Understanding

A young couple loses their 13 month old son to bacterial meningitis with no symptoms to let them know something might be wrong...he just never woke up from his nap. A mother and father held the memorial service for their 30 year old daughter who took her own life as a result of having to live with the devastating effects of Bipolar disease. The medications she had access to only brought worsened side effects and symptoms to make life more unbearable. A young, unemployed husband learns that his beautiful young bride is diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer. As his head swirls with fear and shock, he realizes that on top of having to find a job, their life will never look like they thought it would...and that after all the surgery and chemo, he could still lose her.

These are the three stories that have weighed heavily on my heart over the last three weeks. The first two are neighbors of mine in my former neighborhood, and the young husband is my brother. My sister in law is now battling Stage 3 breast cancer. I’m not sitting here saying, “God, where are you in all of this?” But I can tell you that the people in these scenarios are, even if they know God. We always question. And it’s okay to question...He can take it. He understands. He’s been there.

There is no greater injustice in the world than a parent having to bury their child. And now that I’m a parent, I can get in touch with the rage and excruciating anguish that would pump through my veins at the loss of my Lucy Joy...and it terrifies me. I’ve experienced loss before. Agonizing loss. My father died when he was only 44. I was 23 years old. One day he was there, one day he was gone. It was so final. I wasn’t really walking with the Lord at that time but I knew there was no way I’d get through it without Him. What I didn’t realize was how much He understood my pain. I’d always heard about “God giving His only Son...” and took that verse (John 3:16) for granted. I treated it like a story, not HISTORY. But it is. It’s real.

So many times we isolate ourselves in our circumstances because we feel we are the only ones who understand our own pain. If we decide to let someone in or seek out help, we immediately want to find someone who has been through the same thing so that we KNOW they understand how we feel. And in many cases, support groups are wonderful and necessary. But to limit our resources to that can really handicap our healing process.

Are you a husband or wife whose spouse has left you for another? Jesus knows rejection and abandonment. Are you facing the loss of everything you own, including your home? Jesus knows about having to give up his place with no choice. Are you a single mom wondering how you’re going to make ends meet? Jesus understands being overworked, out of time and limited resources. Are you a victim of rape or incest? Jesus knows humiliation and torture. Are you a homosexual who feels alienated and hated? Jesus knows what it’s like to be mocked and hated. Yet, he experienced none of these examples I just mentioned.

What we need to remember is that as humans, we all experience these kinds of emotions at any given time and that even though someone else may not have been through the exact experience you have, if God has put them in your life for a “time such as this,” take a second look at the blessing He might be sending you. Understand He knows our hearts and needs better than we know ourselves. Know that He can be trusted, and He is delighted when we trust Him. In fact, it’s one of His greatest joys.

Wherever this message finds you, I pray for the right people to cross your path to minister to you, and I pray for you to recognize the blessing of the unlimited resources, understanding and care of God in your life. Whether you go to church or not, it’s there. He’s loving you...look for it.

Good Friday

    Today is Good Friday; the day when Christ willingly and obediently did what He came to earth to do...to die. As I was setting up the last details for our Good Friday service tonight, the rain and wind was howling outside of our doors and it gave a very eerie feeling to the quiet of the Sanctuary. As I looked up at the rugged cross I thought, "Well, this might be a perfect accent to the service tonight. It's symbolic of the rage and howling that occurred in God's heart when He was separated from His Son...for those who didn't even get it. What an absurd injustice!" And now that I'm a parent, I cannot imagine the anguish God and His Son felt. I cannot imagine, for one moment, sacrificing my baby Lucy, for a totally unjust cause, let alone MILLIONS of them who I knew personally DID NOT deserve the gift! And quite frankly, I am one of those millions who did (and does) not deserve this gift.

It's not a new story. We've heard it for centuries now. But today offers us the opportunity to make it OUR story, not just A story. Jesus died for me. He died for you. Make it personal. He did. He thought of each one of us on the cross, and when He said, "Father please forgive them, for they know not what they do," he meant us too. Not just the people who witnessed his trial; not just the centurions who performed the execution or the locals who were present to jeer and witness his walk to Golgatha. No, he meant ALL of us who would ever draw breath.

Check this out: "A father had to watch his innocent son die in front of hundreds today. Those who witnessed it did nothing but jeer at the boy and laugh in the face of his father." If that story aired on the news in this country, an outrage would occur and thousands of people would take up this father and son's cause. It would be an injustice of gigantic proportions. In fact, many people from this country travel to other countries where these injustices are occurring and trying to do something about it.

So...it really happened. Will we remember and take up the cause of the innocent? That charge would be to, 'Love the Lord
your
God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' ; and, 'Love
your neighbor as yourself.' (Luke 10:27).

May the gift that was given to you save and transform you, and not end there. Take up the cause...pass it on and share Christ with others.

The Friday Before Good Friday

Scripture: "Mary brought in a pint of very expensive perfume made from pure nard. She poured the perfume on Jesus' feet, and then she wiped his feet with her hair. And the sweet smell from the perfume filled the whole house." – John 12:3 (NIV)

Today's chapter is entitled, "Risky Love." Max is telling the story of Jesus, Mary, Lazarus and others having dinner at Simon's home. Simon is one of the many lepers Jesus healed and wanted to host his Savior in comfort and the company of good friends. He explains, "Simon didn't forget what Jesus had done. He couldn't forget. Where there had been a nub, there was now a finger for his daughter to hold. Where there had been ulcerous sores, there was now skin for his wife to touch. And where there had been lonely hours spent in quarantine, there were now happy hours such as this..." This is such a huge point for those of us who have been Christians for a long time, and who spend most of our waking hours providing the opportunity for others to hear the Gospel and meet Jesus. We forget what we've been rescued from. We talk and preach about hell, but it becomes a distant reality of existence to us because we take for granted that our future is sealed in heaven. We forget that even beyond the depths of Hades, that Jesus wants to save the woman down the street from her own personal hell of the physical and emotional abuse she lives in with her controlling husband. We forget that He wants to save the child next door from the hell of evil incest that rages in a father's mind. He also wants to save that neighbor you know who has secretly lost his job and can't bear to tell his wife and family from the hell of his shame. What have you been saved from? Do you remember what it was like before you were His and He blessed and transformed your life so radically? Can you even, for a moment, imagine what eternity would be like, separated from God? The hug of a loved one; a cup of cold water on a hot, thirsty day; the kind, listening ear of your best friend or soul mate; the smell and feel of your child's skin and the sound of their laugh; these are all the presence of God in your life. Without Him, all of that is gone. Forever. Take time to thank Him for what he did for you. And be motivated to bring others to Jesus. Be upset that the enemy could potentially deceive unsaved ones...ones you love who don't know Jesus...and separate them from Him and any comfort...forever.

This leads me to my next point. Max eloquently writes about Mary's pouring of the perfume on Jesus, "It wasn't a logical thing to do, but since when has love been led by logic? Logic hadn't healed Simon. Common sense hadn't wept at Lazarus's tomb. Practicality didn't feed the crowds or love the children. Love did. Extravagant, risky, chance-taking love." Even Jesus' disciples chastised her for her risky move. They looked at it as a waste but Jesus was quick to defend her, "Why are you troubling this woman? She did an excellent thing for me." Max goes on to say, "Jesus' message is just as powerful today as it was then. Don't miss it: There is a time for risky love. There is a time for extravagant gestures. There is a time to pour out your affections on the one you love. And when the time comes – seize it, don't miss it." We all have ways of putting off things that seem extravagant or "over-the-top," because we look at being practical as the best way to live. We're all reigning in finances because of the recession and potential job loss; we have to save money here & there because the kids need this & that; we put off date night because we want to save money and energy for whatever family demands will (or have) come. All of these excuses are real and alive in today's family life...and potentially stealing our joy in our relationships with God and others. I know I am guilty of allowing that. But we serve an extravagant God. He IS the God of the impossible, and His resources are limitless. I'm not saying go out and spend money you don't have and expect God to pick up the tab, but I am challenging the area of your time and energy. In life, we work with the resources we have and those resources come down to time, energy and money. Trust God with ALL of those resources, and you will be AMAZED at the time and energy you have when you don't think you have it (and that applies to money too)! Max goes on to say, "The price of practicality is sometimes higher than the price of extravagance." Meaning, sometimes we keep calling on practicality to make our decisions and then the opportunities never come again. He also says, "The seized opportunity renders joy. The neglected brings regret." Are you feeling the same sense of urgency to love and forgive and reach out like I am? Even to the ones who aren't easy to love?

That said, I'm going to write a letter of apology today that's been on my mind for a LONG time. I'm embarrassed to admit it still needs to be done. Is there any spring cleaning that needs to be done in your heart before you come to the altar of God for Good Friday, Easter, whatever? Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:23&24, "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift." It seems fitting that I would take care of this before preparing a church service to give to God as a gift when I still have this "hell" in my heart. Scary, isn't it? To think those little, undone things in our walks as Christians really are a little piece of hell. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be walking around with that kind of baggage on a regular basis and I certainly don't want to get caught with it when the Lord returns!

Take time to revere the One we're celebrating this season, and ask Him to put on your heart the areas He'd like you to trust Him with. He died for you, and it was an agonizing, grueling, torturous death. It wasn't just a story; don't reduce it to some fancy piece of artwork that tells of a part of irrelevant history that doesn't apply to us anymore. Because you see, He rose and conquered the grave and HE LIVES!! Let's live with Him and LIKE HIM...really! Good Friday and Easter are coming...are you ready?

 

Don't Miss Easter While Celebrating Easter

This was originally written for the staff at Life Community Church, as they prepare for the Easter celebration weekend that's coming up very quickly. In ministry leadership (something very close to my heart), the work that goes in to preparing holiday weekends where the community will be visiting and it may be the only weekend to capture someone's attention who wouldn't otherwise attend church, it can be a very busy, rambunctious time. Many times the need to experience Easter and God's resurrection power goes unmet by ministry leaders as they pour themselves in to the prep for that weekend. One of my excellent mentors, Terry Schneider, once said to me when I was working for him, "Don't Miss Easter." It was a call to slow down and ENJOY the very Lord I was preparing to celebrate. It was a reminder to me that God's amazing resurrection power is available to me every day in my life, and THAT POWER was going to be the ingredient that would make the Easter celebration have an impact on others.

So, whether it's a family feast, multiple children's Easter baskets or a church service you're preparing, make sure you stop personally and reflect on the very One you're celebrating, having reverence for what you're doing in His name, and inviting Him in to the process. I chose to read a chapter of a book each night for two weeks up to Good Friday. It was Max Lucado's, "And the Angels Were Silent, Walking with Christ Toward the Cross." Here's how it spoke to me. Enjoy.

Scripture: “Work and get everything done during six days each week, but the seventh day is a day of rest to honor the Lord your God.” – Exodus 20:9-10

Max tells of a story in which he was taking his daughter, Andrea, out for a bike ride. She had just mastered riding a bike with two wheels and was ready for a bigger ride off of their street but had never ridden down a hill before.

‘We sat atop the descent and looked down it. To her it was Everest. “You sure you want to try?” I asked. “I think so,” she gulped. “Just put on your brakes when you want to stop. Don’t forget your brakes.” “Okay.” I rode to the midway point and waited. Down she came. The bike began to pick up speed. The handlebars began to shake. Her eyes got big. Her pedals moved in a blur. As she raced past she screamed, “I can’t remember how to stop pedaling!” She crashed into the curb...’

‘Could you use a reminder on how to slow it all down? If so, read what Jesus did during the last Sabbath of his life. Start in the Gospel of Matthew. Didn’t find anything? Try Mark. Read what Mark recorded about the way Jesus spent the Sabbath. Nothing there either? Strange. What about Luke? What does Luke say? Not a reference to the day? Not a word about it? Well, try John. Surely John mentions the Sabbath. He doesn’t? No reference? Hmmm... Looks like Jesus was quiet that day. “You mean with one week left to live, Jesus observed the Sabbath?” As far as we can tell. “You mean with all those apostles to train and people to teach, he took a day to rest and worship?” That’s exactly what I’m telling you.’

‘If Jesus found time in the midst of a racing agenda to stop the rush and sit in silence, do you think we could, too?’

‘Are Andrea’s words yours? “I don’t remember how to stop.” If so, you’re headed for a crash.’

‘Slow down. If God commanded it, you need it. If Jesus MODELED it, you need it. God still provides. Trust Him. Take a day to say no to work and yes to worship.’


I love this story, so simple yet true. And please don’t misunderstand me...there is no excuse for laziness and poor work quality. God’s Word tells us, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” (Colossians 3:23 NIV). BUT! God is much more concerned with any motive of our heart and level of trust in Him to deliver in our ministries than a grand production. In order to stay on track and to NOT MISS EASTER in the midst of Easter, we need to stop ourselves and rest and honor God in that time. Regroup. Make sure you take the time to rest regularly, even during this season.
Work hard, but work efficiently. Work passionately but understand the source of your passion. Stay passionate for the One we’re celebrating and bringing others to. Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matt 11:28 NIV). He meant that for everyone in any situation, including those closest to Him and leaders in ministry. You are in the hands of God.

DO NOT MISS EASTER!!