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).

Words, Words, Words

By DiAne Gates –

Words surround us. Heaped in our ears and piled in stacks under our feet. From hands-free devices, to flat screens TVs. Phones. And books. Zillions of them. A constant barrage of words. All day, every day, and into the night.

But who listens? Does anyone really hear? Anything?

If you’re a parent, you’ve asked these questions concerning your children, your spouse, and probably your friends. So why waste the time and energy to speak?

Because the Lord Jesus Christ gave us the ability to speak and the command to go and tell.

“So Lord, what are we supposed to tell them? And how are we supposed to say it?”
Jesus instructed, “Go and make disciples.”

Preachers go to seminary to learn apologetics—how to present God’s Word to their congregations. I don’t have all those degrees. I’m just a normal person. I don’t know what to say.

How did those first century Christians make disciples? They didn’t have the written word. Yet their numbers multiplied. All they had to share were their experiences. The joy and peace of knowing Jesus after centuries of enduring a bloody altar that didn’t fix sin. The joy of suffering persecution on account of His name, and finally, death in the arena. And the account of their lives and deaths are still an incredible model for us in this twenty-first century.

Perhaps that’s the problem. We have the words but lack the experiences. Maybe, but I think we have the words and different experiences. I think pride and churchiness are the problems that prevent us from sharing our heart.

Fear and pride are the boogers-in-the-woodwork. Fear of what others would think if they really knew what we had done, what had been done to us, or what we really think in the dark recesses of our minds.

So we retreat behind the walls of the church and become clones of one another. Using fancy words. Words without power. Words that do not affect or change the life of another, much less our own.

The cure comes when we recognize the depth of our deception, acknowledge our need for repentance, then share with others how God transformed our life. Sounds easy doesn’t it? It’s not. Being transparent can be painful.

I’m here to use my words today to share a troublesome affliction with you. Not with flowery words that loose us in their trail of sweet sounding emptiness. Just the sorrow of my heart and the love of my Savior.

This Christmas Season has been the most difficult one of my life. Family issues, changing relationships, grief, and coming uncertainties for America, brought about a spiritual battle in me that loomed larger with each passing day. ‘Til I admitted and confessed that terrible word—depression—and fell on my face, crying to my Lord Jesus for help. He answered the groaning of my heart immediately. I’m His child. He picked me up, wrapped me in His comfort and refocused my eyes and heart on His love for me.
The formula is simple but always sure:

My plight + His love and power = His mercy, grace and healing = forgiveness and restoration.

No sin is beyond His ability to forgive. How long has it been since your words have been honest with God? How long has it been since He rescued you? How long has it been since you’ve used your words to tell someone else what God has done for you?

I Love You, Daddy

By Marcus Smith –

“I love you, Daddy.”

Four whispered words followed by two slender arms and one too-tight squeeze. As a father of three daughters, I have heard many an “I love you,” and can never hear those words enough. Whether at night time tuck-in or after receiving a yes, children are quick to let their parents know that they love them. But when my daughter slipped up to me without warning and circled me in her young arms, it was the first time she had expressed love for me, with an adult’s mind, for no special reason.

Like all my girls, she is the definition of precociousness. She can quote me as if Bartlett had devoted a chapter to me in one of his famous Quotations books, and God help me if I am inconsistent in word or action.

A keen observer, she is a skillful pundit whose humor illuminates the issues and foibles she sees around her. And I am poignantly aware that she has seen all that would be required for anyone to judge me—imperfect.

Yet she chose. She chose to love me.

God blessed me with a family of girls and their love moves me to a humble thankfulness that I can experience the kind of absolute love that they give me. Their chosen love makes my joy complete. My girls are among the most precious of my life’s reward.

“Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward” (Psalm 127:3).

When I think about God and His love, I think first of the cross.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

However, God does more than loving His creation. God is love. From the first moment of creation, until the final curtain of this age, God is the ultimate creator and thus source of all love.

“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love” (1 John 4:8).

Growing up, I learned that because God is self-sufficient He does not need anything, including our love. As a child it seemed strange to me that we loved a God who did not need to love us back. So I questioned whether God could actually love me personally like my parents could. After all, if God did not need me, how could He love me?

In Acts, Paul debated with philosophers who believed that God needed the world. Paul argued that God created the world and is, “not served by human hands, as though he needed anything” (Acts 17:25). For Paul, since God is the source of all creation, He cannot have unmet needs. So why did God create humans He did not need and who would cause Him grief with their sin?

The Bible teaches us that God did not create the world because He had to. Rather, out of His infinite love, He chose to create and love His creation. As I take joy from my children’s love for me, God experiences our love when we chose to love him through praise and worship, and He feels joy (Ps. 44:3 Prov. 15:8).

God desires worship, not because He needs our love, but because, like a parent, He wants our love.

I could have not had children, but then I would miss both the joy of experiencing their love, and the joy of loving them. As my daughter chose to love me, so we must chose to love the God who created us.

True love is chosen love.

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