The Sun Heals!

     

      I'll admit it: yesterday I was LOW! The pain of the day before was gone, but my spirit was as dark as the misty gloom that enwrapped our part of the world. This morning I started out just as low, even though the sun shone brightly through our windows. I suddenly realized I heard no bird songs, either, which added to my depression. Then I remembered that in years past, even when very ill I had started most days sipping my morning coffee on the deck, sitting in the sun. And so I forced myself out of my chair and walked the few steps to the front door, where my folding chair seemed to be awaiting my return. I remembered that part of my ritual was listening to hymns, and so grabbed my phone and wireless speaker to accompany me. Before I could even think about it, my persistent frown had turned upside down, as I found myself stretching my arms to receive the warmth of the sun, and my ears began to hear the music of songbirds floating above the quiet piano music.

      Of course my doctor has always recommended sitting in the sun daily for twenty minutes or so in order to soak up natural Vitamin D. This was a common suggestion during the recent pandemic. A British study conducted in 2020, at the height of Covid, concluded that bird songs can indeed improve moods. A 1984 another U.K. study even found that a view of trees from a hospital room actually speeds healing and helps patients require fewer pain meds! (https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/how-listening-to-bird-song-can-transform-our-mental-health.html) I've experienced this for myself, because I REALLY dislike someone working in my my mouth (aka dental visits!). Whether planned or not, my dentist's office has views of beautiful trees from most every patient chair, and I know that looking out at those trees helps me relax during an unpleasant procedure.

      But why should any of this be surprising? On the fourth day God created the two great lights in the sky, "to provide light on the earth." (Genesis 1:15 CSB) The sun God created is the source of all light and life: without it there would be no life! No trees, no birds, no humans! And in the End, we shall all see that the true Source of our sun is the Son Himself:

 When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands. And standing in the middle of the lampstands was someone like the Son of Man. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest. His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire. His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves. He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was like the sun in all its brilliance.  (Revelation 1:12-16 NLT, emphasis mine)

 "The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says, 'The day of judgment is coming, burning like a furnace. On that day the arrogant and the wicked will be burned up like straw. They will be consumed—roots, branches, and all. But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture."  (Malachi 4:1-2 NLT)

      Dear friend, whether the sun is shining on us today or not, let us pray together with the wonderful old hymn "Sun of My Soul,"   

"1.Sun of my soul, Thou Savior dear, It is not night if Thou be near;

O may no earth-born cloud arise To hide Thee from Thy servant's eyes!

2. When the soft dews of kindly sleep My weary eyelids gently steep;

Be my last thought, how sweet to rest Forever on my Savior's breast!

3. Abide with me from morn till eve, For without Thee I cannot live;

Abide with me when night is nigh, For without Thee I dare not die.

4. Be near to bless me when I wake, Ere thru the world my way I take;

Abide with me till in Thy love I lose myself in heav'n above."

                                                         -- John Keble

   "He must increase and I must decrease."

John 3:30

 ✝️

A Tale of Two Lampshades

      Ever seeking the rainbow behind the clouds, I must share one more Christmas Day Flood story with you (without promising it will be the last!). 

      In all the moving about of furniture during the restoration, I dropped the hobnail glass shade of a precious antique lamp that was my mother's onto the tile bathroom floor. You can imagine the sound of shattering glass that echoed in my heart. I was devastated, of course, but immediately turned to EBay to search for a replacement. After perusing many options, I decided on the perfect match, ordered it, and eagerly anticipated its arrival. How heartbroken I was upon picking up the box to hear the unmistakable clinking of broken glass. My excited heart fell. When I opened it, though, I exclaimed, "Well no wonder!" as I found that the packaging and padding was minimal, certainly not sufficient for so fragile an object to travel hundreds of miles through the mail system. (See photo on the right, above.)

      It took a few days for my spirits to recover well enough to begin my search anew. I found another, though, and prayerfully, hopefully ordered it. As quickly as promised, the package arrived, and I was encouraged that the box felt strong and I heard no telltale tinkling. As I carefully opened it (with not a little trepidation, I admit), I was amazed to find a second tightly packed box inside the first. Again I painstakingly unsealed the second one, only to find a THIRD box I needed to unwrap! And inside that one, padded lovingly with more cardboard, newspaper, and other ordinary materials, was an unbroken Fenton hobnail lampshade. (See photo above left.) What joy! It was perfect, and whole, and my lamp now glows beautifully on my dresser.

      When I contemplate that experience and those two packages, I can't help seeing a striking illustration of a lesson it's taken me a lifetime of mistakes to learn: a fragile heart that is placed in thin, unreliable packaging will undoubtedly be shattered by the rough handling of this world, while a heart wrapped in "full armor" will arrive at its destination able to fulfill its purpose and shine its light wherever it is placed. What is this "full armor"? I believe it's no accident that the second lamp shade was sealed in three boxes. I can't help relating it to the Holy Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. If we trust the Father, our Creator Who loves us (Genesis 1:1, 27), accept His Son Jesus as the Redeemer He gave for our sins (John 3:16); then inside us will live the Holy Spirit, His Advocate, to guide us and comfort us on our daily walk (John 14:26). Our hearts will then be safe until we go to live with Him forever and our enemies have been destroyed. NO MORE BROKEN HEARTS!!!

      But until that time, we'll be tossed about, and perhaps even broken, by a sin-filled world. And without this armor we ourselves succumb to our own sinful nature, born in all of us since the Garden of Eden. How can we be sure we are protected from Satan's attacks? God has given us the answer in His Word, in the passage so familiar to many of us:

 "For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation [Yeshua]  and the sword of the Spirit—which is the word of God."

(Ephesians 6:13-17 CSB)

             With this promised protection we are by no means guaranteed freedom from worldly attacks to our body, mind, and spirit, just like both lampshades were undoubtedly tossed about in the mail before arriving at my home. We ARE guaranteed, however, to come through such attacks, so that like my lamp, we can shine God's light wherever we are placed. 

   "He must increase and I must decrease."

John 3:30

 ✝️

The Greatest Love

     

His Love Hung on a Tree

      It's Good Friday, and many wonder why "Good" when the most heinous crime of all time was committed on this day against the only perfect God/Man Who ever lived. As I contemplate the Passion and pain of this day, rain is pouring down outdoors. It could certainly be a very "heavy" day if our thoughts stop at the cross. But, praise God, they don't need to; in fact, they mustn't. When Jesus uttered "It is finished," I can't help thinking at least part of His meaning was that His pain was finished, His sacrifice had been made, and all that awaited Him was His glorious, rightful position at the right hand of His Father God in his heavenly home. And in that moment the same future was guaranteed for us who follow Him-- a future without pain, struggle, and tribulation. As the wonderful old hymn goes, "What a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see...!"

      To me, this day is all about love, the greatest love ever known to mankind, and it challenges me both to give and to receive the purest form of love, the love that motivates us to sacrifice for others, not out of obligation or necessity, but out of compassion, of wanting only the best for someone else, of simply delighting in the presence of the other. Yes, THIS, not Valentine's Day, is the day that we should celebrate love all around the world, right down to our own household! And it all started with the crimson blood that flowed down from the heart of Jesus on that horrible wooden cross-- a thing of utmost beauty from the most horrible ugliness ever conceived by man.

      Yes, it breaks my heart to think of this ugliness, of His perfection enduring such pain for the likes of me and my sin! At the same time, my spirits soar to bathe in this unimaginable outpouring of perfect love. And He would have done it for me, if I were the only person on earth! Or for you, my friend.

      And what does He ask in return? Nothing. It's that simple. Accept the gift. Believe, and see the difference it makes in your heart. You will WANT to love others, to live differently. You'll be sorry for your sins, because you will want to please the Lover of your soul. You will love others more, because you have His love in your heart, and you can't help wanting to share it. Oh, but don't think the Enemy will stop harassing you to do evil. If he tempted the Christ, the Son of God (which he did), he will surely tempt you as soon as you give your heart to Jesus. You will fall-- we all do-- but we repent and start over with the Holy Spirit as our Armor. And we keep trusting in His love, because it is the most trustworthy of all, because this is the day He gave it all for you, and for me, and for every single person you lay eyes on, or talk to, or text, or Tweet, or think of today, every day.

      Don't you want to shout it from the rooftops? I challenge you to share it today, the perfect Love-- grab someone you pass on the street, call someone you haven't contacted in a while, share this blog with someone. There are endless ways, and I'm challenging myself, too. It may not be natural, until you think about the unimaginably great news of it, and then, how can we keep from sharing it? It IS Good Friday-- go tell someone!

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." 

(John 15:13 KJV)

 "Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

(Matthew 22:37-39 NIV)

   "He must increase and I must decrease."

John 3:30

 ✝️

      

Lessons from the Lamp

    

      

     It was Saturday and I was sitting once again in the midst of the post-flood chaos at the lake, contemplating all the knick-knacks to be gathered up to prepare for carpet installation next week. My eyes fell on the little antique finger lamp I purchased on E-bay some time ago, and I decided I "needed" to light it. Maybe its golden light would lift my spirits enough to get me moving on the dreaded chore before me. But as I picked it up I realized its wick had burnt down too low to light, and so I began trying to pull it out. My short fingernails were useless for that job, and a straight pin proved just as impotent. The only thing to do was lift it out of its holder, pull it out from underneath, trim it down and start afresh. I soon realized the job was going to be harder than I anticipated, and so I pulled the kitchen stool over to support my wobbly legs. I'd been listening to praise songs on Pandora for inspiration, and just then I began hearing the beautiful notes of "Carry Your Candle" and I smiled, encouraged in my small effort.

      But the difficult part of my task was just beginning. Now I must push the trimmed wick back through the narrow neck of its holder and out the top far enough to allow it to light and burn. This necessarily tight space resisted my pushing and twisting for quite some time, and I began to think of my life these past five-plus years, without a doubt the tightest space I've ever been in. Trimmed away are all the trappings of my "normal" life, all the activity and freedom that once defined me. Now I know that God has allowed all this to "trim my wick" to hear His unmistakable voice in new, deeper, more meaningful ways, and then to pass on what He has shown me.

      Eventually, I accomplished my goal, pushed the wick just far enough out to burn brightly, lit it successfully, and smiled. It warmed the rest of my day, and my mind wouldn't let go of the lessons I learned from this sweet little lamp:

          1. Its wick had to be painstakingly trimmed, then pushed into the tight place of its holder just far enough; otherwise it was useless. Jesus tells us on the night before His crucifixion, during the Passover meal with His disciples,

 "Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."  (John 16:33 NLT)

          2.  The lamp's reservoir needed to have plenty of oil (fuel), and the wick must be soaked in it in order to burn. Our fuel for lighting the world is the Holy Spirit, Who is available to us always from the moment we accept Jesus' death and resurrection as payment for our sins. We'll never run out of fuel!

"But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you."  (John 14:26 NIV)

          3.  Do you think my little lamp, once the wick was trimmed and plenty of fuel was provided, lit itself? Of course not! I had to light it with a heat source! This morning I awoke before dawn, just in time to see a golden full moon setting in the west. I thought a few moments before that glowing orb dropped behind the trees, "That moon has no light of its own; it merely reflects the sun, its source." Friends, we must be like that moon, or like my little lamp. We must shine the Light, so painfully won for us on the cross of Calvary. And we find all we need to know about that Source from His Word, the Holy Bible. Please join me in pledging to spend more time in His Word, in order to grow closer and closer to Him each day.

"Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." (Psalm 119:105 KJV)

      

    "He must increase and I must decrease."

John 3:30

 ✝️

In Due Time

      

      Waiting just isn't fun! This has been a hard period of waiting for me. First, after the burst pipe, I had to wait for insurance appraisal, and I am STILL waiting for repairs to be done. The latter has been complicated by Covid. Though it seems like a month ago, Bill had what he thought was an allergy, UNTIL the fever started a week ago, and he tested positive for Covid. I bet most of you can relate, sadly. You feel bad in the first place, and then you have to wait 15 minutes for the darn test to give you results! So he waited and watched; I waited, apart, and prayed.

      I had been planning to meet repairmen at the lake, so here I was, exposed to Covid, and now in quarantine with two days' worth of food and clothes and vitamins; and of course my doctor didn't want me to go back home for more certain exposure. I cancelled the repairmen that morning while they were already headed my way. I texted my nearby friends to say "Don't come see me." Then I waited. And waited. And I'm still waiting, until Bill's fever subsides, then a week after that until I can go home. (Bless friends & family who've brought me food and left it at my door!)

      But I realized this morning that the time hasn't been wasted. Interestingly, I've been reading a book called Slow Brewing Tea, which describes a very anti-Christian man's thirty-year search for God. (Yes, I HIGHLY recommend it if you are looking for something provocative and deep with spiritual meaning.) With my often-foggy brain, along with the book's density of content, it has taken me nearly two months to finish, slowly brewing it, if you will, in my heart and mind. As I finished it yesterday, I was inspired to take up my Bible and begin reading it through, starting in Genesis. I've done this a few times before, but it's been a while. This morning I arrived at the story of Abram/Abraham and Sarai/Sarah. Talk about WAITING! At age 100 Abraham finally saw the birth of God's promised son to bless the nations. 

      Everyone acknowledges the fact that we've become a world of instant gratification. I grow impatient when I have to wait for my computer to boot up! But in this waiting period of illness and delays I am learning. Normally annoyed at being surrounded by messes, things out of place, I know there's no point in attacking the literal mess around me: books, pictures, bedclothes, and knick-knacks displaced by the flood can't be put back until their proper space has been repaired, painted, re-carpeted by the repairmen. But then I look forward to the blank canvas I'll have to carefully replace items which are necessary, good, beautiful, or simply sentimental. I can throw out the messy and unnecessary and create a new space of beauty and comfort! 

      Maybe that's what God is doing in our periods of powerlessness. This time of isolation I've been at peace, and I've felt His presence more than all the "busy" days. I've soaked myself in it, really, whether reading His Word, listening to beautiful hymns and praise songs, watching the birds and the ever-changing lake and sky, or simply resting in quietness with a vacant mind. I know that there's nothing I have to do or even can do to make myself more fit for His presence but empty myself and eagerly wait for my soul's Repairman to fill it "in due time."

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time."                  (1 Peter 5:6 NIV)

"He must increase and I must decrease."

John 3:30

 ✝️

"But God..."

      

     I couldn't even guess how many sermons I've heard in my seventy-five years, but how few I've remembered in any detail! Hopefully, many of them have been absorbed into my thinking and behavior, but there is one I will never forget, and perhaps it is for this very day. It was one of my son Christian's first, and it was entitled simply "But God." 

      I just did a search on both Bible Hub and Bible Gateway for the phrase and got results from 44 to 99, depending on the version of the Bible, so needless to say, it's a recurring theme in God's Word. Nearly each time, the phrase indicates a reversal of either events or someone's thinking from what we would consider a negative trend to a positive one. A familiar example is found in Genesis, when Joseph, who had been sold into slavery by his brothers yet had risen to the second most powerful position in Egypt, rescued his entire family from the famine in Israel. His response to his brothers' remorse when they recognized him in the house of Pharaoh was this:

"So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt."  (Genesis 45:8 KJV, emphasis mine)

      This morning I arose from bed, as on most days with burning flesh and aching bones. I confess my attitude of late has been pretty negative. It seems I interact with fewer people as each year goes by; I laugh less, and smile rarely; I have little hope of ever having a "normal" life, or the active life I once had; I dream less and less of the places I'd like to go and things I'd like to do "someday." I quickly returned today to my recurrent gut-wrenching thought, "No one has any idea how it feels to be me, or understands how hard it is to keep going each day!"  Immediately and unbidden came that phrase "But God!" It came as if on a wisp of a cloud I could almost reach up and grasp with my hand, and my mind grabbed onto it like a lifeline and began to mull it over like a sip of sweet wine one wants to roll around on the tongue before swallowing. And I began to smile!

      It was as if all the peace I had been longing for for five and a half years came over me all at once! In the blink of an eye I understood that all the prayers I pray, whether for myself of someone else, I don't even need to put into words. All the agony that spills from my heart and body out my eyes-- He already knows! It has been written in His book since before time! How does He know how this flesh-life feels? He experienced it all during His brief time on earth as Yeshua, Son of Mary and the Holy Spirit, perfect God and perfect man, subject to all our pains and trials. Yet He was the Only One who didn't succumb to our human frailty and make the selfish choices we make that lead us away from our perfect Father God, because He WAS God! (See Matthew 26:63-64, Mark 14:61-62, John 4:25-26.) 

      He could have avoided it all, chosen to stay on His heavenly throne and leave us humans to our own pitiful devices, but ... being God... He didn't! He came to die, to walk with us, so we might live, not just brief, pain-filled days on earth, but forever with Him in His perfect, pain-free Heavenly home! 

“Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am."  (John 14:1-3 NLT)

      I stop and marvel for a few moments at all the "But God" times in my life, times when things were going or could have gone very badly, but God, by His grace turned the bad into good. Today I was sad, but God turned my sadness to gladness. Today I was in pain, but God turned my pain to patience. Today I felt alone, but God comforted me. 

"For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning." (Psalm 30:5 NLT)

"He must increase and I must decrease."

John 3:30

 ✝️

Burst Pipe!

      It was a quiet Christmas afternoon when I received one of those calls we never expect and never hope to get. "I hate to tell you..." my cousin/next-door-neighbor at the lake began, and my heart fell. She continued, "Something's terribly wrong at your house. There's water pouring over your gutters!" I knew in an instant my water pipes had burst during the recent unusual deep-freeze we had been experiencing in central North Carolina. There was a mad scramble during which all my surrounding neighbors searched frantically and unsuccessfully for a tool to shut off the water at the street. In a panic I called the water company emergency line and left a message, and then called my son who lives nearby, and praise God, he went quickly into action finding the proper tool to shut the water off. He then ventured into the drowning house, where he found Niagara Falls pouring down on my bed. With the speed of light, he rescued my mountain of pillows and soaked bedclothes, pictures sitting on the floor waiting to be hung, clothes and shoes from the closet floor. He and cousin Tom then began the really big job of vacuuming out the 2 inches of water that stood on the floor of my bathroom and screened porch, sucking as much as they could out of the soaked carpet which was quickly wicking toward the living room. I just sat at home in my chair in shock, offering prayers of thanksgiving for so many graces: (1) My cousin was at home next-door, home from church, and noticed the problem. (2) It happened during the day and not overnight. (3) My son was home, quick-thinking, and had access to the right tools to mitigate. (4) I wasn't staying in the house by myself (which I usually am). (5) My WHOLE house wasn't flooded!

      Through the process of mitigation, insurance, repairs (which will be ongoing for some time!), God has spoken to me in no uncertain terms about the condition of my own heart and my past and present life. Though we had taken all the usual precautions (leaving heat on 55 degrees, opening cabinets, leaving a pipe dripping), it was discovered that those burst pipes had little to no insulation surrounding them other than the now extremely cold air. I think back to the years when I completely neglected going to church, reading God's Word, spending time in prayer. My heart had no protection from the cold winds of the world, and it "burst" painfully time and time again. I am horrified to think of the messes I left in my wake, some causing nearly-irreparable damage to myself and others around me.

      But, praise God, at the end of a series of bad choices, through no choice of my own, and against my worldly inclinations, He rescued me and began the arduous process of repairing my "burst pipes" by drawing me back home. He healed my broken heart over time, through the faithful prayers of my family, urging me back into fellowship with the Church, and thus delving into God's Word with more fervency. My new and improved pipes were flowing freely, and I began once again to display the fruits of the spirit: "love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, gentleness, and self-control." [Galatians 5:22-23 NIV] 

      My water pipes at the lake are repaired now, and protected from the cold by new insulation; thus, from them is flowing freely the water of life they were meant to carry throughout my house. My own heart's circulatory system, though, needs constant attention: the daily protection of prayers, studying God's Word, and the fellowship of believers God has so generously provided in my life.

     How about you? Are you insulating your heart against the icy winds of of the world that would have you thinking only of satisfying your fleshly desires, going along with the current cultural trends, or just being satisfied with "the good life," never giving a thought to your eternal destination or your impact on those around you? Trust me, I've been there, and the momentary pleasure is not worth the cost. 

"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world. The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever." 

 (1 John 2:15-17 BSB)

NOTE: I strongly recommend you read the entire chapter (1 John 2), in fact, the entire short book of 1 John.(Click here: https://biblehub.com/bsb/1_john/2.htm) A wonderful beginning place to get back into the Word is the "Our Daily Bread" app on your phone. There's not only a short daily devotion, but a daily reading plan, and several other resources. You can even listen to the devotion and the Scripture. If you're not already in the Word daily, I promise it will change your life for the better! There are great sermons faithful to the Word available on YouTube and Facebook-- I post some of them each week on my Facebook page.

"He must increase and I must decrease."

John 3:30

 ✝️