Stories

     A good book or movie keeps our attention with drama, suffering, separation, tears, laughter, and deep joy. I always look for the happy ending, for true love to win, for the soldier to come home, for the good guys to be standing at the end. Our life stories include conflict, suffering, good times and hard times. With Jesus our stories, each one of our stories, will have a happy ending.

     We know the end of the story. Not only is it a happy ending, it is a perfect ending. And the perfect ending is just the beginning. One of the criminals next to Jesus on a cross of his own, understood who Jesus was and asked Him to remember him when He came into His kingdom.

Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”  Luke 23:43

     Looking back on your life, can you spot the hand of God working? Has He placed you at the right place at just the right time on more than one occasion? Has He answered a prayer? What you may have seen as coincidence now shines in your heart as another story to tell of your Lord and Savior. Before we knew Him He knew us.

     Fill youself with His Holy Spirit. Put yourself in God’s hands to finish out your story on this earth. Watch for opportunities. Seek His face as you wait. Ask Him for guidance when you just aren’t sure. He knows you so well.

Before a word is on my tongue, you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.  Psalm 139:6-8

     He is our God. We won’t understand it all. We see only in part right now. He hears you. He understands you. He sees your heart and He will continue your story, until He welcomes you into paradise. A happy ending. A new beginning of never-ending splendor. Such knowledge is too wonderful!!

Dear Jesus,

We give our lives to You. Write our stories to glorify You, to be different in the world around us, shining with Your love. We do know the end of the story. It ends with You. It began with You. It’s all about You. Give us new stories to tell. Write new stories about You on our hearts.

Amen

    

Stories

     I love to listen to stories of faith. There is something rare and special about the fellowship of God. In this fast-paced, surface-loving, outward appearance, power-hungry, money-grabbing society that begs for something deeper, something real, something to hang onto for eternity. That something, that someone is Jesus.

     Learning to trust Him, spending time in His Word and living for the desires of His heart takes time. How and where and when do we find time for intimacy with God? It is essential if we want God to write the stories of our lives. We can dog paddle our way inch by inch trying to control the events and people around us. We can make lists, add to our calendars, strive toward our goals, but how do we know we are doing things God’s way if we don’t take the time to listen?

     That is what He longs for with us, to make our hearts His home. We can try to work our way into heaven, but God does not ask for our works. He asks for us. That’s it. He sees us as His beloved children and He will take us in His arms and say,

     Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”  Isaiah 30:21

     Prayer, reading the Bible and spending time with Him will show us the desires of His heart for us as He continues to write our stories under the umbrella of His own great and never-ending story. I want to be a part of it, don’t you? Let’s tell each other our stories of faith. Did your faith grow by reading a certain Bible passage? Which one? Did someone in your life tell you about Jesus? Who was it? A relative? A friend? A pastor? When did the Bible first become real and alive to you? When did you receive your first Bible? Do you have a faithful friend to walk alongside in your journey of faith? Share your story. It is an important part of God’s love story.

Dear Jesus,

Continue to write our stories as You make Your home within us. Please give us other Christians to become a part of our lives. Guide our actions and our words as we share our stories with others. Give us that intimate time with You each and every day. Make us part of your never-ending story of love.

Amen

Stories

     Is there a character, a Bible story, a parable that resonates with you? Sometimes the ordinary folks scattered throughout the Bible assist us in making sense of our own lives. We see ourselves in their mistakes, in their personality styles, in their attitudes and we can laugh or cry right along with them.

     Are you a Moses, starting your faith journey late in life and when God calls your name, you say, “Who am I?” We don’t believe God can use us at this stage in life. Who me? (see Exodus 3) David was a man after God’s own heart. (see Acts 13) He was the weakest and the youngest of his strong and able brothers, but God chose him to be king. His roller-coaster journey is written in poetic emotional detail in the Psalms. And after his infidelity, after he had his mistress’ husband killed and after the death of his child, he cries out to God to forgive him. God used him mightily and the lineage of Jesus runs through him.

     Peter is reckless and willing to try to walk on water in his unswerving faith. Unserving , that is, until he denied Jesus three times. Have you ever denied Jesus? (Matthew 26) He always forgives us and calls us back. Saul persecuted and wanted to kill all Christians until he was changed in a moment on the road to Damascus. Even his name changed to Paul. His personality never changed. (Acts 26) God used this strong personality to spread the gospel to the Gentiles and to write most of what would become the New Testament.

     My heart understands Jesus’ friend, Mary. When He went to Mary and Martha’s house for dinner, Martha was busy with many things. Mary is sitting at His feet listening to what He said. Martha complained to Jesus and He said, “Martha, Martha you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed-or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and I will not be taken away from her.”  Luke 10:41-42  There is a beautiful book I recommend called, Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, by Joanna Weaver.

     Wherever you are, late in life beginning a journey with Jesus, wondering how to be forgiven for a shameful past like David, worried about back-sliding like Peter, too busy to find much time to listen to Jesus like Martha, or wondering what to do with a transformed life like Paul, the Bible is filled with people just like you and just like me, trying our best to seek Jesus and sit at His feet. And there He is, right in the middle of it all. Choose the best way. Choose to follow Him.

     Wherever you are right now, He is there, too. Ready, willing and able to say.  Yes, it’s you I choose. Yes, I forgive you. Let’s turn this life around. Or tenderly as to Martha, slow down and sit with me for awhile and we’ll figure it out together.

     He can and will use you and me with all of our imperfections. It is because of His power and His Spirit and His life-altering, compassionate forgiveness and new beginnings. Read all about it. You are there in the middle of the story.  He is calling you.

Dear Lord,

We thank you for giving us true tales that teach, that meet us right where we are. The Bible tells the true stories of real life, real suffering, real guilt; too busy, too old, too young, too scared. Yep, there we are in all of it. Take our lives and use us, just as you did with the ones You loved in Scripture.  Who am I and what will You do?

In Jesus name,\

Amen

Stories

     Visiting their house in Robbinsdale on Sunday afternoons was as predictable as the sun rising each day. Climbing the white wooden stairs up to their one-bedroom home brought me into a world of good food, laughter and broken English. My grandparents on my mom’s side, Pella and Ole (don’t you love it?) made me feel special and cherished.

     Do you have wise and caring elders in your life? Pella and Ole have been gone for decades now, but I still picture them, Grandpa in his workshop as he made me picture frames and bowls out of hundreds of popsicle sticks. He made red and white windmills to put in the backyard for my grandma. She loved the color red. No one could ever imitate my grandma’s homemade rolls after she was gone and she could never give us the exact recipe when she was still on earth. It was “a little bit of this and a little bit of that.”

     They called me, “Yudy.” Pella talked most often about “her Jesus.” As she rocked in her wooden rocking chair with the red cushions, she read her Swedish Bible hour after hour. I have that worn Bible in my possession. I can’t read the words, but I know she poured over that Book for hours on end and prayed for all of us as she did. She sang hymns all day long as she knit her woolen scarves and mittens for her large family.

Speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord. Ephesians 5:19

     My grandma would tell me of the day the whole family went to a Billy Graham tent meeting, one of his first. It was somewhere around 1950, maybe a little earlier. Pella, Ole, Margaret (my mom) and their other three children would take Jesus into their hearts on that summer day. I have always had a soft spot for Billy Graham when I think of all of the lives he has changed as he presents the gospel of Jesus to the world.

     Jesus shaped Pella and Ole’s lives and they helped to shape mine. That’s what happens when we meet the Lord. The seeds we carry in our hearts are planted along the way into the lives of others. Pella taught me what was good.

Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine but to teach what is good.  Titus 2:3

Dear Father,

Thank you for the older men and women of faith. They have known you for so long and have great wisdom to share. Help us to take in what is good to share with our families just as Pella and Ole did for me. I am blessed.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Stories

     One of our group turned 85 this week. She grew up in a Chrstian home, married a pastor and raised five children, teaching them about Jesus. Three others in our Tuesday morning Bible study feel as if they have known and loved Jesus since they were very young girls. Another lived in an abusive home. She lived in fear and didn’t meet Jesus until a Godly man came into her life.

     Others, like me, were “social” Christians for a time; sitting in a pew on a Sunday morning and going home and living their own lives. Then we all shared a common thread…until I started to read the Bible…until someone asked, “Who is Jesus to you?”…suddenly I developed a hunger for the Word of God…someone brought me to a Bible study.

     We have begun a new study called, “God’s Story, Your Story” by Max Lucado. God has placed us here, at this particular time, for a reason. The darkness around us is deepening and He is challenging us to share His light with others. It’s safe for us to share and witness on Tuesday mornings. We all love each other and we all love Jesus.

     What happens when we are around our acquaintances and neighbors and other strangers God places in our paths? Then it gets a little scary. What will they think? I won’t know what to say. What if they think I’m weird? Jesus doesn’t care if we take up space on a pew on a Sunday morning. He doesn’t keep score on how many Bible verses we have memorized. He wants us to know Him. When our love and knowledge of Him deepens so does our commitment. Here are two verses. Here are our marching orders.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. 1 Peter 3:15

     You have a story. You have a hope in you. You have the answers to eternal life. It’s all about Jesus. He will use all of it; hurts and joys from the past and the present to share His good news, the great news for our future.  He changes everything. Let’s go and make disciples.

Dear Jesus,

Give us confidence in You. Give us opportunities to share our stories with someone in our lives. There is a hurting world all around us crying out for You.

Amen

Changing Our Missions

     The stories of our lives are as numerous as the grains of sand on a beach, as unique as each individual snowflake. And yet, through Jesus, we are united in our mission; to share Him through our lives and stories. We are united in the same Holy Spirit, the resurrection Spirit of our God. We are created in His image.

     Our missions in life change after giving our lives to Him. Our missions often change from being self-focused, from achieving power or money, from striving for attention, from a false image facing the world, to a humble giving up of our own desires to find His purpose. Our superficial and selfish ambitions become supernatural and sacrificial, and somehow, we become much more richly blessed.

     By giving up our lives, we gain true life! What a concept. Only our God could imagine this redemptive work of grace and hope.

Jesus said:

“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” Matthew 16:25-26

    Our mission becomes His as He changes our minds, our moods,  our morals, our messes, and makes it our mission to use all of it for His glory. All of our uniqueness, our personalities, our passions can become the basis for His story to unfold. Amazing grace. Amazing God.

Dear Jesus,

It sounds frightening to give up our lives. We want control where there is none. We want success and it comes up empty. We want love and we find it in You. You give it unconditionally and sacrificially. Show us how to do the same, as You become our mission, each in our own special way.

Amen 

Changing Our Messes

     We’ve all been there; in the depths of a pit, stuck in the mud and mire of our past. We are left with wounds. We suffer with shame. There is a trail of mess in all of our lives.  We hear the gospel. We read the Word and we believe. Jesus begins to take away the hurt, the shame. He forgives it all.

He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire. He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.  Psalm 40:2

“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.  Isaiah 1:18

     Our past messes and hurts are forgiven. We can offer forgiveness and we are set free. Jesus continues to heal our past. He walks with us and changes us in our present. And He offers us a future filled with perfection and love forever.

     We forgive, but we do not forget and because of that, God can use our messes to become our message. Our stories become a part of His and we tell others about the transforming power of Christ. Our messes are a testimony to who He is and we can offer the same love, forgiveness and compassion He first gave us.

Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story-those He redeemed from the hand of the foe.  Psalm 107:2

     Let His story become yours. You fit in just perfectly for this time in history. Your story makes a difference. Let Him use your messes, your hurts, your lessons to show His healing power. You are changed and others may want to know the reason for the hope within you.

Dear Lord,

Somehow you use our past mistakes, along with the suffering we have been through to show Your glory. Teach us how to use our past as a way to share our message about You. Thank you for Your forgiveness, for helping us out of the pits of our past.

In Jesus name

amen