Digging a hole and in desperate need of a rope!

Ephesians 2:13New International Version (NIV)

13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

You know something, this really is a commentary on Jonah and sometimes I forget to bring Jonah's story out a little bit more, so I thought I'd take a moment to talk about my brother in Christ, Jonah! 

Let's first have some fun with Jonah's home town, Gath-hepher! Did you know that this name means wine press, digger...!! Ever had too much wine and then just couldn't think straight, see straight or even walk straight? Well, maybe I've never been drunk, but I do know life has blinded me and made me act drunk. As well, I also know that my own sin has blinded me to the point of complete dizziness and delusion. So many times, I've been lost, digging myself deeper and deeper in a hole in desperate need of a rope to pull me out of the miry clay!
Principle:
When God's not allowed to patrol,
 you are going to dig a really big hole
When God throws you a rope, 
don't expect it to be all for which you'd hoped.

Have you ever wondered if "comfort" can be a bad thing? I recently read a story of a little child who owned a scorpion and upon becoming too familiar with the scorpion ended up getting stung, yikes! A wise pastor and speaker pointed out an interesting point on the radio the other day, "Do we treat our sins the same way and become too familiar with them?" Yes, and Amen to you pastor! We are all about to get stung and yet we still head straight for comfort in all things surrounding our lives, even things that might sting us!  So, Jonah was from Israel, from Gath-hepher..which by the way was only about 2 miles from Nazareth! How interesting! Jesus must have heard many remarks as he was growing up about "Jonah", the whale and all the stories that happened only 2 miles up the road. Yes, Jonah was born there in Gath- Hepher and raised there and lived there, ate there, had many memories there and I'm sure was very comfortable there delivering the Word of God to all those he was comfortable enough to understand and to consider family! But...Yes, there's a "But"!! Ever heard of giving too much grace to your family? What? Too much grace too my family? Well, yes, that's what I said and that's what I meant!! You might be thinking that I'm crazy, but sometimes when it comes to our "own" we are a little bit, well, shall I say it? "Jaded"!   You know we seem to have all the grace in the world for ourselves, our family and friends and all those we trust, but then when asked to give Love, Grace and peace to others...those other stinky, nasty, unworthy people God dares to love, we just cannot manage to give it, can we?  Sadly, my heart goes out at this time to all of you who are step-parents! You know what? There is a harsh reality in the Christian world today and that is the fact that because divorce is on the rise, so is the percentage of blended families. Never in the history of the world is it more relevant for Christians to understand the need for grace and mercy and love!!! Not "your" kind of human love, but God's Love and Grace are desperately needed if we are to give these jewels to those God calls us to serve. Jonah's people wouldn't listen to him very well, but Jonah had no problem spending all his time and love on them, did he? Content to stay in Gath-hepher, Jonah would rather work that "Wine press" and "Dig that hole" than to consider another group of people, a group not "his own" that needed and wanted God's love!! So, when you find yourself full of grace for your loved ones, ask yourself a tough question today! You who were far away and had to be brought near by His blood, adopted, washed and then loved...Are you in a place where you could go and do likewise for others, others who are not your own?  Feeling a need for a rope? I am...Lord knows I want Him to pull me out of the Muck and send me where He wants me to go deliver His love today...I hear they are having a sale on ropes in Nineveh!!

Gold dust in your eyes? Wise men still seek Him!!

Matthew 7New International Version (NIV)

Judging Others

7 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Okay...Don't Judge me...!! I put my decorations away and I did it in record time! 

We finally put away our Christmas decorations and even so, we did it before epiphany! Yeah! Actually, by January 4th, 2016, we put the last Christmas pleasantry in it's pleasant little pouch and sealed it shut until December of 2016!!! Phew! Truly, I could not believe how much sparkle, pine needles, real and fake, and how much dust overall I swept up as I swept out Christmas this year. At one moment I recall sneezing 6 times as a bit of dust mixture of Christmas past filled the air and found its way to my eyes....!!! Ah Chew!!! Yet, finally, half way blinded, I managed to get all of the Christmas packed away! What a great feeling to say goodbye to yesterday's headaches and grief and to move on into the New Year and say, Hello! New Hopes, New Dreams, New Delusions all waiting to beckon me at the doors of a new beginning are all finally here and full of promise. What? Delusions? Yeah...the New Year can be full of riches in Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen! However, we all know that we think we see gold and then with gold dust in our eyes...we go for the gold, not realizing that it's not the treasure of Gold that we thought...! That's right! This false gold is not part of the glorious riches in Christ Jesus....! In fact, it's not the gold from the manger....!!!

It's just gold dust, blinding us from the only gift that does not decay and does not rust, Christ! We actually wait for things to fill our lives, things that we cannot clearly see or judge as good or bad due to the sin that blinds us. Yes, there are big planks of sin in our eyes, making it impossible to see!!

In fact, listen to this quote on waiting upon God and ponder its profound meaning, "we wait on the gifts, the riches promised to us by God and we wait looking for the gifts....Yes, even after the gift wrap and the tinsel has passed, we walk into the New Year still waiting for the stuff that we think will make us happy! Sadly, we wait for the gifts and neglect to realize that we still don't have the one gift that matters, the gift Giver....!! We are sooo blind!! We sooo need Him to see clearly! We are still not waiting on Him, we still only wait for what He can bring! The Wise men brought gifts to the gift Giver and beheld Him as the gift...In contrast, we ask Him for gifts for us and then forget that He is the greatest gift of all!!  So, did you get blinded this year at Christmas?? Did you get the fact that any gold you have should be given to the Christ? Did you have gold dust in your eyes and miss the gift is the baby in the manger? Well, from my house to yours...it's not too late to have a visit from the Magi..the Wise Men!! Let's let them teach us that we only need one gift, and it's Him, the Christ! Present your time and offerings to Him in the New Year and Wait only on Him, the giver of the gifts...let Him be your gift! Truly, you will finally see, through Him that there are planks in your eyes and in your life that He needs to remove. Truly, you will finally see that you cannot see without Him...that unless your focus is completely on him, you will miss the mark; you will be deceived!

Please enjoy this version of Amazing grace....It's dedicated to my Dad...who's birthday was yesterday...May you cease to be blind and walk in His light in the new year.....God bless you all!!

Principle: If He is not the gift you seek, you may wait forever for silly things,

 but if you seek Him first in your life, you will no longer have to walk around blind.

sleepy, happy goofy

John  8:12 says,


12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he

said, 

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows


 me will never walk in darkness, but will have


 the light of life.”

Exhausted from Christmas, I began to plan for my mom coming to visit. Living away from Mom and Dad is quite alright considering I'm in my 30s and happily married. Yet, somehow at Christmas time, I miss Mom, Dad, the past and even somehow the family dachshund...So, this year for my Christmas gift Mom agreed to come out for a day and take me shopping for Christmas gifts, just like old times. Oh how wonderful it was to reminisce and enjoy the season with Mom. But then, as I was driving home from dropping my Mom off at the airport, it dawned on me that the time was over..gone and finished! As a familiar Christmas song began to play, "It's the most wonderful time of the year" I began to cry...! Feeling totally sleepy, happy, goofy and crazy I wept while, singing about Christmas time being so wonderful!! Suddenly, I stopped crying to realize that even though that time had ended...there was still Hope...My time with Christ, my true joy isn't going to end...it never has to end..."Christmas time is here" means that Christ came and He's still here....The Light that came into the world was and is Everlasting!!!

You know what I think about Christmas? Well, first of all, Christmas time is not the same thing as time with Christ, is it? Yes, I know...I know..."it's the most wonderful time of the year...right?" Sadly, most Christmas mornings are full of overly tired, overly stuffed, overly offended, overly shopped, sleepy, happy goofy people who have been running on empty for about 2 weeks at the least and 5 weeks at the most. Decorate those cookies, and pick up the ham...Clean the house for the Christmas guests and then clean it again for the relatives...or pests...!! Just kidding, well for some of us that might be a totally serious phrase!! I'll let you connect the dots, okay? Pick up more lights and run to Costco for more double A batteries because a few snow globes stopped running and most of the toys under the tree require batteries and are sold completely void of batteries, rending the toys useless and lifeless!! Christmas in fact is a consumable holiday for complacent consumers!! Put that in your cocoa and sip it 3 times fast!! However, the Christ of Christmas is not in need of a battery, because he is the power that gives energy to all. Moreover, the Christ of Christmas is not in need of lights because He is the light of the World.  Even still, the Christ of Christmas is not in need of rest or sleep because He Himself is our peace in every storm.  Finally, the Christ of Christmas is not lonely or empty, but full of joy and Love..ready and waiting to fill us in every way to overflowing at any moment..He is the fulfillment of every hope, dream and goal..So, when the Holiday we call Christmas gets you a little bit sleepy, happy goofy crazy, remember that the Christ of Christmas is the great "I AM" and He did come and He is still here and He still saves us all...Now that's a good reason to be celebrating!!

Principle: Whenever you are tired, sad, lonely or full of strife, you simply need a dose of true life, the light and joy of Jesus Christ!! 

Dizzy, Dizzy...Watch out! There's a cliff!!

Isaiah 40:31New International Version (NIV)

31 but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

Ever just wanted to think of the "Way" of Faith in Christ as a warm fuzzy and invigorating cup of hot cocoa? Yes, I've found my peace in Christ and now I will sit down in my chair and enjoy a mocha latte with extra whip...

Oh, and easy on the cinnamon, please! Well, whether we would like to admit to it or not, we are all addicted to the concept of comfort and complacency wrapped up in a package of chocolate, coffee or whatever addictive substance that our subconscious can get its hands on, right?  So, maybe that is the reason why the stresses of the season get us a little crazy...maybe we are so crazy for comfort that the first signs of chaos break us like a cheap piece of glass on the Christmas tree..!! KNow what happened to me? I was decorating one of my three Christmas trees last night..yes, I have 3 trees...always 3 to symbolize the trinity of our Lord, Amen.  Well, I began to do well and was about half way finished with my decorating when I started to climb up onto things to reach, shall we say the upper registers of my tree. Suddenly, a dizzy spell attacked my senses and I almost came tumbling down, taking a few ornaments with me as I thank fully stepped down quickly enough to regain balance on the ground. Interestingly enough, I realized that not only is being hydrated during the holidays a good thing, but so is learning to stand on the center of a chair when reaching to regions higher than our heads!!! Had I not taken a mini spill, I would not have learned that valuable lesson, right? 

Principle, If you don't learn how to fall, you'll never fly at all!!

So, those of us addicted to comfort rarely venture out on purpose to fall, right? Afraid of pain and therefore experiencing little gain, we wain in the face of danger, don't we? Yet, where is the gold of our Christian faith, where is the part where we get to fly??  It's not at the base of the Tree, is it? It's not in the recliner with the cocoa, is it? No, Jonah...it's not in Israel at all, is it? Jonah...that gold is in Assyria...right in the heart of Nineveh...and that's where, Oh prophet of God, you will get your wings....

Yes, Clarence, you have to risk it all, if you ever want to fly....

Wow...Consider the Eagle from our passage at the beginning of the blog...Did you know how an Eagle learns to fly? Well, not too surprisingly...it's a real cliffhanger...!!! These little baby birds are not pushed from a tree's twig...but a massive precipice..a cliff of huge magnitude..!! "Incoming!"

These little egrets have to blindly learn to fly off a cliff or die trying...!!! It's no wonder that our awesome God decided to use the Eagle to show us that we can fly, but first we must learn to use the wings He's given us....."Incoming"....!!! dizzy this Christmas...Are stars off that tree falling down a bit? Relying solely on Him, on Christ, take a leap of faith in His strength and jump off a cliff this Christmas, knowing that you will learn to soar like an Eagle straight through to the gold He's promised us!! Remember how little information Mary had before she knelt before an Angel, said, "yes" and then jumped off a cliff that led to some serious Gold...!!!

The temptation to fight...

1 John 2:8New International Version (NIV)

8 Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.

Well, we are right in the middle of the holiday season aren't we? There are different ways this season is celebrated around the world, right? Some of us are hanging stockings and others are placing dutch shoes by the fire place...Some of us are making wreaths to wear on our head full of candles...Others still are not celebrating Christmas at all, but 8 beautiful days and nights of Hanukah! No matter what is by your fireplace this year, or how many candles are lit in your house, there is one thing threatening the light...! Satan tempts us all across cultural lines and all around the world with one nasty trick, and yes, he's slick. What's his trick you ask me? What's this temptation that threatens the light in my house, you ask? 

The temptation that snuffs out the light is the urge to take over our own lives and resist God's sovereignty with a fight!!


Just like Jonah...we serve God well, we follow His command until He asks us to go beyond our comfort and do something crazy like, "Love your enemy...your in-laws, your crazy, selfish kids, or your greedy, shameless, incarnate friends who do not know what friendship is all about and they are sucking the life right out of you!!! Sound familiar??? Well, if you are having homicidal holiday heaviness...then maybe you are reading the right blog at just the right time. Repeat after me...."God is in control, and I am not! Again, God, who made the heavens and the earth, who hears my prayers and holds my life in His hands, also holds your enemies in His Sovereign plans...!!!!"  Don't fight the wrong fight, friends!! Rather, let His light give you everything you need to shine like mad all over those crazy holiday moments...the greatest fight you can wage against the madness is in prayer...prayer to a sovereign God, who has your back!! 

Principle, when you fight your own fight, It's God you slight, rather embrace His plan..it's all in His hand...!!!

Don't fight the Light...let the Light Fight the good fight!!

So, when your kids, your husband, your wife, your ministry, your friends make you crazy this season....Don't fight them....Give them to God and let His light do the fighting for you....Resist the urge that Satan is placing in your path to deck the halls your way...Instead, kick the devil out for the Holidays...He hates Christmas anyways...Invite Christ in instead to shine brighter than ever over your home.  Be Glad that He is Here...Emmanuel came and I'm so glad he did!!!   

A Hug or a Hit?

Proverbs 3:5-6New International Version (NIV)

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.[a]

    Jonah ran far away from those that hit him hard...I still smile pretty big when I hear that Jonah was the worst missionary of all time, especially because I feel like that title belongs to me, Jennifer. What's more, is the fact that Jonah was actually not a representation of bad mission work, but rather one of the greatest lessons on forgiveness and trust that all of us desperately need to learn. Poor Jonah! Stop picking on the guy that faced an enemy head on and did so after a huge bath of seaweed and whale vomit. Sadly, the sweet savory scent he carried with him was even further soured by his reality that those who might be saved were the very souls he wanted to die! Have any of you read, The Shack? Well, for those of you who understand this mind boggling book, you can appreciate how inconceivable it is to forgive a murderer, a thief, or a liar. So many missionaries set out to save those in a foreign land that need to hear the good news...but how often are those the very people that hit your hometown?
We know that we are to put our trust in God no matter the cost, but when our hearts have been hit all trust is lost...Amen?

Today is the first Sunday of Advent and yes, the baby is coming to save so let me leave you with this thought on hits and hugs...

When we lean not on our own understanding, we accept a bunch of hits...but in leaning away from our thoughts, we get to lean on His arms....We might take a hit, but there is always a hug waiting on and leaning on the everlasting arms. In reality, Jesus comes to us all to save us from our sin that Hit Him...so that in Him we can save others that have hit us.

Principle: The road is long but the path is always lit, leading us all to be able to take each hit...
So long as we know it's His arms that Hold, we will be able to tell the greatest story ever told.

No flashlight and batteries not included!

Suddenly, the light goes out! There is excruciating pain as her body crashes down into a deep, dark pit promising nothing but danger and darkness. To make matters worse, heavy rocks begin to fall down into the narrow cave like corridor where she is lying helplessly in the darkness without a light in sight. Suddenly, the desire to live overwhelmingly ceases her being as she begins to scream, "help"! "Is somebody there?" Friends, being stuck in a dangerous situation beckons us to truly cry out for help. Yes, when you are stuck in a cave, an old mine shaft, or perhaps caught out to sea without a boat or life vest, you truly can appreciate that you are in a desperate situation. However, you are not without hope, right? Knowing that there are others that have the ability to save you, you cry out, waiting for your rescue from the most immanent fate that will occur if help does not come, right? Friends, this is how it is with our Lord when we wait upon Him and Him alone. Some mistakenly think that waiting on God is an act of patience, or the simple desire to have meaningless gifts bestowed upon our lives, but waiting on God in the biblical sense is far more dire than that,

Psalm 40[a]

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
    out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
    and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
    a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
    and put their trust in him.

Today, my feet have slipped into a dark pit and there seems to be no light! As a Christian, the only flashlight I have is the light coming from within and there fore I have hope. Yes, because I know He who is able to save, I cry out to God and wait on Him to lift me out of the mud and the mire. Sadly, it's as though I forgot He was there at all until I slipped. To clarify, my awareness of God being there is not really what I forget on a daily basis. No, rather it is the fact that I'm lost without Him to save me is the reality that is forgotten. The truth is, we all need to learn to wait upon the Lord or we will never know the joy of the renewal of our strength in Him. However, we will never wait upon the Lord unless we are aware of the need for a savior. Experiencing a trial, or a desperate situation? Thank the Lord for it?  Truly,the situation that brings us to our knees with the realization that we are emotionally, spiritually or physically dead without God's help, is the only way we will call out for a savior. With or without a calamity, I hope we choose to live in the reality that we need God and that in response, we cry out to Him first and wait upon Him alone

Principle, when you are lost in the wilderness with no help and no phone

there is an opportunity to wait on the Lord, being saved by Him alone.

Truth, Hiding in God is cozier than any blanket and warmer than a million mornings of sunlight upon my face.