That Painting

April 15, 2011

This morning I read of Jesus preaching near a lake. It prompted a very sweet memory.

Several years ago, while on a business trip to Philly, I spent some time at the city art museum. The stairs leading up to one side of the building are the same stairs Sly Stallone ran in the movie Rocky. And so…yes, I admit, I attempted to run them. -attempted. There are many!

Anyhow. One painting stopped me dead in my tracks.

There it was, a muted, fuzzy sort of painting, as I recall. A misty lake scene. A tattered gray boat floating away from the shore. A gentle, white robed Jesus just out of the water. People flocking together. Flocking, mind you. Carrying sick loved ones or dragging themselves to Him because they had heard of His power to heal.

Dead in my tracks. The rest of the room faded into nothingness – muted like that painting.

And I sobbed -aloud. My tearful passion would have no part of staying inside of me. It had to escape from my lungs and heart. Sobs of praise and glory given to the One to whom people have flocked for centuries.

He is Healer. Do you know Him?

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Our Purpose

April 10, 2011

Did you ever wonder just why you are on this earth? I know I have. Since surviving a serious heart attack and having a 5-way bypass at the age of 77, while others much younger have passed away, it has really weighed on my mind.

Friends have sought to encourage me by saying, “God still has work for you to do.” But just what is that work? Then, as I studied the Scriptures, several things have been made clear to me.
First, God reinforced my conviction that there is a purpose for all of us—and He has laid it out in advance. Psalms 139:16 states “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Yes, the number of my days was established in God’s book, and there is unfinished work already recorded on His pages for me to do.

The question is: What is that work? In 2 Cor 1:3-4 Paul gives us a clue with these words: “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort, who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted by God.”

Peter invites us to “Cast all your anxiety (care) on him because he cares for you” (I Peter 1:7). We are invited to do this, because it is only then that we receive and experience the comfort that is offered to us in all our tribulation. Once we experience that comfort, then we are prepared to comfort those who are in trouble—but not until.

Yes, each of us has experienced our own areas of tribulation—the loss of a loved one, the loss of earthly assets, the loss of a job or career, or the loss of our health—and has asked God “why?” Perhaps his answer is so that we may know the comfort that He alone can give in order that we may be able to comfort those in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted by God.

Sharing and comforting each other was an underlying theme in many of the writings of the apostles to the early church. These are still needed today. In Hebrews 3:13 we are admonished to “encourage one another daily.” In Hebrews 10 we are admonished to spur one another on toward love and good deeds, to keep meeting together—and all the more as we see the Day approaching. 1 Thes. 4:18 and 1Thes. 5:11  challenge the believers of the early church to “encourage each other” and to “build each other up.” This is Our Purpose.

Got Bread?

April 6, 2011

Well, there was that spiced pear upside-down cake I made…for breakfast. And that sauteed tilapia with shallots and herbs. Then there was that arugula, apple and pumpkin seed salad.

The honest question then erupted out of a kernel of thought dancing around in my head…“Do I really view the Bible as my source of true nourishment?”

Hmm…

The OT says that physical bread isn’t supposed to be our source of nourishment (Deut 8:3). In the NT, Jesus said He is the Bread of Life (John 6:35). He is the Bread of Life. He, Himself! And John tells us that Jesus is the Word. And the Bible is God’s Word, breathed out for our digestion.

Years ago I worked in a small sales office with a handful of women. Several times a week we ventured out for fat free frozen yogurt at lunch. One of the ladies often joked that the frozen yogurt industry was lying to us – that there were unaccounted calories and fat grams in those seemingly innocent bowls of chilly goodness. “Never!”, we would cry in response.

Thankfully, we never have to wonder if God is lying to us about the values of His spiritual nourishment.

He is Right and His Word is Truth.

The milk industry has a slogan, “Milk. It does a body good.”

Really, what is God’s Word good for? He says it’s good for a lot of things (2 Tim 3:16).

Every single word of the Bible is reliable (Psalm 33:4). True. Unshakable. Stable. Where else can we go in this world for unshakable, stable truth?

Think about it…Don’t most things in which we put our trust end up proving to be about as stable as a bowl of setting Jello? I sure don’t want to base my wellness on something called a “jiggler”, yet so often I do.

His Word nourishes us with truth – that refreshing, crisp drink of relaxation and peace. His Word has no fat to weigh us down, no sodium to swell us up, and no cholesterol to harden our hearts. Instead, we get direction, wisdom, correction, love and life. Sounds like a recipe for health, doesn’t it?

So why do I doubt that? Why do I think He won’t truly fill me up?

I know that good health happens through good decisions, yet I often reach for the chips and salsa instead of the apple. Or, I reach for unhealthy emotions or empty ideas that melt away rather than choosing His solid Word.

LORD, help me read the spiritual labels of my choices. Moment by moment – kernel by kernel.

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