Necessity of Christmas

“Though you don’t need gifts...give what you can.

Though it’s not about the food...share meals together.

Though it is much more than a party...spend time to celebrate.

Though you didn’t deserve God’s gift...receive what you so desperately need.”

Loren Thornburg 

Things get busy, presents take over and the eye appeal of everything becomes our focus.  How did it become this way?  What are we celebrating anyway?  It’s hard to remember what we are celebrating with so much going on.  It seems we have lost the necessities of Christmas and found instead the extremities.  The truth is that we need Christmas, but not the Christmas we have come to know.  We don’t need the presents, although I enjoy that part.  We don’t need the food, although it’s fun to share a meal together.  We don’t need the parties, although it’s so good to be together.  So then, what do we need?  We need this time to remember what we have been given.  We need to remember who it is that has given us this great gift.  We need to remember that we don’t deserve any of this nor are we entitled to it.  So join together, share gifts, and enjoy meals, but remember why you need to do this...to remember how you need the great gift we celebrate at Christmas.

“For a child is born to us,    a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.    And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor,[a] Mighty God,    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Isaiah 9:6 NLT

We need Jesus.  We need all that He is and all He brings.  I can’t deny the fact that I need a Counselor.  I need a Mighty God.  I need a Father.  I need Peace.  I need a Savior and all the rescue that He brings.  Sometimes I lose this in the midst of parties and presents.  Yet, there is still time to remember the gift that has been given.  There is still time to enjoy Jesus and all that He means to me and desires to bring to us.  I have to remember my Savior, otherwise the necessity of Christmas is lost.  

There is also still time to purchase my devotional book in print AND now the ebook version is also available: 

http://www.lulu.com/shop/loren-thornburg/hope-remains/ebook/product-21365709.html

Pieces of the Puzzle

“Each piece has a place that all comes together to create a beautiful picture.”

Loren Thornburg

Jigsaw puzzles can be a fun activity.  I have learned there are different ways to approach puzzles.  Some people put the pieces together by shape, some by color and some can see both color and shape together.  Each one sees the pieces on the table differently.  For me there is something about having the final picture in front of me that helps.   There is also something about the picture that helps me see that in the midst of pieces everywhere there is a way for them to all come together.  Sometimes it can seem like they will never find their place like the pieces of our lives.  It’s hard to see how this season, job, or experience has any relation to where I’m headed.  Yet, what I’ve found in looking back is that they all come together in a beautiful way.  It’s just hard to see through all the pieces.  

“Many, LORD my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.”

Psalm 40:5 

You can get lost in the pieces if you stay there too long and miss what the pieces are creating.  Whether it’s looking at the picture or the box or seeing the bigger picture we need this for more than puzzles.  God calls us to it.  We see all throughout scripture the call to look to Him, the One who created this puzzle of life and the pieces of your life.  He knows how to put them together for a beautiful design.  The God who has done many wonders, too many to recount, is the One who wants to be the author of your life and of the picture the pieces are creating.  If we let Him He can take our pieces and make them into something wonderful.  Each piece has a place.  Even the pieces of your life can come together for something beautiful. 

Need of Endurance

“The best way to overcome is to keep going.”
Loren Thornburg

We all face obstacles.  Some of us seem to have more than others.  No one likes trials or asks for them, but we all have them.  The question then is what will we choose to do with them.  For a culture that doesn’t like to endure trials we sure do love a good story of someone who overcomes them.  We celebrate the stories and make movies of the lives where people have overcome great odds.  We all love a good story like that as long as it’s not ours.  Although we have probably experienced the joy of overcoming it is still so tempting to quit when it gets hard.  Yet, I wonder if that trial that seems so hard now is actually helping to make things easier in the future.  So then when we give up because we want things to be easier we are actually making things harder.  The immediate rewards become temporary.  There are joys ahead if you will only keep going.

“For you have need of steadfast patience and endurance, so that you may perform and fully accomplish the will of God, and thus receive and carry away and enjoy to the full what is promised.”
Hebrews 10:36 Amplified 

Endurance means that we are not swerved from our purpose and loyalty to the faith by trials and suffering.  I wish it didn’t say by trials and suffering in there because then I think I could say that I am able to endure.  However, when trials and suffering comes I realize how easily swerved I am.  The pain and unknown of how much longer I will have to endure leaves me wanting out.  Yet, when I choose to opt out I also opt out of all that God wants to do in and through me.  I miss out on seeing what He will do if I will wait on Him.  The temptation is great but the reward is greater.  As tempting as it is to leave the place of trial we can’t forget the reward we are leaving as well.  If we can only remain under what God has allowed for us to endure we will also receive His promises to the full.  God doesn’t call us to endure just so that we have to go through pain, but there is always something on the other side.  God is always doing something in the midst of our trial.  We just have to stick it out long enough to see what He is up to.  

Labyrinth of Life

“Don’t be fooled by this labyrinth of life.  What feels like a setback may actually be propelling you forward.”
Loren Thornburg

A labyrinth is a maze-like structure where the goal is to get to the center.  Dating back to Greek mythology these mazes involve intricate structure through which it is difficult to find your way.  What I noticed in walking through a modern day labyrinth is that although the goal is to get to the center you have to go farther away to get back to center.  Usually you make your way close to the center only to have to travel back to the outer edges to eventually make your way back to the centermost point.  I was reminded that sometimes what seems farther away is actually getting me closer to my desire.  It seems that in the face of trials we are farther from where we sought to arrive, but maybe it is those trials that are taking us one step farther.  It happens all the time: The job loss that sets us in position for a better one; the break up that makes us available for someone who is a better fit; another failed attempt at our dream that forces us to try another way.  So then when it feels you’re only moving farther from your goal look again.  You may find as you continue traveling on your labyrinth of life that you are now closer than it seemed.  

“Those who trust in themselves are fools, but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe.”
Proverbs 28:26

God continually contradicts human wisdom.  We see this over and over throughout scripture: Goliath was killed by a boy with stones, the Savior of the world came as a baby born in a manger, the gospel spread through Paul who previously persecuted Christians.  So it seems we may not be able to rely on our own wisdom or understanding.  Our trust can not be in our own understanding, but we must look to God for wisdom and understanding.  It is in His wisdom that we are kept safe.  It is in His wisdom that we can see outside and past our circumstances to what He is doing in the midst of what feels like a never ending maze.  He has planned the labyrinth of our life and is walking with us each step of the way to bring us where He wants us.  Yet, what we may find is that it is less about getting to the center of the labyrinth as it is about trusting the One who walks with you through the maze. No matter how far or close it feels from where we think we should be headed we can trust the Maker of our labyrinth.   

Free To Be Second

“Know that you are loved and live out of that.”

Loren Thornburg

Video chat is the next best thing to being in person.  Yet, what I find is so often I am looking at me in the small box rather than the person I am talking to in the full screen.  It seems it would be easier to keep my eyes on the other person in the bigger picture, yet I seem to drift back down to me in the small view.  If I’m honest it’s not just on video chat.  Even when I’m with people my focus can end up on me in my thoughts and direction of conversation.  We all have these tendencies.  We gravitate towards thinking about ourselves, wondering how others perceive us, and planning how we can get what we need.  What if we could keep others in our view rather than ourselves?  I don’t mean that we neglect ourselves but that we keep ourselves in proper perspective.  It’s easy to let ourselves become the full screen.  Yet, then we miss the joy of community and the freedom of not needing to be the focus.   Live free to come second.  There’s more joy there than you think.  

“If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

Philippians 2:1-4 Message

We can’t give what we don’t have.  It’s hard to give love we haven’t received.  We love best when it’s an outflow of the love we have been given and oh what overflow of love comes from knowing Jesus.  His love makes all the difference.  It’s because of how He has loved us that we can love God and others.  We can forget ourselves because we know He never forgets us.  We can lend a helping hand because He has brought to Him, a to a place we never deserved to be.  Sometimes we get this out of order and try to give without receiving.  Spend time in His love.  Receive the ways He is loving you through others.  Then, you can let His love compel you to put yourself aside and see those around you.  Then you can be okay with being second.  You might be surprised how freeing it really becomes.  Let God be first and see how He takes care of you.  You may find being first is not as necessary as you once thought.  Embrace the freedom of being second.  

Check out the I AM Second videos.  Here is one from hip hop artist Lecrae:

http://www.iamsecond.com/seconds/lecrae/

Just Around the Corner

“When we most want to quit is when we most need is to stick it out.”

Loren Thornburg

Have you ever noticed that just before a breakthrough is when things got the hardest? It’s in our nature.  A moth  becomes a butterfly by the pressure from the cocoon before release, a mom giving birth has to push the hardest just before the birth, or even a slingshot shoots the farthest when you pull it to its greatest tension.  Yet, as much as we all want to achieve great things and go far, we don’t like the tension needed to get there.  Which is why many of us stop.  Often when we stop is the very moment that we need to hold on, for breakthrough is just around the corner.  It seems to be how it works.  I wish it weren’t so.  I wish it were easy.  However, if we can see the tension as a sign of a breakthrough that’s coming maybe we can hold on long enough for the joy that is near.  Hold on, breakthrough is just around the corner. 

“Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.”

1 Peter 4:12-13 Message

We are so quick to associate things that are easy with God’s hand in it and assume that when it’s hard His hand is gone.  I’m not sure how we got to that assumption for when we look at Jesus’ life we see God’s hand all over it and yet His life was far from easy.  Just after His moment of greatest pain bearing the weight of our sin in His death on the cross, comes the moment that He fulfills His purpose.  He defeated sin so that we could have access to intimate relationship with the Father.  We see it all throughout scripture where the greatest tension comes just before a breakthrough and He does the same in our lives.  The tension is never wasted.  God is using it to prepare you for what awaits you beyond the breakthrough.  So although it’s never easy or fun, it’s far from true that God is off the job.  He is very much in the thick of it, sometimes so much so that’s it’s hard to see Him because He is so in the midst of it all.  Look again.  Can you see Him there?  He is refining you there for the glory just around the corner.  

Check out this song about the verge of a breakthrough:

(it's #2 on the link below)

On A Verge Of A Breakthrough

The Ineloquent

Trapped in this cocoon like a moth I'm growing like I should.

This process hurts more than I ever thought it could.

I hear it's normal to feel the way I distinctively do when you're on the verge of a break, of a breakthrough

I can see my wings already waiting just around the corner 

and I can feel my heart racing is this waiting to no where. 

I can hear deliverance screaming my name over and over, It's so close, It's so close

Wounds like a ballon stretching pressure and it hurts the most

But when Im at my worst I know that freedom is close. 

I hear that a cocoon is necessary for your wings to bloom. 

I think I'm ready to be on the verge of a break, of a break, of a breakthrough.

I can see my wings already waiting just around the corner 

and I can feel my heart racing is this waiting to no where. 

I can hear deliverance screaming my name over and over, It's so close, It's so close

The Beautiful Change

“Change brings beauty in more than the leaves.”

Loren Thornburg

This time of the year is so fun to get out and see the leaves.  Here in Colorado all of the aspens are changing and coloring the mountainsides.  It’s fun to see.  It’s also fun to see the process.  There’s an anticipation in the gradual color change.  Somehow I don’t always feel the same about change in my own life.  I can sometimes see it on the fun things but not always the hard stuff.  I agree that some change is really hard to see any beauty in it.  Yet, what if I started to look for it?  I wonder what I might find.  I just might start to see that the transitions that seem so hard are yielding colors of gold across my life.  

“They’ll rebuild the old ruins, raise a new city out of the wreckage.  They’ll start over on the ruined cities, take the rubble left behind and make it new.”

Isaiah 61:4 Message

Nothing in your life is out of reach of God’s capacity to make it beautiful.  God loves to rebuild, restore and renew His people. With God it’s never too late.  We’re never too old, too far from hope or beyond help.  He can rebuild any amount of ruins.  Even what’s been completely wrecked He can make new.  Whatever your ruins or rubble God can make it new if you will let Him.  That means even the thing that seems beyond restorable, that very thing He can restore: the broken marriage, the deep hurt of a friend, the addiction that keeps coming back, the years lost, and whatever seemingly impossible situation you find yourself in.  He can make the change and make it beautiful.  Let Him take the wreckage of your life and make it into something new.  He can make the beautiful change no matter how lost it seems. 

Great Illusion

“Our lives are not to be compared, but to be held in gratitude for the wonder that each holds.”

Loren Thornburg

If the light hits at the right angle it appears as if there is a pool of water on the road.  Yet, what happens as you get closer is this illusion fades.  I find this to be true in our roads of life.  We often look around and think someone else has it better than we do, wanting what they have until we get closer and realize they have hard things too, they just look different than ours.  You can only see this when you get up close to someone’s life.  From far away things can look great.  From Facebook it’s hard not to think less of your own life and more of what you see.  The illusion is to believe that it’s better somewhere else, but the truth is it’s better where you allow it to be better.  You must choose to accept where you are and let it be enough for right now.  Your life is a gift unlike any other.  Take another look at it and see the wonder that it holds.    

 “He replied to the one speaking for the rest, ‘Friend, I haven’t been unfair. We agreed on the wage of a dollar, didn’t we? So take it and go. I decided to give to the one who came last the same as you. Can’t I do what I want with my own money? Are you going to get stingy because I am generous?’ Matthew 20: 13-15 Message

Although we may not all have had a situation of wage differences we can all relate to this story.  The feeling that it’s unfair that someone else has more or has it easier than we have is universal.  Yet what the Lord says to us is He hasn’t been unfair or as it reads in another translation, “I am doing you no wrong.”  I tend to argue with Him on this until I read the question that follows, “Are you going to get stingy because I am generous?”  The Lord is so generous.  He has been so generous to us in ways we don’t deserve.  Yet, we take His generosity and rather than respond in gratitude we tell Him it’s not enough.  Oh we may not say that but we might as well be saying it by the way we respond.  Let Him do what He wants with those around you, thankful that He is generous with them and with you.  It’s not a competition, it’s a family.  Celebrate the Lord’s generosity wherever it may fall.  For the truth remains He is most generous with you.  Don’t fall for any other illusion.  

Soaked

“We can’t help but be changed when we are soaked.  The question becomes what are we soaking in?”

Loren Thornburg

Sometimes dishes won’t come clean.  Even with heavy scrubbing and hot water the food remnants seem to be stuck there forever.  However, after soaking the dish in water for an extended period of time the remnants begin to dislodge and the dish is able to come clean again.  You and I are like that too.  We can’t help but be changed by the thoughts we are soaking in.  It’s like a marinade.  The taste of the meal becomes that which you marinate it in.  So then we too become that which we marinate in.  When we think about truth we reflect that in our life, however when we think about lies or fears our whole life is affected.  Therefore we need to marinate in things that are true for when we do it becomes like the dish that has been soaked; the lies begin to come off easily for they can’t remain when soaked in truth.  Let's get soaking in truth. 

“For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and is honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there is any virtue and excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things [fix your minds on them].”

Philippians 4:8 Amplified

God knows us.  He created us and so He knows what we need.  God knows how important our thoughts are to our life and relationship with Him.  Paul is relaying that message to the Philippians and to us.  Though years and cultures apart our issues are the same.  What we think about matters.  The thoughts that are minds are soaked in make a difference.  Yet, even if we have soaked in thoughts that are not true, honorable, pure and lovely still we can return.  For in soaking in thoughts that are worthy of reverence they become like the water in the dirty dish and dislodge the lies and fears.  So then let us continually fix our minds on these things.  The soaking of our hearts takes time, even more than the dishes.  It’s not a quick fix.  It takes more than hearing once to change, but it is the continual soaking in the truth that brings the freedom our hearts need.  Start soaking in Him.  It changes things. 

Allow for Healing

“We have in us the tools to heal, if only we would give ourselves the space to use them.”

Loren Thornburg

It wasn’t until I scraped the top of my knuckle that I realized how often that area rubs up against things.  Even the simple act of putting my hands in my pockets has the potential to open up the cut again.  I am reminded with this cut that I can’t operate in the ways that I am used to operating.  I have to approach things more carefully.  In seeing the space my body needs to heal I am reminded that our hearts needs that same space.  In the times and places of hurting we can’t expect to do things as we’ve always done.  When we are sick we don’t expect ourselves to be able to do the same amount in our day because we recognize our need for healing.  In knowing this let’s carry that same approach to the places of our hearts.  When we’ve been hurt, when we’re grieving loss, when we’re facing hardship let us remember we need space.  We can heal in all these places but it means giving ourselves the grace and space we need to allow healing to happen. 

“My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body.

Proverbs 4:20-22 NLT

The Lord loves to brings life and healing.  Here in Proverbs there is an invitation to let Him do what He is capable of doing.  In order to experience this life and healing we have to listen to the Lord and His truth and let them penetrate our hearts.  He never forces His way into our places in need of healing.  Yet, with even a small turn towards Him He is there ready and willing to penetrate the truth deep into our hearts so that we may experience life.  We can’t do it on our own, but His spirit within us, when invited to the hurt, brings healing.  It takes time and space just as our physical wounds do, but we can rest in Him.  Give God space and allow Him to heal.  He loves to bring life deep into your heart!

Cultivating Heart

“Everything in our lives grows out of our heart.  So then that is where in everything we must begin.”
Loren Thornburg

Those who garden are very familiar with the cultivation process.  It involves preparing and working on land by labor and attention to raise a plant or crop.  Note two of the words in that definition: labor and attention.  Cultivation is not something that comes easily or quickly, but takes work and hours of attending to that which you want to cultivate.  Whether this takes place in our gardens or in our lives we all have roots that need cultivation.  Growth will be hindered if the roots are not in an environment that fosters growth.  In our lives everything grows out of our hearts.  This is the soil where our roots are planted.  So then we must be attentive to work at the things of our hearts.  If you don’t like what’s growing in your life it’s best to go to the roots as you would a plant, or weed.   Often we try to cut it off from the outside, creating an endless cycle of growth and need for cutting.  Until eventually we give up trying, giving our lives the potential to be filled with weeds and other unwanted growth.   What is your life cultivating?  It came from the heart and that is where you must go.  

“I’ve kept my feet on the ground, I’ve cultivated a quiet heart, like a baby content in its mother’s arms, my soul is a baby content.”
Psalm 131:2 Message

These words of David’s about a life of contentment are so inviting.  I don’t mean a life of settling but one of peace and enjoyment where what you have and where you are is enough.  Oh how much pain and harm could be avoided if our hearts could find themselves content.  in a culture that says more is better is it seems this can only happen by labor and attention.  We have to be intentional to cultivate a quiet heart and contentment.  A quiet heart means we’ve removed all the noise.  I don’t mean avoiding all the noise but rather giving it to the Lord piece by piece.  In order to give it to Him we must stop long enough to see it and be aware of it.  We can’t give what we don’t know we have.  Often It’s easier to avoid because we don’t like what we see.  Yet, it’s the only way to a quiet heart.  So let’s start looking and cultivating hearts that are quiet and content.  It’s takes work and time, but the pain of those things is worth the freedom of a content life.  You won’t want to miss it...no matter what time and painful work it requires.  

The Cost

“Everything comes at a cost.  So then, in everything we must ask,  ‘What is the cost and is it worth it?’”

Loren Thornburg

It’s easy to recognize the cost of something monetarily.  Yet, have we considered the greater cost that everything has in our life?  Cost is defined as the price, sacrifice or loss required to acquire, accomplish or maintain anything.   Every dream, desire, goal, and decision comes at a price, both good and bad.  There is even a cost in the things we believe.  The one who believes they have nothing to will sacrifice the pleasure of being valued.  It costs them peace and joy to believe that is true.  Often the costs are worth it, but other times we don’t realize the things we are sacrificing.  Although, we can’t always know what the costs will be, we would be wise to consider them.    

“They traded the truth about God for a lie.  So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator Himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen.”

Romans 1:25 NLT

Jesus knows all about counting the costs and invites us to do the same. He counted what it would cost to die and bear the weight of our sins and decided that relationship with you and I was worth the sacrifice.  He counted many other costs along the way.  In the desert it wasn’t worth believing the temptations and lies from the enemy because He knew what that would cost him.  He knew that He would be trading in truth if He believed the lies.  When we believe the lies of the enemy we sacrifice experiencing all of the abundant life that our Father wants to give.  This is what Paul is talking about here in Romans.  The people of Rome were experiencing the cost of trading truth for lies.  Each lie comes with a price, starting with joy and peace and continuing to relationship, intimacy, health, abundant life, and so much more.  So we must ask ourselves what are our lies costing us and is it worth it? 

Process of Progress

“In order to progress you must accept the process.”

Loren Thornburg

We all want progress but very few want the process it takes to get there.  The process is the road between where you are now and where you want to be.  Unfortunately, for most things it is not as fast as we would like.  I recently climbed “the incline,” a famous vertical in Colorado Springs.  In just under a mile you climb 2000 steps and 2000 feet of elevation.  When you look up you can’t even see the top of the climb.  It seems never ending and yet when you keep taking one more step you eventually arrive at the top.  As you keep taking steps you look back and you realize how far you have come.  I am encouraged when I do this in my own life, looking back to how far I’ve come in the last year.  When I see the ways I’ve changed and grown it encourages me to keep moving forward.  I couldn’t see them in the midst of the slow process, but now looking back I can see.  Just as the incline didn’t seem like each step was getting me very far so it doesn’t in my life.  Yet, I made it to the top and so I will keep stepping in life knowing it is getting me closer to where I want to be.  

“We each carried out our servant assignment. I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plants, but God made you grow. It’s not the one who plants or the one who waters who is at the center of this process but God, who makes things grow. Planting and watering are menial servant jobs at minimum wages. What makes them worth doing is the God we are serving. You happen to be God’s field in which we are working.”

1 Corinthians 3:5-9 Message

I wish every process was as short as climbing the incline.  Often the process seems so long it’s hard to celebrate any level of progress.  The pain of the climb becomes too much and too hard to continue to endure.  Yet, it is God that makes it worth it.  With Him it’s not about the progress we are working towards, but about serving Him.  He measures our climbs so much differently than we do.  You are in search of progress and He is in search of you.  You are the progress and your heart is the goal, much more than any destination you are searching to reach.  So keep climbing, keep working, and keep looking back; but look to Him rather than your process to determine your progress.  He is at the center of this process and He is what makes it worth continuing.  It’s not how far you’ve come or how far you can go, but Who you go with and Who goes with you.  Whatever your climb, enjoy the One who goes with you and makes it all worth it.  

Small Matters

“It doesn’t look like much, but it matters;

It doesn’t seem significant, but it will be;

It doesn’t appear of much value, but just wait;

For in time ALL the small things matter.”
Loren Thornburg

It’s about an inch long and a few centimeters wide, but when this clamp rusted off the back of the fridge a slow drip of water began.  You couldn’t see it or hear it, but over time you couldn’t miss the leak that soaked the closet behind the connecting wall.  Three weeks later after hours of fans, days of work, and hundreds of dollars the house was restored.   It’s hard to believe that something so small caused something so damaging.  Yet, isn’t this how much of life operates both for building up and tearing down? The small things matter because they don’t stay small.  They grow over time in whichever direction they began, starting with one small step.  I find encouragement in knowing that the dream that seems impossible to reach is attainable over time starting with movement, however small in that direction.  I also find caution in knowing that damage begins with just one little thing.  What I thought wasn’t a big deal or didn’t matter because it was insignificant in size, does in fact make a difference.  We must attend to the small things.  What are your small things?

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field.  It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.”

Matthew 13: 31-32 NLT

Jesus cares about the little things.  The message of this parable is in the smallness of a seed that is to all appearances insignificant, yet grows into something much larger than expected or seemingly possible. The invitation of Jesus, to believe and follow Him seems simple and small, yet when we really trust in Christ it is revolutionary and transforming.  His life in us brings about the most unexpected and radical change in our lives.  Mustard plants, are not trees, but are yellow-flowered bushes that paint the hillsides.  However, Jesus wants you to know that He can take your smallness and grow it into more than you thought possible.  A lowly plant becomes a tree of power and authority in the hands of Jesus.  So let us be content with small seeds and small steps, trusting Jesus, knowing that He can grow us into something seemingly impossible, full of life and beauty.  

(Some of these facts and thoughts are taken from www.RayStedman.org)

Return to Rest

“Our lives get loud.  Our days get noisy.  Make space for quiet.”

Loren Thornburg

Personal retreats are my new favorite tradition.  I don’t realize how loud my life gets and how tired I am until I step away from all of the noise that is my life.  There is something about getting out of my normal environment away from distractions that brings a peace I didn’t know I needed.  These retreats often begin with a nice long nap.  It’s the nap that tells me I’ve been really tired and I was too busy to realize it.  In addition to lots of rest I also read and remember.  I love to look back over the last year and see where I was and how I’ve changed.  The reading, resting and remembering brings the refreshment I need.  The trick is making space for time away.  Whether it’s a few hours or a few days, it’s hard to do.  You have to plan around it or something else will get planned.  Our lives get loud.  Our days get noisy.  Make space for quiet.  

“...Relax and rest. God has showered you with blessings.  Soul, you’ve been rescued from death; Eye, you’ve been rescued from tears;  And you, Foot, were kept from stumbling.”

Psalm 116:7 Message

I love this invitation to rest and remember.  As we rest in who God is and all that He has done refreshment is sure to follow.  Our culture places such a value on doing and productivity that we miss this invitation and decide it’s not as valuable as the invitation to be busy.  Being idle is often viewed as a waste of time, yet God asks us to rest.  David gives us an example of what that looks like here in the Psalm.  He is intentional to remember the blessings of God.  You’ve been rescued from death, tears and stumbling.  Rest in the ways God has showered you with blessings.  Relax in Him, your Father, who takes such good care of you.  He is inviting you to rest.  He calls you to remember.  Let’s follow David and take time away to relax and rest with the Lord.  How have you been rescued and blessed?

Celebrating Change

“Change brings much sadness, but it is also change that brings much joy and reason to celebrate.”

Loren Thornburg

I’ve been going to Southeast Asia for 6 years now.  Lots of things have changed in 6 years.  As I look at this country I celebrate and grieve the changes I see.  I celebrate the openness that is happening for it allows foreigners like me into places we once couldn’t go.  Yet, I grieve the advancements that are making this place look more like the rest of the world.  As I look at my life I am thankful for changes.  Changes have allowed me to mature, become more content, and be more of me.  Yet I grieve the part of change that means less time with people I love.  In an ever changing world we can only expect an ever changing life.  With an ever changing life I can only hope to be a part of the change that brings celebrating.  Change is inevitable.  So if you can’t avoid it join with it.  Find the change that brings reason to celebrate.  Be the change that brings more reason to celebrate.  

"God is not man, one given to lies, and not a son of man changing his mind. Does he speak and not do what he says? Does he promise and not come through?”

Numbers 23:19 Message

God doesn’t change.  His person doesn’t change, His reliability doesn’t change, His promises don’t change, and His love for You doesn’t change.  Nothing about what is true of Him changes.  No, not ever will He change. He is committed to change while remaining unchanging.  He is committed to bring the change in me that brings me to Him and that makes all the difference.  That makes me able to endure all the changes around me.  It reminds me of the picture that one man on a rock can save many who are drowning.  He is the one on the rock that saves.  He saved me and keeps saving me.  He came to save you and to keep saving you.  So whatever change seems to be taking you away you can reach out your hand to the One who never changes.  His word never changes and nothing you can do can change His mind about you.  He loves you.  Let Him be the change in you that brings the change to others.  He is the change that saves.  

Trials Promised

“No one said it would be easy, but no one said we had to go it alone either.”

Loren Thornburg

As I get ready to go on another overseas trip I am reminded that it is not an easy process.  It never has been and yet somehow I keep wanting it to be.  Yet, it’s not just these trips that I find that to be the case.  It’s most things.  I want life to be easy, to be ideal, to be comfortable.  The reality and the truth is that it is not these things most of the time.  Sometimes we have seasons and moments where the ideal comes to be and things fall into place with ease and comfort.  More than those sometimes, most of the time, life brings less than ideal.  It brings trials, frustrations, and distresses.  So the trick is learning to accept that and make the most of it.  I have found one of the best ways to make the most of it is in good company.  We may have to go through trials but we don’t have to go them alone.  So join in as others walk it out and let others walk with you.  It may not be easy but it can be a bit easier.  So expect trials, accept trials, and join in trials.  

“I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace and confidence.  In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of the power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]

John 16:33 Amplified

Jesus says that we will have trials.  He promises that we will have frustrations.  It’s not “if” you have them but “when” you have them.  It’s not a possibility, but a guarantee.  Yet, that is not the only guarantee we have.  He has promised to overcome the world.  He is why we can have peace and confidence in the midst of whatever trial that comes our way.  He is with us.  He is our peace.  We may have distresses in our midst but we have Someone bigger in our midst as well.  Let Him show you how He wants to deprive it of the power to harm you and conquer it.  Let Him be your peace in the midst of whatever you face.  

Go Seek

Go Seek

“The more you seek, the more you find.”

Loren Thornburg

In the game of hide and seek you won’t find anyone unless you go seeking.  What I have found is that I too don’t find much unless I seek for it.  I have been writing devotions for many years.  The surprising thing is that it’s not the norm that I have a burning inspiration of what I want to write about when I sit down to write.  Every now and then I sit down with a thought I want to share, but most of the time I sit down and start seeking what to write and what I find is a thought I want to share.  It’s after I stop and think about what’s been going on and what I’ve been learning that I find something.  It’s in the habit of knowing I am going to write something each week that I am seeking for it throughout the week.  So it is with other things.  The more we are in the habit of seeking, of stopping, of looking; the more we will be in the habit of seeing and finding. 

““When you come looking for me, you’ll find me.

“Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” God’s Decree.

“I’ll turn things around for you. I’ll bring you back from all the countries into which I drove you”—God’s Decree—“bring you home to the place from which I sent you off into exile. You can count on it.”

Jeremiah 29:13-14 Message

God is not trying to be an expert hider like in the game of hide and seek.  He wants to be found.  He is not hiding from us as much as it may seem at times.  He promises that when we seek after Him we won’t be disappointed.  This seeking is an intentional, all out, settle for nothing less, than finding Him kind of seeking.  Not because He wants to exhaust you, but rather He knows it’s in this all out search where you will stop at nothing short of Him that you find what you need...trust in Him.  He loves you so much and knows how much you are in need of Him.  What you will find in seeking Him is that He was actually seeking you the whole time, pursuing you, drawing you to Him.  His love and pursuit never runs out on you.  That’s worth the search, no matter what it takes.  

Too Hot to Handle

“We were not made to handle life without protection and support.”

Loren Thornburg

When you are dealing with hot objects protection is needed.  That’s why hot pads are so great.  They allow you to grab and move hot items in the kitchen that otherwise would be too hot to touch.  We were not meant to handle things at high temperatures without protection.  This is something we can all agree on, unless we are talking about more than the kitchen.  I can accept my limits when it comes to using hot pads.  Yet, somehow when it comes to my own life I don’t realize my limits and my need for protection.  I think I should be able to handle whatever comes my way no matter how “hot” it is.  The reality is that just like the kitchen I was not made to handle everything life brings me without some protection and support.  I need people alongside me, additional resources, wisdom, counsel, extra rest, space, refreshment and nourishment.  All of these things help protect us from the places in life that are too hot to handle.  

“Jesus said, “I know. I saw Satan fall, a bolt of lightning out of the sky. See what I’ve given you? Safe passage as you walk on snakes and scorpions, and protection from every assault of the Enemy. No one can put a hand on you. All the same, the great triumph is not in your authority over evil, but in God’s authority over you and presence with you. Not what you do for God but what God does for you—that’s the agenda for rejoicing.”

Jesus is the ultimate protector.  Simply speak His name and His protection is there.  Sometimes I miss the freedom of walking in His protection because I don’t think I need it.  I think I can handle it on my own.  I don’t want to admit my weakness.  It is there that I get burned.  I miss the safe passage He is offering me.  I miss getting to see what God wants to do and the rejoicing of His agenda.  I don’t want to get so caught up in my agenda that I miss His.  It’s less about avoiding evil and more about letting Him have the authority in my life and letting Him be present with me.  Just as we reach for the hot pad when we’re about to handle something hot so too may we reach for Him and His protection even if we think we can or should be able to handle it.  

Heats On

“LIfe has moments when the heat is on and things spill over.  The question remains what will be spilling over?”

Loren Thornburg

I hate it when I leave a pot over heat on the stove unattended.  I come back to a mess.  Heat brings things to the surface.  When the heat is on, that which is inside will spill over both on the stove and in our lives.  This is why it is absolutely necessary to look at what’s going on in our hearts.   As much as we attend to the outside, we also need to attend to our inside.  If we don’t, when the heat is on, what’s inside will come out.  When the trials come on, the circumstances get hard, and the busyness gets overwhelming, things start to come out.  They come from our hearts.  We still need to take care of our health, be mindful of our appearance, but above all else we need to pay attention to our heart.  When life gets hard and your heart spills over let it be a beautiful mess.   

“Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life.”

Proverbs 4:23 Amplified

God is serious about your heart.  He is after it.  It says “above all that you guard,” guard your heart.  That means more than appearance, more than money, more than your job, more than anything guard your heart.  That doesn’t mean be guarded in the sense of being closed off, but rather to pay attention to, be aware of, and keep it so close you know what is going on in your heart.  Your heart is a big deal to God and He wants you to think it’s a big deal too.  It’s from the heart that life comes.  Life, life and more life, that is what He’s after.  He wants you to experience life.  It comes from your heart.  Let Him have His way with your heart that you may have life, life and more life whatever the trials that your day may bring.  

Rescue Operation

“Sometimes the best rescues don’t take us out of the struggle, but teach us how to walk through it.”

Loren Thornburg

In the midst of hard times it’s only normal to want out of it.  It’s uncomfortable, it’s painful, and it’s hard.  Those are not desirable things.  When I find myself there I want out too; I want to be rescued.  I want the stories we see in movies or the fairy tales that were read to me as a kid, where someone comes to save the day.  Yet, often times the best rescue operations don’t take us out of the danger, but show us how to walk through it.  I wonder how many things I have been rescued from because of all of the hard things that I wasn’t rescued from in the way that I wanted.  The times that I had to walk through the hard stuff grew in me abilities and character traits that have helped me avoid future dangers.  The more I see this the more I have come to appreciate the times my rescue didn’t look the way that I wanted.  I find although I still want to be swept out of it, I also want to be left in.  For that is the rescue that will keep on rescuing after this trial has passed.  

“...We felt like we’d been sent to death row, that it was all over for us.  As it turned out, it was the best thing that could have happened.  Instead of trusting in our own strength or wits to get out of it, we were forced to trust God totally--not a bad idea since he’s the God who raises the dead!  And he did it, rescued us from certain doom.  And he’ll do it again, rescuing us as many times as we need rescuing.  You and your prayers are part of the rescue operation…”

2 Corinthians 1: 8-11 Message

God is the ultimate Rescuer.  He loves to rescue us “as many times as we need rescuing,” but He doesn’t always rescue us the way we would want Him to.  I love what Paul discovers in what seemed a hopeless situation.  He is glad for the intensity of the struggle because it forced Him to look to God to rescue, rather than to his own strength or someone else.  Paul comes to recognize the beauty of God’s rescue operation.  God loves to rescue.  He loves to rescue you...over and over and over again.  It just might not look how you thought it would.  He just might take you to the end of yourself so that you will trust in Him totally.  

Less Yields More

“Less is an opportunity for more.”

Loren Thornburg

Less usually only sounds better when we’re talking about debt, bills or things on our to do list.  We don’t often wish for less money or fewer possessions.  Yet, something happens when we don’t have what we are used to having; we are forced to create from what we have.  I recently endured a very constricted diet.  Without the flavors I am used to enjoying I was forced to find new ways to create a tasty meal.  What I found was spices and flavors that I had been missing out on. It's like that meal you never would have made except that it's all that you had and it turned out so good you made it again even when you had more.  It made me wonder how many things are created and inventions invented out of having less. Less forces us to get creative in more ways than our meals.  The hard seasons in our lives, when it feels like things are being taken away, force us to grow in ways we wouldn’t have otherwise.  They cause us to develop relationships that may not have been so deep and point us to new ways of doing things that we wonder why we ever did it any other way.  Whatever less you find yourself in look for the more that’s waiting to be found.  

“… My dear child, don’t shrug off God’s discipline, but don’t be crushed by it either.  It’s the child he loves that he disciplines; the child he embraces, he also corrects.  God is educating you; that’s why you must never drop out.  He’s treating you as dear children.  This trouble you’re in isn’t punishment; it’s training, the normal experience of children...But God id doing what is best for us, training us to live God’s holy best.  At the time, discipline isn’t much fun.  It always feels like it’s going against the grain.  Later, of course, it pays off handsomely, for it’s the well-trained who find themselves mature in their relationship with God.”

Hebrews 12:4-11 Message

Discipline is not a word we like, as it often suggests restrictions and constrictions.  When we hear discipline we assume there will be less of what we want.  Although that may be true, more often the less is making room for more of what really matters.  Discipline is training that corrects, molds and perfects. It comes in all shapes, sizes and forms.  Often we see hard times or a lessening in provision and we associate that with punishment.   We look around and think it’s punishment because we don’t see other people facing the hard things we are, but in fact hard times and discipline are normal.  Everyone has them they just look different.  God really is doing what is best for us.  Do you believe that?  You have to believe that as one missionary, Adoniram Judson did.  In the face of many trials he said, “If I had not felt certain that every additional trial was ordered by infinite love and mercy, I could not have survived my accumulated sufferings.” Trust His infinite love and mercy for you.  Whatever suffering, discipline or hard time you face He is doing something in you and through you that is yielding more than you can see in this season of less.