IN THE QUIET : The King

The enraged king made the decree.  Murder all the baby boys 2 and under.
A piece of the Christmas story no one talks about.

My mind is unable to move past it.  Such immense evil seems out of place among the greatest story ever told.  I'm hard pressed to recall a sermon ever given on this piece of the story.  The story of Christmas is about joy and Good News and Peace among men.

Not murderous evil.
But here it is.

Woven in this story is evil and pain and mourning; why God?

"Evil is unreasonable; therefore needs no reason."  The words spoken from my instructor in a training class not long ago.

I mull on that while thinking of the weeping cries from broken mothers rising above the Christmas story.
The weeping cries of that first Christmas...and today.

This year Christmas brings sadness, anxiety and tears for many; dare I say most.
Christmas will look different than any other before. 
Changed or cancelled traditions.
Empty tables.
Empty chairs.
Empty cupboards. 
Even loved ones nearby may experience Christmas alone.  
My heart is heavy for those; the ones I know the darkness of night holds cries in silence.

Friend, it is in the Silent Night the glory of God shown all around them.
Your sadness is as much a part of the Christmas story as the joy it heralds.
The King in the manger holds the Peace that passes over any thing a king decrees.

He is your Joy in the tears.
He is your swaddled Hope.
He is your Peace in the night.

So let your tears fall.
For The King will once again come down.
The King of kings.
The Lord of lords.
He, Beloved, He is the One who will once again come down.

And wipe each tear away.

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Matthew 2: 16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.

 

Drawers & Memories

While cleaning out my dresser, I broke my nail.    Deciding I would need the nail clippers in my nightstand, I walked over and opened the drawer. 

There it was staring at me.  My youngest son's binky.

It caught me off guard.

My youngest is 19 now.  The binky is old and well past it's prime.
Yet, all these years, I could never throw it out.

I remember the day he gave it up.  He had made the decision he was a big boy and didn't need it.

I wasn't so sure.

He loved his binky and I envisioned long sleepless nights without it; for him and for me.
I placed it in my nightstand drawer just in case.

The just-in-case never came.
Despite changing nightstands a couple of times since then, I was the one who couldn't part with it.

Funny how that works.

So tonight I sit here, a little melancholy for days gone by tucked safely in the past.
Tiny fingers have given way to man size hugs.
Strapping in car seats have given way to surprise visits at work.
Bedtime stories replaced with texts and phone calls.
The "I love you" is the same; only the voice has changed.

While it's easy to get lost in the memories of yesterday, it's a gentle reminder how much parenting evolves in every one of life's seasons.  

The season of this year looks different for all of us.
But you know what?
Some day in our tomorrows, this will be our yesterday.

And My hope tonight is simple.  May this season in this year bring warm smiles from yesterdays that light into your tomorrows.

The tomorrows wait for us.
Just like old binkies in nightstand drawers.

 

 

At His Hem

The most dangerous place to be in a pressing crowd is on the ground.  Yet, this is where she placed herself.

 

Her bleeding made her an outcast.  Desperate for healing, she suffered at the hands of others for 12 years. 
 

She didn't ask for the bleeding.
She didn't ask to be separated from family and friends.
She didn't ask to be driven away from all human contact.

 

She longed for birthday parties and celebrations.
She longed for laughter at a dinner table.
She longed for a hug...a touch of any kind.

 

She is unclean.
She is lonely.
She is desperate.

And she finds herself at the feet of Jesus in a crowd that can easily trample her.
Next to her is the synagogue leader Jairus.  He is leading Jesus to his home after pleading with Him to heal his daughter.  I imagine the fear gripping her as she hopes to go unnoticed.

There is no place more dangerous for her.

She reaches out and touches the hem of Jesus.
This is not a straight hem stitched by Singer.  No, this is the tasseled hem of Jesus's cloak.
The tassel represents the holiness and divinity of God.
Her touch of the tassel revealed what she believed Jesus to be - holy and divine.

She was immediately healed.

Friend, find yourself where you don't want to be?

Maybe you are sick in need of healing.

Maybe you are drowning in the darkness of loneliness or anxiety or depression.

Maybe you taste tears every day.

Take courage.
These trials place you at the most dangerous - and most holy - of places.

 

You are at the hem of Jesus.

Cling to it, cradle it or simply touch it.
Jesus will heal you.
Jesus will call out to you.
Jesus will honor you.

And you too will hear the words, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace."

 

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Luke 8:40-48
And as Jesus returned, the people welcomed Him, for they had all been waiting for Him. And there came a man named Jairus, and he was an official of the synagogue; and he fell at Jesus’ feet, and began to implore Him to come to his house; for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as He went, the crowds were pressing against Him.

And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped. And Jesus said, “Who is the one who touched Me?” And while they were all denying it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing in on You.” But Jesus said, “Someone did touch Me, for I was aware that power had gone out of Me.” When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice, she came trembling and fell down before Him, and declared in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him, and how she had been immediately healed. And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”

The Blind Men & The Crowd

It's a short story; taking less than a minute to read.  Pastor Ryan had used it as an illustration in a sermon on service.  And although his sermon moved away from the verses, my mind camped in them.  

And pitched a tent.
And built a fire.
Which brings me here today with you my friends.

Two blind men sat on the side of the road.  A crowd had gathered as they were following Jesus on His journey.  Desperate to be healed of their blindness, they called out to Jesus as He and the crowd passed by.  "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!'

The crowd didn't like it and sternly told the blind men to be quiet. What did the blind men do?  They cried out all the more, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!"

And this my friends, is where my mind would not let go.

A crowd of people with good intentions, after all, they were there because they were following Jesus.  But the ones lost in the crowd - the blind men - calling out to Jesus annoyed and angered them.  The crowd had no problem telling the blind men to knock it off.

Seen any annoyed and angry crowds lately Beloved? 

Despite the crowd yelling at them, the men did not respond to the crowd.  No screams of "leave me alone" or "get out of my way" or "It's my Freedom of Speech."

No, as the crowd yelled, the men grew louder in calling out to Jesus.
They called out to Jesus and ignored the noise of the crowd.

Oh how today's world could use more of these blind men.

Make no mistake Beloved, Jesus could've heard their whisper.  He could have heard the unspoken cry of their hearts.  But today He chose to hear the loud cry in the midst of the crowd. Why?  I suspect maybe this wasn't just about the blind men, but also the crowd.  Jesus heard the voices of both the crowd and the blind men.

Upon hearing the cries, Jesus stopped.
He stopped and healed.
He gave sight to the blind that day.
The two men and to the crowd.
Now they all saw Jesus. 

Once given their sight, the response of the blind men was not one of retaliation against the crowd.  Upon given sight, their immediate response was to follow Jesus.  They became part of the crowd.

Jesus did not scold the crowd for their cries against the blind men.  Their rebuke simply came in witnessing the compassion of Jesus on the blind men.  The blind men that stood in their midst healed by the touch of Jesus.

Now they all followed Jesus.

Friends, in the chaos of the noise, in the yelling of the crowd, be the blind men.  No matter how loud the crowd's loud is, be louder in calling out to Jesus.

And be humbled when He heals you both.

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 Matthew 20 : 29-34

²⁹ As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him. ³⁰ And two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” ³¹ The crowd sternly told them to be quiet, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” ³² And Jesus stopped and called them, and said, “What do you want Me to do for you?” ³³ They said to Him, “Lord, we want our eyes to be opened.” ³⁴ Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him.

Let There Be Light

 "Let there be light."
The first words God spoke in the Bible.
Let there be light.

Do you feel that way?  I do.  Often my prayer has been a simple, "God, let there be light."

In a world where we are hard pressed on all sides, God let there be light.
In a world where injustice reeks, God let there be light.
In a world of screaming and none listening, God let there be light.
Please God, let there be light.

One verse later the Bible tells us God saw the light was good and He separated the light from the darkness.

God separated the light from the darkness.
He separated it. 
He did not banish it.

Beloved, you are standing in the separation. 
It is a battleground.
And it is won on our knees.

In the weary, in the tired, in the tears that begin to taste of defeat the strongest voice is one that whispers, "God, let there be light."

For you see, the light destroys the darkness. 

Beloved, He is the Light.
We are the candle.
His is the victory.
Ours is the prayer, "Let there be light."

Then watch how brightly it shines.

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Genesis 1:3-4
Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light.  God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.

Rise Up

"People are tired.  I've counseled and I've talked with many people. The one thing I hear over and over again is that people are tired. The division, the emotion, the unknown - people are tired."  Pastor Ryan spoke one Sunday not long ago.

His words hit home. It wasn't just me.

Often I found myself trying to steal away in search of normal; the life we had pre-Covid.  It remains elusive.  The most bothersome is the haunting look in the eyes of others.  The worry...the fear...the lack of joy. 

I miss people's smiles.  Even on the worst day a stranger might smile and you, for a single moment, felt it might be all ok.  

We don't see smiles anymore.
People aren't ok.

Which leads me here.  An open Bible on my lap and more than a few words for God.  I sip my coffee and tell Him I really didn't envision my life to be like this.  I'm no stranger to difficulty, but this?  What is this God?  There is such division - how do we get back to normal God?  We can't even decide what normal is anymore.

God had no problem answering me.
He did so through the words of Mordecai.

Mordecai had raised his orphaned cousin Esther and she became Queen.  A law passed authorizing the killing of all the Jews.  Mordecai tells Esther she must approach the King to stop the killings from happening.  Esther reminds Mordecai  people don't approach the King, they must be summoned.  She hasn't been summoned and to approach the King could mean death to her.

Mordecai responds,"Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Esther 4:13b-14.

And there it was.  God answering all my questions.
"...And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”

 
How can I believe God makes no mistakes and then question why I'm having to live in today's world?  How can I believe we are all made for a purpose and then question why my purpose is now?

God's answer stung a little today.
Maybe a lot.

We may not be all given the gift of leadership, but make no mistake Beloved, we are all called to lead.  As we follow Jesus, we are to lead others.

Even right now, when everything seems so dark and it's impossible to see, He is calling us to lead. And we must dust off our tired and rise.

Rise up.
Fix your eyes on the Light and follow Him.
He will direct your journey, and those who surround you.
Those around you - the ones you share life with - are the very ones you lead.
Rise up.

Rise up.
Do not be afraid.
When you are met with only fear in the eyes of others, fix your eyes on the One who abolishes fear. 
You will never find fear in His eyes.
Rise up.

Rise up.
Afraid of confrontation?  It may be the very thing you find yourself in.
Do you stumble in your words?  You may find a crowd listening to you.
You see, God does not discard your weaknesses.  He amplifies them.
Your weakness is the very thing that speaks loudest of His strength. 
Rise up.

Rise up.
Beloved, you are called to lead.  Even in the dark.
You may be tired, you may take rest.
You may not camp there.
Rise up.

Rise up.
The hands of the warrior may be tired; he still draws the sword.
The hands of royalty may shake from uncertainty; she still straightens the crown.
Beloved, you are called to be both.
God Himself goes before you.
Rise up.

In all this uncertainty, He is our certain. 
In all the uneasy, He is our steadfast.
We are His sons.
We are His daughters.
We are His warriors.
We are His royalty.

And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?

Dry Land

 "As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land."  Exodus 14:16

There they stood staring at the waters in front of them.  There was no way to go.  They were fleeing for the lives from a military indignant in their anger and now pinning them against an impassable body of water.

Their answer came when God told Moses to raise his staff, the waters parted, and they were given dry land. The solution God gave them wasn't a footbridge. It wasn't the ability to walk on water.  The answer to their problem was dry land. 

Dry land. The very mention of it brings to mind pictures of dust or dead crops or desert or thirst or sweltering heat.  Yet here God uses dry land to bring His people closer to the Promised Land.

Ever feel that way Beloved?
Living in the difficult and you pray and you cry out and you plead only to be given ... dry land.

"But God, I thought you'd give me abundant waters.  This is dry land."
"God, I asked you to bring healing.   This is dry land."
"Lord, I thought you'd make it all go away.  This is dry land."

In faith and obedience, the Israelites took their steps onto dry land.  They moved forward.  And you know what was waiting for them on the other side?  More dry land.  But that which angrily pursued them was gone.

Their journey through the dry land brought many lessons, much growth and it eventually brought them home to a land of abundance.

Take courage my friends.
Our journey is long. 
Our journey is hard.

We struggle, we scream, we cry.
The tired is etched on our face.
We hunger for fellowship.
We search for all that is good and true.
We long for the Living Water to quench our parched throats.

This is our today.
It is not our tomorrow.

We have a home waiting for us in a land of abundance, filled with all things good and surrounded in breathtaking glory where God Himself will wipe our tears.

But first, dry land.

Tattered

I slept in; giving me a much later start than normal.  Pulling in to town, I drive the main street to where I will start my run.

A group of 30 men are walking in formation; some in fatigues, some in camo, some in shorts and tee shirts.  All are carrying a flag. They are laughing among themselves.  I honk and wave as I drive by. They wave and yell.

I park my car and begin my run.

In a few hours a Freedom Parade would be rolling through town. A parade of nothing more than people driving their cars boasting their pride of our nation.

As my miles clicked by, more cars and trucks drive by with American flags flying in the wind.

Hot rods and daily drivers.
Farm trucks and show trucks.
Motorcycles and scooters.
Old, young, black and white.
Republican and Democrat.

Today isn't about policy or change or politics.
Today is about celebrating the freedoms we have no matter what our opinions.

I pause to take this picture.
A tattered Old Glory flying high above the cars gathering below.

Running back to my car, I think about that flag.
Her frayed edges show her wear as if she feels the turbulence of the current times.
One can see Lady Liberty take a haggard breath.
Yet the flag still flies.

Today, maybe now more than ever, we celebrate the flag and for all it stands.
Freedom.  Strength.  Courage.
The edges may be frayed, but we the people, will take our bruised and battled hands and raise you.

We the people, will always fly you.

 

Green Pastures & Still Waters

When my kids were little - and not so little - I would make them sit down and do their homework.  However, most times it became apparent I could not "make" them do anything.  

I could regulate them to the table, but I could not make them work.
I could punish them, but I could not make them complete their assignments.

And so the battle began.
One fighting in authority, the other fighting in independence.
Two Alphas with locked horns over a battle of wills and neither conceding despite the exhaustion.

Locked horns look different for everyone.  Maybe your horns are locked with a child, a parent, a spouse or a boss.  Maybe the Alpha you fight is an industry or a company or a system of injustice.  Maybe your fight is within, battling anxiety or depression or worry.

Your horns are locked and you are fighting with every ounce of your being.
We are all struggling right now.  Each and every one of us.  

Which brings me here; staring at the pasture in front of me. The words from Psalm 23 come to mind.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside still waters,
He restores my soul.

"God, help me.  I'm tired of this fight."

"Lie down in the green pasture."

"God, I'm a little too busy in this fight to lie down.  Help me in the fight."

"I am.  Lie down."

"Can't you see I'm right?  Can't you see the fight I'm in?  I am tired God and can't do this on my own.  You need to help me."

"Beloved, this isn't your fight.  The struggle is yours, but the fight is Mine.  Lie down in the green pasture.  It isn't a request."

He MAKES me lie down in green pastures.
God knows my burden.  He knows my weary.  
And the answer is to lie down in the green pasture.  In the abundance of the field I am fed, I am nourished, I am given rest.

You see friends, it is after time in the pasture that one is strengthened enough to be led. It is then  when He leads us to the still waters; those life-giving, soul-quenching still waters.  We must recharge and strengthen ourselves before we can begin the journey to the water.

For it is at the still waters where He restores our soul.
He doesn't fix it.  He doesn't mend it. 
He restores it.

But first, He makes us lie down in green pastures.

Lie down friends.
Find His abundance in the pasture in front of you.

A Little Girl & A Valiant Warrior

When the Syrian army crossed into Israeli land, they took her.  We know nothing more than what we are told - she was a little girl and she now waited on the warrior's wife.

He, the warrior, we know a bit more.  He is a supreme commander in the Syrian Army giving him not only a big job, but much prominence and wealth.  Not many are described as "valiant warrior" and yet, he is.  He is loved, respected and adored.

How do we know this?   Because the nameless little girl taken as a slave cares so deeply for him she wishes him healed.  You see, the valiant warrior suffers from leprosy.  An incurable disease which will take everything from him; his status, his wealth, his prominence.  He stood to lose it all.

Perhaps his bravery and valiance rubs off on her for she finds the courage to speak to his wife.  "I wish that my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria!  Then he would cure him of his leprosy."  This nameless little girl isn't dismissed as speaking nonsense.  The big important and prominent people in society listened to her.  The Syrian king granted the warrior's wish to find the prophet and writes a letter to the King of Israel.

A little girl spoke and warriors and kings listened.  This little girl had the courage to speak.

Receiving the King of Syria's letter stating his highest ranking officer was coming to be healed, the King of Israel became distraught and tore his clothes.  He held no power to heal him.  

The king was distraught.
The prophet was not.

Elisha told the king,"Why have you torn your clothes? Now let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel."  Elisha had the courage to speak up to the king.

Naaman, the valiant warrior, arrives with his horses, his men and his chariots to Elisha's house.   It is evident a man of importance stands in the doorway.  

Elisha does not meet him.  Instead Elisha sends his messenger to the valiant warrior and says, "Go and wash in the Jordan 7 times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean."

Go and wash?  Go and wash??  This is what he says to do?  The valiant warrior is angry at such simplicity.   
He has successfully waged war on enemies.  
He successfully created war campaigns that captured kingdoms.  
The entire Syrian army was at his command.  

Simple was not in his vocabulary.  Simple would not do.

His men question him.  If he were asked to do something great would he not do it?  How much more then if all he is asked is to go and wash?

The men had courage to speak up to their commander.

Naaman washes.
His skin becomes clean.
He is healed.

The valiant warrior's healing came when others had the courage to speak up to those in authority over them.  Dare we say, the healing came because of the courage of a nameless little slave girl?  Had she not spoken of Elisha, the valiant warrior would not be washing in the river.

In a time when the world we know has been turned upside down, may we all find the courage of this nameless little girl.  The courage to speak of hope and healing.

God used a nameless little girl to show a valiant warrior who He is. 
He can use you too.


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2 Kings 5:1-16
Now Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man with his master, and highly respected, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man was also a valiant warrior, but he was a leper. ² Now the Arameans had gone out in bands and had taken captive a little girl from the land of Israel; and she waited on Naaman’s wife. ³ She said to her mistress, “I wish that my master were with the prophet who is in Samaria! Then he would cure him of his leprosy.” ⁴Naaman went in and told his master, saying, “Thus and thus spoke the girl who is from the land of Israel.” ⁵ Then the king of Aram said, “Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” He departed and took with him ten talents of silver and six thousand shekels of gold and ten changes of clothes.
⁶ He brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, “And now as this letter comes to you, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to you, that you may cure him of his leprosy.” ⁷ When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man is sending word to me to cure a man of his leprosy? But consider now, and see how he is seeking a quarrel against me.”
⁸ It happened when Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, that he sent word to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Now let him come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel.” ⁹ So Naaman came with his horses and his chariots and stood at the doorway of the house of Elisha. ¹⁰ Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean.” ¹¹ But Naaman was furious and went away and said, “Behold, I hhought, ‘He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper.’ ¹² Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in a rage. ¹³ Then his servants came near and spoke to him and said, “My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” ¹⁴ So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child and he was clean.
¹⁵ When he returned to the man of God with all his company, and came and stood before him, he said, “Behold now, I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel; so please take a present from your servant now.” ¹⁶ But he said, “As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will take nothing.”

Something out of Clay

"Then I went down to the potter's house, and there he was, making something on the wheel."  Jeremiah 18:3 (NASB)

Jeremiah stood outside the potter's house and he watched.  The potter sat at the wheel creating something.  Unhappy with what was on the wheel,  the potter takes the spoiled object and makes it into another vessel - a different vessel - one that pleased the potter.

God uses the imagery as a tool in conveying to Jeremiah that He too will take what is spoiled and make it into something pleasing to Himself.

While this is a powerful message of hope and transformation, I find myself staring at the word "something".

"..and there he was, making something on the wheel."

Something.

Jeremiah makes no mention of what is being made - a cup? A plate? A jar?  Can Jeremiah even determine what it is?

God asked him to go down to the potter's house. Jeremiah did, and he watched.  

And waited.

Jeremiah watched from the sidelines as the clay was poked, prodded, molded, spun and watered.  He was asked only to watch.  Jeremiah wasn't the one creating the pottery piece, he was there to watch it happen.

Do you find yourself on the sidelines watching someone you love be molded?
Are you standing outside of the potter's wheel while they are being transformed?
You find yourself only being able to watch.  And it is hard.
Yours is a broken heart, a tired heart, a helpless heart begging for something beautiful to come from the clay yet unable to do anything about it.  You can merely watch.
You aren't the potter.

Take encouragement my friends.

Jeremiah wasn't given the reason why he was there until after he watched the clay be transformed.  The purpose of his sideline was given after the Something was made into Something Else and the Potter was pleased.

The sideline may seem overwhelming.
The sideline may be the hardest place to stand.
Yet, the sideline is also the front row to watching Something being made that pleases the Potter.
It is a hard earned blessing that comes with many cuts, scratches and bruises.

And just like Jeremiah, after standing outside the potter's wheel, after the completion of Something, vs 5 tells us, " Then the word of the Lord came to me..."

God spoke.

He spoke to Jeremiah and He will speak to you.

The sideline is tough.
It is also the place where He meets you.


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The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord saying, ² “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will announce My words to you.” ³ Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something on the wheel. ⁴ But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make. Jeremiah 18:1-4, NASB