Lil 500

A few years ago Emma and I ventured out to Lil 500, a go kart place.  She had made comments when we would drive past; so today we would satisfy this curiosity. 

We pulled in and discovered we were the only ones there. Kings of the place we walked out onto the race track looking over the cars.  Emma became uneasy as it slowly dawned on her that she was about to partake in this journey that was all new to her.  New sounds, new smells all of which gave her a moment of pause as daddy led her forward.

She did not want to be put down, even as we clamored into a much too tight seat.  Clingy and now quietly whining I somehow wrestled her hands free from my neck, now fresh with red marks, and seated her in the kid’s seat next to me.

Knowing my window was closing on this venture I buckled us both in and took off.  Wind through…..well, Emma’s hair, we sped around and as we finished some laps she began to loosen, even enjoy this.  A few more laps and she was now fine and liking this.

As I carried her back to our car, talking over our new found adventure, words tumbled from me that have boomeranged back to me. I said to Emma:  ‘Why were you so unsure; as if daddy would ever put you in a situation where you were unsafe.”

How often does He take our hand and lead us into a new area to journey into; with new sounds and smells, a new adventure to go with Him on?  Do we let Him take our hand?  Or do we fight Him and say ‘no’?  Do we trust Him?  Or do we stay in our safe little circle and miss a wonderful new experience?

Emma and I have been back to Lil 500 many times now.  Think what she would have missed.

Can you hear Him whispering to you:  “Why are you so unsure; as if your Father would ever put you in a situation where you were unsafe?”

Trust Him.  He is tugging your hand forward. 

Shopping

During a recent trip to Publix, rounding the aisles, plopping things in my cart I finally came up to pay.  I unloaded groceries onto the magic treadmill and as the last item was scanned the register glowed:  $100.

A hundred bucks?!  Are you kidding me?  I quickly looked over my items sure that I had mistakenly picked up the Beatles White album or an MP3 player.  But no, nothing like that sat in front of me, just food.  A little here and a little there and suddenly I had a sizable bill on my hands.  I was amazed.  Salad dressing here, some milk and lettuce there, and what do you know?  I was in a hole.

Sometimes we can awaken in our lives to discover we are in a sizeable hole.  It may be financial, maybe a habit that has grown out of control and maybe something as serious as an affair.

‘How did this happen?’ we ask in a stupor.  Looking back over the last months trying to make sense of this hole we stare up from we slowly realize that what is in front of us is not one big choice put on the conveyor but lots of little ones.  A choice here and a choice there and suddenly we are in trouble.

Our choices add up; day by day, moment by moment, little by little.  Like a bucket left out in the rain, it will fill.  Conversely, your choices for Him add up as well.  However small they seem, however unseen they maybe feel like, they add up to a life lived.  Habits gained.

Ask Him to show you these choices.  It’s not too late to put some of these items back on the shelf. 

Car Wash

I watched a guy wash his beat up little Suzuki Samurai. Remember those?  He spent a lot of time over it until that baby shone. 

I remember looking on that scene and thinking:  “sheesh pal, that’s a lot of time spent on a beast of a car.”

But you know what?  He was being faithful with what he had.  He didn’t have much, but he was keeping it shining till another came along.

The Lord wants us to be good stewards with what we have.  Not in a few years when maybe we have a little more money and can buy better products, but right now.

I bet that guy would’ve loved to be washing a Lexus or a Jag that Saturday morning, but he wasn’t.  He was washing what he had been blessed with.

That’s a challenge to me; everything I have is given to me by Him.  Everything.  And He watches to see what I do with it.  If I cannot be faithful with little He will not bless with more.

And it doesn’t just apply to the material.  What about the gifts He has placed inside us?  What about the church we are blessed to be apart of?  Are we getting involved?  Are we doing what we can with what we have, however little it may feel like?  Are we tithing, even though it hurts?  If we will not be faithful with our money now, do you think He will bless us with more?

Stewardship.  What are we doing with what He has given us?

Reunion

Standing atop the stage at MGM, adorned in glorified burlap with the soaring strings of John Williams ringing out the Star Wars cause behind me; I choose children to come and join the Force, become a Jedi.  Eager and almost frothing at the mouth they clamor and jump up and down; pleading for me to choose them, one of only 15 per show.  As the chosen gather their robes and ready themselves for training, a wheelchair silently rolls on stage unnoticed by the excited chatter of the others.  Wheels secured a father helps a determined child to his feet from the confines of his prison.  Face deformed and bloated from his illness, he struggles on crippled legs to move to a place among the others.  A hat, one size too big, does not cover the shaved area of his head from a recent surgery.  I begin the show saying my lines but my head and heart are tied to this young one.  Light sabers are handed out and the rest of the children twirl and maneuver it as a smile comes over their faces imagining them cutting down the dark side with slashing blows of justice.  But off to the side, with knarled hands another grips his as best he can, tottering on legs withered from lack of use.  The class moves on and I move in and out of the students spouting lines but with each look to this young boy my thoughts race home to my daughter of 4.  My daughter who stands with strong legs and moves with a healthy body. 

Nearing the end of the show now I turn and see this boy, willing himself to stand as all the others, and a thought comes that strikes me through and brings me to a stop in front of a crowd.  “One day you will run.  One day you will run into His arms”

Think of it.  Jesus looks on this boy with all the pride in the world.  He does not see his brokenness.  What He sees is beauty.  Absolute beauty.  A heart free as a bird in a prison of sickness.

He knows the moment, the precise moment when this little one will draw his last, labored breath and He will be waiting, like a lover longing for reunion, at the front door of heaven. 

And my little Jedi will run to Him.

 

Brian

Woman

Dinner has finished and musicians play softly from the corner of the room.  Candles, once tall and lean, now grow fat throwing a tired light into the crowded room.  Conversations grow quieter and men recline, plates pushed away, legs extended.  Wine and food lures the men towards sleep.  The door pushes open and the candle flames dance in the rush of evening air.  It is a woman.  Silence falls on the room.  A fork is put down on a plate.  What was a sleepy room of men now becomes awake.  Men look at her disheveled dress and uncombed hair with disgust.  She brushes a hair away from her eye, still purple from a healing welt.  A man begins to rise from his seat at the table to throw this irritant out into the night, cleansing the air.  But a firm hand on his shoulder sits him down again. 

No one moves.

The fireplace cracks and spits as the woman moves a step into the room.  “Jesus” she says quietly, not moving.  A mass of bearded faces look at her from across the semi-darkness.  One face leans back and looks at the woman.  “Here” He says softly.  The woman moves to Him quickly and from underneath her cloak she reveals a jar of liquid.  Jesus swings His legs to the other side of the bench so that He is now facing her.  She kneels and bows her head over His feet.  And for a moment she is silent but then the quiet weeping of a broken heart.  Looks are exchanged back and forth from the across the table, someone close to Jesus puts a hand on His arm to get His attention, nodding when Jesus looks at him as if to say:  “I’ll take her outside, would you like that?”  Jesus nods ‘no’ and looks back at the woman who has now opened the jar.  Instantly the room is filled with a rich fragrance, overwhelming the lingering smell of curry and wine.  The men from the other side of the table push back their benches, a plate of uneaten lamb clatters to the floor as they stare at this scene unfolding before them.  The woman takes the perfume and pours it over Jesus’ feet, so much so that the excess runs across the tiles and pools in the corner.  The room is intoxicatingly fragrant, like a burial chamber with a freshly wrapped body.  From the back now, whispers of unbelief.  A grumble is heard from the other side of the room. Through it all Jesus’ eyes have not left this woman, who sobs quietly saying over and over:  “thank you….thank you”; her hair enveloping His feet as she cries.  Slowly she begins to dry His feet with her hair. 

The door slams as some have left in disgust.  The woman, sits back wiping her eyes and Jesus gently puts a finger under her chin and lifts tenderly till her eyes meet His.  He brushes aside hair matted to her cheek and says:  “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Brian

Gutters

Gutters are funny looking things aren’t they?  Really don’t even take any notice of them do we?  In fact, I didn’t even think our home needed them.  The home inspector, looking over our first home, thought otherwise.  Gutters keep water away from the foundation of your home, he told me.  And that’s important?  Came the question from an inexperienced homeowner. 

Very.

So I took an interest in gutters as men scrambled on the roof of our home installing these bent pieces of metal.  The next rain storm had me to the window watching our investment work as water poured out onto the lawn……away from the foundation.

Gutters are made to catch the rain but that’s not all.  If they are installed correctly, gutters are also made to move that water towards a downspout.  Catch and share.  Catch and share.  Movement.  Should it just catch and the water pool and become stagnant then you have a whole different problem.  No it must move the water along. 

Catch and share.

You and I are precious ‘gutters’ to Him.  Bet that’s a first.  You’ve been called a lot of things along the way but a gutter is not one of them. 

The Lord has designed us to catch Him but also to share Him.  Too often too many of us go to our churches and Bible studies and ‘catch Him’ but then never share Him.

 The ‘water’ pools inside us and then grows stagnant.  Your inner life will eventually wither and grow moldy should you hoard and never share.  The Lord gives and gives to abundance so that we are spilling over. He gives, not only to bless ourselves, but then to turn and give freely what has been so lavishly given to us.  Catch and share

Brian

Watched

When Emma and I are out in public I do my best to know where she is at all times.  In fact, at no other time am I as vigilant as when I am looking and listening for her in a store.  At best is when she is beside me and I can touch her.  But that is not always possible so I watch and listen with eagle eyes and cat’s ears.  The more busy the area, the more vigilant.  She is the world to me and she is unable to watch herself; unable to see the dangers, the missteps, the corners where she could disappear from her fathers view.  And frankly, that is ok with me.  Yes her mother and I work with her on never leaving without us and looking both ways before stepping into a street; but she is incapable of caring for herself at this age and that is where we come in.  I want her to live in the present and not be burdened with worry (as her father is!).  I will care for her and watch over her.  “You play my love.  You live in the moment.  You breathe deeply today.  You laugh and jump into my arms from high places.  I will catch you.  I will watch over you.  I hear your stirrings in the night, I can pick your voice out in a room full of screaming kids.  You are mine.”

You and I, as adults, are really no different than my four year old daughter.  Oh yes, that degree from the Ivy League school on our wall fools us into thinking that we are quite capable of living on our own.  Our salary and position trick us into believing that we will make it in this world on our own hard work and intelligence.  But you know what?  The Lord laughs at that.

No, sorry, we are still as lost as my four year old in a crowded store.  We are still unaware of what lies in tomorrow.  Despite our plans and schedules, still we get into our cars and launch off into a chaotic pace of traffic or board that airplane or eat that food prepared by some distracted teenager in a hurry to get home to play Halo 3.

We are still in desperate need of a loving Father to watch over us.  Should you choose Christ you are no longer wandering this world, lost and alone.  You are now adopted into the family of the Creator of the universe.  You are His.  Forever. 

Never are we outside of His view. 

“I lay down and slept.  I woke in safety, for the Lord was watching over me.”  Ps. 3: 5

We are incapable of living this life without Him.  We are incapable of seeing into tomorrow.  So, we live today and let Him deal with tomorrow.

What does He want?  He wants us to laugh today.  Live today.  Jump, in faith, off high places into His arms.  We are His. 

“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.  I have called you by name; you are Mine.”  Isa. 43:1 

Brian

Hiking with God

Michelle and I were hiking a trail outside of Los Angeles when a woman passed us with her dog.  She hiked on and commanded her dog to sit as she walked on.  The little dog sat, obediently, and watched his master walk away.  The woman hiked another hundred yards or so and went around a bend, out of sight.  The dog waited.  Even with his master out of sight this dog was obedient; ears and body taut, listening with every fiber in him to hear the next command.  Then, suddenly, from around the bend came his master’s voice:  “COME!”  That dog sprinted, throwing dirt behind him he ran so fast, to get to its master. 

What a picture of obedience.  There will be seasons in our life when Jesus will ask us to be obedient in an area that may not make a lot of sense at the time.  And then He will test us by seeming to walk around the bend, out of earshot.  Our prayers will go unanswered and we sit and wait with nothing more than His last command to us.  Time passes and we get antsy.

It is now, more than ever, we prove our love for Him.  Jesus says:  “If you love Me, than obey My commands.”

It is in these seasons that He watches to see if we will wait for Him or take it upon ourselves to move forward.  He watches to see if we will wait for His wisdom and His timing or move ahead in our own.

Friends it is in this time that we prove ourselves faithful. 

Waiting for our Master.  He will come and He has never left us. 

Brian

D-Day

In 1942 a group of young men came together and became one of the greatest fighting units the world has ever seen.  They volunteered from farms and city streets and some straight out of high school to become paratroopers during WW II.  This group was known as Easy Company 501^st inside the 101^st Airborne.  They trained for 5 months and then boarded their planes on that chilly June morning for the invasion of Europe. 

When they stepped aboard they were given everything they would need for this battle.  Food, ammo, weapons, protection, not to mention the largest, most powerful army the world had every seen coming behind them.

Yet, if any one of them would have sat down on the tarmac and refused to board that plane all of their training would have been useless.  All of the gear given to them would now be nothing more than dead weight.

They were called, trained and outfitted for a purpose. They boarded those planes weak-kneed and frightened but they all knew one thing:  If we don’t go who will? If we don’t stand and fight who will?

Those of us who believe Jesus is the Savior of the world have been given everything we need to live a godly life and the power to tell others of Him. Yet if we refuse to get involved and sit down with all of these gifts beside us, our faith becomes dead and useless. That’s what it says in the book of James.  Dead and useless.

The greatest need the world has ever known is here today.  This very morning.  And we have been equipped to go and share.  Yes, we all are weak-kneed and unsure about what lay around the corner as we get involved.  But remember:  If we don’t go, who will?  If we don’t stand and fight, who will?

And we don’t go alone; we go with the strongest, most powerful army the universe has ever seen beside us.

“Greater is He that is inside us, than he that is in the world.”  1John 4:4

Brian

Captivating

This is an excerpt from John and Stasi Eldredge’s book “Captivating”.   It is a perfect picture of His extravagant love and His wild pursuit of us.

“A few years ago John was on a business trip to Oregon.  He snuck away for some time alone with God, down to the beach where he walked and prayed and finally sat in the sand to watch the waves upon the sea.  Then he saw it.  A huge plume of water shot up into the sky, and a massive humpback whale appeared right before him, impossibly close to shore.  No one else was near.  The time of the whale’s migration had long passed.  John knew immediately that this was a gift from God to his heart alone, a gift from the Lover of his heart.

John told me (his wife) this story and, as happy as I was for him, I was hungrier for such a kiss for myself.  I wanted a whale too.  I wanted to experience God’s love for me, personally.  It wasn’t long after this that John and I were in N. CA speaking at a couple’s retreat.  I, too, snuck away one morning for some much needed time on the beach with God.  I sat on the sand, looked out to the sea, and asked God for a whale.  “I know you love John, Jesus, but do you love me too?  That much?  If you do, may I have a whale too?”I felt a little silly in asking, for I knew the truth; that God had already proven His love for me.  He had sent His only Son, Jesus, to die for me.  He had rescued me. He had paid the highest price imaginable for me.  He had given me all of creation to speak of His great glory and love, and He had given me the Word of God in all its depth and beauty, and here I was, asking for more. And God loved it. God delights I revealing Himself to those who will seek Him with all their hearts.  He is an extravagant, abundant Lover, and He loves to reveal His heart to us again and again.After awhile, with no whale in sight, I got up off the sand and continued to walk.  It was early spring, waves crashing, seagulls crying.  The northern coast of CA is rocky, and as I picked my way through, I rounded the corner and came upon a starfish, a beautiful orange starfish.  And I knew at once it was God’s gift to me, His kiss.  He didn’t give me a whale; no, that was for John alone.  For me, unique to me, he gave a stunning starfish.  He answered my question.  Yes.  He loved me.  I thanked Him for it, then rounded the next bend and came upon a sight I will never forget.  There before me, behind me, surrounding me, were hundreds of starfish.  Zillions of them.  There were purple ones and orange ones and blue ones, all sizes.  I burst into joyful laughter, my heart exploding inside me.  God didn’t just love me.  He LOOOOOVED me!  Intimately, personally, completely.” Captivating   John and Stasi Eldredge