I know who I am. I know my past. I know my heart. I know my thoughts. I know the dark corners. I know the skeletons. I know what I am capable of. I know the heartache I’ve caused. I know who I’ve pushed away. I know who I’ve cast aside. I know I let other people down. I know how I’ve neglected you. I know how self-focused I am. I know I insist upon my own way. I know I let you down.
And still, continue here
I saw a post similar to this on Social Media recently:
It caused me to ponder what was being communicated. And, I have to agree with the person who posted it. Who wants a “religion” that breaks people down just so that it can lift them up? Not me! And to what does it lift us: a commitment to try harder to be good, better, or perhaps best? That’s not for me either.
But, I did an inventory:
Am I broken? No, I live in a broken world that will chew me up and spit me out. It will use me and then discard me. I have experienced that. I have also experienced holding the hands of friends who’ve lost a child, a husband, a job, self-respect, marriage, home, you name it. I have comforted other friends who’ve been broken by abortion, rape, incest, and even satanic religious ceremonies. We live in a broken world. It breaks people.
Am I flawed? Who isn’t? Ask anyone, especially the person who loves you the most, if you have any flaws. You do. I do.
Am I sinful? It’s so much nicer to ask “do I make errors or mistakes?” Yes. I do. Sometimes I lie, cheat, put myself above others, envy, or wish another person ill will. I confess, I’ve even said, “I could just kill her/him/them!”
Am I dumb? No. I have a degree. I teach. I study. People come to me for advice. I am most certainly not dumb. Well, in some areas I am, don’t ask me about math.
Am I weak? I am very strong willed! But, yes, sometimes I am weak. I cry when I miss my dad. I cry when I think of my children moving hundreds of miles away. Sometimes I don’t want to get out of bed and face the day. I don’t have all the answers. I shy away from having to say hard things to people. I can’t open pickle jars anymore.
Am I nothing? No. I am a teacher. Writer. Mother. Wife. Sister. Daughter. Friend. Cousin. Mother-in-law. Grandmother. I am something. I make a difference in other people’s lives.
Then, there’s the science side. Science answers questions, but it doesn’t give me value or worth — except that the elements of my body are worth $4.50, (we might round up to $5 if you count my skin). There is a mathematical formula for beauty, but I don’t think my face measures up. I know my body doesn’t.
How can science tell me I am full of wonder? How do you measure wonder? And, potential for greatness? How can that be measured and on whose scale? Smart? A great learner? Not everyone is smart, not everyone can learn.
To those of you who have been beaten down by “religious” people, please accept my apology, and allow me to tell you about the God of the Bible. I’d like to add a page to the post I saw:
Psalm 147:3 – He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
Hebrews 10:14 – He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
Psalm 103:12 – as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our sins from us.
James 1:5 – If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 – [Christ’s] power is made perfect in weakness. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Romans 8:32 – He did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things.
Personally, I don’t want “religion” or “Science” to be my God. I have the God of the Bible for my God. He doesn’t break anyone so that He can lift them up. He even promises:
A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out – Matthew 12:20
A little over five years ago, my friend’s family came under siege. Her husband was diagnosed with cancer. They engaged the fight.
Under siege, you have limited resources. At their disposal were surgery, medicine, wise doctors, time, faith, hope and love. They have used up all the procedures, medicines, doctors and clinical trials available to them. Now, they are hoarding the only things they have left: Time, Hope, Faith and Love.
Time is running short. The enemy will try to rob them of time together with each call, text and email notification on their phone. To protect each precious moment with their family, they have asked their friends not to phone or text. We won’t. We will pray and stand by in silence. We will give them uninterrupted moments together.
Hope will soon end for my friend’s husband as he will no longer need it. He will see the face of Jesus. He will dwell, in the glory of eternity. He will hear “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Hope gives this family peace today.
Faith will sustain them as they grieve his passing from this life into the next. Their faith is in the Gospel: Jesus’ perfect life, death, and resurrection. They trust in the salvation that Jesus purchased on the cross. Their faith is in God’s promise of resurrection and new life.
Love never fails, and love never ends. When this precious family is reunited in glory, their love for God and for each other will grow through all eternity.
What can we learn from my friends?
Time is running short. No one is guaranteed tomorrow. Not you, your parents, children, relatives or friends.
“The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.” – Psalm 103:15 NIV
Hope is the settled assurance that what God says is true. Our hope is in Christ alone. He is the promise that sustains us.
“In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame. For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth.” – Psalm 71:1, 5 NIV
Faith is confidence in what we hope for. We must confidently believe that the Gospel is true, and act on that belief by receiving Jesus as our Savior and committing our lives to Him as our Lord.
“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” – John 1:12 NIV
Love is sacrificial. It is how Christians act toward one another because this is how God acted toward us.
For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. – John 3:16 NIV
We are all under siege in one way or another and we have limited resources. Time is running out for all of us. How might you share hope, increase faith, and show love to others while you still have time?
Tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, and I love it. I always have. I’ve enjoyed it ever since I made my first poster-board Valentine card holder in grade school. I loved being courted by Brian and showered with Valentines in college. And, as a mom, I loved helping Dan and Bob write their names on preschool super-hero Valentines.
Is it a fake holiday? Am I a romantic? Probably “yes” to both. But, I’ve purchased cards and gifts, and I’ll enjoy distributing them. And, I’ll save the ones I receive.
However, the best Valentine I can give to the people I love is to look inward and have a “spiritual EKG”. I need to take a moment and determine if my day to day demonstration of love aligns with God’s definition of love.
In 1 Corinthians 13, God tells us what love should look like:
Love is…
Patient: Love bears with other’s shortcomings, weaknesses, and failures. Love waits for the right moment, it stays calm and perseveres.
Kind: Love is friendly, careful, and meets other’s needs without having to be asked. Love bends over backward to be nice, it is courteous.
Love is not…
Self-seeking: selfishly pursuing what is gratifying to me, or putting my personal desires, focus and needs above others.
Easily angered: becoming intensely displeasured or exasperated without much difficulty; it doesn’t have a short fuse and lean toward a lit match.
Proud: haughty or arrogant, with an exaggerated self-esteem or feeling of superiority.
Love does not…
Envy: discontent with what I have, resenting what another has, wanting what I don’t have.
Boast: focus on my achievements or possessions, lift myself up even at the expense of putting someone else down.
Dishonor others: bring shame or disgrace upon others through disrespect, slander, or maligning their reputation.
Delight in evil: enjoy my own wickedness or find great pleasure when others fall victim to wickedness.
Keep a record of wrongs: maintain a list of unjust treatment, collected and preserved, so as not to be forgotten, refuse to forgive, and continue to recall mistakes, errors, hurts, inequalities and injustices.
Love always…
Rejoices with the truth: Love fills the heart with joy, and is ready to celebrate facts, reality, sincerity, fidelity, integrity and honesty. Love celebrates what is right.
Protects: Love guards or keeps from harm. Love never deliberately hurts another but shields them from hurt.
Trusts: Love believes, has faith and confidence in others. Love gives the benefit of the doubt.
Hopes: Love is not wishful thinking, but confidence. Loves look forward with confidence to the fulfillment of God’s Word.
Perseveres: Love persists, it never gives up, ever.
Love never fails: no way, not at all, not ever, on no occasion will love prove deficient or inadequate. Love will always succeed.
God tells us in 1 John 4:16 that He is love. Because God is love, He can define love, and He can command that we love one another in the way that He defines it. Sometimes I love well. Other times, I don’t. God always does.
Is your heart prepared for Valentine’s Day? Are you? Are those you love? Will you be showering those you love with true Godly love this Valentine’s Day?
We took our grandsons Christmas shopping on Saturday to buy presents for their mommy and daddy. When we got home, they wrapped the presents all by themselves. They picked out the paper and the ribbon. They cut, folded, taped, and tied.
Will there be a prettier, more perfectly selected gift under their tree? Nope!
When we asked what they wanted to get their parents, Jake said “My daddy loves building with me, so I’m going to get him a set of Legos.” And, Matty said, “I’m going to get Mommy a ‘Sully’, because she loves him!”
Clearly, they know the desires of their mommy’s and daddy’s hearts!
We all want to give the perfect gifts, so we ask ourselves: what are the desires of our loved one’s hearts? What will make them happy? What will meet their needs? We look for clues and even ask for specific lists so that we don’t fail in our mission.
God wants to give his people the perfect gift also! He wants to give us the desires of our hearts, and he promises that when we take delight in him, he will.
Psalm 37:4 “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
So what does it mean to ‘delight in the Lord’?
Let’s back up for a moment. When we asked the boys what they wanted to give their parents for Christmas, we delighted in their answer. It made us smile.
As they worked so hard wrapping their packages without creased edges or perfect bows it was adorable. We delighted in watching them. It made us smile.
Delight is a choice. Delighting in someone is choosing to enjoy them, and accepting who they are and what they do without criticism. It makes us smile.
Can you delight in the Lord? Can you enjoy him? Can you accept who He is and what He does without criticism? Can you have joy even in difficult circumstances? The answer is “Yes, you can.” But do you choose to?
If you and I delight in the Lord, he says he will give us the desires of our heart. So, should we prepare our Christmas lists!? Or is there a greater desire of our hearts that we should be heeding?
Isaiah 26:8-9 “Your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you.”
There is no gift under our tree this year that will more fully meet the desire of our hearts than God himself. If we choose to delight in Him, then he will give the desire of our hearts; he will bring glory to His name, He will be with us in the night and in the morning. There is no greater gift than God himself! Is He the desire of your heart this Christmas?
(Not to worry, mommy and daddy, we steered them away from the toy aisle!)
Marcia Furrow 