Pieces of the Puzzle
The instructions of the Lord are perfect,
….reviving the soul.
The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy,
….making wise the simple.
The commandments of the Lord are right,
….bringing joy to the heart.
The commands of the Lord are clear,
….giving insight for living. Psalm 19:7-8 (NLT)
Isn’t this Psalm beautiful? Isn’t it uplifting and inspirational? Yes, but…
The next portion of scripture from Luke 11 points out things we need to hear. But…
Tonight, I come before You, Father, and my mind is blank… Today was not what any of us had anticipated, full of twists and turns. What we encountered we handled as if it were routine but, if anything is running through my blankness, it is that.
It was by no means the worst thing that could have happened. But it wasn’t necessarily good either. It was just another part of the puzzle of life. Another piece. Another day.
What is rolling over in my mind is, what we would do if we didn’t have each other? You have placed us all here, where we are. Most of us have someone – family or a friend. Quite often strangers will step in the gap to help us out.
But by far the biggest help of all is being able to have You as the piece of our puzzles that brings everything together. It’s like You are the celebratory last piece of the puzzle of life. But what is totally awesome about You and our relationship with You is that You are the Alpha and Omega!
For those of us who don’t know what those words mean (and a reminder for us that do!), Alpha and Omega are the first and the last letters in the Greek alphabet
In Revelation 22:13 Jesus tells us,
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End [the Eternal One].” (AMP)
I have worked on quite a few puzzles in my lifetime. I have an aunt who has put together 100s of them! It is one of her favorite pastimes. I realize that part of the fun of assembling puzzles is the placing of each piece in its place and the excitement of seeing it, bit by bit, coming together. But the sense of accomplishment comes when that last piece is put into place. The sense of completion! The ability to feel that a job has been well done. Seeing the final product before you and having total comprehension of the “big picture”.
When we ask Jesus to be a part of our lives – being He is the First and the Last – we have the beginning and the end all in one. We have a sense of completion in the middle of putting everything together one piece at a time. We received the acknowledgment of a job well done throughout life. And though we may not be able to see the “big picture”, He can and eagerly leads us along each and every day!
June 29th, 2020, Mon, 9:20 pm
In What Do You Invest?
An interesting day of worship, Father. As we are beginning to transition back to in-person worship, help us continue to be wise and compassionate throughout the process. Thank You for the privilege of touching lives with Your message of love and hope in so many ways!
********
There is a home we pass going to and coming from Karen’s parent’s place. For the almost 30 years that we have driven by it, it has been a beautiful spread. The house sits on a generous lot with a good-sized pond occupying roughly a third of it. There are numerous trees of various types spread throughout. It was always so meticulously maintained. The pond was clear of scum. The grass was regularly and neatly trimmed. Fallen branches from the many trees we gathered in a timely manner. …but no more…
The gentleman of the estate died a couple of years ago and to my knowledge, his wife died just recently. Someone is doing their best to keep up with the mowing, but it is not a place where a quick job can be done. It takes an investment of time and energy, and I am guessing those things are just not available right now.
I spoke with the gentleman some years back and you could tell, even then, that though it was becoming more than he could handle, he was too proud to accept an offering of help. He took pride in his home and the land around it.
All the time invested. All the sweat that he had exuded. The money for gas and flowers and equipment and whatever else was needed to maintain was good for those years passed but there is really nothing to show for it now. Many of us do the same. I do the same… We love investing time and effort into our home and yard.
Now it’s one thing to invest in this world. But it is another thing altogether to invest in eternity. All I know of this man was that he was a pretty good baseball player in the day when he played against my father-in-law. So, he may have also very well been a devout man after God’s own heart. He may have given his attention to the Word and to service for God and His kingdom and I pray it was so!
…but what if he didn’t…
In what do you invest? What takes your time and energy and resources? Is it something that when you are gone, it will fall away amongst the dust of time, to not be remembered but maybe for a generation or two?
Or will your investment in the way of God and His kingdom continue to multiply many times over as people you have touched for Him, touch others, and they, in turn, touch others? Now that is an investment worth storing up!
Therefore if you have been raised with Christ [to a new life, sharing in His resurrection from the dead], keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind and keep focused habitually on the things above [the heavenly things], not on things that are on the earth [which have only temporal value]. For you died [to this world], and your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, [a]appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Colossians 3:1-4 (AMP)
June 28th, 2020, Sun, 7:25 pm
Without a Sound or Word
(Crew Dragon spacecraft approaching the ISS with part of southwestern Turkey – including the coastal city of Demre – in the background.)
1 The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
…..The skies display his craftsmanship.
2 Day after day they continue to speak;
….night after night they make him known.
3 They speak without a sound or word;
….their voice is never heard.
4 Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
….and their words to all the world. Psalm 19:1-4 (NLT)
If I would say the names Bob and Doug, what comes to mind? Somewhere along the line, it makes me think that it must be the name of some cartoon on Nickelodeon. But it’s not. They are the names of two pretty famous guys – Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley. And unless you are into what they are into, it still might not ring a bell.
Bob and Doug – as NASA control frequently referred to them – are the first two astronauts to fly to the International Space Station (ISS) from United States soil in almost a decade! The final flight of NASA’s Space Shuttle was on July 8th, 2011. Since then, Russia’s Soyuz rocket has been the only vehicle available to do crewed flights to the ISS, and just one seat on the Soyuz runs NASA about $80 million!
Crazy right?!
I watched the historic liftoff of the Crew Dragon that took place on Saturday, May 30th, 2020. I must admit that I held my breath for those first few moments as I remembered the tragedy that occurred on Tuesday, January 28, 1986, when the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight, killing all seven crew members aboard. But for Bob and Doug, it was smooth sailing all the way!
I don’t know what all they had to say about their adventure in getting to the ISS but many astronauts have expressed the awe they experienced at being in space.
It seems that while returning from the historic first landing on the moon 50 years ago, astronaut Buzz Aldrin took part in a TV broadcast the night before splashing down. During the broadcast, the second man to set foot on the moon’s surface read Psalms 8:3-4: “When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou has ordained; What is man that thou art mindful of him? And the Son of Man, that thou visitest him?”
John Glenn told reporters in 1998, just after returning from his final trip to space at age 77, “To look out at this kind of creation and not believe in God is to me impossible. It just strengthens my faith.”
It turns out that the religious faith of these men is not an anomaly. The 29 astronauts who visited the moon during the Apollo program were a generally religious cohort. According to NASA, 23 were Protestant and six Catholic, with a high proportion of them serving as church leaders in their congregations.
The opening lines of Psalm 19 at the beginning of today’s blog, written by King David around 3,000 years ago, communicate the awe he felt in gazing up to the heavens. Those who have been privileged enough to gaze upon God’s creation from the heavens were in awe, as well.
God’s handiwork proclaims His power and majesty…all without saying a word but as David wrote, “their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world.”
Regardless of man’s agreement or disagreement, God is glorified by the entirety of His creation and it cannot be silenced. May we add our voice to the great symphony of praise!
June 25th, 2020, Thurs, 9:33 pm
We’ll Leave the Light On for You
Candles in the windows of the Deyermond residence in Sag Harbor, New York on 10/19/18
The Lord lives! Praise to my Rock!
….May the God of my salvation be exalted! Psalm 18:46 (NLT)
Luke 11:33-36 (<<click to read the passage)
If I type the phrase, “We’ll leave the light on for you”, I can guarantee that most of you would recognize it. Some would know that it is a commercial slogan. Some might even remember it is used by Motel 6 and some may possibly know that it is a phrase coined by Tom Bodett of National Public Radio (NPR) fame.
What you may not realize is that Bodett was hired by Motel 6 way back in 1986 when a creative director for an ad agency heard him on NPR. A tidbit of trivia is that Bodett ad-libbed that famous line because the radio script was running short. And now every time you hear the phrase, “We’ll leave the light on for you” in your head you hear Tom Bodett’s voice, and more than likely, you’ll have that little folksy tune with guitar and fiddle in the background knocking around in your head, too.
But that phrase…they have featured it in their ads for the last 34 years (that’s as long as we’ve been married!) – and it works for them, exceptionally well, because it communicates a warm welcome.
In our mind’s eye, we see a home a ways out and the sun is setting but we see the friendly glow of a light in the window. It beckons us to come. We are invited to enter, to be a part of the loving hospitality that we will find inside.
The key is that the light is visible. It is not in a corner of a room with the curtains drawn. It is not casting its light in a darkened cellar where only the occupants can benefit from the light that shines forth from it. It is sat in a prominent place for all to see, for all to feel its warmth, for all to understand its invitation to partake of the good found inside.
It’s a little odd to think this way but is very illuminating, as well! (Pun most definitely intended!) Jesus tells us, “The eye is the lamp of your body.”
The eye uses light. That is how we see. That’s how God created us. But Jesus is telling us that “The eye is the lamp of your body.” And he goes on to say – and I’m going to break this down a bit because I don’t want you to rush through it…take your time, ponder each phrase. We miss way too much when we are in a hurry.
When your eye is clear …
….[spiritually perceptive, focused on God] …
……..your whole body also is full of light …
…………[benefiting from God’s precepts].
But when it is bad [spiritually blind] …
….your body also is full of darkness …
……..[devoid of God’s word].
Be careful, therefore, …
….that the light that is in you is not darkness.
So if your whole body is illuminated …
….with no dark part …
……..it will be entirely bright …
…………[with light] …
…………….as when the lamp gives you light with its bright rays.” Vs.35-36 (AMP)
Oh, be careful little eyes what you see…
Remember those words? My study Bible* has this to say,
…the eye represents spiritual understanding and insight. Evil desires make the eye less sensitive and blot out the light of Christ’s presence. If you have a hard time seeing God at work in the world and in your life, check your vision. Are any sinful desires blinding you to Christ?
Lord Jesus, help clear our vision. The world needs to clearly see your loving, warm welcome. May our light not be hindered by the looming darkness, but may it pierce the darkness with its everlasting light! Amen!
*Life Application Study Bible New Living Translation
June 24th, 2020, Wed, 6:57 pm
The Flavor of a Water Chestnut
You have given me your shield of victory.
….Your right hand supports me;
….your help has made me great.
You have made a wide path for my feet
….to keep them from slipping. Psalm 18:35-36 (NLT)
Luke 11:31-32 (<<click to read the passage)
One thing that I discovered while working at Kohl’s was the number of international tourists that came to visit Ohio…Ohio! I specifically remember a family from Germany, and I think a family from Russia, as well. I just found it astonishing that Ohio would be a destination of choice when they could have gone absolutely anywhere they wanted!
Many times, it has been a point of discussion about how plain and ordinary Ohio is. We have lots of corn and soybean fields but nothing really tourist worthy.
The namesake for my blog is the song More than Useless by the group Relient K. Another song they wrote was about, of all things, the excitement of being from Ohio! (They are from the Canton area.) The song is Hoopes I Did It Again from their Two Lefts Don’t Make a Right… but Three Do album. Here’s a portion of the lyrics,
“Ohio has the flavor of a water chestnut
It’s not too crazy and it’s not the best but
We’re not setting forest fires just out of boredom
I’d rather see a movie if in fact I can afford one”
There are all kinds of special things to see and experience in Ohio from natural wonders to cultural events and world-renowned zoos, but many locals can’t wait to get as far away from it as possible. (Personally, I like water chestnuts, but they aren’t known for their zest and mouth popping flavor!)
In today’s passage, Jesus was telling his listeners like it was!
“The queen of Sheba will stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now someone greater than Solomon is here—but you refuse to listen. The people of Nineveh will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here—but you refuse to repent. Luke 11:31-32 (NLT)
A local guy was calling them out and they were less than thrilled. I’m sure they were thinking, “Who does he think he is, anyway?” Jesus met none of their expectations. Even His closest companions really didn’t understand all that He was. To many – not all mind you – Jesus “had the flavor of a water chestnut.” He just didn’t fit the bill for what everyone thought the Messiah would be. Many didn’t even think of Him that way because He didn’t.
The queen of Sheba – modern-day Ethiopia / Yemen– was wealthy and powerful beyond belief but she traveled to bring gifts to King Solomon of Israel and to hear his wisdom. He was a great and wise king but was far from perfect. He did pretty well at the start of his reign but crashed and burned badly in the end.
I mentioned Jonah yesterday (did you check out the BibleProject video on his book?). Even though he didn’t care a whipstitch about the lot of the Ninevites and really wished they would all perish, they repented at his message, such as it was.
And here is Jesus – the perfect Son of God -who, though they refused to acknowledge it, loved them more than they could ever have imagined. In spite of all He was, this “water chestnut” was rejected.
So, for us. is Jesus just a commonplace figure? Is He just another part of church that we go to because that’s just what we’re supposed to do? We know His name, but do we really know Him?
Lord Jesus, may we be as the queen of Sheba and the Ninevites. May we listen and repent and find the wondrous gift that You are. Amen.
June 23rd, 2020, Tues, 6:51 pm