Loving Beauty!

I am renewed by beauty.  Last night a woman on “The Voice” sang an old country song and I was moved, not by the lyrics but the beauty of her voice.  Driving a country road where I see the work of God spread out in front of me – wildlife, hills, streams – I break out in praise!  I keep my home in order so that it is a pleasant place that invites me (and others) to retreat from the haste of the world, a kind of sanctuary. There is so much disorder and decay around us, we need to work at making things new!  Nowhere is this more important than in our souls.

Beauty is a delightful gift. We are irresistibly drawn to it and, when our hearts are full of God’s Spirit, we will desire to create beauty, just as He does. The opening lines of the Bible speak of His love of beauty. "The earth was empty, a formless mass cloaked in darkness. And the Spirit of God was hovering over its surface." (Genesis 1:2, NLT)  Then, the text says He called Light into existence. He spoke the seas and mountains into being. He gave flowers, trees, and all living things their beginning.  Then, we learn that "the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being." (Genesis 2:7, NIV)  The whole of those texts are poetic praises of the amazing beauty that poured from the mind of God!

The New Testament teaches us that God is not interested in simply putting a coat of paint over the old or adjusting a few things in us – HE MAKES US NEW!  "This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!" (2 Corinthians 5:17, NLT)  And, that new life of the Spirit, is radiant with true beauty!

Lent contrasts beauty and brokenness. We are reminded of our sinfulness and look ahead to breaking the darkness with the celebration of the Resurrection!  Will you let God, the Beautiful One, bring beauty into your life?  None other than Jesus declared that our mission is to make broken things beauty. He quoted Isaiah as He described His mission.  “I will provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.” Isaiah 61:3   Meditate on those phrases.  Each is a promise of restoration, calling the beauty made by the Spirit from the chaos that comes from sin.

What we experience as ‘beauty’ will vary to some degree, but we all love the beauty of virtue.  No matter our age, sex, race, or culture – we recognize the beauty of love, of kindness, of a gentle heart, of goodness. In the same way that a gorgeous garden does not spring the earth without the attention of a gardener, those things do not flourish without our application of ourselves.  God has given us the seed and the tools of His Spirit. Now, we are privileged to create beauty. Will we?

Let Him make you beautiful today. Share that beauty with the world where you live.  Then, as Isaiah said, you will be one “planted by God to display his glory. " (Isaiah 61:3, The Message)

Here is a word from the Word. May the Spirit awaken a yearning for beauty in our lives with the promise of renewal.

"How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger bringing good news,
Breaking the news that all’s well, proclaiming good times, announcing salvation, telling Zion,
“Your God reigns!”

Voices! Listen! Your scouts are shouting, thunderclap shouts, shouting in joyful unison.
They see with their own eyes God coming back to Zion.

Break into song! Boom it out, ruins of Jerusalem:
“God has comforted his people! He’s redeemed Jerusalem!”
God has rolled up his sleeves. All the nations can see his holy, muscled arm.
Everyone, from one end of the earth to the other, sees him at work, doing his salvation work. " (Isaiah 52:7-10, The Message)

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Beautiful Things

All this pain,

I wonder if I'll ever find my way?

I wonder if my life could really change,

At all?

All this earth,

Could all that is lost ever be found?

Could a garden come up from this ground,

At all?

You make beautiful things,

You make beautiful things out of the dust!

You make beautiful things,

You make beautiful things out of us!

All around,

Hope is springing up from this old ground.

Out of chaos life is being found

In You!

You make me new,
You are making me new.

You make me new,

You are making me new.

CCLI Song # 5665521

Lisa Gungor | Michael Gungor

© 2009 worshiptogether.com songs (Admin. by Capitol CMG Publishing)

CCLI License # 810055

Am I a better Christian on the sunny days?

Your life, just like mine, is full of up’s and down’s. We have days when we are energized, waking up ready to change the world. Then, there are those when the couch invites us to slouch!  We have a stretch of days when everything falls into place and then one of those when if it can go wrong, it does.  My question is this – am I a better Christian on those sunny days? Do I keep faith, discipline my mind and heart to remain faithful, or do I snarl, gripe, or sulk?

Paul, writing his final letter, addresses Timothy, a younger man who he has mentored in ministry.  He urges him to steady, committed Christianity.  "I can’t impress this on you too strongly. God is looking over your shoulder. Christ himself is the Judge, with the final say on everyone, living and dead. He is about to break into the open with his rule, so proclaim the Message with intensity; keep on your watch. Challenge, warn, and urge your people. Don’t ever quit. Just keep it simple." (2 Timothy 4:1-3, The Message)  Those ancient words came alive to me in my study. I pray that they will do the same for you today as the Spirit speaks.   In the middle of the passage we read this – “Keep on your watch!”  Another translation says, “Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not.”  Yes, Christian, we need to be ‘steady and ready.’   

How?

First, we are reminded that God is present – immanent, is the word.

He knows what is going on in your life. He does not take a vacation and leave you on your own. He does not get distracted and forget about us. Keep this truth always in mind - "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear." (Psalm 46:1-2, NIV)

Second, we are told that Jesus will judge our lives.

I am so thankful that my home in heaven is secured by His grace, that the Cross is my assurance of eternal life. I am sobered by the fact that He looks for a return on His investment in me.  I will stand (as you will) before Him to give an accounting.  What did I do with the resources given me?  "Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames." (1 Corinthians 3:12-15, NLT)  Don’t let that make you fearful. He is completely just, asking no more of us than we can do; even as He asks the best of us at all times!

Third, we learn that His Kingdom will be established.

We can get down when it seems like evil wins, that bad guys come out ahead, that our work is nothing but futility.  Right at the end of his life, Paul was experiencing that!  Friends had run off and left him to face Roman courts alone. Some looked at his life and concluded he was a failure. But, Paul knew, as we must, that spiritual matters are not what they appear to be.  The Great Reversal, last made first, forgotten people remembered, will certainly happen when Jesus returns and brings the fullness of His rule.  “Even so, come, Lord Jesus!”

Every day we are writing the story that will be remembered – in Heaven and on earth. Let’s make it one that allows the radiance of Jesus to shine through us. Steady on, faithful, full of the Spirit!

Here are Paul’s words that sum up his life. I pray that when I am on the last mile that I will say the same. Will you?

"As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing." (2 Timothy 4:6-8, NLT)

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One Thing Remains (Your Love Never Fails)  listen to the song at this link

Higher than the mountains that I face

Stronger than the power of the grave

Constant in the trial and the change

One thing remains

One thing remains

Your love never fails

It never gives up

Never runs out on me

Your love

On and on and on and on it goes

It overwhelms and satisfies my soul

And I never ever have to be afraid

One thing remains

One thing remains

In death in life I'm confident and

Cover'd by the power of Your great love

My debt is paid there's nothing that

Can separate my heart from Your great love

Your love

Brian Johnson | Christa Black Gifford | Jeremy Riddle

© 2010 ChristaJoy Music Publishing (Admin. by Bethel Music Publishing)

Mercy / Vineyard Publishing (Admin. by Vineyard Music USA)

Bethel Music Publishing

CCLI License # 810055

Nobody wants to stink at being Christian

“Dad, remember, nobody wants to stink at their job,” my son-in-law reminded me as we discussed how to urge those on our team to better performance. He is a principal at a school where he is responsible for a staff. I paid attention to his words.  We talked about creating clear expectations, about establishing ways to measure effectiveness, and about general morale.  Pete is right. Generally, people want to end the day with a sense that they have done well, that their work makes a difference for someone.  Sometimes we lose sight of the big picture, we become overwhelmed with pain and/or problems, we get derailed by diversions – but with guidance we want to be people of worth.

We don’t want to ‘stink at being Christian’ to borrow Pete’s phrase, do we? I do not think that any one begins to follow Jesus saying - “I want to be miserably ineffective, hypocritical, and mean. I want people who know that I profess to follow Christ to dismiss my faith as irrelevant or silly!”  Yet, there are certainly some who claim to know Christ and yet they remain sinful and disobedient, feeling nothing but guilty shame if they pray. They understand Paul’s wail – “Who will deliver me from this body of death?” too well.  Is there an answer to this?  There is, but some will not want to hear it.

We begin the season of Lent in the Church today.  It is a time, 40 days before Easter, in which Christians are called to discipline and examination that leads to greater faith.  In some churches, it is a time for the newly converted to prepare for baptism.  For all of us, it is a time to sharpen our faith focus.  And that demands that we are willing to do hard things.  Lent is best known for fasting. Some trivialize this choice.  They give up some little thing – chocolate, for example- that really has no impact on life.  True Lenten fasting asks us to deal with our appetites and attitudes, prayerfully asking the Spirit to take control of our lives as we discipline ourselves to follow Jesus.

Real disciples must be willing to hard things, training themselves to obey, to follow without reserve.  A real Lenten fast will deal with things like selfishness, self-absorption, and our insistence on being coddled.  How about giving up pouting when we don’t get our way? Or giving up our love of comfort that keeps us from real service?  To those who would be true disciples (there’s that root shared with discipline) Jesus says: "Forgive those who do you wrong! Love your enemies! Practice your generosity without telling anybody. Live for Heaven, not just for your next meal. Deal with your own sin before you try to deal with that of others. Follow me!"    Christians are told to "Keep a tight rein on your words. Don't use filthy speech. Trust God when it's dark. Endure hardship. Give thanks always."   

It is even possible to live like that?
For the Christian who is filled with Spirit, can answer, “Yes!”  It is not a ‘cannot,’ it is a ‘will not.’  

Christ’s power, given us in the Spirit, liberates us from compulsion to sin.  The Spirit leads us to life but not without choice, cooperation, and discipline.

Will you do hard things that will that holy, beautiful character consistent with authentic Christianity to emerge?

I am not saying that we can save ourselves from sin, but we do have a big responsibility to exert our will in the direction of godliness.  Most of us have some 'will nots' in our lives. There are things we do not do because we believe that they are difficult or unpleasant.  James does not spare our feelings with regard to refusal to do God's hard things. He says that "Anyone who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins." (James 4:17, NIV)

Let's encourage one another with this word from the Word.  As we begin Lent, let’s pray to go deeper in Christ.

Let these words urge you on when you find yourself wanting to refuse God's invitation to do the hard things. "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever." (1 Corinthians 9:24-25, NIV) "We respect our own parents for training and not spoiling us, so why not embrace God’s training so we can truly live? While we were children, our parents did what seemed best to them. But God is doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best. At the time, discipline isn’t much fun. It always feels like it’s going against the grain. Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God." (Hebrews 12:9-11, The Message)

May the Lord bless your day with good things, with joy, and with the peace of God!

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Take My Life And Let It Be

Take my life and let it be

Consecrated Lord to Thee

Take my moments and my days

Let them flow in ceaseless praise

Let them flow in ceaseless praise

Take my hands and let them move

At the impulse of Thy love

Take my feet and let them be

Swift and beautiful for Thee

Swift and beautiful for Thee

Take my voice and let me sing

Always only for my King

Take my lips and let them be

Filled with messages from Thee

Filled with messages from Thee

Frances Ridley Havergal

© Words: Public Domain