Imperfect World + Perfect God

     Thanks to all of you for allowing me, through stories in my past, to work through the questions of life, to talk out the hurt and to learn from it all. We’re in this together. Depression, addiction, illness and agonizing heartbreak and grief, are just a few of the crises that affect all of us.

     I picture these crises as a dark black wall looming in front of us. Sometimes, like my brother, we just sit in front of the wall and imagine the darkness is all around us. We forget there is light just around the edge of that wall and there is light above us if we just take a minute to look up. Like Jeff, addiction finds us beating ourselves against the wall time and time again until we are so bruised and battered we don’t have the strength to climb over or break through. Then there was Eleanor. She basically ignored the black wall of her illness anf focused on the light above. She knew where she was headed. The pain was nothing compared to the light of Christ within her and to the promise of heaven before her. Boy, I want to get to that place of pure trust and hope.

     I’m glad we’re on the journey together. I need my family and friends, like Patsy, to hold my hand and remind me I just need to walk a little farther to get around the darkness. There was light just around the corner and I almost missed it. When the battle ahead may be a long one, we need others to give us a boost, to hold us up and say, “Just a little longer. You can do it. See the light up there?”

     What about you? Can you trust the perfect God with all of the imperfections in the world around us? Can you trust Him to get you through the grief, the struggle, the darkness? Christ is the light and His light dispels the darkness. He gives us hope. I am saying this out loud this morning, “I trust you with my life, Lord Jesus.” He might just be ready to crush that dark wall in front of you into a million pieces. The light is just ahead.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Dear Father in heaven,

We can’t do this alone. We need each other. We need You. Give us hope today as we continue to learn to trust You even through the darkest times in our lives. Give us the right people at just the right time. We lean on Your perfect love in this imperfect world.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Not-So-Perfect Timing

     I think I figured out why I have been looking back searching for God’s answers and for His timing. It’s about Patsy. My wonderful friend died one year ago today and I am still struggling with the realtiy of it. I miss her and I am still asking why? Why can’t she be here with us? My heart is aching for her family.

     I know there are questions we will never have answered to our satisfaction until we are in heaven. I do know, that like my brother, Patsy found faith in Jesus. For about two years before her death she searched out some questions of her own.  She told me she finally understood. We will be together again one day soon.

     But the reality is here and now. She was the instigator, the adventurer, the mega shopper in our group. She was the one that had us visiting a graveyard in the dark after hearing a sensational news story set in a small town near where we were staying. We peeked in the windows of an Amish schoolhouse and gave an Amish boy a ride as he searched for his runaway horse. She bought the giant birdhouse that barely fit in the minivan. It took up all of the space from front to back and from ceiling to the tops of the seats so the passenger side could not communicate or see the driver’s side! What should have been a four-hour trip to visit a friend took eleven hours. Patsy was driving and, of course, we stopped in every shop in every small town along the way.

     So many memories over the last thirty-five years involve Patsy.  She was always there for good times, bad times and everything in between. She got in there and lived through it all with her friends. I miss her. I still need her. I want her here.

     And so, we grieve for her with the questions unanswered. God knows the answers. He will help us get through it all. And He listens to our cries.

Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and He hears my voice.  Psalm 55:17

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.  Psalm 147:3

Dear Jesus,

We don’t understand. We cry to You. Would you comfort each of us in grief today? Heal our broken hearts. Bind up our wounds. Hear our voices.

Amen

Perfect Timing

     Has God placed people in your life at the right time to teach or to comfort or to pray when you needed it most? In the early 90’s I was just getting to know Jesus when I volunteered to train to become a Stephen minister. This is a well-organized ministry based in St. Louis, and is now used in over 400,000 churches worldwide, training men and women to do one-on-one crisis ministry.

     I completed my training and my pastor at the time set up my first meeting with a woman dying of stomach cancer. As I moved slowly up her front walk, I was visibly shaking. I was not equipped. What would I say? The training vanished from my thoughts as I softly knocked on her door. Her husband let me in, walked back out to do errands and left me in a tongue-tied stupor with a sick stranger.

     I need not have worried. God placed Eleanor in my life to train me! Oh, I tried my best. She smiled, encouraged me and taught me how to be joy-filled and at peace as she got ready to meet Jesus. What an amazing blessing she was to me. Jesus placed her in my life at just the right time. She was so patient with me. This verse describes Eleanor.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Colossians 3:12

     To the very end, her blue eyes continued to sparkle and she always insisted on a satin bed robe and having her hair brushed before company arrived. She meandered in and out of a deep sleep over the last few weeks and when she awoke she would often say, “I was just with Jesus and it was wonderful!”

     The night before she died she called me and said, “It won’t be long now. Don’t you worry about me. I am going to a party with Jesus. I love you.” She died the next morning, leaving a legacy and a continuing testimony through all of us who knew her. Even in her last hours she was praising God and looking forward to being with Him.

She speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction is on her tongue.  Proverbs 31:26

     God’s perfect timing is seen as He places the right circumstances and the right people in the right places to save a soul, to offer forgiveness, to teach with patience, to heal with hope. His ways are miraculous. Tell your stories. Share your history with Jesus. Our stories, His gospel, are needed. Those holes in the hearts of the people we love are waiting to be filled with Jesus, the living bread and water. People like Eleanor can show us the way.

Dear Father in heaven,

Your ambassadors are everywhere. Teach us from Your Word and from the witness of others how to continue Your work in the world around us.

In Jesus name.

Amen

Perfect Timing

     Jeff was my friend back in the early 70’s. He was an athlete. He was smart. He was funny. A group of athletes from his high school became involved in Young Life, due to the work of a young pastor. This pastor met these young men and women right where they were. They came to know Jesus, and they were changed, all of them, including Jeff.

     At some point over the years Jeff lost his way. I heard about him through the grapevine and saw him once or twice over the decades. As we moved into our early forties, I heard he was sick, due to liver failure. The alcohol on the path he chose caught up with him way too soon.

     I spoke with his brother a couple of times and said a quick prayer here and there for Jeff. Our family, in January of 2004, was living in a small rented townhouse because of a house fire that destroyed our home with black soot-filled smoke. It was a difficult seven months to say the least, with inventories, finding ways to comfort our young adolescent daughters, and working with a construction company that left much to be desired in doing things in the right way.

    One day, I needed a break from listing each and every treasured possession we had lost. I went for a walk to clear my head. When I walked in the door of our small, empty temporary home I dropped to my knees in prayer for Jeff. I can’t explain it. It has only happened to me a couple of times. But deep grief, tears, moaning and groaning through the Holy Spirit poured from me for almost two hours. I don’t know what was going on with Jeff, but I knew God was at work through me and others on his behalf.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.  Romans 8:26

     A few months later, I sent Jeff a card along with some old pictures. His brother had told me that Jeff was having trouble forgiving himself and he was not allowing himself to die, even though the time was near. I knew that even though Jeff had temporarily walked away from Him, Jesus had never left his side. He had been forgiven before anything was done and he just needed to forgive himself. I told him the memories with him were fond ones and I prayed he would find peace and accept forgiveness.

     His brother told me this card was on the side of his bed when he died. This must be a week for tears. I am astounded at the moving of the Holy Spirit within our lives. God asks us to move out of our comfort zones, and He asks us to help others in the midst of our own suffering. In fact, that may be one of the ways we come out of our times of suffering, by reaching out, not only to lean on others, but to bless them.

     Is the Spirit prompting you today to pray, to send a card, to make a phone call, to speak with a troubled neighbor even when it’s inconvenient? Is it time to stop in our busy lives, and drop to our knees in prayer for someone and respond to the Holy Spirit above the details in our lives? We couldn’t do it on our own.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.  2 Corinthians 1:3-4

     Jeff remained a child of God. Jesus was using Jeff even during these years of self condemnation. Jeff is missed. He is in heaven. One day we will see his crooked grin and those big blue eyes savoring the peace and joy of heaven.

Jesus,

It is impossible to comprehend Your timing, Your love and Your fore knowledge of what is needed. Guide us to do what you ask without question, even when it is inconvenient or seemingly impossible. Give us Your comfort so we can comfort others. It is all about You.

Amen

Perfect Timing

     God’s timing is perfect. The unanswerable questions, the unanswered prayer, the unanswered hope can be placed in the Almighty hands of the omniscient One, the One with the everlasting answers.

   

     Have you been praying for something or for someone for a long time? Is there a family member in trouble? God understands when and if we will be ready for an answer or more importantly, when we will be ready to accept Him.

     My brother, Jim, was 22 years my senior. We had the same parents and there were no siblings between us. Yes, my mom thought I was a tumor! They wanted more children, but really, 22 years later?! Luckily for me, once the diagnosis became a pregnancy rather than a tumor, they were delighted.

     My brother suffered from a deep depression off and on for most of his life. He could not imagine a loving God in this dark world of his. He tried to commit suicide several times. Over the last fifteen years of his life he suffered from a debilitating neurological disorder with no given name. It was “Parkinson-like.” It began in his toes and made its way slowly in upward motion until his body was in a frozen state, with curled toes and fingers eventually moving to his face and to affect his swallowing.

     And God knew the time was right. A few years before his death, he connected with the motorcycle-riding chaplain at the nursing home where he resided. The hymns of old at the Sunday services made him cry tears that had never been shed. A friend he had not seen in decades heard about him and motored down the avenues in her wheelchair with a Bible in hand. An amazing coincidence; she now lived just a few blocks from the nursing home.

     Coincidence? No, it was God placing the right people at just the right time around my brother. And one beautiful fall day, on his wife’s birthday, he met us in his wheelchair, with his frozen body and his halted speech and said, “I have met Jesus. I am saved.”

     This story still brings me to tears, every time, over a decade later. We often feel responsible for saving our families don’t we? We wonder what we can say. We say too much or preach too much until they are pushed away rather than moving closer. We forget that God knows. He places the pieces around us in miraculous ways at the perfect time when the eyes of our hearts are finally opened.

     My brother had complete joy and peace and humor for those last years of his life. Amazingly enough they were some of the best of his life as he got ready for heaven. His testimony spoke to others about the transforming love of Christ. Jesus gave my brother, and He offers all of us, the peace that passes all understanding.

     Do you need to trust His timing in your life? Trust Him with the answers. Trust Him with the questions. The miracle may be just around the corner.

Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord and delight in His salvation. Psalm 35:9

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.  Psalm 51:12

Dear Lord,

I thank you again for what you did in my brother’s life. Amazing grace. Amazing love. Amazing God.

In Jesus name,

Amen

A Word for the Weekend

     Do you believe the Bible is true? Did you know there is more evidence that Jesus walked the earth than almost any other person living all of those years ago? Did you know that hundreds of prophecies have come true, prophecies written by many different authors in the Bible with staggering accuracy, that is statistically impossible?

     Jesus foretold many things that are yet to come. He also made sure we understand He is the living God, the Word come to life. He is the way to the Father and there is no other way. As C.S. Lewis said, we have to make a decision, either Jesus was a lunatic, a liar or He is Lord.

     I know years ago, before I knew Jesus when people talked about Him or the Holy Spirit in an intimate way, I would stare back with a blank look on my face. And now, the joy and hope He has given me makes me want to bring Him up at every opportunity. It’s the same way I felt as a new mom and, as I am sure I will feel, as a new grandma one day. Have you seen her? Would you like to hear more? Let me tell you about what she did today.

     I get the blank stares now. There she goes again! But He is real. It is true. Take a peek! Come and see. Seek Him. He is worth it. He is truth.

     John, at the end of the last two chapters of his Gospel writes these Words:

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not recorded in this book, but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name.  John 20:30-31

This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that His testimony is true. Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.  John 21:24-25

Enjoy the weekend!

Prayerful Love

     Did you know Jesus prayed for you right before He was arrested and sentenced to the cross? He knew His time on earth was coming to an end and the 17^th chapter of John shares Jesus’ prayers; for Himself to be glorified, for His disciples to be protected and for all of those who would believe in Him. That’s us!

     Jesus knows what is to come. Before He prays, this is what He says to His disciples:

“I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

     Even then, knowing what was to come, He is offering comfort to His beloved followers. This God of ours humbled Himself to give everything up in human form to give us eternal life. He understands our worldly life, but He sees the finished work of the cross, and so He prays.

First, for Himself:

After Jesus said this, He looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You. For You granted Him authority over all people that He might give eternal life to all those You have given Him.  John 17:1-2

And for His disciples:

I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world and I am coming to You. Holy Father, protect them by the power of Your name, the name You gave Me, so that they may be one as We are one.  John 17:11

And for all believers:

My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in Me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I am in You. May they also be in Us so that the world may believe that You have sent Me.  John 17:20-21

     This prayer resonates with us more than 2,000 years later. There is something so beautiful and moving in this chapter. Soon, Jesus knows, He will be back in heaven and He is entrusting all of us into His Father’s hands while He is still in the world.

    Jesus prayed for you. He knows your trouble and your worries. Just as He looked upward towards heaven, He is waiting for you to look up and lock gazes with Him and become one with Him and the Father. He is asking you to believe.

Dear Jesus,

Thank you for Your followers who continue to spread Your message of truth. You prayed for us before the creation of thw world, You prayed for us when you lived among us and You pray for us from the heavens. Thank You for Your Word.

Amen