March 2018 – Sweet Sisters

Famous Last Words ………… What will yours be?

I kept reading the words over and over. The priest who I spoke with just the day before was dead. A faithful, elderly and supposedly retired priest who served the Lord till his very last day when he sat in the confessional booth to help others confess their sins to God. I am so glad I went. I am so glad I waited in the extra long line to speak with him. As I waited I kept asking God, “what sins are separating me from you?” What relationships in my life are not right and keeping me from a closer walk with you God? As I waited in line and listened to the soft peaceful music, the holy spirit reminded me of individuals in my life who I still had not fully forgiven. A tightness of heart occurred when I thought of them and I knew I wanted a clean, soft heart that overflowed with Love instead.

I shared my desire to fully forgive these individuals with the recently departed Father. Then, I received the gift and privilege of some of his last words on this broken, messy earth. He wisely told me, “About forgiveness…..we are commanded to forgive; but remember that just because you forgive someone doesn’t mean that you will forget what happened to you. That is not the way humans were created.”

His final words on forgiveness reminded me of some other famous last words. The Final words of Jesus Christ as he slowly died on the cross.

“Father, forgive them, they know not what they do”. (Luke 23:34)

Who is Jesus forgiving in the statement above? not just the Romans…He is a personal God who is speaking to You and I. We are the “they”.

Sometimes an earthly example (a criminal before a judge scenerio) can help to explain an overwhelmingly incredible and mind-blowing spiritual truth. So imagine that you are about to go before God (the Judge and Jury) and make an account for all your lifelong sins and transgressions. You speak with your attorney and confess all that you have done throughout your life as well as all the missed opportunities to help others. So your advocate attorney goes before the judge (whose job is to make sure that Heaven remains perfect with no sin or sadness or sickness in it) and says, “Your Honor……Yes. If she came to Heaven her sin would ruin it. I agree with you that she deserves the death penalty and then she should spend eternity in Hell. She is guilty and justice says that she needs to die as a consequence.”

You stand shocked with your mouth ajar.”What? I thought you were going to defend me ?” you start screaming at your attorney, ” Why don’t you help me?”

You fall to the ground in despair. When you look up, the holy, white-hot face of your advocate blinds you with Love as He declares boldly, “I will take on your death sentence. I love you and want you to spend eternity in Heaven where there is no sin. So I will destroy death and sin by dying for you and rising from the dead.”

The weight of all our sins: past, present and future fell upon His shoulders so the penalty would be accomplished. For you and I personally participated when God allowed mankind to torture and kill His only begotten son. My selfishness nailed his feet to the beam. Your sin became a thorn in his already wounded body.

Now you are overcome with joy and start to sob as the handcuffs and shackles of sin are released from your legs , “Thank you … oh Jesus…. thank you so much. I Believe. I Believe that you paid the penalty once and for all. Thank you for the gift of being set free from the death penalty and everlasting death.”

God in the flesh kneels down to embrace you and tells you that you may now enter the Holy of Holies because the veil of separation has been torn open. You now have special access to the throne of Almighty God. He calls you His child for you are now a member in the family of God. He calls you friend because He did this to restore the intimate relationship that Adam and Eve had with God before they sinned. He calls you princess because you are a now a flawless, beautiful daughter of the King of Kings. Your time on earth will never be the same…….. as well as beyond.

You slowly rise up and in awed thanksgiving you ask, “After all you did for me….Jesus, what can I do for you??”

And then you remember His last words on the cross.

Father, Forgive them……..they know not what they do.

gulp. Did I just say that I was willing to do anything for God after all He did for me? But this is sooo hard in this broken world when people can be so mean. “But Lord…..They made my life so much harder when I needed help and was already struggling”.

“Yes”, Jesus would answer ” Just like when I suffered on the cross and your sins made my suffering so much harder”.

God came to reconcile with you and wants you to reconcile with those around you as much as it is up to you. (of course you don’t have to have a relationship with someone to forgive them…in cases of abuse etc…we need to set boundaries) God wants the best for us and unforgiveness causes stress that can lead to disease and most of separation from God. He wants your heart to be free and not tight. There is a difference from remembering and dwelling on our past. Look up at the cross of Jesus, and not back at how others have hurt you. Focus on how you are now free from death row; from eternal separation from God and perfect heaven. Forgiving them means you are going to let your Big protective Heavenly Father deal with what happened. You are releasing the situation into His Hands and asking God to take the bitter root of unforgiveness out of your heart.

Strive for peace with everyone, and for that holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one be deprived of the grace of God, and that no bitter root spring up to cause trouble, through which many may become defiled. Hebrews 12 14-15

Trust that God will use your painful experiences for good someday. He can transform all things that we offer up into His loving and firm hands. Ask God to give you compassion for the person you struggle to forgive. Ask God to help you to forgive as we humanly can not do this alone. Remember that you have special access? Use it.

Each time a thought comes to your mind, say out Loud, “I forgive them in the Name of Jesus.” Forgiveness is a process that takes time. While you may always remember what happened, the sting will slowly go away and your heart will be light and free.

What will your last words be?

I hope we can say together on that resurrection Day, “Father, I forgave them as you forgave me. Thank you for setting my heart and soul free.”

Don’t Ever Forget the End of His Story….. when you are weary and weepy from grief.

Transformation. One of my favorite examples in nature is the grounded, ugly caterpillar who transforms into a beautiful butterfly who joyfully flutters into the fresh, spring sky. Similarly, one of my favorite Jesus stories is how He transformed six large stone jars filled with plain water miraculously into wine. Not just any wine……the best wine.

Do you feel like the ugly, grounded caterpillar today? or do you feel as empty as a stone jar? Perhaps you have cried so many tears that you believe you could have filled one of those 30 gallon containers. I have scribbled notes in my Bible next to the Wedding of Cana story during three desert times in my life in which I felt like a caterpillar struggling in a dark cocoon to be set free from the downward pull of grief. Three times when I felt as cold and empty as one of the stone jars. The notes read : I feel weak. a second time: so tired, empty. and third: weepy, headache.

But those notes are not the end of my story because I came and sat at the feet of Jesus day after day and He gently changed those tear-filled jars into sweet, joyful wine. He helped me to shed the cocoon of sadness and grief.

And next to those sad words during those dry times, this verse is scribbled in my bible next to the Wedding of Cana (John Ch. 2)

I will turn their mourning into joy, I will console and gladden them after their sorrows. Jeremiah 31: 13

Let us never forget the end of the story. In the physical, caterpillars change into butterflies and the best wine is produced during dry seasons when the vine roots go deep and the grapes produced are the sweetest. In the spiritual, ordinary water is transformed into sweet wine, wine is changed into the redeeming blood of the Lamb and God changes our weary, weepy hearts into hearts overflowing with hope and joy.

What did Mary tell the servers in this first miracle of Jesus? she told them,

Do “whatever He tells you.”

So your role in this transformation is to trust and obey. Sometimes like the butterfly we are to just wait and let God heal in His own sweet time as He transforms our broken hearts. While we wait we can show our trust by writing down what we are thankful for and worshiping God even in the dark cocoon when we do not understand the whys. I have found that we don’t need to know the Why’s…We just need to get to know the “who”. The names of God are adjectives that help us to know Him better. Meditate on the names and the character of God. (He is love, He is good, and He is in Control is a phrase I repeat often when struggling in a dark cocoon of doubt or confusion)

Another positive choice would be to join a support group and let God use people to show His love and to help you heal. Also, exercise and fresh air is such a necessary gift so go out often and take walks in nature and see the beauty and hope that God desires to share with you. Reach out and seek to help others, as the servers took action and filled the jars with water. Allow Jesus’ touch to transform these acts of service into healing for you and those around you.

So my advice would be to start the day in quiet with Jesus and in His word (write down three things you are thankful for in your journal after you write out all your emotions and questions) and then seek ways to show care for your body and those around you while you wait for transformation.

Nothing is wasted in God’s kingdom and so during this time of slow, painful drought is when your spiritual roots will spread down the deepest. One cannot race past this time of growth and strengthening, just as one should not remove the butterfly before his wings are strong enough to fly. Trust and obey during this desert time. Bit by Bit keep seeking out the next best choice. Make healthy choices for your mind, body and soul. Staying hydrated sometimes is the first best choice if you’ve been crying or have a headache.

Just as the Jesus saved the best Wine for the 2nd half of the wedding reception, we believe that God promises the same for His children. He promises the Best is yet to be…..in this world and beyond.

So…….What do the final verses of the Greatest book of all time say…….God’s final promises to His people ?

Behold, God’s dwelling is with the human race. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain for the old order has passed away. Behold, I make all things new. ( Rev. 21: 3-5 )

When You Get Caught Speeding for the 2nd Time

“Noooooooo!” I screamed in my head as a policeman stepped out into the street and motioned for me to pull off into a side street that included more police and cars who also had been caught in a local speed trap. I had been enjoying my christian rock station that my family jokes changes my gas peddle foot to lead. My joy soon popped like a balloon as my heart sunk and my breathing increased. For this was not the first time that I had been pulled over. The last time just a weeks earlier. So while silently I prayed, “Please Lord …have mercy…please let this be a warning”. I also thought,” but…..I deserve a ticket.” I had been give the gift of a warning before and I knew better.

An officer came to my window and announced that I had been driving at 44 miles per hour in a 3o mph zone. “I didn’t know” I mumbled. Of course I wasn’t going to argue. Out of respect for the officer and his role but also because I am prone to driving too fast and I should know better. I’m sure he was correct. I started to condemn myself for I hadn’t learned from the other time. He took my driver’s licence and registration

As the painful wait continued, I prayed for mercy again knowing that soon I may have to deal with points on my driving record (increased insurance costs etc…) and an angry husband. Most of all, I would be facing a conscience who wouldn’t stop condemned myself for doing the same mistake once again. Time dragged on as I anticipated the consequences that I would soon face.

The young officer finally came back and told me that I had received just a warning! “Oh thank you Officer. God bless you.” I told him twice over.

As I drove away, my soul felt free and with a grateful heart I keep saying over and over…” thank you Lord ….for grace upon grace. I deserved a punishment and you set me free. Oh Thank you Jesus.”

Have you ever received mercy when you didn’t deserve it? Have you ever had a Red Sea crossing moment when God carried you from the slavery of Sin to total forgiveness and freedom? This is what it means to be “born from above”. God sent his only begotten son Jesus to take our punishment so we could drive away scout free.

Beautiful, marvelous undeserved Grace upon Grace.

In your mercy you led the people you redeemed; in your strength you guided them to your holy dwelling. Exodus 15:13

These are the words of the ex-slave Israelites after they walked to freedom as the Red sea was parted and then swallowed up their captors. They danced and sang on the other side as they thanked God for His saving grace.

Now imagine these feelings of relief, joy and gratitude and then times them by a billion trillion and that must be like the true freedom a Christian receives who has died and is set free from their aging body. A believer whose soul has been released into the arms of his heavenly father.

Beautiful, marvelous, grace upon undeserved grace.