Category: Grace

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A Haze on the Meadow

This was the scene out my window this morning – there was a haze on the meadow.

You know I love taking pictures but I’m far from being a real photographer. I look at great photography as real art. The ability to capture the beauty that is seen with the natural eye through a lens is a true gift!

I take a lot of pictures and the thing I realized was how quickly I had been in taking some of them. Blurry – delete. Off center – crop. No one was ready – trash it.

The true photographer is patient; waiting for the right angle, the perfect light and then they bring it all into focus! A masterpiece.

A lot of people take life the same way – hurry up and click. Snap, snap, snap. Delete, trash it, do over. Or better yet they spent their lives taking selfies and never learn to include the beauty or the people around them.

With a Christ-centered focus, we can zoom in on what’s important. Bring even the tiniest of details up close and appreciate the intricate design – the design of health, friendship, innocence, honesty, joy, patience, love.

Reminds me of the story Jesus told of the Good Samaritan. The priest and the Levite were too busy taking selfies to be concerned with the hurting of the man who had been robbed but the Samaritan zoomed in, focused on the situation and saw the beauty of caring for someone other than himself.

“The next day, the Samaritan took out two silver coins and gave them to the man who worked at the inn. He said, ‘Take care of this hurt man. If you spend more money on him, I will pay it back to you when I come again.’

36 Then Jesus said, ‘Which one of these three men do you think was really a neighbor to the man who was hurt by the robbers?’

37 The teacher of the law answered, ‘The one who helped him.’

Jesus said, ‘Then you go and do the same.’” Luke 10:35-37 ERV

Lord, improve my focus today. Let me love my neighbor as you have loved me.

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A Loving Mother

Those of you who have been following my blog for any length of time know I had a loving relationship with my mom. This is my first Mother’s Day without her.

She died the end of May last year. I know she is in heaven, and I will see her again and we will have all of eternity to share the Father’s love.

When I think of the things that made her so special I feel like I am compiling a list of the Proverbs 31 woman. Mom learned to sew before I was born and I still have some of the little dresses she made for me and my daughters. She learned to knit when I was in grade school and I have sweaters and ponchos tucked away too.

Mom was a wonderful cook and baker. Everyone I knew growing up wanted an invitation to our house for dinner. She also was an excellent baker – there were no store-bought cookies or cakes – every school party she made and decorated dozens and dozens of treats.

My Dad was out-of-town for long periods of time; work kept him away. She kept the household accounts and maintained discipline for myself and my two siblings. She was an economist and could make a penny stretch.

She became one of my best friends. In High School, we had our differences but I definitely felt a closeness with her that my other friends didn’t have with their mothers. When I married and had children she filled the role of Grama whole-heartedly.

Mom always tried to help her friends and neighbors. When anyone came to the house to do work or make a delivery she didn’t let them leave without hearing about Jesus.

In her final years she look forward to going to heaven. She told me numerous times, “if I’m gone in the morning, tell them not to cry. Have a party because I am where I want to be”.

I offer this tribute this morning to all those Moms who are with us and those who we no longer are able to touch with our hands.

“Her children say good things about her.
    Her husband brags about her and says,
29 “There are many good women,
    but you are the best.”
30 Grace and beauty can fool you,
    but a woman who respects the Lord should be praised.
31 Give her the reward she deserves.
    Praise her in public for what she has done.” Proverbs 31:28-31 ERV

Mothers, grandmothers, women with mother’s hearts we have a special place of influence that no one else can occupy. May we shape lives with the love of Jesus!

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Some Things Amaze Me

Here we are, a couple days past Easter and I’m still thinking about the resurrection.

We talk a lot about the days that led up to the death of Jesus, His burial and yes, resurrection morning but what about the days that followed?

“I know the resurrection is a fact, and Watergate proved it to me. How? Because 12 men testified they had seen Jesus raised from the dead, then they proclaimed that truth for 40 years, never once denying it. Every one was beaten, tortured, stoned and put in prison. They would not have endured that if it weren’t true. Watergate embroiled 12 of the most powerful men in the world-and they couldn’t keep a lie for three weeks. You’re telling me 12 apostles could keep a lie for 40 years? Absolutely impossible.” ~ Charles Colson

This quote by Charles Colson has prompted me to think more closely about what must have transpired that first week after Easter.

“Pilate said to them, “Take the soldiers. Go and watch the grave.” 66 Then they went and made the soldiers stand by the grave. They put a lock on the big stone door.” Matthew 27:65-66 NLV

“They said, ‘Tell the people, “His followers came at night and took His body while we were sleeping.” 14 We will see that you do not get into trouble over this if Pilate hears about it.’ 15 They took the money and did as they were told. This story was told among the Jews and is still told today.” Matthew 28:13-15 NLV

Tradition and military protocol tell us that these soldiers would have been killed for dereliction of duty not given hush money. How many secret meetings were there to convince them to keep quiet?

And what about the disciples? Jesus appeared to Mary, He talked with two disciples on the road to Emmaus, Peter and John saw the empty tomb, but none of them were excitedly running through the streets of Jerusalem proclaiming the resurrection. They were behind locked doors, afraid that the Jews would come looking to arrest them.

“It was evening of the first day of the week. The followers had gathered together with the doors locked because they were afraid of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said, ‘May you have peace.’ 20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. When the followers saw the Lord, they were filled with joy.” John 20:19-20 NLV

Jesus appeared to them and spoke words of peace. That was the same message He gave them the night He was arrested, “Let not your hearts be trouble”. Christ, like a good shepherd, took every opportunity to bring peace and calm the hearts of his followers.

We know Thomas, one of the apostles, wasn’t there that night. He didn’t encounter Jesus for another eight days. I wonder when Jesus saw His mother and brothers; when did He make his first visit to Mary, Martha and Lazarus, his dear friends?

We aren’t privy to that information. It isn’t recorded in Scripture, but His loving nature would not have allowed Him to keep the details of His resurrection a secret. Yes, I imagine that the first days following the resurrection were just as event filled as those leading up to it.

There is a message to reveal to the world. “He is not here; He is risen as He said”!

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A Gift for All

I imagine that quite a few of you are getting ready for a family gathering this Easter Sunday.

When I was a child our family gatherings were limited; we lived in Arizona and all our relatives lived in Iowa. So, our get togethers centered around our friends from church. Mom would make a big potato salad, cook a ham, make fresh rolls, deviled eggs and pies, lots of pies.

After church everyone would come to our house. We had a ping pong table set up in the carport that Mom would cover it with a sheet. The food would be brought out and organized. Plates and silverware at one end, pies and desserts at the other. The house was filled with love and laughter.

We were celebrating the resurrection – God’s gift to us all!

“In the past we were foolish too. We did not obey, we were wrong, and we were slaves to the many things our bodies wanted and enjoyed. We lived doing evil and being jealous. People hated us and we hated each other. 4 But then the kindness and love of God our Savior was made known. 5 He saved us because of his mercy, not because of any good things we did. He saved us through the washing that made us new people. He saved us by making us new through the Holy Spirit. 6 God poured out to us that Holy Spirit fully through Jesus Christ our Savior. 7 We were made right with God by his grace. God saved us so that we could be his children and look forward to receiving life that never ends. 8 This is a true statement.” Titus 3:3-8 ERV

Saved by grace!

I knew that I wasn’t good enough to get to heaven on my own. I needed a Savior and God gave me One. He gave His Son to forgive my sins and make me right with Him. He demonstrated His unconditional love!

The wonderful news of the resurrection is that everyone is included. No one is left outside of God’s forgiveness.

“Jesus is the way our sins are taken away. And he is the way all people can have their sins taken away too.” I John 2:2 ERV

There isn’t a heavenly selection committee that includes or excludes us from God’s love. Christ paid the price for all of us and then freely gave us the gift of life.

“All have sinned and are not good enough to share God’s divine greatness. 24 They are made right with God by his grace. This is a free gift. They are made right with God by being made free from sin through Jesus Christ.” Romans 3:23-24 ERV

A free gift. A gift for all.

My Mom gave pie, made with love. God gives us forgiveness and new life from His loving heart. There is no greater gift than God’s free gift of being made right with Him.

I sincerely pray that everyone reading this has, or will, accept God’s gift to us all.

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Imperfect & Usable

After reading yesterday morning’s blog were you consciously aware of the many opportunities you had to be humble?

I was.

One of the things I find most humbling is God’s desire and ability to use us in our imperfection.

He used Adam in spite of his disobedience. Abraham was a man used mightily by God but he had times that he lied to protect his own life instead of trusting God to defend him. David served the Lord faithfully for many years and then committed adultery and murder. Samson was used by God to destroy the Philistines but had anger issues.

Peter denied the Lord and Paul persecuted the Christian believers. Each of these men had issues with humility, however, they repented and were forgiven.

How many times have thoughts from our past side-lined us from doing what we felt God wanted us to do?

Thoughts of failure, fear, unworthiness and shame.

“Some of the teachers of the Law of Moses were Pharisees, and they saw Jesus eating with sinners and tax collectors. So they asked his disciples, ‘Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?’

17 Jesus heard them and answered, ‘Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do. I didn’t come to invite good people to be my followers. I came to invite sinners.'” Mark 2:16-17 CEV

Jesus didn’t come to the religious elite; He came to those who knew they needed a Savior. He came to people like you and me.

Tomorrow is Palm Sunday. It’s a day that commemorates Jesus riding into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. The people who had heard Jesus teach, been healed by his touch and seen the miracles that he performed were lining the streets, awaiting His arrival.

“The disciples led the donkey to Jesus. They put some of their clothes on its back, and Jesus got on. 8 Many people spread clothes on the road, while others spread branches they had cut from the fields. 9  In front of Jesus and behind him, people went along shouting,

“Hooray!
God bless the one who comes
    in the name of the Lord!
10 God bless the coming kingdom
    of our ancestor David.
Hooray for God
    in heaven above!” Mark 11:7-10 CEV

Now it’s our turn to praise Him!

We have been made new, by His grace. Our imperfections don’t disqualify us. In fact, it is those very things that make us recipients of His grace.

“I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believed. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. 9 You are not saved by the things you have done, so there is nothing to boast about. 10 God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would spend our lives doing the good things he had already planned for us to do.” Ephesians 2:8-10 ERV

Fully aware of our imperfections, Father, we say thank you for your grace. Thank you for making us new and giving us a life filled with good things. Amen!

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The Delivery

I can’t even begin to tell you how many deliveries we have had since we took possession of our new home. There are so many little things I couldn’t find after the move or I didn’t think I’d need any longer and sold, only to replace them.

It’s one thing to receive a delivery of something I’ve ordered but there’s a completely separate emotion and excitement when I see that it is something which has been sent by a friend or family member.

Never once have I taken that unexpected arrival, set it on the table and left it to be opened later. No, it’s one of those “find the box knife and open it carefully” moments. Everything about this unexpected gift says it’s special.

I was remembering this morning the boxes my Mom used to send when I was in college. The boxes would be wrapped in brown paper and there would be stickers or handwritten drawings on the wrapping. Inside there were cookies, homemade candies, a favorite magazine, stationery and stamps – little things that told me she loved me.

Now, imagine today one of those delivery drivers stops at your house with a package. You don’t recognize the store or the return address. It’s addressed to you but from whom?

It’s the most wonderful gift ever! You’re overcome with emotion. Tears stream down your face; words can’t express the gratitude. You are overwhelmed and now you grab the phone and call the giver of this precious gift and say, “I’m sorry I can’t receive this. I don’t deserve it and I’ll be sending it back.” Really? No, not at all. You call and express your gratitude and love, or at least that’s what I would do.

Do you know that this is exactly what God has done for us? Let me show you.

““All have sinned and are not good enough to share God’s divine greatness. 24 They are made right with God by his grace. This is a free gift. They are made right with God by being made free from sin through Jesus Christ. 25-26 God gave Jesus as a way to forgive people’s sins through their faith in him. God can forgive them because the blood sacrifice of Jesus pays for their sins. God gave Jesus to show that he always does what is right and fair. He was right in the past when he was patient and did not punish people for their sins. And in our own time he still does what is right. God worked all this out in a way that allows him to judge people fairly and still make right any person who has faith in Jesus.” Romans 3:23-26 ERV

God’s great grace and love gave us something we didn’t deserve. Something we won’t ever earn, something we will never be able to buy. It’s a gift!

It’s a gift of love that comes straight from the Father’s heart. The gift is new life, a relationship with God the Father. We’re saved from the punishment of sin. Jesus took the punishment for us! Why? To show us through all the time to come that He loves us.

I feel I have been given the job of the delivery driver. I get to bring the gift to your home. Once you open it, make sure you call the Father and thank Him for this amazing gift of love!

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Goodness – Gracious

My new backyard has me looking at the Superstition Mountains. Each morning and evening when I look at their majesty, I find myself using an old expression, Goodness Gracious. That’s something my grandmother would have said.

I started thinking – what does that really mean? When she said it, it would have meant
“God, you are so good; look at the beauty You have designed”.

What does it mean to be gracious? Some definitions are godly character, kindness, dignity, mericiful, compassionate. Gracious – displaying grace.

Nature is a display of God’s goodness and grace.

So what is grace?

Grace: receiving the goodness of God that we don’t deserve. It is given freely with no strings attached. The grace of God took Jesus to the cross long before we were ever born so that we could be brought into right relationship with the Father.

In II Peter 3, the entire chapter is written about the return of the Lord to earth. Peter says that some will grow weary waiting, others will call it foolish but he admonishes us to be ready. God is not willing that any should perish but He desires that all should repent. The reason it’s taking so long for Him to return is the Father wants all to come to salvation in Him. He wants everyone to experience His grace; He is gracious!

We are to grow in grace. That doesn’t mean we acquire more grace but that we understand the scope of God’s grace to a greater extent. When we are born human, we have all the “humanness” we will ever have but we grow in our capacity to understand and function in our humanity. It’s the same with our life given to us by grace.

As we grow in our knowledge of the Father, we see more clearly how His grace is given to each and everyone of us. We see that He has provided for us through His amazing love and goodness. He is merciful and He is gracious (full of grace). We are to be like Him. Growing in grace causes us to see that our failures and those of others are covered by His grace and so we can go forward, forgiving as we ourselves have been forgiven.

“But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” II Peter 3:18 KJV

or maybe you understand it better this way

“Let the wonderful kindness and the understanding that come from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ help you to keep on growing. Praise Jesus now and forever! Amen.” II Peter 3:18 CEV

I pray that you have “goodness – gracious” moments in your day. Things that take your breath away – things that remind you of God’s goodness and grace!

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Ask For the Baby Jesus

A few days ago, Dave and I were in one of our favorite artisan shops in Tubac. I was reminded of one of the first time I visited there.

I love Nativities. I have the one from our first year of marriage; I have one that was made for me in 1980 and all the little ones I have added along the way. My most recent was one I purchased with Christmas monies from my Mom. I purchased it in that little shop I was talking about, it’s made from Mexican pottery called talavera.

I studied each figure in the set; their smiling faces, their clothing, the shape of the stall and then I realized there was no baby Jesus! Where did He go? What happened to Him? 

That shop has many Nativity scenes from Mexico, South America, and the US. There is a sign close to the larger sets telling shoppers to ask for the baby Jesus. When I asked the shop keeper why, he replied “People steal the baby Jesus. We don’t have a theft problem in the store except for that.” I was told they keep the baby Jesus in the back room and you have to ask for Him.

Ask for Jesus! Wasn’t that the Father’s intent from the beginning? He wanted us to recognize that our lives were not complete without Jesus. 

Who would steal the baby Jesus? That is completely counter to the reason He came. When Jesus was born the angels filled the heavens with the announcement. The shepherds were told to go find Him. The wise men saw and followed His star. Everyone was welcome to come see Jesus!

Jesus came to forgive the sins of all men, even the ones who would steal the baby Jesus.  Jesus wasn’t born in a palace where only a few of the elite would be allowed to enter. He wasn’t born in a monastery where only the religious and the holy would be. No, He was born in a barn; anyone – man, woman, child, elite or poor, educated or unlearned was welcomed at the manger. 

“Today your Savior was born in David’s town. He is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This is how you will know him: You will find a baby wrapped in pieces of cloth and lying in a feeding box.” 13 Then a huge army of angels from heaven joined the first angel, and they were all praising God, saying,

14 “Praise God in heaven, and on earth let there be peace to the people who please him.”

15 The angels left the shepherds and went back to heaven. The shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this great event the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they went running and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the feeding box.” Luke 2:11-16 ERV 

I want to encourage you to put Jesus on display. Don’t hid him, let the world see that He lives in you. Love the way He did; reach out to everyone the Father brings your way. The sign on our lives should be “if you want Jesus, just ask!”

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Sweet Immanuel

Earlier this week I was out in our 5th wheel trailer doing some cleaning. I hadn’t really done a thorough cleaning since we returned from the mountains. Music makes the cleaning process more enjoyable for me. I found my treasured copy of Kenny Rogers’ “The Gift” in the CD/DVD basket, put it in the player, turned up the volume and went to work.

I play this CD many times throughout the Christmas season and have for over 20 years. It’s one of my favorites. (I’ve given copies of it to my kids) I sing along with each song and let the music saturate my heart. So, I wasn’t surprised when I found the melody of one of the songs filling my mind yesterday as Dave and I traveled from Rio Rico to Apache Jct. and back.

“Oh a man named John The Baptist
Had been hearlding the news
About the coming of a Savior
For both the Gentiles and the Jews
And it happened in Judea
In the town of Bethlehem
With a bright star o’er the stable
Was born the Son Of Man
Oh the angels were rejoicing
As the tiny baby cried
For the hope of man’s salvation
In a manger had arrived
Meek as a lowly shepherd
But the mightiest of kings
He gives peace and life eternal
To whosoever calls His name
Oh Emmanuel
The Father’s precious Son
Who forgives our sins and washes clean
The hearts of everyone”*

“Oh, Immanuel, the Father’s precious Son, who forgives our sins and washes clean the hearts of everyone”!

Forgiven and cleansed!!! Can there be any greater gift than that?

When we lived in Idaho and Montana, I always welcomed our first good snow. It left a blanket of perfect white covering the pastures and the yards. The grasses that had turned brown were no longer visible, instead there was a glistening sparkle of white.

That’s what the Father does in our lives. Our past, with our sins, our failings, our guilt, leaves our hearts ugly but the Father’s loving forgiveness washes them clean, fresh like new fallen snow.

“I, the Lord, am the one speaking to you. Come, let’s discuss this. Even if your sins are as dark as red dye, that stain can be removed and you will be as pure as wool that is as white as snow.” Isaiah 1:18 ERV

Clean and Forgiven. Immanuel – thank you for coming to earth!

“ So the Lord’s promise came true, just as the prophet had said, 23 ‘A virgin will have a baby boy, and he will be called Immanuel,” which means “God is with us.”‘” Matthew 1:22-23 CEV

The meaning of Immanuel – God is with us. Christ’s coming brought the presence of God to the earth. No longer alone, no longer left to struggle by ourselves, no longer without hope, no longer strangers to God’s love.

Ohhh, oh Immanuel, the Father’s precious gift to us. Sweet Immanuel, God with us!

*Song Title: What A Wonderful Beginning. Writer(s): Allen Shamblin, Austin Cunningham, Paul Cunningham

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Handwriting on the Wall

This morning I was looking for a document in my “documents” folder when I came across a picture I had taken when Dave and I visited the Petrified Forest this summer.

Petroglyphs are some of the earliest forms of communication. Unfortunately, it’s a language I do not speak. But it’s a language God has always understood.

“One evening, King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his highest officials, and he drank wine with them. 2 He got drunk and ordered his servants to bring in the gold and silver cups his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem. Belshazzar wanted the cups, so that he and all his wives and officials could drink from them.

3-4 When the gold cups were brought in, everyone at the banquet drank from them and praised their idols made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone. 5 Suddenly a human hand was seen writing on the plaster wall of the palace. The hand was just behind the lampstand, and the king could see it writing….25-28 The words written there are mene, which means “numbered,” tekel, which means “weighed,” and parsin, which means “divided.” God has numbered the days of your kingdom and has brought it to an end. He has weighed you on his balance scales, and you fall short of what it takes to be king. So God has divided your kingdom between the Medes and the Persians.” Daniel 5 CEV

I encourage you to read the whole chapter of Daniel 5. King Belshazzar defied the Lord and defiled the sacred items of the Temple. The Lord got his attention by writing on the wall at Belshazzar’s party.

Handwriting on the wall.

Each one of us have been subject to the “handwriting on the wall”. All of our sins were written down as an accusation against us, very similar to a list of charges that are read before the judge in a court room. However, the handwriting against us has been blotted out – removed completely.

“Having cancelled and blotted out and wiped away the handwriting of the note (bond) with its legal decrees and demands which was in force and stood against us (hostile to us). This [note with its regulations, decrees, and demands] He set aside and cleared completely out of our way by nailing it to [His] cross.

15 [God] disarmed the principalities and powers that were ranged against us and made a bold display and public example of them, in triumphing over them in Him and in it [the cross].” Colossians 2:14-15 AMPC

The handwriting against us was nailed to the cross and wiped away. The blood that Jesus shed for us, covered our sins and cleansed us. Through His death, Christ defeated satan and his powers and we now share in His triumph!

Now, there’s something to be grateful for. All of my sins were nailed to the cross and because of His death I am forgiven…so are you!

We are no longer subject to the handwriting on the wall.

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