Wash Versus Soak

By Rosemary Flaaten –

I have a favorite cookie recipe that’s loaded with oatmeal and raisins. If made correctly the tasty morsels come out chewy and rich, perfect with a glass of ice cold milk. My usual method involves soaking the raisins in hot water for a couple of hours so that they are plump and juicy. The last time I made them I was in a rush and so just measured out the one cup, quickly washed them and then dumped them into the batter. Surely soaking wasn’t that important to the quality of the final product?

Haste makes waste. The cookies, although they had the same ingredients were not supple and chewy. I discovered the hard way that the extra moisture that came from soaking the raisins was critical to the cookies successful finish.

Jan Johnson in her book Savoring God’s Word describes the difference between typical Bible study and a type of Bible meditation where we soak in the scripture. “When we study, we dissect the text; when we meditate, we savor the text and enter into it. When we study, we ask questions about the text; when we meditate, we let the text ask questions of us. When we study, we read and compare facts and new ways of applying facts; when we meditate we read to let God speak to us in light of the facts already absorbed.”

Do we just wash in Scripture or do we soak? Do we sit with a verse and allow its truths to seep deep into our minds and hearts, creating a supple hunger for more of God. Or do, we feverishly plough through our daily reading plans, simply making our Bible reading an item to be checked off?

Scripture is living and active, and was given to us so that the Holy Spirit would judge the thoughts and attitudes of our heart. It is meant to illuminate our shortcomings and our need for God. Its corrects and challenges. It soothes and breathes. It ushers in peace. It enlivens joy.

Soaking is not done on the run. Soaking requires stillness. Soaking produces change.

PRAYER: Lord, help me to slow down and to soak in Your Word so that its truths may penetrate my heart and produce a life that resembles Yours.

“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12 NIV).

Not Being in the “In Crowd”

By Jarrod Spencer –

The “in crowd” is that imaginary group that haunts almost everyone at one point in his life. We all want to be “somebody” in society. We want to be accepted by people. Maybe not all of them, but someone. This especially holds true when it comes to our peers. Of course, as children, when we start to experience this initial desire, we know our parents love us and think we’re important, but the desire goes beyond that. We are wanting to grasp on to “independency” and that means being “me” in a group of others.

I received a comment on my blog last week about my sermon, entitled “Rejected,” that started a few thoughts. One of the thoughts went to Jesus being on the cross. I was thinking how He must have felt; not only because He was not in the “in crowd” at this point in His life, but also that His own Father was rejecting Him. To make matters worse, the rejection came by, in essence, His Father choosing others over Him!

I don’t know of any children who, when feeling a sense of misery, would like to have their parents take the side of a peer over themselves. Can you imagine how you would feel if you knew you were being mistreated and your parents chose “the other person” over you? Maybe for some of you, that has been the case, of which you can relate. Or the person taking sides may have been an adult friend (i.e. teacher, coach, neighbor) or even a peer who chose someone else over you.

I would like to think that Jesus was saying, in His mind, “It’s Okay, Father, I understand why You are choosing them over Me.” But then I also want to think that Jesus was human and in the midst of suffering, His “realness” set in and He wanted to be rescued. Maybe He was thinking, “Let’s get this situation over with.” There were probably lots of thoughts going through His head, that we will never know about while on earth.

Though He wasn’t in the “in crowd” at that moment, I am more-than-grateful for His willingness to be in the “out crowd” for me and my sins!

PRAYER: Father, thank You for understanding me and loving me no matter what “crowd” I am in. With You I will always be in the “in crowd.”

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity” (I Timothy 4:12 NIV).

Beauty from Water and Sand

By Peter Lundell –

Beauty rises from consistent, mundane effort. I saw this when I had the privilege of hiking “The Narrows” in Zion National Park, perhaps among the world’s greatest hikes. It’s a “slot canyon,” which gets as narrow as 15-20 feet, and in which the swirling walls rise vertically, and even cantilever, to where they are in some places only 10 feet apart. Most of the time the path is the river.

Even in the upper reaches of the canyon, the water is an opaque tan. It looks somewhat ugly and in need of cleaning. But it has always been opaque tan from the sand and dirt washing down.

My shoes were constantly catching sand and small bits of rock. Whenever I cupped my hands in the water, I received a watery sand blast.

This continuous heavy erosion into the river is exactly what made the incredible canyon in the first place. And elsewhere on a larger scale, we get the Grand Canyon. Beauty rises from continuous mundane erosion.

Look at anything in life, whether something you admire or that you yourself have done. Look at a person who has a mature and admirable character, or someone who has accomplished remarkable things. These are like the amazing canyons of the natural world. They happen through relentless consistency and work that may seem painfully mundane. But the result is astonishing beauty or achievement.

Is there an area in your life where you are doing this? I encourage you to keep it up. Do you have the potential—if you did the daily, mundane work—to create a thing of beauty or be a person of more noble character? I believe every one of us does.

PRAYER: Lord, may I learn from the world You have given me to see purpose even in the small things I do, to be patient and never give up in doing what You have called me to do and being who You have created me to be.

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:7-9 NIV).

“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
He
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.

A Spiritual Lifeline

Rosemary Flaaten –

Struggling in the churning water, my tattered lifesaving vest threatened to disintegrate with each wave slamming over me. My eyes, clouded by the sea water, barely distinguished the sailors feverishly trying to get close to me. With full strength they threw the rope and despite my fatigue I caught it and held on. Just as hope started to surge, a wave hit with unbridled fury. The lifeline that had promised to draw me to safety, instantly snapped and I was engulfed by a wall of water. That’s when I awoke.

Such nightmares highlight the feeling of being lost and our need for a secure and trustworthy lifeline. As we go about our daily lives we put our trust in many things. We trust that if we drive defensively, we won’t end up in an accident. If we raise our kids right, we hope they’ll mature into upright citizens. If we stick to our Bible reading plan we’re confident we’ll measure up as a good Christian.

But when a wall of tragedy slams against us, do these lifelines hold or do they snap? Are we relying on our good Christian works to secure us in the storms of life?

The writer of Hebrews gives what he calls “an unbreakable spiritual lifeline” (Hebrews 6:18 TM). He outlines several attributes of God’s character that if held onto will become a lifeline that will never break in the fury of life. What is it that is so completely dependable and completely trustworthy?

God has made us a promise that He will never leave us or forsake us and that His purposes will be fulfilled. God has a plan for each of our lives and it is a future with goodness, hope and prosperity. And how do we know that this promise can be trusted? Because God has given His word. He has made us an oath and it is impossible for God to lie.

Therefore, be encouraged today. Grab hold of the hope God offers. It is an unbreakable spiritual lifeline.

PRAYER: Forgive me for my apathy and doubt and instead help me to grab hold of Your promises and to place my full trust in Your goodness.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV)

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