“It Is Finished.”

By Janet Morris Grimes –

“To-Do List”

Go to grocery
Get hair cut
Get dog’s hair cut
Orthodontist
Get oil changed
Clean out car
Clean house from where I cleaned out car
Buy stamps
Mail rent check, but not too early
Pay bills online
Document that I paid bills online
Buy wedding gifts
Get estimates on roof replacement
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There aren’t many days I can completely cross anything off my list. Done. Finished in a way that I never have to give it any further thought.

Instead, my life seems to be run by a series of unfinished business. Ongoing appointments at the orthodontist, bills that keep showing up, unexpected expenses on the house that never stop, maintenance issues on our vehicles. The list goes on and on, and on the rare occasion that I do actually get to mark something off it, it creeps back in a few weeks later.

It’s enough to make me wonder if I ever accomplish anything at all. Is anything ever finished?

It is also enough to make the words of Jesus as He hung from the cross resonate even more. The book of John shares it like this:

”Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit” (John 19:28 – 30 NIV).

Jesus had completed his purpose. Done. Completely finished. He was afraid, but He did it anyway. He begged for God to find another way to compensate for our sins, but when He understood that we could never be reunited with our Father except through Him, He gave up His Spirit. Long before Jesus hung from the cross, He made the decision and the commitment.

And it is finished.

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, Thank You for finishing what You started. Thank You for loving us enough to sacrifice everything. Thank You for the peace that comes in knowing that it is completely finished.

Filled to the Measure

By Susan Dollyhigh –

My stomach growled, and my eyes searched for a clock, as if needing to confirm the body’s signal for hunger. The clock, strategically hung over a snack machine, confirmed that I’d missed lunch. As I sat there in the waiting room of the full-service car wash, I glanced out the window where soap suds and water were flying, and all thoughts of counting points for my diet washed out of my brain.

I knew better. I’d been taught H.A.L.T., the acronym for Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired – conditions that leave us vulnerable to temptation. But five hours had passed since my skimpy breakfast of a mini-bagel, and “H” had taken control of my brain.

From that moment on, I operated on auto-pilot. Pick up purse from floor; pull out wallet, open change compartment, dig out quarters, walk over to snack machine. My eyes settled on a bag of baked cheese crackers, and I rationalized, those aren’t so bad. But with quarters ready to slide into the slot, my eyes slid down – to the peanut butter sandwich crackers, known as Nabs. In Weight Watchers, one pack of Nabs counts five points- which is equivalent to a whole meal.

Those Nabs were good. I washed them down with Diet Coke. No harm done, that will be my lunch.

However, when I returned home, I found myself in the kitchen foraging for food. I opened a cabinet. Hmm; think I’ll have a cookie. Munch. Munch. Those chips look pretty good. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Whoa! Sanity returned and I realized I’d certainly put more than enough calories into my body. So why am I still hungry?

I looked at the cookies and chips in the cabinet. Because I’ve filled my body with junk! I finally poured healthy cereal into a bowl, and covered it with skim milk. I sat down at the kitchen table, ate the cereal, and felt nourishment flow throughout my body. Whew, finally contentment.

I’ve found the same thing is true of our souls. Many times we try to fill them with “junk” by eating or starving ourselves, sleeping or being a workaholic, making money or being a shopaholic. We may turn to drugs or alcohol, or even try to dull our senses with TV or the internet. But none of these things satisfy us, and any of these things in excess can even end up hurting us. Our souls were designed to be filled only with Christ. When we allow Him to fill us, He gives us the power to let go of destructive things, and to find peace that comes only from our souls being filled to the measure with the fullness of God – and we are finally free to experience true contentment.

Prayer: Father in Heaven, thank You for dwelling in our hearts. Thank You for loving us. Please help us to grasp and to know Your great love so that we may be filled to the measure with all the fullness of You.

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:14-19 NIV).

Me ‘Firt’! (aka Me First!)

By Jarrod Spencer –

I would like to go so far as to say “everyone does it” but there are probably some exceptions to the rule. What everyone likely does at sometime in their young life is to strive for independence and meaning. Ava, our two-year old is well into that stage of life. Whenever I want her and her older brother, Oliver, to do something, she will often say “Me firt!” She wants to do the task that I am allowing or assigning first. There are times in which Oliver may want to look at something, for example, she pipes in with “Me firt, Oliver!” She wants meaning in her life and would like to have independence. She also exercises that desire by not wanting to have her hand held when we are in parking lots.

Why is it that she wants to be first? What is it that she does not want to be after Oliver? I am not talking about a scientific or clinical reason, but more of an intellectual reason. She has a great desire to let her abilities be known and has already learned that first is “good.” We may race up the stairs and see who “wins.” They may be in a “race” to be buckled first to get the “buckle badge” (something invisible that simply affirms I’m proud of their obedience). They want to outdo one another and are driven to do that at this stage in their life.

As we go about life as a Christian, what drives us? Are we driven to try to be “first?” When we are challenged by a thought or song, do we seek to be the first to go out and do something? Are we driven to be “firt?” Or are we simply letting it go in one ear and out the other? Are we not caring if we’re first or last in the challenge?

As you read this, may you be inspired to go out and see what you can do for God. We are not in competition with one another, but sometimes if we felt like “I’m going to get to someone you know first” then you may be inspired and motivated rather than just letting it pass. So, who will it be this week? When hearing a challenge, who will be the one to say, “Me firt!”?

PRAYER: Father, thank You for giving us two wonderful children. It is a great privilege to be called “Daddy” and to see these young people grow up. I thank You for the opportunity to have these two precious gifts from you, if only for a short time, later to be returned back to You. I ask that You help lead me in the guidance for the direction they should go.

“For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory” (I Thessalonians 2:11-12 NIV).

Quick on My Toes

By Elaine James –

“Where did you get those cute shoes?” I inquired.

She responded, “Bed, Bath and Beyond.”

Shocked, I repeated “Bed, Bath and Beyond?”

She flippantly replied, “Yeah, that must be the beyond part of the store.”

We laughed. “Wow! You’re quick on your toes. Did you just make that up?”

Most confidently, she chuckled “Yeah”. I had to laugh with her. I never thought of the ‘Beyond’ stuff in that title.

Suddenly as I focused on the beyond of Bed, Bath and Beyond title, I began to put it in spiritual terms; Here, Now and Beyond. The here and now are staples of everyday life, but the beyond is the part I forget to focus on.

First, how many times in my life do I hear a prayer, title or a Bible verse and not focus on each word? After all, a prayer like Our Father, which Jesus taught to his disciples, when simply recited is just babbling to God if I don’t really know who I am praying to and what it is about. The beginning line of that prayer, “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name,” taught me to adore and praise God.

Second, beyond is eternity or my time after death. Where will I go and why? How could I be living my life daily with the understanding of “eternal security with Jesus in heaven” or “Beyond”? The Our Father prayer goes on to say “Your Kingdom come,” which begs for the eternal security I experience when I focus on the cross and Jesus second coming.

Third, the beyond is not more things I want or have. It is the need God grows in me to be in relationship with Him. The Lord’s Prayer that asks “give me today my daily bread” which is the essential fruits of the Spirit that I need daily.

If I trust in the Lord with all my heart daily I can experience the “beyond” that the Lord freely wants to give me. I was “quick on my toes”; a pun intended by God as I went from shoes, to toes and “Beyond.”

“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:9b-13 NIV).

Seasons or Scenery

By Mollie Bond –

Seasons or scenery: the top two reasons I move and change jobs. I may move because I need a change of scenery, but mostly it is because I need a change of seasons.

It’s like this—a crew of Muppets comes to a fork in the road. Their decision mimics my decision. The fork the Muppets see, literally is a fork. Great for comedy, but in real life, forks have prongs that hurt, so I’m careful with my choices. I can find a job based on the scenery (where is it?), or I can find a job based on the season (what I’ll be doing).

Two signs in the fork in the road point to two directions. One sign says “move first.” If I choose scenery, it usually requires a move. I risk moving to a town I like and try to job search. I’ll walk into companies in hopes for the impromptu interview.

The other sign says, “job first.” Find the job you like, then move. That risk is to wait where I am (in search of seasons), and pour resumes into the Abyss where my resumes might also see the Abysses’ city dump.

Sometimes I’ve chosen the Abyss. (I’ve heard it’s a nice place in the fall.) Sometimes I’ve waited at my current location. Here’s where my Bible knowledge comes in handy.

God has an opinion. That opinion on whether you go or stay is straightforward. Seek Him, find Him, and then glorify Him. I first will search for Him.

Okay then. The next step after seeking Him is that I’ll find Him. Check. Then glorify Him. I can glorify Him in this scenery or this season. He is close by us no matter where we are in life. He gives us two choices of scenery or seasons so that we will “reach out for Him and find Him” (Acts 17:27). Pray lots, continue to seek Him, find Him, and glorify Him in day-to-day living. As time goes on, the answer will come, and maybe it will be both seasons and scenery.

PRAYER: God, thank You for creating both scenery and seasons. I pray no matter which situation I am in today, that I seek You, find You, and glorify You.

“From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:26-27 NIV)

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