You Heard It Here First

It's not very often that I think something I say is pretty darned good, but I must admit I thought this was fairly clever.  Months ago I posted this as a status update on facebook and today I had the opportunity to repeat myself by commenting on someone else's status. 

Benjamin Franklin believed that, "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."  My addendum to that is, "Coffee is proof that God loves us and wants us to be productive."

Eh, whadya think?

I know, I'm a goon.  

Ah, well, anyway, I like it.  At least I amuse myself.  :)

"Thank You, Captain Obvious!"

I know you are much smarter than I am and probably had this figured out already, but bear with me.

If I got to choose five books that should be required reading for all Christians, "Restored" by Neil T Anderson would be on the list.  I've been through it before, years ago, but it never ceases to amaze me how something you've heard previously and know well suddenly hits you in a fresh way.  The Bible is famous for doing that.  Chapter One provided a light bulb moment for me.

Neil states that one of the primary reasons Jesus came to us as a man was "to give us an example to follow in His steps. Jesus showed us how a spiritually alive person could live a righteous life.  He did so by demonstrating a life totally dependent upon His Heavenly Father.  All temptation is an attempt to get us to live our lives independently of God.  Jesus was tempted in all ways but unlike Adam He never sinned."


Suddenly what I had always known in my head took on a very real, very deep meaning in my heart.


I guess I've always thought about Jesus, both fully God and fully human, as being sort of above all the temptation stuff, as if He possessed some supernatural resistance that we don't have.  I mean, after all, He is God.  On some level I thought when Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness that that was it, once and for all.  Battle over.  The Big Stuff was dealt with and Real Ministry could begin.


Somehow it never really occurred to me that Jesus was truly tempted by little, garden variety sins that trip me up so badly, and tempted by them everyday.  I guess I thought He simply brushed off any thoughts of lying, cheating, pride, resentment, lust, complaining, greed, gluttony, laziness, etc.  


I've finally realized that it's not that Jesus couldn't sin, it's that He didn't.


Two by four me upside the head and call me George.


I mean, really, DUH!  I've been a Christian for over 24 years and I'm only just now getting that?


It wasn't only in the wilderness with Satan that He was truly tempted.  It was every day.  All day.  

Just like me.  

Wow.  

How did I not get this before?

Romans 14:23 says, "whatever is not from faith is sin."  Everything Jesus did was by faith.   Everything. 


It makes me look at every situation He encountered with new eyes.  His humanity has taken on a whole new dimension.   I want to go back through the Gospels and look closely at how Jesus handled every situation He went through.  

I can't wait to see what the next 7 chapters have in store for me.  

It's My Blog And I'll Brag If I Want To

I've had this post in mind for over a week now but just haven't had a good chance to sit down and type it.

Of course, I'm starting this about 5 minutes before I need to make lunch.  Guess that means I'm getting better about squeezing things in as I can.  It may take me 15 trips to the computer, but I vow to get this written today!

We took the boys to see Toy Story 3 a few weeks ago.  (And yes, I cried.)  It was Nathan's first time in a movie theatre and he did very well.  He sat on Clinton's lap the whole time, snuggling with his blankie and his thumb in his mouth.  He was unbelievably quiet and well-behaved for an almost-three-year-old. We had no idea what to expect out of him, so we were very pleasantly surprised.  And some people say miracles don't happen -- HA! 

After the movie we went to Applebee's to eat.  We really weren't very hungry but couldn't decide on any place else to go.  We finished eating and were on our way to the car.  In the parking space right in front of the restaurant door there sat an older model car with two older ladies in the front seat.  I'm guessing the car was about a mid '80s Dodge Aries type, very faded grey paint with some spots worse than others.

 As we came out of the door they had tried to start the car but the engine wouldn't turn over.  They tried it again.  Still nothing.  Clinton and I were still walking towards the car, but  also looking at each other, wondering silently if he needed to give them a hand.  Then they tried a third time and it started right up.

As we got to the car Matthew looked at me and said, "Well, that worked."  I stood there and stared at him for a moment and then asked him, "Matthew, did you pray for those ladies, for their car to start?"  He said that he had. 

Yes, I am the proud momma of a thoughtful, compassionate son. 

And now for Brag #2.

A few Sundays ago I was picking Nathan up from the church nursery after worship services were over.  There is a big, open window between the hallway and the main nursery room.  You hand your child and their paraphernalia  through the open window rather than open the door and possibly let another child out into the hallway. While I was waiting in line to claim Nathan I was talking to our friends Chris and Holley.  Holley is the daughter of some of our best friends and they had just picked up their baby son, Kael, from the nursery.  

As Nathan approached the window he suddenly pointed out the window and shouted, "That's my Jesus!"  Chris, Holley and I looked at each other, wondering what he was talking about.  Did he mean Chris, or baby Kael, or someone else, or what on earth was going through his little head?  By the time I got Nathan out Chris and Holley were gone.  

We walked down to the foyer to meet Clinton and Matthew.  There I spotted Chris and Holley.  I asked Nathan if he saw his Jesus anywhere.  He looked around, pointed at Chris and said again, "That's my Jesus!"  

Okay, so he did mean Chris.  I can understand his mistake.  Chris is a nice-looking young man, very friendly, tall and slim with curly brown hair and nicely-trimmed facial hair.  

I had no idea Nathan "knew" what Jesus looked like.  We've read some books about Jesus and such, but I had never really thought about them as profile pictures of the Messiah.

It was a full week later before I realized the true significance of what transpired.  Nathan had said  MY Jesus.  Not, "There's Jesus!" or "There's Mommy's Jesus!"  MY Jesus.

It's very encouraging to know that SOMETHING is getting into their heads, and their hearts.

PS - It only took me 3 trips to the computer today to get this written.  :)

It's a Woman's Perogative to Change Her Mind

For years now, I've pictured it.  

Heaven.  The Pearly Gates.  Jesus welcoming me in and saying, "Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant."

I've thought for decades that those are the words I want to hear when I get there.  He'll smile, speak those words and I will mutter under my breath "Yes!  I've loved and served my Lord with my whole heart, mind, soul and strength and now I get to spend ETERNITY with HIM!  Whoo-hoo!"

But recently I've started to change my mind.

Not about where I spend eternity or with whom, but what I want Him to say to me when I get there.

I mean, yes, I still want to hear the Good and Faithful Servant part, but now I want more.

Call me selfish.  

In a previous post I briefly touched on the  progression of relationship with Jesus, per John & Stasi Eldredge in their book "Captivating."

You might recall that the Scriptures use a number of metaphors to describe our relationship with God.  We are portrayed as clay, and he is the potter.  We are sheep, and he the shepherd.  Each metaphor is beautiful and speaks to the various seasons of our spiritual lives and to the various aspects of God's heart toward us.  But have you notice they ascend in a stunning way?  From potter and his clay to a shepherd and his sheep, there is a marked difference in intimacy, in the way they relate.  It gets even better.  From master and servant to father and child, there is a wonderful progression into greater intimacy.  It grows more beautiful and rich when he calls us his friends.  But what is most breathtaking is when God says he is our Lover (our Bridegroom, our Fiance'), and we his bride.  That is the pinnacle, the goal of our redemption (used in the last chapter of the Bible, when Christ returns for his bride) and the most intimate and romantic of all.    p. 114

So that's the thing.  I don't want to be "just" a servant.   While I am honored at the privilege, I don't want to stop there.  I don't even want to settle for being His friend, although that is totally crazy to think about in itself. (Me?  His FRIEND?  Are you kidding?  Mind-boggling!) 

This is what I long to hear Him say to me,

My lover spoke and said to me,

     "Get up, my darling;

     let's go away, my beautiful one.

Look, the winter is past;

     the rains are over and gone.

Blossoms appear through all the land.

     The time has come to sing;

     the cooing of doves is heard in our land.

There are young figs on the fig trees,

     and the blossoms on the vines smell sweet.

Get up, my darling;

     let's go away, my beautiful one."

                             Song of Solomon 2:10-13 NCV

I don't deserve it.  I don't understand it.  But somehow, by His love and grace, I am His Beloved.

You can be, too.

What would you like Him to say to you?