“See beyond this moment, look beyond right here
The story isn’t over, there’s hope, yes hope that’s near.”
Loren Thornburg
I love Easter because beyond all the eggs and candy there is a story that reminds us that things aren’t always as they seem and what you think will be is not always what is to come. Jesus was killed on a cross, but that wasn’t the end of the story. Hope still remained for He rose from the dead and thus our hope still remains. So often I base things on what I see and what I’ve been told forgetting the story isn’t over yet. I have to get the full story before I lose all hope. This is true in life and lives, including our own. So often I see the trials in my life and that’s all I can see. I get frustrated wishing I was farther along in one area or another. I know where I’ve been and I am unable to see where I could go. But, there is more to my story; there is more to your story. Lets get the full story before we resort to losing hope.
“So we don’t look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.”
2 Corinthians 4:18 NLT
Jesus is all about hope. Hope means that in all things we believe in the full story. It means that we “look beyond the tombstone, see the living God”(Paul Baloche, Glorious). Corinthians says it so well in the encouragement not to look at the troubles we see right now, in front of us, but instead to look beyond them, even though we look to things we haven’t yet seen. We can do this because we trust in the hope of our living God. We trust that as the Message version says, “There's far more here than meets the eye.” With Jesus there is always more than we can see going on. There is always more to the story than where we find ourselves in this moment. That means we can hope. Yes, even now, we can hope, even here, we can hope. Jesus is near and so hope is near. In the face of today see the living God. He is at work in a really big story calling you to be a part of it. It’s a story that has shown us we can hope in things we haven’t seen.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
True Absurdities
“Truth is true, absurdities and all.”
Loren Thornburg
Life is full of paradoxes. You have to spend money to make money; you break your muscles down to build them up; your giving is what fills you up. A paradox is something that sounds absurd, but is actually true. More and more I see that life is full of paradoxes. It is in the hard things of life, which bring sadness that I come to know more of joy and enjoyment. It is when we allow ourselves to be hurt, needy, broken, and weak that we can be most thankful and find joy in healing, provision, and strength. It sounds rather absurd to me that to know joy I must know much heartache; to know strength I must know weakness; and to know more I must know less. It makes me wonder how many other things that I think are absurd are actually true. What we think is disaster may be the thing that is saving us. Life has a paradoxical way of bringing life from death.
“Our hearts ache but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing and yet we have everything.”
2 Corinthians 6: 10 NLT
The last shall be first, the first shall be last, those who are poor shall be rich, those who own nothing have everything. Even more, God brought life from death taking crucifixion on a cross of His only Son to bring abundant life for all who believe. Following Jesus is full of paradoxes. He doesn’t think the way that we think, work the way we work, or see things the way that we do. Paul exhorts the Corinthians to take heart in the nature of our paradoxical God. Following Jesus requires allowing His absurdities to be our truth. It means seeing our crises and trusting that God can and will work a blessing in it where we thought no blessing could be found. No longer seeing things from our perspective, but from over His shoulder where the poor are spiritually rich and those with nothing live lives where they find they have everything. It’s a process and it takes time, but the more we seek His ways the more we find what once was absurd has become truth; what once was our disaster has become our blessing; and what once was our death has become our saving.
Loren Thornburg
Life is full of paradoxes. You have to spend money to make money; you break your muscles down to build them up; your giving is what fills you up. A paradox is something that sounds absurd, but is actually true. More and more I see that life is full of paradoxes. It is in the hard things of life, which bring sadness that I come to know more of joy and enjoyment. It is when we allow ourselves to be hurt, needy, broken, and weak that we can be most thankful and find joy in healing, provision, and strength. It sounds rather absurd to me that to know joy I must know much heartache; to know strength I must know weakness; and to know more I must know less. It makes me wonder how many other things that I think are absurd are actually true. What we think is disaster may be the thing that is saving us. Life has a paradoxical way of bringing life from death.
“Our hearts ache but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing and yet we have everything.”
2 Corinthians 6: 10 NLT
The last shall be first, the first shall be last, those who are poor shall be rich, those who own nothing have everything. Even more, God brought life from death taking crucifixion on a cross of His only Son to bring abundant life for all who believe. Following Jesus is full of paradoxes. He doesn’t think the way that we think, work the way we work, or see things the way that we do. Paul exhorts the Corinthians to take heart in the nature of our paradoxical God. Following Jesus requires allowing His absurdities to be our truth. It means seeing our crises and trusting that God can and will work a blessing in it where we thought no blessing could be found. No longer seeing things from our perspective, but from over His shoulder where the poor are spiritually rich and those with nothing live lives where they find they have everything. It’s a process and it takes time, but the more we seek His ways the more we find what once was absurd has become truth; what once was our disaster has become our blessing; and what once was our death has become our saving.
Monday, April 11, 2011
New Filters
“Change your filter so you can see things as they really are and taste things as they really can be. ”
Loren Thornburg
You can’t see it but you can taste the difference in unfiltered water. Besides the better taste, it is better for us not to be consuming water that has different contaminations in it. That’s why we have all sorts of filtrations systems that continue to be more advanced. Now they have red lights and signs when they are no longer filtering as they should be. This signals to us that it is time to put a new filter in. By definition a filter is a device for removing impurities. In our own lives we have things that need filtering. As things come at us and life happens we begin to build up contaminations in our hearts and minds. This affects how we see and react to things. We no longer see them as they really are but we see them through the contamination that has built up. Similar to the water filtration system we need our filters renewed. Don’t keep operating with the same dirty filter, let yours be made new.
“When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor.”
James 4:10 NLT
We can’t see the difference in the water nor can we see our hearts without help. We can taste that it is bad but we need God to be able to renew our filter. James is explaining some of what it looks like to walk out your faith. He shows us what it looks like to purify your heart. It includes bowing before the Lord and admitting in sorrow that our hearts are dirty and we need Him to clean them. We not only need Him but are solely dependent on Him to give us a new filter to lift us up to see rightly again; to see things as they really are, not through the junk that has accumulated in our hearts and minds. We have to come and we have to bow but only He can clean, purify and make new. Why drink the same dirty water when all you have to do is admit you need Him. He loves for you to come. He loves to make you new.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Can't be Microwaved
“More than a minute and not even overnight. Change can’t be microwaved...it takes time.”
Loren Thornburg
Immediately and instantly we have access and answers to so many things. We don’t have to wait. We can find information online in minutes, email a friend with the click of a button, and have hot food ready to eat in seconds. It’s all right there, right away, no waiting required. Not like it used to be without access to so much information, waiting weeks for a letter reply, and our only option for hot food was time spent over the stove. Although the time-savers are helpful they also create a sense that all things should happen at microwave speed. The problem is when there are things that require time, waiting and patience. We don’t know what to do it with it because we aren’t used to waiting. The healing we want, the dreams we have, the areas we want to grow in, these things take time that can’t be sped up by any technological device. It can’t be microwaved. These things take time lasting longer than we want. Yet, if we are willing to accept the suffering we will be invited to the joy that comes afterwards. Don’t give up...it needs more time.
“All eyes look to You, and You give them their food at the proper time.”
Psalm 145:15 HCSB
David is recounting the many reasons to praise the Lord: His greatness, His mercy, His faithfulness, His righteousness, His closeness, His protection. In the middle of these is the reminder that He provides at “the proper time.” That means God is always on time. Now I can’t say that I always agree with God’s timing in the midst of waiting. He often seems a little slow or behind schedule until I see the fullness of what happens in the waiting. For with God He is never off the job and He is never wasting time in your waiting. He is always up to something, preparing you, growing you, shaping you in the waiting. In order to let the waiting have it’s fullness in us we have to remember the fullness of who God is...great, merciful, faithful, righteous, close, protective. This is why we can wait, this is how we can wait, because we know the goodness of the God on whom we wait. He will give you what you need at just the right time.
Loren Thornburg
Immediately and instantly we have access and answers to so many things. We don’t have to wait. We can find information online in minutes, email a friend with the click of a button, and have hot food ready to eat in seconds. It’s all right there, right away, no waiting required. Not like it used to be without access to so much information, waiting weeks for a letter reply, and our only option for hot food was time spent over the stove. Although the time-savers are helpful they also create a sense that all things should happen at microwave speed. The problem is when there are things that require time, waiting and patience. We don’t know what to do it with it because we aren’t used to waiting. The healing we want, the dreams we have, the areas we want to grow in, these things take time that can’t be sped up by any technological device. It can’t be microwaved. These things take time lasting longer than we want. Yet, if we are willing to accept the suffering we will be invited to the joy that comes afterwards. Don’t give up...it needs more time.
“All eyes look to You, and You give them their food at the proper time.”
Psalm 145:15 HCSB
David is recounting the many reasons to praise the Lord: His greatness, His mercy, His faithfulness, His righteousness, His closeness, His protection. In the middle of these is the reminder that He provides at “the proper time.” That means God is always on time. Now I can’t say that I always agree with God’s timing in the midst of waiting. He often seems a little slow or behind schedule until I see the fullness of what happens in the waiting. For with God He is never off the job and He is never wasting time in your waiting. He is always up to something, preparing you, growing you, shaping you in the waiting. In order to let the waiting have it’s fullness in us we have to remember the fullness of who God is...great, merciful, faithful, righteous, close, protective. This is why we can wait, this is how we can wait, because we know the goodness of the God on whom we wait. He will give you what you need at just the right time.
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