Take a Chance on Me
Thank You, Father, for Your direction throughout my day. Help me, through every day, to seek Your guidance and reflect You in all I say and do. Amen.
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I’ve had a song stuck in my head since last Saturday! I even listened to it Monday in an attempt to get it out of my head. …it hasn’t worked… Even this morning, it would randomly pop up. I thought its lyrics might tie in well to my blog…nope. I’d have really had to stretch to make it work.
The song is Take a Chance on Me, sung by ABBA in 1978. I still like their music, but why was that song stuck in my head?
As I drove this morning (it was still running through my mind!) …the title…that made a connection with me! We’ve been watching the well-received The Chosen. Their website states: The Chosen is a groundbreaking historical drama based on the life of Jesus Christ, seen through the eyes of those who knew him. Set against the backdrop of Roman oppression in first-century Israel, [it] shares an authentic and intimate look at Jesus’ revolutionary life and teachings. (You can find it on several different platforms – I use their app.)
What’s impacted me the most is that Jesus is seen in His humanity. He is genuine, sincere, caring, and compassionate. He’s portrayed how I picture Him in my head when reading the Bible and speaking of Him from the pulpit and on my blog.
We just watched Episode 7 of the first season last night. In this episode, Matthew is called to follow Jesus. Early on, he is portrayed as an odd duck of sorts. He is very intelligent – a young man of numbers and fixated on detail, with a great aversion to the filth of his culture. (Early on, he steps into a pile of manure and nearly wretches, pulls off his sandals, and replaces them with a backup pair from his satchel.) He has more money than he knows what to do with. People shove him, push him, spit on him – he is a reject of his people. Tax collectors are not popular…
In the storyline, he witnesses Peter’s big haul of fish and his call to follow Jesus. Later, he gets a rooftop view of the healing of the paralytic who was lowered through the roof. Shortly after that event, Jesus makes eye contact with him.
Truth be told, Matthew is a mess. Not only did his people reject him, but his family did, too. They don’t even claim him anymore. And at this point, he is struggling. He is drawn to Jesus. He is questioning everything about his life.
And then Jesus calls him. “Matthew, follow Me.” His mouth drops. Jesus’ other disciples protest. The Roman soldier manning the tax collections tries to stop him – but to no avail. None of what is said or done fazes him. He leaves it all and follows Jesus!
In each of Jesus’ interactions, it’s like He’s saying, “Take a chance on Me.” “You’ve tried so many other things, none of which have given you what you wanted. Take a chance on Me.”
He says the same to us. Quit running. Quit trying to make it all come together by yourself. Only Jesus can truly help you become who you were created to be. Take a chance…you won’t regret it.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” ~ Jesus (Matthew 11:28 NIV)
Feb 22nd, 2024, Thurs, 12:42 pm
Snow Behind the House
There just seems to be so much going on in our lives, Father. Please help me to first focus on our time together. And then, as the days go on, I would ask that You enable me to prioritize the many other things that need to be accomplished. Amen.
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Interestingly, the way our house sits, when we get snow, there is almost always a part of our yard where the snow stays longer than pretty much anywhere else in the yard. The reason is that the back of our house never gets direct sunlight. This is a picture from today – highs yesterday were in the 40s, and today they are in the 50s. The far end has melted in that the wind blew almost all of it away, so there wasn’t much left to melt.
My question today is, are there things in our lives that we keep in such a way that the warmth of God’s Son cannot reach? We think we can get away with it, but Hebrews 4:13 tells us the truth. It says,
Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. NIV
Maybe there are things nobody knows about that we keep tucked away, safe and sound – our thoughts, dreams, and fantasies. Some are probably harmless enough, but others can be dangerous to our well-being on many fronts, especially from a spiritual perspective.
Maybe there are mindsets that we have firmly locked into place, and our Lord has approached us on numerous occasions to let them go, and time and again, we refuse. Maybe it is a prejudice against someone or a group of people – we don’t like them and don’t want anything to do with them. Nobody needs to know…we’re just really good about keeping our distance…about hiding behind things more noticeable. Our “adversaries” may not even realize how we think about them, but the cold shoulders we turn to them only harm us.
Maybe we are much more forthright in expressing our disdain. We feel we can justify our coldness, for they have brought it on themselves. We were deeply hurt; they do not deserve love or compassion. They deserve to be frozen out, and the Lord, the gentleman He is, will not force us to yield. Though He desires to “thaw” us out with the warmth of His love permeating us to the core of our soul, He allows us to make our choice, though we are hurt by our actions and our relationships with Him and others are significantly impacted.
Over time, the snow behind my house goes away. The more the atmosphere warms up, the less the snow can hold out. Lord Jesus, may we feel the need to spend time with you in copious amounts. We may be stubborn, but over time, our association with You will cause our frozen hearts to melt as we are filled with the warmth of Your love.
Feb 21st, 2024, Wed, 12:33 pm
Entitle-mints
Some snow still on the ground, the sun shining brightly all around, a nuthatch nibbling at the suet – it is a beautiful day, Father! All praise and honor to our Creator God!
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Another reel that caught my eye on Instagram last weekend featured a clip of a Dallas, Texas, pastor’s sermon. He compared complaining to bad breath and his suggestion to that problem he called entitle–mints. It could be used by ourselves or others whenever we start to complain.
One example he gave was being out driving in your car, and you come up on traffic (we all love traffic, don’t we?) Before your mouth goes off down the road of complaining, pop in an entitle-mint! You complain about traffic and think you are entitled to own a car. But do you know who isn’t bothered by traffic? Those who have to walk everywhere!
He then spoke about the next time you are in line at a coffee shop, and the barista messes up your order. You were clear when you ordered 2% milk, and they gave you oat milk! Hold on! There are 2.2 billion people out there who don’t have access to clean water, and you’re upset because you got the wrong milk? It’s time for an entitle-mint!
Psalm 22:3, in the King James Version, tells us that God inhabits the praises of his people. And Psalm 100:4 reads,
Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
….go into his courts with praise.
….Give thanks to him and praise his name. NLT
There is absolutely no indication that God wants anything at all to do with complaining. Our praise and thanksgiving are His desire. The pastor also made clear that we can’t even get to the door! Thanksgiving needs to be present at the gates!
Many of us are so blessed that we’ve become hyper-sensitive about what we feel is our due! We’ve got it coming, and you bet your sweet bippy we are going to collect!
We’ve gotten quite adept at stepping over and ignoring those around us who struggle…those in need…those who, in many circumstances, have no choice but to deal with where life has put them. Many were simply born in those situations. They did not choose to be there and often cannot get out of them, no matter how hard they try.
And there we sit, blessed beyond measure and not lifting a finger to help…or give…or love. Lord Jesus, open our blind eyes. Enable us to see what You see and then to act as You would act. Amen.
(If you’d like to see the reel and know more about the Dallas pastor and his church, reach out to me and I’ll pass the info along.)
Feb 20th, 2024, Mon, 1:11 pm
Lessons from a Pencil
As I sit to write this afternoon, Father, may our time together be profitable. May it produce what You would have set forth to those who would partake. Amen.
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During a little bit of downtime this past Saturday, I flipped through some Instagram reels. One popped up that shared 4 Life Lessons from a Pencil, and I thought it was very applicable, and at least for me, spiritually applicable.
First, for a pencil to be useful, it has to be sharpened. If a pencil were sentient and able to feel pain, it definitely would in the sharpening times in its life.
In yesterday’s sermon, we spoke about life’s “wilderness” periods. We don’t like them because they are, at the very least, uncomfortable and often outright painful…but they are needed if we are going to be useful. It is those times in life that hone us. We learn, we grow, we are challenged. And most importantly, we learn that God is there through it all to help us, sustain us, and show us the way forward.
Secondly, just like the eraser at the end of the pencil, we can correct many of our mistakes along the way. Some mistakes we can fix that way, while there are others, unfortunately, that are written in ink that no eraser can touch. Regardless, we can learn from our mistakes. We may wish they had not taken place, but correcting them allows us to learn and better ourselves for the next time.
I am grateful that God forgives – and forgets – our mistakes…our sins. Many mistakes are beyond our ability to “erase,” but God erases them all…even their memory, for His mind. The author of the book of Hebrews quotes Jeremiah 31:34 when he proclaims,
For I will forgive their wickedness
….and will remember their sins no more.” Hebrews 8:12 NIV
And one more from Micah 7:19,
He shall again have compassion on us;
He will subdue and tread underfoot our wickedness [destroying sin’s power].
Yes, You will cast all our sins
Into the depths of the sea.
Thirdly, wherever the pencil is used, it leaves a mark. Like the pencil, you can write your own story wherever you go. Think of stumbling blocks as stepping stones, and never stop writing.
The thing to remember here is, yes, never stop writing, but realize that some things you write uplift others, and other things tear them down. We must not forget that, as in our second point, some things are written in ink. Learn from those things and strive to leave your mark upon the world as a reflection of the Lord Jesus in your life, not as a reflection of your selfish ambitions. May all your writing be flavored with love.
Lastly, always remember that the most important part of you is on the inside. If it were not for the graphite, even with sharpening, the pencil would be worthless. Who and what you are boils down to the core of your being, not the shell that can be seen. What is important is what is lived out for all to see.
And here is the most essential part of this whole thing,
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9 NIV
You are God’s creation. You are His, though you are free to refuse His claim upon your life. But we cannot escape from the fact that, as Proverbs 19:21 proclaims,
You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail. NLT
Lord Jesus, may we fulfill Your calling upon our lives. May we make our lives count, leaving a mark on the world that reflects You. Amen.
Feb 19th, 2024, Mon, 2:15 pm
Perspective, Grace, and Love
What a good day we had, Father! It was good at church, good visiting with Karen’s mom, and good with Karen and I running some errands and enjoying a meal together. Thank You for so many blessings!
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So, looking at the picture above, what do you see? Is it a photo of a snow-covered mountain range taken from a satellite? Or could it be a close-up shot of the side of some reptilian species?
Well, what if I told you it was a picture I took of the windshield of Karen’s van after a heavy frost this past Friday morning? (Click this link to see the original photo.)
Perspective.
So many things in our lives impact the kind of people we become – adversity, love, pain, blessings, prosperity, poverty, abuse, encouragement… That list could go on in perpetuity. There are no two of us the same. And we rarely see the same things in the same way.
We may see things as a satellite might picture them – from high and above, cold and disconnected.
We might view things from a very up close and personal standpoint…but because of that, our perspective might very well be skewed in that we are incapable of seeing the bigger picture.
All kinds of people are around us daily; we may know many of them very well, some of them to a certain degree, and others are total strangers. No matter which group other people fall into, as followers of Jesus, we must allow grace to factor into our viewpoints and interactions. Allowing grace to factor in opens the portals of love.
Time and again, I am shocked at how narrow-minded we are. We have this attitude that if someone thinks differently than we do, they are wrong, which leads to the thought that there is no chance for any middle ground.
The Apostle Peter stated in his first epistle,
Above all, have fervent and unfailing love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins [it overlooks unkindness and unselfishly seeks the best for others]. 1 Peter 4:8 AMP
If Jesus – God Almighty, in the flesh – loved us so much that He humbled Himself to the point of coming to live amongst us, why can’t we find a modicum of humility when it comes to our interactions with others? We must strive to keep our perspectives open, for truly, we may not be seeing things as they are.
Lord Jesus, help us to seek out Your perspective. Ours are too limited by far too many differing and debilitating elements. Only Yours takes in all possibilities and factors in Your grace and love to its fullest degree. May we love others as You love us. Now, that is a challenge!
Feb 18th, 2024, Sun, 6:30 pm