There are some “strange” things that happen from time to time that cause me to think, “Hmmmmm?” One of them is the report from Glendale, Arizona. Bianca Lopez of Glendale said a pancake with the face of the Virgin Mary brought her peace (picture of the pancake available). It seems while making a batch of pancakes for her family the day before Thanksgiving, she spotted the religious image on her final pancake of the day. "I think it's God's way of telling us that the holidays aren't just about presents, it's about more spending time with your family and friends and telling us to not forget about him, that he's always there watching over us and taking care of us," Lopez told ABC's Phoenix Arizona affiliate.
Whether it is indeed a picture of Mary in the pancake or not; the message is certainly true. God has been trying to tell us for thousands of years that His desire is for us to focus on the real priorities in life. Family IS more important than presents. Holidays ought to be more about spending time with family and friends than getting that “perfect gift.” We ought to spend more time remembering the wonder of the grace of God than worrying about the present difficulties we may be going through. That’s certainly what Jesus meant in this reading:
Jesus told this simple story, but they had no idea what he was talking about. So he tried again. "I'll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep. All those others are up to no good—sheep stealers, every one of them. But the sheep didn't listen to them. I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for—will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. (John 10:6-10 The Message).
Jesus came that we might have a better life! That kind of life ought to spill over into our families, our churches, and our friends. You know, I don’t need a picture in a pancake to be able to know that message. I don’t doubt that some do; and, that God is capable of placing an image in a pancake to convey it to some folks. But, here’s the real key: Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He is the gate to this new life that is better than anyone can imagine. Maybe you’ve missed that message recently. Perhaps you’ve had so many other things to cloud your vision that it seems too dark to see more than a few inches ahead. Could you consider this devotional today as your image in a pancake? The truth is that no matter how bad things seem, for the child of God, they will only get better! While the season of your trial seems interminably long and your struggle terribly difficult, God’s promise is to walk with you through every moment and bring you to eternal life that is better than can ever dream of! Trust Him for your next step. He won’t let you down!
Showing posts with label security. Show all posts
Showing posts with label security. Show all posts
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Friday, June 25, 2010
"Permanent"
Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one." (John 10:27-30 NIV).
As many of you know, jobs are very difficult to find in our economy today. One of the challenges of starting Grace Restoration Ministries full time was being able to secure a part-time position that would allow me to earn a little money while I secured a base of support and give me the time to do the work of the ministry. God opened a door at Home Depot for a “part-time temporary” job several weeks ago. The only down side of the job is that I have to wear an orange apron! I am kidding about the orange vest for all of you who are Longhorn fans. There is one real downside though. It is temporary, which means that it will only last through their “busy season.” On Friday of this week that status changed. I was told that I was definitely going to be offered a “permanent” position!
That gave me a thought. The concept of permanence rarely applies to anything. Almost everything in our lives is temporary. The one thing that is truly permanent is our eternal life. There's nothing more tragic than a Christian fearing they will be disowned by their heavenly Father. Much of the time they end each day wondering if they did enough good that day so that they will continue to hear that they are a child of God. Today’s reading is one of the clearest proofs that my salvation is permanent. There may be days I don't feel like His child but feelings don't erase my identity. I’ve talked to a lot of people who cannot wrap their minds around that truth. They have difficulty with the concept of the eternal security of their salvation. They argue that an earthly father can disown a child, or a child can leave home, declare himself free of his family, and never return to home turf again. However, I’d remind them that if DNA testing were done on the father and child, evidence would still show that they are still very much related. Regardless of that argument, god is simply not bound by earthly habits or practices. Scripture speaks of being born again into the kingdom through faith in Christ.
Birth into any family means a new and permanent identity. I am called a child of God. There are many days I don't feel like His child, even act like His child, yet I am because by His grace I was called into this relationship as a freshman at Texas A&M University! No disgracing behavior can erase whom I belong to. If I had decided along the way to say that I had somehow disqualified myself from being His child, my proclamation wouldn't have nullified my adoption. No matter what I say or do today, it's irrelevant as far as my standing with Christ. Though I may break my Father's heart when I sin, He is still my Father. When I come limping home, He will be scanning the horizon looking for my face to appear.
Perhaps you struggle with your faith when the sun goes down. When you think of the Second Coming of Christ, you fear you will be left. Perhaps you suffer from a disease where the days ahead of you are few. The thought of dying seizes your heart with fear. Look at Jesus’ promise again! He has you in His hand and no one or no “thing” can snatch you out of it. The same hand that created the world, threw the stars into place, and causes the sun to rise in the morning and keep our earth on its axis, can and does hold you in a firm grip!
As many of you know, jobs are very difficult to find in our economy today. One of the challenges of starting Grace Restoration Ministries full time was being able to secure a part-time position that would allow me to earn a little money while I secured a base of support and give me the time to do the work of the ministry. God opened a door at Home Depot for a “part-time temporary” job several weeks ago. The only down side of the job is that I have to wear an orange apron! I am kidding about the orange vest for all of you who are Longhorn fans. There is one real downside though. It is temporary, which means that it will only last through their “busy season.” On Friday of this week that status changed. I was told that I was definitely going to be offered a “permanent” position!
That gave me a thought. The concept of permanence rarely applies to anything. Almost everything in our lives is temporary. The one thing that is truly permanent is our eternal life. There's nothing more tragic than a Christian fearing they will be disowned by their heavenly Father. Much of the time they end each day wondering if they did enough good that day so that they will continue to hear that they are a child of God. Today’s reading is one of the clearest proofs that my salvation is permanent. There may be days I don't feel like His child but feelings don't erase my identity. I’ve talked to a lot of people who cannot wrap their minds around that truth. They have difficulty with the concept of the eternal security of their salvation. They argue that an earthly father can disown a child, or a child can leave home, declare himself free of his family, and never return to home turf again. However, I’d remind them that if DNA testing were done on the father and child, evidence would still show that they are still very much related. Regardless of that argument, god is simply not bound by earthly habits or practices. Scripture speaks of being born again into the kingdom through faith in Christ.
Birth into any family means a new and permanent identity. I am called a child of God. There are many days I don't feel like His child, even act like His child, yet I am because by His grace I was called into this relationship as a freshman at Texas A&M University! No disgracing behavior can erase whom I belong to. If I had decided along the way to say that I had somehow disqualified myself from being His child, my proclamation wouldn't have nullified my adoption. No matter what I say or do today, it's irrelevant as far as my standing with Christ. Though I may break my Father's heart when I sin, He is still my Father. When I come limping home, He will be scanning the horizon looking for my face to appear.
Perhaps you struggle with your faith when the sun goes down. When you think of the Second Coming of Christ, you fear you will be left. Perhaps you suffer from a disease where the days ahead of you are few. The thought of dying seizes your heart with fear. Look at Jesus’ promise again! He has you in His hand and no one or no “thing” can snatch you out of it. The same hand that created the world, threw the stars into place, and causes the sun to rise in the morning and keep our earth on its axis, can and does hold you in a firm grip!
Monday, May 24, 2010
"Wicker Baskets"
Now a man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman, and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him for three months. But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him. (Exodus 2:1-4 NIV).
Israel’s captivity in Egypt was a very dark time in their history. At the time of Moses’ birth, Pharaoh's cruelty to the Hebrew people had hit an all-time high. His attempt to curb their population's growth by having the Egyptian midwives kill their male babies hadn't worked because the mid-wives feared God. So he enslaved the Hebrews even further by forcing them to work long hours building enormous structures. Perhaps he thought that with all the work they wouldn't have the time or energy to reproduce. That didn't work, either. So finally he decreed that all male babies born to the Hebrews were to be thrown into the Nile River to be eaten by the crocodiles. This was the world in which Moses was born.
Moses was apparently a truly striking infant. The ancients regarded beauty in babies as a sign of divine favor, and when Moses was born, his parents, Amram and Jochebed, felt so strongly that God had a divine purpose for their child, that they were willing to risk breaking Pharaoh's recent decree. They managed to successfully hide their infant son for three months, and then carried out a divinely inspired and assisted plan that ensured he would not only survive, but flourish. Jochebed fashioned a wicker basket, made watertight with tar and pitch, to hold the baby she'd named Joachim.
It was indeed tiny in comparison to the size of Noah's ark, but the two had something in common: they both held someone chosen by God, floated on the waters to deliver a fresh start. There have always been, and always will be attempts by the enemy to keep God's plans and purposes from advancing, but attempts are all they are; there will never be any long-term successes. Satan wants us to forget that Jesus defeated sin and death; he wants us to forget that even when our lives seem to be spiraling out of control, we have a God who is watching over us and working things for our good. God's plans are for us to flourish, and his plans are as watertight as a papyrus basket coated with tar and pitch. That’s certainly the promise record by the prophet Jeremiah:
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV).
Perhaps you feel trapped with no one or nowhere to turn. Would you turn to the Lord. He has prepared a wicker basket just for you!
Israel’s captivity in Egypt was a very dark time in their history. At the time of Moses’ birth, Pharaoh's cruelty to the Hebrew people had hit an all-time high. His attempt to curb their population's growth by having the Egyptian midwives kill their male babies hadn't worked because the mid-wives feared God. So he enslaved the Hebrews even further by forcing them to work long hours building enormous structures. Perhaps he thought that with all the work they wouldn't have the time or energy to reproduce. That didn't work, either. So finally he decreed that all male babies born to the Hebrews were to be thrown into the Nile River to be eaten by the crocodiles. This was the world in which Moses was born.
Moses was apparently a truly striking infant. The ancients regarded beauty in babies as a sign of divine favor, and when Moses was born, his parents, Amram and Jochebed, felt so strongly that God had a divine purpose for their child, that they were willing to risk breaking Pharaoh's recent decree. They managed to successfully hide their infant son for three months, and then carried out a divinely inspired and assisted plan that ensured he would not only survive, but flourish. Jochebed fashioned a wicker basket, made watertight with tar and pitch, to hold the baby she'd named Joachim.
It was indeed tiny in comparison to the size of Noah's ark, but the two had something in common: they both held someone chosen by God, floated on the waters to deliver a fresh start. There have always been, and always will be attempts by the enemy to keep God's plans and purposes from advancing, but attempts are all they are; there will never be any long-term successes. Satan wants us to forget that Jesus defeated sin and death; he wants us to forget that even when our lives seem to be spiraling out of control, we have a God who is watching over us and working things for our good. God's plans are for us to flourish, and his plans are as watertight as a papyrus basket coated with tar and pitch. That’s certainly the promise record by the prophet Jeremiah:
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV).
Perhaps you feel trapped with no one or nowhere to turn. Would you turn to the Lord. He has prepared a wicker basket just for you!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
