Cross

Cross


I go to the cross when I am alone
Jesus hold me as I groan.



I go to the cross when all is a loss
Jesus meet me near the cross.

I go to the cross when there is no hope
Jesus show me how to cope.


I go to the cross when there's no one to care
Jesus be my consult when life's not fair.

I also go to the cross when I laugh
when I smile, and when I dance
when I jump and when I'm up --
He's there in joy with a loving cup.


But the cross is where we go in pain
when we are close to death and life's no gain.


For He went to the cross all alone
He languished there as He groaned.


He went to the cross and counted all a loss
Jesus saved me near the cross.


He went to the cross as His friends lost hope
He helped a despondent thief to cope.


His best friends ran and didn't care
He didn't deserve to be there. It wasn't fair.


So when the world does these things to me
I'm there at the cross - in Divine company.

by Vicki Davis

Excellent Sermon Series on Grace from Max Lucado

It has been a while but I know there are some of you out there that still follow this blog.

I wanted to pass along one of the best series of sermons I've ever seen from Max Lucado called "What Happens When Grace Happens."

 http://oakhillschurch.com/media-2/

Kip and I are watching it on a box called the "Roku box" that streams from the web over our home wi-fi to our TV and we found Max Lucado there under Oak Hills Church.

My favorite sermon was "You Can Rest Now" and in the first 5-10 minutes my husband and I literally felt ourselves relaxing from the many burdens that we have been feeling. Kip went to sleep that night and slept like a baby. In this day and age of rules and regulations coming from so many sides and in the spirit of Easter - it is time to "get real." It is worth a watch. You can also subscribe over vimeo which I believe is available for the Ipad/ iPhone, etc.

Wait to Run -- then Run without being weary

"They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31

If we RUN under our own power we lose STRENGTH. Sometimes we have to wait to run until we are told to - it is then that we -- like the burning bush- burn without being consumed.

Part the Waters

^13-14"If you watch your step on the Sabbath
   and don't use my holy day for personal advantage,
If you treat the Sabbath as a day of joy,
   God's holy day as a celebration,
If you honor it by refusing 'business as usual,'
   making money, running here and there—
Then you'll be free to enjoy God!
   Oh, I'll make you ride high and soar above it all.
I'll make you feast on the inheritance of your ancestor Jacob."
   Yes! God says so!

Isaiah 58:13-14

Isaiah 58 is on my fridge. This is my passage for the moment and this translation from the Message Bible is just great.

To me, the words describing what we should do on the Sabbath ring so true.  Not using God's holy day for personal advantage. Treating His day as a day of Joy!

Not running here and there or working.

Truly the best Sundays are truly a "day of joy" and a "celebration."

I don't know about you but with the last week of school coming - I'd love to "ride high and soar above it all."

I love the example from the book I'm reading The Last Christian. It picture of cutting a stick off of a tree and then asking if it will grow now -- the only job of the branch is just to remain in the tree - rest in the tree. By being connected to the tree the branch naturally grows.  By connecting to God we naturally grow - we fulfill our purpose, we LIVE! 

Today, I just have to thank God for such a beautiful day and one with many blessings. He is truly the Light and the Life and the days focused on Him are the greatest days of my life. Purpose. Meaning. Joy.

These are not the same as happiness.  These are not the same as being problem free.  Right now - I'm praying for a Red-Sea week ! As the song from Selah based upon an older song says,

"When I think I'm going under, part the waters, Lord - when I feel the waves around me, calm the sea! When I cry for help, Oh hear me Lord and hold out your hand - touch my life - heal the raging storm in me!"

So, this week, I'm asking God to part the waters. Anything good that comes from the last week of school, God did it, because right now looking at my list I truly do feel I'm going under.

Goodnight!  Good Savior!  (And never mistake Christianity and following God for a political view - it is not! )

Be Available to Your Own Family

Image via Wikipedia

“This is the kind of fast day I’m after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts.

What I’m interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families.

Do this and the lights will turn on, and your lives will turn around at once. Your righteousness will pave your way. The God of glory will secure your passage." Isaiah 58:6-7

As I was studying my Bible this morning, I was struck by the highlighted part of the verse above.  Sometimes I think we (I should say "I") get so busy doing good things that we neglect the one thing that we and only we can do -- be available to our families. Be there for them! 

Give a present of your presence.

I feel this so much now that I have teenagers. Often they just want to be alone in their rooms. When they are not in the room, I feel it. I miss them. I want them there with me - it is almost a physical pain because I love them so much.

Do we as parents realize that our kids feel that way about us? When they are playing a game and we're not in the stands - they FEEL it. It is a longing when they do well to want you there to say "YES!" or when they don't for you to see it and understand!

This is hard for those of us who have a lot on our list and get focused on other things. Sometimes I find it hard to put down my list and "stop" especially when everyone else in my family has "stopped" a little too early in my opinion.

But this day, as I read this verse, I want to remind myself and whoever comes along this post that being available to my own family is put in the same league of goodness by God as "feeding the hungry, inviting the homeless into your homes and clothing the ill-clad."  Is it possible that even in those days that parents didn't spend enough time with their children and each other.

So, as you go into the weekend, let's challenge each other to "be available to our family."

Read the whole chapter of Isaiah 58.

Still

I have taken these lyrics and put them by my sink, at my desk, and in my journal.

"Be still, my soul,

The Lord is on your side.
Bear patiently, the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to your God, to order and provide.
In every change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul,
Your best your heavenly friend, 
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul,
Your God will undertake
To guide the future as he has the past.
Your hope, your confidence let nothing shake.
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul,
The waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while he lived below.

Be still, my soul,
Be still, my soul,
Be still."

I haven't blogged here in a while because sometimes struggles are too 

personal and yet even with the silence of this blog, it doesn't really matter - 

any time you want to hear from God - you can open His Word.

"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased
to give you the kingdom." Luke 12:32

Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior and anything good I have goes to Him. 

This blog may be still.  He's not.  

Bible Study and my Itouch

I love my new Apple iPod touch 16 GB (2nd Generation), it is so cool.

And yet, it has improved my life in so many ways. Not only have I lost 14 pounds using the really cool Lose It app, but it is part of my Bible study and Sunday school lesson.

There is a Bible app that has multiple translations of the Bible. I often use it as part of studying my Sunday school lesson.

Also, as I do my Beth Moore Bible Study, Stepping Up: A Journey Through the Psalms of Ascent, Member Book, I can now buy the lessons that come every five days for $3.99. That may sound like a lot, but it lets me spread the cost out a little and it is far less expensive than the video version. I listen as I walk on the treadmill and every so often for my morning study and fill in the blanks.

I also have several books on my itouch including Believing God (also by Beth Moore) -- see a pattern there, but also many other great books like The Last Lion Part B: Winston Spencer Churchill, Alone, 1932-1940.

So, the last book, on Churchill costs $120 on Amazon in audio tape and you cannot seem to get it in print. I pay around $20 a month for a subscription to Audible.com and get 4 credits a month - I got the Churchill book for 2 credits. If you have an itouch, Audible is really the way to go. (Too bad, Beth Moore's lessons aren't available there, so I have to buy them from Itunes. But that is ok, it is worth it.)

For me, as a Sunday School teacher and person who is usually leading, it is vital that I study under someone. It is important so that I can help others, to get up every morning and study my own Bible. Have to learn and seek God.

My Itouch has been a great tool and really in the running for my all time favorite gadget of my life. It is not nearly as expensive as an Iphone, which I hear is a terrible phone anyway, and it works very well.

I recommended it to our youth pastor because of some of the really cool features:

• Set it up to sync with google Calendars - it will link up to 5. You can have some of those calendars as public calendars and embed them in websites. Then, when you put a date on one of your public calendars, it automatically publishes onto your website -- perfect for youth.
• You can use Nimbuzz to instant message from your itouch -- it is important to IM if you work with youth.
• You can link to facebook and twitter on your itouch as well.
• It lets you keep up on those emails that come in all the time.
• It makes you cool. ;-)