More Than Just A Song

Ahhhhhhh, blessed assurance, the calm of one who has given careful and joyful reflection of God's work on his behalf.
Ahhhhhhh, blessed assurance, a place of serenity spoken of in the old hymn.
Ahhhhhhh, blessed assurance, a place where you realize fully that Jesus IS all that you need.

But wait, if you're anything like me, you've experienced those times in life when your journey to this place of tranquility is clouded along the way with cares and distractions. We become spent and exhausted . . . or at the very least unsure of where we are at the moment. We've allowed clouds to become hurdles in our lifelong climb upward to Zion . . . our very own Promised Land. Our vision can become obstructed and how often we miss opportunities we're given to simply rest along the way. These resting moments, which are meant to be plateaus in our journey, can provide a panoramic view of the landscape around us . . . a time in which we can catch our breath and wait upon the Lord. A time in which we can marvel that He has indeed led us up out of the deep canyons below and given us clear vision of the hope of our future. AWESOME!

I beleive that I am now on such a plateau. Initially I had no idea what was going on. Quickly I became uneasy about this unusual place of calm but as my surroundings became clear to me I began to consider that I've probably been in this place before and just never realized it. How blessed am I that the Lord, through His loving Word, directed me to see my way with new revelation and insight. As I was lead to Psalm 33, how blessed I was to see clearly that my God IS alive and working in my life. Through His Word, God provided fresh revelation of His presence as the Lamp unto my feet and the Light unto my path. Hallelujah!

I've learned that life on the plateau brings with it several things:
~ It allows you an opportunity to catch your breath.
~ It gives you a chance to give thanks for the trials and tests that have been used to bring you closer to Him.
~ It gives you a chance to rest in His presence - the calm place where you can clearly hear His whispers of love to you.
~ A place where you are able to enlarge your view of His power and grace, and through that process become even more intimate with Him.
~ A place of blessed assurance that is used to fortify you for the journey ahead - for before you can be strong enough to move on from there, growth must occur. You can't live on the plateau forever . . . you must, in His perfect timing, continue on the journey that will allow His purpose in your life to be fulfilled.

Initially I was 'fearful' as I wondered what catastrophe could be coming my way in the future. What in the world does God have planned for me that may present overwhelming challenges in my life. But that's when I heard Him whisper to me . . . "remember My child, as I have written in Hebrews 13:5 Never will I leave you; Never will I forsake you. I love you with an everlasting love that is exceedingly, abundantly more than you can ever ask for or imagine."

Simplicity at it's finest. After asking for His forgiveness of my narrow mindedness I realized that once AGAIN He was teaching me, as in months past, that I must TRUST Him. So, as I consider the bravery of one who, without hesitation, would say, "So what's the worst that could happen - for my God is with me", I rejoice in the blessed assurance that Jesus IS, in fact, all that I have ever needed - He is all that I need right at this very moment - AND He is all that that I will EVER need going into my future.

Thank You, Jesus, for being on this plateau with me. Draw me close to you, Lord, I pray for I am weak and helpless without you. Thank You, Jesus, for the blessed assurance that with You by my side I KNOW that all things are possible. Through my life may Your Glory be known, for I ask it now in Your powerful name, Jesus.
Father, may it be so.
Amen and amen.
bo

Nothing New Under The Sun

Have you ever taken a person from Scripture and tried to wear their shoes? Take Mephibosheth for example. Surely you know who I'm referring to - oh, you know him, he's the man who lived in Jerusalem. Not a clue, huh? Well, how about this, he was the man who lived in Jerusalem and was lame in both feet. Still nothing? Well then, let me tell you about this man with whom I can relate.

Mephibosheth was a man with a dream. His life as Jonathan's son, and King Saul's grandson was all laid out ahead of him . . . that is until life happened. In what must have seemed like an instant, his family was gone and David was crowned the new reigning King.

Being dethroned I can relate to.

His life now was one in which he was shunned and rejected and cast aside by everyone who knew him. Once a patriarch, it tells us in 2 Samuel 9:8 that he now considered himself to be a 'stray dog'. He was undoubtedly struggling with the age old problem of poor self- esteem.

Been there, done that!!

But then one day - out of the blue - He was summoned to appear before the King. As strange as it may seem I can imagine the fears that must have gripped him as he shuffled and stammered his way into the King's presence . . . he entered . . . only to find out that the King's plan was to honor him. To treat him like one of the royal family and ultimately invite him to eat at the King's table. The King was willing to ignore whatever had happened in the past and take him just as he was . . . lame feet and all !

Does THAT sound familiar? . . . yep, it does to me too!

Well, mystery solved and isn't it amazing that God used our mystery man to teach us, through David's act of kindness, about His incredible grace. And although it's been thousands of years since He purposed Mephibosheth's life to inherit a life of royalty, He continues that honor even now through those who humble themselves before His Son.

Father God, I thank You for the trials that You've seen me through for surely they have brought me to Your Throne. You have honored me with a Kinship that is beyond my ability to fathom and I thank you for that. I pray that others will be willing to find someone that You've planted within Scriptures that will help them to see your unquestionable faithfulness!

Father, may it be so, for I ask it in the name of your precious Son, Jesus the Christ.
Amen and amen.
bo

Use Me, Lord

I struggled this month, as I suspect many of you did, as to whether or not I should participate in the annual event that brings little people (well, mostly little) to your door in the great hope that you will give them some of your candy . . . Halloween. The age old question . . . should Christians participate?

Well for me, my rest came as I was prompted with the idea to give out something that would bring Jesus into the lives of the Trick or Treaters, and their families, who stopped by at my door. Although I wasn't beaming with inspiration as to how to make that happen, I figured that the Lord gave me this idea so I would rely on Him to make it come to fruition. A couple of days passed and then true to His promise that is written in Philippians 1:6 "He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus", in the 11th hour I found myself lead to visit to our local Christian bookstore. Silly me, I thought that I was just there to look around and use the 30% off coupon that was burning a whole in my pocket but no . . . just by co-ink-e-dink (not) . . . what do you suppose was displayed right in the main aisle of the store as I entered? You got it . . . bags of 'Jesus lollipops' that came with a card that spoke of Him!!!!! Hallelujah, an answer to prayer!

So there I sat, on my front steps . . . with all 64 of my Jesus lollipops attached to cards . . . right along side of my daughter - who quite by co-ink-e-dink (not) - isn't a believer. Initially she questioned me about giving out my 'treats' but with the Lord in control of this evening even she let go of her apprehension! As she and I came together to give out our treats, the Lord gave us the opportunity to spend some quality time together and she could see me not as a 'fanatic Christian' who, as pastor mentioned this morning, might stand leaning up against the Cross while looking down on unbelievers but rather as someone who warmly brings Christ to others. What a blessing it is to know that He will use our time together to bring glory to His name!

But the crown jewel of the evening came as one particular group of kids arrived. Three or four of them came chasing up to us with their bags at the ready and immediately they ran off to scope out the next house that they could run toward. But lagging behind just a bit was a little girl who had quietly opened her bag for us. It was obvious to us that this little girl had Downs Syndrome but one thing stood out to us about this precious child . . . it was she who - with somewhat garbled speech - repeatedly said 'thank you'. As she returned to her mother's side it was my daughter who commented that this little girl, who had far less to be thankful for in life, was the only one in that group who thought to say thank you. One little girl brought the light of Christ's goodness into our lives. And with that I had absolutely no doubt in my mind that our participation in the evening festivities was at His direction.

How about you? Has the Lord used you to bring the light of Christ into someone's life? Maybe someone who doesn't want to hear the words but can't help but see His Glory for themselves? Ask Him to . . . there's a world of people with whom He'll have the opportunity to use you!

Father God, in Your goodness and mercy I pray that each of us will be willing to be used by you to bring glory to Your name.
Father, may it be so, in Jesus' name I pray.
Amen and amen.
bo