Requested by Liz - Family Resemblance

God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.
Ephesians 1:5-6 NLT

A long time ago, as the registrar of an elementary school, I was often amazed by the younger siblings who would come to start school and they would be the spitting image of their older sibling at that age. Strong family genes. I'm sure we all know families that look so much alike, you could put them in a room with hundreds of people, and still be able to pick out who were members of the same gene pool.

How strong are our genes? 1st John 3:2 tells us, Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.

What will we look like? Or more importantly - Who do we look like? 

I'm reminded of a time, several years ago - it was a gathering of friends at Gringo's with a new waiter who didn't know we'd ever been there. We straggled in, coming from all directions, and when we were finally gathered, the waiter looked at the 7 of us and remarked, "Oh, I get it. It's a family meeting!" We all smiled and replied, "Yup, that's it - a family meeting." 

Proof positive - adopted into the family of God through Jesus Christ. That's our common gene pool. And it was strong enough through Christ to see our Family Resemblance.

Praise His Holy Name!

Prayer:

Father,
           Thank You for adopting us into Your family and making us joint heirs with Your precious Son, Jesus. When we grow up, we want to be just like You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

All the Days

When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
Psalm 61:2b NKJV

I know that God's Grace is sufficient and I know that goodness and mercy shall follow me ALL the days of my life. And according to His Word, He knew this day would be one of them...

Today has been a tough one. However, what I can tell you at the end of it is this: I don't have to understand the whys and the wherefores, I just have to trust Him. God is good and He knows what is best for our lives. He has the Master Plan, and if we trust Him, He will execute it perfectly.

I haven't trusted Him all the days of my life. But I do trust Him now and I will continue to trust Him for all the rest of my days.

Prayer:

Father,
           I pray healing for all those who need a touch from You. I pray peace for the troubled soul. I pray comfort as only You can give to those who have lost what they have loved. I pray Your provision as Way Maker for those who are lost and without. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Seed Away

“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died. Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

Mark 4:3-8 NLT

So the farmer goes out to plant seed. Jesus makes no distinction about the kinds of seed. It's all the same seed. It's all good seed. The only difference is where it is sown. It is absolutely guaranteed to produce fruit in the right soil... but it has to be planted.

Read on from our text for today...
Mark 4:13-20 Then Jesus said to them, “If you can’t understand the meaning of this parable, how will you understand all the other parables? The farmer plants seed by taking God’s word to others. The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced. And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

You can have enough seed to plant the entire Earth, but if you don't actually plant the seed, what good does it do? Is it still seed? Yes! Does it have within it all that is necessary to produce fruit? Yes! Will it all bring forth fruit? Not unless it’s put into fertile ground.

It’s not just about the seed. Are our hearts prepared to receive it?

Prayer:

Father,
            Help us to prepare our hearts to be fertile soil that will hear and receive Your Word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as has been planted. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen

Approved Plans

How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.”
James 4:14-15 NLT

Fourteen or fifteen years ago, a very dear friend of mine was coming to visit, so I laid out a plan. Things I wanted to accomplish before she arrived. My course of action started as planned for Friday afternoon and into Saturday morning, but it soon blossomed into one of those “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” moments…

Are you familiar with those? The reference is from the children’s book of the same name, but basically, the premise is that giving a mouse a cookie when he asks for one is never all there is to it. You can give him the cookie, but then he’ll want or need a glass of milk and a napkin and on it goes from there. It is quite entertaining as a child’s book, but not so much fun when it happens in real life. It can wreak havoc with your plans.

I put a loveseat in one of the rooms of my house and I loved it, but then the room seemed to be off center and some of the other furniture needed to move to fix it... So I had to take ALL of my books off the bookshelving. (Do you know how many books you can stack on 30 feet of shelving?) In moving the books, I realized that a couple had fallen behind the shelf and on their way down had put a rip in the window covering, and as I went to repair that, I realized it was beyond repair and needed to be replaced before I could reset the shelves and the books. That was not in my time plan.

I had planned pretty much every minute of that Saturday, including breaks and a visit to Linda, another dear friend, who at that time was battling cancer. I was moving right along with my plans Saturday morning when Linda's husband called and I headed to their house. I'd been believing for a miracle - that was my plan - and I realized when I arrived that I needed to re-think my plans. I waited with Linda and her husband until the medical van came to transport her to the hospice hospital.

By Sunday night, I was back on task and on my schedule. On Monday, during lunch, I planned my evening and what I would accomplish on my planned list, when God intervened and after work, I found myself heading to the other side of Houston to visit Linda at the hospital. Ever the multi-tasker, I figured I'd get a visit in with my brother while I was on that side of town. So I planned to stay about an hour with Linda, then meet my brother, and head home from there, but then I heard myself repeating aloud to Linda's family what the Holy Spirit was whispering to me, "I'll be back after I see my brother." Mentally, I was calculating the time left in the evening that I might continue with MY plans... then figuratively speaking, I got hit between the eyes with our Scripture reference for today.

And bless His holy Name, I actually listened. In the eternal weight of life, it will never matter if my bookshelves needed to be moved 8 inches one way or the other because I find absolutely NO Scripture basis or precedence for it. However, I have not yet found the end of the list of Scriptures which command that I love as He loves, that a friend loves at all times, that I treat others as I would want to be treated with lovingkindness, and that what is within my power to give is to be given willingly, cheerfully, lovingly... 

Plans, shmlans...How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What we ought to say is,“If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” Then and only then, will we have the opportunity to follow His plan for us to be His hand extended. The hand that holds the hand of the one taking her last breath on this side of forever.

If you're making plans, make a plan to submit them for approval to the Master Planner. He'll find any mistakes and correct them before the errors are set in stone.

Prayer:

Father,
            Thank You for being such a kind and Holy God and Father. Thank You for Your peace and Your miraculous love. Please alter our plans as You see fit as we submit them to You. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Yes or No

O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do.

Psalm 139:1-3 NLT

There are times in all our lives - at every stage of our lives - when we face decisions about whether we should or should not do something. It doesn't matter how young or old we are.

When my kids were younger, I used to give them this rule of thumb. "If Jesus was standing right next to you and could see what you're doing, would you do it?" You know the Truth is that Jesus IS with us all the time. Numerous Scriptures tell us so. He DOES see what we're facing, and the course of action we choose.

That thing when no one's looking? Where you let your mind wander and stay when no one's around? When you're in the big city and no one knows who you are or what you normally do? And there's no one to tell... He knows it all... Think about it. Choose carefully.

Sometimes we make decisions without thinking at all. Sometimes, we're distracted and don't fully engage to use the sense God gave us. Choose wisely. It could very well be the deciding factor between where you will spend eternity - smoking or non-smoking - or for someone else's eternity who is looking to you as their example to follow Christ. Yes, we are our brother's keeper. What will be your deciding factor?

Prayer:

Father,
           Guide us by Your righteousness, O Lord our God. We want our deciding factor to be You. Let all of our choices be to follow Your will with clean hands and pure hearts. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

By Request - How Quickly We Forget

 So commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.

Deuteronomy 11:18-19 NLT

The past week has been one of remembering for me. Labor Day - originally proclaimed to celebrate the legalization of labor unions and the labor movement. My father - he'd have turned 103 this week. And tomorrow: 9-11. Twenty-one years have passed since America united as a country against the evil atrocities perpetrated against our nation, but how quickly we forget.

We remember those who gave their lives trying to save those who had come under attack. We remember those who spent days and weeks and months trying to dig out from under it all. We remember those who have taken a stand against terrorism and have fought and are fighting for our freedoms. All day tomorrow, there will be conversations that begin with, "I remember what I was doing when I heard..." "I remember I couldn't believe..."

We remember facts, but we don't remember the truths that came from it. What I mean is that when the shock wore off, we were no longer divided across party lines, or state lines, or skin color lines. We were Americans who stood arm in arm and waved our flags, and sang our anthem, and burned candles, and filled all the churches for two whole weeks following 9-11. Oh, the flag waving and anthem singing and burning candles lasted a while longer, but by the third Sunday following 9-11-01, most churches were back to their usual Sunday congregation. And twenty-one years later, we're up in arms against each other instead of arm-in-arm with one another. How quickly we forget.

The same thing happened when Jesus took the bread as recorded in Luke 22:19, and gave thanks, and broke it, and gave unto them, saying, This is My body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of Me. And then later, His body was broken for our sins. We remember the facts, but do we remember the Truth? The atrocities against Him - against God's love personified? Do we remember what it cost Him? He laid His life down for our freedom. He died to save us and to free us from the rubble of our lives.

So many don't remember from twenty-one years ago - is it any wonder that 2,000 years later they've forgotten Christ? We MUST remember...

Prayer:

Father,
          Keep the cost of the Cross ever before us, O Lord. Forgive us for taking it lightly, as just a matter of fact. Bind us together by Your love. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Who Do You Look Like?

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.
Colossians 1:15-16 NKJV

Growing up, I always thought I was adopted... that is until I saw the picture of my maternal grandmother. Then I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt, that I was not. The image of my grandmother at 19 or 20 is uncannily my face at that same age. Isn't it funny - when a baby is first born, friends and family who are not on the scene always ask, "Who does she look like?" Well, in our case, when my youngest granddaughter was a baby, she had her mama's sweet disposition and looked like her daddy. Now that she's older, she will tell you, "I'm my father's daughter." There's no doubt whose child she is.

I love looking back at the pictures documenting her life. I look at the images and I'm mesmerized by the way her "today" face takes me back in time to the face of many yesterdays...

And as is often the case with babies, do you remember how every new thing they do is seen through new eyes for their parents (and grandparents) too. I remember watching her reaction to the ocean and white sand and it was like seeing it all for the first time, and yet the number of times we've been to the beach cannot possibly be tallied. How wondrous it is to experience life anew, wouldn't you agree?

According to Scripture, that's the way it can be - and IS - when we choose to become a new creation in Christ! Old things are passed away and behold, all things have become new! (2nd Corinthians 5:17) And in Romans 8, we're told that we are conformed to the image of the Son (Jesus) who - according to our text for today - is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.

So when people look at us, what do they see? Are we the image of our Father? Do we look like Him? Act like Him? Is it easy to spot the resemblance? Is there any doubt about whose child you are?

Prayer:

Father,
            Let our light - Your light inside of us -so shine before men, that they may see our good works and glorify You, Father, easily recognizing Whose child we are. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen