They Come To See

     They came to see – the crowd gathered from every direction.  The air show was going to be the first of its kind.

     They came to see – the crowd gathered from every direction.  The car show had advertised car replicas from every year imaginable.

     They came to see – the crowd gathered from every direction.  The king was about to set a prisoner free, but the people cried out “Crucify him.”

     They come to see – that’s what people do.

     People look for something to do, whether it be attend a parade, a stage production, a race car event, a horse race, or even an air show.  People are looking for past-times and excitement.  Other times we  are looking for a peaceful relaxing activity; like fishing, boating, or even a picnic with family and friends.  There is always sharing and talking and wanting to know what is going on around us.  We want to have something to talk about.    

     In the years before Jesus’s death, the people went to see.  They wanted to see this man called Jesus.  They wanted healing, and they wanted to hear His teachings.  There were some who just wanted to trap Him, but then others truly wanted to follow Him. 

     How strange!  The world is just like it was many, many years ago.  We all come to see.  Among the people there are some who want to deny Him and mock those that try to live for Jesus, but then there are others who want to follow Him.  In Jesus’ day Christians were hated and persecuted, yet His word lives on today, and still there are those who continue to hate Him and want to take away Christian freedom. 

     What does this have to say about God and His word?  Persecution does not stop the fact that Jesus lives.  He is very much alive.  “He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.” (Mark 12:27a)   His word will always live on. 

     For those who are born again believers - are we living the life? They come to see.  

    

Assembly Instructions

     As I ponder how this wonderful shade tree I sit beneath came to be,  I envision a plan of how it was planted.  Most instructions describe digging a large hole, much larger than the size of the pot the tree is growing in, and then filling the hole with rich, good soil, followed by a good supply of water.  If the right instructions are followed the tree will be nurtured, and the root system will grow deep and strong.  It will survive the storms of life; the trunk will bend with the winds, but it will always return to its natural state.     

     What really brought the thought of how we handle instructions to my mind happened earlier in the week when a friend was showing me her Ipad and all the things it could do.  It was really amazing, and I was soaking it all in when she said, “The only bad thing about learning how to use it is that it did not come with instructions.”  Well, for me that was not good.  “No instructions?” I thought.  Surely there must be a “help” button somewhere!  For someone not born in the computer age, to have no instructions was just as alarming as it would have been had I not had any instructions growing up.

      Instructions are a natural way of life.   We are given instructions from the time we are born.  We are given instructions by our parents at home and by our teachers at school.  Hopefully they are good ones, and, hopefully, we listen and learn.  In fact, instructions come with all kinds of products that have to be assembled.  There are some people who neglect the instructions and simply put the product together by trial and error.  Then there are others who spread out the instructions and study them before attempting the assembly process.

     However, our best instructions were written many, many years ago.  The words were inspired by the greatest Author of all time.   They are instructions for living life.  When we study and apply the instructions in the Holy Bible we can rest assured that we will be planted correctly.  We will be nurtured; our roots will grow deep, and we will grow strong; even stronger than the roots of my “friendly shade tree.”

     Are you one who throws the instructions away and assembles life by trial and error?  Or are you one who reads, studies, and applies the words of wisdom that will help you achieve inner peace and strength through the journey?  Does your Instruction Manuel for life lay covered in dust or is it soft and worn from wear?  

     The instructions found in the Word of God will cleanse, strengthen, teach, comfort, guide and direct.  They will keep you strong when life seems to unravel around you.

     Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.  Psalm 119:105

    

A Glad Heart

     Sometimes in my friendly shade there are feelings of rejection or loneliness, a stirring of things left undone, or even a mood leading to depression, but yet there is a feeling, even in dark moments of thought, that there is a purpose to life. 

     I have heard people say, from time to time, things like, “Life sucks.”  We all have some moments like that but, for me, there is always a purpose.   Life is not all about “me.”   When I take the “poor pitiful me” out of the equation my life develops a change.  If I can’t necessarily find joy for my myself at the time, I  can, by all means, share some joy.  Maybe just a smile will shed some light into the heart of someone that needs a smile, just at that moment.  When life has me down, I say, get up, wipe the cobwebs of “me” out of my mind, and do something constructive; do something for a fellow friend; do something for a stranger in need. 

     Anytime life has me down, it’s time to start a new chapter; become a new me.  “This is the day the Lord hath made; rejoice and be glad in it.”  I must look forward to the day and what can be accomplished.  “So what?” if nothing special happens!  It was a God given day for the one He created- a day for “me” – a day to be cheerful and thankful, a day to share tears or laughter with a friend, a day to show love toward another, a day for prayer and drawing closer to my very best friend- the one who died for me.   Let my prayer be:

Let joy fill my day

Without malice in any way.

Allow my smile to fill a heart

So someone’s sadness will depart.

Take away my thoughts of “me”

So worldly desires will simply flee.

Let me look to you O’Lord

And be of one accord. 

Let joy flood my days-

For that I give you praise.  

The Key

     It's Sunday and Easter is here.  As I sit and drink my early cup of morning joe over-looking my friendly shade I can't help but reminisce back to my childhood when I was anxiously getting all dressed up in my new frills and lace and admiring my basket filled with all those different colored Easter eggs.

     But, more than that, the early morning hours bring peace and harmony as I think back to a key hanging from a nail on the old plank walls of my home.  The key was long and thin with an oil-rubbed bronze finish.

     "Mom," I questioned, "why is that key always hanging on that nail? "

     "My child, that key hangs on a nail for anyone who wants to pick it up and find the door it will open," she explained.

     "But you never take it off the nail to open a door?" I continued to question.

     Mom replied, "I don't have to.  I have my very own key just like that one."

     In my child-like wonder, I quickly dismissed the key hanging on that nail and ran outside to play.  Playing was much more important.

     Yet, there were days I would run through the house and see my mom looking up at that key on the nail with a smile.  Then one day I stopped and asked, "Mom, when are you going to show me the door that key on the nail will open?  It's got cobwebs, and it's just hanging there on the nail."

     Mom pondered for a moment before answering, "Those cobwebs will be all wiped away when you decide you want to find the door it will open, and only you are the one who can find the door-  much like finding Easter eggs."

     I simply shrugged my shoulders and thought, "Who wants to find an old door that a key will open?  It'll just be another room anyway."  And I quickly went out to play. 

     Then one day I found myself standing in front of the key hanging on that nail.  It was covered in dust.  As I stood there in utter disgust from that dust covering what was once a polished, shiny oil-rubbed bronze key, I quickly grabbed a rag, pulled up a chair, and reached for that key.  No sooner had I stood up in the chair than the dust fell away on its own.  I was startled and afraid.  I suddenly just wanted to go back outside to play.  But something was tugging inside of me.  It was pulling me back toward that key.  I slowly turned my thoughts away from playing and back to that key hanging on a nail.  Playing wasn't important anymore.  That key just did not belong on a nail hanging from  those rough plank boards.  My hand slowly reached out to wrap my fingers around the key and remove it off that nail.  As I reached up I saw a drop of blood touch my hand.  As quickly as it appeared, it disappeared leaving my hand snowy white.  I heard a sound ringing in my ears.  It shouted, "Father forgive them."  A teardrop fell from my face as I dashed from the chair with the key in my hand.  
     I was ten years old as I ran to my mom holding the key that had been hanging on that nail.  "Mom,"  I shouted in my excitement, "I know what door this key that's been hanging on the nail opens."

     She hugged me as joy filled my soul. 

     It's Easter, He is risen, and Jesus is alive!

*This story is fictional and inspired by a slogan I saw that started something like this: "The key to Heaven hangs from a nail..."

    

One Day AT A Time

     Most support programs that deal with addiction make use of slogans, such as: One Day at a Time, Live and Let Live, Let Go and Let God, and Listen and Learn.  I even used these when I was struggling through a divorce.  I found myself even breaking the slogan of “One Day at a Time” down to “One Minute at a Time” and then in my deep anxiety, into “One Moment at a Time”. 

     These slogans really work if you find the meaning behind them!   What they taught me was that my life had to be filled with the presence of God at all times.  It is only through the mighty power of God that despair can be lifted from the heart and the mind.  God wants it “all” to be taken to Him.  By doing this we are developing a deep dependence upon Him.  We are forming a relationship that requires going to God for the answers in every aspect of our lives.  As the bad stuff is eliminated from our lives we are opening up a space within our hearts.  This void space needs to be filled with the presence of God; if it is allowed to stay vacant and empty, without God, we will eventually only replace it with other junk and other problems.  If there is already a feeling of being empty inside fill it with God and His word before it gets filled with something far less rewarding. 
     No matter where a person is in life, it is never too late to begin with the end in mind- that is to start by dumping some garbage from your life and opening up a space to allow God to become the master over every thought and event in your life. 
     So, as I head toward my “friendly shade” today, I plan to considerate just what I can get rid of in order to meditate and talk with God so He can truly take over the direction of my life.