Touched by God

{Jeremiah 1}

I cannot speak. I am just a child. I am unqualified.
Excuse. Excuse. Excuse.

When God touches your life, excuses hold no validity.

God says what He means.
His word enables.

"We are to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect, not by struggle and effort, but by the impartation of that which is Perfect." {Oswald Chambers}

“Be ye therefore perfect…”

Yes… Be.

To Walk Worthy...

He wants me to be worthy.

I stop and stare at the words again.
“…that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing…”*

A few verses later.

“…having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself… to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight…”

Me? Worthy? Unblameable? I think not.

By no stretch of the imagination am I without fault. I don’t deserve anything.
I am overcome by a complete sense of my unworthiness.

Nevertheless…
Despite how undeserving I feel myself to be, He wants me to be worthy.
He has given His very blood to cover my wretchedness.

How can I spurn the gift that cost my Savior His life?

So I claim His pure white garment of righteousness to fully cover my unworthiness.

He will continue to transform my life “til we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.”**

And I will walk on those golden streets worthy—not because of any virtue in myself, but because I walk in His worthiness…

What incomprehensible love and grace my Father bestows!


*{Colossians 1:10}
**{Ephesians 4:13}

His Power Never Goes Out

The lights flicker. And flicker again. And finally go out.
A soft evening glow falls softly through the window setting a new ambiance to our Friday evening.

After a moment's consideration Dad resumes reading one of our family's favorite book series, Jungle Doctor, by the faint light of dusk. The family is cozily situated on the floor of the bedroom. I close my eyes and listen, laugh, cry.

Blink. The power bursts back on. Despite the adventure darkness might have been for a while, light is a good thing. Power sustains life.

After the last chapter of the evening is concluded and prayer offered, I sit thinking…

My Power Source never flickers or dims. He cannot have a power failure. He is continually available if I will but flip the switch and turn on the Power. If I make the choice, nothing can interrupt my connection.

His Power never goes out.  

No. Never.

Just One Stitch

In the tapestry of life, we are each just one stitch.
Seemingly insignificant? Maybe.
But only to the untrained eye…

After knitting many projects over the years, I’ve learned that in order for the resulting texture to be strong and beautiful, there must be no dropped stitches, no mistakes. You may be able to hide them for a time, but eventually there will be problems.

If even a single stitch is dropped, twisted or flawed, the texture is ruined. And the seemingly insignificant lost stitch, will influence the others around it, until there is a gaping hole in what was originally designed for perfection.

--

Your life is just one stitch.
Your faithfulness could affect the destiny of thousands.

Will you allow the Master Knitter to fashion you into a faultless stitch?

Invested in a Promise

Spectators thought he was crazy.
Crowds of jeering people mocked him on every side.
Nobody believed a man would invest the entirety of his possessions in a promise.

The thought of such an immense body of water, called a flood, seemed ludicrous. Rain was an abstraction.
Yet Noah never doubted the promise of God.

Faith beyond the conceivable.

. . .

Would you stake your complete livelihood on a promise?
Be willing to yield everything in the trust of its fulfillment?
Endure ridicule, rejection and contempt when there is no tangible evidence of that promise?

I hope so.

Because we have a promise too…
The promise of eternity.

And though nations may scorn our faith in the intangible, we must trust the promise.
Regardless of appearances we must exercise faith beyond the conceivable.

. . .

Noah made an entire investment. He ventured everything in his possession for that promise.
Are we willing to do the same?

Gift of the Crucible

Has it really been an entire week since I was surrounded by nine energetic faces ranging from age one to thirteen and laughing with one of my best friends? It’s a thought hard to comprehend. So much has transpired between now and then, but the memories are as vivid as though it were yesterday.

Those 36 hours were filled with laughter, creativity, discipline, hugs, tears and mischief yet I wouldn’t have traded that last weekend for anything.

From dirty faces covered in the remnants of a traditional African meal, to reenacting David and Goliath, to playing tag in the oppressive heat, to cuddly kids, to dealing with obedience issues, to getting all nine kids through the shower, to hours of reading Swift Arrow, to making sure everyone ate their food, to baby smiles, to crying onion tears… Yes, they are memories I will never forget.

Yet after the flurry of the Crucible had abated and I found myself on a truck headed to Idaho, I contemplated the concept of a crucible again. And it was then that I realized that the crucible is the epitome of my Savior’s love.

For it is in the searing heat of trials that we learn to hear His voice best. It is only when we feel our complete incompetence to live a godly life that He can truly align our heartbeat with His and tune our lips to sing His praise…

The crucible is a precious gift.

No More Tears

It's not easy to say goodbye and leave familiar faces, places, and memories behind. And there is valid cause for tears… Because we were not created to ever say goodbye. Earth was created to be a haven of companionship, friendship, togetherness…

Yet I cannot, will not, allow my tears to obliterate the signs of His love…
It's everywhere.

In countless boxes stacked inside a quickly-emptying basement and spread outside on the grass.
In many willing hands and hearts.
In meals generously prepared by loving hands.

In the laughter with a precious little friend I love dearly.
In a heart to heart talk with my friend of 12 years around the subdivision block one last time.
In joint tears while embracing my adopted little "sister."

 

In a big yellow truck branded, Penske.
In many passing miles, slowly carrying me away from one of the only homes I've known.
In phone calls and chats with friends.

In quiet silence driving a loaded van and trailer behind the truck.
In sunlight streaming through the hotel window.
In a song reminding me to Be Still…

His love is impossible for me to ignore. I see the fingerprints of His infinite care for me everywhere I look. And this reassurance encourages me to never stop trusting, never stop singing…

I miss you my friends… And although I definitely hope to see each of you again still on earth, my greatest desire is to be reunited forever in the heavenly courts above.

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away." {Revelation 21:4}

No more parting. No more tears.

Oh I long for that place…