Mercy!

“God gave in. ‘It won’t happen,’ he said.” Amos 7:3

Well, those are words I always like to hear. God tells me I’ve got it coming, then relents and says, “Nope, you’re not going to have to pay this time.” “Whew”, we think, “that was a close one!” And perhaps we bow gratefully before our merciful God. Or maybe we just skip away not realizing the ramifications of what God has just done.

Unaccomplished Dreams

“He (God) told me, moreover: ‘Your son Solomon, he will build My house and my courts—for I have chosen that one to be My son, and I will be his Father.’” 1 Chronicles 28:6

It is amazing the grace and elegance with which King David turns over the dream of building the Lord’s Temple to his son. David had desired to build it after realizing he lived in a palace and God’s “dwelling place” was still the Tabernacle, a tent.

Greet Deeply

"Greet Deeply"

(Assemble the people; arrange a holy convocation. Bring together the elders; gather the children, even those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom come forth from his quarters, and the bride from her bridal closet. Joel 2:16)

Fill the room with arms raised,
legs bowed, eyes lowered with hope to
lift them towards life and the sky.

God resides within our gatherings, and hears
before we cry. Still, the loop must begin with
love for Him; every parent, every bride-to-be,
every infant

At a dedication to more than my
money making or money spending;

At a salute meaning more than the symbol,
greater than the greeting,
livelier than habits of convenience.

Awake! For tomorrow is another day
just like today, and another after, like
the day before

And we waste our sorrows,
pander to our joys,
as if there is nothing greater
than my moment, my spotlight
or my shadow in the corner of weeping.

Hold hands firmly, embrace the neighbor
who simply showed up to request one day’s strength.

Live larger than the homes on the hills
in the moment we have all gathered to
greet deeply and to sigh truly and
say there is no way
without

You.

Not a Bad Road Trip"

"Not a Bad Road Trip"

(“You’ve come to Mount Zion, the city where the living God resides. The invisible Jerusalem is populated by throngs of festive angels.” Hebrews 12:22 [The Message])

It wasn’t a bad road trip; indeed, it sounds silly to describe it in the negative as if
“not a bad” implies it was less than spectacular. But it wasn’t spectacular either. It wasn’t
“non-descript”
as if nothing happened of any significance during the trip at all. There were plenty of memories
made,
places pointed out,
a few hikes,
one chance encounter with someone who looked like someone we knew who we didn’t know at all,
so I suppose
it wasn’t a chance encounter at all.
But the thought that it was a chance encounter, and that we thought we recognized him made for an amusing story
and we tell it to this day.
We played 22 games of 20 questions, found license plates from 37 states, including Hawaii (always have wondered why Hawaiians don’t just rent a car when they get here),
and only had to stop unscheduled twice for relief.

The air conditioner worked,
we agreed on most of the radio channels along the way, lotting out the choices hour by hour
to our little 3 passenger crew.
The miracle of the trip was never being pulled over for speeding, bad brake lights or forgetful
tags.
The paper map and the blackberry gps both agreed at every turn and
we waited only once, about 20 minutes, for construction, handing the
guy with the sign a plum as he waved us slowly through.

It really wasn’t a bad road trip at all.

But coming home was the best, with God greeting us like grandpa who waits up the entire night for the family to arrive from across the country. Grandma always fell asleep along toward midnight, with Grandpa somehow watching till we pulled up about 4 in the morning.

Coming home was the best, the angels dressed unstressed and dancing as if we had never left.

Coming home is always the best and the return trip seemed to take half the time. Now that we’re home I think I’ll rest after a dance or two with the angels and a long-needed talk with Grandpa

About it all.

My Lord and my God

Thomas answered Him, “My Lord and my God.” John 20:28

Though it is Christmas Eve as I write, it shouldn’t be too unusual to think about the risen Christ. After all, the facts of Christmas and the joy we celebrate are brought into full bloom once Jesus, cruelly crucified, rises triumphantly from the darkness of the tomb in which He was buried.

A Home Country

"A Home Country"

(“Now, people who make such remarks make it plain that they are looking for a home country. Hebrews 11:14)

We have had no snow this winter, no brilliant blanket sparkling
the night.
We have has as much rain as any winter we have rain, and we have
rain two days out of three during the winters when we have rain.

These are not the reasons I miss my home, I would live a lifetime
in a desert, rain-forest or frigid north. I would pluck out friends from
neighbors across the street or found in the corner café asking the same
questions I’ve asked since it entered my mind to ask any at all.

I miss my home (a place I’ve never visited) for its backyard that
can hold all the family I invite for a last minute bbq…bring whatever
you have.

I miss my home (a place I’ve not yet seen) for its fireplace that
functions as a pillow within moments after Uncle Ray has finished
his Thanksgiving meal.

I miss my home (a place I’ve not invented) for its music that
hi-fied from the blonde stereo with the Kingston Trio and
Peter, Paul and Mary before I discovered Iron Butterfly and
the Doors.

I miss my home (a place I fixate with a mixture of memories
and promises) for its music that
was taught on a piano bench later played like duets and a guitar
singing Beatles and Dylan and Blue Moon.

I miss my home mostly for the joy I miss here,
and the sadness I’ve tried so hard to overcome which will become
a place I’ve never visited. Now, truer than any address at all,
and melancholy only a memory now that I’ve arrived
at my Promised Home.

Memory

(“Remember all the wonders he performed, the miracles and judgments that came out of his mouth.” 1 Chronicle 16:12 [The Message])

I admit it, I’m a melancholy. I am also a melancholy who wishes he wasn’t. I tend to have lower and sadder emotions than most people I know. I have puzzled my entire life about the nature of the blues I seem so prone to know.

Smoky Midwinter

"Smoky Midwinter"

({The angel} said, “Do you know why I’ve come here to you? I now have to go back to fight against the angel-prince of Persia, and when I get him out of the way, the angel-prince of Greece will arrive.” Daniel 10:20 [The Message])

In five minutes a young lady will arrive to practice a
song we have only sung twice. “In the Bleak Midwinter”,
smoky, poet-folksy, melancholy and richly painted.

I fear she may be late, and fear she will fear the notes
unknown to her,
the timing stinging and fuzzy. And she will bashfully
sing to her toes forgetting her own beauty and
misty middle tones.

I’ll accompany her any way she desires, (although
I’d prefer sparse chords and timing so free it almost
sounds spoken.)

She’ll lead the way, we may need to add
a fifth beat here and there
to the straight time written.

It is time, what we agreed upon, and I do not hear her
walking down the hall. She is so much greater than her
self-written story.

But she just texted me she is on her way,
and she said “lol” when I texted “Yea!”

I am ready for us to play the artist to her vocal liberties
which I hope are
freer than ever with Rosetti’s words tonight.

You Have Given Me a Body

"When Christ came into the world, he said to God, 'Sacrifices and offerings are not what you want, but you have given me my body.'" Hebrews 10:5

This verse quotes Psalm 40:6 which says, "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire—but my ears you have opened." The question arises as to why the writer of Hebrews translates the phrase "my ears you have opened" as "you have given me my body."

The first clue is that there were two primary translations of the Old Testament during the first century. One was a Hebrew translation and the other was Greek, called The Septuagint. The Hebrew translation was, in most cases, the older of the two. Yet, many Greek speaking Jews used the Septuagint. Here, it is the Hebrew version that refers to ears being opened and the Greek version which says "you have given me my body."

Without getting into the technicalities of translation, there is an interesting explanation for this. First of all, the phrase "my ears you have opened" literally means, "you have dug out my ears." A servant, giving himself over for a lifetime to his master, would have his ears pierced with a wooden dowel to signify his dedication.

The symbolism is evident, having "dug out" our ears, we are more ready to hear and to obey what the Master asks. That is the intent in the Psalm as the writer reminds himself that God is less interested in sacrifices than He is in actually hearing and obey what God desires.

How then, do we get from "pierced ears" to "a body". At this point it is only supposition. But I can see the process happening something like this. In the first place, the original translation, "you have dug out my ears" is an example of "metonymy", a literary devise where the part represents the whole.

The Psalmist was not saying, "I will obey with my ears". He was inferring that, upon hearing, he, himself, his entire self, would obey. When the Jews translated this into Greek, there was no practice in the Greek world of piercing a slaves ears. But they did understand, however crude it sounds, buying "a body". It is quite possible the translators took the liberty of paraphrasing so that the Greek-speaking readers would understand the intent.

So, when this is applied to Jesus, it tells us two things. First of all it reminds us that God Himself took the form of humanity. The most blessed teaching of Christianity is that God became man. He was born of a virgin, lived as a helpless babe, grew up as a child and matured to an adult. God, through Christ, knows, understands and identifies with all the experiences of mankind.

But secondly, and more to the writer of Hebrews' point, Jesus came to obey. The sacrifices and offerings of animals that preceded Jesus' death on the cross were absolutely useless in dealing with mankind's sin. Not only did they not take away sin, but they also reminded the worshiper of sin every time the offerings were given again. Over and over the guilt was felt by those who needed forgiveness.

Jesus, coming to obey, coming to give His life fully on the cross, does what the animal sacrifices could never do. He takes away the sins of all who believe in Him, once and for all. And, because they are fully forgiven, there is no need for further sacrifice. We are not reminded of sin time and time again.

In fact, the one "sacrifice" that is remembered regularly by believers is at the Table of the Lord, or communion. But here, we are not reminded of our sin, we are reminded that Jesus took all our sins. We are invited to the place where we "remember" what Jesus did once and for all...forever.

Just a side note on these thoughts about Jesus coming into the world, loving us enough to become human, loving ALL of us enough to die for us. How in the world can we, as believers, talk smack about any other person on the face of this earth. I don't care if it is someone who personally we dislike, a politician with whom we disagree, whatever. If Jesus died for all...loved all that much...how can we call ourselves His followers and do any less.

Let us, also, say to God...here is my body, prepared for You use. Use me now, in Your kingdom, the kingdom founded on the very love of Christ.

Over the Load Limit

"Over the Load Limit"

Problems unspoken, and now we are over the load limit,
hauling cargo unfit for our carriers. We think it
brave to cross the ice-bound pass, skates and brakes,
hairpins and grades more frightening than a semester’s
trigonometry score.

We drag our backpack, overladen with hardbacks,
down linoleum halls lined with lockers never combined,
the numbers lost or stolen. From the second we step
to the moment we leap, we carry until our spines are
curved, carved by our overstuffed hampered.

We drag, we convey, we cargo, we convoy
but never lay our burdens down upon the side of the road.

We carry, one shoulder then the left; we heave, we assume,
we human, we chatroom, we loosen the straps at the advice
of an upperclassman with better precise. But we never
lay our backpack down in green pastures,
beside still waters

Until someone makes us.

And don’t we feel 40 pounds lighter,
don’t we laugh closely where the straps once chafed,
don’t we love crazier than the books we carried,
don’t we hug louder than the diesel’s attempts at
defined impossible.

There is no mountain we cannot climb
when we lay the burdens down aforetime.

A Hard-Hitting Expose of Santa and other Mysterious Christmas Symbols

A Hard-Hitting Expose of Santa and other Mysterious Christmas Symbols

Ok, now that I have your attention, I want to share my true intent with this month’s newsletter. As far as certain methods of celebration take us away from the original joy of Christmas, Jesus’ birth, I share some believers’ concerns. But, the notion that certain symbols are to be avoided or are evidence of the “world” stealing Christmas from us is another thing entirely.

Though a very small minority of Christians today take issue with Santa Claus, I find it difficult to be threatened by him. More so, I doubt the magnificence of our Heavenly Father is going to be eclipsed by the shadow of a fat fellow in a flying sleigh. Beyond all the tactless tinsel of commercial Christmas, the historical understanding of Santa Claus reveals something that God would have pervade the spirit of all mankind.

Nicholas of Myra, located in modern Turkey, was a “saint” because he was a follower of Jesus and was titled a “Saint” by the church’s recognition of his love and good works. It is this same Nicholas, known as “Saint Nicholas” who, through the ages comes to us as “Santa Claus”.

He was known for taking Jesus’ words to heart about giving to the poor: “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6:3,4

Saint Nicholas was very generous to the poor, but most often anonymously. The most famous story concerns three young women whose destitute father was going to force them into prostitution in order to survive. To prevent this heinous crime, Nicholas, on three different nights, anonymously went to their father's house and threw a bag of gold though an open window. The bishop's miter and fur trimmed red winter garments eventually became what we recognize as Santa's outfit, while Saint Nicholas's generosity was transferred to the "jolly old man" who delivers gifts anonymously on Christmas Eve.

Perhaps I should leave Santa Claus behind and tackle some other of the Christmas symbols.

What about all the wreaths, poinsettias and other greenery. Those have to be pagan, don’t they? Wiccans are well known for their nature worship. Let’s examine it together. Wreaths combine several Christmas symbols including holly, fruit, mistletoe, evergreens, tinsel, and so on, all of which retain their symbolism on the wreath. The word wreath comes from an old English word, meaning to writhe or twist. Greens twisted into a circle made "crowns" for kings, military leaders, and athletes. Because wreaths, due to their circular shape, symbolize eternity, the circle of life, and endless hope, they began to be used at Christmas and hung. Because a wreath has neither beginning nor end, but is a continuous circle, it symbolized God Himself.

Holly, with its spiked leaves and red berries symbolizes Jesus’ suffering for the world and the crown of thorns He wore.

How about something as simple as tinsel? A legend tells of a poor, faithful family who wished to decorate a Christmas tree in honor of the Christ Child but who had no money for decorations. In the night, spiders came and spun webs across the tree. Then the Christ Child, honoring the family's faith, turned the threads into silver. When we want to give our all to Christ, but we think that we have nothing of value to give, God gives value to our offerings. God does not measure worth by worldly standards but by spiritual ones. Give Christ your all and He will consider it more precious than gold.

The Christmas tree itself did not originate until About the year 1500. Martin Luther, inspired by a snow covered fir tree, brought a small tree indoors and decorated it with candles in honor of Christ’s birth. Because it is green year-round, the evergreen tree represents hope. Its needles and its narrow crest point upward, turning our thoughts to heaven. And topped with a star, it reminds us of the star of Bethlehem. Because the tree is cut down and then erected again, it is a symbol of Christ’s resurrection.

But what about X-MAS! It is not a pagan or worldy attempt to “x” Christ out of Christmas as. the word actually is an abbreviation for Christmas. Christ was often written as "XP" or "XT" and the Greek letter Chi X stood for Christ in the ancient Greek symbol for Christians. The “X” itself reminded those early believer of the cross of Jesus itself.

Hmm…perhaps this Christmas I’ll join the masses who celebrate Jesus’ birth, follow Him with all my heart, and remember the “X” means “Christ” and His cross where He died for me. At Christmas time let us heed this reminder: “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:21) and celebrate what is originally behind the symbols of Christmas.

Speak Up

"Speak Up"
(“He’s there from now to eternity to save everyone who comes to God through him, always on the job to speak up for them.” Hebrews 7:25 [The Message])

While I listen to the teaching exalting the One
who gives us more than we deserve, I am like every other
air-breather needing Spirit more than food,
and I need to ask for another favor though I merit
mostly nothing from again after lasting the befores
over and over again.

I can open locked doors, literally, without a key,
but I cannot find the combination to unlock the fascinations
false, and find the delivered smiles that will stay when the
rain will not leave, the sun will not face the earth
or my heart
while I need to sit a-porch for a single morning with
coffee and sunshine saying new things severing my
attachment to dreary.

I cannot open doors, truly, that hold the answer, the
glory bright, frightful, true and love. Passing myself off
as already reglued I gaze past the glances that wonder at
my progress, my prowess, my singular location.

But I’m scattered all over the globe, glancing past
each choice and repeating one again and again a year
into the work I needed to complete today.

Speak up for me when I cannot speak,
speak up for me when I should not speak,
speak up for me and I will speak
of the words that know every password to my heart
and rest my impulses as they slowly lose their beat
like the last refrain of a hymn fitly sung.

Good Company

"Good Company"
(“Jesus clearly did not come to help angels, but he did come to help Abraham’s descendants.” Hebrews 2:16)

I’m no angel and I’ve got a lot of proof,
my robe and wings having been removed
each time I attempted simple perfection,
a soufflé-like servanthood that nearly always fell.

I am happy for Your company, can You tell?
I’m not sure how to express it (though others will tell
me without hesitation the proper posture and sell me
a cd with the instructions.)

I am lonesome without Your company, have You heard?
Perhaps I misaddressed the card once again, requesting service
from another loner like me; with limited time, limited resources
and limited availability.

You are the life of my party, You’re always invited.
Join in any conversation, I mean it, in spite of my tendency
to trap the words and expel them with nuggets of personal knowledge
to show I need You less than I’ve told.

You can bring the angels with you, I enjoy the way they smile
when they look at me (and the rest of my kind). I enjoy the way
they smile at how much help we’ve needed, how little they could do,
and how simply You saved us sinking--I’ll use the old-time word now--
in the mire.

It was Your tears before You faced the terror that make You such good

Company.

They Shall Know

They Shall Know

“They shall know that I am the Lord their God in that I have caused them to go into exile among the nations and have now gathered them into their own land. I will never leave any of them alone again, nor any longer hide My face from them.” Ezekiel 39:27, 28a


This passage is speaking specially to Israel about her future return from exile. God tells them that they will know that He is Lord based on two things: He caused them to go into exile, and He gathered them back to their own land.


This speaks to us about the character of God, and how we truly know Him. God had sent Israel into exile after hundreds of years of her idolatry. He had been patient, sending prophet after prophet calling the nation back to Him. Though there were occasional renewals of devotion, over the long run Israel fell into deeper and deeper idolatry.


Finally, after proving she would not respond to God’s invitations and warnings, He allowed Israel to be overrun, the temple destroyed and her people dispersed among the nations. In doing so, He was trying to open their eyes to the truth that He alone is God.


But He would not leave them there. God’s purposes in our discipline are for His glory, not our pain. In other words, He allows only the right amount of pain that will “bring us to our senses.” That is how He worked with Israel.


As Israel began to repent, God allowed her to return home. The final return of Israel to her homeland awaits a time still in the future. Again, though, that return is for God’s glory. As they return, experiencing God’s grace and mercy, they will know even better that He is “the Lord their God.”


I believe this passage is actually about the “return” God offers everyone through Christ. The final part of this verse says that God will “never leave any of them alone again.” Though we wish it were different, we know that not all of Israel is actually in her homeland. Not even every person who is truly devoted to God.


But, everyone who has returned to God through Christ is indeed never left alone again. In fact, that was God’s plan all along. The exile and return of Israel were pictures of the way God would finally offer a “return policy” to the entire world. Faith in Christ puts us right in the middle of God’s promise to never leave us alone again.


As we realize that God was involved, even when we were away from Him, and that He is definitely involved in our return, it is He who receives the glory. Following Christ is not about our personal comfort; it is about making known that “the Lord is God”. The promises He gives are not temporal, they are spiritual.


I am truly comforted with the knowledge that my “exile” was as much a part of God’s plan as my return. I am encouraged that I never need to doubt if I will be “outside” His circle of love again, because of His promise to never leave us alone again.


And, even better, verse 28 begins with “I will never hide My face from them.” We may try to get God’s attention through all sorts of spiritual contortions. It doesn’t matter if it is quiet meditation or sanctimonious stickling about morality, those do not bring us close to God. Only through the cross where Jesus atoned for every one of my sins do I find access to Him.


But, that access, exclusive as it is, is also absolutely free! It is by faith and faith alone. I believe what He says, “I will never hide My face from them.” I may need to quiet my mind to remind myself of that. Or, I may obey moral laws because my faith has changed my behavior, but His presence is a foregone conclusion when we trust Christ.


Father, I am grateful that You have been involved in all of my life. Even when I was so far away I gave no thought to You, You were still working Your plan in my life. You were waiting for me to say Yes to Christ. And now, having returned, I know I need never despair of Your presence. Your promise to never hide Your face buoys my spirits and leaves me speechless in praise.

Back StageDoor

"Back StageDoor"(“Let one who serves Me follow Me; then where I am, there too will My servant be. If one serves Me, the Father will honor him.” John 12:26)
When You debuted in my life I happily followed,
frankly reading all the reviews that glowed about
the show and how the audience never went home
unsatisfied.

Don’t get me wrong, I wrote the same reviews,
and have changed few opinions about the quality.
I’ve simply come to realize that product placement
and glowing reviews were not what You sought
or what I thought You peddled.

You were good to me while I misunderstood,
and never changed the script to match my adolescence.
You still are my standing ovation, words,
dialogue, plot and climax from another world
and misinterpreted well by wooden ears.

Foolish as I am, I’ve stopped attending the show;
I’d rather find You where You are hidden in plain sight.
The show is pleasant and You are present as closely
as the alley after the show.

But I think I know why You take Your bows night
after night
thought we miss the point.

You send us serving, and find You post-performance
chewing the fat with the old man wearing holey gloves
just outside the stage door late.

It is the walk around downtown earliest morningwith You that turned my ear to hearing. When You
took your bows to be face to face with the suffering
who have no home.

I’ve stopped going to the show, I’ve memorized it already,
and can’t wait to meet You where You are Word and
worldly, feeling and healing the wounds just outside
the backstage door.

Will Soon Be Complete

"Will Soon Be Complete"
Tranquil sits the afternoon while the showers
drop less like rain, reminders of the autumn and
soon coming December.

I cannot decide whether my heart is the same,
alone and quiet, presently, with wishes to speak to no one,
or laugh at my billiard inabilities with a few who
know it doesn’t matter.

Lightly looks the river’s surface while seabirds
call, watch and scavenge without noticing anyone’s
regard while gathering their meal.

I cannot decide whether I want the attention,
fine accolades for another performance,
music or oration, staged or spontaneous.
Whether I want the attention,
suppressed laughter when I miss a note or
stub my toe.
I could not gather the courage to ask
a stranger to take a photo of us on our
honeymoon.

I want to go to Hawaii, I want to find my home town,
I want to play on the stage day after day,
I want to be silent and read without residue.
I want to know all about you, I want to hide my journals,
I want to see why you function, I want to cover my blemishes.

Coolly the afternoon crawls toward evening
while the traffic flows, compact to semi trailer,
behind my house like the a 24-hour Walmart where
workers never sleep. The day, without my permission,
will soon be complete.

Two Men, One Moment

Two Men, One Moment


"Two Men, One Moment"

(“Jesus started crying.” John 11:45)

Pasted on the windows, keeping out the light are the
dead estimates of the number of fakes made,
shallows populating,
skin-deep cooperating to make my town the
counterfeit;

And the places where the sun shines

The true light and glory.

We tape the posters of pass receivers,
nouveau divas,
politics with promises and
models in million-dollar dresses

Then complain how superficial the world has become.

Spit from our own tongues days after
hearing His love
we cannot wait to hate the fake
we think permeates the circle I’ve drawn
so narrowly.

I don’t know why Lazarus died,
a sickness, a bug, with no known cure.
Jesus didn’t care the cause, and He omitted the cure,
wasting His time until finally arriving.

Life for Lazarus, the weepers, the hired mourners,
the laughers, the gaffers, the know-it-alls who hate
the drama
and stir up more than their share.

He saw the tears and did not measure the sincerity
in metrics, the misery in gallons. He did not listen
for the earnest lamentations, or chastise those who arrived
simply for the show.

He showed up late, Lazarus died, the family was confused,
a few cast Him aside and most didn’t have an opinion at all
unless it suited their momentary emotions.

Me, I’ll make it
clear who is fake and who is not, and show how deep I’ve become
in my old age.

Jesus, focused and peripheral
merely cried with the crowd

Before opening the tomb for Lazarus to depart
without injury. Two men, one moment, who
hadn’t measured the opinions or the drama

Secure

Secure

“The Father who put them under my care is so much greater than the Destroyer and Thief. No one could ever get them away from Him.” John 10:29 (The Message)


Someone recently commented to me that he felt the devil was getting stronger and stronger. He thought Satan was winning more and more people over, and making it harder to serve God as he got older. I sympathize with his personal struggles and observation of life surrounding him, but the conclusion he draws just won’t hold water.


Jesus is explicit here concerning those who are under His care. Our wonderful Heavenly Father is “so much greater than the Destroyer and Thief.” Yet, even with Jesus’ words of truth and comfort I continue to hear believers worry about how “strong” Satan seems to be.


They fret over their own standing with God. They see nothing but the world going to hell in a handbasket. They attribute everything they don’t like to Satan’s increasing effort and strength. But this sort of thinking us unreasonable and unscriptural.


It is unreasonable because it attributes greater strength to the devil than it does to God. They see a world where God has either given up His authority or is somehow powerless to keep the devil in his place.


It is unscriptural if by virtue of this verse alone. Jesus’ conclusion, based on the Father’s great power over Satan is that “no one could ever get them (believers) away from Him (our Heavenly Father.) Jesus is clear: “no one!” That includes the devil and any snarky pals he wants to recruit.


The devil is real, he does roam about seeking whom he may devour, but does not have absolute power. And, if you want to compare he power to God’s, there simply is no comparison. God’s power is infinite, meaning there is no end to it at all. It is immeasurable. No matter Satan’s power, God’s is infinitely greater.


So, stop the looking for Satan’s evil schemes in every hardship. See the Father’s strength instead. Stop expecting doomsday and expect victory instead. Stop fearing what Satan might do and start loving what the Father wants to do in your life.


Jesus said that no one can take us away from the Father. Trust Him. Take Him at His word. Walk confidently that the Father protects, provides and enables you, even when the devil tries his hardest.


Father God is on your side, and He is greater than any opponents you will encounter. Accept His strength; accept His promise to keep you in His hand, no matter who may try to take you away.


Father, thank You for the strength I have in You. I am confident that You will keep me close to You even in the times when it seems evil is winning. In those times, let me speak of Your great care rather than the opponent’s dreary attempts at power

One Thing I Do Know

One Thing I Do Know

“He then replied, ‘Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that I was blind and now I see.’” John 9:25


Jesus and his disciples encounter a man blind from birth in the Temple. The disciples ask who sinned to cause the man to be blind; what it his fault or his parents’ fault? Jesus makes it clear that sin was not the issue at all, God’s glory was. God would receive glory by the blind man being made whole.


Everyone is obsessed with “sin” in this story when sin is not the point at all. The religious leaders who just can’t believe Jesus is the Messiah start examining His life for sin. They can’t discount the miracle; they have already interviewed the man’s parents who testify that he indeed was born blind.


Since the “God-experts” can’t deny the miracle, they have to come at Jesus from a different direction. They accost the man who was healed and tell him, “Give God praise (translation: tell us the truth bub), we know this man is a sinner.” How do they know? Well, Jesus just happened to heal the poor man on the Sabbath. That’s right, the day when the closer to God you were the less work you did.


Therefore, to do a great work on that day must mean you are very far from God. Even if it does take away a life’s worth of blindness from one of God’s very own people. Their logic is flawless, within their own non-compassionate system! God says it is a sin to work on the Sabbath, healing is work, Jesus healed, therefore Jesus sinned!


The disciples are looking for sinners to start the story off and the God-experts are looking for sinners as the story winds to a close. And, the only one who truly sees anything is the man who was blind at the beginning of it all.


“Whether he is as sinner I do not know. One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.” What a story, there are two men accused of being sinners; the blind man, and the Man who healed him.


While the church often waddles about trying to exhibit its own righteousness and point out the failings of the blind world, Jesus simply walks into the middle of it all and heals those who need Him. Call Him a sinner, call those He heals sinners, it really makes no difference.


God is not on a sin-hunt. Yes, the Bible tells us a great deal about sin. The most important thing it tells us is that we ALL have sinned! God is on a healing safari, to bring freedom to any and all who need Him.


We can waste time trying to figure out why someone is still ill. We can try to lower Jesus below His divine status as the Son of God. And God will let us go about it because He really has better things to do. There are blind to be healed, there are the poor who need to hear good news, there are the hopeless who need to see the glory of God in the midst of their despair.


Don’t worry about who sinned, just get in there by faith receive the healing love of Christ. And don’t try to bring Jesus down from His stature as the unique Son of God. Why would we even want to do that? The “God-experts” wanted to be “right”, that’s why they wanted to call Him a sinner?


There is only one opinion about Jesus that counts in this story: “I was blind but now I see.”


Father, help me to get my eyes off of everyone else and on to Jesus who wants to lovingly heal my own blindness. Help me to let go of my own opinions about Him and simply allow Him to be the Son of God, as He said He was. Today, I come to the healer of all, knowing He is willing to be associated with me, a sinner.