Jesus is the Best Renovator, Redeemer and Friend

Home renovation shows are one of my favorites. Sometimes I enjoy them because they are hilarious. The disaster renovations on one show just make me laugh as I see a picture of some of my attempted renovations in their problems as well.  Other times I just wonder if I really want to renovate something bad enough to go through the hard part.

On a recent episode of one of the best, the show centered around a mother’s kitchen renovation attempt by her son. I have lots of ideas for my own kitchen so I was watching closely. This kitchen had been gutted quite a few months back. Walls were mere studs and cabinets were half installed. Other make shift counters held things that should have been in their proper place. The kitchen was a catastrophe and looked hopeless. 

As the host of this show walked through the disaster and surveyed the situation, it was as though a light bulb went off in the mother’s head. I heard her say these words: “Until Bryan got here we were so used to living with it the way it was we didn’t realize just how bad it had gotten.” 

That’s when God spoke to my heart. When Jesus arrives on the scene of our lives the first thing we notice is our brokenness.  We see just how bad things really are. We hate to admit it, we turn our eyes from it and try to get our minds off of it. But Jesus says I cannot fix what you do not see. You can only see the brokenness, but I can see it all, including the repair, including the redemption, including making all things new.

Oh beloved, have you been living with brokenness? Have you been trying to fix your own problems? Have you lived with the rubble so long that you think it’s normal?  Are you sweeping around the junk and hoping to keep it out of sight? Jesus is calling to your heart and speaking such sweet love words. He is calling you to let Him see what you’re unable to repair and let Him work it out for you. He does more than repair, He renews! You are destined not for more demolition but for redemption! Trust in the Lord, open up the truth of your circumstances to Him and let Him apply the Truth of His Word to your situation.  Only in facing the truth will your circumstances change. But oh beloved when Jesus gets there, everything changes!

You are loved. You are chosen. God cares for you so much that He’s never unwilling to fix your broken life, broken heart and broken things. Run to Him and live in the Light of His Word as you see the magnificent remodel only He can do.

Ephesians 1:7-8a In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.

I Corinthians 1:30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.

I John 1:9 If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action]. Amplified

Psalm 107:19-22 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions. Let them give thanks to the Lord for His loving-kindness, and for His wonders to the sons of men! Let them also offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of His works with joyful singing.

Job 33:28-29 God rescued me from the grave, and now my life is filled with light.  Yes, God does these things again and again for people.

God is With You Through Everything!

They waved from the window at Danny and me as I watched him working on our Fiat’s engine. I was there to help if something needed pressing or holding. Our two daughters at the time were 5 and 8 months. They were laughing and playing inside and the oldest was “watching” the youngest. Melody kept waving at the window, but from our view they looked very happy.

The waving and coming to the window ...kept happening so I went to check. To my horror my sweet little 5 year old had a nasty gash that was bleeding profusely! They had indeed been playing and she had stumbled against the cedar chest in the living room.

We ran to the hospital and got her stitched up. The scar remains and every time I look at it I am reminded of that waving little girl who looked so fine but in reality was in a scary situation. I would bet she looks at the scar and remembers calling out to parents who assumed she was just waving.

Often we are met with disasters that we didn’t know were coming. We enjoy life and stumble over a trial or a temptation and we’re cut to the quick. Other times we are enjoying the scenery of our daily travels and we’re hit with a rock square in the jaw! We fall to the ground and writhe in agony. We’re overcome with pain and we don’t know if we can make it. We’re injured and we’re not sure that we’re going to make it. We’re not sure if anyone cares. We don’t know if the perpetrator meant it intentionally or not, but we’re injured just the same. We wonder if anyone else saw what happened. We want to defend ourselves and fix ourselves but to no avail.

God speaks to my heart: Oh beloved! I AM watching you. I AM aware of every stumble, every hit, every sorrow. Although the gashes of life may be horrendous you will not bleed out! Because I bled out for you! You will not be destroyed for I AM the one who has overcome the destroyer for your sake! You will not have permanent scars as long as you give Me the wounds and let Me sow them up with My tender, loving care. I see you waving the flag of surrender and I say beloved, you have nothing to surrender except your life. And I will redeem that surrender with truth and joy. The more you surrender, the more you walk in humility, the more you are still and recognize I AM that I AM the stronger and more invincible you will become!

Rejoice beloved that your King has everything in the kingdoms of this world and the next in His hands. All things work together for good – for you are loved and you are called according to His purpose alone.

1 Chronicles 29:11 Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heavens and on earth is Yours, O Lord, and this is Your kingdom. We adore You as the one who is over all things.

Psalm 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds.

Psalm 3:8 Victory comes from you, O LORD. May you bless your people.

Psalm 105:4 Search for the Lord and for His strength; continually seek Him.

Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.

If You Can't Fly, Just Rest in Him

It’s cooling down in our “neck of the woods”. That means I can once again leave window blinds open. It always feels cooler in the hot weather when it’s a little darker inside.  I love looking out on the back yard through the patio doors. Wildlife abounds in our neighborhood and the animals are stirring more as the temperature is becoming more tolerable. Birds are singing a little more and squirrels are scampering again.

One of the hard things about leaving the blinds open on the patio doors is that birds try to come into the house!  They don’t notice the glass, just the clear path they are traveling.  They’re oblivious to the danger ahead as they fly through the air.

Upon hearing a thud, we run to the door.  Sure enough there on the deck we see a bird laying there.  It appears totally lifeless, on its back, with its feet up in the air. Dead as a doorknob is the saying.  Not breathing, not moving, curled up, done for. Sometimes there are even feathers on the glass, a sure sign that the creature hit the glass way too hard.

It always amazes me. Most of the time if you watch long enough the bird will begin to right itself.  Sometimes it has to sit there for a good while.  Sometimes it rocks a little with its head lying back on its wing. Sometimes we dare to step out and see if it is truly going to be alright. We want to step in and make it right. We want to help. We’re met with the surprise of the little feathered friend taking flight and escaping to the rest of its life.

God speaks. How we are like that little bird. We fly through life, taking things in, enjoying the bounty of God’s goodness, having fun, doing all the things we were meant to do.  We rarely see the obstacle ahead. We fly instead headlong into it.  We are thrown to the ground.  We are flat on our backs. We are unable to speak, we can barely breathe. It has hurt! It was unexpected! We are undone.  Someone may have pulled the glass closed in front of us and we don’t think we are going to make it.

Except that God is with us. He didn’t come running to the glass when we hit – He was with us!  He is with us on the floor of our hurts, pain and rejection.  He is standing with us in our agony, in our suffering, in our mourning. He is gently hovering over us breathing His life renewing spirit into us. His hands are gently setting us aright. His heart is for us, His heart is with us and eventually His heart will renew us.

I know the hurts that can be experienced when life knocks the wind out of you. I’ve had it happen to me as well.  I know those hurts. But more importantly God knows them - each and every one of them.  He knew them before the foundation of the world.  He knew when you’d be knocked flat, He knew when you’d have a hard time breathing, He knew when you wouldn’t be able to stand on your own. He also knew, before the foundation of the world that you would fly again, soar with the eagles, sing with the warblers and live a full and wonderful life. 

Oh beloved, if you can’t fly, then just rest in Him. Lay your wearied head on His shoulder.  Ask Him to refresh your mind with His Word. He will bring you just the right Word at just the right time. You don’t even have to make it to Him – for He bends down to listen. If He knows the number of hairs on your head and He knows that not one sparrow falls to the ground without His knowledge, then He can surely revive you, redeem you, remold you and restore you. He is the God of Redemption, He is the Great I AM, and He is the Fixer of broken things, broken ministries, broken hearts and broken spirits.

This time of restoration is not wasted. No time spent in God’s presence is ever wasted. You may want to fly on to more ministry, other duties, different callings, but restoration time spent with Him is imperative to your revival. You may feel that you must be busy, doing and going, but God says rest in MY presence. For it is in MY presence that you will be restored and it will be to new heights, greater ministry and better fellowship with ME.

Oh how God loves you!  Oh how God cares for you! Rejoice today and begin to sing His praises right where you are! You are destined to live for His glory and that’s all that matters as you fly with Him all the way to heaven.

Lamentations 5:21 Restore us to You, O Lord, that we may be restored; Renew our days as of old…

Psalm 71:19-21 Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the highest heavens.  You have done such wonderful things.  Who can compare with You, O God?  You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but You will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths of the earth.   You will restore me to even greater honor and comfort me once again.

Psalm 91:1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

Psalm 71:23 I will shout for joy and sing Your praises, for You have ransomed me.

Psalm 103:1,4,5 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name.  Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; Who satisfies your years with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle.

 

 

 

Mother's Day is the Lord's Day!

My mother was born in an age when most folks still had a horse and buggy for transportation. When she was about 2, her parents left her and her older brother on the farm to fend for themselves while they traveled with the baby brother to town for supplies.  Her older brother was maybe 4. She shared how they would gather buffalo chips to burn in the fireplace to keep warm.  She recalled her mother asking her father to please take all the children with them. That was the beginning of a lifetime of hardship and hard places to be in.

But they survived. My mother survived. She went on to survive many many things in her lifetime. From peritonitis to cancer to miscarriages to tuberculosis and more. She survived abandonment, horrible work conditions and bad marriages.

My mother more than survived. She thrived. While most folks would knuckle under any one of the many tales she had of adversities to live a life of anger, fear and turmoil in return, not my mother.  She just got stronger with each thing that came along.  She laughed often, forgave a lot and lived free. She worked hard, had fun and helped others. People drew from her strength – from her siblings to her children to her friends.

One time I asked the Lord to have the spirit and strength of my mother. He spoke to my heart. It seems my mother’s strength of character came from adversity.   Now everyone wants to have strength, but who wants to develop that strength?  Dough gets tougher the more you knead it. Polished rocks come out of a tumbler after days in the machine. Tarnished silver requires cleaning compound and rubbing, rubbing, rubbing.   Get the picture?

I know that Mother’s Day is not a huge blessing for everyone. Some of you are living under the rejection of a beloved child. Some of you have been dumped by a husband, forgotten about by a parent and you’ve been through the mill. The heartache of life in general, has left you dreading the day, wanting to forget all about it.  The Hallmark version of this holiday just doesn’t fit you and you may wonder how to ignore it altogether.

Others of you want to have that inner strength, but going through hard things just isn’t what anybody asks for. Yet, God in His incredible, redemptive mercy can make every single hard time, every mountain, every valley, every heartache, every mistake you’ve made or others made against you, and the hurt and pain work together for YOUR good.  

Oh, beloved, it’s time to drop the baggage of poor parenting, poor raising and poor outcomes at the door of worship and enter in to the Lord’s presence. This day can be a magnificent day to give Him every burden you ever carried, to lift every load that someone put on you, to decrease your pain and increase your joy. He says to you this morning that He loves you, He loves you, He loves you. And while you may not understand why you are going through hard things, you can trust Him to get you through, make you stronger in the process and increase your faith in Him. Because He loves you, He will celebrate with you, even if no one else does. He not only hears your cries for mercy and answered prayers, He is the reliever, redeemer and restorer of your life!

God is real and He’s speaking to your heart, no matter how you were raised, how you’ve been treated or what you’ve done wrong.  Let Him love you and let Him take your life and let it be consecrated to Him. For He’s with you forever and that’s all that really matters, as He makes your life a shining example of His love, mercy and strength!

Isaiah 54:5 For your Creator will be your husband; the LORD of Heaven's Armies is His name! He is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of all the earth.

Psalm 119:107 I have suffered much, O Lord; restore my life again as you promised.

Colossians 3:10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him.

Psalm 59: 17 O my Strength, to you I sing praises, for you, O God, are my refuge, the God who shows me unfailing love.

Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

God Wants to Write Your Story!

While preparing the devotional book, I discovered that there’s a lot of work involved in getting it just right for print. While I didn’t rewrite any of the devotionals themselves, I did edit some of the grammar, fixed a few typos and looked at how the Scriptures for each page looked. One change in a line on one page can make things off on every succeeding page.

Editors get paid a lot of money to do just that.  They are adept at what they do. Sometimes, especially with fiction, they get to make lots of changes. They like to rewrite characters, change plots and have authors rewrite endings. They can redeem a mundane story and make it sparkle.

Collaborators work with authors to enhance what they’ve written. Instead of rewriting, they make suggestions to increase the viability of characters, the excitement of a plot and make the ending more interesting. They will guide and direct to help the story be greatly improved.

Ghost writers do all the writing themselves. Then the writing is posted to an author’s name for credit. This type of writing allows the author, who may not have the best abilities, to increase the value of “their” writing. The ghost writer is the actual author who takes care of everything.

Every one of us is a novel in the making. Our story is being written every day. We can author our own book or we can let someone do the writing for us. We can go it alone or we can let another collaborate with us – help us along the way. We can use our own abilities or we can allow a ghost writer to increase the value of our storyline.

Can you imagine what a wonderful story is developing about your life? Did you know that Jesus can be your Editor in Chief – choosing to enhance your entire profile and cause the plots in your life to end with victory? God Himself will collaborate with you to enhance every detail; taking the hard places and making them shine for His glory! He will write your story for you if you just give Him your day and let Him be the Author and Finisher of your faith story!

Oh beloved, let God be your storyteller! Let Him proclaim His greatness through your life. He knows the harrowing experiences, the cliffs of danger and the valleys of decision you’ve been through. He knows the plot may be thickening right this moment, but He’s already written the end of your story and it all comes out beyond your wildest imagination! Everything He speaks of His own nature is yours to enjoy! Run to His Word this morning and read your story as you proclaim His Story. The greatest points of His marvelous message are that He loves you and that He’s for you and that’s worth turning it all over to Him!

Psalm 23:3 He refreshes and restores my life (my self); He leads me in the paths of righteousness [uprightness and right standing with Him—not for my earning it, but] for His name’s sake. (Amplified Bible)

Psalm 16:7 I will bless the Lord who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me.

I Peter 18-19 knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.

Jeremiah 29:11-13 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for Me wholeheartedly, you will find Me.

Deuteronomy 33:3 Indeed, He loves His people; all His holy ones are in His hands. They follow in His steps and accept His teaching.