Extravagance!

Buddy? Pal? Friend? How do you describe your relationship with God? Is he just one of the "guys" that you can talk to about anything; you just can't see him? Or is he Father, Lord, Jehovah? You view him as a very distant, very stern figure that you keep at arm's length. How about Creator, Holy One, God Almighty? He's a fall-on-your-knees, shiver-in-your-boots, tremble-at-his-name power source.

My relationship with God spans all three. To me, the Trinity makes perfect sense because I view God in three separate, but equally amazing ways. Jesus (God the Son) is my go-to guy. He knows what it's like to be human. He did it for over thirty years, so I can talk to him about anything. And in the end, he laid down his life for me! An undeserved, unbelievable sacrifice. God the Father commands my reverence. He gets angry. He shakes mountains. Yet he gives unconditional love. And the Holy Spirit? He's given me goose bumps, dropped me to my knees and brought tears to my eyes more times than I can count.

I wonder why it is then, that I tend to limit God. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because I don't think I'm deserving of his attention. Maybe I don't trust him. Maybe I think he's too busy to deal with my petty problems. I can't put my finger on it. Sometimes, I think I expect God to be stingy. Sometimes, I think this is what I expect from God:

Plain and simple, I expect something I can handle. Small. A nice gift. Maybe just what I ask for. Certainly nothing extravagant. 

But God, I've found, has other plans. He loves to bestow blessings. He is generous. Extravagant. I love that word...extravagant. Something that I don't believe I deserve, but something that God loves to surprise me with. Extravagance. Time and time again, he reminds me. It's nothing I do to deserve it. It is his gift. I just need to accept it. Incredibly, this is what God gives me:

Something amazing. Something so big, I can't wrap my arms around it!

Ephesians 3:20-21:

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

Be amazed. Be astounded. Accept his extravagance! To God be the glory! AMEN!

Metamorphosis

I recently watched a You Tube video showing the life cycle of a butterfly. It was fascinating. In fact, I had to watch it several times. It made me realize that humans are a lot like caterpillars. Think about it. Some are hard and wrinkly. Others are soft and cuddly. Some you’d like to hold close, while others you’d like to keep at a distance. I feel kinda sorry for caterpillars. They spend their days on their bellies, crawling through the dirt and filth of the earth.  The life of a caterpillar doesn’t sound very attractive, but then I’m reminded of what is in store for them. They are about to undergo an amazing transformation. A true metamorphosis.

A caterpillar will find a leaf or branch, attach herself and begin the process of shedding her skin. Literally. After shedding her skin, she will bide her time in her chrysalis, or cocoon if you like, waiting until the transformation is complete. When she emerges, she will be changed, from the inside out. To think that a butterfly began life as caterpillar is nearly unfathomable. The change is incredible.

And so it is with mankind. We spend our lives, crawling through the world of unbelief. We desire, we lust, we crave after the things of this world, hoping to satisfy our hunger. Like the caterpillar, we need to shed our skin. Like the caterpillar, we need to attach ourselves. We need to attach ourselves to a vine. The true vine. We need to shed our skin through repentance. And then as we bide our time in our chrysalis, we find belief. This belief is in Jesus, as our Savior and Lord. And when we emerge, we will be changed, from the inside out.

Once the transformation is complete, we no longer crawl on our bellies. We soar on wings. Oh, the joy and the freedom. We are no longer slaves to sin, but heirs to an eternal kingdom.

Colossians 3:1-17 (The Message)

3 ^1-2 So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.

^3-4 Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.

^5-8 And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That’s a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It’s because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger. It wasn’t long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it’s all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk.

^9-11 Don’t lie to one another. You’re done with that old life. It’s like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you’ve stripped off and put in the fire. Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ.

^12-14 So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

^15-17 Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.

If you haven't changed your wardrobe, don't you think it's about time?

Polluted

Kayaking is one of my favorite leisure activities. The quiet, peaceful beauty of nature is one of the reasons I love kayaking. On our paddling adventures, we've enjoyed seeing sunning turtles, hunting herons, bathing ducks and a whole host of other wildlife. A few summers ago, we even startled a couple of wading deer. We've paddled rivers. We've paddled lakes. We've paddled close to home. We've paddled hundreds of miles from home.

There's one thing we occasionally see that drives me absolutely crazy. It makes me downright angry. The "it" is trash. Cans. Bottles. Tires. Oh yes, even an occasional appliance. They are the  result of careless, thoughtless, selfish behavior of humans polluting the otherwise unspoiled landscape. We can be miles downstream in a river, in an extremely remote location and suddenly we spot trash. Garbage. People's throwaway crap. Cluttering a pure, otherwise crystal clear stream.

I've been pondering pollution lately. A different kind of pollution. I call it Christian pollution, or maybe better yet, religious pollution. Mine is a simple faith. You see, Jesus told us we need to repent, believe and follow him. He is the way, the truth, the LIFE. He is the reason I live and move and have my being. Seems pretty simple, right? Well, it should be. Unfortunately, we tend to get hung up in traditions, sacraments, and rituals. We have rules regarding worship. Some Christians like to give big, flowery, intellectual speeches regarding being, or becoming followers of Jesus. I want to scream out, "It's NOT that difficult!"

This pollution is nothing new. Goodness, it has happened since Bible times. In Paul's letter to the Colossians, he wrote extensively about the subject.  I love his words in Chapter One out of The Message, from selected verses:

"Watch out for people who try to dazzle you with big words and intellectual double-talk. They want to drag you off into endless arguments that never amount to anything. ...You don't need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him. When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything.

Entering into this fullness is not something you figure out or achieve...but rather through what Christ has already gone through for you, destroying the power of sin. ...God brought you alive-right along with Christ! Think about it! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ's Cross."

So that's it. Repent. Believe. Follow. Don't question the simplicity. Keep the river of life pure. Don't let the world's words and ways pollute the water of life. Keep it simple.

Glorious!

I couldn't let the opportunity slip by, so today's is a short little post. This morning as I turned off our drive onto the road, I literally gasped by the beauty to the east. God created a golden sunrise that screamed, "Glorious!" This was one of those days where I kick myself for not keeping my camera in the car, so unfortunately, if you didn't witness it yourself, you get the second-hand version from my cellphone camera. This picture does not do it justice, because Scripture literally came alive the moment I feasted my eyes on the morning sky.

From Psalm 19:1-4:
"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."

Yes, the heavens and skies speak to us. Are you listening?

Rainbows

We just returned from a wonderful, relaxing kayaking trip in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Now if you've never been there, believe me, it is one of the most peaceful places in the entire country. On the northbound, downward slope of the Mackinac Bridge, you begin to feel the change. After the toll booth, you know you've entered an entirely different land. It's as if the pages of time have been turned back many years. Quiet. Serene. Wonderful.

We stayed in a comfortable cabin on an inland lake. We settled into a routine each day. Mornings found me sleeping well past my usual workday wake up time. For my husband, Randy, those same mornings were best enjoyed fishing solo in a little rowboat on the quiet, glassy waters of Millecoquins Lake. Wednesday morning was overcast and spitting rain, but Randy was still out fishing, relishing the lake's solitude. Luckily for me, he happened to take his cell phone with him that morning, and called me to share the news of a double rainbow stretching across the lake.

Now I've seen my share of rainbows. Partial rainbows. Full rainbows. Bright rainbows. Muted rainbows. But to the best of my recollection, I've never seen a rainbow where I could see the actual place where the rainbow touches the ground. And in this case, I could see this place at both ends. It was REALLY cool. The ground was bathed in a muted light that seemed surreal. As with most rainbows, the treat was rare and fleeting. A rainbow's life expectancy is minutes at most. That is what makes rainbows special.

While a rainbow's life span is brief and fleeting, the promise, or covenant behind it is lasting and forever. The story of Noah is a sad one. In it, we read that God grieved that he had made man. Man was so awful that God was sorry for creating him and "his heart was filled with pain." (Genesis 6:6b) Thankfully, Noah was the one righteous man who walked with God. Because of him, we have the assurance of God's covenant. Praise God that his promise is everlasting!

Refresh your memory with the words we find in Genesis 9:12-16: ¹² And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: ¹³ I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴ Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, ¹⁵ I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.¹⁶ Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”

God's promises are everlasting. Believe it! You are witness to it each time you see his rainbow covenant!

Detour

My family LOVES vacations. Who doesn't, right? When finances allow, we feel blessed to be able to fly to our destination. But more often than not, our vacations involve car travel. During these long road trips, I have an important job. I am the navigator. My husband loves driving and being in control, or more likely, he hates riding, so by default, I am the official map reader. No GPS for our family; we do it the old fashion way! Over the years, I've done a pretty commendable job of getting us to our destination with little difficulty.

There is, however; one thing that will rattle my nerves to the very core of my soul. And that one thing is most dreaded and it usually comes with a slight advanced warning. DETOUR AHEAD. Detour! Now when in familiar territory, a road detour is no big deal. While the back roads may add travel time, they are known and a mere inconvenience. In unfamiliar locales, a detour is a genuine reason for panic. We plan for clear and smooth driving conditions on the way to our destination. Alternate routes are not a welcomed part of our trip. We don't want delays, setbacks or traffic backups to inconvenience us. We can no longer rely on our own resources. Interestingly enough, sometimes these detours take us to some unexpected pleasures. A quaint town. Breathtaking scenery. An outstanding eatery. Had it not been for the detour, we would never have enjoyed these experiences.

Amazing how the same thing happens in life. We are cruising along, enjoying a peaceful, comfortable journey when, BAM! It happens! With or without warning, we run smack into a detour. Sickness. Death. Cancer. Job loss. Empty nest. For many, an initial reaction is panic. We are in unfamiliar territory and cannot, or should not, rely on our own resources. The pain is real. The anger is explosive. The heartache is numbing. Life is uncertain. But just as our road detours, these life detours can bring unexpected joy. Peace. Comfort. Serenity. I know, because I've experienced it firsthand. With illness. With death. With job loss. When anxiety is turned over to God, he gives unexpected delight. He transforms panic into peace.

Trust is not an easy thing. For me, it is a lifelong exercise against my skeptic self. The peace that comes from trust is an amazing reward. Lucky for me, God has limitless patience. He is waiting for me with open arms. He is my guide in this journey of life.

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 from The Message:
"All praise to the God and Father of our Master. Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us. We have plenty of hard times that come from following the Messiah, but no more so than the good times of his healing comfort-we get a full measure of that, too."