Looking Beyond The Cross

By Pat Hodges –

“And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8).

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

There comes a time in every believer’s life when there is a “cross” before us that we don’t want anything to do with. As Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane “. . . O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me . . .” I can think back over the times in my life when I’ve faced various “crosses,” begging God to eradicate the “cross” or somehow just bypass it all tog-ether. The truth of the matter is God allows us to face these crosses and to experience them from time to time. Some are short lived, while others can last for extensive periods of time. Now I don’t subscribe to the notion that every bad situation is put in our lives by God as a cross. The Word plainly states the enemy comes to us steal, kill, and destroy. There is a marked difference between a cross and the enemy just coming in to wreak devastation and chaos in our lives.

The purpose of the cross is specifically allowed to give us the opportunity to overcome and to conquer a given obstacle. The purpose is not to destroy us. There are times when God delivers us from situations and circumstances and other times He delivers us through situations and circumstances. The delivering through part is what we often seek to avoid.

I want to encourage you to start seeing what lies beyond the cross you may be facing. It makes it a whole lot easier when we can see what is beyond a cross. Your cross may be a relationship that’s going through a fiery test, or it may be a character flaw within yourself that God has allowed to remain to gain victory over or something else entirely.

Grabbing Hold of God

By Jennifer Slattery –

A while back, after one particularly crabby day, my daughter looked at me and said, “You forgot to pray today, didn’t you?”

Standing in our kitchen, schooled by a child, I realized how much truth she packed in that statement. Amidst the hustle and bustle of my day, I’d left God out of the equation and it showed. The peace that surpassed understanding? Forgot to grab hold of it. The strength made perfect in weakness? Missed that one, too. By neglecting to connect with my Power-source, I’d trudged through my day ill equipped and overwhelmed.

The 19th century theologian, E.M. Bounds, said, “The men who have done the most for God in this world have been early on their knees. He who fritters away the early morning, its opportunity and freshness, in other pursuits than seeking God will make poor headway seeking Him the rest of the day. If God is not first in our thoughts and efforts in the morning, He will be in the last place the remainder of the day.”

Fritters away the morning. When I neglect my prayer time, that’s what I do. Run around, expending a large amount of energy, accomplishing little. And yet, when I take the time to pause and connect with God, He stills my heart, fills me with truth and clarity, and helps me navigate through the chaos of my day.

In the Bible, we are told to pray continuously. Obviously, no one can live in a prayer closet. But I suspect we all have snippets of time throughout our day when we can connect with God. Continuous prayer, I believe, is a mind-set, a realization that God’s there, ever-present. It’s about inviting God to do life with me, whether I’m cleaning toilets or singing praises. Because I’m easily distracted by the here and now, I often use little reminders to help me pause and focus on God.

God loves it when we carve out time in our busy day to rest at His feet, but He longs for more. He wants to be a part of our entire day. He’s already there, watching us, loving us. The goal, then, is to recognize His presence, grab hold of it, and cherish it.

What about you? How do you find–make–time for God amidst your busy day? Notice a difference when you do?

The Shield That Never Slumbers

By Lori Freeland –

“But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield” (Psalm 5:11-12 NIV).

Today I’m glad God never sleeps.

Last night when I came home from writer’s group, the garage door wouldn’t go down. I asked Pat to check it.

He forgot. And went to bed.

I assumed he put the door down. And I went to bed.

So the garage gaped open all night—a beacon of vulnerability to anyone who drove down my street. Worse? The door to the house remained unlocked. While my kids slept upstairs.

When I woke up and realized anyone could have walked in my house, that thought shot me three quarters of the way to a coronary. I always check every door. Three times. Paranoia and safety top my priority list. I’m not one of those people who doesn’t worry about the what-if’s.

I play with what-if all day.

What if someone is stalking my children in a large, white, windowless van? What if my eleven-year-old daughter goes to the restroom in the Taco Bell and never comes out? What if there’s a fire in the middle of the night and we don’t wake up? What if my son falls asleep driving home from college late at night?

What if? What if? What it?

Then a great big wave of peace rolled across my heart and slowed the racing beats. That peace reminded of how often the Lord protects me when I don’t even see what He’s done.

Today I’m glad God never sleeps.

I’m glad He watches over me, whether I remember to ask Him or not. I’m glad He never misses anything as crucial as a deadbolt turned the wrong way. I’m glad He catches all the details I miss.

If I can trust Him to protect me when I don’t know I need protection, how much more should I trust Him when I do?

Yet, I have trouble giving my fears over.

How will we pay for college times three? Will my son pass the pre-nursing exam? Will he pass his yearly oncology screen? Will my fifteen-year-old finish chemistry and get the required credit to graduate? Will he figure out what he wants to do with his life? Will my daughter survive adolescence? Will I survive her adolescence? Will my husband’s job be safe? Will we be able to retire? Pay our bills? Will I accomplish everything I need to in the time I don’ t have?

And the list of will’s goes on. We all have a list. A list of concerns, needs, wants, fears and stumbling blocks. Some of us also tack on a list of what-if’s. And all that stress is enough to send any of us into a full-blown coronary.

Here’s a world shaker. What if I’ve opened my arms and invited all that stress? Embraced it. Breathed it in. Let the tension and fear lock me down.

For no reason at all.

Because God says:

“For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does” (Psalm 33:4).

If I believe the Word, and the Word says He is faithful in all He does, I need to believe He is faithful in all He does. Even when I forget to ask Him. He knows what I need. He even knows what I want. And sometimes His blessings include things I never imagined.

That’s the most comforting feeling in the world.

And so much safer than seven deadbolts and a steel-reinforced garage door.

Thank you, Lord, for being there for me. Even when I don’t know I need You.

A Time and Place to Linger

By DiAne Gates –

Christmas 2012 is over. The decorations cleaned and stored for next year, and the residue of the season swept into the vacuum, the trash or the washing machine. Tablecloths, dishtowels, and napkins, however need a deeper cleansing. A time and place for them to linger, in a sink filled with hot water and Oxi-Clean to remove the stains inflicted by holiday festivities

If you’re like me, you’ve incurred a few stains during the holidays too. The stain and depression of remembering those not with you at the table or around the tree. The stain of disappointments and failures. Unfulfilled expectations. Relationships gone awry. The stain of guilt and fear of what has been and what’s yet to come.

So what’s next? Do we rush into the New Year, counting the days ‘til Easter, worrying over the state of our nation, our family, our world? Thinking of Resurrection Sunday and spring, attempting to sweep the stains under the carpet of life and just keep on keeping on?

The sun peeked through my window this morning and I found my mind skipping along the precipice of depression. A deep sadness burrowed deep in my soul. ‘Til I heard the Spirit whispering words I have typed throughout the holidays. Born to Die.

Yes, we’ve celebrated the miracle of the virgin birth of God’s Lamb. But that baby, that Lamb was born to die. And the Spirit whispered again—linger here.

Linger at the Cross. Don’t rush to the empty tomb—linger at the foot of the Calvary.

But I don’t like to linger anywhere, much less at the Cross. It’s a hard place. It’s ugly. And it’s uncomfortable. I see so much suffering every day. I’ve grown tired and desensitized to blood and suffering. I am war weary—at home and across the world.

The Spirit said, “all the more reason you must learn to linger at the Cross and contemplate the Lamb, born to die so that you might live in His joy, His peace and His love.”

That old hymn played through the corridors of my mind. “There’s power, power, wonder working power. In the blood of the Lamb.” Then another melody stirred. “There is a fountain, filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel’s veins. And sinners plunged beneath that flood, lose all their guilty stains…”

I thought about those linens soaking in the sink. In the power of Oxi-Clean. All their stains disappearing. A rapid cycle through the washing machine didn’t remove the smudges—they needed soaking. They needed to linger in the power of a stain remover.

The Spirit took my face and turned my eyes to the miraculous power of the blood of Jesus. The power that His blood has to remove all the stains sin has ground into the pages of my life. I needed to linger and soak in that fountain of my Lord’s powerful blood this morning. Every morning and remember the Cross.

Our journey through life on earth is messy. The filth of rebellious choices, a prideful heart, and selfish actions and what-ifs that had clung to my blemished soul and seeped to the surface needed a good soaking—a daily soaking in the deluge that still flows from the Cross.

Stop awhile and ponder the Cross and the love of a Savior—born to die—for you and me. Linger there. Allow the depression and weariness to vaporize in the power of the blood of the Lamb—our Savior, our Lord and soon coming King.

Behold the Lamb!

“And I saw between the throne (with the four living creatures) and the elders a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. And He came, and He took (the book) out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne…and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb…and they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy art Thou to take the book and to break its seals; for Thou wast slain, and didst purchase for God with Thy blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And Thou hast made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth” (Revelation 5:10 NAS).

Let God Take Care of the How

By Pat Hodges –

Have you ever experienced times in your life when God seemed so distant and far away, you wondered if He was even remotely interested in you or your situation? I know I have. I can think of numerous times when He surprised me by His unmistakable intervention in the midst of crisis both big and small.

I remember one time when my wife and I had traveled to India on a ministry trip with a friend of ours who had been to India numerous times. We had endured a twenty-six hour train ride from Delhi to Shiliguri, a very remote area of eastern India, located in the Sikkim Province between the countries of Nepal and Bhutan. Exhausted from the arduous journey, the lack of air conditioning, and constant movement of the train, which we weren’t used to, we just wanted to get to our destination so we could catch up on some much needed sleep.

There was one little problem that came up. On the train ride, we realized we could not contact the pastor who we were supposed connect with to take us to Mong Poo, our final destination up in the foothills of the Himalayas. Shiliguri is a city of one million people, and without being able to contact him, he hand no way of knowing what day or time we would be arriving.

I remember praying and asking God to supernaturally intervene and allow us to connect somehow. Once we arrived in Shiliguri, we decided to take a motorized Rickshaw and look for our East Indian contact, not even knowing where to start. We hadn’t been in the Rickshaw for ten minutes and there he was walking down the street.

A wave of relief swept over us seeing how the Lord had placed us all at the right place at precisely the right time.

You know, the Lord works like that. He won’t always tell you the details ahead of time. We question how God is going to answer our prayer, or how He is going to work out something for our good. What we need to do is put our trust in Him and leave the ‘how’ up to Him.

“In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:6 KJV).

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