Fearful tears

I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside.
Revelation 5:4 (NIV)

Hello, dear friend.

I want to share with you today's Our Daily Bread reading by Dave Branon--Fearful Tears. Take a few minutes and delight in this powerful message based on the New Testament book of Revelation 5!

Are you crying today, dear friend? See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah (v. 5)!

Blessings,
Faithfully Following

Something new

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)

As he headed into the laundry room with a hammer, crowbar, level and paint brush in hand, I thought about my husband's handyman skills. The guy is a pretty amazing fix-it man.

Skilled at gutting fireplaces, tearing down plaster ceilings, ripping out cabinets, and removing walls, he is equally accomplished at replacing drywall, laying brick, installing custom shelving, pouring concrete and putting in windows. Capable of repairing almost any item, large or small, he's a whiz with a tube of Crazy Glue, a tub of spackle, or a container of caulk. A ripper-upper, fixer-upper extraordinaire, he's left his mark on each house we've owned.

In this particular case, my husband's goal was to replace a wire shelving unit with custom cabinets. Now, before you think the tools a bit extreme for the job, stay with me here. Bob has the ability to look past the surface of things. He notices what's around him. Once he realizes something needs improving, he's compelled to get to the heart of the project. He's determined to go beyond a mere cosmetic fix.

The wire shelf in our laundry room is impractical. Everything on it is exposed--bottles of laundry detergents, containers of cleaning supplies, various size sponges and brushes. My husband envisioned a room with closed cabinets that would be much more effective for storing items. A fresh coat of paint would add to the room's appearance.

So, he started at the bottom, literally. He removed the washer, clothes dryer, utility sink, and wire shelf in order to have full access to the room. The original baseboards, which were poorly installed, were taken out. The light switch plate was removed and light fixture taken down in preparation to paint the ceiling and walls. Cabinets were ordered, paint colors were selected, and new baseboards were cut to size and painted to complete the project.

Dear friend, while we were still dead in our sins, God saw us. In His amazing love, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross that through His life-saving blood anyone who receives Him by faith can be cleansed and made new--God's own "workmanship" (Ephesians 1:3-5; 1 John 1:7).

Jesus, our Redeemer, is the expert who can replace the most broken, defiled, or discouraged heart with healing, strength, forgiveness and hope. Nothing is too hard for Him. Through the Holy Spirit when we ask God to help us live each day, He does a marvelous work. By His power, we can shed the old and embrace the new. As believers and new creations, we can live a joyful life. (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:10)

Let the Master Craftsman have His way with your heart. The effects will be fantastic!

Blessings, dear friend.
Faithfully Following

The great divide

But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.
Galatians 4:4-5 (NIV)

The special, invitation-only open rehearsal allowed guests to get an up close, personal look at the athleticism and beauty of classical ballet as the dance troupe prepared for their upcoming performance. Ballerinas and male dancers moved across the rehearsal studio with grace and performance aplomb far beyond their years. And, as the audience was drawn into the story through the dancers' movements and expressions, the choreographer explained the intricacies behind the creation of a new ballet.

Unlike this open rehearsal, an intentional gap exists between performer and patron during an actual performance--the stage, orchestra pit, and even the lighting, create a space that separates the dancer from the theatre goer. Once the rehearsal program ended, however, it was difficult to distinguish between dancer and guest. Laughter and conversation echoed throughout the studio as young and old alike mingled with one another.

Participating in that rehearsal reminded me of the chasm that separates me from our Holy God because of my sin. When it comes to God's holiness and my sinfulness, there is absolutely no room for a pas de deux.

But thanks to be God in Christ Jesus that He doesn't leave me in my separated condition! In His mercy, God the Father sent His One and Only True Son, Jesus Christ, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem me and all who would believe in Him (v. 4-5).

Dear friend, through Jesus Christ's suffering, death, and resurrection, He made the way for each of us to share in God's gracious gift of salvation (Galatians 3:27-29). He is the cross that bridges the great divide. By the power of the Holy Spirit will you accept his invitation and trust Jesus as Savior?

Our gracious redemption was carefully planned,
The gulf between heaven and earth has been spanned,
The portals are open, the passage is free,
Oh, wondrous salvation, it's even for me!

Blessings, dear friend.
Faithfully Following

Completely Clean, RBC Ministries

Does that answer the question

Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.
1 Timothy 1:13 (NIV)

They were five students with nothing in common, faced with spending a Saturday detention together in their high school library.

The 1985 movie "The Breakfast Club" follows five teenagers at a fictional suburban Chicago high school. While not complete strangers, the five are from different social groups. Criticized and ordered not to speak or move from their seats by their antagonistic principal, the students pass the detention hours telling stories, harassing each other, fighting, dancing, and speaking on a variety of subjects. Gradually, they open up to each other and reveal their inner secrets.

In response to an essay that Mr. Vernon had assigned--Who do you think you are?--the students leave a single letter that illustrates how their attitudes and perspectives changed during the course of the day. In one brief paragraph, they challenge their fault-finding principal's preconceived judgments about each of them as well:

Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong, but we think you're crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us--in the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain..and an athlete...and a basket case...a princess...and a criminal. Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club.

The apostle Paul had been a Christian for more than 30 years. He had been on the road with the gospel message for 20. Yet in deep humility, he never forgot his bitter opposition to Christ and that he had once gone all out to destroy His church.

Paul never ceased to be amazed that God took a man like him into His service. In verse 15 of the first chapter of First Timothy, he writes, "Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst."

At 7 a.m. on a brisk Saturday in March, five "breakfast club" misfits had nothing to say. By four o'clock the same afternoon, their judgments of one another had changed. They bared their souls to each other, realized they had much more in common than they realized, and became good friends.

Because of our sin, we are separated from the Lord and considered His enemies. But thanks be to God in Christ Jesus that when we confess our sin and acknowledge our need for His forgiveness, He shows us mercy and changes who we are.

Dear friend, Jesus' suffering, death, and resurrection answered the question once and for all--who do you think you are?

Blessings, dear friend.
Faithfully Following

PS For all you classic movie fans, I hope I didn't give too much of The Breakfast Club story line away...

Stand up for your rights

But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.
Galatians 4:4-5 (NIV)

The young girl clutched a yellow #2 pencil in her petite right hand with a firm grip. Each of her small, rapid strokes reverberated as she drove the writing utensil across the coarse paper, solving a seemingly endless list of math problems. The harsh, scratching sound of her laborious task, in the otherwise quiet kitchen setting, served only to increase the child's irritation.

My daughter has a beautiful passion for life. She expresses joy with fervent delight; frustration with equaled intensity. She loves school in general, and she adored her third grade elementary teacher in specific. This particular afternoon, however, she sat at the kitchen table muttering continuously under her breath. An inexplicable agitation mounted as she completed each calculation of the mathematics homework that Mrs. Rathbun assigned.

Finally, with a grit resembling the likes of cartoon character Popeye the Sailor, she had all she could stands, she could stands no more! She stood up in protest and placed the worn-tipped pencil on the table's hardwood surface with a definitive "slam." Her white-knuckled fingers grasped her tiny hips as she declared with an attitude of entitlement, "Kids have rights, too, you know! And, I'm standing up for kids' rights!"

The birth of Christ was one of the most significant events in history. At just the right time, God the Father sent His Son to purchase our freedom. The apostle Paul says that through God's divine love and mercy toward us, God takes into His family all who believe in Christ Jesus. He recognizes each one as His adopted child, an heir with full rights.

What great and invaluable rights do we enjoy through Christ?

As God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, we have the remarkable privilege of demonstrating compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

Through the Holy Spirit, we have the amazing power to bear with each other, forgiving whatever grievances we have against one another. We can forgive as the Lord forgave us.

We can cover all these virtues with a distinctive love that binds them all together in perfect unity. In all our relationships, Christ can rule in our hearts; and we can live with an attitude of peace only He can give.

We have the unending right to give thanks.

We experience the marvelous advantage of Christ's Word dwelling richly within us. With wisdom, as we sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in our hearts to God, we can teach and admonish one another.

Whatever we do in obedience to God, whether in our words or in our actions, we have the incredible privilege to do it all in the name of our Lord Jesus. (Colossians 3:12-17)

In A Simple Christmas: Twelve Stories that Celebrate the True Holiday Spirit, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee describes Christmas as "God doing the unexpected for the undeserving." We are undeserving. Yet, the God of the universe came to earth as a baby and was later put to death in order to redeem the lives of broken, sinful people like me and like you. Through Christ Jesus, we receive full rights as heirs of our Heavenly Father.

I never uncovered the source of my daughter's frustration that surrounded her third grade math assignment. I'll admit I got a chuckle out of her fiery display (well, it was really a good belly laugh). I also came to wholeheartedly embrace her passion.

Kids have rights! As God's child, I'm standing up for them. How about you, friend? Will you stand up and exercise your rights?

Blessings, dear friend.
Faithfully Following

Separation

But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear."
Isaiah 59:2 (NIV)

I did it again! I let something my husband said escalate, turning me into a selfish, "you hurt my feelings" nincompoop. It wasn't that he yelled, insulted, or called me horrible names. All the same, my ego took over and I got mad.

It was late afternoon when we decided to rearrange furniture--something most married folks probably shouldn't do in the first place. On his knees, my husband pushed a mammoth-sized television set, inch by inch, across the family room floor to a third location. I knew he was tired, not to mention had rug burns on his knees. With little compassion, I pressed, "It needs to go back more into the corner."

I can't recall his exact response, but his annoyed tone matched my frustrated attitude. In fitting kindergarten-ish, "I'm taking my ball and going home" style, I glared at him; and without a word, stomped out of the room.

The evening could have been pleasant for the two of us as our children were out with friends. But, I chose to grunt in response to his attempts at a conversation, slam pots and pans as I prepared dinner, and display the most disgruntled expression I could muster. Later, I sealed our evening's fate with what every decent marriage counselor cautions against--I went to bed angry.

It was the dead of night when I awoke to an unmistakable nudge. Hearing the familiar, steady snoring sound coming from the opposite side of the bed, I realized my husband hadn't poked me. No. It was my heart. I knew better than to ignore the prod and quietly slid my legs over the edge of the mattress, making my way to my "quiet place."

Sitting in the darkness of the early morning hours, a gentle voice in my heart probed, "Anything you'd like to share?" With a sigh I responded, "Yes, Lord. I'm so dumb. I let a ridiculous little comment get to me. I got angry. I became mean. But, you know what? I'm frustrated at how I keep making the same mistake. Quite frankly, I'm rather tired of confessing this sin."

Immediately, a disturbing silence seemed to engulf my entire being.

In that deafening sound of nothingness, my thoughts took me to the Old Testament accounts of Cain and of King David. Turning on a lamp, I reached for my Bible, flipped the pages to Genesis 4, and read, "And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him." Turning the pages further to 2 Samuel 11, I read King David's instructions, "Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die."

Both accounts record grievous, sinful acts. Both men suffer consequences from their actions. Yet, where David is ultimately restored in his relationship with God, Cain is banished. Why is David forgiven and Cain not?

The answer lies in their repentance. David confesses, "I have sinned against the LORD." Cain doesn't. In his pride, Cain is unwilling to admit his sin. What's more, in his rebellion against God, he is removed from God's presence.

As I sat in the quiet of the night, I relived three distressing events involving personal separation. Twenty heart-wrenching minutes when the whereabouts of our then four-year old son were unknown. The clanking sound of metal hitting metal as doors close and an ambulance drives away with our young daughter inside, who had fallen from a horse. My ears straining for the sound of an opening garage door as my uncharacteristically late husband is long overdue returning home from work.

Separation. As these episodes raced through my mind, they stirred up the pain I felt being separated from those I hold dear and the joy I experienced being reunited.

What dread an alienated Cain must have endured as he "went out from the LORD's presence." What amazing delight a restored David experienced as he wrote, "Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him." (Psalm 32)

Sin separates. Repentance reunites. As for me, I never want to be outside our loving God's presence. With humility, I immediately confessed to God my ugliness, mean-spirited attitude, and arrogant heart. In the morning, I also asked my husband for his forgiveness; who in turn, asked me to forgive him for his actions. What a wonderful restoration of relationships!

Dear friend, are you experiencing separation because of unconfessed sin? If so, our gracious, Heavenly Father loves you with an everlasting love. He longs for you to come into His warm embrace and delight in the joy of confession and forgiveness of sins. Won't you come today?

Blessings, dear friend.
Faithfully Following