This week many Easter eggs have been stuffed and by the time it's over many Easter egg hunts will have loaded many children with more sugar than most parents would allow over the course of a month. Children will hunt with great intent to find the most eggs, the prize eggs, the money eggs. And celebrate their victories with all the enthusiasm they can muster.
But what will we "hunt"? Easter hunts look a little different to me this year. Not for the kids, but for me. If we, as adults, "hunted" Jesus the way our kids hunt Easter eggs, how much could God do through us on this one weekend? If we approached our Easter weekend with intent and determination to truly find Jesus, what could He do in our lives? If we celebrated the prize of finding Jesus with all of the enthusiasm we as adults could muster, how would we change the world around us?
I can't help but believe that we can learn a lesson from our kids. God is waiting for us to find Him. God wants us to find him. And He's not hiding. He sent His Son. His Son made the choice to DIE for us. Then Jesus conquered death, hell and the grave so that we wouldn't have to fight that fight. We get eternity in heaven simply by following Him. Yet our kids are hunt Easter eggs with more passion that we walk into our Easter services with.
If we spent just this one Easter weekend hunting Jesus like our kids hunt for eggs, the results would blow us away. If we determined to do it just this one time, this one time wouldn't be enough. The results would ignite our passion to hunt Jesus every day with a prize-egg-hunting determination that would change our world.
Why let the kids have all the fun? GO! Hunt Jesus!
Welcome to my blog, My Sacred Hideaway. The words you'll read here come from sacred times with my Father. I pray you're blessed.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Where There's Death, There's Hope
What's the first thing you think of when you hear the word "resurrection"? For most of us, it's Jesus and Easter or maybe Lazarus. But do you ever think about resurrection in terms of your life? Your vision? Your dead dreams?
Yes, the resurrection in it's fullness conquers death, hell and the grave and gives us, as Christians, eternal life. But the resurrection power that raised Jesus lifeless body from the grave has the power to raise those things that have died in our lives. Have you ever had a vision or dream that seemed to die? Have you ever taken a path in life that you felt took you away from a God given calling? And now you feel the calling is dead? Have you ever had a relationship that was beyond human repair? It was dead? Where there's death, there's hope.
Jesus didn't die just to secure a place in Heaven for those who choose to follow Him. He died so that we could have the fullness of life here and now. He died so that we could experience the power of His resurrection in our everyday lives. And He rose not only to conquer physical death, but to conquer the death of our hopes, dreams, visions, relationships.
That resurrection power speaks life into our shattered dreams. That resurrection power speaks life into a vision that no one else sees life in. That resurrection power not only has the power to restore you to Christ after taking the wrong path, but also has the power to restore a calling. That resurrection power can bring life to relationships that have been dead for years. Where there's death, there's hope.
When things "die" in our lives, while we may grieve, we also have the hope that Jesus now has room to resurrect. When things are dead in our lives, there's nothing we can do. There's nothing that we can fix. In death, the only hope we have is in Jesus.
In the areas of your life where's there's death, there is hope.
"If we get included in Christ's sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word." Romans 6:8-9 (MSG)
Yes, the resurrection in it's fullness conquers death, hell and the grave and gives us, as Christians, eternal life. But the resurrection power that raised Jesus lifeless body from the grave has the power to raise those things that have died in our lives. Have you ever had a vision or dream that seemed to die? Have you ever taken a path in life that you felt took you away from a God given calling? And now you feel the calling is dead? Have you ever had a relationship that was beyond human repair? It was dead? Where there's death, there's hope.
Jesus didn't die just to secure a place in Heaven for those who choose to follow Him. He died so that we could have the fullness of life here and now. He died so that we could experience the power of His resurrection in our everyday lives. And He rose not only to conquer physical death, but to conquer the death of our hopes, dreams, visions, relationships.
That resurrection power speaks life into our shattered dreams. That resurrection power speaks life into a vision that no one else sees life in. That resurrection power not only has the power to restore you to Christ after taking the wrong path, but also has the power to restore a calling. That resurrection power can bring life to relationships that have been dead for years. Where there's death, there's hope.
When things "die" in our lives, while we may grieve, we also have the hope that Jesus now has room to resurrect. When things are dead in our lives, there's nothing we can do. There's nothing that we can fix. In death, the only hope we have is in Jesus.
In the areas of your life where's there's death, there is hope.
"If we get included in Christ's sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word." Romans 6:8-9 (MSG)
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Wine, Anyone?
Have you ever thought about the first miracle that Jesus performed? I mean really thought about it. We all know the story. Jesus is at a wedding reception and the host runs out of wine. So Jesus takes water and turns it into wine. And not just everyday, cheap, wine out of a box, but the best, highest quality wine. The whole story is in John 2, so if you want to read it, that's where to go. But I don't want to tell the whole story. I just want to talk about the miracle.
I don't believe that Jesus ever did anything by chance or without a specific purpose. So why did Jesus choose turning water into wine at a wedding reception as his first miracle? I mean, after all, this is the man who healed the blind with dirt and spit, stuck his fingers in a deaf man's ears and brought hearing, spoke into a tomb and raised a dead-for-days man from the dead. Why weren't any of those first? Why was something as seemingly insignificant as wedding wine the first miracle? It's not like Jesus, the Son of God, had to "work up" to something big. He didn't need to practice a "small" thing or two before moving on to the bigger stuff.
So why? Why wedding wine? Here's what I think. We don't often in life need the raising-from-the-dead kind of miracle. Sometimes we need the healing-the-deaf-and-blind kind of miracles. But most often in life, we need those water-into-wine kind of miracles. The ones that we ask for in everyday life. The ones that, if they don't happen, won't have lifelong or life altering effects. But when they do happen, remind us that Jesus, with all that is lifted to him in prayer, cares about the littlest and most insignificant of our details.
Those water-into-wine kind of miracles are the ones that build our faith, shape our lives and bring us growth. Those water-into-wine kind of miracles give us tangible things that a skeptical world can find belief in. Those water-into-wine kind of miracles are the ones that sustain us when we're waiting for the raising-from-the-dead kind of miracle. Those are the ones that Jesus uses to say, "Be still. I've got this. See all of these little things that I've done for you? If I care about those, how much more do I care about this mountain standing in your way? How much more do I care about speaking life into your circumstance? Trust me!"
That story of that first miracle has so much more significance to me now. Now, when I'm facing the mountain, when the seemingly hopeless circumstance disrupts my life, I think about wine at a wedding. And I remember that if Jesus cares about that, then my mountain will be moved.
I don't believe that Jesus ever did anything by chance or without a specific purpose. So why did Jesus choose turning water into wine at a wedding reception as his first miracle? I mean, after all, this is the man who healed the blind with dirt and spit, stuck his fingers in a deaf man's ears and brought hearing, spoke into a tomb and raised a dead-for-days man from the dead. Why weren't any of those first? Why was something as seemingly insignificant as wedding wine the first miracle? It's not like Jesus, the Son of God, had to "work up" to something big. He didn't need to practice a "small" thing or two before moving on to the bigger stuff.
So why? Why wedding wine? Here's what I think. We don't often in life need the raising-from-the-dead kind of miracle. Sometimes we need the healing-the-deaf-and-blind kind of miracles. But most often in life, we need those water-into-wine kind of miracles. The ones that we ask for in everyday life. The ones that, if they don't happen, won't have lifelong or life altering effects. But when they do happen, remind us that Jesus, with all that is lifted to him in prayer, cares about the littlest and most insignificant of our details.
Those water-into-wine kind of miracles are the ones that build our faith, shape our lives and bring us growth. Those water-into-wine kind of miracles give us tangible things that a skeptical world can find belief in. Those water-into-wine kind of miracles are the ones that sustain us when we're waiting for the raising-from-the-dead kind of miracle. Those are the ones that Jesus uses to say, "Be still. I've got this. See all of these little things that I've done for you? If I care about those, how much more do I care about this mountain standing in your way? How much more do I care about speaking life into your circumstance? Trust me!"
That story of that first miracle has so much more significance to me now. Now, when I'm facing the mountain, when the seemingly hopeless circumstance disrupts my life, I think about wine at a wedding. And I remember that if Jesus cares about that, then my mountain will be moved.
Friday, April 1, 2011
Even if the Mountains Walk Away...
Have you ever felt that the mountains have walked away or the hills have fallen to pieces? Like everything in your life has collapsed around you? Have you ever looked around in the moment of your deepest pain or grief and questioned where God was? Have you walked through something in life that no earthly explanation can satisfy?
In my own personal experience, in this short live I've lived, the loss of my baby Grace at 14 weeks along in my pregnancy is one of those events. And I've walked through many of them with friends. Today is no exception. A dear friend from high school gave birth to a baby girl whom she was only able to hold for hours before that precious baby returned to Jesus. My flesh questions why. My flesh wants an answer. For her and for so many other friends who have experienced loss. My heart and spirit grieve.
I want words, but words fail. All I know is that God doesn't. Senseless, unimaginable pain comes to us in this life. Pain that there is never any earthly explanation for. But God, in his mercy, never fails. God never lets go. God never leaves. And somehow, through all of the pain and grief and questions, God brings healing. God comforts us. God restores us. God reminds us that although we don't know the answers, He does. God reminds us that on the other side of eternity, all things will be made right. And in that there is peace.
"For even if the mountains walk away and the hills fall to pieces, My love won't walk away from you, my covenant commitment of peace won't fall apart. The God who has compassion on you says so." Isaiah 54:10 (the MSG)
God doesn't promise that the mountains won't walk away or that the hills won't fall to pieces. But he promises that his love will NEVER leave us. His peace won't fall apart.
God, in the midst of our deepest grief and strongest pain, let us feel your love. Let your peace consume us. Guard our minds and hearts against the enemy's attacks as we walk through life's valleys. Help us to hold onto the hope that on the other side of eternity ALL things are made right and all of life's struggles will be erased. Bring us your holy comfort until that day that we see your face.
In my own personal experience, in this short live I've lived, the loss of my baby Grace at 14 weeks along in my pregnancy is one of those events. And I've walked through many of them with friends. Today is no exception. A dear friend from high school gave birth to a baby girl whom she was only able to hold for hours before that precious baby returned to Jesus. My flesh questions why. My flesh wants an answer. For her and for so many other friends who have experienced loss. My heart and spirit grieve.
I want words, but words fail. All I know is that God doesn't. Senseless, unimaginable pain comes to us in this life. Pain that there is never any earthly explanation for. But God, in his mercy, never fails. God never lets go. God never leaves. And somehow, through all of the pain and grief and questions, God brings healing. God comforts us. God restores us. God reminds us that although we don't know the answers, He does. God reminds us that on the other side of eternity, all things will be made right. And in that there is peace.
"For even if the mountains walk away and the hills fall to pieces, My love won't walk away from you, my covenant commitment of peace won't fall apart. The God who has compassion on you says so." Isaiah 54:10 (the MSG)
God doesn't promise that the mountains won't walk away or that the hills won't fall to pieces. But he promises that his love will NEVER leave us. His peace won't fall apart.
God, in the midst of our deepest grief and strongest pain, let us feel your love. Let your peace consume us. Guard our minds and hearts against the enemy's attacks as we walk through life's valleys. Help us to hold onto the hope that on the other side of eternity ALL things are made right and all of life's struggles will be erased. Bring us your holy comfort until that day that we see your face.
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