A Walk on the Beach

Christmas Day 2011 provided for me a first.  I had the opportunity to walk with my wife and family on the warm sands of Bonita Beach on the Gulf Coast of Florida.  It was a beautiful day with the temperature in the high 70's and literally not a cloud in the sky.  Walking hand in hand with my wife, my girls following close behind, I literally experienced a peace that I had not felt in a long time.  We enjoyed discovering the bright colored shells and the warmth of the sand.  I was relaxed, thoroughly enjoying the time with my family and found myself counting my blessings.  The stroll continued and then I heard the voice of one of my greatest teachers and one of the greatest theologians I have ever known, my 5-year old daughter Sara.  She simply said, "Hey Daddy, I am walking in your steps!"  Immediately I thought about what I just heard.  The beautiful innocence and trust suddenly became an overwhelming thought.  I wondered exactly where my feet were and the length of my stride.  I thought about the past year when I had worked long hours, had some great success, but also thought about poor decisions that I had made and the time I had not spent with my family.  I thought about failures of trying to do things my way instead of placing all of my trust in the Lord (Proverbs 3:5-6).  I thought about my next step.  Could Sara reach it?  Would she step with excitement or would she ultimately find disappointment in where I have placed my feet?  Would I help light her path or would I lead her to destruction (Psalm 119:11)?  Would I lead her to Holy Ground (Exodus 3:5)? Yes, my daughter is walking my steps, all four of them are (Proverbs 22:6).  I need to choose carefully where I put my feet.  I need to walk in a pace that they can keep up.  I need to show the way.  Most of all however, I need to walk in the direction that honors my Lord not only because He requires my obedience, but because I do have little feet walking in my steps whereever I put my feet.  Borrowing a title from fellow North Carolinian Nicholas Sparks, my Christmas Day walk on the beach was definitely "A Walk to Remember."

The Embrace

Luke 2:28 (NIV)

"Simeon took him in his arms and praised God..."

I was reminded last night listening to my pastor's sermon of this powerful statement as Joseph and Mary had their child dedicated at the temple.  For Simeon, it was prophecy fullfilled, a belief come true, and a life now accomplished.  The Messiah was foretold hundreds of years prior.  This prophecy had become the foundation for Simeon's belief system.  His whole life had been to the devotion and study of this belief system.  Dr. Luke shares with us few details about Simeon, but the brief description does use the words "righteous and devout."  Righteous here means "observing divine laws" according Strong's Lexicon while it shows devout meaning "taking hold well."  Parenthetically, as I have examined my life of late, I would admittedly share that I have been far from being one that is righteous and devout.  However, wanting to become so, I immediately think I need to model what one does that is righteous and devout.  Simeon's example is taking the One whom he longed to see come to save the world, simply embracing Him and worshipping the God who sent Him!  How long have you waited to embrace your Savior?  Have you ever embraced Him and then let Him go? Interestingly, the same baby that Simeon rushed to embrace is the same One that stretched out His arms on a cross to embrace the world!  By the way, the Gospel of John tells us that nothing can snatch us out of His hands once we are in them...Romans tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of God.  Sounds to me like Simeon's studies were on to something.  No wonder he was quick to embrace the newborn babe!  I think I will hold on tight as well....afterall, He is holding on to me....and He is holding on to you!  Merry Christmas!

The Comfort of Being Heard

As a Dad, sometimes I wonder if I am being heard.  You can talk to little girls, ask them to do some chore that should have already been done, you get an "okay" but there is no action.  "Did you hear what I said?" "What?" "I said...!"  Somewhere in this process, I evitably ask, "Are you listening to me?" 
There is great comfort in being heard, but there is great frustration when one feels ignored.  This weekend, I was privileged to hear several very successful men and women that have built huge businesses by developing relationships by listening to others.  Their success has come because they have learned the art of listening. There is no greater comfort in being heard and understood.  It seems that the Psalmist recognized this comfort when he wrote in Psalm 106:44

"But he took note of their distress when he heard their cry;"

(The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Ps 106:44)

We are reminded here that God not only heard their cry, but He also took note of their distress. 

 

Several years ago in a movie called WHITE MEN CAN'T JUMP, the two main characters are discussing the music of Jimi Hendrix when one of them says, "Look man, You can listen to Jimi but you can't hear him. There's a difference man. Just because you're listening to him doesn't mean you're hearing him."  We listen but do we hear?  Many times in the relationships of our lives, we fail to fully hear exactly what is said.  We fail to catch the full meaning of the distress of the situation sometimes because we don't care enough to do so.  Thanks be to God that when He listens to our cry, He hears us! 

 

What would happen if we modeled that in our lives?  What would happen if we allowed ourselves to take the time to listen to those around us?  What would happen if we "took note" of the concerns of those to whom we are connected?  What would happen if we just listened? 

Opportunities

I read a story the other day about Reverend Edgar Tufts, the founder of Lees-McRae College and his unique desire to make the most of every opportunity.  His premise was that no where in the Bible did Jesus take a vacation.  I have thought about that lots and have even made decisions that have been in tune with that philosophy.  For example, I was asked to show up and say a prayer for a group of cyclists as they began a 62 mile ride through the scenic highways of our county.  I did not hesitate to think of this as an opportunity to somehow to share God's love with perhaps at least one person that needed some encouragement.  The whole time in planning and attending this event, I kept thinking of the words of Reverend Tufts and the story that was shared.  However, as I am sitting now on my deck, listening to the sounds of nature, watching the birds of all shapes and sizes, hearing the squirrels jump from limb to limb, I am reminded that Jesus did withdraw from time to time to recharge His spiritual batteries.  He went to the mountains and to the beach. There seems to be a balance there that we often forget.  Yes, we need to seize every opportunity to share the love of Christ in all we do but yet at the same time we need to seize those precious moments to refuel, gain more insight, and allow ourselves to become closer aligned with what God desires, all the time seizing the opportunities that have been placed before us.  In order to do this, we have to intentionally schedule those times to allow for renewal and refreshment so that when other opportunities arise, the overflow can say help us be ready and say yes and we are equipped to handle that which comes our way.  Yes, this needs to happen.  This has to happen.  I think I will go to my calendar now and intentionally schedule some time.

(Distress + Discouragement) X Decision = Deliverance?

Many times we get caught up in our stuff and we start thinking that God has left us.  We cry out to what seems like an empty ceiling or bury our heads in a tear drenched pillow and nothing seems to happen.  We strain to make sense of it all.  We ache in our distress and what seems like endless agony. It is not a fun place to be.  Those that are close to us and care about us are in agony too. They badly want us to be in a better place.  They feel our pain.

So when you get like this, what do you do?  Where do you turn when you have turned all around and around over and over again?  The best place I have found to turn to, to go to, to realize hope, is the Word of God.  The Psalmist shows us first hand what he did.  Check out the passage below:

Psalm 77

 

¹     I cried out to God for help;

I cried out to God to hear me.

²     When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;

at night I stretched out untiring hands

and my soul refused to be comforted.

³     I remembered you, O God, and I groaned;

I mused, and my spirit grew faint.     Selah

⁴     You kept my eyes from closing;

I was too troubled to speak.

⁵     I thought about the former days,

the years of long ago;

⁶     I remembered my songs in the night.

My heart mused and my spirit inquired:

⁷     “Will the Lord reject forever?

Will he never show his favor again?

⁸     Has his unfailing love vanished forever?

Has his promise failed for all time?

⁹     Has God forgotten to be merciful?

Has he in anger withheld his compassion?”     Selah

¹⁰     Then I thought, “To this I will appeal:

the years of the right hand of the Most High.”

¹¹     I will remember the deeds of the Lord;

yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.

¹²     I will meditate on all your works

and consider all your mighty deeds.

¹³     Your ways, O God, are holy.

What god is so great as our God?

¹⁴     You are the God who performs miracles;

you display your power among the peoples.

¹⁵     With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,

the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.     Selah

¹⁶     The waters saw you, O God,

the waters saw you and writhed;

the very depths were convulsed.

¹⁷     The clouds poured down water,

the skies resounded with thunder;

your arrows flashed back and forth.

¹⁸     Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,

your lightning lit up the world;

the earth trembled and quaked.

¹⁹     Your path led through the sea,

your way through the mighty waters,

though your footprints were not seen.

²⁰     You led your people like a flock

by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. Ps 77:1-20

 

Do you see the progression?  Verses 1-9 are packed with distress and discouragement. Added together these two give a sucker punch that pretty much leaves us down and out.  The Psalmist reminds us that it doesn't have to be a knock out punch!  He shows us in verse 10, just in time...(isn't amazing that the count gets to 10 but the bell doesn't ring??) Then the decision is made. The decision to remember what God has already done.  His faithfulness shines through and the memories of what He has done saves us from being down and out.  It is as if God in all His glory knew just how much we could take, and allowed us to have hope restored just in the knick of time.  So as we deal the distress and discouragement that this life brings, we can multiply their seemingly overbearing sum with a decision to simply remember what God has already done. As we decide to remember the accomplishments of the Almighty, we become delivered from the distress and discouragement.  The Psalmist was able to remember the mighty works and deeds of God as He delivered the Israelites from Pharoah's hands.  He didn't know what we know.  Ever thought about that?  The Psalmist was delivered by just remembering the deliverance of a nation from captivity.  The Christian has been delivered from the death that comes from distress and discouragement because we have been made alive in Christ.  We are reconciled, paid for, atoned, forgiven, free and delivered.  We don't have to live with that anymore!  The deliverance is ours for the taking.  All we have to do is remember what He has already done!  Just like the Psalmist, remembering reminds us simply that we have hope.  What do you choose to remember?

The Power of a Text

Remember the saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words may never hurt me?"  Yeah, right.  How about the words of English author Edward Bulwar-Lytton, "The pen is mightier than the sword." Yeah, sure.   So which one is right?  In one sense, words cannot hurt.   In another sense, words are capable of greater things than the swordsman in a battle. It doesn't seem to matter whether words scratched in dirt, inked with a quill, or even sent in a text.  Words do have power and the delivery does matter. 

What got me thinking about this tonight were two texts from two people tonight about five minutes  apart. One was from a very close friend thanking me for my friendship with him.  All I did was send him a text to ask him about a situation I knew that had been difficult for he and his wife, then I shared that I would be praying for them.  Then, in an unexpected turn, I was called a friend and told that it was no accident for me to land where I am.  My heart felt joy!  And then, as if God knew that I needed another reminder, my brother sends me a text saying that he was making a bed for my sister and her husband who were coming to visit him and his wife, and ran across a book that I gave him two years ago.  I remember giving him the book as a Christmas present, but I don't remember the note I wrote him as a part of that gift.  Evidently the written note reminded him, two years ago that he read the book but felt like he never thanked me for the book and the note.  So in a text, he said thank you.  Once again, my heart experienced joy.  Funny, as I am writing this right now, yet another reminder has come to mind.  Today I was handed a handwritten note from an intern that has worked in our office.  It was addressed to my wife and I.  She said that we had made a difference in her world and she took the time to say thank you by writing it out and handing it to me as she left, done with her internship. 

Three separate occasions of the use of words have in one day given my heart leaps of joy.  I have been reminded from each of these instances that I matter.  I am very grateful for those reminders, but what has stirred me the most has been the feeling I have received and it is what I have felt that I wish for others to feel.  I have been encouraged.  There's a concept:  encouraging another person with my words.  That is what I need to do.  That is what I want others to feel.  Therefore, I am going to work harder to make my words more affirming to those that come across my path.  By the way, this ah-ha moment in my life was written by the Apostle Paul several thousand years ago in 1 Thessalonians 5:11.  Funny thing, it is still a great thing to do now!  I have been reminded today!   Thank you Scott, Danny, and Sarah!  Your encouragement made a difference for me!

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

The Holy Bible : New International Version. electronic ed. Grand Rapids : Zondervan, 1996, c1984, S. 1 Th 5:11

A Hill Far Away, Moved Closer

Yesterday at sunrise, I stood on a hill at the foot of a cross with 300-400 early risers.  We sang, prayed, and proclaimed the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior.  It was a celebration that was full of excitement and opportunity.  The weather was perfect with a gentle breeze blowing as the sun rose over Hanging Rock.  I held the tiny hands of two little girls and watched them take in the excitement of this great gathering of believers.  Just like the old hymn, I stood amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazerene.  Yes, Jesus was there.  I heard Him in the chirping of the birds.  I saw Him in the faces of brothers and sisters who know Him personally and obviously weren't ashamed to show it.  I felt Him as the breeze blew and as I snuggled with two of my daughters and my wife. In just a few minutes, I experienced all of these things.  Then I looked at the cross.  Even though I knew this hill on a Christmas Tree farm in Avery County, North Carolina was not Golgotha, just for a moment in time that "hill far away" was suddenly very close.  I was there and that cross was real, but what I experienced in the greatest of ways was its emptiness!  The cross extended towards the beautiful sky and the cross beam pointed toward the ends of the earth; the symbol of all the pain of humanity becoming reconciled with the Holiness of God.  The reconciliation was complete, the price was paid in full, and forever more the cross would remain empty.  This particular Easter morning, I was able to be reminded of a powerful truth that the Psalmist wrote about thousands of years ago: 

 

For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;

your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

                              Psalm 57:10 (NIV)

How did he know, centuries before this happened, that God's love could be so great?  How did he know that it would reach to the heavens and God's faithfulness reaches the skies?  Obviously, the Psalmist experienced this great love and knew of His faithfulness first hand.  I wonder though, could the Psalmist have pictured the height of the cross as God's great love reaching to the heavens?  And could he have pictured the width of the cross as God's faithfulness reaching across the skies?  Works for me!  How about you?