God always keeps His promises.
Genesis 8:6-12 NIV
[6] After forty days Noah opened a window he had made in the ark [7] and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. [8] Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. [9] But the dove could find nowhere to perch because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. [10] He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. [11] When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. [12] He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him.
I love ravens. I love ravens because of my friend ravens who live in our yard and I love them because of the raven on the ark. No one ever remembers the raven. We all like to smile and think of the dove. The dove is lovely and soft and small. The dove brought back the branch to Noah. Everyone remembers the dove.
But what about the raven? Ravens are big and black and people call them omens of bad luck and accuse them of making terrible screeching. But really, ravens are blue and black and purple. They don’t mean bad or good luck. They make many sounds, some are very beautiful, and they will talk with you if you speak to them. They follow people the like. And as Phallen (my dog) found out, they will chase those they don’t appreciate. Most importantly, a raven was the first bird sent out from the ark. But because it was not time yet, it did not find anything. Due to that, it is forgotten. (Also recalling that the dove took several tries before it found land)
When we have been waiting a really long time for something amazing to happen, something God has promised and it keeps not happening, we lose hope. We eventually give up and move on and leave our dream behind us. We forget the raven. We chase doves that fly around with answers in their beaks and never remember the raven again. Until one day. The raven found nothing to bring back because it wasn’t time. But eventually he too got to fly over green fields and feed on olive trees. God will bring us to shore. If He has promised it, then it will come to pass. We just have to wait on His timing. The dove’s time came sooner than the raven’s, but the raven’s time was on its way. He just had to be patient. So do we.
Trusting God is hard. Especially when all you see around you is water, but His promises are true. And then, a rainbow.
Genesis 9:13, 15-16 NIV
[13] I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth.
[15] I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. [16] Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”
The rainbow has lost it’s meaning in society. But you will often find a rainbow in the church. On a wall in the Sunday school usually. Why? Because the story of Noah is amazing and a favorite for many. More importantly it’s because the rainbow was and is the sign of God’s judgement followed by His grace. He destroyed the earth because of its sin. But He would not destroy it completely because He still had one man who served Him with all His heart. Rainbows in the skies show God’s promises are true.
They always have been.
So when things are dark. Turn on your headlamp and follow Jesus.
When the answers seem impossible, keep marching and blow your horn!
When the water swells around you and the raven is still flying back and forth finding nothing, wait for your ark to hit land.
When you doubt because of the storm, look for the Rainbows because God keeps His promises. Trust Him.
Category: Devotional
His LOVE is mightier than the waves
Psalms 93:4
Even mightier than the waves of the sea is His love for you.
Have you ever been there? Seen it? A winter ocean storm. Not to be confused with a summer storm which is nothing compared with winter, not where we go in BC at least.
Growing up I loved winter. Winter meant Christmas, snow, sledding, skating, and best of all, big wave season.
I would have on a full dry suit with gloves and hood and I looked like a little purple, red, blue stripes on black back drop navy seal. I would take my board and be in that water until I couldn’t feel the sand when I returned because I was too cold. That was wonderful, but better still were the storms. Bundled by a fire in the all season gazebo, hot chocolate in hand, honey cake close by and just watch as the ocean showed its wild side. It would grab full trees and yank them into it. It would score and scar the sand and destroy rocks. Hail was nothing compared to being pelted by spray off of the waves during a winter ocean storm. Your skin would have red dots from the barage of tiny H2O bullets even from a fair distance away. In those moments watching the ocean rage I truly thought no element on earth could ever match its power.
Yet here in Psalms David is saying that God’s (not wrath) love is mightier than the ocean.
An ocean that can decimate a city, rush rock, sink big ships, drag trees into its depth, my God loves me in such a powerful love that it is greater than that. Maybe the artist who said God’s love is like hurricane and I am a tree wasn’t so far off base as we tend to think.
Even in the darkness, He is more than enough
Psalms 23:4 NIV
[4] Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Has anyone here ever been caving?
Caving is so much fun! If you are not afraid of the dark.
We imagine caving as we see it in movies. Big open spaces with luminescent moss and rocks. It’s usually not like that though. Every time I have been caving except one the caves were small and tight and there were the longest insects you have ever seen in your life on the ceiling, and it was dark, very dark.
I was in one cave once that was so small you could not turn around. Once you started you had to continue until the end or else stay there forever.
Life is like a cave. Once you are born there is no going back. In the beginning you often have more good days then dark days, you’re a child in a child’s world, every pony was once a unicorn, every speck of dust a faery, then you begin to grow up and the cave gets darker. You start to see bits of this world that you would rather not. It can seem like the older you get the more dark you see. Bad times and hard days come and you wonder if it’s possible to turn around. But it’s not.
The most important thing you carry when caving is your flashlight. Or headlamp in most cases.
You know where this is going.
Jesus is our headlamp. When the doctor wants you for more tests. When the news seems like it can’t get bleaker. When you lose your job. Your family is hurting. You feel lost. Don’t forget your headlamp.
Those without Jesus will fall and get going down the wrong tunnel because they have no light. Those with Jesus will find their way to the end. You have to remember to turn on your headlamp.
Sometimes you are going through a bad time and you know you are going to have to fight, and you call out to God and He tells you to March and sing. One loop around a wall and then blow a trumpet and you think, ‘this is nuts.’ But you do it. And nothing happens. Then the next day God calls you to do it again. So you do it again. You do it for six days! Then day seven comes.
We are His
We belong to Jesus. He made us. He wants us. He loves us.
I saw an image recently of Jesus sitting alone at a table. Candles were lit and dinner was on the table and there He sat, waiting. How long will we keep Him waiting? All He wants is for is to love Him. To spend time with Him. To give our lives over to Him and want to please Him. We expect Him to please us so why shouldn’t He expect us to please Him.
How long will we spend our time away from Him?
It’s not like He can’t go with you. If your jogging, doing dishes, painting, driving. You can always have Jesus with you. If you are doing things and going places where Jesus can’t come with you, then you need to stop doing those things and going those places.
He’s got the candles lit. The table is set. He’s waiting for you.
Lose your life to save it? Isn’t that backwards?
Luke 17:33 NIV
[33] Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it.
Often what Jesus said feels backwards. Death is gain, to lose your life will save it. It all sounds backwards. But that’s because Jesus spoke from the lense of Heaven, where we see everything through this world. It’s funny to think of other cultures sometimes. There are so many things our culture does that a different cultures wouldn’t understand and vise versa. It makes me think of when I was in school and one of my friends was from a different country. When I was kid, giving your friend a friendly pat on the arm was a form affection. If you weren’t friends it wasn’t, but I was used to a friend walking up and giving me a pat on the shoulder or arm, it was just a thing you did. Replaced rather soon by the high five and then the fist bump.
I recall a day when I gave my friend a gentle pat on the shoulder when I said ‘hi’ and passed her in the hall. In no time at all I found myself face to face with a teacher and my friend who was crying. I was very confused. My teacher got mad at me for hitting her. I was horrified and couldn’t figure out why my friend had made up this lie. Then it came around to that morning when I had patted her on the shoulder as I walked past and said good morning. It was not something they did where she was from. It was culturally inappropriate in her original country and seen as an act of violence.
I repeat. We all did this. It was a friendly gesture. But not in her country. She was new to our land. She didn’t understand our ways. And if I’m being honest, this particular friend never did understand our ways and we all who spent time with her had to walk on eggs shells so we didn’t accidentally do something that was not okay where she was from. That made life a bit complicated. She very soon only had myself and one other who would still be with her at lunch because she would run to the teacher about everything and anything we did. I consider that it wasn’t simply cultural but perhaps just her personality, but I’m getting off topic.
We see everything through the lense of this world, this place we live and been raised in. But God sees everything through His world. Heaven. He also sees this world the way it was supposed to be and the way it is now thanks to our sinful ways. Because God speaks in a way that is different from the way we expect things to be, we easily get confused or angry. Many rear up at the Mark 8:[35] For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. Statement. Why? Because to our culture it makes no sense. We are a self love, self serve society, being told to do anything for anyone else is heresy to us. Then we become offended and run to the teacher saying we’ve been hurt. But God is speaking from right perspective. His. If we die to ourselves and lose our lives to serve Him better to push His word further forward, then we are living correctly. Because if we live only for Jesus we will find ourselves more satisfied then if we live to serve us. It seems backwards. But that’s because we are still learning how to live as citizens of Heaven and not of thos world any longer.
Where am I?
Isaiah 59:2 NIV
[2] But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
Many things can separate us from Jesus. Generally those things are sins. Sometimes it’s as simple as not prioritizing God and growing cold and distant. But most times it’s something God warned us against. A little compromise here and there. The ‘I’ll only do it once’ idea.
Remember the song be careful little ears what you hear. Be careful little eyes what you see. Be careful little hands what you do. Be careful little mouth what you say. And be careful little feet where you go. Because the Father up above is looking down with love. So be careful. Why should we be careful? Because God will strike us down of we don’t? No. Because it’s the little things that lead to be pains in the end.
God has not hidden His face from us. Our sins have blocked His face out. This verse suggests that if we are prolific in sin, if we sin without repentance, or if we sin and think it’s fine because God loves us so much He will ignore our transgressions, then God will not hear us when we pray.
One thing God always hears no matter how much you sin, is repentance. If we ask God to forgive us we will find Him ready and happy to do so. He will not ignore our transgressions, but He will always forgive them. If we are Christians then we will lives that we know will make Jesus smile.
If He was in the room physically with you. Would you do the same things? Tell the same jokes? Talk the same smack?
Think on that.
When we choose our own ways and shut ourselves off from God then our down fall and despondency is soon to follow.
Reach out instead to Jesus. He’s reaching for you.
In the hospital zone
In the hospital zone
It makes me laugh when people complain that they have been hurt by people in church or offended by people in church. It makes me laugh because most of the people in church are broken, hurting people who need Jesus. People go to church and assume they’re going to meet a bunch of perfect, put together Saints. And then when they don’t and they meet bad mouth, rude, aggressive, sometimes very offensive people. They are shocked. But Church isn’t a health club. It’s a hospital. And it’s not even a big hospital with all the proper equipment, it’s more like a hospital in the trenches in Afghanistan. You ever seen Mash think of church as a Mash unit. It’s the place where those who have been wounded, where those who are sick, where those who nobody else wants, go. Because church is the place where they can be healed and loved by the few there who are there as representations of Jesus. By the few who have already been healed. I remember seeing recently a little comic strip with a little dinosaur. And the dinosaur was saying to his friend, I feel really sad today. And the friend said well why don’t you try yoga. So the little dinosaur went to try yoga but there was a big sign on the door that said no bad vibes welcome here. So in discouragement the little dinosaur went away. And I wanted to shout to him come to church. Bring your sadness and your hurt, we want all of that. Bring your disease your pain your need. Come to church where you can be healed. Jesus is the only one who can fix you. I was standing there going like “bring it in here for the real thing little brother.” Have you ever been to yoga Club? It’s not a place you go to be fixed or healed from your pain or your illness. And now I’m not talking physical at this moment. There are few more put together people then you will find at a yoga Club. Not because yoga has helped them heal from their trauma. Because they were already pretty good to go and a few deep breaths just made it even better.
Church is where you need to be to be fixed. No I’m not slamming yoga for physical stretching and toning. I do yoga myself for toning and stretching. I was simply using it as an example. Church is where you go, not to be amongst a bunch of perfect people who can show you how to be perfect, but to be around a bunch of unperfect people who show you the love of Jesus. Once you know Jesus, once you’ve come to know him, then even death will not scare you anymore. Because once you’ve given your life to him, once you have chosen which side you will stand on, the sides of the world or the side of Jesus, then you will have someone who will be with you even past death. Heaven is reserved for those who love the savior. And not just those who know him or know of him or trying to be good people, but those who have given their lives to him those who have prayed and said please Jesus Take me out of this life I’m living and change me so I can live like you. We’re all on a ladder trying to climb rung by rung through this life. But are you on the ladder that will eventually lead you into Paradise or are you on a ladder that will lead you nowhere. Christians know which ladder we are on. And even better some of us helped put runs into the ladders on either side of us to help those around us reach Jesus. You need to remember that Jesus loves you too because until you know Jesus you’re not going to get very far. This world and this life is a poor substitute for heaven and Eternity.
Heaven is just a prayer away
Heaven is just a prayer away. We can’t talk to those who have before us, but we can talk to God. Sometimes when we lose someone we like to ask God to pass on a message to them and that can feel a little wrong, but if I’m being honest, I truly don’t think God minds. He gets that we are breaking. He gets that we want to hold and touch our loved one again. So when we ask Him to give our family or friends in Heaven a hug from us, I think He’s okay with it, He knows that we aren’t trying to be offensive or trying to speak with those in Heaven other than God Himself, He knows that our hearts are simply trying to hold on to the one who has torn them apart by going. God wants us to talk to Him. He wants us to be honest. Sometimes I find myself saying things like, “Are you sitting on the beach with Nana.” Or “I miss Max, give him a big hug from me please.” Not because the ones we love need us sending them hugs and love, but because we need the hug and the time on the beach. God understands our pain. Now. That does not mean we should try and contact our loved ones. We must not try and communicate with those who are dead. But if asking God to pass on your love to the ones you have lost helps you heal, then I think He would rather you were talking to Him about it then doing anything else. Does He transfer your messages and hugs to those who have gone first? Probably not. Simply because time does not exist in Heaven. We feel it has been so many years since we last saw those who have gone first. But to them it’s been no time at all. They don’t miss us, they are in paradise and when we get there it will be like a blink, like no time has passed at all.
But that won’t stop me from saying, “I wish I could hold him, one more time. Give him a hug from me Jesus, and hug me too because I need it so badly tonight.”
He loves us. Jesus holds us close and comforts us. Let Him heal you. Speak to Him about your pain. Tell Him the memories you cherish. Let Him be your joy.
Today He dies, Sunday He comes back
Sever skin from bone
-Snap- the screams echo through the halls. It’s dark and dry. Thirst. Need. Fear. Pain. -Snap- another shriek. Your turn next.
Trembling. Is this an illusion? A nightmare? No. The tearing at your skin from the rats shows that’s not true. Is anyone out there? Someone to save you. -Clink- Doors open. “Leave!” Gruff voice. Daylight. Tears. Relief.
Screams.
Not yours. Out comes a man. His face is twisted and he drags his body as he walks. You run over just in time to catch Him.
“Sir. Are you alright?” Blood soaks your palms. A weak smile. Sweat. More tears.
A whisper. “For you, I did this.” Death.
3 days. Arms lift you up and spin you around. ALIVE! RISEN! FREE!
I hear the best torture professionals could sever skin from bone with a single lash. Have you ever had a cut bone deep? I have; it’s agonizing, I still have the scar.
Imagine 49 of those covering your body.
They spare some details in the movies because I am sure that Jesus wasn’t free standing, He most likely was tied to something to hold him still when they beat Him. Also. He probably threw up blood till He couldn’t anymore. The screams and cries of anguish, (anguish we should have bore) would have been sickening to the audience. It would not have been anywhere near as gentle as we see it in our minds.
Image one hundred billion names or more tattooed on the end of the whip. Look closely. There is your name. No! Don’t look away! Watch as it drives itself into your savior’s back. That is why we serve Him.
I know most people will walk away from this and shake their heads and try to remove these images. But don’t. Lest we ever forget that Jesus SUFFERED and died. Those lashes were yours, and mine.
Majesty of God-part 4
.John 20:15-16 NIV
[15] He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” [16] Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”).
He said to her, “Mary.” Jesus called her by name. Why is this so important? Because Mary had lost her name. She had had her name taken by the evil that was in her. Jesus drove seven evil spirits out of Mary and restored to her her sanity, her dignity and her name. Even in fables if your true name is taken you are lost to the one who stole it. In this true account a woman had lost her name and her life to demons, the Prince of Peace and savior came to her and saved her and restored her name. The fact is, Jesus isn’t just the savior of the world, He’s the savior of you. You specifically. He knows your name. He knows your hurt and where you have come from. He knows there will be times you stumble and run back to the evil that held you captive, and He will always be there ready to forgive you again when you run to Him.
Imagine being in the garden, looking for Jesus and hearing His voice call your name. Relief, joy, happy tears, laughter and sobbing, it would all come to the surface as you ran to Him calling, “Teacher!”
He knows your name and loves you.
Carried in the cross 