One Big Happy Baby!

Luke 10:21
In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight.

Have you seen the some of the videos on the Internet of these beautiful babies laughing? Why is it that we could be in the middle of the worst day ever but see this and smile or even laugh aloud with them? It must be something about the innocence or purity of their laugh. The smile of a baby can drive out the darkest of depression. It's just amazing.

This morning I am rejoicing along with Jesus. The scripture tells us that Jesus rejoiced in the spirit. I wish I could have been there to see my Savior smile and rejoice. To hear Him laugh from the belly. You know what I'm talking about? Someone who rejoices does it with every ounce of energy. I would have loved to see Jesus rejoicing.

But something greater than that causes me to rejoice this morning. It's the reason that Jesus rejoiced. He said that His Father didn't reveal Himself to the wise and prudent, but unto babes. It wasn't that God didn't reveal Himself to those who were learned and educated, it was that they couldn't see Him because of their self-righteous wisdom. But the babes, they saw Him. We saw Him! We see Him!

Most babies at Christmas will play with the wrapping paper and boxes more that the toy. You see those wise and prudent men looked for someone wrapped in gold and who would be carrying a sceptre. But I rejoice today because my Savior was wrapped in a sinful, shameful robe carrying a cross! They looked for someone to tell them a way out, but Jesus showed me the way up! I feel like One Big Happy Baby!

Clay Jars

2 Corinthians 4:6-7
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

What a privilege! What an honor! God, who is greater than the greatest. God, who is higher than the highest. He has chosen to shine the light of the glorious gospel into our hearts. He has chosen to speak His words of life into our sinful lives. He has chosen to place His glorious Gospel light in us. Did you hear that? God has put His prized possession of the Gospel inside of us.

Who are we? Who are we that God would think of us? Much more than that, who are we that we could house this glorious light? We are an earthen, fragile, clay vessel. I understand that we keep gold bars in Fort Knox. I understand that we keep our valuables locked up in a safe where thieves cannot steal them. But I sometimes struggle with the understanding of God putting a valuable treasure such as the Gospel inside of clay jars. Not to mention weak, clay jars.

But then we see it... "The excellency of the power may be of God, and not us." God's Gospel will never be about us. The treasure isn't a treasure because of what it is kept it. It's a treasure because of the value of the treasure itself.

God, thank you for placing your glorious light in me. I am so humbled that you would allow me to carry the Gospel light. Help me to reach others every day. May they find in an old clay vessel the treasure of Your Son, Jesus Christ.

Dancing in the Rain

Psalms 16:11
Thou wilt shew me the path of life:
in thy presence is fulness of joy;
at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

What would it be like to be in the very presence of God? Have you ever given thought to this? I have most everyday of my life. It seems that my prayer every morning is to be in the presence of God. I long so much to feel the Lord in every area of my life. My prayer many times is... "Lord I want to be so close to you today that I can feel your breath upon my neck as you speak to me."

If I can be honest with you this morning, not everyday is like this. Some days I wake up and feel as if God is miles and miles away from me. I feel like there is a wall between our communication and sometimes there is, but it's always on my end of the line so I deal with confession. But then there are other days that I believe I have everything confessed. I trust that I am seeking Him and walking after Him and the closeness I desire still seems distant. Then I'm reminded that Paul tells us we must walk by faith and not by sight. On these days I trust that He is there even though I may not feel Him through emotions of certain ways that I have in the past days. I still just trust He is there.

Do you understand what I'm saying this morning? Some days I want the sunshine and all I get is rain, but that doesn't take away from God still being God or my desire to be in His presence. When my days are cloudy I try my best to ask God for His presence to be strong in my life. Then through His Word He gives me the strength that I need.

Our scripture this morning says there is joy in the presence of the Lord. God said He would never leave us nor forsake us. He would be there to see us through. When Jesus ascended to Heaven He gave us the Holy Spirit so we would never be without His presence. This is where my joy comes from.

So if it's raining outside and I can't see the sun, I'll just dance in the rain and know that His presence is with me even when I can't see or feel Him. That's faith!

Stick Out Your Tongue

Proverbs 18:12
Before destruction the heart of man is haughty,
and before honour is humility.

I do not like to be sick. Why? Because that means there is a doctors visit in my near future. You walk into the waiting room and enjoy your two hours of reading magazines that are at the latest four years out of date. Finally your name is called and you jump up with excitement and rush in. The nurse greets you, weighs you, gets a blood pressure and temperature reading and then tells you the good news once more... "Wait here, the doctor will see you soon."

The door knob rattles and all of the sudden there stands the doctor. White coat, stethoscope and a notepad or tablet. The general questions ensue and then the doctor reaches for the old trusty popsicle stick. Walks toward you and says, "Stick out your tongue." Doc looks around in there while you spew an "aaaaaaaahhh" at them. They take a super sized q-tip and touch the bottom of your stomach with it then rub it on a drink coaster. "I'll be right back with the results" they say.

Isn't it amazing that a doctor can understand what is going on inside the body by looking at the tongue or checking your throat? Well if you think that's something, look at what God said in His word. A haughty heart is a sure sign of destruction. When people are infected with pride it is clear that destruction will be their diagnosis. But what about those who are infected with humility? God says that honor is their diagnosis. We must be humble in our lives if we want God to move and use us.

Stick out your tongue and say, "Aaaaahhhh O Lord"

While There Is Hope

Proverbs 19:18

Chasten thy son while there is hope,

and let not thy soul spare for his crying.

As a dad, some of the most unpleasant and difficult moments are when I've had to discipline my children. To punish them for their disobedience is needed and although I know that God has given us this duty, it still hurts me. I suppose it hurts because of the disappointment of their choice. I still can't handle the tears because of the punishment.

When I think of sparing them or being lenient, my own dad comes to mind. I can remember as a child being punished (for something that I deserved to be punished for) and thinking... "Why aren't you whooping them? Why aren't you whooping my friends?"  My dad would say, "They don't belong to me". 

Remember Peter walking with Jesus on the shore of Galilee after his resurrection?  Jesus was correcting him and bringing him back to the fold. Peter asked Jesus about what would happen with John and Jesus answered with, "You follow me".  Did you know that shepherds will break the legs of wondering sheep in order to keep them from going astray?  Well, God has told us that if we love our children then we will discipline them. We will chastise them for their wrongs. (Please don't break legs, that's abuse not discipline)

Our scripture tells us that we should do it while there is hope. By being a dad or mom who corrects their children that they love, we are giving them hope. I have heard many parents say that there is no more hope for their children. They are too old to discipline. I wish we could do it all over. My answer is always, we can't go back. We can only go forward. 

Although I may be the one who goes into another room after I discipline my boys and cry, I can't let their tears deter me from disciplining them. Just as my earthly dad and Heavenly Father disciplines me, because I belong to them, I must never forget to do the same. Just as my dad loved me very, very much (haha) I love my boys the same. 

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not...

Jeremiah 31:3

The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying,

Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love:

therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me not.... He loves me!  Did anyone do this when you were young?  We depended on daisies to tell us our fate in the love category. Something that is funny to me is young children today. They have invented these paper fortune tellers. They write girls or boys names underneath these little flaps and turn it in and out by counting numbers. And then the flap is lifted with their loves name on it.  They giggle and shout sometimes. At times they don't get the person they wanted and feel down about it. Isn't that funny?

We all at times feel unloved. We look at how people treat us and evaluate their love for us. We count all the things that people have given us and talley up their love for us. We say, "They love us, they love us not..."  Some even feel that God has changed His love for us. They sometimes feel unloved because of suffering and trials but the love of our God is not dependent upon what we have or don't have. It's not given because we have deserved it or earned it. He loves us, and that's all.

Maybe you're thinking, "He loves me, He loves me not..."  But let me tell you this!  "He loves you, He loves you, He loves you, HE LOVES YOU!" 

1 John 4:19

We love him, because he first loved us.

Crackers in the Meatloaf

Luke 9:13-17

But he said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they said, We have no more but five loaves and two fishes; except we should go and buy meat for all this people. For they were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, Make them sit down by fifties in a company. And they did so, and made them all sit down. Then he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them, and brake, and gave to the disciples to set before the multitude. And they did eat, and were all filled: and there was taken up of fragments that remained to them twelve baskets.

With God, there is always enough!  Sometimes there is more than enough, but all the time there is enough. As I think back upon my life this morning and take inventory, I recall the sufficiency of God. Even as I recall my childhood, God was always sufficient. 

I remember this one time my dad bragging on my great-grandmothers hamburgers. I suppose I remember it well because of the argument that it started. My mom made hamburgers and dad begin to recall his grandmothers style of burger. Then the statement came out... "Boy Granny-Clay sure could make a good hamburger". (From dad of course) Then my mom told him to just go on over there and let his granny make him a burger if they were so good. (it wasn't intense, just picking at each other). Well somehow we got on the subject of how moist and tender Granny-Clay's burgers were. And then I heard it. Mom said, "She puts crackers or old bread crumbs into her burgers and meatloaf". I said, "What? Why would someone put crackers in the meatloaf?"  My mother then begin to explain of hard times. She said they would do this in order to stretch out the meat. They didn't have much meat at times to feed everyone so they would put the crackers in the meat to stretch it out. 

In our scripture today, God takes a little boys lunch and turns it into an "All You Can Eat Buffet". Remember little is much when God is in it. 

As you take inventory this morning on how blessed you are, I'm sure there were times that you've had plenty. Blessed more that the freezer could hold. Other times you probably think that you were not blessed as much. But if you will stop and think about it those could have been the blessed times that God was, and is, being sufficient. You look at your five loaves and two fish and believe it's not enough. It's because it is in your hands. Put it into the hands of Jesus. 

Maybe there are crackers in your meatloaf or hamburgers, but "Boy they sure are good". AND ALWAYS ENOUGH!