But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children.  Psalm 103:17

To me, there’s nothing more tragic than a son or daughter of God fearing being disowned by their heavenly Father.  They go to bed each night wondering if they did enough good that day to ensure that they are still a ‘child of God.’

I’ve talked with many who don’t believe in the eternal security of their salvation.  They argue that an earthly father can disown a child, or a child can leave home, declare himself free of his family, and never return to home turf again.  That is all true.  However, if DNA testing were done on the father and child, evidence would still show that they are still very much father and child.

Scripture speaks of being born again into the kingdom through faith in Christ.  Birth into any family means a new and permanent identity.  I am called a child of God.  There are many days I don’t feel like His child, even act like His child, yet I am because at age seven, I made a decision to repent of my sins and trust Jesus as my Savior.  No disgracing behavior can erase whom I belong to.  If I had decided along the way to say that I had somehow disqualified myself from being His child, my proclamation wouldn’t have nullified my adoption.  No matter what I say or do today, it’s irrelevant as far as my adoption papers.  Though I may break my Father’s heart when I sin, He is still my Father.  When I come limping home, He will be scanning the horizon, looking for my face to appear.

Perhaps you struggle with your faith when the sun goes down.  When you think of the 2^nd coming of Christ, you fear you will be left. Perhaps you suffer from a disease where your days ahead of you are few.  The thought of dying seizes your heart with fear.  Review Jesus’ words.  If you trusted Him once, trusted Him sincerely to be your Savior, then He has you in His hand and no one or no ‘thing’ can snatch you out of it.  The same hand that created the world, threw the stars into place, and causes the sun to rise in the morning and keep our earth on its axis, can (and does) hold you in a firm grip.

Help me understand that I am Your child because You desired it.  I didn’t earn the privilege nor can I dis-earn it.  I am kept by You, ever secure no matter what.  I rest in You.  Amen

SaveSave

Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.  Psalm 127:3

I have to admit that we were not prepared for the fulfillment that would rise up to greet us when Ron and I became grandparents.  When faced with the opportunity to love and shape the lives of our two grandsons, we looked into the mirror of comparisons.  I won’t speak for Ron but all the ways I had changed since my children were small became evident.  My grandparenting style differed from how I parented.

When my kids were small, life was full of pressures I didn’t know how to handle.  I was uptight, making my children toe the line because of my need to fit in with the other parents in my social circle.  My kids often paid the price for my insecurity.  I was fearful of being different and that anxiety had to be felt in our home.

Now, many years later, I am comfortable in my own skin.  I am God’s daughter and have more of a feel for what this Christian journey encompasses.  I have learned the hard way to live prayerfully, thoughtfully, and with an audience of One.  And I’m learning that everyone who lives around a peaceful person benefits.

My two grandsons, Gabe and Andy, live nearby.  Throughout this summer, they have been mine for two days a week. We’ve had time to watch black raspberries grow, pick cherry tomatoes, make Georgia peach cobbler several times, and talk about more serious things like life’s choices and what our world is like to live in.  Last week, I took them out for lunch to celebrate the end of their summer.  For two hours, we sat at the table talking.  No technology. No TV.  No distractions. Subjects like making hard choices, delayed gratification, choosing friends, becoming godly leaders, understanding favorite bible stories….these were some of the topics we explored and I was stunned by their wisdom.

Grandparenting provides all of us an opportunity to redeem our parenting.  It is God’s gracious gift of a second chance.  As we live out our love for the next generation of our descendants, our children will hopefully be healed as we bring God’s kingdom to the ones who are most precious to them ~ their own children.

Thank you for continually redeeming every phase of my life.  Hover over our grandsons.  Amen

Save

SaveSave

Blessed are those who have regard for the weak; the Lord delivers them in times of trouble. The Lord protects and preserves them—they are counted among the blessed in the land—he does not give them over to the desire of their foes. Psalm 41:1-2

My strengths make me able to handle certain challenges. While I may excel in those areas, I can be certain that I’ll struggle in others. My weaknesses put me at a disadvantage. Because each of us is unique, what comprises our individual challenges differ.

Even though I know this theoretically, it’s easy to be impatient with someone else’s weakness. My mercy seems to have limits as I say under my breath, “Why can’t they just get it together!” It is judgment without discernment. I fail to take into account that their weakness is not my weakness nor is their strength, my strength. It’s likely that they are also impatient with me when I struggle with my personal Achilles heel. Many things contribute to the causes of impatience. Culture, biases, training, arrogance ~ all these can erase needed compassion. Examples:

• I know an extremely wealthy Christian woman who has no compassion for the poor. Worth tens of millions, she gives liberally to charities. She also has mercy for the sick. But when it comes to the poor, she really believes that they have created their own destiny. If they worked harder or had made different choices, they would live comfortably. For a time, I was in her circle of friends and I can tell you that I, personally, suffered from her bias at a time when we faced financial hardship.
• I also know a healthy, energetic person who can’t understand those who live in chronic pain. She puts time limits on her empathy.
• And how many of us know people who have never tasted clinical depression. As a result, they won’t empathize with those who live with shadows ever at their heels.

Whatever the cause of our judgments, God needs to help us. Transformation starts with an acknowledgement that man’s mercy falls short of God’s mercy. David wants us to know that God has high regard for those in need. He does not leave them. He blesses them. He fiercely protects them from their foes. How ironic would it be for me to judge the needy, walk by, and then carry on with the ministry God has entrusted to me? One thing for sure, I am not like Jesus.

Oh, how I know. Even with the spiritual gift of mercy, I have a long way to go to resemble You. Amen

I am yours, save me!  Psalm 119:94

Some time ago, my husband was out doing errands when he saw a heavy set older woman lying in a parking lot, bleeding.  She had fallen outside her car.  An even older woman was at her side, trying to help her turn over to get up, but it was obvious that she was not being succesful.  A crowd stood around; no one seemed particularly interested in doing anything but watching.  You see, the woman who fell didn’t belong to any of them.  She was not part of their family.

Ron went over, knelt down, and asked them if they needed help.  “Oh please!”, the injured woman pleaded.  She wrapped her arms around his neck and he lifted her off the ground and took assessment of the situation to see if an EMT was needed.  She declined the help and after a few minutes declared that she was able to drive home, even though she was scraped up pretty badly.

If she had been someone’s mother in the crowd, there probably would have been earlier aid.  But she belonged to no one there and couldn’t ask for help.  She couldn’t say what David said to the Lord when he was in trouble.  “I am yours, so save me!”  With ownership comes responsibity and God steps up to the plate with care and faithfulness.  With belonging comes security and the privilege of begging for intervention.  No child of God should swallow their tongue and fail to ask for what they need.  Each has a Father who loves to give and who celebrates need.

What scars my ability to ask boldly are the memories of having belonged somewhere only to have my status ignored.  I ‘technically’ belonged to a family, by virtue of birth, but made to feel that I didn’t belong.  These dynamics are the stuff of earth, of the kingdom of darkness.  Earth is Satan’s orphanage but Jesus died to forgive me and adopt me to make me His own.  I can not be snatched out of His hand.  My status will never change and His love for me will never flicker for a second.  My need does not surprise Him.  He knew well my orphan-story.

    Wherever things are ragged today, wherever I need saving, I have a heavenly Father who reminds me through His Word that I belong.  With that privilege comes the right to echo David’s words.  “I am yours, save me!” 

This story of belonging is not like any other.  Amen

The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak what is just.  Psalm 37:30

To be wise, and to be just, requires alertness.  No one can assess things clearly if they’re zoned out. I ask myself this morning if I’m fully awake?  Has God caused my spiritual senses to arise out of twilight sleep?  Like one who drives a ten-hour trip, I can numb out and not recall the last four hours of the trip.  Unaware of the scenery.  Unaware of traffic.  Just marking time and watching the mile markers change.   Oh, how I can’t afford to miss the command to be wise and discerning.  Never has it been more critical to understand the times I am living than now.

In Matthew 16, the Jewish leaders came to Jesus and asked for a sign, a sign that would confirm who He was and that what He was saying was true.  Jesus was firm that there were signs all around them but they refused to see them.

When David was king at Hebron, a group of warriors called ‘men of Issachar’ came to his aid.  They were described as those ‘who understood the times and knew what Israel should do.’  Is there anything better than keeping company with those who are spiritually astute, who know the mind and heart of God and are able to interpret the times and events!  I shouldn’t have to rely on those who have a prophetic gifting to understand God’s heart on a matter.  Yes, they possess a keen sense of God’s thinking on issues but that wisdom is available to all who seek Him and seek the truth.  ‘Wake me up!’ is what I’m praying.

I don’t want to be like someone who is falling asleep; slowly ceasing to hear the creaking in the floors and the din of noise from the other room.  I want to put off the mindset of the world, which is hard to do if I’m on their journey of moral and spiritual decline.  If Jesus were to step into my world today, read the headlines, watch the news, visit a local school, how would He react to the spiritual condition of my city, my church, my children, my home life, my marriage, and to me – most of all?  Would He tell me to wake up or would He just hone my present skills and make me a more effective watchman on the wall?  I don’t want to assume it’s the latter.  I’m asking Him about it and making sure my own sin isn’t numbing out my spiritual senses.

I bind my mind to your mind through the counsel of scripture. Amen

Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise Thee. Psalm 63:3

Mollie, our beautiful golden retriever rescue, has now lived with us for three years. She was two when we got her. Perhaps you remember the story. When we brought her home on that first day, we turned to her and said, “You just had your last bad day!”

Getting to know Mollie’s quirks has taken some time. For two years, Mollie was neglected and shoved in a back yard. She had no shelter from the weather. Heat, cold, rain, thunder, lightening – she was their captive. How do we see signs of that reality play out now? When Mollie goes to the door and wants to go out, we’ll get up to open it. But then Mollie runs away. When you call her to come back, she runs further down the hall. It took us a good eighteen months to understand why she’s so conflicted. Though she wants to go out, she’s afraid we’ll trap her outside. We’ve tried a bunch of things but here’s what finally worked. We open the door, stroke her, then turn our back to her so she feels no pressure from us. With the choice truly being hers, she will walk outside.

Quirks can be a nuisance without love. Think of what happens while we wait for Mollie to decide. In a Georgia summer, the heat pours in the house. In the winter, the heat escapes. All because our dog needs time to make up her mind.

Each of us have a story. We come to God with triggers. Some are afraid of silence; others, of noise. Some have a fear of crowds; others, a fear of being alone. These are the less complicated ones. The comforting thing is that God knows me intimately. He knows how to scale the wall with just the right gesture so that I’ll lose my shyness and trust Him. He’s not stumped by my quirks nor do they put Him off. Patiently, He works with me. Cajoling and encouraging, He offers Himself as a companion.

Ever feel like you’re forever imprisoned by your past? Like you’re making no progress? God has the key to steps forward. Go to the open door.

Some of my objections to You spanned decades. Oh Lord, You never stopped reaching out to me. Your lovingkindness is better than life. Amen

Look to the right and see: there is none who takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me; no one cares for my soul. I cry to you, O LORD; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.  Psalm 142:4-5

If I do something wrong and disappoint someone close to me, perhaps I can make it up to them.  The cost may be personally expensive but maybe I can erase the disappointment and create a better memory within the relationship.  But what of the times I am a disappointment?  When the cause does not lie within me but within their expectations of me?  Can I possibly heal from such unfair rejection and resulting pressure?  Perhaps ~

• I am the wrong gender.  My parents wanted a boy.
• My parents didn’t want children.  I exist – therefore I disappoint.
• I have the wrong gifts.  I’m in one profession but my parents wanted me to pursue another.
• I am too emotional.  My parents are rational and don’t understand me.
• I am an obstacle.  My birth stood in the way of a parent’s career.

I reason that if the people I’ve always looked up to reject me, then I must be the problem, right?  When I am the object of someone’s disappointment, it’s crippling until Jesus offers me a way of escape. The only cure is to be the object of God’s desire.  He says, “I want you.  I love you.  Be mine.  I accept you and celebrate you.  You are unique and have a purpose in my kingdom that no one else can fulfill.”

That heals the wounds of disappointment.  Consider this C.S. Lewis quote.  “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”  On this day, ask God to show you in some way that you are the object of His deep desire.  No one is left out – not on any day.  Beautiful love declarations in scripture are yours today to bask in.

You create out of wisdom, purity, and holiness.  Whatever Your hand fashions, You call ‘good’.  I am Your creation.  If You didn’t want me, You wouldn’t have made me.  I declare today that I am fearfully and wonderfully made, loved by You.  Amen

Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.  Psalm 119:97

Where does passion come from? For the first 40 years of my life, I wouldn’t have been able to answer the question.  I just knew that I felt guilty because passion was absent.  No matter how much I desired it, I couldn’t manufacture it out of a vacuum.

Passion was absent because God’s Word hadn’t been life-saving to me yet.  I knew kingdom principles in a cerebral way but my soul was still full of the world’s infection; anxious thoughts, private obsessions, and insecurity.  Few could probably tell but that’s only because the church teaches its members to hide their flaws well.  Spiritual disease is rampant beneath polished exteriors.

Passion was finally born when I experienced the power of the cross firsthand.  With life change, I became a zealot.  The good news of the power of our resurrected Lord was on the tip of my tongue just waiting for an outlet.  I’m still a bundle of passion waiting to erupt.  It may be an email that sparks the flow or a lunch date with a friend that turns surprisingly spiritual.

We all have our favorite subjects.  Some of mine are severe weather, World War II, survivor’s stories, and the inner workings of interpersonal relationships.  A conversation that includes one or more of the above is most enjoyable to me.  But none of those can compare to my love for the ways of the kingdom and how they work.  If I put on the coffee, engage with a spiritual partner, I find that the hours are gone in a flash.  In heaven, there will be many 1,000-year-cups-of-coffee as fellowship deepens and spiritual thirst is eternally quenched.

How would it look for my passion to equal yours, Jesus?  However far I need to go, take me.  Amen

All your commandments are sure; they persecute me with falsehood; help me!  Psalm 119:86

All God’s commandments are pure, providing a security that can only be found in a strong foundation.  When we are persecuted unjustly, our feet are standing on the stones of the kingdom.  Circling us, at every side, are towering pillars of truth.  Even though we are granted this kind of support, it’s still difficult to stand in the gale force winds of harassment without God’s help.  Only the grace of His presence will sustain us.

When I’m in a mild kind of discomfort, I find that I can pray at length about my predicament.  My words are plentiful.  But let that discomfort increase to a pain that is excruciating and my words are reduced to one simple phrase, “Jesus, help!”

There’s nothing in the world wrong with that prayer.  Jesus is the one to call on.  Only He can deliver.  Only He can infuse my weakened heart with spiritual fiber.  Only He can enable me to sustain spiritual integrity in the face of taunting. His name, in and of itself, carries spiritual power.  Each facet of His many names carry a promise.  Hanging onto them, in hope, builds strength and intimacy.

Perhaps you are in a pit.  The story of what sent you there is too long to tell anyone.  Open your mouth and cry out, “Jesus, help!”   This should be on my tongue without excuse, without apology.  Jesus never belittles need.  He tells us that we don’t ask for enough, don’t need Him enough.  What a blanket invitation for any stoic.

Jesus, the worst thing I can do when I’m in a pit is forget that I can cry out to You for help.  I grew up ashamed for needing anyone or anything but You’ve taught me to live differently.   I will not shut my mouth when I need speak up. Amen

My shield is with God, Who saves the upright in heart.  God is a righteous judge, and a God who has indignation every day.  Psalm 7:10-11

God’s wrath is not a subject most churches address and of the few that do, some exclude adequate teaching of God’s grace.  Focusing on either one, while ignoring the other, distorts the Gospel and hurts any congregation.  A right view of the character of God can only be attained when His wrath, and His grace, are understood in balance.

One of the reasons people prefer not to think about God’s wrath is because of their experience with angry people.  God’s wrath is not of the human kind. We all know an angry person who never stops being angry.  Those near them can’t do anything right.

 There are two New Testament words for wrath.  One is ‘thymos’; meaning a panting rage.  The other is ‘orge’; meaning something which simmers and ripens.  ‘Thymos’ is used in the book of Revelation to describe the wrath of God that will be poured out one future day in all of its fury.  However, in every other instance in the New Testament, ‘orge’ is used.  God wants us to know that he does not reach out to strike just because He has been momentarily offended.  He’s not temperamental.  Instead, He’s longsuffering in nature.  His anger simmers over a long period of time as He sees wickedness spread over the earth.  A ripened anger results and will one day culminate in the eternal condemnation of all who have not trusted Christ as their Savior.

Jesus’ death provided a way of escape from God’s wrath; both the panting kind of rage and the simmering kind.  My unrighteousness, the sin which deserved His full punishment and condemnation, went to Christ instead.  He took God’s wrath in my place.  Because I am dressed in His holiness, I get to live in a tender, intimate relationship with His Father. I don’t have enough words to express what that privilege means to me.

Sin suppresses the truth of God’s character.  It encourages people to reject a God who tells them that they are sinners and need to repent or face His wrath.  But God’s people, sinless and justified, love the Truth and are willing to listen to God regardless of how much the Gospel once offended them.  That small test is one way to tell whether or not I am God’s child.  Do I love the truth even when God’s wrath is the subject matter?  Am I able to understand that God is just and yet embrace Him with the confidence of a forgiven child?

Knowing that the full manifestation of Your wrath is still to come, I am compelled to tell the story of the cross to those still under the curse with even more urgency.  Forgive my laziness, Father.  Amen