He's Calling YOU

I sit and wait nervously for him to appear. It seems to take forever. My palms sweat, my stomach churns. "Please don't let me be sick. Not here. Not now. Please Lord", was my silent plea.

The khaki colored pants and shirt does nothing but emphasize his haggardness and aging. I smile with tears in my eyes as he looks my way. As he finds his way to me, moving past the other men all dressed the same, I see a look of tremendous shame in his eyes. He tries to hide it, but it's there nonetheless. To turn around now would only bring more pain than we've already felt.

I stood, we embraced, but not too long for the men in uniforms would separate us. We sit. Small talk begins. All the months of wonder and questions fade away as we talk. About nothing.

Then his eyes flood. He begins to tell about his Bible Study friends. Bible Study? Yes. And he's leading the group. My eyes fill as well, remembering a statement his mother told me years ago.

"Your daddy was called to preach".

But instead, he ran in the opposite direction. But His Father knew how to capture his full attention. See, this man's mother had prayed, "Lord, save my son no matter what it takes."

Years have passed, the man's mother is gone Home to her Father, yet God still answers prayers. Distance and time have no meaning for He heard that prayer and the merciful Father gave the man opportunity upon opportunity. So many chances and ways in which He could have turned his back on the wrong path and chose to travel with Him---the One who called.

Yet he did not.

However, time and circumstances have a way of changing a person. The man does what he can to answer the call today. Although the Bible Study does not take place in a comfortable home, nor a church Sunday School room. A prison cell and sometimes the day room holds his small congregation. The conversations are quietly spoken at first. Then, as he realizes he has nothing left to loose, more boldly will he speak. Soon.

How many times have you heard the Father call you to a task?

Have you offered other ideas?

Easier options?

Perhaps you feel less educated than the others--who seem so more qualified. (That's been my excuse.) Or, maybe you feel the task beyond you financially. Could be you feel too old? (I've heard that excuse too. I think I actually asked the LORD why He would ask me for something now, at my age!)

Listen, your age, weight, or even shoe size has nothing to do with your calling. But every bit to do with your willingness. Your lack of ability does not even matter, if you have a willing heart.

God uses those who seek to be used. Those who long to feel the Holy Spirit course through their veins and skin--coming forth with power and victory on the other side of a trial!

Today, while it's early in the year, determine in your heart not to wait until you've run out of excuses and He has had to "place" you where you can't run any further. Run to Him with open arms and heart of obedience and put everything you own on the altar. Give it all up to Him--and He will give to you what you need for the journey.

"Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach...." Deuteronomy 30:11 NIV

Read Deuteronomy 30:11-20 for your devotion today! You just might find a note from God inside those words!

Hopping Off The Bike

Last month I had the privilege of participating in a Christmas party for a local children's home. A group of us worked together to purchase gifts for the kids. We presented the gifts to them while hosting a party.


One of the kids we sponsored was 14 year-old *Nathan. I don't know his circumstances. All I know is that they brought him to a children's home. That's all I needed to know.


Our group had purchased a bike for Nathan as well as clothes, some games, and other teen guy things. Each were carefully wrapped with pretty ribbons and bows. Even with all our effort, that huge plastic bag could not disguise the bike.


Nathan's name was called and he was presented the bike. He tore off the plastic bag and rolled the bike towards our table. We thought he was headed to the other bag of gifts. Instead, he walked right out the door.


"Where's he going?"


We followed, braving the cold December air. There in the parking lot was Nathan riding his bike in circles, a huge smile on his face.

We called him back in and said,"That's not all. There's more."


Nathan was just happy to get the bike.


It was all he had wanted.


After a few laps around, he came inside, where he found the rest of the gifts. To my surprise, he was equally amazed at each of them.


We're a lot like Nathan. We accept salvation from God with so much joy and gratitude. In our excitement, we hop on the bike, not realizing there is so much more in store for us.


God wants to say, "Where's she going? Wait! There's more!"


He wants us to accept Him as Savior, but He also wants us to grow, accepting His gifts of the faith.




What gifts are you missing today in your life? Peace? Joy? Contentment? A stronger faith or prayer life?


Keep riding your bike with that smile on your face, but be sure to hop off and accept the rest of God's gifts. You may be surprised at the amazing things He has in store for you.

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created." James 1:17-18

*Name changed.



Join Melanie at her personal blogspot, "This Ain't New York."

Temporary Tissue Paper

“God would never choose for us safety at the cost of significance.”

–Erwin Rapahel McManus

I am mesmerized by tissue paper. I seek it out at every party store, stock it up in my pantry, fluff it up in every present I give and fold it up tight when I receive it.

I am, at times, more impressed with the tissue paper of a gift than the gift itself.

Isn’t there just something about polka dots, pink and paper so sheer you can see the world through it?

I think, in life, I’m mesmerized by tissue paper as well.

I get so caught up in the wrapping of this place — this earth — this one shot, that I often overlook the deeper, lasting gifts given to me completely.

I see a house with a white picket fence.

I see an office with an actual address.

I see a convertible with my hair blowing wildly in the wind.

And I neglect to look deeper.

Because again, there is just something about the polka dots, pink and paper so sheer it tints my world to a brighter hue.

I say, “I want to be like Christ. I want to know Him.”

And most of the time, that’s a tissue paper statement. It looks good, adds flair, is polka dot and pink.
It’s a Christian wrapping. A gift bag we present – perhaps with good intention, but with lacking conviction.

“I want to be like Christ.”

A dangerous declaration.

It means nails in hand, betrayal in full, hunger for 40 days, temptation that aims to take, the weight of sin, the pull of the crowd, the ache for silence, the sickness of a wayward world. It means suffering in righteousness and patience in affliction. It means the testing of faith, hidden glory, the taking up of a daily cross.

“I want to be like Christ. I want to know Him.”

A gift.

Hidden underneath the tissue paper of this life.

I want to be one who looks past the polka dots and pink. Who means it when she says, “I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. If there was any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I wanted to do it.” Philippians 3:10-11

I want to live dangerously.

Not worried about tearing up the paper this present is wrapped in.

I want to forfeit my hold on the temporal so I can fully embrace the eternal.

I want to live dangerously.

How about you?



***
Kristen Schiffman is the founder of Exemplify Magazine. She welcomes you to check it out today!

Walking in the Dark

The Internet Cafe is welcoming Guest Barista, Sarah Beyer, to the counter today!

In my high school senior yearbook, for the quote that would follow my name and define who I was at 18, I chose the verse 2 Corinthians 5:7: “We live by faith, not by sight.” I was looking for a way to say that I loved Jesus without actually saying that I loved Jesus.

Crazy bold, I know.

I didn’t have a clue at the time what that statement really meant. I don’t think I even understood the difference between faith and sight. I’m certain I had no clue how much faith daily life would require of me in the future and how much I would long to be able to see the path before me. The thing is, there’s faith that leads to salvation and then there’s faith to walk every moment after that. I understood the first kind of faith, but I didn’t even know I was missing the second kind.

Early in my middle school years, I took the step of faith to say, “Yes, I believe I am a sinner. I believe Jesus is the Son of God. I believe He died and then rose again to take the punishment that I deserve. Please, Lord, forgive me and make me clean.”

However, in the years and decades that followed, even though I was ordering my life to God’s priorities, I didn’t really let Him have control.

I was seeking God and trying to be more like Him. I was praying and learning from His Word, but I never really let go and let Him have control. I worried like I was in control. I planned like I was in control. I managed people like I was in control. I didn’t exercise faith in my daily life that allowed me to walk in any direction unless I could see the outcome for miles ahead.

Contrary to what I had proclaimed so proudly in my high school yearbook, I was living entirely by sight. The problem with living by sight is that, at its very best, my sight is nothing more than a poor reflection in a mirror. I lived a couple of decades essentially squinting into my rearview mirror, thinking that my view was good enough to drive. While I thought I was living a safe, protected life by attempting to control my circumstances, I was really just living an unspiritual, fearful life.

However, around the time I turned 30, God began to do a work in my life that would forever alter the way I lived. He graciously turned out the lights and allowed me to stand in the pitch dark. He allowed circumstances and pain into my life that I could not overcome on my own. I can see now that it was His love for me that led Him to bring me to the place

where I had to face my own inability to solve, plan, control, and manage. I stood in the middle of the pitch dark that my life had become and I began to truly trust Him for the first time. I finally quit trying to get more “sight” and chose faith, believing that if God sent something my way, it must be good for me. I wish I could say that I chose to trust God before all else, but the honest truth is that I didn’t truly trust Him until there was no other option. But I think late is better than never.

The good news is that faith is a gift from God. We can’t conjure it up or fake it. We need only ask God to provide it, making sure it is not sight for which we are asking. And then we exercise it. I have found it to be like a muscle that gets stronger every time I use it. It starts out weak, but each time I choose to trust in the name of the Lord instead of freaking out because I can’t see the path in front of me, my blood pressure goes down and my faith muscle gets stronger. Then the next time I need it, it is more ready for action.

To be honest, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing since I discovered that I could live by faith instead of sight, but, by the grace of God, I have experienced slow, steady growth in the direction of trusting Him. And the peace and joy that comes with being on His agenda instead of my own is filling me up and carrying me through.

Friend, I know you may be standing in the middle of a really dark place right now. I know it is tremendously difficult to have peace when your circumstances appear bleak. But you can take comfort from the fact that darkness is as light to God.

He can see just fine right where you are and He will lead the way if you allow Him to do so. He also says He loves you with an everlasting love and He will never, never leave you or forsake you. Don’t wait as long as I did to choose to trust Him with your daily life. Your own sight will never fulfill you or protect you the way the God who loves you will.

Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God. Is. 50:10b

Additional references: Psalm 139:12, Jeremiah 31:3, Hebrews 13:5, Ephesians 2:8 (all NIV)

Lord, we ask you to give us the strength to trust you with our lives. We ask you to help us to rest in the fact that you can see when we cannot. Please bring good out of the difficulties we face and grow our faith in you. Thank you for sheltering us under your wing and for renewing our hope when we are weak. We ask for joy, Lord, and for an extra measure of patience as we wait for you to bring us through the darkness. Amen.

1. Are you walking in the dark right now? What has caused that darkness?

2. Have you truly let God have control or are you clenching your hands hoping to help out?

3. How do you see God using this darkness to increase your faith in Him?

In Him,

Sarah

Sarah can be found daily at her little place on the web, Sarah Beyer, Graffiti

Where she describes herself, "Me? Goofy. Paying to stay a blonde. Former worrier, turned prayer warrior. Running hard after the Lord. In love with my man. Lucky mom to the Alfies. Wannabe runner. Lake girl. Boggle Champion, except when playing Rachel. Farkle. Friend. Loved. Forgiven. Grateful. Free."

The Door is Always Open

As I stood at the edge of the threshold, a hush filled the room.

What would He think when He saw me standing there? I don’t deserve to be here. Will He see me? Will He wonder why I’ve come? I don’t think I can bear to see the look of disappointment on His face.


My eyes look down, embarrassed to have them looked into. I want so desperately to enter in and feel His embrace. What must He think of me? I haven’t lived as I should. I haven’t been who I was made to be. Is He disgusted with me too? Will He talk to me today? I don’t deserve to be talked to. I don’t even deserve His glance. I don’t deserve to be here. Should I turn and leave before He sees me?


Suddenly I hear His voice. “Come here, Jewel.” “Come sit with me a bit”. Tentatively I move forward to sit.


How can He look at me that way? How can His eyes light up like that as I move towards Him? Doesn’t He see how dirty I am? Doesn’t He see my sin covering me? I feel it shroud me and I am ashamed. Surely He sees it too.

I don’t want to fall back into these places of sin, but I do. Why do I keep making these choices?


He pats the seat next to Him and tells me to sit. I see the kindness in His eyes and I am undone. How can He look at me like that? How can He love me so?


He knows what I am thinking. After all He knows everything. “Jewel, you are still looking at your performance aren’t you?” “You’re still grading my love for you based on how well you perform.” “It’s not your good behavior that invites you here with me, it’s love.” “You belong to me, Jewel, it’s that simple.” “ I moved heaven and earth to be with you.” “Nothing you do or don’t do can change that.” "I don't see you covered in sin." "I see you."


I hear His words yet they are still so hard to grasp. He loves me apart from anything I do? He loves me just because He does? He will never be disgusted with me? He knows that my sin does not define me? He knows that the choices I make are not my identity?


But I don’t deserve this love.


His voice penetrates into my inward dialogue.

“Jewel, if you look at your behavior as a barometer for love, you will never deserve. Love isn’t based on what is deserved. That makes it about you. It’s not about you. It’s about the Father. God IS love. We created in order to love. Unconditional love means there are no conditions to being loved. You’re just loved... period.”


“Think about your children Jewel, You have always loved them. They are a part of you. This love you have for them runs so deep that nothing that they do could ever take it away. You don’t love them because of their choices, or actions. You love them because they were made in the midst of love to be loved. That’s me with you.”



No matter how many times I screw up and make the wrong choice those eyes of kindness welcome me back where I belong, in His embrace. He doesn't grade me or keep record. Neither should I. I feel the tenderness of His heart as He reminds me that He reveals my sin to bring me back into living in love. He waits to love me. Sin takes me away from the embrace. His kindness leads to my repentance. For there is no place I'd rather be than here with Him, seeing that look in His eyes.




This intense love draws me in and I am undone. I have never experienced anything like it. As His truth washes over me, I linger in the arms of love, feeling the full affects of the cross, and resurrection.



The door is always open. We are always welcomed in. He delights in loving us. We will never be graded again. There are no conditions, nothing to fulfill, only love awaits.




You, dear one are a daughter of God, created in the midst of love, to be loved. Do you see it? The door is always open. Enter in with confidence. For you are deeply wanted and loved. He's waiting.

Let us then approach the throne room of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16

You can find Julie at her blog: Jewelz Sightings

Peace in the Midst of the Storm

"I feel defeated," I wrote in my journal and struggled to keep the tears in check.

Around me beeps, chirps, and bells sounded, alerting the nurses to check on the sick babies lined up in the beds along the wall. I walked into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit that morning to find my tiny daughter back under the blue light to help rid her of jaundice. It was her ninth day of life – her ninth day in the NICU.

I was tired. I came alone that day because my other children were home from school. My husband stayed with them, while I kept watch over our newest child. One, two, three, four, five – I counted the wires, tubes, and cords coming from her small body and stared at the mask over her face to protect her eyes from the special light. How could this be? Why did this happen? Thirty-six weeks didn’t seem that early to me. She was so much bigger than the other preemies in the unit, but she was dependent on the oxygen and monitors the same as them.

No one was in a rush that day – a rush to get me out of there. My nurse that day made me feel like an intruder continually encouraging me to leave, reminding me my other children needed me. Like I needed any reminder. Without my husband by my side I was vulnerable and weak. I sent up a prayer of desperation. Oh, Lord, I can’t take much more. I feel defeated…

Seconds later, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked up into a smiling face.

“Are you okay?” one of the front desk receptionists asked.

“Yeah,” I drawled unconvincingly.

“Are you sure?” she probed again.

That was all it took. That one little push sent the tears running. She leaned down and embraced me in a tight, all-encompassing hug. With her mouth right by my ear, what she told me had the hairs standing up on the back of my neck.

“God is still good. All the time.”

I knew the employees couldn’t come out and share their faith at the risk of offending someone. How did she know what I needed to hear? She straightened up as I thanked her for the hug, still reeling over what I heard. She tilted her head with a grin, winked, and disappeared in the cacophony of sounds.

God sent her. There was no other explanation. He longed to fix my hurt. He was keeping watch over me the same way I kept watch over my precious child. My Abba Father knew how alone and overwhelmed I felt and sent someone to tell me He was near.

Do you feel all alone?

Have you felt like shaking everyone around you and shouting, “Fix it”?

I don’t know your circumstance, but I know One who does. Our Almighty Father has a message for you, too. Let me be the one to tell you…

God is good. All the time.

You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. Joshua 23:14 NIV

Visit Carol at sheep to the right!

Disobedient Driver

I was driving in the car with my oldest son who is five years old. He and I were going grocery shopping together. As I drove, he was telling me all about what he learned at Sunday school. I stopped at a stop sign then continued driving down the street, and my son said from the back seat, “Mommy, you are so obedient.”

This made me smile. My husband and I have been trying to teach our son about obedience. We tell him that we’re teaching him to obey us so that one day he’ll know how to obey God. God will be able to bless his life only when he is obedient to God’s direction.

"All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God" (Deuteronomy 28.2 NIV).

I wondered what obedience my son saw in me. Did he notice how I try to always keep the house clean so my family can have a peaceful home? Did he see me volunteer for our church and understand the sacrifice I made? Or did he watch me take time out of my busy schedule to read the Bible and talk with God?


What my son said took me by surprise. He said, “You are obedient when you drive. You don’t break the rules so that the police officers don’t pull you over.”


After he said that, I had to take my foot off of the gas. I was driving faster than the speed limit and, thereby, breaking the law.


My son’s perceptions of my obedience even in the smallest of circumstances made me realize how important it is to obey the laws -- God’s laws and man’s laws. My son notices every little thing I do, and he can sniff out a double standard anywhere.


How can I teach my son the importance of obedience when I'm disregarding laws that I don't really care for? I'm sure my son doesn't care for a dozen of rules that I enforce (brushing his teeth, washing his hands, picking up his toys), but he still has to do them for his own good.

I want to model to my son how to obey the rules out of love. I don’t want him to see me obeying the laws because of some guilt-trip or out of legalistic duty. I want to obey the laws out of respect and love for my God. I want my son to see my obedience in every facet of my life – not because I have to obey but because I want to obey. As long as the laws correspond with the Bible and are for "my own good," I should strive for obedience.


If I want my son to obey and brush his teeth when I ask him to, I better take my foot off the gas and slow down!

"The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb" (Psalm 19.9-10 NIV).

Are there any small laws, like the speed limit, that you have not been taking seriously?

How can you strive to obey the laws with an attitude that would be pleasing to God?

Will you try meditating on those laws, imagining them to be "sweeter than honey"? Ask God to give you a compliant heart and change you from the inside out!