Water Races

The first Tursday night of every month is the regular Blue Springs Board of Aldermen meeting. It's at 6:00, so, after work, I had to drive home carefully just under the speed limit (as is my habit because I am seriously against speeding, just so you know)  and race around like some kind of wild thing trying to get all my buckets and pitchers filled with hot water to carry to the barn and water all the animals. I would fill one bucket up and haul it dripping across the hardwood floor, out the front door, and into the wagon. While I was carrying one bucket, the second one would be filling. One after another. The entire time I was praying. "Lord, you've got to help me get these buckets filled so these animals can get some water before I have to leave."  I was filling and praying as fast as I could go. Looking back, it's really remarkable how quickly those buckets filled, especially since my cold water in the kitchen froze mid-drip last night.  Since I had the meeting and wasn't sure how long it would last, I filled the water buckets and Bill the Magnificent emptied them into the waterers. 

This animal water-hauling project is really a lot of trouble and it's a lot of work. The luster is off the project. I'm ready to be warm and I want to simply turn on the faucet and get water. I don't want to drip the water on the hardwood; I don't want anymore leaves in my sink. I don't want to do it, but I will, and I will do it without hesitation simply because it must be done. It's my responsibility and it's the right thing to do. The end is in sight, and I plan to see this all the way through. 

It's hard, this keeping on with a difficult task that has stopped being fun, isn't it?  The easiest thing to do would be to bail out. Call someone to get the livestock and just sell out on the spot. I know all that, but for now, it's mine to do, and the doing of it speaks volumes about my character. Watching calves frolic in the summer pasture says nothing about who I am. Hauling water in seven degree weather at 4:30 in the morning speaks volumes. I don't really care whether anyone ever knows I did this hard task or not. God knows and I know, and THAT is why it matters. 

Life is a wonderful gift and there are more good times than we can possibly deserve. Every once in a while, though, life is just hard. The choices we make when it is hard reveal who we are, not just to God and to ourselves, but also to the world. When faced with a difficult and unpleasant task, what do your choices reveal about you?  Do you go the distance? Do you find opportunities to rejoice even in adversity?  Be sure the choice you make reflects the person you intended to be. 

Revolving Minds

The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, "Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?" (Luke 5:21 NASB)

We will look further at this verse, but the thing that strikes me today is this whole idea of "beginning to reason".  The Greek word here is "dialogizomai" and means to "reckon up" several different ideas and discuss them or to "revolve in one's mind".  I do that sometimes, don't you?  It's pretty common to get an idea in your mind, whirl it around a while until you come to some sort of conclusion about your idea, then (because it's been bouncing around your synapses for a while) mistakenly accept it for truth. That's what the scribes and Pharisees did. When Jesus pronounced the man's sins forgiven, one man after another chimed in. Pretty soon, a whirlwind of opinions was spinning around and, as a group, they pulled out a consensus. It was a dialogue and they cobbled some of their words together and made up their minds. They had valid questions, don't get me wrong, but questions are not the same as verified truth. Jesus, however, was about to answer their questions and clarify truth. 

There is nothing wrong with group discussion. There is nothing wrong with expressing an opinion. The danger comes in confusing opinion with fact and basing life decisions on opinion rather than truth. What if the man on the stretcher had listened to the Scribes and Pharisees that day, accepted their reasoning as fact, and rejected what Jesus said about forgiving his sins? He would likely have stayed on his stretcher. 

As you pray and wait for God to move in the heart of your loved ones, you may hear all kinds of Pharisaical reasoning. "There's only so much God can do" is one such comment that is like fingernails on chalkboards to me. Those speakers must never have been pursued by the Hound of Heaven. What god do they serve?  Jehovah can handle it. Today, let's take hold of the God of Scripture, El Shaddai, and leave the "dialogizomai" behind. Hold to the truth we know as expressed in Scripture and the promises it contains. 

He is able to deliver. That comes straight from Scripture, and if we can't count on that, what else is there?  Trust it. Trust Him. 

Today, pray that the One who can forgive sin will wade into our circumstances and do all He can do. Pray for deliverance and healing. Pray for transformation. Pray for change that lasts. 

Hauling Water

You can't live without water. Neither can cows or horses or goats or chickens. I could give you a mountain of statistics about it, but I'm out of statistics right now!

Due to a severe miscommunication, I am dealing with a small crisis. Frozen pipes at the barn. All my animals have to have water, so before work this morning, I took my big walking stick and broke up the ice in all the waterers, poured hot water in, and got everyone situated for the day. 

With today's low temperatures, I've dreaded the evening trip to the barn all day long, but it had to be done. You guessed it. All the automatic waterers are more frozen (if that is possible) than this morning. I would have used my hammer to break up the ice this evening, but it is in my truck and the door is frozen shut. There is just so much frozenness I can deal with in one day, and I've reached my limit for today, so I'm back to my big walking stick with the very cute green tree frog carved at the end. The frog has taken a beating tonight, but I have once again broken up the ice. The tree frog didn't do all the work, though. The ice was so thick that I have alternated beating the ice with pouring boiling water on it. I've had quite a one-woman production line going here tonight! The boiling water worked great, but hauling it in my garden wagon to the barn is a perilous project, and it has taken gallons and gallons. (Read that many trips back and forth). Have I mentioned that it is 14 degrees outside?!?!

At last, I have had plenty of exercise for today, possibly burned a gazillion calories, and all the animals have fresh water. They may burn their tongues if they don't wait a few minutes, but no one is going to be dehydrated tonight! You may be wondering why I have worked so hard, but chickens can't cross the road for a cup of cocoa. Neither can the rest of my crew. Water is vital. They can't survive without it, and dehydration in these temperatures can be deadly. 

The H2O I've been hauling tonight is critical for life, but the Living Water that our Lord provides is even more essential.  

"Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'" (John 7:37, 38 NASB)

What a wonderful thing! Rivers of living water flowing forth from those who love Jesus to provide life-giving refreshment to all who thirst.  It is precious liquid indeed, and no hauling is required, so drink deep, friends!

Waiting That's Worth It

Seeing their faith, He said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven you." (Luke 5:20 NASB)

Let's put ourselves in the place of these four men for a moment. They had watched the man on the stretcher from the time his paralysis began, hoping he would improve. They were clearly trying to help, so they had likely helped him throughout his illness. When they heard about Jesus, a little seed of hope had begun to grow. When they heard he would be teaching in Capernaum, hope emerged full grown. I don't suppose they were worried about his sins being forgiven. They had sacrifices for that. What they were hoping for was physical healing. 

Their hoping became action when they gathered up that stretcher-bed and carried him to Jesus. After the near-miss of the crowded doorway and the excitement of the rooftop entrance, their expectation must have been astronomical. They were looking to Jesus to see what He would do.  

Jesus did they last thing they were expecting. He forgave the man's sin, then got into a heated discussion with the Pharisees. They must have been thinking, "Wait a minute!! What about his paralysis? He still can't move!"  Just for a moment, they must have grumbled, "A lot of good it did to bring him to Jesus!"

They grumbled because all they knew of their story was the events of verses 19 and 20. They could not see what would happen by the time verses 24 and 25 rolled around. They only saw part of the story.  The part they were seeking was just around the corner. 

What if they had said, "If that's all you are going to do, Jesus, we are out of here!"?  It's likely there would have been no healing for their friend that day. It may have been surprise or some experience with the ways of Jesus, but for whatever reason, they all held still and waited. As they waited, it became clear that Jesus had never lost sight of the paralyzed man. Jesus had planned to heal all along, but He would use the healing to demonstrate His authority and the power of God within Him to all those gathered. 

Imagine the joy of those men as their disappointment proved temporary! Jesus did heal! They would not be carrying  a stretcher back home that day. Their friend was jumping and laughing with great joy. They all were!

Perhaps you have waited for God to move for such a long time. Maybe it seems He has done everything except what you have asked Him to do for your loved one. It could be that you have "a few more verses to go".  Maybe He wants to accomplish a greater purpose and a more complete victory. Don't give up hope, dear ones. Hold firm until all the healing is done. 

Pray today that we will persevere until every one of our loved ones has experienced the healing only Jesus can bring.  

Jack Gets Arrested

The little visiting horse we call Jack is a rambler. He stayed with my horses almost every day, pestered them until they were nearly crazy, and slept in a stall with one of them for weeks. He ate in my barn and played with my son. I was beginning to like him.

The problem is that Jack doesn't respect boundaries, and that finally got him in real trouble. I think it might be a game to him, but Jack likes to get on his belly and scoot under the fence. I would not have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself. It's a pretty good trick, as far as tricks go, but it gets him out of the pasture, which is not a good trick. 

The latest trouble started a few days ago. Someone came to my door and offered to help get my pony up. I explained that I don't have a pony and asked where it was. As usual, Jack had slithered under the fence like a snake and was in the road again. There's no catching Jack, so the best thing to do is try to chase him into the barn and rope him. The volunteer and I headed out to start the round up and Jack saw us coming. Fast as lightening, he was under that fence and acting as innocent as a lamb. I got in my car to head back home. He looked up about that time and thought the coast was clear. Under the fence again, and out towards the road!

That did it for me! I tried to contact his owner without success, so I called the sheriff's office, hoping to get animal control to help me catch him. It turned out animal control doesn't do horses. The deputy was really nice. He likes little horses, and he offered to come help. When he arrived, Jack demonstrated his trick several times. The nice officer just shook his head. "Somebody's gonna get killed if he doesn't get out of the road," he said. I just nodded. I'd said the same thing about a jillion times already. 

I don't guess they issued a warrant, but Jack kinda got arrested after that. His owners were summoned, they came and picked him up again, and have "restrained him".  I don't know what that entails, and don't want to know. Suffice it to say, Jack's on house arrest now. 

He has a nice family of his own. He also had nice horse friends at my farm, a big pasture, warm stalls, and good feed. None of that suited Jack, though. He is always looking for what's on the other side of the fence. 

I've known some people like that, haven't you? They just don't want rules. It never works out too well for them, either. Boundaries, like my fences, are there for a reason. Jack seems to think they squelch his freedom, but, like traffic laws, they are there to keep everyone safe, including him. 

The next time you are tempted to push a limit of some kind, think about poor Jack, his snake-slithering fence escape, and his house arrest. That boundary might look pretty good after all. 

First things first

Seeing their faith, He said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven you." (Luke 5:20 NASB)

In Luke 4, we read the story of Jesus in  Capernaum at the synagogue, when the demon possessed man began to shout, "I know who you are - the Holy One of God." At that point, Jesus silenced him and cast out the demon. In this instance, Jesus has chosen both His moment and his crowd. There were Pharisees and teachers of the law from all over Israel present.  It would be easy to miss this fact, but His timing was divinely inspired, as He had just returned from His prayer retreat in the wilderness, and the events were most certainly divinely orchestrated. 

He looked down at the man on the stretcher and said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven". With those words, He declared Himself God, for only God can forgive sin. It was not an accident. He said it intentionally, fully understanding both how they would react and the firestorm that would ensue. In a way, the battle lines between Jesus and the religious establishment were drawn here.

There is not a recorded request from the men who lowered the stretcher nor from the man on the stretcher. They left the decision about what to do to Jesus. Jesus assesses the situation and deals with the most pressing need first - forgiveness of sin. He will also heal his physical need, but the sin need came first. 

Remember the leper? He asked for healing and he received healing. He only received healing, but the greater gift of forgiveness is not mentioned. I wonder... Perhaps in our quest to have specific prayers that tell Jesus what we want Him to do, we miss a vital part of the process when we fail to invite Him to assess the situation and do what is best. Here it is again. The problem of "Thy will be done."  I admit it. I like to pray a prayer that is specific enough to have a recognizable answer. Those prayers have their place. In situations of desperation, however, the relinquishment of control involved in asking God to do whatever He sees best is very powerful. We would do well to invite Him to do what's best from the beginning, don't you think?  

Today, pray the prayer that never fails, "Thy will be done", for ourselves and our loved ones. Invite our Lord to assess the situation and do whatever is needed. Don't offer Him any guidelines or any limits. Trust that His will and plan are for good and not evil (Jer 29:11). He is able to deliver, and He can handle our loved ones, as well. 

Heart Clean-Up

The holidays are just about over at my house. Somehow, because of the mid-week holiday, three days off work netted me a ten-day stretch out of the office.  If it sounds confusing, it's because it is. I'm astounded at how long I've been off. It's been like a little vacation!  Not only did I have a great visit with my son, but I've had a few days with no pressing agenda. I've managed to get all the Christmas decorations down, boxed, and stored. I've even rearranged the storage house to make it more "user friendly".  

With that task accomplished, I've started cleaning off countertops, sorting through junk drawers and junk boxes, and straightening bookshelves. As I've sorted, rearranged, and redistributed, I've found that the more "stuff" I get rid of, the more stuff I want to deal with. I'm liking these leaner shelves, and wondering what to sort through next. It's early spring cleaning!

As I was thinking about spring cleaning my house, I remembered a little pamphlet  from years ago. (It might've been a book, but I don't think so). It was called "My Heart: Christ's Home", and the memory has me thinking about spring cleaning my heart as well. You may never accumulate a bit of sin that you don't repent of right away. I hope you don't, but sometimes I do. Before you know it, those sins can accumulate and you will have an unforgiveness issue, critical spirit, unkind words, bad attitude. You know how sin piles up if you don't keep short accounts. This evening, I've been running through my list and trying to clean my heart-house as well. Just like my house cleaning, the more I deal with, the more I want to do. What sweet fellowship with The Lord comes from these times of "I'm sorry"!

A clean house is nice, but you just can't beat a clean heart. Perhaps your heart could use a little clean up, too. There's no time like the present, so why not get started? You may be as surprised as I by what's been accumulating! 

Through-the-roof Prayers: The Long Way Around

But not finding any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus. (Luke 5:19 NASB)

The four determined men had brought the paralyzed man to the building where Jesus was teaching, and they were not going to be thwarted by a crowd. When they could not get through the people in the doorway, they immediately began looking for another way. Their goal was to get the man directly in front of Jesus, where the two could be eye-to-eye. 

I've seen many Bible story pictures that suggest these men committed a serious act of vandalism in trying to get to Jesus. It has sometimes been presented as if these men destroyed a portion of the roof through which to let the stretcher down. Blue Letter Bible suggests a different scenario, which I favor. Middle-eastern houses had flat roofs, with a door to them so that the roof could be used for walking around or even sleeping at night. The roof was accessible by ladder or stairs. Perhaps, rather than vandalism, they saw the stairs, recognized an alternate way, and carried the man long-way-around to lower him before the Healer. 

These men were not dismayed by a crowded doorway, nor by an uncertain patient.  They were taking him to Jesus and would not be deterred. When they determined to carry him to Jesus, they did not have a promise of healing, nor a guarantee of change. Their job was to get him to Jesus. They left the decision about intervention to Jesus. Did they believe Jesus could heal? Yes. Did they believe Jesus would heal? Certainly. I don't know if you recognized this it not, but no request of Jesus is recorded. The presenting him before Christ was the request. 

I've prayed this way before, simply calling out the name of the one for whom I'm praying, knowing they need Jesus desperately and simply bringing them before the throne of God.  These prayers of desperation leave the choice of intervention to God, and may be the purest form of prayer. It's a "through the roof" prayer that puts our loved ones right before Jesus so that He can do what He wills.

Today, take the long way around and offer "through the roof prayers" for our loved ones. Call their names before Jesus with all the love and concern in your heart and wait expectantly for Him to move. 

The Seeking Heart

...And they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him. (Luke 5:18b NASB)

What a surprise I found when I was studying this verse today!  I was going through the interlinear Bible, checking every Greek word by the Strong number, and came to the words "trying to". I expected this word to mean "attempting".  Instead, I found that "zēteō", the Greek word used here, actually means seeking. These men were not just looking around. This is the word used for Herod's search for the baby Jesus, as well as the kind of seeking we are to do for the Kingdom of Heaven. It is also the seeking The Good Shepherd does for the one that has gone astray. This seeking is determined seeking that does not stop until the object of the search is found.

What a challenge! Those men were looking for a way to take the paralyzed man to Jesus, and they would not stop until they found it. If we were that diligent to find a way to take our loved ones to Jesus, I wonder if we would see more success. 

The encouraging part of this seeking is that our Lord seeks for His lost lambs with this same tenacity and determination. He seeks until He finds, so take heart that He is faithful in His efforts, even when we are not. 

Today, pray for zēteō (diligently, determinedly seeking) hearts that will not give up until all our loved ones have been brought to Jesus. Praise God, too, that He will not give up in His efforts to bring them back to Him. 

The faith that brings Healing

And some men were carrying on a bed a man who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him. (Luke 5:18 NASB)

The word translated here as "paralyzed" is paralyō and is most often used to indicated "paralysed or weak on one side".  The most common cause of one-sided paralysis is a stroke, which more commonly occurs in middle-aged and older people. This was likely an older man who was paralyzed as a result of a stroke. 

The word for "men" doesn't clarify the relationship of the men to the sick man, but the same story is related in Matthew and Mark, where we learn that there were four men. We also know that the four men initiated the visit to Jesus, not the paralyzed men, because Jesus said He was responding to the men's faith when He healed him. 

Take those facts and consider how this must have happened. The paralyzed man was lying on his mat, as always. The four men (sons, maybe?) had already made up their minds when they approached the man about going to Jesus, who was said to perform miraculous healings. This man did not have faith that Jesus could heal him, but that didn't matter to the four men. They were taking him to Jesus anyway.  They each took a corner, lifted him on his mat, and off they went. These men were so sure that Jesus could and would do a miracle that they hauled him through the streets of Capernaum and straight to the place where Jesus was teaching. 

The paralyzed man was powerless to change his condition. He did not believe Jesus could change it either. He believed he was stuck in this very weakened, difficult condition. The men, however, had such faith that Jesus could heal him that they carried him on his bed, despite his protests, all the way to where Jesus was teaching. They believed Jesus could and would heal him. They knew he did not have to stay the same. 

We are all either the sick man without faith, the men with more than enough faith to bring the ones we care about to Jesus, or the bystanders waiting to see what happens. Which are you?  Do you believe that Jesus can heal those you love? Will you bring them to Jesus? You can bring them straight to Jesus through your prayers, and have confidence that the Great Physician can and will heal them. Can He heal their wounds? Yes! Will He heal if your faith is great enough? Yes. Sometimes He heals this side of eternity and sometimes He heals on the other side, but He always heals.  

Today, use the faith you have, whether mustard-seed sized or the size of a mountain, and bring those you love to Jesus in prayer. Present them and their needs to Him. When He moves, you and your loved ones will be so glad you did. 

The New Year's Sign

There are two things you needs to know about my mama. First of all, she made great fried chicken. It was my favorite thing that she cooked. The other thing you need to know is that my mama always said that what you do on New Year's Day is what you are going to be doing all year long, so what happens on New Year's Day is a sign of what's to come in the next year. 

Today, I drove Ryan back to Atlanta and Georgia Tech. We had a leisurely drive with too many stops and were running late. The plan was to unload Ryan's things at his apartment, stop by the hotel and let me check in, stop somewhere for dinner, then see The Hobbit in IMAX 3D. Unfortunately, it took longer to unload Ryan than we expected and our schedule was suddenly extremely tight. Somehow, we managed it with 45 minutes to eat and get in the movie. 

Chick a Biddy is the new restaurant across from the theater. "Hey Ryan, let's see if we can get something quick here," I said. He wasn't hungry but I wasn't sure I could hold out for three more hours, so we stopped in. Since they had fried chicken, and I can't eat wheat, I figured I'd just get a salad. We picked up menus, and I started trying to find something gluten-free to eat.  Suddenly, Ryan said, "Hey Mom, look. They have gluten-free!"  There was a GF icon by the chicken tenders. The FRIED chicken tenders. There was also a GF icon by the sides section. ALL the sides. 

The waitress came to take our order. I wasn't positive about what I'd just read, so I asked to be sure. "Does this mean the tenders are gluten-free?" She smiled a huge, beautiful smile and said, "Oh, yes! Our fried tenders and all our sides are gluten-free." Somehow, it was such an unexpected gift that I started crying. I had to blink back tears and swallow back sobs to regain my composure enough to order my meal. I looked like a total nut, but Ryan just watched and smiled. He was rejoicing with me. Well, he was laughing a little bit, too.

When my meal came, it was astounding! It had been a long time since I last had fried chicken, but this was so crispy, juicy, and tender that it was just about better than my mama's. The Mac and cheese was so smooth and creamy that it was unbelievable. Yum! My tears had dried, but when the waitress came by to see how we were doing and asked how I liked the chicken, I started crying again. It was outrageous and embarrassing, but Ryan wasn't embarrassed. He was thrilled for me, still smiling and laughing. Then, the manager came by to see how I liked the GF Mac and cheese.  Apparently, they'd been talking about the weepy lady at the front table. I started leaking again. She was radiant at my response to their food. 

It wasn't so much that the food was wonderful, nor that it was gluten-free, although it was. Because of her celiac disease, my mama was gluten-free long before it was trendy, and she would've loved the meal. That was part of what was overwhelming. Really, though, my tears were mostly because my mama would've said it was a sign of something good to come in the new year. 

Such a sweet, totally unexpected surprise was not just a coincidence. I took it as a gift from God and, regardless of whether or not it was a "sign", it was an unexpected blessing in the least likely place. Because of travel today, we missed all those traditional New Year's foods like cabbage and black-eyed peas that are supposed to bring luck and prosperity. I've never put much stock in that anyway. I know that every good and perfect gift comes from above. The likelihood of blessings has nothing to do with peas or cabbage, or with chicken tenders and macaroni and cheese for that matter. Tonight, I was reminded all over again that blessings come straight from the hand of God, and the one I received at dinner was mighty precious, indeed.  

I've had some blessings that didn't look as much like a gift from God as the fried chicken did, though. In fact, they looked terrible and more like a curse than a blessing.  Now that I'm on the other side of them, however, I can see they made me more Christ-like, and that made enduring the blessing worth it. Perhaps you've had a few of those blessings yourself. There's no way to know what form our blessings will take this year, but there is one thing we can count on. Every blessing we receive will come, not from our own hard work or as a gift from a loved one, but straight from the hand of God, and that is something to which we can look forward all year long.  

Power from Prayer

One day He was teaching; and there were some Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing. (Luke 5:17 NASB)

This was a hard verse for me, because of that last phrase. It sounded to me as if Jesus had power at times and other times did not, but the word for power used here is also used in other passages to describe the power that emanated from Him. It is the power that the woman with the hemorrhage of blood accessed when she touched the hem of His garment. This is not intermittent power Jesus had that day, it means even greater power. My difficulty in understanding came from failing to take the verse in context. Charles Spurgeon clarified the situation for me when he wrote, in his sermon "Carried by Four" (#981) in 1871:

"He withdrew into the wilderness to hold communion with his Father, and, as a consequence, to come forth clothed with an abundance of healing and saving power. Not but that in himself as God he always had that power without measure; but for our sakes he did it, that we might learn that the power of God will only rest upon us in proportion as we draw near to God."

Jesus had just returned from a prayer retreat in the wilderness, which was the source of His direction and strength. This verse demonstrates for us the abundance of power available from time spent drawing near to God.

Selah. Pause and consider. 

Jesus was fully human and fully God. In His humanness, He consciously made an effort to go to a quiet place and spend time in private prayer and listening (conversation) with God. As a result of that time, He had greater power. Spurgeon is right. It points out to us what is available if we were just willing to spend serious time seeking God and drawing near to Him. 

In this past year, did you experience an abundance of power from on high? Could it be that lack of power is a result of a lack of prayer time?  As we begin 2014, commit to seek The Lord to such a degree that He will be able to use you for the miraculous because of the power of God that rests upon you. This power only comes from God and only comes out of quality quiet time with Him, but it is as available today as it was in Jesus's time. 

Pray today that God will draw us and our loved ones into such relationship with Him that we emerge from our time with Him clothed in His power and His righteousness.