Making it Real

So, I'm reading along in the Psalms, and meditating upon Jesus as our Creator

and Sustainer, and Psalm 33 pops into view. It's a song of praise and a call to joyful worship.

Within a few short stanzas the writer lifts our eyes to the power of God's word in and over all of creation, then narrows the lens all the people of the earth, and finally to those who walk with Him. He not only spoke the world into existence and flung the stars across the sky, but He also fashioned our hearts and understands everything about us. His eye is upon us, He's our help and our protector, our deliverer and Savior. He is awesome and grand, close and personal.

So, with that in mind, I asked myself the same question I posed in yesterday's blog, What difference does it, or can it make to know that the Son of God (your Savior) is the heir of all things and the Creator of the universe? I thought about our house. It's been on the market for over 30 days and two people have looked at it. When Bob talked with a banking friend of ours he warned: "Be prepared. In this economy it will most likely take two years to sell." Not real encouraging. I started to wonder stuff like, "Do we have the right realtor? Why hasn't she had an Open House? Should we rent our place while we try to sell? What if it really does take two years to sell?"

Psalm 33 encouraged me, reminding me of God's huge, awesome greatness...and, His involvement in my little life. He understands my weakness and fear. And then, in a most humorous way, verses 16-17 jumped off the page -- here is the version the Lord gave me:

"As a home-owner you're not bound by the market.

Your house is not sold by your realtor.

An open house with perfect staging is false hope for a sale.

My eye is upon you, I know what you need,

I will sell your house in My perfect way and on My perfect time-table."

So, I choose to hope for His lovingkindness, wait, trust HIS holy name (and not the economy) and rejoice! I'm going to press in close to Him, watch for signs, wonders and mighty deeds. He's alive and at work -- the King of Heaven is as near as my breath.

The King of Heaven Has Come Near

"Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe. The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven" (Hebrews 1:1-3 NLT).

This truth can seem distant and impersonal until we bring all of who Jesus is into the realm of our daily lives. It makes a difference, in the face of misunderstandings or work-related deadlines, grim health reports or family drama to know that Jesus Christ is God. He not only reigns as King and Creator, but He is also God’s Son our Savior. Nothing in the universe is beyond His control or care, and at the same time He listens to our cries and enters into our distress.

It’s incredible that the whole plan of redemption began long before the world ever was. Jesus Christ is eternal and reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords. Tom Wright in his commentary, Hebrews for Everyone writes, “In the message of the gospel the King himself has come to speak to us directly…and when the message was preached things happened – signs, wonders, mighty deeds, presumably often of healing but perhaps other things too, sudden conversions, the transformation of families, synagogue communities villages."

Consider something that you’re facing personally, in your family or in your job. What difference does it, or can it make to know that the Son of God (your Savior) is the heir of all things and the Creator of the universe? Press in close to Him, watch for signs, wonders and mighty deeds. He's alive and at work -- the King of Heaven is as near as your breath.

Excerpts from my study on Hebrews: The Excellence of Christ - An Encounter with the Savior. www.entrusting.org

An Invitation: The Excellence of Jesus - An Encounter with the Savior

"As I grow older in the Lord, I find myself longing for a clearer view of Jesus. I read my Bible and seem to gravitate toward the Gospels so that I can hear His wise words and watch Him interact with the sick and blind and destitute, the proud and skeptical, and the crazed demons (the only ones who, for a time, really knew who He was). He called His followers to lose their lives for His sake, to take up their cross daily and follow, and to die and bear fruit. He led the way by shedding His blood and by giving His life to pay for the sins of the world—as a demonstration of His great love. Recently I had a conversation with college freshman, who upon hearing about Jesus and His love said, “I’ve never heard of such a love before.” There is no doubt—the love of Jesus is beyond compare.

What compels me, as I walk with Him, is this love, this incredible love was part of God’s plan right from the very beginning of time and is woven throughout all the pages of Scripture. God, creatively and purposefully, began paving the way for the coming of Christ in the earliest chapters of Genesis. Many people and events in the Old Testament foreshadow the person and work of Jesus Christ—who is at the center of it all right from the beginning." (An excerpt from my bible study on the book of Hebrews, The Excellence of Jesus, An Encounter with the Savior).

In light of my quest to see Him more fully, I'm preparing a class called "Five Days at His Feet" from the book of Hebrews, which joins the Old and New Testament together and points to Jesus in fascinating ways. So, join me, and let's gaze into the face of the Savior over the next few weeks together.

It Matters What You Do

Nostalgia is normal when one turns 50 I've decided. Even though I really wish I was extra-ordinary, out of the box, stupendously different than the status quo, I'm not. I'm normal. I can't believe "how quickly time flies" or how "much your son has grown" or how everything in my memory bank seems like "just yesterday." Everything I feel seems so cliche...so normal.

In my more nostalgic moments I've been struck with how fast time passes. As I sit here in Fort Collins I vividly remember arriving here as a 23 year old newlywed...27 years ago. Whew. 27 years is a long time! So, I've been thinking, if the next 27 years go as fast...I need to be purposeful. I don't want to hang onto the "glory days", the great quiet time I had a year ago, or the passage I studied when I lived in Russia. Nor do I want to walk with Jesus out of a sense of duty or obligation.

I want faith to define my response to His call. I want to follow Him with passion and devotion today, right now. I don't want to miss Him in the moment. He is magnificent and awesome, close and intimate all at the same time. I want to pursue Him with more fervor and listen for His voice with greater intent.

I realize today more than ever before that it matters what I do -- the minutes, days, weeks, months are ticking by.

"So teach me to number my days that I may present to You a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12).

The Lord is My Shepherd

Thirty years ago today my heart was broken, I felt lost and confused -- and angry. My fiance called the wedding off -- all my dreams of "happily ever after" came screeching to a halt. "Why did this happen to me?"

Lynn shared, "For God so loved the world (and that includes me) that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but will have everlasting life" (John 3:16). The love that I was longing for was real and alive -- in Jesus.

I returned home after listening to Lynn explain more about this Savior, and by faith I knelt down on the olive green shag carpeting in my bedroom, and I asked Jesus into my life.

Little did I know what He had in store.

Reflecting back on that day and the 10,950 days since then, I'm amazed. God, because of His love, while I was "yet a sinner" died for me. He came and made residence in my heart, and transformed me. He took me by the hand and led me up steep mountain trails and carried me through lonely valleys, and gave me reason to worship thousands of times in hundreds of different places.

This morning, as I praised Him for the past thirty years -- the good and the brutal, the fun and the pain -- He whispered Psalm 23 in my ear. Maybe just to remind me that I'm just as needy today as I was 30 years ago.

Here it is from the Jesus Storybook Bible:

God is my Shepherd

And I am His little lamb.

He feeds me

He guides me

He looks after me.

I have everything I need.

Inside, my heart is very quiet.

As quiet as lying still in soft green grass

In a meadow

By a little stream.

Even though I walk through

the dark, scary, lonely places

I won't be afraid

Because my Shepherd knows where I am.

He is here with me

He keeps me safe

He rescues me

He makes me strong

and brave.

He is getting wonderful things ready for me

Especially for me

Everything I ever dreamed of!

He fills my heart so full of happiness

I can't hold it all inside.

Wherever I go I know

God's Never Stopping

Never Giving Up

Unbreaking

Always and Forever

Love

Will go too!

Signature Scent

I've always loved perfume. Charlie topped the charts when I was in junior high, then Wind Song, and a variety of sprays smelling like baby powder always made the rounds. Over time I began searching for a "signature scent" one that said, "Oh that reminds me of Cas!" Whenever I smell Calvin Klein's "Eternity" I think of Kristi, or Boucheron it's Marian. Aqua Di Gio for men -- totally Bob.

During the winter conference my nieces, Emily and Elaine, would text me around noon, we'd meet in the lobby and head to the mall. First for Starbucks and then to shop for a signature scent. I explained that you want to find a scent you really like, showed them how to apply it, and reminded them to avoid letting their perfume announce their arrival...if you know what I mean. Too much is just, well, too much.

The perfume lady at Nordstrom indulged our search and gave them each four samples of their favorite sniffs. Their hotel room became a mixed aroma of spicy, floral, musky scents. I kind of felt sorry for Eric -- he was sharing the room and inadvertently their quest for a scent.

The last day of the conference they made their decision. So, we headed to the mall and Nordstrom was closed! But, Macy's was open. They both bought the same smell...their signature (Viva la Juicy) displayed in two different towns. It was fun to share the moment with them -- to pass on auntly advice on the finer points of perfume. But, at the end of the day I was struck by the fact that, when we're following Jesus we carry a signature scent of a spiritual kind.

"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place" (II Corinthians 2:14). The aroma of Jesus is sweet to those who know Him, and not so sweet to those who don't. The passage indicates that apart from Him we're not adequate to the task of manifesting His aroma on our own...our adequacy comes from Him.

Did you know Jesus' death on the cross was a fragrant aroma to the Lord? Our generosity us a fragrant aroma along with our praise and worship, sacrifice, prayer, service -- all send a pleasing aroma to the throne of God.

Our search for a signature scent reminded me that everywhere we go we manifest the aroma of Christ...He is our signature scent. May we wear Him in such a way that people are drawn to Him through us.

The Edge of the Wilderness

Last night, while reading Exodus, I followed Moses and the children of Israel out of Egypt, across the Red Sea. I've read the story countless times (I think I've blogged about it before), but failed to notice before that they crossed the Red Sea on dry land (yes, we all know the story), at NIGHT. Imagine thousands of men, women, children, donkeys, dogs, goats, kitty-cats, huddled together with the sea "congealed" (think of Jello) on either side of them in the DARK. They weren't very happy, in fact, they feared for their lives...understandably. But, the scripture says, "And the angel of God, who had been going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them. So it came between the camp of Egypt and Israel; and there was the cloud along with the darkness, yet it gave light at night" (Ex. 14:19-20). Okay, so the Lord guided them with His glorious light from behind (always and forever He is the light of the world). But this isn't what really caught my attention...read on.

Prior to this amazing miracle and true story of dramatic deliverance, the Israelites -- led by Moses -- were camped in Ethan "on the edge of the wilderness" (Ex. 13:20). This was to convince their enemy, Pharaoh and his men (who were in pursuit of their recently released slaves), that Israel was wandering aimlessly, lost, and out of sorts. God had a plan, for sure, but it meant being on the edge of the wilderness. How many times have we been there? If we look back we see the "enemy" in hot pursuit, and if we look ahead the landscape appears barren and lifeless. Either way, life looks pretty darn bleak. We can so easily feel alone in a crowd, fearful, isolated, and hopeless.

But, right on the edge of the wilderness, we learn, "The Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they may travel by day and by night. He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people." God was visibly present in their midst -- 24/7. All they had to do, when anxiety welled up inside, was look up and God was there...even in the wilderness.

"I will never leave you, nor will I ever forsake you."
"I am a very present help in times of trouble."

Sometimes, like in this story, God leads us to the edge of the wilderness for a reason...in this case it was the prelude to deliverance.

This encourages me so much, and I hope it does you too. There are things in our lives that are incredibly challenging...situations that make us want to flee because we think God has forgotten about us and has left us all alone. Going forward looks treacherous, and retreating means defeat. But, if we keep our eye on the pillar of cloud and fire, trust and wait, listen and obey, we will watch the Mighty and All Victorious One "part the Red Sea."