm, no matter the consequences, no matter the dark days our mistakes bring us, 

the stupidest mistake we can ever make is to think that any stupid mistake disqualifies us from calling out to the Lord. 

He will hear and He will deliver.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; His love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story -

those He redeemed from the hand of the foe...” Psalm 107:1-2

(Feel free to share your story of how the Lord has redeemed you.)

foe...” Psalm 107:1-2

(Feel free to share your story of how the Lord has redeemed you.)

THE WOMAN WALKING ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD

My husband and I were driving down a country road near our home in Pennsylvania. It was August, 1991. To say it was a hot day does not fully describe the suffocating, gates-of-Hell humidity or the feeling of being a cookie baking in a 900 degree oven when standing outside. It was HOT, HOT, HOT. As we drove, we came up behind a woman who was walking on our side of the road. The road was surrounded by fields of corn. Just hot, sticky, mosquito infested fields. And there she was, walking. I felt bad for her. I whispered a quick prayer for her and thanked God for an air-conditioned car... all at the same time. And then I forgot all about her. 

I should mention that my husband and I were about to open an inner-city church in less than a month.  He was going to be a pastor and I was going to be a pastor's wife. WOW.  God had opened doors for us to be affiliated with a huge, church in another state and they were serving as our overseers. We were thrilled about God giving us the opportunity to serve Him that way.

I don’t remember where we were going that day, but it was about an hour south of our home in Camp Hill. About three hours later we were driving home on the same road. We came up to a small grocery store/gas station and my husband made a last-minute decision to stop and get gas. As we pulled in to the gas station, the woman who was walking on the side of the road three hours earlier was walking in the other direction now and was exactly where we were stopping. 

Three hours earlier I’d prayed for her and three hours later she was right in front of my face. She was walking right by the gas station.

I walked up to her and offered to buy her something to drink. She immediately accepted my offer. I felt good watching her drink an ice-cold soft drink. I bought her a second one. She was not a well cared for woman. Her face was dirty and pimpled, she was missing multiple teeth, her hair was long and sweaty and stringy, and her clothes were worn. She smelled bad. MY plan for our interaction was to buy her whatever she wanted in that small grocery store, and then be on my way. God had a different plan.

“Is there anything else you want?”, I asked. “Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat?” 

“Are you going anywhere near Camp Hill? I could use a ride home.” 

What? She wanted a ride? In our car? Now? Really? Really Lord? You want me to let her drive in our car? Lord, she might be a serial killer. I don’t want her in our car. She’s all sweaty and stinky. I’m afraid of her a little, Lord.

I said “Sure. Hop in.” 

As my husband drove, I turned to speak to her. I’d like to say it was because of interest and concern, but the truth is, I wanted to be sure to be able to disarm her if she took out a gun or a knife. She was explaining that she had walked to visit her boyfriend who was in prison. She was telling me stuff and I was half-listening and half-watching for her robbery and/or murder attempt. And then He spoke:

“Would you lay down and give up your life to serve and minister to her?” I thought, “Duh, Lord. We are laying down and giving up our lives to serve and minister to her and people like her. Of course. YES!” Proud of my humble answer, I continued to listen to her speak. And then He spoke again:

“Would you give up your actual life just for her? Your physical life? Just so that she could live forever?”  Ahhh.... well now, that was a more difficult question. I considered it. I considered dying at thirty-nine years of age for JUST this woman.... and my answer to God was that IF by my death... and through HER testimony.. MANY, MANY, MANY would come to Him...(and someone might write a book and do a movie about my sacrifice?) then my answer was “YES. I would physically die just for her... assuming of course my death would have a GREAT, GREAT, AMAZING IMPACT on kazillions of souls.”  Proud of my humble answer, I thought the questions were over. And then He spoke again:

“Would you give your son’s life? Would you allow your son’s life - his physical life - to be given just for this woman?” This question sucked the air out of my heart. Why would You ask such a thing?  Why would You require such a thing?  My son? My only son? My only child? The joy of my life? Philip? Philip? My most precious treasure on earth? No matter how many ways I tried to create a scenario where allowing Philip to die for this woman made sense or would be worth it - I could not find one. For a couple of million souls? No.  My son? I wished I had a different answer, but who can lie to God?  So.. I gave Him my  honest answer:

“No."

And then He spoke His last two words to me. 

“I did.”

He became a stranger to me. “THIS is what You mean when You say, ‘Love’..THIS is LOVE?” It was alien to me. I could not comprehend that Love. I did not have that kind of love. What I had been identifying as “love” wasn’t even close to what He feels for me. For us. What love is this? When we got home, I fell to my knees in broken repentance. “Father, I know nothing about love. Teach me. Fill me. Change me.“  

From that day until this moment, I remember that whatever I do... whenever I do it... has to be whatever it takes to who ever needs to take it.  I cannot have that kind of LOVE unless I allow Him to cultivate it in me.  In every situation, with every person I know... nice, not-nice, good, not-good, pure or evil.. He is teaching me love. 

I AM LEARNING LOVE. It takes another Power from Another Place. 

I am thankful I do not need to give my son because He has given His.

THIS PRESENT PLAYGROUND

My son, Philip, was about five years old. Directly across the street from where we lived was a magnificent playground.  It was heaven-on-earth for a five-year-old boy.  There were swings, and slides, and a huge sand pit.  I could sit on the balcony and watch him play with his friends.   They drove trucks in the sand, they made mountains out of the sand and destroyed them with their trucks.  They spent time swinging on the swings.  It was a good season in the life of my son.. and me.  He spent every spare moment outside, in the fresh air, playing with other children. 

One day, as he played there, I called him inside.  We were leaving to go away for a few days.He needed to come inside, get cleaned up, and change his clothes.  He didn't want to. He wanted to stay and play.  He came inside but it was not with a good attitude.  He did not ASK to leave the playground - I decided it was time for him to leave.  As we drove away from home, he looked with longing at his friends, who did not have a mean Mommy and Daddy like he did.
The next day, we arrived at Disneyworld.  There is no way to describe the look on the face of my child as we walked down Main Street, as he saw the characters walking the streets and we walked through the castle.  To add joy to his euphoria, we would leave the Magic Kingdom during the heat of the afternoons, and go back to the swimming pool at our hotel, and jump in the water, and swim. After a short daily nap, we'd go back to the Magic Kingdom until midnight.  It was like heaven on earth. There was no other moments in his brief existence on earth that Philip had known such a perfect, joyful existence. 

During our days as Disneyworld, if one his his neighborhood friends had called him and said, "Philip, we miss you being here at the playground.  Please leave where ever you are and come back here now. We miss you!"  I imagine he'd say something close to, "Are you serious? You cannot believe how utterly amazing my life is, and the unbelievable things I am seeing and doing. That playground doesn't even come close. My mom and dad are the BEST!"

God taught me something all those decades ago about where I am and where I'm going.

We are living in a little playground now.  It's called earth.  Although we know it isn't perfect, we want to stay here.  We want to live here.  We do not want what we do not see.  

God has bigger and better things waiting. It is insulting to even compare it to something as insignificant as Disneyworld.  It's beyond our present comprehension as we live in this present playground. 

But we have to leave this playground to get there.  
No one gets to stay here forever.  We don't decide.  God does.

This present playground is not all there is.  
God is good.  And He loves His children.

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard,and no mind has imagined what God has prepared  for those who love him.”  

1 Corinthians 2:9

BOTTLED WATER AND THE HEART OF GOD

My fourteen-year-old grandson was on his way to Youth Convention. His parents were taking him, some of his friends, and his sisters and some of their friends there for two days.  It was a big church-sponsored youth event happening at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville.   Everyone was pumped up and happy.  They stopped at our house to deliver "Sam" (my granddog) who was going to stay at our house while they were gone. My grandson carried Sam in to the house while everyone waited in the cars in our driveway.  This boy, handsome and respectful as always, stood in front of our refrigerator and asked if he could take a bottle of water.  AS IF he had to ask.  We always have bottles and bottles of cold water there.  

"Absolutely.. and take one for all of your friends."  

"Really, Mema?  There's a lot of us."

"Really."  

And so he filled his arms full of bottles of water and went out to the cars waiting in the driveway and handed them out....each friend had a bottle of water... and so did my two granddaughters, my son and my daughter-in-law. (Plus some licorice bites, chocolate, and jelly beans.  Yes.. I am one of THOSE grandmothers who always has CANDY in the pantry.) 
He had a smile on his face as he did so.  I'm sure he didn't think about it for more than a few fleeting seconds, but his face seemed to say that he felt like a nice guy handing out water to his friends.

The whole scene took less than two minutes, and yet, a few days later it still makes me smile. Something about it filled me with love for my grandson as I saw him carrying those bottles out.  Why?

BECAUSE:

He is familiar with our home. He knew there was water and where it was.   A stranger would not know this, but my grandson did.

He is familiar with my heart.  He asked, but we both knew my answer would be a resounding "YES."   

Most of all, I was able to give him what he asked for. 
Nice story. So what?

So.............as they pulled out of our driveway, laughing and singing and on their way to Youth Convention, I thought about how my grandson's request... and being able to give him something he asked for... GAVE ME GREAT GREAT GREAT JOY. 

BECAUSE:

He is my family.  And HE ACTED LIKE HE WAS.
HIS ACTIONS PROVED HE KNOWS WHO HE IS.  HE IS MY GRANDSON.
HIS ACTIONS PROVED HE KNOWS WHAT IS AVAILABLE TO HIM.  HE IS MY GRANDSON.
HIS ACTIONS PROVED HE KNOWS WHO I AM.  I AM HIS GRANDMOTHER WHO LOVES HIM.

GOD WANTS ME TO ACT LIKE I KNOW WHO HE IS. To know what is available in His home. To know what He has and is willing to provide for me.  
But this requires me to know that I AM NOW HIS VERY CHILD.
GOD WANTS ME TO ACT LIKE I KNOW WHO I AM.
GOD WANTS ME TO ACT LIKE I KNOW WHAT HE HAS AVAILABLE FOR ME.
GOD WANTS ME TO ACT LIKE I  KNOW WHO HE IS.

This God I pray to is the SAME GOD who walked in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve..... who called to Abraham, who spoke to Moses from a burning bush, who split The Red Sea, spoke to a young boy named Samuel and who raised Jesus from the dead. 

How can it even be possible that I can walk boldly in to HIS THRONE ROOM?   How can my human brain cells process the thought that He is not just this AWE INSPIRING DEITY.. but my Father?  
Why on earth have I been given the right to call Him "Abba" - "Daddy.' 
How can I even believe that HE CARES about a sixty-something wife and mother and grandmother trying to live out her life on planet Earth?
Who am I to be able to have a conversation with the same God who told Moses to tell Pharoah to "Let my people go!" ??? 
  
I AM HIS CHILD.
I.   AM.   HIS.   CHILD.

How can this be?

JESUS.  JESUS.  JESUS.
This holy honor.  This royal identity.  This eternal life.
I am his CHILD?
 I. AM. HIS. CHILD.

All who put their faith in the righteousness available through the sacrifice, death and resurrection of Jesus can say the same thing:
Say it out loud.  Say it as your heart is breaking, or life is confusing.  Say it when your faith is getting weak. Say it when you are afraid. Say it when you've been rejected. Say it when the world seems crazy.   Say it, say it until you believe it.

"I. AM. HIS. CHILD."

"Your Father knows what you need before you even ask for it" - Jesus, Matthew 6:32
 
My grandson didn't beg for water.  He knew it was there. He knew he could have it. 
Asking was a mere formality. 

Children never beg. They simply ask.

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 

1 John 3:1

"I lift my eyes to you, to you who sit enthroned in heaven." 

Psalm 123:1