He's a Good Shepherd

Here I go again with more inspiration from "the tales of Bryson". My youngest grandson’s life is consumed with the great outdoors and his animals, so of course, his live-stock causes my mind's "ticker tape" to keep rolling!

His priority is his animals' care and he loves it when I help him feed them at the corral or when he moves his goats and donkeys over to the pasture area that has plenty of “greens” for them to consume during the day. It’s a hoot to watch the goats, even with so much grass around to eat – that they still stand on their hind legs to get to the tastiest treats from the trees.

Those animals know their master. When he calls – even the donkeys, go running to him. Of course they do, they live the high life. Even neighboring families will stop by the fences and bring food to them. They are so well cared for and so well-protected. At evening time, Bryson brings them back from the pasture to the corral because predators can show up over there at nighttime. They are pampered and well fed, even if they don’t go over to the green pastures. They are protected and out of danger. Their shepherd, Bryson, is good and loves them all.

My scripture readings lately have referenced the Shepherd and His sheep, so with the inspirations of these chickens, longhorn, goats and donkeys, plus these scriptures, I can’t help but want to hang as close as I can to MY Shepherd.

Those of us who know our Good Shepherd – are like those animals in Bryson's loving care. When we are hanging close to our Shepherd – we can rest in knowing – even in storms – He is right there with us -- tenderly loving and guiding us.

But, then what about the sheep and other animals who have no shepherd and are in places that are open-prey to ravenous creatures and deadly storms? How do they come into the fold?
It's so simple -- surrender to the care of THE Good Shepherd Who lovingly welcomes them into His watchful care. Jesus does. He shares something central to a life of peace and contentment. He says, "I am the Good Shepherd." (John 10:11) Like a shepherd, He leads, feeds, protects and saves His sheep. How can He be so unrelenting in love for us?

And the answer has always been the same -- simple, yet profound -- God IS love. It is Who He is. He can't stop loving us. We are His children, and we are the sheep of His pasture.

As, one of those well-fed, cared for, protected and pampered sheep, I delightfully proclaim: "The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for He is with me. His rod and His staff -- they comfort me. He prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies. He anoints my head with oil. My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Psalms 23.

And, He welcomes you to be loved and cared for in His green pastures, too!

God Has Always Had a People

As relentless as I am to be optimistic, I know there will be plenty of opportunities to go rogue and get caught up in the whirlwinds of negativity that will, no doubt, get even more ferocious in 2020. After all, it’s a presidential election year, and, well, if you’ve paid any attention at all to the rancor and nausea-inducing negativity, you’ll know 2020 will not be for the faint of heart.

That’s why we must shift our mindsets and our thinking from falling prey to that darkness. Our true colors will be revealed this year. We’re going to witness just how Christian we really are. How kind. How compassionate. How courageous. How committed. How fervent we are in prayer and absolute certainty that God is in control. The real questions are “What kind of representatives of Christ are we?” How deep is our faith? How different is our voice than the mean-spirited voices that surround us and bombard us 24/7, if we let them?

The key to UNLOCKING the PLENTY in 2020 of God’s grace and love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.– the fruit of the Spirit -- is letting our lights shine so much brighter than the darkness that permeates the other side. It doesn’t take going to see a Star Wars movie to realize that we are in a constant battle of darkness (the dark side) and the light side.

The crazier (and darker) things get, the more clearly our light MUST shine. I sincerely believe God has always had a people – a people who represent Him as His non-compromising followers. There’s a shaking about to occur. I believe it’s going to be a time when God's people rise up with wisdom and insight and courage, and live above the political fray.

When I was writing this blog and typed the words “God has always had a people”, I remembered that was a line in the song, “The Church Triumphant” written by Bill and Gloria Gaither. I googled it. Just take a look at these words in the interlude. They nail it – nail the hand-writing on the wall of WHO we are and WHOSE we are:

"God has always had a people. Many a foolish conqueror has made the mistake of thinking that because he'd driven the Church of Jesus Christ out of sight, that he had stilled its voice and snuffed out its life, but God has always had a people. The powerful current of a river is not diminished because it is forced to flow underground. The purest water is the stream that bursts crystal clear into the sunlight after it has forced its way through solid rock. There are charlatans, who like Simon the magician sought to barter on the open market this power which cannot be bought or sold but God has always had a people; men who could not be bought and women who were beyond purchase. God has always had a people.There have been times of affluence and prosperity where the Church's message has been nearly diluted into oblivion by those who sought to make it socially attractive, re-organized and financially profitable. It's been gold plated, draped in purple and encrusted in jewels. It's been misrepresented, ridiculed, lauded and scorned. These followers of Jesus Christ have been, according to the whim of the times, elevated as sacred leaders and martyred as heretics. Yet through it all, there marches on this powerful army. God's chosen people who cannot be bought, flattered, murdered or stilled. On through the ages they march. This church, God's church is ALIVE and WELL.

And, yes, my friend and fellow believers in the Church and the Cross of Jesus Christ, let us STAND tall, knowing that we are on the LIGHT side – the Church Triumphant side -- and we know, based on the end of the book – WE WIN!

"You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; And My people shall never be put to shame." Joel 2:26-27

When Life is Sad – God is Good

I just can’t help myself. The inspirations at VBS keep coming so I must keep sharing! This has been a week of watching so many precious children get all caught up in God’s goodness and yesterday was off the charts. We had a departure of wandering in the wilderness with the Israelites to a day that was all about Jesus. Rather than the boisterous exclamation “God is good”, this day our theme was “When life is sad – God is good” so in our Faith Station, we whispered those words. It’s amazing how children respond to the atmosphere they’re in and this day, the atmosphere was created by the wooden cross in front of the sun (how appropriate – the sun was the spotlight for THE SON!), that was enhanced by the little strands of lights and ivy. We were amazed at the somber posture the kids took on as soon as they saw the cross. They respected it.

On a personal note, I came into yesterday’s VBS Faith Station in prayer for a dear cousin who was having serious brain surgery at the same time. I’ll be honest with you – though I was absolutely in a positive “Do not fear – only believe” mindset, still I thought about the theme “When life is sad – God is good” and wondered if God was giving me that theme just in case the surgery didn’t go as well as expected. But, thanks be to God, at 11:10 am, I heard from his sister who said all went well and heading to recovery..."Praise God!” But I wonder, had it been the other way, I think that I had been so immersed in the goodness of God this week – that I would have still exclaimed: “God is good”!

This day was all about Jesus Who was on the earth to show us God’s goodness and love. We talked to the kids about betrayal and how Jesus knew He was going to be betrayed. We asked them the question: “If you knew that something really bad was going to happen to you at a certain place, would you still go there? What would you do?” The common answer was “Stay at home!” From our script: “But, Jesus went to the garden even though He knew something terrible would happen. He was betrayed, arrested and He knew He’d be beaten and mocked and He knew that after all that, He’d be crucified – nailed to a cross to die. Jesus’ friends and family watched it happen. Can you imagine? They were so upset and sad. Have you ever been sad? We’ve all gone through sad times, but we’re learning about God’s goodness and we’re learning that when ‘Life is sad – God is good’. Jesus was willing to die to take the punishment for our sins, the wrong things we do.”

Here, we gave each child a stone which represented their sins, and said, “You know, this stone kind of reminds me of sin. Stones are usually kind of dirty, aren’t they? That’s like sin. Sin makes our hearts dirty, and if our hearts are dirty, we can’t be close to God. Sin separates us from God. Another thing about a stone is that it’s hard. Is anyone’s stone soft? No? That’s like sin, too. Sin can make our hearts hard. It can make us turn away from God. Remember Pharaoh? His heart was hard, and he turned away from God. What if you had to carry the weight of every sin, every day of your life? Imagine how heavy that would get. But Jesus made a way for us to be forgiven of our sins. When Jesus died on the cross, He took the punishment for our sins. We don’t have to carry them anymore. Jesus overcame the world! Let’s ask Jesus to forgive us for our sins.” Then we invited the children to place their stone in the basket in front of the cross as a symbol of their being forgiven.

The simple message of the cross. In children’s language – young and old. It is the same message no matter what age we are. This blog today is even longer than my usual lengthy blog, but perhaps there are those that need to see how simple it is to turn over a new leaf by receiving Christ into your heart. We walked the children over to the chapel where they sat in adoration of our Savior. I was amazed at the reverence and tenderness of each child. Yesterday, my blog was about the open arms of Jesus to children when He said, “Let the little children come to me and forbid them not,” and I believe He has His arms open wide for you today. Our chapel speaker said these words: “Jesus loves us so much that He was willing to be nailed to a cross so He could forgive our heavy sins. What amazing love! Remember what amazing love He has for you. It was a sad, sad day when Jesus died. But we know that when life is sad…..God is good! And God was very good because that wasn’t the end of the story. On the third day after Jesus died a few of His friends went to the tomb and were amazed. There was an angel in the tomb who said, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead.” Luke 24:5-7

Because of Jesus, we can remember that God is good, even when life is sad. Jesus gives us a reason to celebrate every day! And, that, my friends, is the Gospel message that is as fresh today as it was on the day of Christ’s resurrection. It is so fresh that it is a brand new day that affords a brand new start for children of all ages. If this blog is nudging you toward the cross, you can thank all these precious children for it as scriptures says: “A little child shall lead them…….” Isaiah 11:6

A True Romance is Going On

Day 269 of Photo Inspirations -- A True Romance is Going On
So I've known romance.  My husband was the truest romantic EVER.  He loved candlelight, love songs, little "I love you" notes, surprise date locations, slow dancing, surprise gifts, and though I knew I wasn't the most beautiful girl in the world, he made me feel like I was.

I'm studying and preparing for a Bible Study I'll be leading, starting next Monday, the 5th.  God led me to the study of  "Knowing Them By Their Fruit" and "The Fruit of the Spirit".  The Fruit of the Spirit's qualities are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  I believe the foundational quality of them all is LOVE.  After all, GOD IS LOVE, and He embodies all of those qualities.  That's why we pray...."Make me more like YOU!"

“And now abide these three: faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love.”  1 Corinthians 13:13

Yes, my Sweetheart was a true romantic.  But the love talked about in this verse is the truest of true romantic loves.  The love of God -- THE purest love.   Completely selfless, immensely sacrificial, unstoppable, a burning and unquenchable passion, a jealous and unchanging love.  This makes it the strongest possible kind.  And one that is so incomparable.  It can’t be bought, it is only given.  It is never manipulated, but given with grace.  And it can never, ever be broken.  The truth is, not even death can contain, limit or abolish this awesome love of God.

And here's some really good news that those of us may miss or be longing for -- our relationship with God is a romance.  And a greater romance has never been told.  It’s a romance that is eternal, not like the world’s.  It’s a romance that is infinite.  It was being formed before the universe was spoken into existence.   That same love is the one, the same power that sustained Christ when He gave up His last breath on the cross to save a heartless and undeserving world.  And THAT love is woven and knit into each of His children.  He is constantly wooing us and romancing us through blessings that He continually pours out on our lives.  When no human stands with us through a storm, He is always there.  When we experience heartache and pain, He remains faithful.  This love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.  Our romantic God shows us us what TRUE LOVE and TRUE romance is all about!

Here is how our romantic God shows what TRUE LOVE is:
Love is patient. Love is kind.  Love is not jealous. Love is not boastful.  Love is not rude.  Love is selfless.  Love forgives and forgets.  Love rejoices in the truth. Love never fails.

You're the Apple of His Eye

"If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. 
If God had a wallet, your photo would be in it.
He sends you flowers in the Spring, and a sunrise each morning.
You're the apple of His eye and the delight of His heart."
-Max Lucado

I'd say that makes you and me quite special. To know we are loved so extravagantly by our Dad, should sure make us want to bring Him pleasure as we reflect that same love everywhere we go. Wonder what we could do today to convey His love and heart of giving? Maybe we could start by thanking Him, praising Him, being proud of Him, like He is of us. Let's share the awesomeness of our God by talking about His greatness, goodness, love and mercy to others and let's look like Him today as we speak, serve others, and live out His love today. Wouldn't it be great if others remarked about us -- "You look just like your Dad!"?

Goodness & Mercy Following & Favor Chasing

Really? God's goodness and mercy are following us? His FAVOR is chasing us? Isn't that just like our Heavenly Father -- pursuing us and chasing us with His desire to bless us and do good things for us? It's not just enough to be followed by His goodness and mercy. No, He is relentless in pursuing us -- every single day, and He wants to catch us. So, let's look for Him. We'll surely find Him as we notice those times when God's goodness and mercy catch....like just feeling that kiss from heaven when a prayer has been answered, or being hugged (REALLY hugged) by someone that God used to do the hugging for Him, or getting a sweet surprise phone call, or winning an unexpected prize, or maybe it was the extra patience we were given when dealing with a difficult situation. Let's slow down enough today.....so goodness and mercy and God's favor can catch us.....and not let us go!

Let's Be Salt Shakers

Let's be SALT SHAKERS!! "Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person." - Colossians 4:6 So this scripture says.....when sharing our faith with others, it's like seasoning with salt. If someone sprinkles a little salt on food and makes it taste good, we really appreciate it. But if someone hands us a spoon of salt and says, "Eat up," it's really hard to swallow, difficult to digest, and most certainly not good for the heart.

So, what does the world think when we season our conversation with too much talk about church and God, and we never talk about things we might have in common with them? They just don't get us, and we just don't relate to them. But what if we talked a little about sports, and a little about the weather, and a little about our family, and their family, and a little about the every day concerns that we all have......and, then when the right opportunity comes, we occasionally sprinkle in a word about God's goodness, and how He answered a prayer or a special blessing we received and that He was the giver of the gift, or we mention an insight we gained from a sermon we heard? Or better yet, what if we went out of our way to share God's love with them in a tangible way, like taking them for dinner? Their curiosity just may be aroused, and, then, just maybe the flavor of OUR salt may cause a thirst for what we have? We can be the salt they need for zest and flavor in their life. Let's be salt shakers! We just might be the difference maker in what they need....when they need it most.