What are you finding? Probably whatever you are looking for!

It’s the week leading up to Easter.  Only a few days before Good Friday.  That also means the Easter Egg Hunt at Rose Drive Friends Church is almost here (someone suggested it might be more aptly referred to as the Easter Egg Harvest – not a lot of “hunting” going on – plenty of eggs for every kid)!  Check out this 60-second video below to get an idea of what I’m talking about.

I want to share with you some personal reflections today... some of where my heart has been recently. 

I have the privilege of seeing a lot of people’s pain and hurt, not counting my own.  If I’m not careful, that can be the extent of my focus. Unmet expectations, dashed hopes, and unrelenting brokenness.  It hurts me when I see people not getting along and not trusting – in the church, in families, in marriages... anyplace.  I know some marriages that have exploded.  Some health issues that are daunting.  Some financial issues that seem overwhelming.  It is especially painful when I know that people on both sides of an unresolved conflict claim to know and love the Lord.  I am grieved when I see people I know and love who are grieving.  I know that unless we live until the Second Coming of Christ, everyone we know will die someday.  That means there is a lot of grief going around (or that will come around). 

I can see a lot of heartache.  Maybe you can, too.  But that isn’t the end of the story...  and that’s especially good to remember as we approach Good Friday and Easter. 

Like Easter Eggs, we often find what we are looking for.

Even when it seemed like all was lost – Christ being crucified – God was working out His plan of redemption.  And Jesus knew it.  He was brutalized but not a victim.  The people around the scene at the crucifixion didn’t see it.  It looked like Jesus was defeated.  But Jesus said “it is finished” not “I am finished.”  No one seemed to notice.  He was not down and out, even though that is what everyone else saw in those moments.  The reality was, there was another story to see.  And that is true for your life, too.

No matter how dark things appear, there is hope when Christ gets involved.  He did not stop working out His plan at Golgotha.  He is trustworthy and fully capable of bringing restoration, healing, and wholeness to a life, a marriage, a family, a relationship, to anyone – and I’ve seen all of that, too.  There are miracles all around me, from people stepping up to serve who not that long ago didn’t know Christ at all, to marriages restored, to God’s provision financially in so many areas for individuals, families, and for our church.

 

The King of Kings didn’t abdicate His throne on the cross. 

Jesus was still in charge at the crucifixion, even when it didn’t look like it.  The resurrection confirmed it.  That’s still true today.  In every situation of your life, God is still sovereign and trustworthy.  Even when it doesn’t look like it at that moment. 

This week, look for Christ in the middle of your conflicts. Look for ways to represent the Lord in your relationships and circumstances.  Bring hope to someone by inviting them to go to church with you this weekend!  And watch and see what the Lord will do!

More or Enough?

When is enough, enough?

There are lots of things in our world that cry out for more.  People want more of our time.  Advertisers want us to buy more of their products. Most people wish they had more money.

Several years ago, a study was conducted here in North Orange County, asking people how much money they thought they needed in order to be happy and content.  The results were less than startling.  No matter how much money a household made annually, the average reply was that they thought they needed to make just a little more.

There are times when we need to say, “ENOUGH!”  We often need to look commercials in the face and reply, “I’m content.”  Now, I don’t want to lie.  I like being able to buy things.  I like having the food I like to eat, the clothes I have to wear, and the house I have to live in… I like the stuff I have.  When so much of the world is in need, how much do I really need?  There are times when enough is enough.  But not always…

Sometimes we are in danger of applying “enough” when God is saying to us, “MORE!” 

There are times when we need to cultivate a holy discontent.  There are times when enough is clearly not enough.  Are there enough workers to go into the harvest field?  Are there enough churches to reach the lost and help people to grow in their faith? Are there enough people in the community where I live who are going to heaven when they die?  Do I really care?  Am I giving enough away to support missions?  Have I spent enough time doing what God wants me to do or serving where He wants me to serve?  Have I forgiven someone enough?  Ouch!

When is enough, enough?!

“Lord, thank you for knowing what we need and for your provision. You are our Sovereign Lord!  Please help us to see through our own selfishness to know when MORE is Your heart’s desire for us and when enough is not enough.  Help us to learn to be content when that is what we need, to know when enough is enough, and to learn to trust You… more!”

The Nedlog Rule or Sanctity of Life?

Last weekend we watched this video on the Miracle of Life in our worship services.  It’s powerful.  One of the best I’ve seen on the topic.

“Sanctity of Life” is practically an absurd notion in our world.  All around us we see contrary examples of human lives that are used, abused, or abandoned, and not held in any kind of holy or thoughtful regard.  Whether the topic is abortion, fighting in the Arab world, human trafficking, or ________________ (fill in the blank from today’s top news stories), it doesn’t appear that life is considered to be very sanctified.  But that isn’t how we want to be viewed or treated!

Most people like the concept that their life is special.  My rights, my needs, my feelings are paramount, and I often have an expectation that others should treat me accordingly.  The wise publicist keeps this in mind when promoting almost anything, from fast food to fast cars… you can have things the way that you want them because you deserve it! 

Of course, the only problem is that others may hold me to the same standard of responsibility toward them that I hope they will have toward me.   Call it the Nedlog Rule (opposite of the Golden Rule).  This set of competing expectations is one of the keys to understanding conflict in marriages (and most relationships), but that’s a topic for another day. 

Sanctity of Life may be a crazy concept by today’s standards – but the fact that it is treated with disdain by many people points to some of the fundamental and fatal flaws in a world that emphasizes an individual’s “rights” over someone else’s.   It is in many ways a reflection of pervasive selfishness.

The basis for Sanctity of Life is this: God has created every human being.  Every one.  He put His stamp, His image upon each one that He gave to no other part of His creation.  I’m not against those who want to preserve trees, spotted owls, or gray whales, but those campaigns are not in the same category as preserving human life.  God set His human creation apart and, unlike plants or animals, He has given each one the potential of living with Him forever.  

Not only did God create every person, He loves every single one.  Christ died for everyone!  That includes those who are near death due to age or illness, those who are pre-born in their mother’s womb, and everyone in between.  And if God so loves, that means that those who claim to be followers of Him must walk where Jesus walked – and do our part to SERVE and SHARE His love with a world of people who need it. 

It would do us all good to remember (and to live in such a way that we recognize) that every human being is a unique, unrepeatable, miracle of God!