Wanted: One With Beautiful Feet

 "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

    Yesterday, a Christian friend and I walked to the lake, talking about things of the faith as we went. It reminded me of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (see Luke 24: 13-35).

    Our paths crossed that of a woman walking two dogs who, we discovered, was from out of town. We bid her to join us and we would show her the way to the lake. 

    As we talked, she revealed several of her life's difficulties, some rather severe. Inwardly, I prayed for an opportunity to share the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ with her. Later on, my friend told me she had been doing the same. Yet, that chance did not come to us.

    As the day drew to a close, I wondered: What if God had sent the woman our way as a test? Or what if we had been entertaining an angel unawares (Hebrews 13:2)? Could the woman read the "letter from Christ," written upon my heart, as she walked beside me? Or had she gone her way, unfed by the Bread of Life?

    I feel I have failed the test, if indeed it was a test. Or, worse yet, I have failed her. 

WANTED - A MESSENGER, author unknown

The Lord Christ wanted a tongue one day, To speak a message of cheer

To a heart that was weary and worn and sad, Weighed down by a mighty fear.

He asked for mine, but, 'twas busy quite, With my own affairs from morn till night.

The Lord Christ wanted a hand one day, To do a loving deed;

He wanted two feet on an errand for Him, To run with gladsome speed,

But I had need of my own that day; To His gentle beseeching I answered, "Nay."

So all that day I used my tongue, My hands, and my feet as I chose;

I said some hasty, bitter words that hurt one heart, God knows.

I busied my hands with worthless play, And my willful feet went a crooked way.

While the Lord grieved, with His work undone, For the lack of a willing heart!

Only through men does He speak to men, Dumb must He be apart.

I do not know, but I wish today, I had let the Lord Christ have His way.

Little is Much

 "Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, 'Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?'" John 6: 8, 9

    When my kids were in grade school, I always packed their lunches. Favorite fare was a PB & J sandwich, a piece of fruit, maybe some chips, always a cookie and sometimes, a muffin (much to my youngest daughter's chagrin - for some reason she found it "embarrassing" to have a muffin in her bag.) I liked to tuck in a love note now and then as well. When they got home, I would ask them if they ate their food, hoping they hadn't thrown it away.

    Behind every packed lunch is a mom, so when I read the story of the Feeding of the Five Thousand, my imagination takes me to the mom behind the boy's lunch. Can you imagine the kid coming home, bursting into the kitchen and blurting to his mom, "You are NOT going to believe what became of my lunch today!" 

    I wonder how the lad felt when Andrew was eyeballing his lunch? What if he'd have declared, as he held his meal close to his chest: "Get outta here! That's my lunch." But instead, for the rest of his life, he had a miraculous story to share with anyone who would listen. The joy of helping Jesus sustained him far longer and deeper than those five loaves and two fish would have.

    Moses was another guy who felt he didn't have a lot to offer God when it was proposed that he lead the children of Israel out of their Egyptian bondage. Following some fruitless bantering, the Lord said to Moses, "What is that in your hand?" (Exodus 4:2) During his career as a shepherd, the rod or staff that Moses held came in handy for that occupation, but what good would a stick do against the powerful Pharaoh? 

    The same could be said about the boy David's sling and five smooth stones, I suppose. It's not about the objects in our hands, it's about the power of the Lord behind these things and our willingness to believe in Him. 

    What do you have in your hand? Maybe it's a knitting needle, a hammer, a pen or a mixing spoon? Take whatever it is you have and employ it for the Kingdom of God. Then, sit back and see just how far you can go against so many obstacles. Little is much in the hands of our God.

"Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things- and the things that are not to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him." 1 Corinthians 1: 26-29 

 

The Battered Bunny

 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" 2 Corinthians 5:17

    Recently, my daughter and her family went on a trip to the Netherlands. Daily, my husband and I looked forward to her photographs, which so beautifully documented their journey. Since my ancestors emigrated from that area, I especially loved the stoic windmills which stood guard over the feminine shops, whose windows displayed bundles of fresh lavender or oodles of baked goods. Colorful rows of wooden clogs awaited a curious tourist who wished to experience stomping about in this native footwear. 

    Soon, the photographs included a stuffed blue bunny, which her parents had bought for Esme, our soon-to-be-two-year-old granddaughter. We smiled warmly to see her hydrating Bunny, sharing her own sippy cup with him. Her chubby arms tightened 'round his neck as the family wheeled her stroller across cobblestone streets, pausing to hear a street musician.

    Then came a photo of blue Bunny bearing smudges and rips, his stuffing expelled, his expression forlorn. Oh, no! As my daughter later explained, when the family had stopped for the night, it became clear that Bunny had been lost. After her father made a careful search for the toy, it had been run over by a tram, but before Esme realized it, a replacement Bunny had been purchased!

    Don't you just love happy endings? God does as well. Such is the story of the Gospel, plain and simple. We begin life battered, born in a sinful, willful state, separated from God. We cannot come into God's holy presence dirty. When we recognize our inability to cleanse ourselves, when we have lost our way and confess our need of a Savior, something truly fantastic happens! We become a new creation. Brand new and improved! We still look the same on the outside, but new life springs from within, like Esme's replacement Bunny. 

    The Bible tells us it's by His stripes that we are healed. The punishment that brought us peace was laid upon Him. Jesus was "run over by the tram" for us so that we might be declared whole and new, ready to be embraced by the Father. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

"But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed." Isaiah 53:5

One

 "He is the one we proclaim." Colossians 1:28 

    What if Jesus came to my church (or yours) this Sunday? Would He say, as He did to the churches in the book of Revelation, that we have endured hardships for His sake without growing weary? Are we ready to suffer persecution, even to the point of death, before receiving our victor's crown? Would He admonish us, as He did the church in Sardis, to wake up and strengthen what remains? Would He find us faithful?

    Or will He see division among the denominations? When He searches our hearts, what will He find? Lukewarm faith? Biblical illiteracy? Quibbling over doctrine when we should be proclaiming the Gospel?

    Franklin Graham, speaking in an interview, said he found the church in Africa to be stronger than the church as a whole in America. When asked why, Graham declared it is because they have an uncompromising, unflinching focus on teaching the Word of God. 

    Regardless of peripheral differences within the churches that proclaim Christ crucified, what would happen if believers worked as one body, united and adopted by the Father? What if we joined together in contention for the Gospel, as they did in the early church? 

    In an interview, Tim Tebow lamented that, the only time the churches in his home town gathered together in one accord was when the Billy Graham Crusade came to town. After it was over, they all returned to their corners.

    When we all get to heaven, will there be separate neighborhoods designated for Methodists, Baptists, Lutherans or Catholics? No, the bible says there will be a great multitude from every tribe, nation and language standing before the throne in undying worship. If we, then, will be united as such for eternity, why do we not live this way now? 

    Envision a worldwide rally, a revival, of all tribes and nations coming together with Jesus Christ as our Head! What a difference we would make. 

"Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." Ephesians 4: 3-5

Imagine That

 "No longer will there be any curse...They will see His face...And they will reign forever and ever." Revelation 22: 3-5

    The question was asked of its readers in my devotional: "Can you imagine living in God's presence, away from the effects of sin?" So, I began to wonder what this would look like. 

    No more hospitals, funeral homes or cemeteries. Police stations and prisons - not necessary. Courts of judgment, abortion clinics, gay pride month, racketeering, pornography, human trafficking,...Can you imagine no corruption of any kind? No rotten fruit. No roadkill. No birth defects.

    From a personal perspective, no guilt trips or worrywarts or skeletons in the closet. Within the church, the need for denominational divisions would be eradicated, allowing Jesus to reign. 

    After my mom died, I had a vision in which I saw her walking alongside Jesus, arm in arm. They were heading away from me, but because their faces were turned toward each other, I could see they were laughing about something. Their body language demonstrated the ease and intimacy shared by close friends. The Curse had been removed and, at long last, they were enjoying one another's company.

    Throughout Nazism and World War Two, my mom walked with Him. Past the bra-burning, psychedelic '60s, she walked with Him. Beyond the self-centered Roe V. Wade, New-Ageism, she walked with Him. Garbed in mourning clothes in her 20s, she walked with Him. When her first child was born with myriad defects, she walked with Him. Wherever her life took her, she followed Him, so when, on December 21, 2015, she left her earthly tent, she walked with Him then.

    If I want to imagine living in God's presence, away from the effects of sin, all I need do is walk with Him. I will see a glimpse of eternity in the poor reflection, a glimmer of His face next to mine - the Hope of Glory personified in Jesus. Imagine that.

"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Psalm 23:6