I know that I said I would write soon but the move this time took a great deal out of me! We are settled and love our new home and pray that God will use it to His glory. All ready we have had college kids stay in the extra rooms, ladies groups come and fellowship and of course, Bible study. May God be lifted up!
Now, what have I learned from this? First of all, I did NOT want to move. I was comfortable with the other house. The operative word here is "comfortable!" Although there were times that that house was not big enough for all we wanted to do, I didn't want to do the work it took to go to another place...I said I was "comfortable" but it was really laziness! It takes work to move...it takes effort and in many ways it takes faith. How did I know this new house would be ok? Was it structurally safe? What if...what if...
I discovered that my life was filled with negative "what if's" instead of looking for what God wanted. God spoke to me during this time that many times I react the same way in my spiritual life. When God wants me to move on to something bigger, I argue that I am comfortable where I am...After all, it takes work to learn something new...to study more, to depend more on His strength! I argue that I often get lonely in new ministry...I NEED the people I have gotten to know...and He answers that all I really need is Him.
I find that the older I get the harder it is to move on! The physical move nearly did me in! I have moved many times in my life but never at this age...Isn't it true that the older we get spiritually the more we want to sit back and let others do the ministry. That is NOT God's way. I often tell ladies groups that, "God is not finished with you until someone looks over your casket and says 'don't she look natural?'" God reminded me of that during our move....His word was that He is not finished "growing and moving" me...there is much more He wants me to do but I must be willing.
The house is great! We are using this gift from Him in ways I could never do in the other house. In my own life, I want to be used for His glory. It often takes me out of my comfort zone but when I get there I am invigorated and energized because God gives me the strength and power it takes.
Some of you are in a place of comfort...But God is wanting to take you further! He did that with the children of Israel when He Joshua said to them, "Consecrate yourself, because the LORD will do wonders among you tomorrow!" Jos.3:5 May I paraphrase that? Pack up! Move on! God has even more exciting things in store!
Get moving!! It's good for you!!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Monday, February 1, 2010
Moving
Friends,
We are in the process of moving to a new house. I will be writing another blog next week. Thank you so much for your support.
cyndi
We are in the process of moving to a new house. I will be writing another blog next week. Thank you so much for your support.
cyndi
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Frozen Dangers!
Frozen Pipes are not just aggravating but can cause serious consequences. Mississippi is not used to long bouts of freezing weather and our lack of preparedness was evident this winter as the City of Jackson had over 180 water main lines burst causing schools, offices, restaurants, and in some cases hospitals to stop or limit their services. As the city came to a near shutdown of activities many were asking how this could have been prevented. The only answer given is that the pipes were old and needed to be replaced. It appeared there was little thought given to this fact until the pipes broke! Some felt the disaster happened because problems were ignored until it was too late. There is a life-lesson in that!!!
Recently, I went for a wellness check-up…I was feeling great…but the results showed a little build up in an artery that could eventually cause heart problems. I was shocked!!! I thought I was doing fine…my blood pressure was low and things were great but a check-up revealed a potential problem. Hearts and pipes are not much different I discovered…they both need care to function properly and that goes for the spiritual heart as well. Many of us ignore this heart until disaster strikes and it breaks with an outflow of pain and waves of desperation. We often live life…going to church, singing the same songs and doing it all by rote but have not checked the heart pipes for a slow freezing. Having lived in the country for a while, I learned that pipes are less likely to freeze if there was water movement within…thus we kept faucets dripping during freezing weather. Movement tends to keep all kind of things from freezing up but one must be diligent in keeping the movement going.
The Bible speaks often of living water and living water is not stagnant! This should give us a clue of what is important to a vibrant Christian lifestyle. Since the heart (both physical and spiritual) is hidden from our eyes and the eyes of others it is easy to ignore possible problems until the “pipes burst!” When we go to pieces over something that is truly minor it might be that there had been no spiritual movement in our hearts for quite a while. I understand this for there was a time I coasted spiritually letting my prayer life and Bible study go to the back burner. Today, I only need a little nudge to get me back on track but I remember a time when I ignored my heart and within a year found it completely frozen; it was hard and unmoving. That hardness resulted in a tough and cold attitude toward God, the church, and folks in general. I had ceased to show any emotion and spent many months not shedding a single tear yet I continued to go to church and kept up the façade so others wouldn’t know but underneath I was in a spiritually dangerous place. One day I came upon a scripture that brought me hope: Ezekiel 36:26, “I will give you a new heart and will put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a new a heart of flesh!” It was not until then that I could really put a finger on what was wrong… I had become hard-hearted…or frozen. I began to pray for that fleshly heart. God answered and when my heart finally broke all the anger and bitterness flooded out until I was completely spent. Then the tears came and that release allowed my new heart to function correctly again.
Maybe you are struggling with some heart pipe problems, too. I am here as a testimony of how good it is to keep the flow of the living water running through the veins. Jesus promised the Living Water. Drink deeply of His water and I promise your pipes will flow freely…even when things are freezing all around. And by the way, these pipes never get too old!
Recently, I went for a wellness check-up…I was feeling great…but the results showed a little build up in an artery that could eventually cause heart problems. I was shocked!!! I thought I was doing fine…my blood pressure was low and things were great but a check-up revealed a potential problem. Hearts and pipes are not much different I discovered…they both need care to function properly and that goes for the spiritual heart as well. Many of us ignore this heart until disaster strikes and it breaks with an outflow of pain and waves of desperation. We often live life…going to church, singing the same songs and doing it all by rote but have not checked the heart pipes for a slow freezing. Having lived in the country for a while, I learned that pipes are less likely to freeze if there was water movement within…thus we kept faucets dripping during freezing weather. Movement tends to keep all kind of things from freezing up but one must be diligent in keeping the movement going.
The Bible speaks often of living water and living water is not stagnant! This should give us a clue of what is important to a vibrant Christian lifestyle. Since the heart (both physical and spiritual) is hidden from our eyes and the eyes of others it is easy to ignore possible problems until the “pipes burst!” When we go to pieces over something that is truly minor it might be that there had been no spiritual movement in our hearts for quite a while. I understand this for there was a time I coasted spiritually letting my prayer life and Bible study go to the back burner. Today, I only need a little nudge to get me back on track but I remember a time when I ignored my heart and within a year found it completely frozen; it was hard and unmoving. That hardness resulted in a tough and cold attitude toward God, the church, and folks in general. I had ceased to show any emotion and spent many months not shedding a single tear yet I continued to go to church and kept up the façade so others wouldn’t know but underneath I was in a spiritually dangerous place. One day I came upon a scripture that brought me hope: Ezekiel 36:26, “I will give you a new heart and will put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a new a heart of flesh!” It was not until then that I could really put a finger on what was wrong… I had become hard-hearted…or frozen. I began to pray for that fleshly heart. God answered and when my heart finally broke all the anger and bitterness flooded out until I was completely spent. Then the tears came and that release allowed my new heart to function correctly again.
Maybe you are struggling with some heart pipe problems, too. I am here as a testimony of how good it is to keep the flow of the living water running through the veins. Jesus promised the Living Water. Drink deeply of His water and I promise your pipes will flow freely…even when things are freezing all around. And by the way, these pipes never get too old!
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Lions, and Tiger and Dares, Oh My!
For the last months the news has been inundated with Tiger Woods and his numerous affairs…if you haven’t heard any of it, you have been in a third world country with no electricity. I would have hoped we would have left him alone to work out his personal life but since that isn’t the case I will use his situation as a warning to me about how I too could plummet into sin. I am not immune so I must be aware of how satan works!
How did Tiger fall? The same way we all do…with one little compromise. No thinking person dives into sinful behavior full force, it is small steps; like the popular Christian song says, “it’s a slow fade.” We start with one small compromise and soon find ourselves fully engaged in an affair, fixing the books, or other equally heinous activity we never dreamed we would be involved. The Bible is NOT silent on this. One of the greatest men ever to serve God discovered this; his name was King David. We find his story in II Samuel 11-13. How did this “man after God’s own heart” fall? It was with a single step…not being where he should have been, on the battlefield with the rest of his troops. Our fall often starts when we allow ourselves to be in situations that are not “right”-- engaging in relationships that have consequences beyond what we ever imagined. Christians are not immune! Many are caught in compromising situations and just as Tiger Woods, lose their families. It all started with a lunch or a phone call where the lines of right and wrong were blurred. Excuses like, “I was ministering to him/her.” Or “He/She needed a friend because his/her wife/husband doesn’t understand.” These excuses are the foothold that satan looks for to destroy the witness of a Christian.
All of us have times when our marriages are not going great guns and that is the exact time when satan, a roaring lion, pounces. He whispers, “You deserve more.” And then someone comes along who looks and acts like just what we need. Satan had it all planned…for your destruction! What begins as an innocent lunch ends in a bitter divorce. Lives are wrecked so we offer excuses…Tiger’s excuse was he was bored with his wife and he felt that gave him permission. We need to be aware of when we are “excusing” sin in our lives. Believe me, I know…I have been tempted and had it not been for my godly accountability partner, I shutter to think where my life would now be. Friend, we need boundaries to keep us from the wiles of the lion who is seeking to devour us, our families, and our ministries.
David could see sin in other’s lives but was hesitant to admit it in his own! We are often like that and so we need a “Nathan” in our lives…someone who will tell us the truth and to whom we will listen. When we engage in sinful behavior, the last thing we want is someone pointing it out but that is exactly what we need if we are to gain victory over sin.
David often told the story of killing a lion with his bare hands when he was younger but as he grew spiritually complacent, an even greater lion overtook him, resulting in actions, which David never dreamed he would participate. Many of us have been strong in the faith and have slain many lions but we have become complacent…our walk is not as close as it used to be and that is a dangerous place to be. We need to get back on our own battlefield against our great enemy. We need to stay fresh! May I present you with a dare for this New Year? Find someone to whom you will be accountable to for your actions, to whom you give permission to snatch you from potentially dangerous situations. We are in a great battle and we need each other to keep us “honest!”
I pray for each of you this year that you will remain faithful! Use this thought: There is a Lion…remember Tiger…and take the Dare! Oh, my. Victory is in our reach!
How did Tiger fall? The same way we all do…with one little compromise. No thinking person dives into sinful behavior full force, it is small steps; like the popular Christian song says, “it’s a slow fade.” We start with one small compromise and soon find ourselves fully engaged in an affair, fixing the books, or other equally heinous activity we never dreamed we would be involved. The Bible is NOT silent on this. One of the greatest men ever to serve God discovered this; his name was King David. We find his story in II Samuel 11-13. How did this “man after God’s own heart” fall? It was with a single step…not being where he should have been, on the battlefield with the rest of his troops. Our fall often starts when we allow ourselves to be in situations that are not “right”-- engaging in relationships that have consequences beyond what we ever imagined. Christians are not immune! Many are caught in compromising situations and just as Tiger Woods, lose their families. It all started with a lunch or a phone call where the lines of right and wrong were blurred. Excuses like, “I was ministering to him/her.” Or “He/She needed a friend because his/her wife/husband doesn’t understand.” These excuses are the foothold that satan looks for to destroy the witness of a Christian.
All of us have times when our marriages are not going great guns and that is the exact time when satan, a roaring lion, pounces. He whispers, “You deserve more.” And then someone comes along who looks and acts like just what we need. Satan had it all planned…for your destruction! What begins as an innocent lunch ends in a bitter divorce. Lives are wrecked so we offer excuses…Tiger’s excuse was he was bored with his wife and he felt that gave him permission. We need to be aware of when we are “excusing” sin in our lives. Believe me, I know…I have been tempted and had it not been for my godly accountability partner, I shutter to think where my life would now be. Friend, we need boundaries to keep us from the wiles of the lion who is seeking to devour us, our families, and our ministries.
David could see sin in other’s lives but was hesitant to admit it in his own! We are often like that and so we need a “Nathan” in our lives…someone who will tell us the truth and to whom we will listen. When we engage in sinful behavior, the last thing we want is someone pointing it out but that is exactly what we need if we are to gain victory over sin.
David often told the story of killing a lion with his bare hands when he was younger but as he grew spiritually complacent, an even greater lion overtook him, resulting in actions, which David never dreamed he would participate. Many of us have been strong in the faith and have slain many lions but we have become complacent…our walk is not as close as it used to be and that is a dangerous place to be. We need to get back on our own battlefield against our great enemy. We need to stay fresh! May I present you with a dare for this New Year? Find someone to whom you will be accountable to for your actions, to whom you give permission to snatch you from potentially dangerous situations. We are in a great battle and we need each other to keep us “honest!”
I pray for each of you this year that you will remain faithful! Use this thought: There is a Lion…remember Tiger…and take the Dare! Oh, my. Victory is in our reach!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Hey Stranger!
So how is the first week of 2010 going for you? I am still wondering if I am going to say, “twenty-ten” or “two-thousand ten,” but I digress!! I spent the first few days of this year at our son and daughter-in-law’s home. They have two little boys who are an absolute hoot! The older one (nearly 3) is asking some questions I need to ask myself more often, like, “Mom, what does God do?” The more I think about that question, the more I find comfort in the answer! It is a deep question and one that requires time to consider.
Some would say that God created everything and now just sits back and leaves us to our own devices. Others believe He died in the last century and so doesn’t do anything anymore…that we are in charge. Still others believe God is always trying to punish and keep us from “fun!” So, what does God do? To answer that we cannot rely on our feelings or emotions…we must look into His Word…we find that He created but He is very much involved with His creation. He desires relationship with us! He loves us…He protects us…but He also hates things that will hurt and destroy us…He judges the unrighteous things out of His absolute holiness. A great summary of what God does can be found in Isaiah 40:21-31. (Please take time to read this!) In short…He is God!
But knowing who God is and what He does is just academic if we don’t live out the facts of what we know! Because God is who is says He is, we should live differently…we live in victory even when things are falling down around us because He says that He will never leave us, or forsake us. God knows that we are going to have struggles in our lives…Jesus said it best when he said, “In this world you are going to have troubles, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world!” John 16:33 He has warned us but given assurance at the same time.
Our daughter-in-law was doing some Christmas shopping with her oldest child and while standing at the counter paying for her purchases, she warned him of not leaving her side since there were “strangers” all around who might want to hurt him. When she felt that her message was received and understood, she paid for her purchases and they continued to the next store. Holding to his mom’s hand, William entered the next store, looked up at the first person he saw and said, “Hey, stranger!!” and waved happily! Now, while we might think he didn’t understand the warning, what William understood was the very thing God wanted us to understand…yes, there are going to be things that will hurt us in this life…they are all around us…but as long as we are holding on to the hand of the one who loves us most, we can wave and smile in the face of it all.
I have thought of this in my own life and for this New Year, I want to live in victory. I don’t want to cower in fear or despair about the world’s situations. I want to hold tightly to His hand and when those things happen, I want to wave and say, “Hey, recession!” “Hey, sickness!” “Hey, world leaders!” I want to live in the assurance that He is there with me…for that is what He promised. I don’t want to despair as the disciples did when they were in the boat and a storm came. They just knew that Jesus didn’t care because He was asleep but the fact was, they were okay! Jesus, the one who created the sea, was in control even if it didn’t look like He was! The words Jesus spoke to them should ring in our ears when we are losing confidence in our storm, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith? Mark 4:40
So, in this year, (20-10; 2000-10???) I am going to resolve to hold tightly to His hand, knowing He loves me with an everlasting love. I resolve to walk closely by His side, listening to His voice! I resolve to, when faced with the “strangers” in life, to lift my hands in praise and shout, “Hey stranger! My God is an Awesome God!!”
Some would say that God created everything and now just sits back and leaves us to our own devices. Others believe He died in the last century and so doesn’t do anything anymore…that we are in charge. Still others believe God is always trying to punish and keep us from “fun!” So, what does God do? To answer that we cannot rely on our feelings or emotions…we must look into His Word…we find that He created but He is very much involved with His creation. He desires relationship with us! He loves us…He protects us…but He also hates things that will hurt and destroy us…He judges the unrighteous things out of His absolute holiness. A great summary of what God does can be found in Isaiah 40:21-31. (Please take time to read this!) In short…He is God!
But knowing who God is and what He does is just academic if we don’t live out the facts of what we know! Because God is who is says He is, we should live differently…we live in victory even when things are falling down around us because He says that He will never leave us, or forsake us. God knows that we are going to have struggles in our lives…Jesus said it best when he said, “In this world you are going to have troubles, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world!” John 16:33 He has warned us but given assurance at the same time.
Our daughter-in-law was doing some Christmas shopping with her oldest child and while standing at the counter paying for her purchases, she warned him of not leaving her side since there were “strangers” all around who might want to hurt him. When she felt that her message was received and understood, she paid for her purchases and they continued to the next store. Holding to his mom’s hand, William entered the next store, looked up at the first person he saw and said, “Hey, stranger!!” and waved happily! Now, while we might think he didn’t understand the warning, what William understood was the very thing God wanted us to understand…yes, there are going to be things that will hurt us in this life…they are all around us…but as long as we are holding on to the hand of the one who loves us most, we can wave and smile in the face of it all.
I have thought of this in my own life and for this New Year, I want to live in victory. I don’t want to cower in fear or despair about the world’s situations. I want to hold tightly to His hand and when those things happen, I want to wave and say, “Hey, recession!” “Hey, sickness!” “Hey, world leaders!” I want to live in the assurance that He is there with me…for that is what He promised. I don’t want to despair as the disciples did when they were in the boat and a storm came. They just knew that Jesus didn’t care because He was asleep but the fact was, they were okay! Jesus, the one who created the sea, was in control even if it didn’t look like He was! The words Jesus spoke to them should ring in our ears when we are losing confidence in our storm, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith? Mark 4:40
So, in this year, (20-10; 2000-10???) I am going to resolve to hold tightly to His hand, knowing He loves me with an everlasting love. I resolve to walk closely by His side, listening to His voice! I resolve to, when faced with the “strangers” in life, to lift my hands in praise and shout, “Hey stranger! My God is an Awesome God!!”
Monday, December 28, 2009
Letting-go Resolution
It is again time for New Year’s resolutions. While some might dread this, I love the thought of new beginnings! As a child, I looked forward to buying new pencils, notebooks and paper when school began because I just knew this was the year I was going to actually “get” math! This weekend I did my yearly cleaning out of my closet and dresser drawers and now I find myself opening the closet doors often just to see how neat it is! Newness and freshness is what most of us look forward to this time of the year so we tend to make decisions to start a diet, exercise, complain less, pray more or get closer to God… You can add your own desire! We start well but most of us barely make it past January 15th! I have been thinking about this and I had an epiphany. Perhaps we cannot keep our resolutions because we are holding on to something in the past! A love for food or unhealthy habits overtakes our resolve to do better! It is like being tied to a wall by a huge rubber band…we try to go forward…and can for a little while, but eventually we will snap right back to where we were! What can we do?
The Bible talks a great deal about letting go and going forward. I guess the most dramatic incident happened to Lot’s wife as she was escaping the doom of Sodom…something inside her would not allow a complete letting go, so she looked back and turned into a pillar of salt! (Genesis 19:15-26) When we hold on to things that are harmful, obviously the results are going to be dire. We often are hurt but others might be hurt as well. In this incident a family was left without a mother and there were horrible results for the whole nation of Israel!! The choice Lot’s wife made was her choice and the hope of a new life was thwarted by not letting go of things in her past.
Another choice was given in I Kings 19:19-21. Even those who want to follow God with all their hearts are not immune to the desire to hold on to things they think are important…as in the story of Elisha and Elijah. The difference between Lot’s wife and Elisha is that Elisha wanted to follow God more than to hold onto the things from which he drew comfort…job, family, and routine. That spoke worlds to me. The things Elisha wanted to hold onto were not bad things but they kept him from going forward.
So what can we learn from this? First of all, admit that there are things that are holding us back from becoming all of what God wants. We must decide to cut that rubber band and go forward with no holding on. Let go of yesterday…good or bad. I know people who still want to live in high school or college…reliving that touchdown or that academic accolade because that was when they felt life was best! (Was it???) Others are stuck in sadness…a death, a broken relationship…and have become bitter and angry…they are not willing to give life another chance! They have found an unhealthy comfort from this “pit of despair.” Then there are habits that have become a part of our lives…like complaining, negative thoughts, laziness and the list goes on. You can fill in the blank from your own life but if you want to move forward in victory, you must make a decision to cut away and let go of things that are keeping you from making your resolutions a reality.
God has promised us the strength to do what He has called us to do but we must take hold of that promise and quit making excuses for not living in victory. Our resolutions can become reality but we must “press on toward the goal to win the prize.”(Phil. 3: 14) Pressing on means pushing…an intentional decision to go forward. Paul began this statement with the words, “Forgetting (Letting go) of what is behind straining toward what is ahead!” So, before you make any resolution this week, first decide what needs to go...clean out that closet and those drawers of your life and you will find yourself opening the door waiting to see what God has prepared for you that is fresh and new! Happy New Year!!!
The Bible talks a great deal about letting go and going forward. I guess the most dramatic incident happened to Lot’s wife as she was escaping the doom of Sodom…something inside her would not allow a complete letting go, so she looked back and turned into a pillar of salt! (Genesis 19:15-26) When we hold on to things that are harmful, obviously the results are going to be dire. We often are hurt but others might be hurt as well. In this incident a family was left without a mother and there were horrible results for the whole nation of Israel!! The choice Lot’s wife made was her choice and the hope of a new life was thwarted by not letting go of things in her past.
Another choice was given in I Kings 19:19-21. Even those who want to follow God with all their hearts are not immune to the desire to hold on to things they think are important…as in the story of Elisha and Elijah. The difference between Lot’s wife and Elisha is that Elisha wanted to follow God more than to hold onto the things from which he drew comfort…job, family, and routine. That spoke worlds to me. The things Elisha wanted to hold onto were not bad things but they kept him from going forward.
So what can we learn from this? First of all, admit that there are things that are holding us back from becoming all of what God wants. We must decide to cut that rubber band and go forward with no holding on. Let go of yesterday…good or bad. I know people who still want to live in high school or college…reliving that touchdown or that academic accolade because that was when they felt life was best! (Was it???) Others are stuck in sadness…a death, a broken relationship…and have become bitter and angry…they are not willing to give life another chance! They have found an unhealthy comfort from this “pit of despair.” Then there are habits that have become a part of our lives…like complaining, negative thoughts, laziness and the list goes on. You can fill in the blank from your own life but if you want to move forward in victory, you must make a decision to cut away and let go of things that are keeping you from making your resolutions a reality.
God has promised us the strength to do what He has called us to do but we must take hold of that promise and quit making excuses for not living in victory. Our resolutions can become reality but we must “press on toward the goal to win the prize.”(Phil. 3: 14) Pressing on means pushing…an intentional decision to go forward. Paul began this statement with the words, “Forgetting (Letting go) of what is behind straining toward what is ahead!” So, before you make any resolution this week, first decide what needs to go...clean out that closet and those drawers of your life and you will find yourself opening the door waiting to see what God has prepared for you that is fresh and new! Happy New Year!!!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Mary Christmas (part 3)
As we end this three part series of the Mary’s in Jesus life, we come to Mary Magdalene a woman whose past is only mentioned once (and then only in passing) in Luke 8:1-2, for I believe her past was not as important as her future! (The same is true with us…God is more concerned with our future…He doesn’t dwell on our pasts.)
After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out…
There it was…she was a woman who was completely bound by demons and Jesus had released her. She had been freed from whatever had been controlling her and she could do nothing less than follow Jesus, helping to support Him and His disciples out of her own means. To clear up some misconceptions, this was not the woman who was caught in adultery or even the prostitute at Simon’s home…those women were never named. This Mary was a wealthy woman of the area who had “issues” of being controlled by something externally. She had discovered that her wealth could not bring her freedom from the demons of life…only Jesus could. Once freed, she spent the rest of her life following and ministering to Him. She was there through the good times and the bad….at the healings and miracles, at the trial, at the cross, and finally, at the tomb. I am sure she thought it was over as far as the ministry was concerned but her love for the “teacher” went beyond what He could do for her…it had become what she could do for Him.
Oh, from what has God delivered you? I know He has given me absolute freedom from the many things that had controlled me for most of my life. I wish I had time to tell you of my freedom in detail but know that I can do no less than praise Him for all of it! I consider it a privilege to follow Him wherever He leads. We can be bound by many things…but there is no doubt that He wants us to be free!!
Mary’s “rest of the story” is found in John 20:10-18. Her faithfulness was rewarded by a most wonderful privilege-to hear her name spoken by the risen Lord and to be the first to see Him in His resurrected body. She was overwhelmed by seeing this resurrected Jesus, and wanted to stay in that state of wonder so Jesus’ warning “to not hold on to Him” was similar to the statement God made to Peter on the Mt. of Transfiguration…to get to the work of being a disciple...later you will dwell with Him completely but now you must tell others. Jesus told her to, “go and tell the brothers.”
In order to be prepared for this season we also must first see the LORD and tell others that you have seen Him. What are you telling? Perhaps what we bought, who is coming and sometimes about the baby born in Bethlehem, the Shepherds, and the angel’s rejoicing are our glad tidings. While this is good and necessary, how many of us will include our personal encounter with Christ---when the LORD showed up and spoke our names? The angels rejoiced then, too! So, this Christmas we must tell the brothers (and sisters) about the Living Christ.
I know most of you are finished decorating but may I suggest a three more decorations?
◊ A magnifying glass to remember to magnify the Lord.
◊ A pillow to remind us to rest at His feet in worship
◊ A megaphone to remind us to tell the Good News of our own freedom story because of Christ.
Please, do not under any circumstance go into this season without knowledge of who this season is about. Ask Him to be more to you than a baby in a manger! If there is a coldness in your heart reconnect to Him now and do whatever business you need to do so your hearts and homes will be prepared for this CHRISTmas season.
Mary Christmas! May you have a wonderful New Year!
After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out…
There it was…she was a woman who was completely bound by demons and Jesus had released her. She had been freed from whatever had been controlling her and she could do nothing less than follow Jesus, helping to support Him and His disciples out of her own means. To clear up some misconceptions, this was not the woman who was caught in adultery or even the prostitute at Simon’s home…those women were never named. This Mary was a wealthy woman of the area who had “issues” of being controlled by something externally. She had discovered that her wealth could not bring her freedom from the demons of life…only Jesus could. Once freed, she spent the rest of her life following and ministering to Him. She was there through the good times and the bad….at the healings and miracles, at the trial, at the cross, and finally, at the tomb. I am sure she thought it was over as far as the ministry was concerned but her love for the “teacher” went beyond what He could do for her…it had become what she could do for Him.
Oh, from what has God delivered you? I know He has given me absolute freedom from the many things that had controlled me for most of my life. I wish I had time to tell you of my freedom in detail but know that I can do no less than praise Him for all of it! I consider it a privilege to follow Him wherever He leads. We can be bound by many things…but there is no doubt that He wants us to be free!!
Mary’s “rest of the story” is found in John 20:10-18. Her faithfulness was rewarded by a most wonderful privilege-to hear her name spoken by the risen Lord and to be the first to see Him in His resurrected body. She was overwhelmed by seeing this resurrected Jesus, and wanted to stay in that state of wonder so Jesus’ warning “to not hold on to Him” was similar to the statement God made to Peter on the Mt. of Transfiguration…to get to the work of being a disciple...later you will dwell with Him completely but now you must tell others. Jesus told her to, “go and tell the brothers.”
In order to be prepared for this season we also must first see the LORD and tell others that you have seen Him. What are you telling? Perhaps what we bought, who is coming and sometimes about the baby born in Bethlehem, the Shepherds, and the angel’s rejoicing are our glad tidings. While this is good and necessary, how many of us will include our personal encounter with Christ---when the LORD showed up and spoke our names? The angels rejoiced then, too! So, this Christmas we must tell the brothers (and sisters) about the Living Christ.
I know most of you are finished decorating but may I suggest a three more decorations?
◊ A magnifying glass to remember to magnify the Lord.
◊ A pillow to remind us to rest at His feet in worship
◊ A megaphone to remind us to tell the Good News of our own freedom story because of Christ.
Please, do not under any circumstance go into this season without knowledge of who this season is about. Ask Him to be more to you than a baby in a manger! If there is a coldness in your heart reconnect to Him now and do whatever business you need to do so your hearts and homes will be prepared for this CHRISTmas season.
Mary Christmas! May you have a wonderful New Year!
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