The Uninvited

By Lori Freeland –

Dinner begins—I look at my watch—now.

Cars have pulled in and out of my neighbor’s driveways for the last half-hour. Babysitters arrive. Smartly dressed couples depart. From my perch on the window ledge, I admire Melissa’s sapphire holiday dress and envy Dawn’s red high heels. Even though I can’t see up close, I’m sure Jen sports glittery earrings to accent her new haircut.

A swift glance down at my black sweat pants and stained white T-shirt is enough to remind me that I’m not going to this holiday dinner.

My husband peeks around the corner. “Let’s go eat sushi at Geisha.”

“Not in the mood.”

He comes to stand behind me. “Fajitas at Cristina’s?”

George and Cathye are last to drive away and I yank the curtains closed with a sigh and shake my head. “I have a stomach ache.”

“Let me know if you change your mind.” His footsteps fade behind me.

We’re good neighbors. We mow our lawn, water our grass, pull our weeds. We drive down the street slowly, constantly vigilant of small children. We pet sit and mail collect. Rescue the occasional dog. We throw an annual barbeque. But tonight, we’re The Uninvited.

I’ve never been The Uninvited.

We must’ve done something wrong. I’m tired of trying to figure out what. Which drives me crazier? That we are the only people on the street not going? Or knowing that The Inviter made up her mind to dislike me, and nothing I do will change that? Maybe I’d feel better if I knew why, even if I can’t fix it.

I drop onto the chaise lounge in the living room and rest my head against the burgundy throw. No matter how many friends my husband reminds me that I have, it doesn’t help tonight. People are mean. I would never treat anyone that way.

The Lord whispers in my ear. “Are you sure?”

I grip the arms of the chair. “I would never be so callous with someone’s feelings.”

The whisper grows louder. “Remember when Caroline struggled with friendships and you told her to adjust?”

Hmmm.

“Remember when Ann mourned a broken relationship and you told her she was obsessed? You said walk away and let it go?”

Uh-oh.

“Remember when Julie shared her feelings of alienation in your old neighborhood and you brushed her feelings off as paranoid?”

I am callous. And mean. I offer my friends paltry words, blow off their feelings when I should encourage and validate them instead.

A tear slips down my cheek. “I’m so sorry, Lord. I didn’t know.”

Until now, rejection has lived outside my world. Or maybe, until now, I’ve been obliviously unaware.

“Be a blessing with your words.” The Lord encourage sme. “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed” (Proverbs 11:25 NIV).

I long to be refreshed. I want Him to heal the awful ache eating through my heart.

“You be the refresher.”

“Yes, Lord. I will.” I close my eyes and make a note to call my friends and ask their forgiveness—to let them know I finally get it.

My husband leans around the corner with a frown. “Crazy people talk to themselves. You gonna be okay?”

“Yeah.” With a tiny smile, in the midst of tears, I wipe my eyes on the corner of my ratty shirt. “Let me change my clothes and let’s go out for sushi.”

Launching Deeper

By Janet Morris Grimes –

We know what to do. We rely on our training and experience. We follow the rules, demonstrating proper protocol while banking on an expected result. But many times, our knocks on the doors of opportunity go unanswered, leaving us frustrated and searching for answers.

What happens when we do everything right but still have nothing to show for it?

Jesus had an unexpected answer for this dilemma. Technically, most of His answers were the opposite of what many thought they might hear.

Peter and his crew spent the night fishing. It is what they knew. They were the experts, and for whatever reason, the fish were not biting, even though all the proper procedures and techniques had been followed. The fishermen were exhausted, and were in the process of washing their nets to hang them to dry in defeat, for that day at least.

Jesus watched from a distance before using one of the vacant boats to speak to a crowd that had gathered around him.

He then said this to Peter, as captured in Luke 5:4 (NIV), “Launch out into the deep, and prepare your nets for a catch.”

Peter may not have agreed with that advice, but he knew enough about Jesus to listen. Perhaps Peter was trying to prove Him wrong. Perhaps he reacted out of gratitude for the fact that Jesus had already raised Peter’s own mother-in-law from the dead a short time earlier. Perhaps Peter was willing to follow through simply so he could spend more time alone with Jesus. Whatever the reason, his response is noteworthy.

“Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But, because you say so, I will let down the nets” (Luke 5:5 NIV).

Peter did not understand what Jesus suggested, but he followed anyway. The result was that Peter’s net became so full that he had to call in the back up boat for assistance. Soon, both boats were beginning to sink because of the great number of fish inside them.

The lesson is simple. Sometimes, Jesus tells us to launch deeper. Even if we are at our wit’s end. Even if we are out of ideas. Even if it makes no logical sense to do so. Even if Satan reminds us of past failures from the last time we tried to go deeper. Even if the economy is bad. Even if we struggle to find a job. Even if we wonder what we are accomplishing. Even if the world is going in the opposite direction.

What matters is that we learn to follow. To launch deeper, past the point of no return. Launching deeper means we can no longer see the shore. It requires us to depend on more than our own bearings, to change our course of action, along with our direction.

Going deeper usually demands that we do the opposite of what comes naturally.

And maybe that was the point of it all. Jesus had a way of going against the grain. He loves it when we have no choice but to trust Him, and Him alone. When we are literally in over our heads, only he can lift us higher.

And when He says to prepare our empty nets for a catch? Get ready, because the impossible and unexplainable will soon follow.

God on the Spot – Part 12: Taking Us into His Presence

By Dianne E. Butts –

Besides Christ coming again, God is also still on the hook to take those who accept Him as their God into heaven. There is nothing we can do apart from trusting Christ to make God do this. He made the promises. And in the end it is God alone Who is on the spot to save us and to deliver us from this world into His presence for all eternity. But based on the fact that He has kept every promise whose time has come that He’s ever made so far, as we’ve seen in this series of articles, we can be certain He won’t fail to keep this promise as well.

But until then, we can put God on the spot today. I’m sure you’re asking how can we possibly put God on the spot?

We can tell people about Him. After that it is God Who is on the spot to live up to what we’ve told them.

We can challenge people, but it is God Who is on the spot to convince them.

We tell the truth about Him. He alone is on the spot to prove it’s true.

It’s about His character. If we truly portray His character as He has revealed it to us through His Word, then Bible, then He has to come through (or else His character has changed—and that can’t happen).

We have a responsibility to know Him. Then we tell the truth about Him. At that point, He is on the spot to take that ball and run with it…or not. It is then His reputation on the line. It is His character on the spot. Not ours.

Don’t we say God always answers prayer? If that’s true, then we can tell someone to pray about a problem they’re experiencing and to watch for God’s answer. It is His reputation on the line to answer their prayer.

Don’t we know God always acts in perfect love? Then if we tell others that God will act toward them in love, it is His character that is on the spot.

Don’t we know that God always keeps His promises? Then what promise can you show someone in the Bible today that they can challenge God to keep? It is God Who is on the spot to keep it.

What might happen if we put God on the spot more often? What if we challenged Him to keep His promises? To display His character? To prove He is all He claims?

Wouldn’t we be bolder in our walk with Him and our witness to others?

Wouldn’t we find an incredible freedom to live in that boldness?

Wouldn’t we feel an unexpected and refreshing rest in simply telling the truth about God and then leaving up to Him what He will do with it in the lives of others?

We are not on the spot to defend God. We are not on the spot to prove He exists. We are not on the spot to convince people to know God or trust Him for salvation and eternal life. We are on the spot to live faithfully, trusting Him. How might our lives be empowered if we fully recognized it is God alone Who is on the spot to do everything else?

© 2010 Dianne E. Butts

Dianne has written for over 50 Christian print magazines and seventeen books. Her work has been published in Great Britain, Bulgaria, Poland, Canada, and Korea. You can follow the progress of her current book of true stories of unplanned pregnancy here: www.DeliverMeBook.blogspot.com When she’s not writing, she enjoys riding her motorcycle with her husband, Hal, and gardening with her cat, P.C. in Colorado. www.DianneEButts.com.

The Kid with the Loaves and the Fishes

By Janet Morris Grimes –

Even the occasional church-goer is familiar with this story. Mentioned in all four gospels, Jesus, distraught over the news that his cousin, John the Baptist, had been beheaded because of his beliefs, sought solace in a quiet place. He and his apostles boarded a boat to head across the Sea of Galilee, but the people, aware of his recent miracles, followed on foot, meeting him on the other side.

Jesus healed the sick among the vast crowd, then settled them down on the grass to teach them many things. After time, the crowd grew hungry, and the apostles advised Jesus to send them away, calculating that it would take six months’ wages to feed them all.

Jesus asked how much food they had available to them and received this answer from Andrew, “There is a boy here who has five loaves and two fishes, but what is the good of that for such a crowd?” (John 6:8).

Of course, Jesus proceeds to thank God, break the bread, and distribute it to the 5,000 men gathered there. The actual number fed that day is most likely closer to 15,000, taking into account the women and children. When all was said and done, they gathered up 12 baskets of leftovers, after the entire crowd had eaten to their satisfaction.

John is the only one to mention the source for the five barley loaves and two small fishes—a lad, a small boy.

As many times as I’ve read that story, I finally recognized the true hero, other than Jesus himself. The lad. We know very little about him, but we can gather these five things:
1) He heard the news.
2) He traveled alone.
3) He came prepared, ready to stay awhile.
4) He followed.
5) He offered all that he had to Jesus, and became an integral part of a famous miracle because of it.

The boy was there for a reason. I assume he traveled alone, that his mother prepared the lunch for him knowing he would be gone most of the day. He was willing to stay as long as possible, just to be close to Jesus. He answered the call for help, even though what he had to offer was miniscule compared to what they actually needed.

The first inclination for most would be to squander what they had, keeping it for themselves, maybe hiding behind a tree to eat it before it was discovered by the hungry masses. But this kid was willing to share, even if it meant he would go hungry. He could have easily saved it for the trip home, avoiding the eyes of the apostles as they searched for food.

I also imagine the crowd was getting restless, cranky and complaining because of the break in the action as Jesus spoke privately with his apostles about the problem. Most kids were probably whining, wondering when they could return home to their sand lot ballgames.

But not this kid. He brought all that he had to offer and laid it on the table before Jesus.

That is my goal for today—to be the kid with the loaves and the fishes. I want to go wherever Jesus happens to be, splaying down my meager offerings before Him, and then watching in amazement to see what He can do with them.

I can see this kid running home at full speed, empty lunch pail banging into his knees, saying “Mom, you just aren’t going to believe this…”

God on the Spot – Part 11: The Remaining Prophecies

By Dianne E. Butts –

Even though in the last two articles in this series we saw numerous prophecies fulfilled, God is not off the hook yet. God is still on the spot to bring about all His remaining promises, which are prophecies of our future.

One day the disciples asked Jesus, “What will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3; see also Mark 13, Luke 21). Jesus, speaking around 30 AD, gave a list of future events. Nearly 2000 years have elapsed. So are we any closer to these things happening?

Here are twelve prophecies God is on the spot to fulfill before Jesus comes again:

Israel back in the land: Predicted: Ezekiel 20:34 (also Isaiah 11:10-12, Jeremiah 31:10, Luke 21:24). Fulfilled: Israel had not been a nation since the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD forty years after Christ. But after World War II and Hitler’s attempt to annihilate the Jews ended in 1945, the Jews returned to the land. Israel officially became a nation again on May 14, 1948.

Nations against Israel: Predicted: Matthew 24:15. In order for the antichrist to set himself up in “the holy place” (the Temple in Jerusalem) and proclaim himself God (“the abomination that causes desolation”) and demand the whole world worship him, there must be 1.) a one-world government system controlling all the citizens of the world, and 2.) a Temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem.

Being fulfilled?: I first heard the term “The Quartet” around the August 1, 2010, when I picked up a new book on prophecy titled, The Israel Omen by David Brennan. According to that book, The Quartet is the United Nations, the European Union, the United States, and Russia. Imagine my surprise when I next heard that term in a secular radio news report on FOX radio news on or around August 18, 2010. This report announced “The Quartet” had arranged for peace talks between Israel and Palestine to resume in Washington D.C. the week of September 2.

Rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem: Prediction: Matthew 24:15. Being fulfilled?: The Temple Institute (http://www.templeinstitute.org/) in Jerusalem is currently building all, and has already completed many, of the items needed for the Temple to resume its ministry when it is erected in our future.

Wars and rumors of wars, nation will rise against nation: Predicted: Matthew 24:6-7.

Famines, earthquakes: Predicted: Matthew 24:7.

Persecution of God’s people: Predicted: Matthew 24:9.

Many will turn from the faith: Predicted: Matthew 24:10. Called the great apostasy or the apostate church.

Many come claiming to be Christ, deceiving many: Predicted: Matthew 24:5, 24.

False prophets deceive many: Predicted: Matthew 24:11, 24.

The love of many will grow cold: Predicted: Matthew 24:12.

The gospel of the Kingdom of God will be preached in the whole world: Predicted: Matthew 24:14.

“This generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened”: Predicted: Matthew 24:34. The generation that witnessed Jesus did not all pass away before the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 AD. The generation that witnessed the attempted annihilation of the Jews by Hitler and the rebirth of the nation of Israel could be the generation that will see all these things occur.

December: “God on the Spot – Part 12: Taking Us into His Presence” Besides Christ coming again, God is also still on the hook to take those who accept Him as their God into heaven for all eternity. But until then, we can put God on the spot today. In the final part of this series in December, we’ll see how.

© 2010 Dianne E. Butts

Dianne has written for more than 50 Christian print magazines and seventeen books. Her work has been published in Great Britain, Bulgaria, Poland, Canada, and Korea. Follow the progress of her current book of true stories she compiled to bring help and hope to those who have experienced an unplanned pregnancy at www.DeliverMeBook.blogspot.com. When she’s not writing, she enjoys riding her motorcycle with her husband, Hal, and gardening with her cat, P.C. in Colorado. www.DianneEButts.com

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