Open Your Eyes

They announced their arrival as they flew over the house and beckoned me to the window.  Majestic Canadian geese flying in formation landing near the pond across the pasture in search of food.  I ran to the window as I often do to see the "special" delight that God provided just to remind me of His presence and the glory of His creation.

There they were swimming on the pond and grazing nearby grass doing what geese do as I admired their beauty.  I noticed two very large geese on the hill between the house and the pond and in order to see them better, I retrieved my binoculars from the closet.  What a delight!  They have a definite beauty all their own.

As I looked at the geese suddenly coming into view was a very large bird I had not seen while looking at the geese.  This bird was camouflaged and blended into the background so perfectly that I was not aware that he was there.  He stood perfectly still waiting for the unsuspecting fish to swim near him.  The fish would in an instant become dinner.  This large blue gray bird was the great blue heron who was also a frequent guest to our pond.  But this time I had not been looking for him but to my surprise, there he stood.

My thoughts turned to the Lord as I thought about how often He is near me and I don't even know He's there.  I do not "see".  All Christians have the assurance of His presence within us by the Holy Spirit and the assurance that He is always near to protect, to love and to commune with Him.  Sometimes, however, we do not take time during our daily activities to acknowledge His presence. We become so involved with "living" that we fail to recognize the "Life".  If we but "open our eyes" to His divine presence, we will be delighted by what we find.

The Straight Razor

As my three sisters and I were dividing my Mother's things, we have discovered a number of items belonging to grandparents and great grandparents.  The items have been a variety of things from every Christmas card and every bank statement from many years back to personal items such as wedding rings or class rings.  We very carefully are going through each piece finding some trash but mostly a lot of treasures.  These include old pictures dating back many generations, a dollar bill wrapped in a napkin secured with a rubber band from my Grandmother, canceled checks from 1942, old war ration stamps, notes my Mother wrote Daddy, notes my Daddy wrote Mother and the list goes on and on.

Because we all have precious memories of times past dividing things up has taken a lot of thought and cooperation on the part of all of us.  Some "things" mean more to one sister and other "things" mean more to another.  The things we all wanted became a challenge and in the spirit of fairness, we lumped them together and drew by number for the treasures we would take home. 

Part of this process resulted in an old rusty straight razor coming into my possession.  There were four up for grabs and being the oldest I placed the four in my hand and offered the others a choice.  They selected the ones they wanted and I took what was left.  It was an old, ugly, rusty, straight razor and there was no pearl handle and parts were missing.  I really didn't see much value in it other than it had belonged to someone in the family.  I thought, "That's ok, its just "stuff" and it really doesn't matter."

Part of cleaning and sorting also included the stacks and stacks of genealogy books my Mother and Dad compiled of relatives and generations past.  While I have not completed this task, I have a beginning.  As I was going through the genealogy information, I came across a forgotten story told by my Grandfather.  He mentioned a razor passed down from father to the oldest son.  This razor brought from Ireland had been in my Grandfather's possession since he had been the oldest son.  Could this razor be "the one"?

I examined the razor carefully.  There appeared to be letters engraved on the blade.  Using a magnifying glass, I was able to read the words "George Worstenholm" and "IXL".  After a Google search, I discovered this razor had been made in Shuffield England about the time my ancestors would have lived in Ireland.  Perhaps this razor really was that razor that had "special" meaning for my family and was the one they brought to America.  It no longer was a rusty old razor with no value.  Suddenly it had great value to me.

The same is true with the cross of Jesus.  At first glance, the cross was an instrument of execution and death that caused extreme suffering with bloody and wretched pain.  Since it was used for the worst of criminals it was associated with punishment and shame.  The people of Jesus generation would have considered the cross with horror and disgust.  They would have seen nothing of value in it.  Had Jesus not performed this sacrifice for our sin, we would have also regarded it in the same manner.

Only on closer look at the cross where Jesus died do we see the value and significance of such an ugly thing.  It was through this torturous instrument of death that Jesus provided the ultimate sacrifice for me and you.  He was the perfect sinless Lamb of God that bore all sin so we didn't have to.  He made eternal life possible if we will repent of sin and accept Him as Lord and Saviour of my life.  Now the ugly, shameful cross has become very precious to me because I know what it represents-much more valuable than anything...even a special razor.

There is a Season

Thank you, Father God, for the beauty You create in every season.  Each season has its own special beauty...even winter when the earth appears to be dead with shades of brown and no spring flowers are blooming.  Sometimes the sky is a dark shade of gray when the sun is not shining.  And yet, as it appears a dismal place...the earth is preparing for new life and soon the earth will burst forth in glorious colors as the daffodils peak up from beneath the ground.

You set the world in place and even in times of darkness, You are preparing us for new life.  From the moment we are born, we are preparing to die.  Our bodies come into this earth fresh and new and from the first cry our focus is on ourselves.  As we grow we begin the process of maturing.  You draw us unto Yourself making yourself known through Your creation and the witness of others.  You teach us Your ways and how that we can come to You through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour by His blood sacrifice for sin upon the cross.  You give us choices for eternal life in heaven in Your presence forever or in hell and eternal separation from You.

As we grow old our bodies grow weary with aches and pains we had not known before. Disease steals our health and dignity.  But even through this, You are preparing us for new life.  Even when our bodies wear out You are preparing us for the glory of heaven.  You provide these opportunities for growth not only for our own sake but for the sake of those around us.  Help me, Father, to appreciate the winter season of life especially when it lays dormant for long periods of time through disease as death begins its process.  Help me to remember the quote I found on the inside cover of my Grandma's Bible:

Through death life is changed, not ended.

The Peace of God

"Let the peace of God rule in your heart" Colossians 3:15

This verse was given to me by the Lord on Tuesday morning before I knew my sister had died.  It is amazing how the Lord gives you just what you need-sometimes even before you know you need it. 
I woke up at 5:00 am this morning with everything on my mind and a mixture of different feelings-grief, sadness, memories of happier times, etc.  I remembered the verse above and realized that the first word in this verse is Let.  Let the peace of God rule in your heart.

My heavenly Father is there to provide peace for me but I must be willing to let Him provide it in my heart.  He is the only one who can provide that comfort but I make the choice to receive it. 

And then as I read my devotion for today, it confirmed what He was teaching me:

"It is the voice of my beloved! He knocks saying, "Open for me, my sister, my love." Song of Solomon 5:2

Life is a Weaving

 "Let the peace of God rule in your heart" Colossians 3:15

My sister died today.  She was 58 years old.  I never thought she would die before my 85 year old Mother who has Alzheimers but she did.  The one thing I know is that she had accepted Jesus as her Savior.  Knowing that gives me comfort.

The verse above was given to me in my quiet time this morning.  God is so good that He provides for us before we know there is a need or the extent of the need.  He and only He can give me peace.

I study from several different devotion books and this morning I was reading from "Come Away My Beloved" by Francis J. Roberts.  I have read this book probably 5 times in the past 10 years and every time, the Lord speaks to me through it. 

Today's scripture was the one above with the following comments:

"My child, your life is a weaving.  Beauty will not come to you by joy alone.  Life may be tortuous at times and the pathway rough. From fabrics of lovely silk and from cords of rougher materials, I fashion what pleases Me.  You may never know why certain experiences come.  It is enough that My hand brings them all.

My grace is not limited by sorrow and difficulty.  Indeed, it shines like a strand of gold mixed in with the black of grief.  My hand moves with infinite love, and I am creating a pattern of intricate beauty.  Never be dismayed.  The end will bring rejoicing."

Sorrows and grief are inevitable in this life.  That is what sin did beginning with Adam and Eve. How we meet these parts of life depend on the our relationship with God.  I know my Redeemer and He gives me comfort and peace in knowing that He has prepared the path before me and nothing can come my way unless it is first sifted through the will of the Father.  I can endure.  I can have comfort.  I can have peace because of His great love.  And at the end of my life when all the threads both gold and black are woven into the story of my life, I will rejoice in His presence.  I will be reunited in joy with those who have gone before me.

When this life is over there there will be rejoicing!  That great and wonderful joy will come from simply being in the presence of the eternal God.  How do we enter into His presence? Only through Jesus Christ.  The Jesus who died on the cross as a sacrifice for sin.

Accepting Jesus as Savior is a personal decision.  It can't be because you go to church or your parents believed in Jesus as Savior.  It has to be your choice to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and know that your sins are forgiven.  If you have not done so, please confess your sin, accept the sacrifice He made on the cross for the forgiveness of sin and ask Him into your heart as your Savior and Lord.  You never know when the appointed time will come for your own death.

The Voice of the Shepherd

 

"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me" 

John 10:14

Jesus used sheep as illustrations to teach many lessons in the New Testament.  Because of the culture of the day, the people of Israel would have caught the lessons immediately.  I, on the other hand, have never been around sheep to learn their characteristics, so what I know of them is not through experience but through reading, studying or listening to teaching about the subject. 

Recently, during a Bible Study by Anne Graham Lotz "Pursuing More of Jesus", I learned several interesting things about sheep.  The shepherds in Biblical times were assigned sheep from the time they were born.  They were more like pets and the shepherd would often name each one.  In other words, the sheep had a personal relationship with the shepherd.  They knew his voice. They recognized it because everyday, they would heard his voice.  They knew the shepherd only had their best at heart and took care of their needs for water, food and protection for harm.  They trusted no other.  In fact, if someone else called them and they didn't recognize the voice as the voice of their shepherd they would run the opposite direction in fright.

For those who know Jesus Christ as Savior, the lesson is clear.  He knows us and we know Him.  He speaks to us through His Word and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We can recognize His voice and can distinguish it from other voices-the voices of the world and Satan.  We should trust no other.  

Are you listening for the voice of the Good Shepherd?  Can you hear His voice?  What about the voices of the world?  Are they so loud that the voice of Jesus has been drown out and replaced by fleshly things?

The Works of Your Hands

Psalm 24:1,2,10  The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it,
       the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas
       and established it upon the waters...who is He, this King of glory?

       The LORD Almighty—
       He is the King of glory.