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.