All About Me…

    Growing up, Easter was all about me.  Call it a “baby of the family” thing, but it was how I perceived the occasion.  The special Easter outfit was about me:  how fluffy and frilly my dress looked.  The shiny new shoes were about me:  how they clicked like big girls’ shoes when I walked.  The sponge-rolled curly hair was about me:  how it bounced when I walked and laid perfectly in place.  The big basket that the bunny left was about me:  how much he like me and knew my favorite treats.  The egg hunts were about me:  how many eggs I could find and what was inside.  Of course I knew the reason for Easter, Jesus going to the cross, but it was mostly still about me.

    As I’ve grown older, I’ve realized that Easter is still about me (and you).  The angry fists that hit Jesus were about me.  The long, bloody stripes on his back were about me.  The thorns that broke the skin on His head were about me.  The nails driven through His hands and feet were about me.  The hole pierced in His side was about me.  The love in His heart in the midst of torturing pain was about me.  His final breath was for me.  Rising from the dead was about me.

    You see, it was about me when I was a little girl for the reasons I mentioned, but He makes it still about me.  He makes it about me accepting His love, sacrifice, and gift of eternal life.  He didn’t suffer and die for His own benefit, it was for mine.  So today, as you do all the traditions of the new Easter outfits, shiny new shoes, egg hunts and baskets, stop to bask in the remarkable reality of the first Easter…the day that He truly made it about you.

 

“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”

1 Peter 2:24  KJV

Blessed

I had the opportunity to take the teens from our church to a play at another church in the area.  It started earlier than our regular church time, so when it was over, we went back to our home church.  We were late, so when we pulled in the parking lot and started walking to the door, I heard a sound that I’ve heard my entire life:  my dad preaching from the pulpit.  That sound is one that I know so well…I’ve heard it every week for 30 years.  My heard immediately swelled and I felt proud that not only was that my pastor, that was my dad.  The one who has preached to (and sometimes AT, lol) my sister and me on Sundays, but been a dad to us at home.  The one who has been our biggest spiritual cheerleader and calls us out to testify, lol.  The one who lives his life parallel to what he preaches.  The one who has lived his own convictions but never forced them on us, only encouraged us to find our own.

     Then we walked in and as I found a seat, I looked around at the group of people there.  People that are closer to me than family.  People that have seen me cry, laugh, shared my pain, helped carry my burdens, and lifted me to the feet of Jesus in prayer.  People I could call at any time in any situation and know that they would hit their knees.  People whose lives I knew outside the walls of that church building and I know that they are the same in everyday life that they are on Sundays and Wednesdays.  People that share the same goal I do:  to make it to Heaven.

     I felt so overwhelmed, and in a good way.  I love my church family.  They mean so much to me.  As a “pastor’s family” we’ve heard people time and time again, say that we have the “perfect family”, the “perfect life”, and the “perfect church”.  When in reality, we’ve had our share of troubles and hard times in our family, personal lives, and church, just like everyone does.  Nobody is perfect, but one thing I won’t do, is hesitate or step around the fact that we’re blessed.  We’ve been a “blessed family”, had a “blessed life”, and we’re a part of a “blessed church”.  The Lord doesn’t expect perfect, but I believe He does expect us to realize that we’re blessed.

     If you have a church family, really take notice of what they mean to you.  Thank the Lord for blessing you with them.  Lift them up in prayer, because they do you.  And give their hand an extra shake or hug them a little tighter next time you're together.  They truly are God’s blessings for you…and no, I’m sure they’re not perfect either, but one thing in common…they’re blessed, too.

 

“There is one body, and one spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;  One Lord, one faith…”

Ephesians 4:4 – 5  KJV

Dogs vs. Lions/Alive vs. Dead

          I came across the verse in Ecclesiastes that says, “a living dog is better than a dead lion”.  It grabbed my attention and I started thinking about what that verse means to me, personally. 

          Lions are great creatures.  They are not ordinary animals.  You can’t go buy a lion to keep, you have to look at it on display:  either in their natural habitat or at the zoo.  They are considered too great of an animal to be common.  They are the best at what they do…hunting.  They make their presence known in any situation.  There are many people who are like lions.  They are great creatures.  They have talents or wealth that seems to place them on a higher pedestal than the average Joe.  They make their presence known among people and seem to be on display.

          Then there are dogs.  Dogs are everywhere…they are common.  You can buy one, you can adopt one, you can find a stray…there are many ways you can get a dog.  They don’t need to be in their natural habitat, you can keep them in the house.  Everyone has probably had a dog at one time or another.  Some learn to do tricks, some are good hunters, some like to yap at anything coming and going.  They are common.  They are not on display…they just do their thing.  There are many people like that.  They have talents but instead of commanding attention, they just do it.  They are common people:  there are many others with the same abilities.  Nobody flocks to see them on display.

          One of those animals is such a great and powerful creature and the other is ordinary.  But Solomon said that a LIVING common, ordinary person (a dog) is better than a DEAD person (a lion).  You can be the most powerful and strong person.  You can have talents that everyone else only dreams of having.  But if you don’t use them for the Lord and live for Him, it’s just like you’re dead…you’re of no use.  On the other hand, if you are a simple, ordinary person and you use what God has given you and live for Him, you are of more grandeur than the most powerful. 

          The Bible is full of “dogs” that prove this point.  The thief on the cross who showed us how to ask forgiveness.  The adulterous woman who showed us that no sin was too great for Him to cleanse.  Naaman’s maid who shared her faith.  The fishermen that caught souls for Him.  The little boy who gave his lunch so that a miracle could be performed.  Don’t get me wrong…the Lord uses the lions too, but I know that I am just one of the dogs; a common girl.  I don’t have any great talents that put me on display.  I don’t have a lot of money to do things with.  But, what I do have I try to use it to glorify Him.  I’d much rather be the dog (a yapping one, as I’m sure John would say!  lol) and be living and of some use for Him than to be a great lion and be useless.

“…for a living dog is better than a dead lion.”

Ecclesiastes 9:4  KJV

Soul Mates

         My best friend and I went shopping for dresses.  When I came out of the dressing room in my wedding dress, she had tears in her eyes.  When I looked at the face of the girl who had been my very best friend for the better part of 30 years, I knew exactly what the friendship was like between David and Jonathan:  sacred.

       

        The Bible depicts David and Jonathan’s friendship of one of a shared faith, steadfast devotion, and amazing encouragement.  They shared a faith in God, which served as the foundation of their friendship.  They wanted each other to serve the Lord and were excited about the plans He had for one another.  They were devoted to each other:  they chose to honor their friendship over other relationships.  Jonathan proved his devotion to David by helping him escape from the wrath of his father, Saul.  They encouraged each other.  Jonathan encouraged David and vowed to be “in the shadows”, helping however he could, but allowing his friend to have command. 

        The verse about David and Jonathan says that their “souls were knit together”.  I thought about my best friend.  She can look at me and know exactly what I’m thinking.  She can say just the right thing to make any situation better.  Our souls are knit together.  There’s a quote from the movie “Bride Wars”:

“Sometimes in life there really are bonds formed that can

never be broken. Sometimes you really can find that one person who will stand by you no matter what. Maybe you will find it in a spouse and celebrate it with your dream wedding. But there's also the chance that the one person you can count on for a lifetime, the one person who knows you sometimes better than you know yourself is the same person who's been standing beside you all along.”

        I feel like this portrays David and Jonathan’s friendship…the kind of friendship that God intended us to have in life.  A sacred and true friendship that is based on love for Him, loyalty to each other, and encourages your own personal relationship with Him.  There’s no better phrase I can think of to label such a friendship, other than “soul mates”.   

“…the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul…”

1 Samuel 18:1  KJV

“Faithful...One Hundred Percent!”

  

          This week we will be celebrating Dr. Seuss in my classroom.  It’s one of my favorite weeks of the year!  I love reading the rhymes and teaching my students about the moral lessons intended for each story.  My very favorite Dr. Seuss character is Horton the elephant.  I think Horton seems to have it all figured out. 

            In the story Horton Hears a Who, Horton hears voices on the flower.  Nobody else hears it and he begins to get ridiculed for believing it.  By the end of the story, Horton has vowed to help the tiny voices and even putting his own life in danger.  This can be applied to our Christian lives.  Christians are often ridiculed for their beliefs and tempted to let go of what they know to be true.  How many times have people who do not believe in Jesus said to us, the same thing that the kangaroo said to Horton:  “If you can’t see, hear or feel something it doesn’t exist.”  People who do not believe in Jesus don’t understand how we can feel and hear the Lord, even though we cannot see Him.  Horton doesn’t believe the kangaroo because he knows what he feels and hears, and doesn’t need something tangible to reaffirm his faith.  He stands firm, just as we have to do. 

We have to have faith that Jesus was born, lived, and died so that we can be saved.  We have to have faith that He lives in Heaven and wants a relationship with us.  We have to have faith that we have the opportunity to live with Him in Heaven.  Toward the end of Horton Hears a Who, it is said, “Their whole world was saved by the smallest of all!”  Isn’t that so true??  Our whole world was saved when that little baby was born.  He didn’t come as a big important ruler or king…he came as the smallest of all.

            This story is one of faith, purpose, determination, perseverance, integrity, and forgiveness.  Those are all qualities that the Lord expects of His children.  Probably the most well-known part of the story is when Horton says, “I meant what I said and I said what I meant.  An elephant’s faithful, one hundred percent!”  That is how we have to be as Christians.  We have to determine in our hearts that no matter what others might think of us…and yes, some might think we are crazy…but we have to resolve to be faithful to the Lord, one hundred percent!   

“That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”

1 Corinthians 2:5 KJV