Just Like in Heaven

There is in our culture a fascination with angels, and I believe a simplification of heaven.  You can find all sorts of quotes about heaven. Michelangelo said, "My soul can find no staircase to Heaven unless it be through Earth's loveliness."  Jimi Hendrix claims, "You have to go on and be crazy.  Craziness is like heaven."  Friedrich Nietzsche stated, "In heaven, all the interesting people are missing." To the general world it seems as if heaven is a mythical place where everything you ever wanted is provided, or it is the place that only goody-two-shoes type people go and therefore it must be boring.  I believe heaven is real and is the place where God, in all the magnificence of His glory, dwells.

I was thinking about heaven, and angels this morning which is not my normal thought process.  I was reading the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6 and was struck by verse 10.  "May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." (NLT)  Generally when I read this verse my attention gravitates towards God's will, and what He would want done here on earth.  I would lean toward asking God if there was something specific He was asking me to do. My brain did the cursory wondering of that thought, but my imagination grabbed ahold of the idea that God's will should be done here on earth just like God's will is done in heaven.  That led my mind to think about angels, and wonder:  what do angels do? How do they go about doing whatever they do?  Are angels fun?  Do angels have fun?  Are angels happy?  Do angels always wear the same thing?  Do angels even have to wear clothes?  (notice where my imagination tends to lean?)  I did a brief search and I learned that the word angel means "messenger of God." Angels obviously are sent, and deliver messages from God. An angel delivered the message to Mary that she was chosen to give birth to Jesus, the One who would save, and the shepherds received a message from an angel when Mary gave birth to Jesus.  At times, angels are sent to help a human in a time of need or emergency, like when an angel provided food and rest for Elijah when he ran from Jezebel into the wilderness. Hebrews 1:14 says, "Therefore, angels are only servants -- spirits sent to care for people who will inherit salvation." (NLT)  In heaven, angels worship and declare God's glory 24/7.  Someday, the angels will separate the wicked from the righteous at Jesus' command.

Then I began to unpack what it just might mean for God's will to be done, just as the angels do.  The angels are completely aware of God's glory and how awesome He is.  They cannot help but recognize that He is sovereign and that He is far above any one of them.  There are angels who surround God's throne and are always declaring "Holy, Holy, Holy."  When I sense the Holy Spirit asking me to do something, am I aware of whose presence I am in?  I don’t think I do.  I know that if God is asking me to do something that is uncomfortable, or risky, I have a tendency to whine, or seek to find a way to avoid doing what He is asking of me.  If the Chief of Police in my town came to my door and told me I needed to help my neighbor, I'm not sure I would have the courage to turn him down, especially if he had a couple of well armed patrol men with him.  If the Governor of my state called me up, told me he specifically needed my help and then told me to go door to door in my neighborhood and collect food for the hungry, I would suck it up and start knocking.  If the President of the United States contacted me, and gave me the instructions that for the betterment of my community, and because of the gifts and abilities I had, he needed me to help out at the soup kitchen because they needed people who were chatty, friendly, and encouraging, I would feel compelled to volunteer.  And when God asks me those things, I question his wisdom with "why me?  Surely someone else is better, or has more time, or would connect better."  I am not aware of the majesty and power and awesomeness of who I am communicating with. 

My imagination led me to decide that angels follow through with what God asks of them because they are so aware of who God is.  I would describe the angels as immediately and willingly obedient. My imagination can't imagine anyone so enthralled with another not jumping at the chance to fulfill that person's desires. Do you remember first being in love?  Can you recall your loved one asking you to do something that just didn't turn your crank, but in the midst of all that euphoria, you couldn't help but agree?  My husband is a runner.  I am not in any way, shape or form, a runner.  In fact I am not even a sports girl!  I like to hike and casually ride my bike,  that's about it.  I exercise, but that has only come about as I've gotten older and just want to feel as if I can move and not feel 90 when I'm 55.  When my man and I first started dating, I tried running.  He was so proud of me, he told me I had great form!  I didn't keep it up, because I just don't like it.  I can't ever seem to get into that rhythm that runners talk about.  I just end up huffing and  puffing and feeling horrible.  But oh, at the beginning of our love, I wanted to run, because I was enthralled with this young man. 

I believe the angels follow through.  My imagination sees angels who start and complete a task.  They don't just have good intentions, they so want to honor God, they keep at what is being asked of them until God tells them it's finished.  Follow through is often hard for me.  I get caught up in the excitement of a project begun, and then somewhere in the middle, where it becomes mundane, I trail off in my consistency and passion.  The angels worship God every second, of every minute, of every hour, of every day, for weeks and months and years and decades and millenniums.  They just don't quit.  They don't get bogged down in "well, I did some of it yesterday," or "can we mix it up a little?" or "really?  We're still doing this?"  I do that with God.  Perhaps he's asked me to encourage someone and I send off a card.  Yeah me!  And then, God asks me give them a call and just chat.  So I get around to it in a day or two, and think, yeah me!  And then God suggests that I prepare a meal that this person can put into her freezer and I start to say things like, "I don't have the time," or "I don't have the ingredients to spare," or "my cooking isn't that great."  If I am going to do God's will here on earth, like it's done in heaven, I don't have the option of flaking out or quitting. 

The angels are pretty amazing.  They do some seriously awesome stuff!  And it's not about them.  They are amazing and they do awesome stuff because God is MORE than amazing and God is MORE than awesome, and God is Holy, so very very Holy.  The angels are so overcome with who God is, they can't escape doing what God wills. 

I saw the Lord's Prayer in a fresh light this morning.  The Lord's Prayer wasn't about how I figure out how to talk to God though it is very helpful in that regard.  This morning, the Lord's Prayer was an invitation to grasp the wonder of who God is, to so dwell within His majesty, that my heart's cry becomes to do whatever he asks of me with delight and honor and reverence and gratitude that I was chosen to be used. 

"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty -- the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come."  Revelation 4: 8b

The Gift

Yesterday, at church, the worship was beautiful and inspiring; the sermon was powerful and definitely challenging: and being with my family was comforting and delightful.  Interestingly though, the image that sticks in my head is that of a little girl. 
Our church has the children participate in our service up until it is time for the sermon.  We have the privilege of hearing their sweet voices sing, and at times be inspired by their exuberant energy.  Before the sermon, the children are invited to come learn about Jesus at their level.  Preschool and kindergarten children are directed to go to one exit and elementary children to another.  It's one of my favorite parts of the morning.  They are always so excited!  They faces shine with joy and anticipation of what they get to go do.  The smallest ones can hardly contain their pleasure, and the older ones give the pastor high fives as they pass him by. 
Yesterday, one sweet, precious little girl waited anxiously for the word to be given so that she could leave her mom and the pew they were in, cross the sanctuary, and go to her class.  She did her usual little run-skip combo, and then she ran onto the platform, quickly gave the pianist a picture she had drawn during the first part of the service and then went on to join her friends.  The joy on her face as she presented the pianist her small treasure is indescribable.  She had happily made something, and she happily gave it away to tell someone else that she loved her, and wanted her to be happy in that particular moment as well.  It struck me that I had just witnessed what Jesus wants each and every one of us to do all the time, every day. 
God's Word tells us to "encourage each other and build each other up..." (I Thessalonians 5:11 NLT); "Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and  peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you." (2 Corinthians 13:11 NLT); "and let us consider [thoughtfully] how we may encourage one another to love and to do good deeds," (Hebrews 10:24 AMP). It seems like a simple enough task, and yet how often do we not get around to doing it because we don't make it a priority?  Or perhaps we have wonderful intentions, but we second guess what we have to offer so we don't.  Sometimes I think we get get caught up in offering the 'perfect encouragement,' and we rationalize that we just don't know what the other person really needs, so we don't offer anything. 
The little girl's drawing was not a masterpiece.  It wasn't worth anything on the world's financial stage. The pianist didn't need the drawing.  The girl offered what she had without hesitation or worry.  She just gave it away.  The pianist smiled with surprise, and for that moment, she was the most important person in the room -- and we all knew it.  The little girl had such joy in the giving, and then she didn't stand there, dwelling on what she had done.  The gift was given, and she happily moved on to the next joyful moment of her life.  So many lessons to be learned in that moment that keeps replaying in my mind and heart.
I have something to give.  Whatever I give doesn't need to be perfect, or fall on some scale of grand gifts. I don't have to create an ideal scenario of how to give the gift, encouragement is often needed in the immediate moment.  I shouldn't be worried about what the other person will think of my gift if God prompts me to give something away. Many times I am totally unaware of how I am lifting someones spirits, but God sees a bigger, complete picture. 
I will encounter moments today where I can, with delight, give something away, and then happily move on to the next joyful moment in my day.  May I be as faithful to encourage someone, building them up, moving them to take steps of love and good deeds as that precious little girl did yesterday.

Life before Noon

Some days are filled with quite a bit of living before noon.  Today has been one of those days.  I began my morning, coffee cup in hand talking with Jesus.  My coffee this morning was a tad unique since I had added cinnamon.  Before I went to bed last night, I was reading a book about ways to help boost your metabolism.  I have these pesky pounds I have added to my circumference and I'm having a difficult time sending them away, hence the book.  One of the chapters in the book was about cinnamon and my take away was that eating a teaspoon of cinnamon a day can help boost one's metabolism!  I was game.  So I added cinnamon to my oatmeal and my coffee.  I added a bit too much to my coffee, so tomorrow I'll know  better, but I was feeling good about myself and my game-on attitude toward the day. 

As I read my Bible and studied scripture, God reminded me that my faith is not for me alone.  I read the passage in John 20:24-29 about Jesus meeting Thomas at the point of his doubt. The Holy Spirit spoke and my heart heard that my faith is to so change me that it works as a catalyst to move me out of myself and share God's story with others. Jesus makes the statement, "Blessed are those who believe without seeing me." I don't think Jesus was telling Thomas he wasn't blessed, but Jesus was preparing Thomas' spirit to be prepared to tell others about the difference Jesus had made in his life.  There would be those, after Thomas, who didn't have the privilege of seeing Jesus, and they would be blessed when they believed even though they didn't get the chance to actually see the scars.  I realized I am one of those who is so blessed!  And Jesus was leading my spirit, as he led Thomas' spirit, to be prepared to tell the story. 

I then moved to a passage in Luke 21 about the widow giving her two small coins.  God's Spirit spoke again.  He connected the two stories for me, just as I shouldn't judge those who need "more" help to believe than others, I am not to judge what someone brings in service and honor to God.  God always sees a much bigger picture than I do, and I need to rely on His vision, His purposes.  God challenged me and asked what I was willing to give sacrificially: time? Money? Gifts? Relationship? Perspective?  I spent some time in prayer and I could feel God smiling on me.  I sensed His delight in my worship and my attitude.  I found myself enjoying all the details of my morning from the excessive cinnamon to lessons learned at the feet of Jesus. 

I headed off to my exercise class with a bounce in my step.  I am not a fan of working out, but I put myself to the task today without as much inner whining, though I did roll my eyes at the teacher several times when she said "Keep going! You can do it!"  At the end of the hour I realized I had kept up pretty good today and I had one of those rare-for-me moments when I was glad I had worked out and not just glad I could check that task off my list. 

I got home and took my shower and began to get dressed.  That's where I encountered Satan.

I am normally good with my closet.  I like picking out what I'm  going to wear.  I teach others about seeing their closet as filled with things they love and that dressing doesn't have to be a chore.  For me, getting dressed is a delightful challenge in creativity.  I put on a pair of shorts and began to decide what I was going to pair with them.  I tried on a top I hadn't worn in a long while, and then decided I just needed to donate it.  It didn't speak to me and  showed those pesky pounds I was trying to get rid of. It needed to go, even it was animal print and on trend.  I then put on a top I like, and where as it was cute and looked good with the shorts, the sleeves were tight (were some of those pounds in my arms of all things?).  Off it came.  Top #3: a well-loved blue t-shirt with a ruffle at the bottom,  . . .that had gotten thrown in the dryer.  It may be time for a cute new blue t-shirt if I can't stretch out the one I currently own.  Top #4: Light coral cotton T with adorable lace sleeves.  I stared at myself in the mirror, liked the shirt, didn't like those pesky pounds.  I began to hear a voice in my head that said it was hopeless. The voice told me I was just going to have to get used to being heavier.  I would need to adapt to being "less-than,"  less trim, less cute, less admirable, less fashionable, just less (even though I was perceiving myself as "more"). I took off the top with a sigh and wondered where my earlier attitude of being loved and delighted over had gone. 

I went back into my closet and choose a top I often wore with the green shorts I had put on.  It has a bright floral print, and always reminds me of the day I purchased it.  It had been a day full of life and laughter as my daughter and I spent time together and just had fun.  The top made me smile, and I broke from the lies Satan was desperately trying to make me believe. 

Truth: I have some weight I should lose.  Truth: Jesus loves me.  Truth: I don't look as thin or fashionable as others.  Truth: Jesus delights in me.  Jesus has chosen me to be part of His story.  Jesus died so that my sins would never be held against me.  Jesus has entrusted me with sharing His story with others. 

I am Thomas, and sometimes I let doubt take over when I just need to choose to believe what I can't see.   

I am the one of the rich, often only willing to serve God out of my abundance and not sacrificially. 

I am one of the disciples and Jesus is preparing me to reach out to those who haven't yet heard of Him.

I am one of the disciples who need to let go of comparison, and just seek to offer God the best of whatever he asks of me.

Let the afternoon begin. It's going to be a great day! 

There Once Was a Spider....

There was spider on the sliding door out to our deck the other night while I was making dinner.  He caught me off guard, and freaked the living daylights out of me.  I had walked over toward the door to get into a cupboard and Sam, my dog acted as if he'd like to go out.  I started to slide the door open when I saw him.  He was creepy.  I began to realize if I slid the door wide enough for my dog to go outside, the spider could drop off the glass and be in my house. 

I have an odd fear of spiders.  For some odd reason, I fear they will jump on my face, grow instantly to a ginormous size and kill me.  It doesn't make any difference how many times I tell myself that's an insane idea.  It doesn't matter that I'm definitely bigger than the small crawly thing and can crush it with my shoe.  It didn't seem to matter much last night that there was a barrier between me and that. . .  thing.  I closed the door.  I stepped away.  I took my dog to another door to see if he really had to go out.  And then I finished making dinner with one eye on that monster just waiting to creep all over me.  When my sweet husband came home, he rescued me and gained the title of Hero in my eyes and heart.

As I made dinner and tried to fight my irrational fear, God spoke to my heart.  He didn't try to defend his tiny creation.  I think my whole spider phobia makes Him chuckle a bit and roll his parental eyes.  Instead  God began to ask me questions about other fears in my life.  Fear has become an issue that I have been battling, and thankfully God is confirming strength and confidence within me.  And yet, Fear had begun to wiggle into my thought processes again, and God knew He needed to squelch it. 

God is so gracious and patient.  God reminds me again and again that He is more than able to "accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think." (Ephesians 3:20 NLT) This morning God affirmed and strengthened me in my battle against fear for I found myself comparing myself to someone else and fearing that I was "less than."  Romans 5:3-5 says, "We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.  And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.  And this hope will not lead to disappointment  For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love."  (NLT)  Fear is just a problem, a conflict that I need to lay before my Lord and allow Him to develop endurance within me.  Fear is a trial that is teaching me that God created me, loves me (dearly Romans says!) and delights in me.  Fear does not dictate who I am, nor who I belong to.  Fear doesn't change the truth that I have been saved and have a confident hope in my salvation.  Fear can't remove God's Holy Spirit from my life.  Fear is an emotional reaction and my God is always bigger.

I still don't like spiders. I will find someone to rescue me every time one crosses my path if I can.  And I am conquering fear, the every day kind, the kind that paralyzes you and keeps you from living the life God desires.  As I child of the King, I align myself with the Israelites, God's children, and claim a promise made to them in Isaiah 41:9,10 "I have called you back from the ends of the earth, saying, 'You are my servant.' For I have chosen you and will not throw you away.  Don't be afraid, for I am with you.  Don't be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you.  I will hold you up with my victorious right hand." (NLT) 

All honor and glory to the King of Glory, for He is accomplishing infinitely more inside of me. Amen and amen.