Out Of … Into

By Rosemary Flaaten –

Entering the air conditioned building, I left the mugginess of topical humidity. It was a relief to get out of the oppressive heat and go into the refreshing and revitalizing cool environment. When we leave something restrictive and enter something free and life giving, our mind and body breathes a sigh of relief.

In the Old Testament, God brought the Israelites out of the slavery they were enduring in Egypt and brought them into His promised land of bounty and freedom. Moses reminds the people that “God pulled us out of there (Egypt) so he could bring us here and give us the land he so solemnly promised to our ancestors” (Deuteronomy 6:23 TM). Similarly, God provides this opportunity for each of us by accepting the new life Jesus offers. When we leave our life of sin, we enter the full life He has promised.

In pondering this reality, I started a list of what I have come out of by entering into this relationship with Jesus:
 self-protection that hides
 fear
 sporadic obedience
 independence that hinders relationships with God and others
 a less than truthful existence
 a desire to gratify myself with lesser gods, including excessive food, accomplishments, status
 the tyranny of sin
 and the list goes on…

Whenever we go out of a place, the obvious is that we then enter into something else. So if the previous list represents what I have left behind, here is the companion list of what I have entered into, through Christ:
 absorption of God’s love
 experiencing unexplainable grace
 faithfulness
 an open spacious life
 interdependence on others
 the paradox of a full dependence on God that brings freedom
 and the list goes on…

Those are quite the comparative lists! Why would I desire to stay or return to the first list when I have such a compelling and amazing life offered through Christ? The promised land awaits.

Quote: “Never under-estimate the energy of unholiness in the human heart.” Larry Crabb

“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13 -14 NIV).

Every Survivor Dies

By Peter Lundell –

On February 4, the world’s last surviving veteran of World War I died.  Florence Green signed up for the Women’s Royal Air Force 98 years ago at age 17. Ironically, she was afraid of flying. She worked as an Officer’s Mess steward.

Before passing away at age 110, she had been in a nursing home for fewer than three months. Previously, she lived at home with her daughter, who is 90! By every account, Mrs. Green was a wonderful lady.

My Great Uncle Carl also fought in World War I. When I was a boy I visited him and felt as if I were touching history in the flesh. This man who held my hand had been in the trenches and fired a gun. Until he died, his physical presence connected me to an otherwise faded past.

Now there is no one left from that war, or any war before it. Every last survivor eventually died. And every war from now on will have its last survivor die.

I think of the unspeakable horrors World War I unleashed. And now, all of those involved are gone. Every last person. It no longer matters what side they were on in that senseless conflict. Nor does it matter whether they died on the battlefield or years later in a nursing home. They are all in eternity, for better or worse.

How they spend eternity has nothing to do with which uniform they wore, but with the condition of their hearts. So many things seemed important back then, just as so many things seem important right now. But eventually, even the survivors eventually surrender to death.

If we can truly grasp this, what would it do to us and the way we face conflicts, whether as a nation or in our own lives?

“You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:
‘”Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?’” (Acts 4:25 (NIV).

PRAYER:

“Lord, You see beyond every world conflict to that which is of your purpose and plan. Open my eyes to see beyond conflicts in my own life to that which is of Your purpose and plan.”

Beneath the Brush

By Hally Franz –

Parents love their children at each of the developmental stages they experience, but I think it is natural for us to have our favorites along the way. Many love infancy, because it makes for some wonderfully warm cuddle sessions. Others like to observe the wonder in the eyes of preschoolers as they explore and learn new things. I enjoy my children as they have gotten older. Mine aren’t much for snuggling these days, and they are sometimes hard to impress. However, they now express and impress me with their interests, hopes and dreams.

And, then there is the yard work. Perhaps that gives me extra incentive to enjoy this phase of their lives.

My fourteen-year-old son says he wants to be a landscaper. He is also my capitalist. While our daughter may never manage money well, her brother is always ready to earn some. So, on a recent warm day, I proposed some chores to him. Some stepping stones needed to be replaced. Bird feeders to be filled, and a repair to a wind-damaged piece of porch trim. I also wanted dead foliage cut, raked and removed from flower beds.

As I demonstrated the final task for my son, I was once again pleased to see that underneath the waste of winter, there were short green sprouts making their appearance. Hiding below the weathered remains of last year were the starts of new growth—hyacinths and hostas ready to usher in the season. How reassuring that perennial gift of spring is to us!

God’s Word is full of wonderful symmetry, and this is just another example of the poetic truth we find in Him. I knew what I would see beneath the brown brush when I coached my son on his assignment. I’d have been shocked not to see those beautiful, emerald signs of life. I know with confidence they’ll come this time each year, just as surely as I know God’s promise of salvation is real, and He can be counted on to fulfill His promises to us.

When we remove the worn and ragged parts of our being to become Christians, we are made new. That is something we can rely on, too. And, when we awake each day, God has blessed us with another opportunity to serve him better than we did the day before. How blessed we are that God uses stages and seasons, promises and opportunities to show His love and His plans for us.

PRAYER: Most Gracious Father, thank You for the promises provided in Your word, as well as the infinite and beautiful ways that You communicate to us through Your awesome creations. May we receive Your promises and messages, and be made anew each day.

“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life” (Romans 6:4 NIV).

Counterfeit Cheeseburgers

By Robin J. Steinweg –

I served uncooked cheeseburgers to my students. Don’t panic—the bun was two vanilla wafers brushed with light corn syrup and sprinkled with sesame seeds. The meat was a chocolate mint cookie. Red and yellow frosting looked like ketchup and cheese. I added lettuce: green-colored coconut flakes. The burgers turned out a little smaller (and rounder!) than White Castle burgers. If I’d photographed one on a doll’s tea plate, it would’ve looked just like the real thing. But if I were to write up a nutrition chart for it, it would be sadly lacking in the minimum daily requirements for anything at all.

Sure, it would taste good and give me a sugar high, but in the end it would let me down. Hard.

This world offers advice that looks appealing, feels good or has an appearance of truth—but the truth is, it can be as empty as sugar calories. But it looks so real; how can we tell the difference?

If you’ve ever eaten a real cheeseburger, you’d know the moment you saw my candy version that there’s no meat. That’s the trick: get to know the genuine article, and immediately you’ll recognize the fake. And if you’re inexperienced, you’d know it as soon as you tasted it.

Study the Bible and when an untruth pops up, you’ll see it for what it is.

PRAYER: Lord, I ask You to help me to become so familiar with Your voice and Your ways that I recognize instantly anything that is not from You. Thank You.

“Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world” (1 John 4:1 NLT).

Invincible

By Elaine James –

During a weekend retreat recently, I asked some teens to rewrite ‘Victorious Christian Living’ in their own words. They chose two phrases: ‘Truthful living’ and ‘staying closer to God.’

I quoted this verse: “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Peter 1:3 NIV).

Next I asked them to rephrase ‘Divine Power,’ and they came up with ‘a strength that is unexplainable.’

Look at these words that they identified as keeping them from such ‘Devine Power:’ loneliness, discouragement, worry, anger, worthlessness, unforgiveness, procrastination, doubt, fear, guilt, temptation, resentment, failure, jealousy, lack of confession, and lack of prayer.

Which of these words are keeping you from truthful living and receiving God’s ‘strength that is unexplainable?’

One of the teens shared a personal struggle with unforgiveness in a relationship. When she decided to forgive, she said “I realized that this is a key to life and when I realized how important it is to forgive, I felt invincible.” Another girl admitted to a lack of confession and prayer.

I had a simple outline for the weekend, but it became evident that God was filling in the lesson with more detail from our discussions. One more verse was added to the lesson “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up” (James 4:10 NIV). We agreed that going to the cross with a humble heart brought an incredible promise from God that “He will lift you up.”

We recounted the story of Jonah and the fish. We found that Jonah’s word was “fear” and because he had fear, he did not experience “Victorious Christian Living.” When Jonah was in the belly of the fish, he finally humbled himself, acknowledged God’s divine power, confessed and prayed. Once God instructed the fish to vomit Jonah onto land, he felt “invincible” enough to do what God had asked Him to do in the first place.

Our final conclusion was that if you choose to humble yourself, pray for divine power and live out the three key spiritual disciplines (forgiveness, confession, prayer), you can be “invincible.”

My prayer is that you choose the word or words that are keeping you from being invincible with God. Remember that becoming unconquerable is not an overnight task. It requires time and effort.

PRAYER: The pressure in life sometimes is too much. At times I want to run, like Jonah. Help me to remember the past and how You have rescued me. Thank You for the promise to never leave me.

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (ROMANS 8:38-39).

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