Never disregard the grey hairs in your congregation. They have been the fire in the hearth for more years than you have been able to tie your own shoes.
Yes they can be trying. Yes they use outdated words. Yes they move slowly and remember things that happened before the Berlin wall fell. Who cares! They are are power house that you will only understand after they are gone. So love them now. Appreciate them now. Let them be part of things. It costs you little. We always talk about how Jesus loves children, but He also loves seniors. (Lets’ just be honest. He loves all of us.)
Even to your old age and gray hairs
I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
Isaiah 46:4
Someday you too will be the grey in your church. Hopefully you will have been as much of a force and as much of a blessing as the ones you are sighing about now.
Author: carriedinthecross
I am a young woman who grew up in British Columbia. In BC was all I ever wanted; I had my poodle (Max) and all my friends, Saturdays at the Vancouver Aquarium and Sunday afternoons at one of my favorite beaches it was paradise. But God had a different plan for my life and my dad's job landed us in Alberta and now where I remain, in small town Souris Manitoba. The transitions from paradise to prairie were difficult and I will admit that now 10 years later I still refer to home as Abbotsford BC. Through this crazy pathway trek across Canada I have had one true constant, God; and though none of it was easy, everything that has happened in my life has formed in me a true lasting friendship with the one I call Immanuel. Because no matter how far from home we are God is with us, and thanks to God I have found an almost completely over looked beauty in Manitoba. If you open your eyes you will see that God has planted wondrous things everywhere you go.
We can go
We can go
We have problems in this life.
They come up like a massive wave swell and crash upon us.
Sometimes they are little, other times they are big, and then there are those awful ones that begin small and turn big.
The one point of piece in all of this is that we can go.
We can go to Jesus.
He’s not annoyed with your constant chatter. He isn’t angry about what you have brought before Him.
Most relieving, He understands when you come to Him and are upset with Him.
Sometimes we feel like He’s let us down. Yet when we show up at His door with attitude and drama He still manages to let us walk away with His piece. Because He gets us. He understands. He’s not far from you.
So go! Bring it all to Him and let Him heal you.
Turbulence
Today I flew a hopper flight from the city where I was back home. It was the worst snow storm we had seen since December. We spent an hour on the ground defrosting the plane after taxing to the runway. Then we took off. 5000. 8000. 12000 feet. Suddenly the cabin lights up with sunshine and we can see nothing but blue skies before us and the storm beneath. That’s why the Jesus is the like the sun metaphor hits so hard. You can be in the middle of a terrible storm. You don’t know how you will ever get off the ground. Then you fight back onto your feet. Grit your teeth and keep going. You wonder why you are alone? Will the sun ever rise? Yet as soon as you lift above the clouds you realize the sun was already there ling before you even climbed in the plane.
Jesus is always there, long before you ever entered the storm.
It may look like He has left you and like He will continue to leave you alone. But God, is still there. He always has been, and He’s taking care of you.
Finish it for me:
Just because you can’t see the sun……
Be still
Psalms 46:10 NIV
[10] He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Be still and know that I am God is often shown as a gentle and calming statement, where in truth it’s a statement of authority. God isn’t saying “calm down” He’s saying “I am in charge. Be still under my power.”
He’s in control and wants us to stop trying to control things on our own. Be still. Stop spinning in every direction, be at peace under God’s authority.
Take away:
We run in circles trying to be in charge, where in this verse we are reminded that nothing we can do is of any use to ourselves. The Psalmist says he has no use for weapons because God is the one who wins the battle. Stop trying to win the battle that belongs to God.
Bids me come and Die
Bids me come and Die
Remember that song “Oh the wonderful cross”?
The cross bids me to die. To die to who I was before I met Jesus. Sometimes the dying is painful. Sometimes it costs.
But the new after? Unimaginable!
Like a rose bush that has dead all over it. So you cut it right back to the ground. There may be a long time of the bush looking dead, then suddenly a new green shoot. Then another. Soon you are so amazed by the brilliant color and scent you forget the days of death.
When Jesus died the sky went dark. The earth cracked. All of Heaven mourned. There were three terrible days of sorrow and confusion as His body lie in the grave.
Then, day three had a surprise. An empty tomb. Not all realized what had happened. Several did not believe at first. But He was alive. He still is.
His death made a way for me. So I can shed my old self and become who He wants me to be.
They paint the road to Heaven in gold in pictures, but really, it’s painted red.
Jesus blood leads the way. By His blood only are we saved.
So? How about it? Are you ready to leave the old you behind at the foot of the cross?
The garden
As we finish this lent season we end on what I feel was the saddest and hardest part of the crucifixion journey. The garden.
The garden was the biggest battle for Jesus. He fought against the human desire to escape and not go through the pain. He fought the fear. We don’t like to think of God as having fear, but Jesus became fully human so He faced the human feelings. If He had not been fully human He could not have died. If He had not been fully God His death would not have saved us. It’s a mystery, but God likes to show His power through wonder.
The garden was a battle field. The devil fighting to keep Jesus away from the cross. Jesus fighting for God’s will to be done. In the end He chose the death. The pain. The shame of that cross. For us. All for me. I could never earn that death. I could never be worth that moment. Yet He still died for my sake. And for yours.
Psalms 42:7 NIV[7] Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.
Psalms 42:7 NIV
[7] Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.
Growing up in BC I developed a passion for water. Streams, the ocean, waterfalls, rivers, crystal clear lakes. I was always known for being wet. For spending my time in the water. Fully dressed I would run into the water, just happy to be near it. Something about it drew me in. It still does. My college days in Castlegar BC I got into the habit of just having my swim suit with me, because I knew there would be sparkling water and I wouldn’t be able to keep out of it.
God is supposed to be like that for us. A constant draw to be with Him. Closer to Him. Deeper into His presence. As the Psalmist says earlier in this chapter, “when can I go and be with God?” We are meant to hunger after Him in that way. Unable to be far from Him because we desire His presence.
We are supposed to be drawn to Him like a wild animal is drawn to water.
Are we though? When we the last time you desired above all else to be near God?
Take away:
We are supposed to desire God. To walk away drenched by His spirit. But we settle for shallow water, ankle deep only.
Dive in instead. Be lost to the current of His peace and grace. Don’t settle for the shore. Get wet!
Seek Him with passion and love.
Psalms 41:13 NIV [13] Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.
Psalms 41:13 NIV
[13] Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.
He really is. Everlasting I mean.
God has always been here. He’s always taken care of His people. We fall down. We mess up. He helps us and saves us. He isn’t swayed by the opinions of others. He isn’t down trodden by life. He’s God. Where we go, He goes. He is with us until the end of our days.
Take away:
God is always here and has always been here. He has seen it all and still loves us and saves us.
Psalms 40:4 NIV
[4] Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.
False gods show up in the most unlikely forms. I discovered during my college days that studying was a false god. I thought I would always succeed if I studied hard enough. I was relentless in studying, panicking if I did not meet my self proclaimed quota. I needed to be reminded that my success and strength come only from God. When I would put my notes away and rest I was honoring Him and acknowledging that He was the one who controlled every outcome.
We rely so heavily on things that are finite. We rely on people, technology, stuff, books. Yet all these things can have errors. The only one who is all knowing and all powerful is God. You really do not want anyone or anything to be placed before Him. Idols are not just offensive to God, they’re also useless. They take up time and thought and give you nothing in return. Trust Jesus. He’s got the answers.
Take away:
False gods and idols show up in the most unexpected places. They take our energy and time and run us down.
We must focus on Jesus instead. Spending time with Him gives us energy, strength, and the ability to keep going.
Watch out for the pit traps in your life, before you fall so deep you can’t get out.
Psalms 39:7 NIV[7] “But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.
Psalms 39:7 NIV
[7] “But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.
We always quote this verse as something happy, but in truth David was in agony before God when he wrote it. He begged God to show him his life’s end, he prayed that God would turn His face from him so his suffering would end. This was not a happy prayer.
Yet in the midst of all of that David reminded God that He was all David longed for, the only one whom he could rely on.
We all have days when we fear that we have made God mad. We like to think He never punishes us, but He does. Probably most of the hurt that happens in life is not a direct rebuke from God, but it sometimes is. I remember the one time I was mad about something that someone did and was complaining loudly to my mom about it, I felt I should stop but didn’t, then my hand closed on a wasp. Perhaps it was something else, but it looked like a wasp. I used to train horses so pain and I know each other well, and it’s no exaggeration to say this was one of the worst pains I have ever had. It lasted for several days. I really should have seen a doctor. I try to remember that day, because I fail God often and I never want to be rebuked or punished by Him.
Yet in the midst of our suffering, even if we are being reprimanded, we can run to Him and He will love us and save us, even from His own anger.
Take away:
Like a child who is bad and is punished, who then turns to their father and reaches up their arms and is swept up into a big safe hug; we too can turn to God, even when we are sure what we are going through is direct punishment for something we’ve done. He will still take us in His arms and love us.
A Father’s anger does not take away His love.
Carried in the cross 