Saturday, July 27, 2013

Really Radical


“The greatest miracle of all time is that Jesus comes to people.” 
                                                                                Gwen Ford Faulkenberry, Jesus Be Near Me.


Wow!  That’s the first thought that came to me when I read this.  Then, I read it again, and again.  When I am so often focused on people coming to Jesus, this truth just ‘whammed’ me.  There are so many that are on my heart on a regular basis that need to come to Jesus.  I pray for them, I share with them when God gives opportunity.  Sometimes, because I just want so badly for them to know the Jesus that I know, the life I have with Him, how precious and awesome and wonderful it is, I lose sight of how hard it might be for some to see this as the simple and beautiful choice that it is.  I’m pretty sure I can come across too strongly at times. 

At the children’s home where we work, I am often sharing Scripture and bibilical truth when situations come up.  In the kitchen one evening, while preparing dinner and talking with one of our guys (the kitchen is my office! The guys know they can come in and talk), he blurted out, “Miss Ang, why does everything have to be a Sunday School lesson with you!”  This quickly became a standing joke with us, and many future conversations were prefaced with “….attention, Sunday School lesson!!”  This young man had recently given his heart to Christ and was struggling a bit now with a lifestyle choice that was bothering him. It was a serious matter for him, and I understood that.  But I wondered too if I was being sensitive enough to where he was.  Was I really listening to his questions?  Or too quickly spouting answers? 

The mom in me too often just wants to fix things, and I am so confident that Jesus can do that.  I know if the Spirit of God is given a chance to take the Word of God and go to work in a heart and life, it’s radical.  But I just don’t see that happen nearly enough it seems.  Change often takes time, lots of time.  Like with many of our guys, trust has to be built.  They need to know that we care about them, that we’re going to love them even if they choose not to choose the Christ we know and serve.  And that’s hard. 

There was something about this impacting statement that helped me.  It became clearer that in the very moment when God may be working, I need to let go and trust that Jesus comes to people.  He draws them to Him, and maybe He will even use me in the process, but He comes to people. I don’t have to fix anything.  He still comes to people.  In His time, in His way, He still changes lives.  And that’s radical. 

 

Monday, July 22, 2013

It's a Seascape kind of morning


“Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea.”  Mark 3:7

The beach is my go-to place.  Even when I can’t literally flee to the sea, I go.  I go to the place where Jesus and I can sit and soak up the wind and waves, the sand and salty breeze, and everything else I love about the sea.  It’s the place, even if only in my heart at times, where we talk and enjoy each other; I listen and reflect, overwhelmed and grateful that He has time for me.  The blessing of a moment of rest, even if it’s just mental.  Without it I’d be mental! 

This is one of those mornings.  But Jesus drew me this time, before I had a chance to even think about my go-to place.  He had it in mind.  He knew what I needed.  He knows what it means to me.  So when I opened my Bible to this morning’s devotion, I knew He was calling me away and I needed to follow. 

He.calms.the.waves.  He can calm my anxious heart.  I can trust Him to accomplish through me what I do not feel I can accomplish on my own.

We begin Vacation Bible School this evening.  We’re packing and prepping for the move to the farm.  I have dentist and doctor appointments to get Jordan to in the next two days.  When we come back on duty at the ranch we’ll be on for two weeks.  Our oldest son and his family come in this evening from Indiana;  Christina and the kids get to visit with us while he has business in Atlanta.  And we wait…we wait for the word from our youngest son that the kidney transplant for grandson Ephraim has finally been scheduled, and we will drop everything and travel down to Atlanta to be with them for the surgeries. 

 

Lord, I am wading out today with you by my side.  I am lifting my face to you and basking in the warmth of your love.  I am trying to grasp your greatness and goodness and praise You.  I feel like a grain of sand on the shoreline this morning, small, a little gritty, yet held in Your Hand and part of Your infinite plan.  It’s a beautiful feeling, knowing You are holding me, helping me.  Thank you for meeting me here today.