Unmasked

Year 2020 could well be labeled "The Year of the Mask." One thing for certain: they help hide a scowl or displeasure. I suppose we forget we've been masking all our lives! The Puritan prayed, "Unmask to me sin's deformity, that I may hate it, abhor it, flee from it." It's really pretty easy to hide who we really are ... that is, except from El Roi - The One Who Sees Me. When choosing His king for His people, God said to Samuel: "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7). The next time you put on a mask (or not), remember we are completely unmasked before The Lord - nothing is hidden from Him. Let us live each day Coram Deo, Latin for "in the presence of God." Unmasked!

Little Less Me

Time has taught us "natural" is a healthier choice. Those additives and fillers haven't proven to be so smart after all.  God says,  "Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves." (Philippians 2:3). The natural presence of  selfishness and pride in us is why we are commanded to replace them with Godly characteristics. Selfish pride always promotes one person - me! What a contrast to putting others first, making them more important than ourselves. Can you imagine how different our world would be if we set ourselves aside for the sake others! Just like less-is-better in the physical realm so it is in the spiritual. Let's ask God to help us live with a ... little-less-me.

Well-Ordered Life

 Nonsensical - I like that word! Its root word, nonsense, stirs my memory to countless comical antics of days-gone-by of a man and three boys. All foolishness aside, Scripture instructs Believers: "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing Salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and Godly in the present age." (Titus 2:11-12). In this world, to deny ourselves seems irrational-illogical (nonsensical), however, that's exactly what we are instructed to do in order to live sensibly holy life! Verse 13 tells us why: "Looking for the Blessed Hope and The Appearing of the Glory of our Great God and Savior, Christ Jesus." A well-ordered, sensible, forward-looking life - looking for Jesus' Return. How I loved those days of utter nonsense here yet I care nothing for a spiritual life devoid of direction. Oh, for Grace to deny myself and embrace The Godly well-ordered life! So be it, Lord.

Be Good

"Be good" was a typical send-off to my boys. What I really meant was: be kind, courteous, respectful and mind your manners. The older-me, of course, better understands"good" is relative; and, actually has little to do with yes ma'am, please, thank you, etc. The Hebrew word "good" stems from the verb "be" which is particularly interesting because, rather than actual behavior, it refers to an existing state of being pleasant, delightful, glad, joyful, beneficial and right. Of God, the psalmist wrote "You are good and You do good." (Psalm 119:68). You see, because God IS Good, God DOES Good. In contrast, goodness is not man's natural state [of being]. Scripture tells us man's heart is [by default] deceitful and sick (Jeremiah 17:9); therefore, we pray as David did, "Create in me a clean heart ... renew a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10). Make no mistake, this Mama is very grateful for well-mannered and well-behaved boys-now-men. Most pleasing to The Father are Believers who do good from a heart that is good. Bottom line: be good!

Truth Forever

Without doubt, the Fall season is my favorite: a welcome crispness in the air, artful colors, coffee on the porch ... my birthday! The word Truth is a favorite word of the Apostle John; he uses it frequently referring to The Gospel and eternal life that belong to those who trust in Jesus. In his salutation John writes, "For The Truth's sake, which dwells in us, and shall be with us forever." (2 John 2). In a culture and climate of proclaimed privileges, for the Believer there is no greater advantage (privilege) than God's Truth evidenced in Jesus. Furthermore, that blessed reward is not temporal or passing: it is with us forever! Spurgeon writes that God's Truth will be our "living support, our dying comfort, our rising song, our eternal glory; this is Christian privilege." The Fall season will fade into a cold gray but divine Truth remains firm-settled-eternal in the hearts of The Redeemed. Truth O joy, my soul in ... truth forever.

Theme Marvelous

There are many causes to celebrate: births and birthdays, weddings and anniversaries, new jobs and retirements, and other life events. It’s good and fun to celebrate but most celebrations are short-lived. How silly it is that Believers wear long-sad faces in fretfulness! Israel’s words could be our own: “The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.” (Isaiah 49:14). No matter how many times God rescues His children, some crisis
will certainly throw us into a state of worry and fear: a cold-water celebration with an aftermath of stale cake, wilting flowers, deflated balloons and crusty party plates. To this God says, “Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands.” (Isaiah 49:16). Instead of a fear-
and-doubt song-and-dance, we must remember, “The steadfast Love of the LORD never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; Great is Your Faithfulness. ‘The LORD is my Portion,’ says my soul, therefore I will hope in Him.” (Lamentations 3:22-24). How wonderful God’s Faithfulness and Steadfast Love are grand and unending celebrations – there’s absolutely no end to them! Oh, to marvel at God’s Rich Mercies and Rest completely in Christ at all times! Oh, what a wonder is The Father of the Redeemed -- His Faithful Goodness a continuous theme to marvel. "How marvelous, how wonderful - And my song shall ever be - How marvelous, how wonderful - Is my Savior's Love for me." What a marvelous theme!

Make Some Quiet

Quiet ain't so bad! Some folks care little for solitude so they pack life full of goings, gatherings and entertainment. It doesn’t seem so long ago life here was filled with little-then-big boy sounds and such; and, yes, this Mama looked for a little quiet! Charles H. Spurgeon writes, “We should be better Christians if we were more alone, waiting upon God, and gathering through meditation on His Word spiritual strength for labour in His service.” While being still before God is an intentional act of obedience, we are also instructed to be still with purpose: “Be still and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10). Mister Bill assures me he can be in a mental state of mindlessness – uh, okay. However, in spiritual stillness, it's best to allow God to take-over to remind us who He is; God continues to speak in the latter part of this verse: “I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth.” As The One Most High elevates Himself to all and in all, He ultimately takes His rightful place in the hearts of those who love and seek Him! Will you claim moments each day to exalt (promote) God in your life? Make some quiet!

Kiss of Heaven

A kiss can say many things. Different kinds of kisses convey different kinds of feelings. I suggest the sweetest of all kisses are those light and quick ones that say "see you later" or "be careful." Jesus said, "When you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father Who is in secret, and your Father Who sees what is done in secret will reward you." (Matthew 6:6). In a culture that has degraded the beauty of intimacy, there still exists the sweet purity of spiritual intimacy with God. When was the last time you stopped - ceased from striving - and entered into deep conversation with The Father? Believers have an open invitation: "Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know." (Jeremiah 33:3). Perhaps it's best described by William Walford (1845): "Sweet hour of prayer - Sweet hour of prayer - That calls me from a world of care - And bids me at my Father's Throne." The most personal times of prayer cannot be rushed, squeezed into an otherwise hectic day; truly, nothing is more urgent to the Believer than intentional time with God in prayer. Admittedly, there are days I realize Mister Bill and I haven't shared a kiss - oops. May Jesus' followers never know a day without prayer. It truly is The Kiss of Heaven!

Grace To Recall

With the availability and ease of online shopping as well as 1-2 day delivery, I'm guilty of being click-happy. I suggest we seem to have confused needs and wants. The Puritan prayed, "Give me grace to recall my needs."  Grace to recall - Godly power to bring back to my mind what I really need. As a young girl when I put more food on my plate than I could eat, I was told "your eyes are bigger than your stomach." The struggle between wants and needs and buying power-gone-wild may very well be a spiritual problem. From personal times of plenty and of little, David wrote, "The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup; Thou maintainest my lot." (Psalm 16:5). To the Hebrews, the terms portion and lot and inheritance referred to land promised Israel but the principle truth we draw here is that God Himself is The Reward for those who believe and trust in Him. Before we succumb to one-click-that's-it, let's pause and consider God as The Portion promised and delivered to us by The Creator. Grace to recall Him - all we need!

Only Jesus

One of my oldest son's high school baseball uniforms had white pants - that's right, white! What a challenge to get-out the red Georgia dirt after a game but I usually felt pretty smug at their restored whiteness; that is, until Jeremy walked on the field - his pants were so white it was blinding! Foolish we are to set our standard for righteous living by other mortals: long is the list of fallen heroes. When the psalmist wrote of God as "Most High" and "greatly exalted"  in Psalm 47, he spoke with confidence of The One Who is infinitely perfect in all His ways. God has revealed Himself to us through Jesus and empowered us by The Holy Spirit to walk blamelessly and without fear of falling. We learn more of God's Perfections as we study the Life of Christ Who is "the exact representation" of The Father (Hebrews 1:3) and the infallible model for us all. Eventually I learned how Jeremy's mother got his pants so blindingly white, and it was the result of an amazing product. We're wise to consider the one by whom we model personal holiness. It must be Jesus - only Jesus.

The Empty Line

Many people find journaling a great way to express themselves as well as record moments in history. I have quite a collection of journals; some from times at the beach, others from quiet times at home. Maintaining a journal or book isn't something new, however; Scripture tells us there is a heavenly enrollment kept by God Himself - The Book of Life. In The Old Testament, Moses and David both referred to The Book: "Your book which You have written" (Exodus 32:32); "blotted out of the book of the living" (Psalm 69:28). I suppose the most notably are John's writings of The Lamb's well-tended and eternal book: "The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels." (Revelation 3:5). Within the pages of The Book of Life are written names of every person who has been redeemed [born-again, saved]. Unlike so many whose faith is secret-unseen, names within The Book of Life are not written in invisible ink; neither are the names written in erasable pen or pencil. Clearly, once written-enrolled, there's no further query. Here's the problem with my journals: many of them have empty pages, which [to me] represent unrecorded moments in time. For every person who will one day stand before Christ are the empty lines [in The Book of Life] where names should appear but are missing. The recording of one's name depends entirely on on his-her response to this very personal question: what will you do with the crucified and risen Savior, Jesus Christ? Make sure your line in The Book of Life isn't empty!

Enjoy The Flow

A trickling of water rather than a good-steady flow isn’t always favorable – like taking a shower or rinsing dishes or washing the car. Moses said, “Dedicate yourselves today to the LORD” (Exodus 32:29). Without a second thought, we commit ourselves to myriads of things: aggravation, chaos, activity, anger, injury, worry, etc. Before we know it, we’re calling out to God for help-relief-rescue! Hymn writer, F. R. Havergal, wrote: “Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee – Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise.” The sweet fruit of a faithful devotion to the Lord is an [often unexpected] flow of peace in place of aggravation, calm in chaos, quiet in activity, gentleness in anger, health in injury, trust in worry and so much more! We do not have to settle for a trickle of Godly Joy; Christ’s Fullness of Joy is ours when we faithfully and diligently seek Him first always. Enjoy The Flow!

True Beauty

Seventeen, recently graduated and engaged to be married, I began my first real job! Of all the things the most memorable about that job was watching the boss every morning opened a small case and put-on her eyelashes! Beauty details - oh, the attention we give to them. King Solomon wrote "Do not desire beauty, or let her captivate you with her eyelashes." (Proverbs 6:25). Like fool's gold that glitters and attracts, there is a false beauty who plays the impostor for our hearts. Much like bling-bling [and false eyelashes] which draws attention and represents loveliness, it eventually wears off and washes away! Apostle Peter writes about a lasting beauty: "Let your [adornment] be [the inner beauty of] the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality and unfading charm of a gentle and peaceable spirit which is very precious in the sight of God." (1 Peter 3:4). In a time of loud and riotous behavior, what could be more attractive than the fruit of a gentle and peaceful heart! Search the store shelves if you must but you'll find this Beauty Product only within a [Holy] Spirit-filled life. That is, if you're interested in real beauty! 

The Right Way

Did you ever go down a playground slide backwards? Most concerning to me wasn't not seeing where I was going but the speed in which I was going. It's uncanny how Believers so easily end up losing direction! Once a follower of Jesus, there's really only one acceptable direction: Jesus said, "Follow Me." When He scolded churches for forsaking their "first love" (Revelation 2:4), and for faith grown "lukewarm" (Revelation 3:15-16), Jesus described "backsliding." Much like going down a slide backwards, the speed with which we can grow lukewarm and lose our way is alarming. The one whose heart is genuinely born-again knows well discontent of the heart: "The backslider in heart will have his fill of his own ways." (Proverbs 14;4). There is hope, however, for the wayward one. God said, "I will heal their backsliding." (Hosea 14:4). As we return to "the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it," we find contentment and rest for our souls. (Jeremiah 6:16). In spite of the backwards adventure, I always returned to the best and right way down the slide. Be certain, there's only one way to leave behind a backsliding life: return to the Right Path and Follow Jesus.

Surrender Time

Slow and uneventful summer days weren't so exciting as a girl. I didn't dare confess my boredom to Mom because she seemed to always have something [on her to-do list] to break the boredom! We may recognize the obedience to God's command "be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10), but when did you last do so? Truth be told, we typically have our days mapped out to the minute! What a spiritual shame to expect to know the nature of God without fully devoting all one's faculties to him - physical, mental, emotional, spiritual. It is indeed a personal investment of time yet it is neither dull nor heavy. Frederick W. Faber wrote, "Only to sit and think of God; oh, what a joy it is! To think the thought, to breathe the Name, earth has no higher bliss." I admit, the older-me has more sittin' and thinkin' opportunities but I genuinely regret not making knowing God a priority in my earlier years. God has given so much - even His Son, Jesus. God wants our hearts and that begins with giving Him our time. Surrender your time to God.

Increased Faith

We may imagine we are lacking, however, we really aren't! Even in recent shortages resulting in empty store shelves, most did not go without necessities. Perhaps one of the most surprising shortages has been (is) faith among people of faith. During a storm, Jesus said to Peter, "O, you of little faith" (Matthew 14:31). In these boisterous days, don;t hear those same resounding words - you trust too little!  Peter's faith was compromised by his attention diverted from Jesus to the stormy circumstances - bad move! God says we are to ask in faith with no doubting else we resemble an ocean wave driven and tossed by the wind (James 1:6). How I love to sit on the beach and watch the waves, but I have no desire to be shifted to-and-fro as they are by tropical winds. Hebrews 11:6 says faith is required to please God and to receive the great reward of God Himself. Believer, are you in a time of spiritual shortage? Perhaps you trust too little. Ask God for increased faith!

Wonders of God

How would you describe chocolate to someone who had no knowledge of or ever tasted it? In our attempt to describe it, we might find ourselves using the phrase "it's like." There truly are no words nor language to explain what is foreign or alien to us. Like chocolate, the best way to understand God is to experience Him. Scripture invites us "draw near to God and He will draw near to you" (James 4:8). How else would the psalmist know to write these words: "The LORD reigns, He is robed in majesty; the LORD is robed in majesty and armed with strength ... Your statues, LORD, stand firm, holiness adorns Your house for endless days." (Psalm 93:1, 5). The writer writes from experience! He chose to draw near to God and learn of His reign, His majesty and strength, His holiness.  How wonderful God gave words to man to describe who He is! Can you imagine life with never a taste or smell of a chocolate delicacy? Neither should we find ourselves alien to The Creator, our Father Who loves us so. Read God's Word and be introduced to the wonders of God.

Comprehend the Incomprehensible

My years in property and casualty insurance bear many stories but perhaps the one most common was the question, "how much is insurance on a Oldsmobile Cutlass?" As if there was a one-size-fits-all answer, I always wanted to respond [but kindly did not,] "how long's a piece of rope?"  A. W. Tozer wrote, "True religion confronts earth with heaven and brings eternity to bear upon time." When given a glimpse of The Heavenly, there seems only to be rightful reverence: Abraham "fell on his face" before God (Genesis 17:3); Joshua "fell on his face" before Commanded of the Lord's army (Joshua 5:14); John "fell ... as though dead" before the Lord (Revelation 1:17). No words nor language were there, only humble acknowledgement of The Most High Sovereign. As Believers, how do we know such Greatness? I suggest the key is this: "The people who know their God will display strength and take action." (Daniel 11:32).  This verse doesn't say those baptized or who go to church or call themselves Believers. No, it speaks of the spiritually mature - those who know God - His goodness, love, kindness, holiness, gentleness, justice, etc. Can we really know God? Oh, yes, we can! He has revealed Who He IS in Scripture and through the life of His Son, Jesus. This is how we rightly comprehend the incomprehensible! 

Altogether Joyful

From a distance, the things we describe as joyful can appear quite silly. Consider some of America's favorite past times: dodging and outrunning opponents while carrying a ball across a painted field; striking a white dimpled ball with a metal stick toward a small shallow hole; driving a car terribly fast for hours around in circles; traveling many miles to ooh-and-aah at colors of dead and dying leaves. Yeah, I get it - we love these things, but they do sound a bit foolish. What about that which is altogether and eternally joyfully - no game-over, match finished, winner's lap or barren trees. Nehemiah wrote, "The Joy of the LORD is your Strength." (Nehemiah 8:10). Then Jesus Himself said, "If you keep My commandments and obey My teaching, you will remain in My love ... My Joy and Delight may be in you, and your joy may be made full and complete and overflowing." (John 15:10-11). I like how Jesus describes His Joy - full, complete, overflowing! Instead of counting on circumstances-situations-finances-relationships that fail and disappointment, Christ offers strong and lasting joy like none other. Now, I know The Father has given us joyful things while we're here: a rainbow, sunsets, autumn leaves, the aroma of coffee, and yes, football and golf. Let'snot forget nor neglect, however, The real Joy-Given: He is Altogether Joyful!

The Perfect Trade

 What a year 2020 has been and continues to be! How many times have you heard "I'm ready for this year to be over"? To my childhood wishing, I remember the reply, "child, you're wishing your life away." Fear of the unknown is a troublesome foe, one which we struggle to shake through every season of life. One generation anticipates the day of lesser while another generation reminisces of the days of more. To all, however, there is one great common and comforting hope: "It shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light." (Zechariah 14:7). We may wish to but God alone tracks time - our days of breath. When we trust His Sovereignty, we are able to relax in fearlessness, in the Great Hope afforded us by Christ Who conquered the unsettling threat of the unknown. Zechariah's words settle the restless heart - at evening time it shall be light.  What a secure and restful hiding place for all: "hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3). I choose to trade the unknown and its troubles for the settled Evening's Light - Christ Jesus, our Hope. What a perfect trade!

Designated Fruit

 Left to our own reason and understanding, we sometimes get things mixed up! One little tidbit of truth or information can easily make us feel ... well, a bit dumb. Praise God for His Salvation offered freely to those who believe in Jesus. The sweet blessings of Salvation are ours, however, for what reason? John explains, "I am writing to you, little children (believers, dear ones), because your sins have been forgiven for His Name's sake." (1 John 2:12). Did you get that? All for His Name's sake! The fruits of the Believer's life are many but they are never for selfish gain or glory. "Pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for Thee, O my Beloved." (Song of Solomon 7:13). All we are and all we ever hope to be is because of and for the glory and sake of Christ. This great truth must rule Believers' hearts. Let us seriously consider then acknowledge The One to whom our fruit exists: it is designated fruit for only One - Christ Jesus alone!