Go Love!

"We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us." 2 Corinthians 5:20

We live in a mean world. Have you noticed? The young especially seem to have a galling lack of compassion at times. It's not just the young, though. People in general seem rich in anger and poor in patience. The tongue is quicker to find fault than give the benefit of a doubt. Shoulders carry chips so big it's inevitable that they get knocked off.

Why? 

People are hurting, that's why. Many rarely experience genuine kindness unattached to ulterior motives. Folks are afraid to trust so they wear the breastplate of meanness for protection. It keeps hurt out, but it locks love out, too! What a lonely way to live!

Enter you to their rescue!

Yes, you! 

You're riding on a white horse of humility, and your face shines with the love of Christ.  In your hand is a taste of love and kindness that is your unique recipe. The world is starving for it. 

They may be suspicious for a while, but you have nothing to hide. You are complete in Him (Colossians 2:10) so you have no ulterior motives for caring other than to show them where they can find love too. 

There is a shortage of people like that so you might seem like an alien to them at first.  Love on, My Sister! Be an outpost of kindness in the desert of meanness and indifference at your workplace, in your neighborhood, and even in your family.  

Where else will they see it if not in you? If you don't reach out, how will they know hope? Yes, it's that serious. 

Your offering matters because they need what God has given you--Himself. 

Now, go love!

When You Do Your Ugly Cry

"Hear, O Lord, when I cry with my voice, and be gracious to me and answer me." Psalm 27:7

It's true.  People can get tired of you, or maybe they don't have time for you. They have problems of their own, and the weight of them oftentimes leaves no room on the scale to add yours. Sometimes they love you so much that listening to you cry makes them uncomfortable because there's nothing they can do to help. They are human, and they were not built to be everything to you.

 Only God can do that.

So go to Him. Take your wig off and do your ugly cry. Babble on as long as you need to, He doesn't have somewhere else He needs to be. Walk-ins are always welcome, and both sides of His sign on the door say OPEN.

He's not limited by time or space so He's with you in the car as soon as you call, and He's in that tight space when your head is under the covers at 3 a.m. Bless His Name!

You can't wear Him out or fear He'll label you "needy" and gradually pull away.

No need to preface everything with a history to bring Him up to speed. Jump right in and pour your heart out. His Spirit even fills in the right words when your heart can't find them.

Go ahead.  Call on Him.

Your ugly cry isn't ugly to Him!

Don't Ever Forget It

 "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect." 1 Peter 1:18-19

I have been car shopping, and I hate it. Trying to find a good car that fits my budget is like making a skirt in size 3 and then searching for a hippo that can fit in it!

The cars I CAN buy do not seem worth it. They are ugly, or they have too many miles, or the stories surrounding them sound fishy.  I cannot throw hard-earned money away on this. Even when the price is low, it's too high considering the trouble I'll have later.

You were like that when Jesus found you. I was, too.

 We were ugly in our hearts; the black mold of sin was so thick it was hard to see anything else.

The itemized spreadsheet of all our daily wrongs could cover too many miles of highway. If you and I could read the story God read of what He'd be getting into if He got involved with us, "fishy" would be a mild word to describe it.

He bought us anyway.

He turned your price tag over and it read... BLOOD. You already know it was not just any blood.

He said, "I'll pay it."

Aren't you glad?

On the days you feel frustrated that you failed again, don't forget this.

When you feel like the least of the least, or you wonder why you should even try, don't forget  the price He paid for you.

In His eyes, you were not worthy, yet you were worth it.

Don't ever forget it.

Tell Me: What do you do in response to this truth? It makes me want to kiss His feet and live to make Him proud. 

Shhh...

"And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice."  1Kings 19:12

I was sitting on my patio one morning when a hummingbird flew so close to me, I could've touched it.  It was so beautiful! I didn't dare breathe too deeply for fear I would shorten its visit.  

I knew this tiny creature would not stay long so I drank in every second he hovered eye-level to me.  I took quick mental pictures of its iridescent colors, the amazing speed of its tiny wings, and that bee-like buzz those wings let off. 
  
Then it was gone. 

I let out the breath I was holding and scrambled to relive the rare encounter. I wanted more! How could I make it happen again?  

Stillness was the only way. 

Same with hearing the voice of God.  He's everywhere at once, but if you want Him to visit you one-on-one and speak to you, you must make your heart and life quiet enough.


God often speaks in a still, quiet whisper. Are you ever still enough to hear it? Could it be that an answer you're waiting for has been spoken over and over by the Father, but you can't hear it over the clamor of the radio in your car, the television in your home, and the standing open-door policy you have with your cell phone and social media?


Lack of quiet is a breeding ground for anxiety, confusion, and the accusing voice of the enemy.  

Quiet and stillness send an invitation to the Father to come over and have a talk.

Be encouraged to make pockets of quiet a priority in your day. The loving interaction God has with your spirit is  sweeter than anything, even the buzzing of a hummingbird's wings.

Shhh...God is speaking!

The Big Day

"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom." Eccl. 9:10

She was a beautiful young woman.

We only took a few classes together, and we ran in different circles, but it was obvious even from a distance that she was crazy about Jesus. Anyone could tell God had embedded in her heart a deep love for a particular race of people in a land far away. She was studying and saving to bring them Jesus upon her graduation.

What impressive passion!

What devoted love!

What heartbreak when she died a few months after learning she was incurably ill.

 I couldn't believe it! Why call her home early when the laborers are few as it is, and so many are waiting to hear the truth?

The answer is none of our business.

What IS our business is pulling out the hope chest and serving Him on the good china of TODAY.

Have you assumed that because your goals are noble and Christ-honoring that God will give you enough days to fulfill them? He may not. All you have is today. Nothing else is promised.

Purpose to go to bed empty each night because you left it all on the stage of your TODAY.

Determine to allow God to extract every drop of glory from every moment of your life TODAY by His grace.

 Don't hold  back. Because there's no promise of another day, every today IS the  Big Day!

Talk About It: I have been holding back, saving some things for when my dream comes true, but I've discovered that was bondage. God deserves my best today. What does that look like in  YOUR life?

Take the Stairs

To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. --1 Corinthians 9:22-23

I already know I'm risking being misunderstood, but please don't let it be because you didn't hear me out.

Ever seen a person who needs to hear about Jesus, but you ask yourself,  "Why in the world would they give me the time of day? Why would they listen to me?"

Perhaps you approached a stranger and they were put off by your "religious question". Admit it, you felt awkward just approaching them.

Hear me when I say that you don't have to do this with everybody, but I am discovering that the awkwardness can sometimes be eliminated if we took the stairs of relationship-building instead of the quick elevator to rush straight to the God-talk. 

Would the odds they will listen increase?

Could it be that the elevator is at times more about us "just getting it over with" instead of choosing to take the time to earn the ear of a lost person?

Caring takes time. It is a decision to work a relationship into the folds of our busy lives instead of crashing in from a helicopter, delivering the goods, and being airlifted before they know what hit them.

God can do anything He wants anyway He pleases. People do come to know Jesus through elevator talks and helicopter drops ; however, some, nay many, need the gentler approach of a friend over a stranger.

Bottom line: let's be just as sensitive to the Spirit's leading to take the relational stairs as we are to His nudge to take the elevator.

Talk About It: I was once led to reach a group of teens at a bus stop in my neighborhood. I was a 39-year-old mother. I had nothing in common with those teens. God showed me over that next year that a listening ear and a caring heart cause people to lay out the welcome mat on subjects that otherwise would be off-limits. Have you found this to be true?

Don't Shut Down

"Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praises."

Whatever you do, don't shut down.

Is life going well for you? Let your mouth and heart send love notes of thanks and praise to God. Do not have an affair with good times and cheat on the Lover of your soul. Any good going on comes from Him. Allow the gift to champion more love for the Giver, not compete with Him.

Are you in a season of suffering? He can handle your anger, absorb as many tears as you need to cry, and understand your questions about why He didn't fulfill what you believe He promised.

Bring it all to Him.

 Your flesh will want to turn your back and give Him the silent treatment. He will be there when you are ready to come back, but you cheat yourself when you pull away. Suffering is hard enough. Why add loneliness to it?

 Invite Him to the party and the funeral.

No matter what, don't shut down.