What right do I have?

Wow.  Ouch.  Uh oh.  Yes!

These are just a few of the expressions I felt after reading this passage of scripture from Psalm 50.  You see, I had been pondering my morning prayers and thinking about how I am so bad to present God with my wish lists all of the time instead of taking the time to thank Him, to praise Him, to see if there's something I can do for Him instead of me just all of the time telling Him what I want, think I need, and how to do His job.  I came into my Pretty Purple Room, looked through a couple of chapters of my Bible, and then thought "Well Stef, if you are sincere about wanting to please Him, perhaps you should head towards the Psalms.  They are more about Him than many of the other books that tell of His wonders and what He does for us.  Maybe if you go there, you will find someone writing a song to God, a praise of His glory, or some other form of worship that will propel you into a truer state this morning."

So, I did.  Read it with me now (in case you can't see the fine print on the photograph)?

16 But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to declare My statutes,
Or take My covenant in your mouth,
17 Seeing you hate instruction
And cast My words behind you?
18 When you saw a thief, you consented with him,
And have been a partaker with adulterers.
19 You give your mouth to evil,
And your tongue frames deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother’s son.
21 These things you have done, and I kept silent;
You thought that I was altogether like you;
But I will rebuke you,
And set them in order before your eyes.
22 “Now consider this, you who forget God,
Lest I tear you in pieces,
And there be none to deliver:
23 Whoever offers praise glorifies Me;
And to him who orders his conduct aright
I will show the salvation of God.”

See what I mean?  Wow.  Ouch.  Uh oh.  Yes!  How many times a day do I forward an email, re-post a pretty picture with some scripture reference on it, sing songs, and maybe even go so far as to write an encouraging word to another, all in the hopes of "declaring God's statutes" while on the other hand I sit back and allow the evils of the world to go on, to participate in looking the other way while the things God said to stand for instead I am rocking in the chair with the ones committing said actions, laughing even with them, as we proclaim how good and kind God is, so full of love, and just wants us all to get along?  Ugh!  Couldn't you just spit such bile from your mouths?  I know I can.

Thankfully, though, there is a "Yes!" in this passage that grants me--again--hope:

"Whoever offers praise glorifies Me;
And to him who orders his conduct aright
I will show the salvation of God."

Praising God: that is what this life is about.  The Lord God and it is Him to Whom I owe all of my praise, worship, and redemption.  Through His Son Jesus Christ, I was shown salvation.  I accepted it, gladly so.  Because of it, because of Him, I don't have to be torn into pieces. I am delivered, and I will not forget that it is God Who gives me this opportunity.  May I glorify You with my labors and praises, Heavenly Father, is my prayer today.  Amen!

The Bridge That Still Burns

I don't want to write this blog today. It's kind of like taking a bandage off of a wound and wondering how much it will bleed. Better to leave it covered, right? For even just taking a little peek will open my mind up to the covered injury there whereas if I leave the band-aid in place, yes, the sore is still there but...but I don't have to deal with it.

But it's too late. It's been itching lately and if I don't scratch it, I'm liable to go mad. Too many reminders are out there that it exists and each day--as if I could ever forget--the hits just keep on coming.

Today I got the news that a friend of mine's mother passed last night. Finally, for she has been suffering for a while and we all knew her days were numbered. Lois knew her end was near and my friend was able to spend a lot of quality time with her mom before this was to take place. Though I barely knew her mom, Lois' reputation was solid. She sounded like one of those characters you might see on a sitcom, full of wit and wisdom, sarcasm, and didn't take life so seriously. I know Brenda will miss her greatly.

And then there's another friend of mine, Gloria. She lost her mom two weeks ago, after an extended illness. Like Brenda, she knew the end was near and was able to spend countless hours with her mom, as well as her dad, and create memories that will bring her some comfort through the rest of her life.

I envy these women. While the situations mirror those of my own mother, I didn't have the relationship with mine that they did with theirs. The last time I saw Momma alive was two months before the cancer finally consumed her. The gulf was so vast between us then and there was this one final opportunity for her to cross the bridge and come back to my side but...She chose not to. She left me behind, again, setting the bridge on fire, and now as I ache with these friends of mine, my hurts are just as real and just as painful as that day. You'd think after three and a half years, they would have subsided but no. That burn is still there, covered for the most part, until something bumps it and makes it throb all over again.

Sigh.

I'm not sure how to conclude this blog today or what I am really even saying other than love hurts. Love scars. It stings; it mars. But it also loves beyond conflicts, over family squabbles, and will never fail. I have this promise from Jesus and I am clinging to it now with tear-filled eyes. The loss of a parent is devastating. One never really gets over it. The loss of any loved one is tremendous and the effects forever lasting. But there's hope. For some. For those who love Jesus more than self, there is a promised reunion rather than an eternal separation. Reconciliations and forgiveness still go on so for those of you who are facing the death of someone you love--or maybe even your own--so I encourage you... No, I beg of you: make it right. Make sure of your own salvation first and foremost. That is crucial and the better part. Swallow your pride and forget the past and its miseries. The present is what matters and it's all we've got. Tomorrow is not promised to any of us so again, make things right today with those whom you've wronged and/or been wronged by. The cost is too extreme when you don't.

Let's pray.

Dear Lord, as my heart aches for my lady friends whose moms are gone, I'm not sure how to reach out to comfort them. For if I go and commiserate with them and offer the platitude of "knowing how you feel" it's a lie, because my relationship with my mother was less than desired. If I go to them and just hold their hands or them, my grief over my own loss might consume me and I don't want this to be about me when they are the ones whose pain is so fresh. That's why I have avoided Gloria, as You know, because my sore spot with my mom is so raw. I don't want to weep with those who mourn because I want this part of my life that is in my past to stay there.

Oh God! Help me to be a good friend and when the time is right and I can handle my own emotions and focus on them and their heartbreaks, then let me reach out to these ladies.

Lastly, I ask that You make Yourself real to people today in a bigger way that they cannot avoid, cannot put off. Send something to remind them that eternity may be just a breath away and theirs needs to be secure. May their--and my own--eyes focus on You and see this life is not about us and what we get from it but rather that it's all about You, Lord God, and what we do to reflect You.

In the name of Jesus, I cry out to You. Heal our hurts, Lord, so that we may better serve You is my prayer. Amen.

Do you dare to disturb the universe?

What went wrong?  Who messed up?  Where and when did the message get lost?  Is it too late?

These are some of my convoluted thoughts this morning as I ponder a recent conversation with some elderly folks.  And the reason I specify that they are elderly (which to me, by the way, means those who are over the age of seventy) is because surely...surely after all of these years, surely after all that they have witnessed in these decades and changes of the century, surely somewhere along the line they have heard that Jesus Christ came to save sinners, to promise salvation, and to prepare a place with Himself for them to reside.

These people by most's accounts would have the record of having lived a "good life."  They aren't murderers, raised good families, lived peaceable lives, and mostly have stellar reputations in their communities.  Brought up by a God-fearing woman, the gospel was taught to them at a young age.  So now, now that they are in their golden years and have had time and ample opportunity to reflect, how can they speak so frivolously about what comes next?

"I don't believe in God," said one.

"I believe in some sort of higher power," said another.

"Oh yes, I believe in Jesus Christ but I don't believe in heaven," stated one more.

Intrigued and shocked and dismayed and bewildered and confounded and just overall flabbergasted, I pursued my line of questioning with quiet questions and earnest interjections to try to gain a semblance of understanding, and instead I was left with...hmn.  How to say?  I was left with sadness.  Worldly sadness.  My earlier readings in Galatians where Paul asked who had so easily bewitched them as those peoples had strayed from the lessons they had been taught flooded my mind as I too realized this type of thinking can only come from one place.  These older souls have been bamboozled by the master of deception, the king of lies, and the stealer of joy.  Their (perhaps) once acceptance that there was no other way to life and peace and salvation had been trampled out by men and women who perverted the gospel, who made a mockery of it, and by those who convinced through their conniving ways that God wasn't even necessary, that He doesn't exist, and they were given just enough doubt to hope and believe that there is "something out there" that will fix them--should they admit, that is, that they are broken, unwhole, and unwell.  Unfortunately, that "something" has been twisted into a false representation of a savior that many flock to as they believe there is no need of God but rather that that higher power is within themselves.  Their worship is inward to self rather than upwards to my Christ Jesus.  They have been deceived and now give acclaim to those who promise their needs will be fulfilled should they just believe that power can be obtained through worldly measures.

Sigh.

So, what now?  What is the next step?  Is there a next step?  Remember, I mentioned these are old people.  Old!  Oh no, not out of the picture yet but their lives are more likely to end sooner than later.  Throughout those lives, I feel sure that Jesus has been presented to them.  Not always in a positive way, however, which is why I wonder:  is there time to change their minds?  Is there time to convince, to show, to assure them that He most definitely exists, that He most definitely loves them, and that He most assuredly doesn't want their lives to end this way?

"Hey, I guess they're right. Senior citizens, although slow and dangerous behind the wheel, can still serve a purpose."

This is a quote by Lloyd from the movie "Dumb and Dumber." While funny, in part, it is also quite true.  There's a reason why we still have these seniors with us.  There's a purpose for their continued lives.  Maybe it's so you and I can tell them once more about Jesus, the real Jesus.  Maybe it's so they can hear and see Him alive in us.  Maybe it's so they won't die and when we all stand around their gravesides, we won't be wondering if they "made it" but instead will have that quiet faith and assurance that indeed we will see them again, but better still?  That they have come to know Christ Jesus as their personal Saviour and Lord.  I've been there, friend, wondering if my dad got saved before he died, wondering if my mother's faith was in Christ or in her own works, hoping that my aunt's professed salvation was real, seeing my mother-in-law lowered into the ground and wondering if her hardened heart had been softened by my Lord's sweet love.  

Yeah, I'm being blunt and some may say judgmental but my word:  we've got to stop wondering and start finding out, start witnessing not with pious words and religious threats but by God, by God, through our lives that are supposed to evidence Christ's salvation!  I'm pretty sure they've heard of Him by now.  It's time to show them through our lives, through our fervent living, and mostly by our loving actions that Jesus is real, that God's not dead, and that through His marvelous gift of His Son, that we can all live too.  We don't have to wonder if we'll make it, hope we get there, or spend countless moments struggling to understand this alleged higher power that is playing with our destinies and wondering if we just do that one special thing that our lives will be made well after all.

Acts 4:12 tells us: "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Check up on the senior citizens in your orbit, friends, and make sure they have one last opportunity to know the truth, will you? You might not get the answer you hope for and you might be as confused as I am after talking to them but at least you will have done your part of asking, of perhaps planting a seed--or better still of watering one that is trying to break through that tough soil that has been buried and is now ready to rise, to break through, and to see the Son. Now that would be spectacular!

Let's pray!

Father God, as I penned these words this morning, I did so with a heavy, hopeful, hurting, and hesitant heart. How these folks could be so bewitched is beyond me when Your Word has been evidenced for so much of their lives. And I know it has, Lord, for we are in America. Your Word has not been banned nor hidden from those who seek it. Your people are all around but also Lord, those who mislead and pervert Your Word are all around as well, and sadly, often moreso evident than those who truly know You.

Lord, I pray this morning for boldness for me, for my fellow saints, and for those preachers who have the calling to preach Jesus. May He be lifted up, His offer presented, and His sacrifice appreciated and accepted as we all check up and make sure of our salvation. May Your children not shy away from the hard stuff, Father, but instead, with loving hearts, risk the wrath in hopes of showing them the light, Your light. I ask these things in the name of Jesus, who saved my rotten soul, and offers me hope and assurance. Amen.

And yet...

How?  How is this possible?  All of our lives we have heard The Message.  For most of our years, someone has spoken affectionately of this Man named Jesus.  Churches abound and are now mega-centers rather than tiny little country ones that only have two aisles for one to choose which side to sit on.

And yet we are not saved.

How?  How is this possible?

Radios broadcast 24/7 instead of just on Saturday mornings messages of hope, healing, and salvation.  The television itself has numerous preachers on it--male, female, strict, soft--to tickle our ears so that we don't even have to darken the doorways of meeting places anymore.  Even our phones and computers grant us access to The Bible in ways we never had before.  In fact, never has there been an easier way for us to reach out and get in touch with our Saviour and yet...

And yet we are not saved.

How?  How is this possible?

Is there any greater message than the one we are hearing so much now at Christmas?  God allowed His Son--His Son!!--to come to earth as a tiny baby, to grow into a man, and then to become the sacrifice for us who have strayed, who have sinned, who have fallen short.  Movies were made about Him!  Songs are sung of His wondrous love!  Paintings attempt to capture His glory and the stories?  Oh the stories that are written and tell of the miracles He performed!  

And yet...we are not saved.

How?  How is this possible?

Oh Father!  How my soul aches for Your return.  The abuse Your Name suffers on a daily basis sometimes just makes me so ashamed to be a human.  The neglect that surrounds this celebratory time of year as You are barely mentioned hurts my soul as I ponder on just what a Wonder You are.

There are so many, God:  so many who doubt You, curse You, attempt to deny Your existence.  There are so many, Sweet Lord, who claim You on Sunday mornings and forget You the rest of the week.  And then God, there are those who cry out to You in their times of need, remembering those stories, relying on Your grace to forgive them just once more, begging for Your healing for themselves or for their loved ones.  You respond and then, far too often, they return to the lives previously lived, leaving You behind until they can't handle it themselves any longer, and they cry again.

I am sorry, Lord.  I am sorry my earthly sisters and brothers treat You with such low regard.  I am sorry that my life hasn't shown more evidence of Your truth and love.  This Christmas, this day, this moment I ask for more grace, more time, more opportunities to show Jesus, the Hope of Glory, in me so that maybe just one more can see You, one more can meet You, one more can be saved.  Like Abraham, I ask for mercy on my world.  May the righteous be found, Father, and may they continue telling those stories, singing those songs, proclaiming Your Word.  Lead us to them and don't let our patience run out when they continue to deny You.  Help us to love without end and evidence You in our lives is my prayer today, Father God.  In Your Son's holy name I pray.  Amen.