Adopted by God

 "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." 1 Peter 3:15

    Becket Cook, a gay man living in Los Angeles, had been unsettled in his heart for the past six months. Though he initially embraced this lifestyle as the one for him, he had sensed how empty is was, that it was not going to sustain him and that he had no purpose or meaning in his life.

    While at a coffee shop with a friend, the two noticed a group of people at the neighboring table who had their Bibles open. "I had never before seen a Bible in public in L.A.," he recalled during his testimony. Then, when the group paused to pray before their meal, he was intrigued and turned to ask them, "Are you guys Christians?" A conversation ensued about which Becket felt they were ready with answers to his questions as they presented the gospel to him. This led him to accept an invitation to attend their church. It was at the service that following Sunday that Becket accepted the Lord Jesus as his Savior and was flooded by the love of the Holy Spirit. He sat in his pew and wept as he understood he had just been adopted as God's child, holy and dearly loved.

    I got to wondering how many times I may have ignored an opportunity to show others the love of Christ. If I am truly honest with myself, there have been times when I let my temporal judgments stand in the way of the work of the Holy Spirit, not seeing people as Jesus sees them. The Spirit within me has been working on me about this all week. Convicting scripture has been jumping off the page lately, and the messages in periodicals or devotionals I've read have poked me in the ribs until I feel sore. Here's one that I clipped and taped in a prominent area of my home as a reminder: "People are people; they want to be loved." 

    In my heart I must first revere Christ as Lord, then be prepared to share the hope of the gospel with others. I don't need a degree in theology, I just need an open Bible and a heart full of love.

"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!'" Romans 10: 14, 15

To learn more about the transformation of Becket Cook, his story is recorded in his book, "A Change of Affection." 

My Father's House

 "My Father's house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you may also be where I am." John 14: 2, 3

    While lazing beneath the boughs of our big tulip tree, my mind meandered to odd realms. I plucked a thought and voiced it to Dave: "Can you imagine if we took our lawn chairs over to that guy's house across the street (whom we have never met) and just sat in his yard? I wonder what he'd do?" I envisioned a befuddled man who would either yell at us to get out of his yard or maybe even shoot at us!

    Why? Because I have no rights there. When I clock out at work, I cannot pull into the driveway three doors down. I must go to the house to which I have the key. As a co-owner with my husband, the deed gives me the right to enter the home. We humans post signs that declare "private property" or "no trespassing" in an effort to stake out what is ours and bar that which does not belong.

    This leads me to my Father's house. What gives me the right to pull into His drive and enter the house? After all, this is the Almighty's mansion I'm talking about. Must I wear my best clothes, as if I were visiting the President? Should I bring a bottle of wine and a bouquet of flowers? How may I "approach God's throne of grace with confidence" so that I may receive mercy and find grace to help me in my time of need? (Hebrews 4:16) Maybe my knees would knock like those of the Cowardly Lion when the Wizard of Oz bellowed at him. What should I do?

    The answer lies in the word "family." When I accepted the gift of salvation which was paid for by Jesus's death and resurrection, I became a part of the family of God. I don't need to come as a guest. Jesus has given me a set of keys so I have every right to pull in the drive and go right inside without any fear of reprisal or locked doors. The Bible says, "For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, 'Abba, Father.'" (Romans 8: 14, 15)

    My Dad owns the Big House!

Big House

by Audio Adrenaline

Come and go with me to my Father's house.

It's a big, big house with lots and lots of room,

A big, big table with lots and lots of food,

A big, big yard where we can play football,

A big, big house, it's my Father's house.

Letting Go

 "By faith Moses' parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king's edict." Hebrews 11:23

"But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile." Exodus 2:3

    On the days when my daughter, Lauren, has to drop her nine-month-old baby off at the day care, it breaks her heart to hear little Esme crying upon their separation. I understand just how she feels; I still cry every time I have to say goodbye to Lauren at the airport, and she's thirty-seven!

    Imagine being Jochebed, the mother of the infant Moses, when the governing Pharaoh of the land declared "every Hebrew boy that is born you must throw into the Nile." (Exodus 1:22) It was a time of grave sorrow for all the families of that time. But Jochebed defied the decree, stepped out in sheer faith and set her son adrift in a tiny ark, probably crying her eyes out and praying with all her heart as he floated away. To save him, she had to let him go; had she clung to him, she would have lost him.

    Jochebed didn't have any way of knowing what would happen to Moses. There was no page to turn in a Bible to learn the outcome. Maybe she wondered how it could possibly be in God's divine plan for her to give up her son. As it turns out, the Pharaoh's daughter drew him from the water and raised Moses as a prince of Egypt, a background that would serve him well in his future role. 

    After forty years of palace living, Moses fled to Midian, where he became a shepherd. Another forty years passed until he talked to God's burning bush and reluctantly accepted the role of the great deliverer. Assuming Jochebed was still alive, she would have seen her son become her savior, performing great miracles until he led the Israelites from bondage to the promised land. 

    Perhaps you have a family situation in which, the tighter you grasp what is "yours," the more hopeless things become. Like Jochebed, in great faith, we are called to trust God with our children - whether it's leaving them at daycare, an airport or setting them free in your heart as you "lean not on your own understanding." Let go and let God.

"Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it." Matthew 10:39

The Personal Touch

"This is what the Lord says, He who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it - the Lord is His name: Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." Jeremiah 33: 2, 3

    Raise your hand if you share in my frustration. Have you ever tried to call a large corporation to ask a question? If the call is answered, are you connected with a real person or a robot who keeps sending you around loops and circles? In righteous anger, do you find yourself shouting at this tele-person, wishing you could slam the phone down as in the old days when phones had a cradle?

    Recently, I bought a new phone. When a question arose that not even the techie could answer, she suggested I call Google and ask someone there. Evenly I gazed at her and declared, "You and I both know no one calls Google and reaches a real person." It was the same thing when I attempted to call the United States Postal Service. No wonder people go "postal!"

    In awe, I am here to tell you that when we call the Maker of heaven and earth, He Himself answers the phone! Not a robot, not a secretary, not a phony message that claims "your call is important to me." Isn't that incredible? In fact, before we even dial, He answers. Listen to this: "Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking, I will hear." (Isaiah 65:24) How can this be? Yet, it is so.

    And what's more, when He answers, He goes above and beyond my query by telling me "great and unsearchable things" that I didn't know. Not even Google can do that. 

    In whom can we trust? To whom can we turn for answers before frustration has us yelling at inanimate objects? If we truly believe in the Lord who established the earth, shouldn't we be able to trust Him with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding? (Proverbs 3:5) "He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all - how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:32) Raise your hand if you know the answer!

"Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7

    

 

Show Me the Way to Go Home

 "There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death." Proverbs 14:12

    I just wrapped up a whirlwind week of Vacation Bible School and the vibrant songs still play their melodies in my heart. One in particular portrayed three biblical characters who were looking for the way to go home: a blind man, a leper and a woman by a well. They all found their way after an encounter with Jesus. He is the way, the truth and the life; the only way to go home.

    As in the proverb above, some very passionate people I know believe they've worked out the best path in life. One is very knowledgeable, having attended years at the university, yet shows no fruit of the Spirit. Another has gone the way of dedication to family, wrapping their heart in their loved ones, yet does not profess devotion to Christ. The third has much ambition in the business world, driven to earn money during the corporate climb, but appears bankrupt in heavenly treasures. 

    In and of themselves, the acts of obtaining knowledge, investing in one's family or striving for success appear to be right. Certainly, it's much better than the opposite, but when our time on earth is done and it's just us, naked and alone before God without pocket, degree or relative, and the King asks, "Where are your wedding clothes?" how will we respond when, in the angst of hindsight, we see the righteous robe of Christ still on the hanger - unused and unaccepted?

    For those trying to find their way home, the best place to begin is at the beginning: "But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33)

"Whether you turn to the right or the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'" Isaiah 30:21