Monday, February 15, 2010

THE BEST VALENTINE

My sweet husband gave me a beautiful bouquet of flowers yesterday for Valentines. But when I got up this morning, several stems had drooped to the counter and the rose petals had begun to fall.

As I was working on a Bible study that I am teaching, a question was asked "Do you think complete surrender to God is attainable for believers or was it just possible for Jesus because He was God's Son?"

That question led me to a thought that had been rumbling in my head since yesterday. One of our worship leaders spoke of how each of us has a deep chasm within us that needs to be filled. We try to fill it with all sorts of things....work, possessions, family, church, etc. But nothing can fill that void except Jesus.

I began to think after she said that 'what would it be like if we could allow Him to fill that void....TOTALLY fill it...to surrender everything else to Him so that He completely filled that void so that as long as we had Him, nothing else mattered. Everything else would just be "gravy" so to speak.

As I meditated on that for a while, a song came to my mind...GIVE ME JESUS. As I listened to it, I couldn't help but think HE is truly what we need. He is EVERYTHING we need. He is ALL we need.

He is our best VALENTINE! When the flowers have wilted and died, when the chocolate has been devoured, when the cards have been filed away....JESUS still remains.

What my heart really needs is JESUS.


Monday, February 8, 2010

QUIET BEAUTY

Oh what a BEAUTIFUL morning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!







We awoke this morning to a blanket of snow...and it is STILL falling! Weather forecasters had said we might get a "dusting" of snow today, but that would most likely come after noon. Just goes to show, they are only "guessers", for only God is truly in control of the weather.

I thought as I looked outside at the quiet beauty of the snow falling across our yard, what a contrast to the night before.

Last night most of the country watched two excellent football teams battle it out for the title of Super Bowl champions. It was an exciting game...a close game and one that pitted the best against the best.

The crowds were loud, fans cheering their favorite team, and the noise was constant. In living rooms across the country, fans were having fun together at Super Bowl parties, chowing down on lots of good food and cheering for their favorite team.

The halftime show was great and LOUD!! THE WHO, a band from our era, did an amazing job and I had to marvel that this group had been popular such a long time and would be invited to play at such a major event when they are what most consider "past their prime".

My team and my favorite football player of all time LOST. I was disappointed, naturally, yet I could not help but rejoice with a team who had never before played in a Super Bowl. What a night for them and for their city!! The noise level in New Orleans was off the charts, I'm sure.
Then this morning we were surprised with this blanket of snow. Such a peaceful scene in direct contrast to the din of last night.

There is nothing more beautiful than a snowscene. The flakes softly drifting to the ground without a sound being made. A Facebook friend commented this morning that she wondered if this is what it looked like as the manna fell from Heaven?

Visibility was almost nil when we awoke and there was already a depth of two to three inches on the ground. Everything is covered. And....it is STILL coming down!

God talked about how He washes us 'white as snow' in the Bible. The snow is the whitest of whites in nature. Clean and unspotted, it is the picture of innocence and purity.

It is still early. No one has been out (except my husband) to mar the pristine beauty of the street or front yards. But, later cars will begin to venture out, children will be sledding in the yards and making snowmen and snow angels. The picture postcard landscape will not last forever.

How like our lives. When we come to Christ, we are made pure, our sins washed away. We are made as "white as snow". We are like the snowscene out my front window. But, soon sin will mar the landscape of our life again, and once again the purity will be corrupted.

Yet, later today more snow is predicted. So, when it comes, it will "clean up" the disrupted snow blanket, possibly filling in all the ruts and re-whitening, if you will, the landscape.

Isn't that just what God does? He comes in after our sin dirties up our life and again, erases it all. He will continually keep cleaning up the landscape of our life if we will just ask Him to do so. He says in I John 1:9 "If you will confess your sin, He is faithful and just to forgive your sin and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness".
Just think....God will blanket our lives with a "snowfall" of mercy and grace as often as we need it, just for the asking. So today...on my life and yours....let it snow, let it snow!!!!!!!!!!!

Monday, February 1, 2010

WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH TODAY?

I have a new favorite song on the radio. The only part I know is the song title which is also the chorus, but it is written to someone who has gone on to Heaven. The songwriter says "Save a place for me.....save a place for me..I'll be there soon".

How often do we tell a friend to "save me a place" at the table, at a conference or at a ballgame? It means that we want to join them there. We do not want to sit alone. We want to be with friends or our loved ones.

Yesterday we contemplated WHO we would take with us to Heaven. Today as I heard this song, I thought "Yes...save a place for me", but if today is NOT my day, what am I going to do with TODAY?

Today we will exchange a day of our life for this day. How will we use it?

Will we touch another life for good today?

Will we share Jesus with someone today?

Will we make someone else's TODAY better by being kind, sharing a smile or a hug, or being a good listener?

Will we lift someone else's burden today or be too busy to stop and care?

Will we sacrifice our time to meet another' s need?

Will we stop to pray for someone who is hurting today?

Will we take the time to pray for someone who is lost?

You have 24 hours starting NOW. What are you exchanging YOUR life for TODAY?

Postscript to this blog: I was searching for the song mentioned above, Save a Place for Me, by Matthew West. What I found was the story behind the song. It so demonstrated exactly what I was trying to convey above that I want you to hear the story behind the song before you listen to the song. From Matthew West:

She can't speak. Not anymore. The stroke she suffered took that way. She can't walk. Her 86 years of life have left her paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. She is my grandmother, Luella Jane West.

Five years ago, the doctors told the family she wasn't going to make it. I remember getting the phone call from my dad. I remember the trip to Iowa. I remember the hospital room. I remember saying goodbye. My family cried, laughed, and cried some more in the waiting room of the hospital as we remembered and celebrated her life. And it truly was a life worth celebrating.

Grandma was a mother of ten children who loved God with all her heart, and believed in the power of prayer. I will always remember cards and letters she would send me. They were filled with encouraging words and scriptures to live by. I will not soon forget her example of how to live a life that really says something. What my family didn't expect was exactly what happened. Five years later, my grandmother has defied the doctors and is still with us. And though she has lost her voice, her life still speaks.

Today, there is another Luella Jane West here with us. She is my daughter. And you should see Grandma's eyes light up when she sees her namesake! Someday when Lulu asks about her name, I will be proud to tell her about a life that had something to say. I know that my grandmother won't be here much longer. She knows it too.

So, this song is dedicated to her. Celebrating a life while it is still being lived. I read a recent interview with Billy Graham in Newsweek that summed up the heart behind "Save a Place for Me." When asked about the passing of his wife, Rev. Graham said, "I know God has prepared a home for her in Heaven. I just hope she saves a room for me."

Below is a sample of the song and below that you can access the lyrics to SAVE A PLACE FOR ME by Matthew West.







http://www.lyricstime.com/matthew-west-save-a-place-for-me-lyrics.html