Awestruck
It was a sublime moment. My wife Kim gasped in hushed delight at the sight. We stood before a tranquil scene of water and foliage in the National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island in Florida. Suddenly alighting upon the waters, like planes landing at O'Hare, were Rosiate Spoonbills by the dozens! These rock stars of the southwest Florida wildlife scene are large bright pink and white birds with long spoon-like bills. They draw quite a large slightly awestruck crowd where the only sounds are the birds rapidly flapping wings upon the water and continuous camera shutters. It is one of the highlights of our Christmas season week of vacation away from our frigid home of Cedar Rapids. As we drove along the evening streets of Sanibel reflecting upon the wondrous encounter of Rosiate splendor, we viewed all the Christmas lights while listening to Christmas songs on the radio. Yet, something seemed discordant for we Iowans as our windows were rolled down in 80 degree weather while we were eating ice cream taking photos of palm trees covered in red and green lights! No snow, no parkas, no defrosters. Then we drive upon a sign, "Episcopal Church of St. Michael and All the Angels."
Suddenly, everything comes into common focus. On a dark Bethlehem night long ago there were no snowflakes, no electric lights, no radios, and no Rosiates we know of. But what a flock of fearsome angels arrived in the midst of some more than slightly awestruck shepherds. Fearsome, awesome angels declaring the best news and giving directions to where the true Rock Star was just born. Funny thing about this fragile child laid afresh in a feeding trough. He would always be true to His Father and true to Himself all the days of his life. He would fear no man and die for every man. He would rise from the dead and is sitting right next to you now as you read this...loving you...as if you were the only person in the world.
Are you looking for just the right feelings, just the right circumstances as this Christmas approaches? How about looking away from such things?
As we drove just a little farther down the main road of Sanibel Island we came upon Sanibel Community Church. It's campus was so cheerily lit in green and red we just had to get out and stroll for a while on such a gentle night. As we returned to our car and prepared to drive away, we looked up to see the large lit banner in the front church yard, "Wise Men Seek Him Still."
If you seek Him you will find Him and eventually find yourself awestruck at how much He loves you and the whole world. And who knows, many hurting people in the future may flock to Him through you. Your Spirit filled life can become His human wildlife refuge. Because when you seek Him, the angels flock around you too.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Resting Secure
One Sunday morning, after a worship service, I approached some visitors during snack time. A toddler was safely nestled in her father’s arms, eating a cookie. She had chocolate all over her face. She looked deeply into my eyes, and then she pulled the mushy cookie out of her mouth, offering it to me. YUM!
How intently generous! How messy—but how intently generous! I will never forget the lesson. If she had been wandering alone in the midst of towering strangers, she might have been frightened or confused when I approached
her. However, safe in her daddy’s arms, she could look me in the eyes and offer me that which was most dear to her at the moment.
This is the Lord’s desire for us. It is a picture of His people at rest in Him—at His return. Are we secure children of the Father, joyfully giving our lives away for the lost and the poor? Let’s not wait for His return. Let’s return to His embrace, look deeply into the lives of others, and give them all He has for all they need.
Not ready for that? Are you all stirred up with the cares of this world? You can begin by spending time looking deeply into His eyes.
But you can’t look deeply from a distance. He is not pointing a finger at you, He is just opening His arms. Let go of what holds you back. Run to Jesus. Stumble, crawl, fall—whatever! As you rest in Him, you will grow more content with Him. Then you will be able to freely give His gifts to others.
Jesus and His disciples were on the Temple grounds one day when he saw a perfect illustration of secure giving. “Then he saw a poor widow put in two pennies. He said, ‘The plain truth is that this widow has given by far the largest offering today... she gave her all!’ ” (Luke 21:2–4, MSG). This account of the “widow’s mite” is often trivialized, even by the use of the phrase itself.
Jesus was reaching into the disciples’ hearts by pointing to the widow’s generosity. He was redirecting their focus onto His kingdom. However, they quickly drifted away and begin to fixate on the beautiful stonework of the Temple and the memorial decorations on the walls.
Isn’t that just like us? We hide from the hand of God by admiring the handiwork of humanity. We trade love and mercy for bricks and mortar. We trust strategies rather than the Spirit. We preach doctrine instead of the Gospel. We pursue our own self-interest rather than God’s glory. And the last barrier we hide behind is the idol of self-preservation.
Just as Jesus longed for the disciples to avert their gaze from the worldly temple, He longs for us to stop worrying about building our own life and begin resting in His love.
The widow’s gift was biggest of all because it came from a resting heart that trusted God. Jesus knew she gratefully gave all she had. Big trusting hearts are cultivated in quiet rest in His arms of love.
A great shaking has begun. When we stop and get honest with ourselves we can observe and feel a haunting dread and increasing anxiety in the world. All creation is groaning. The tsunamis, earthquakes, and floods are increasing as a natural sign of the deeper spiritual shaking. World markets are unstable.
More followers of Christ have been martyred in the last twenty years than in the previous two thousand years.
The Lord Jesus is not worried. He said these things would come. The truth is that God’s mercy is now raining down over all humanity, flooding the earth with real love. God’s judgment is falling hard upon the Devil and the raging forces of darkness. This is a wonderful time to be alive! This is not doomsday; this is God’s day!
The shaking will become so great that only those resting in Jesus will not lose heart. The shaking will drive many broken people into the arms of Jesus. We must be ready to receive them with open arms—from a position of intimacy in Him. It’s cookie time!
Let’s begin the “receiving” now and rest ourselves in His embrace of grace. Let us lay down our lives as we speak tenderly to the whole earth, “Come rest in His love!”
Secure in His arms, you can begin cultivating a resting heart by turning away from your fears.
Secure in His arms, you can begin talking to Him through honest prayer.
Secure in His arms, you can begin tuning into His voice by reading His Scripture.
Secure in His arms, you can let go of trying to run your life in this big troubled world.
Secure in His arms, you can let Him grow your heart big with childlike trust.
Psalm 131 is one of the shortest psalms. Memorize your favorite version and pray it aloud often. Stop striving in your own strength and start cultivating His love.
How intently generous! How messy—but how intently generous! I will never forget the lesson. If she had been wandering alone in the midst of towering strangers, she might have been frightened or confused when I approached
her. However, safe in her daddy’s arms, she could look me in the eyes and offer me that which was most dear to her at the moment.
This is the Lord’s desire for us. It is a picture of His people at rest in Him—at His return. Are we secure children of the Father, joyfully giving our lives away for the lost and the poor? Let’s not wait for His return. Let’s return to His embrace, look deeply into the lives of others, and give them all He has for all they need.
Not ready for that? Are you all stirred up with the cares of this world? You can begin by spending time looking deeply into His eyes.
But you can’t look deeply from a distance. He is not pointing a finger at you, He is just opening His arms. Let go of what holds you back. Run to Jesus. Stumble, crawl, fall—whatever! As you rest in Him, you will grow more content with Him. Then you will be able to freely give His gifts to others.
Jesus and His disciples were on the Temple grounds one day when he saw a perfect illustration of secure giving. “Then he saw a poor widow put in two pennies. He said, ‘The plain truth is that this widow has given by far the largest offering today... she gave her all!’ ” (Luke 21:2–4, MSG). This account of the “widow’s mite” is often trivialized, even by the use of the phrase itself.
Jesus was reaching into the disciples’ hearts by pointing to the widow’s generosity. He was redirecting their focus onto His kingdom. However, they quickly drifted away and begin to fixate on the beautiful stonework of the Temple and the memorial decorations on the walls.
Isn’t that just like us? We hide from the hand of God by admiring the handiwork of humanity. We trade love and mercy for bricks and mortar. We trust strategies rather than the Spirit. We preach doctrine instead of the Gospel. We pursue our own self-interest rather than God’s glory. And the last barrier we hide behind is the idol of self-preservation.
Just as Jesus longed for the disciples to avert their gaze from the worldly temple, He longs for us to stop worrying about building our own life and begin resting in His love.
The widow’s gift was biggest of all because it came from a resting heart that trusted God. Jesus knew she gratefully gave all she had. Big trusting hearts are cultivated in quiet rest in His arms of love.
A great shaking has begun. When we stop and get honest with ourselves we can observe and feel a haunting dread and increasing anxiety in the world. All creation is groaning. The tsunamis, earthquakes, and floods are increasing as a natural sign of the deeper spiritual shaking. World markets are unstable.
More followers of Christ have been martyred in the last twenty years than in the previous two thousand years.
The Lord Jesus is not worried. He said these things would come. The truth is that God’s mercy is now raining down over all humanity, flooding the earth with real love. God’s judgment is falling hard upon the Devil and the raging forces of darkness. This is a wonderful time to be alive! This is not doomsday; this is God’s day!
The shaking will become so great that only those resting in Jesus will not lose heart. The shaking will drive many broken people into the arms of Jesus. We must be ready to receive them with open arms—from a position of intimacy in Him. It’s cookie time!
Let’s begin the “receiving” now and rest ourselves in His embrace of grace. Let us lay down our lives as we speak tenderly to the whole earth, “Come rest in His love!”
Secure in His arms, you can begin cultivating a resting heart by turning away from your fears.
Secure in His arms, you can begin talking to Him through honest prayer.
Secure in His arms, you can begin tuning into His voice by reading His Scripture.
Secure in His arms, you can let go of trying to run your life in this big troubled world.
Secure in His arms, you can let Him grow your heart big with childlike trust.
Psalm 131 is one of the shortest psalms. Memorize your favorite version and pray it aloud often. Stop striving in your own strength and start cultivating His love.
God, I’m not trying to rule the roost,
I don’t want to be king of the mountain.
I haven’t meddled where I have no business
or fantasized grandiose plans.
I’ve kept my feet on the ground,
I’ve cultivated a quiet heart.
Like a baby content in its mother’s arms,
my soul is a baby content.
Wait, Israel, for God. Wait with hope.
Hope now, hope always! (Psalm 131, MSG).
This is taken from Chapter one of my first book Come Rest which is also available as an EBook.
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