Bridge to Peace

A day at the beach before a thunderstorm rolled in, opened my eyes to how the church could be when we live in unity. 

The clouds hung low, dark and threatening. But, a light burned bright. Right in the middle of the beach.  

Families side-by-side with different hues of skin. Enjoying the handiwork of our Creator God who makes all things new.

Prayer changes things.

And some things need changing.

We tend to congregate with the brothers and sisters who look like us. Worship like us. Do church like us.

But living like this, we've been separated from the greater community of the church. 

We are broken, fragmented. 

We need to realize our unity in Christ.

All of us who call ourselves Christians have been united together in Christ. By His sacrifice on the cross, the great divide has been filled in. 

Whatever keeps us apart. Be it by language, ethnicity, nationality, gender, race. 

We are all one in Christ Jesus.

As we cling to Him, we can connect to each other.

And love our neighbors.

In these tumultuous days, may we turn our eyes to Him who makes all things new and experience heartfelt repentance and real revival in the church.

For in unity, His light shines brightest for all to see the salvation of God in Christ Jesus.

"As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways, and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'" 

Luke 3:4-6 

"This Little Light of Mine" Charleston, S.C.

{Perspective}:How to Know God is Real

It was time to let my little boy, with the cowlick in the back that refuses to stand down, know the good news. 

He was watching Phineas and Ferb on Netflix with his siblings. 

"Guess what?" I said loud it enough to rise above the volume of Phineas trying to make plans about what to do today... 

No response.

"Hey. Little Man? I've got something to tell you." Slightly louder.

He glanced at me. "What?" Then turned back to the computer screen.

It seemed like he was still listening, but it's hard to tell sometimes with autism. 

"I am going to be your teacher tomorrow." I paused. "In your third grade Sunday School class." No feedback. "How do you like that?"

He continued to stare at the cartoon. "Oh. Good," he said without flinching.

Helping teach a classroom full of rowdy, rambunctious nine-year-olds, was not really my idea of a day of rest, but I was surprised to find that I was blessed in doing so.

Toward the end of class, one of the questions the lead teacher asked struck me. 

"How do you know God is real?"

That's not just a question for kids. And, it's hard to answer.

For the first time that morning, the class went silent.

Then one bright girl spoke up. "In God's Word."

And, it got me thinking.

How do we know God is real?

Yes, in His Word, the Holy Bible, the best-selling book in all of time, preserved through millenia, translated into nearly every language in existence.

But, how do we know God is real from the Bible?

Well, that is where faith comes in...

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17

But, how does one go about getting faith?

Can you try really hard to conjure up feelings of belief?

No. Although feelings are associated with it, faith in itself is not a feeling (Ephesians 2:8,9).

Can you study really hard and know everything about theology?

No. Unless you experience a spiritual rebirth, you cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3)

Can you do every religious practice "religiously" to be considered a righteous person?

No. Every thing we try to do to be right with God is still done without Him and brings us no closer to knowing Him.

God must reach out to us.

Because faith is a gift from above (Ephesians 2:8,9).

And, here is the real good news...

God reached down from on high, broke through the womb of a lowly virgin, grew in wisdom and stature in grace and in truth. 
He allowed Himself to be broken, poured out and killed on a cross as a sacrifice for our sins. 
And, He was raised back to life and now is in heaven until the appointed time of His return.

It takes a miraculous faith to believe in salvation through Christ Jesus.

And also, for us to acknowledge that Christ is not only our Savior, but our Lord, Whom all our feelings, thoughts, plans, words, and actions bow down to.

"That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Romans 10:9,10)

When we believe He reached down to us, and we daily acknowledge Him as Savior and Lord, we know He is real.  And, we will see Him in our lives.

Five Ways to See God:

In our feelings: when we worship the Lord through song, with lifted hands, bowed down, or clapping in exaltation, we allow our hearts to adore Him. And, we will fall in love with Him.

In our thoughts: when we pray and meditate on God's Word, His Works, and His Providence, our minds are renewed. We become God-focused. And, we will think like Him.

In our plans:  when we make a point to look to the Lord first in all things, our lives are set in tune with His will for us. We will trust Him to work all things out for our good (Matthew 6:33, Romans 8:28).

In our words: when our feelings, thoughts and plans are saturated with the Lord, our words will be full of love, thankfulness, and praise. We will confess His faithfulness to the world.

In our actions: when we depend on the Lord's strength to do the things that are hard, but good, we will be able to accomplish the impossible. We will take courage in Him.

We can only see God because He first reached out to us and gave us His grace. 

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." (Matthew 5:8)

Doxology of Life

Doxology of Life

Why all the wonders in the world?

In the sky, the land, the oceans swirl?

Creatures diverse and separate teeming, 

Migration sets the cycle streaming. 

Gathering and reaching, 

Through womb of water breaching.

For breath of air and breath of life,

Prevail the whales and butterflies.

More than I can comprehend

Makes a visual Amen.

                       ~C. S. Griese

He was a surfer dude with long hair that fell across his tanned neck. The class looked up to him for guidance. For inspiration. And for a good letter grade in Biology.

He scanned the room and grinned as if he was about to tell us wonderful news. "Raise your hand if you want to skip the chapter on evolution."

Hands sprung up, including mine. Some students were high-fiving; overjoyed for not having to learn another boring concept. Some breathed sighs of relief for skipping a theory they didn't believe in.

My hand was raised for both reasons. I was thankful myself that this teacher and surfer for Jesus didn't subject us to an idea that shakes the faith of many impressionable young people.

My sense of wonder remained. We were not an accident. We were made on purpose. For a purpose.

My ninth grade Biology class unanimously voted out evolution, and I don't think I missed a thing.

To be sure, I've since learned all about it. Through the media, textbooks, college professors, novels, and movies. Evolution has been clearly explained to me.

But, I don't believe it.

Sure creatures are equipped to adapt to their environment, but I've never believed that life was an accident. 

Yet we're taught from a young age, this marred world is all there is. It's no wonder so many suffer from hopelessness.

But, if we believed we were made on purpose, out of love and great intention, wouldn't that change our perspective on life?

The thing is, we really can't know for sure if God is real. There is nothing quantifiable to prove His existence.

But, the qualitative data is there.

His qualities.

His handiwork.

We were made in His image. To love. To create. To contemplate. To give order. To beautify our world.

We cannot see God, but we are His masterpiece.

As are whales and butterflies.

From great to small, all of creation longs for our Creator to reveal Himself and to heal, restore, and renew this broken world.

Salvation is found in no other(Acts 4:11,12).

Through wars and famine, peace and plenty, our God remains the same. He loves us. He has a plan. And, He is good.

And, He's going to make it all right again.

One day, we'll see.

"We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we are saved (Romans 8:22-24)."

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Praise Him all creatures here below.

Praise Him above ye heavenly host.

Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Amen.

He Knew Me

He knew me. I mean really knew me. Knew everything that I had done or failed to do. Yet, I found myself wrapped in His warm embrace. I closed my eyes and rested, being filled up with His love.

  

He covered my tattered rags with His woolen robe, the color of blood. I breathed in his scent. Fresh and woodsy. And my skin had changed. It was clean. Cleaner than if I’d bathed in a cool mountain spring.

I glanced up, but he was already a distance away. His skin was covered in what used to cover me, this thick oily substance, black as tar.

His stride was determined. He didn’t turn back. A cypress tree blocked my view. And, then he was gone.

I scanned the horizon. But, all I could see were the mountains that surrounded this lonely valley.

Then I spotted him. Climbing up a mountain. At the top stood a lone tree with two branches, one on each side. I rubbed my eyes. No, it wasn’t a tree. And, those weren't branches. It was a cross.

Dark clouds rolled in and covered the valley. Lightening crashed. I jumped a little and pulled the robe on tighter.

He was gone again. Oh, no. He was somehow fastened to the cross. Streams of red flowed down from his outstretched hands.

I heard Him cry out. Then, fall limp. No. Don’t die. I. love. You.

The sky went black.

Thick darkness covered the valley.

I huddled against a nearby rock, trembling and weeping. Exhaustion overtook me.

When I awoke, there was a light. But, not the sun. It came from within the mountain. A circle of light, as from a cave. Or tomb.

A silhouette. His. He was alive. I cried, but not from sorrow. Joy. My Savior. My King. Please come back. Please take me home.

The sun peeked over the horizon. But, He was no longer there. Don’t leave me. I don’t want to be alone.

A voice. Not outside but within. Deep in my heart. “You’ll never be alone again. I will come back. Soon. Remember. You are mine. And, you have work to do.”

A Christmas Tree Story

Our family has quite a story about our first pre-lit artificial Christmas tree, involving a mangy kitty, a can of Lysol, and lots of forgiveness.  

Several years ago, we took in a cat from a relative, and he was quite a mess.  

His hair had been shaved, his bottom burned because he sat on a hot stove, and he was full of fleas. I made an appointment to get all his shots and to have him neutered. But, the vet couldn't see him for a week.

Knowing that cats mark their territory if they aren't fixed, I made him a nice cozy spot in our garage, until his appointment.

After he went to the vet, we started him on flea treatment, he grew out a beautiful, healthy fur coat.

It was after Thanksgiving that we decided to put up the Christmas tree—the Christmas tree, only a year ago, my husband had braved the mad dash to get the rock bottom Black Friday price at Macy's.  

Right away, we noticed the bag that held the tree had something brownish and sticky on it. One good whiff and we knew that our kitty had done a little territorial "marking" on the bag, before we had him fixed—and, it must have happened months ago.

The puddle had been sitting on the bag all that time. I hoped that the bag kept the tree from olfactory ruin, but upon opening it and getting an eye watering sniff, we both knew the stench had definitely gotten through.

My husband rushed to the store and purchased a few cans of air freshener. Spraying it with all his might, he desperately tried to de-stink the tree, but to no avail.

The garbage truck came the next day and took away our beautiful, musty pre-lit Christmas tree.

We were disappointed to be sure but, we forgave our kitty. He couldn't help marking our Christmas tree. It was in his nature. He had to be changed before he could do any differently.

We humans are the same.

We want to be humane, caring, giving, and loving, but can't seem to pull it off. Instead, we are angry brutes and deal with people's hearts like a bull in a china shop, piercing through and wounding all in our wake.

It really stinks.

Sin that is.

There is an internal change that we must all undergo to be saved from our sins.

Unlike Lysol (which didn't work), the taint and effects of sin, by the power of the Holy Spirit, as we walk in humble obedience, is truly lifted from our hearts and our nature is changed for the better.

Our sins are such an awful stench to God that Jesus Christ received the full due punishment for them all on the cross. By His grace we are saved, by His stripes we are healed. If we hold onto the truth in obedience without wavering, our lives will be transformed.

It is my hope that by the grace of God, the people of God, one person at a time, will reflect the beauty of the Lord and the curse and stink of sin will be done away with.  

Then we will be able to breathe deeply the sweet fragrance of the love of Christ and truly embody His love to one another.

“…looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. (Titus 2:14, NASB

If I Should Die...

We're moving, and, oh what a chore packing is...

In all the hustle and bustle, I came across a note at the bottom of our file cabinet and was caught off guard. 

It was titled, "Things to do if I Die or Become Incapacitated," written in the Billy's handwriting. He had written it long ago and placed it there for me to find. Sharing my discovery with him, we opened it together. 

The note was written years ago, listing all our life insurance policies and who to call to get social security benefits. Then, at the bottom, was a letter written to me:

Chanda,

I love you so much and hope that you never need to use this. I wish you the best life imaginable and I encourage you to love again, but be picky!

Take care of the kids—that is your priority! With God's help you can do this.

Don't lose heart and don't give up.

You're so beautiful and special. I love you so dearly. Words can't really do justice to how I feel about you or how deep and close our relationship has become. 

You know I love you and you know that we have something so very beautiful and wonderful. 

I cringe when I think of the ways that I've hurt you and failed you. But God has made me a new man and he has saved our relationship—and our very selves. He has brought us together and he (if you are reading this) has now torn us apart. 

Our love has been a gift for eternity, but our husband/wife relationship is only for a time. 

Be strong, my love—for you will need to be. 

Be patient, for God will come through. 

Be hopeful, for we will see each other again someday. 

Take care of our kids—please don't let them forget me—or our Savior. 

Watch out, especially for Little Man—I worry about how he'll do without a Dad. Tell him how I love him and how he is the son I always dreamed of having. 

Be a strong example to my girls, they'll need your example even more. Don't let them forget how beautiful and special they are to me. 

You will have to console them while nursing your own wounds. It will be a difficult road ahead, but don't give up and don't lose heart. Jesus has overcome the world and He will see you through this. 

I love you so much! You are the girl of my dreams--I never even dreamed I would love someone so much! Goodbye my sweet darling. I will see you in heaven.

Love,

Billy

P.S. Sorry for the messy writing.

I wiped away tears and wrapped my arms around the love of my life, holding him tight. Thankfully, I got to read the letter as a love note, not a final farewell.

It made me think about how the Word of God is like the last love note of our Lord, Jesus, written to show us that the way of salvation is in Him alone. 

In it, He encourages us, helps us, and reminds us of His unfailing, undying love, a love that sent Him to die on a cross, but because He was God's own Son, He was raised back to life.

What He left for us is better than any life insurance policy.  To have our sins paid for and to be given eternal life, life without end--now that is better by far. Then, every Word in the love note will be fullfilled, the Word Himself will stand before us and live with us forever.  

"Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." (Ephesians 5:1,2).