The Shepherd Is In Your Valley

There is a swinging pendulum of opinions about safety, opening back up or shutting back down, COVID testing, PPE, equality, social justice and, a lot more. It’s no surprise that worry and fear is a reasonable response to what’s happening in our world. 

Recently, I’ve talked with several pastors and they say that the common thread among their churches is anxiety and fear. They’re not worried about their health and safety, so much as they are about job security and this month’s bills, rent or mortgage? Will their kids go to school in the fall? Are my savings at risk? Should we cancel vacations and business trips and not visit older loves ones.

The non-stop angry divisiveness and violence in our country fosters even more anxiety. The list of anxieties is long, but they’re not new. All of us have experienced anxiety, disappointment, and grief. If we're honest we’ve also felt lost before for a variety of reasons, in not knowing what to do or where to go or who to talk to.

Being lost is not just a GPS malfunction
Too many know what it means to be disconnected, discounted, diminished, or demeaned. Life has many dark valleys through which we must walk. When we do feel lost, we need someone to show us the way back home. A good shepherd will leave the ninety-nine sheep to find the lost one.  

In the winter shepherds in mountainous areas usually keep their sheep at home. There's usually a fenced area where they can graze and where they are fed grain. But when the snows subside in the mountains, it is then that the shepherds take their flocks and move with the snowmelt up the mountain, there finding fresh pasture land, eventually moving up to the timberline. Above the timberline, there are all types of pastures that are green and fresh. The air is clean. The water is clear.

In the summer shepherds usually won't even go home. They'll just sleep out with their sheep at night. It’s shepherd's responsibility to care for them, to know the canyons and the valleys, to scout them out, to know where the dangers are, and to pick the path that, while still dangerous is the safest path of all.

The shepherd protects the sheep from predators and provides their nourishment
If a lamb deliberately walks away, the shepherd searches near and far to get that lamb back. He’ll use his staff to redirect the sheep who get off course. A shepherd notches the ear of a lamb born to his flock because he has rightful ownership of it. They are His.

To the shepherd, the sheep are not just a number, but a face, a name and, a story. The Good Shepherd knows your name, your life and He knows what’s best for you. He’s proven Himself and is worthy of your trust.

We all have deep, dark valleys of our own experiences and we don't all call them by the same name. Make your own list. What are those things that you fear? It doesn't take any of us long to come up with a list of what could happen.

Here’s the deal: What I need to do is what we all need to do: trust the shepherd.
The Lord is God, he is in charge, and he is in control. He knows things that we would never be able to know. He's close. He understands. He has it all figured out. He is greater than the greatest difficulty. He is more powerful than the deepest and the darkest of your valleys.

He's there with you even when it’s so dark you can’t see. The Lord will do the job that a shepherd is supposed to do. He will do what he is capable of doing and he promises that he will be with you and never leave you. He will find you and take you home with Him. If you’ve been wounded or sick, He’ll pick you up and carry you all the way home.

In Psalms 23, notice the personal pronouns of "I" walk through the valley…"My" shepherd. "You" are there. It is one-on-one with God. The Good Shepherd is always there with you. He sticks closer than the best of friends.

When you walk through that dark deep valley, be sure to be the Lord's sheep, to claim him as your shepherd, to trust him alone to get you through. When he is so trusted, he who is always there will be with you even until the ends of the earth.

How Long Is Too Long To Wait?

One of the biggest frustrations with waiting is how long things seem to take. How long is too long to wait for a promotion, for recognition, for a plane, for a relationship, for the light to turn green on our evening commute? Whether we recognize it or not, waiting is a constant in our lives.  At any given moment we’re all waiting for something or someone.

Waiting patiently is hard, especially in a culture with a microwave mentality.  We demand immediacy, in everything from meals to work to traffic to relationships.  We want what we want and we want it yesterday. In this climate of instant gratification, we can easily feel as if we’ve been waiting forever for something, even if it’s only been a short time.

Like Abram we can get pretty tired of waiting for that something to happen. Ten years after God had promised Abram that he would be the father of many nations he was still childless and he lamented to God about his situation. Then God told Abram, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them. Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." Now, that’s an amazing promise.

Yet, it wasn’t too long after this promise that a bewildered Abram lapsed in faith with a little help from his wife Sarai. What’s going on, how on earth is God going to fulfill his promise? There must be a way God, it’s been years of waiting with no visible results. As was the custom of the day, not God inspired, Sarai suggests a short-cut and adamantly begs her husband, “go sleep with my handmaiden and we can build a family through her.”  Maybe Abram thought, that sound good to me, sure why not?

Sarai made her own plan that seemed good to her and plus it was acceptable to her culture. Sound familiar?  Abram could a should a, but he didn’t. If Sarai thought Lot gave them problems she had no idea the radical impact of her decision would have upon her own family. They couldn’t wait and took matters into their hands. Gosh, that sounds way too familiar.

For 13 years both of them told everybody that God blessed their decision. The child Ishmael was the promised one, the heir apparent and the fulfillment of God’s promise. Then something happened that rocked their world and changed their names and lives forever.

At the age of ninety-nine God visits Abram and tells him that He is now going to fulfill His promise. (Gen.17:1-18) Abram can’t believe it, are you kidding me, we’re in our nineties? Abram cries out, “Oh that Ishmael might live.” Can you hear the pain in that statement? Don’t you see God I want this so bad, I’ve been telling everyone… Don’t you see this is how it’s supposed to be? This looks really bad for me now.

God’s responded, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.” (Gen.17:19) Aren’t you glad that despite our many failings God faithfully fulfills His promises! They are not dependent upon us.

Waiting on the Lord is essential to growing in our faith journey. May we learn from Abraham that running ahead of God and trusting our own resources can create problems for us and those we love and we can miss God’s best. God helps us. We need His help! 

The good news is that there is more to Abraham’s life journey than this lapse of faith that we can learn from and apply. Join us next time for an unforgettable story of faith and sacrifice with real life application.

You're Worth Pursuing

I’m struck by what I’ve just watched on the news. More racial accusations, mean spirited politicians, unresolved border crisis, hurricanes and flooding and more political corruption. Life as usual. The broadcast ends with the smiling anchor saying, “Good night, we’ll see you tomorrow night.”

Good night? That’s it? It would be great if just once an anchor said with a deep sigh, “Oh, God help us, we desperately need your help.”

We see someone we think has it all together and we wonder, how did he do it? Maybe if we read the same book he read, spent some time with him and things would come together for us as well. Really, what do we want? We want comfort and happiness, not bad news and reality.

We want to escape from… or be like…or have more or have less...
In the midst of very trying times the apostle Paul said, Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead. Be very careful how you live, not as unwise but as wise. Use your head. These are desperate evil times. Ephesians 5:14-16 

We are not in Eden, the Matrix, or Disney World
We live in the real world where life doesn’t go as we planned. People break our hearts and we do the same. In this broken fallen world is there something that can give us a deeper sense of sustaining hope? Yes.

Despite all the bad news that comes our way when we know we are truly loved we can continue on. When we know we are wanted and pursued by someone it gives us hope to hang in there. Because many of us have never felt so loved we have pursued lesser things that have left us numb and empty.

The good news is that God loves and pursues you
Helen of Troy must have been something. Thousands were killed in the battles between Greece and Troy over who would get Helen. Would it be her husband Menalaus or Paris, Prince of Troy? Few have ever been so pursued.

Many have never been pursued or even noticed all their lives. Who has passionately pursued you in the right way?

In the movie The Last of the Mohicans, Nathaniel, raised by the Mohican Indians is in love with Cora, the daughter of a proud British Colonel. In one of the final scenes Cora, Nathaniel and others, are trapped behind a waterfall with a rival Indian tribe closing in.

Before Nathaniel jumps into the massive waterfall to escape he passionately tells Cora,
“just stay alive no matter what, do whatever you have to do and no matter where, no matter how long, no matter how far, I will find you.” In the climax he relentlessly pursued and rescued Cora.

God is saying the same thing to you. He believes you’re worth pursuing
The divine romancer will passionately come after you no matter where you are or how far you’ve gone! Even if you don’t want to be pursued He will not give up on you.

God could have given up on His love affair with mankind. He could have demanded our loyalty or made us love Him, but he didn’t. Thankfully, we don’t have to get God to love us by doing something right. There is nothing we need to do to make Him love us, because His love for us is not based on what we’ve done, but whose we are. We are His.

This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. I John 4:10

Before the foundations of the world God loved you and wanted you to be in His family. He wanted you then and still does today. You are constantly on His heart. He will never forget you or get tired of you. He is totally committed to you!

His passionate love for you will never be exhausted. May His love for you always be your hope.

Your Plans and God's Promises

In our last blog we saw how patience and prayer can practically help us to look up with hope. Another choice is to…

Allow God’s promises to be your plan. 
We humans keep brainstorming options and plans, but God’s purpose prevails. Proverbs 19:21

When we’re deeply hurt and feeling hopeless we can strategize and chase after any plan that seems good.
We can do crazy things when we don’t look up to God in hope.

Instead, Allow God’s purposes to be your plan. Get on board with what God is doing.

After his Father’s death Solomon remembered God’s promise to his father.
The LORD promised my father David, ‘I will make your son king after you, and he will build a temple for worshiping me.’ Now, I plan to build that temple for worshiping the LORD my God.’ 1 Kings 5:5

Notice the order, the Lord promised and then Solomon planned. We see it differently. We plan and then look for a promise that fits into our plans. It doesn’t usually end well that way. Please don’t waste your time following the shallow and fickle conventional wisdom of our culture for answers.

It’s easy to think it’s too late for God’s plan for you and think you should have started earlier.

Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “To be 70 years young is far more hopeful than being 40 years old.” A lot of life is still in front of you. It’s not too late grab hold of God’s incredible plan for you. 

We find hope in God’s plan through His word.
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Romans 15:4

Hear God’s word wherever you can and look for his promises. Hear and hope with others who desire to be on board with God’s plan as well. Read His word, talk and hope along with others for strength and direction.

As you make these choices you’ll develop a whole new refreshing way of looking at life’s problems that will enable you to be more patient with the things you can’t change. It will be worth it. It’s not too late to look up!

Are You Too Busy?

It’s about time. You’re never on time. I wish I had more time. I can’t be late.I need more time. I need more hours in the day. Time is money. And so it goes… Are you timed out? For some busyness has become a virtue or their badge of significance. 75% of Americans say they are too busy most of the time. What about you?

Our busyness can run our lives and damage our relationships. We are busy and Jesus was busy too, but His busyness didn't hurt others. He was in such high demand that at times he didn’t have time to eat. Sound familiar? All of us have times and seasons when we cannot avoid being busy. Having too many choices, the blurring of work boundaries and technology all play a part in our busyness.Being too busy with the wrong stuff  hinders us from what's most important in life

The more important question is what we are busy with and why? Our busyness can hurt ourselves and those we care about. Here are a few preventative realities that we can learn from the life of Jesus.

Take Time Out
Because Jesus knew what was most important and how to prioritize He could say no. He also knew the importance of taking time out to be alone with God. There was a rhythm to the way He lived. Jesus would go away to a lonely place to pray and then re-engage in mission with those in need. He encouraged the apostles to do the same thing beckoning them in Mark 6:31 to “come with me to a quiet place and get some rest.”

If we’re not careful we can become so rushed and preoccupied that we will settle for a mediocre faith and life. Author John Ortberg said, “If we want to follow someone, we can’t go faster than the one who is leading.”

Live Simpler
“Jesus was born with nothing, lived with little and died with nothing. His simplicity was not accidental. He chose to live simply.” Richard Swenson

What Jesus said lacked value is precisely what the world chases after  – wealth, power, and status. Our life does not consist of the abundance of things we possess. Luke 12:15 If our busyness is a by- product of the material pursuit of trying to keep up our contentment will be an elusive carrot.

The Right Kind of Busy
There is a right kind busy. Some have called it a ‘holy busyness’ that is oriented towards God. Jesus’ life mission statement of “everything I do pleases the Father” (John 5:30) was reflected in everything He said and did. Hear the hard working words of the evangelist, church planter and manual laborer the apostle Paul:

No, I worked harder than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 1 Corinthians 15:10.  Paul knew his holy busyness came from the grace of God.

To this end I labor, struggling with all His energy, which so powerfully works in me. Colossians 1:29.

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God. 2 Corinthians 3:5   Strength and determination begins with God, not with what we do.  

When we look at the life of Christ for answers, we can see that having His priorities in order didn’t mean Jesus wasn’t busy. “Jesus often had much to do, but He never did it in a way that severed the life-giving connection between Him and the Father. Jesus never did it in a way that interfered with his ability to give love when love was called for.” John Ortberg

There is a huge difference between being purposefully busy—the sort of busy that provides fulfillment and seeks to accomplish the good work we’ve been called to than being rushed, distracted, and weary.

Kevin DeYoung put it this way, “The busyness that’s bad is not the busyness of work, but the busyness that works hard at the wrong things.” 

We can reduce our destructive busyness and develop a right kind of busy – one that shows love and compassion to those around us rather focusing on our personal ‘to do lists.' May our busyness reflect what’s most important by choosing the eternal over the temporal and taking hold of the promise of Jesus in Mathew 11:28, “Come onto me, all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.”

Receiving Unwanted Gift

Today even before we open a gift often the giver will say, “Don’t worry I have gift receipt. If you don’t like you can return it.” For many Christmas can have a way of intensifying our highs and our lows. We can celebrate our highs yet our lows can seem lower.

Part of the Christmas story is one of an unwanted gift. |
There is not much mentioned about Joseph. There are no recorded words of Joseph, but he was not a passive bystander. He was faced with one of the most unwanted gifts anyone could ever imagine. His response changed his life and has the power to change yours’.

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was ‘pledged’ to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.  Matthew 1:18-25

Joseph was ‘pledged’ to Mary, in other words they didn’t meet on Match.com or dated to see if their relationship would develop into something more serious. Their marriage was arranged by their families. It’s possible they didn’t know each other all that well. Their betrothal period lasted six months before the consummation of their marriage.

We read that Joseph was a ‘righteous’ man. He was consecrated in his Hebrew faith. He faithfully attended the synagogue, he knew, memorized and kept the Torah and observed the Jewish feasts. Being called a righteous man meant he was well respected in his community.

Joseph could have heard rumors about Mary’s pregnancy before Mary told him the father was the Holy Spirit. It would be understandable that Joseph was deeply disappointed in Mary and hearing the news from the village gossip. His parent’s dreams for him and his own were absolutely shattered at the news of Mary’s pregnancy. Joseph was heartbroken and dismayed.

The consequences for an adulterer would be a public stoning. After hearing the news no wonder Joseph was considering divorcing Mary, but to save her from public humiliation and disgrace he kept his vow to marry her. He was a good man. There was no requirement for Joseph to bring Mary on the long difficult journey to Bethlehem. Could it be that he took her to protect her?

Before the angel confirmed Mary’s explanation Joseph was afraid of what would happen next. Why was he afraid? His mind was racing knowing his decision would be extremely costly in taking on a wife that was thought to be an adulterer. He knew that his son was not his and would be constantly called nasty names growing up.

Perhaps Mary’s family and friends would shun her and or worse yet disown her? Maybe their families would not attend their eventual wedding day? Would his good reputation be mired forever in scandal?  There was a lot on the line for Joseph. He was in a place of, ‘I don’t understand God, I’m afraid, what are you doing here? I really need to hear from you.’ Have you ever been there? Most of us have.

There are three observations that we can apply from this Christmas story:
Don’t be afraid, verse 23 “and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”)
God did address Joseph’s fears through the angel that God was with Him in his overwhelming situation even though it would continue to be very hard for him. God promises that He is with us in whatever situation we’re facing no matter how long and despite how difficult.

Take a riskJoseph took an unbelievable risk in taking Mary as his wife. To choose to love Mary knowing that the future would be hard for both of them, but somehow God would make a way. Joseph’s love, faith and perseverance deeply mattered to God. So does yours’ and mine.

Commit yourself to GodDo you think Joseph regretted his decision in taking Mary as his wife? He didn’t have a gift receipt to return the gift he didn’t want or ask for. Despite all the tribulations Joseph would endure because of his decision do you think he regretted seeing his son grow up and teaching him his carpentry trade?

Do you think he regretted the long walks and conversations with his son? Do you think he regretted seeing his son’s gracious wise counsel to those he met? It was hard to hear the slurs about his son, but do you think he regretted seeing his son redeem people’s lives? God rewarded Joseph’s commitment to Him.

What about you? Like Joseph will you trust God that He will be ‘with you’ in your difficult circumstances? Trust that whatever is on your plate God is more capable than you expect. 

Although you might not see it now if you take a risk to commit to love someone God will reward you in ways you never imagined. Perhaps like Joseph you’ll see your commitment bear fruit that will change people’s lives forever.

A Christmas Song of Hope

Were all marked by songs aren’t we?
Some songs bring back memories or bring us to tears. Songs can leave an impact upon us. Songs can change things. Certain songs stand out when we’re celebrating or grieving. What song are you singing now? Most of us sing when things are going great, but what if they’re not, can we still sing?

Zechariah sang from the depths of his heart for his love for his son John and the hope of Israel.  Miraculously Zach’s wife gave birth to their son and Zach broke out into his celebrative song, Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:  “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has come and has redeemed his people.”   Luke 1:67-68

Notice Zach’s three words about Israel’s long awaited Messiah, ‘He has come’ John 1:1-4, 14 

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (God is with us) Isaiah 7:14.

After years of waiting, God’s divine visitation had ‘finally’ come to Israel just as God had promised! Israel had been wondering when their God would speak again? After four hundred years of silence since the prophet Malachi spoke God fulfilled His promise as he said He would!
How long have you been waiting for something or someone?

Are you in a long winter of waiting and are feeling kind of hopeless and losing your sense of purpose? Maybe you’ve become cold and numb and in desperate need of a touch from God? Maybe you’re feeling guilty about something you’ve gotten into? Maybe you’re worried about your future?

Then, you need to hear Zechariah’s chorus, He has come to redeem His people to give us hope for today and our future! He has come to reveal His Son to show His extravagant love to you. He wants to assure you that He knows everything about you and cares about you. You are His work of art that is yet to be completed!

In the midst our winter of discontent sometimes we can’t see clearly.
We might not even be able to see our own reality. We might be blinded by our own grief and tears. If so, hear the encouraging words of Isaiah.

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.  Isaiah 42:16

When things seem hopeless and uncertain be encouraged that, ’He has come’ for you too! Yes, He has come to bring light into your darkness and mine. Jesus came to live and die for you so that you could truly know Him and be His now and forever!  Now, that is something to sing about don’t you think?

Everyone sings something. What will your song be? May you join me this Christmas season in knowing that Zechariah’s chorus ‘HE HAS COME’ can be your song too!

A Very Warm Merry Christmas to you,

Mark

Hope for 2014

Maybe you’re like me and have good intentions and plans for 2014, but discover that following through is another thing or that there are some things we can’t change no matter how hard we try. Some of us have regrets about this past year. Some have nightmares of what has happened or what might happen.

Some have day-mares, the reality that this world is really screwed up and things in their life are actually bad. What do you do? Run? Find a way of escape? Or endure?

As we face a new year of unchartered waters it is quite tempting to once again make a list of well-intentioned resolutions and goals, many of which are soon broken. We can resolve to change bad habits and replace them with better ones, but ultimately trying harder is not the answer.

While we may have a general idea of what to expect, we cannot be certain. The wisest cannot tell us what we may encounter this new year. What new experiences, what changes shall come, what new needs shall arise? This past year some have experienced more ills than death at its worst can cause and they look forward to the Promised Land where there will finally be no more pain and no more tears.

Things may not improve for you in the way you desire, but God’s love will always be constant. This past year two friends of mine died. One lived for many months and the other died within six weeks of his diagnosis. Although many hoped and prayed for a different outcome death was inescapable. 

Regardless of where you might be today on the roller coaster of life your future can be better than your past or present. How’s that?  Even if your circumstances don’t change there is always hope in God’s love as seen in this story from the Samaritan’s Purse Fall 2013 Prayer Point.

Civil war has raged in Syria more than years. At first Saheed and his wife Farah were not affected by the war until there was gunfire in their neighborhood and friends were killed in their home town of Aleppo. After a bomb destroyed their home they fled rebel lines into Turkey where they have no rights, cannot work legally nor can their kids attend school.

As Christians in a predominantly Muslim region leaving Turkey for better opportunities in surrounding countries seems impossible. They struggle to survive day to day and do not know what the future holds for them, but they know that God is in control and His love will prevail.

Because of their hope and faith they believe that, “our suffering, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” I Corinthians 4:17
Saheed and his family also know where to place their hope, “…we rejoice in hope of the glory of God…Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts.” Romans 5:2, 5
This new year pursue all that God has for you and be grateful for the things He does provide. Your future has everything to do with how you respond to God this year. May these encouraging words of Jesus resonate with your heart throughout the entire year. 

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.  John 14:27

A Holy Interruption

Most of us don't like being interrupted, but it's inevitable. While interruptions can be rude and unintentional others are a welcome relief. We've all been interrupted  with good news like when your favorite team just won or with some bad news you wish wasn't true.

I don't know if you've heard some good news lately, but there'e plenty of domestic and international bad news to go around. The world has more than enough of trouble, there's always conflicts, financial trouble, affordable care trouble, our own health trouble, Duck Dynasty trouble and relational trouble. The list goes on and on. As Bob Dylan once said "there's trouble, nothing but trouble."

It was into a world of trouble when God interrupted a lowly group of shepherds thousands of years ago.

“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Luke 2:10

Where is the good news? It’s been diluted and hijacked by merchants and marketers. It’s interesting how the world looks at the birth of Christ. It’s as if much of the world has taken Jesus out of Christmas by Santa, jingle bells and the media. It seems like He’s missing in the news, He’s kind of glossed over in many of the programs, Christmas songs, nice sayings, decorations and debt.

But Christmas is a story of contrasts. To God and millions of others the good news that,
         
“today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord” Luke 2:11

is the greatest news the world could ever hear in a world of bad news! As Luke says this good news is for the ‘all the people.’ You see God intended it for all, but it only makes sense and is only accessible for those who realize they need this good news.

God got the attention of the shepherds who were blown away when the night’s sky lit up when the ‘glory of the Lord shone around them.’  What does it take for God to get your attention? Is it an illness, a broken heart or dream, the loss of a loved one?

Why did God show His glory to the shepherds? How did they rate? Because they did with God, He chose them. It had nothing to do with who they were. The shepherds were the bottom rung of Jesus’ day; they were those you didn’t want your daughter to marry. They had no position or reputation and didn’t even own the sheep. Don’t you love it? God came to those who others sized up as insignificant, but not God!

Maybe we are not aware of it, but we’re the shepherds. Yes, you and I. Years later, the Apostle Paul spoke to the Corinthians about God’s utterly amazing grace that was given freely to those who responded to God’s call.

Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth…He chose the lowly things of this world to confound the wise. I Corinthians 1:26, 28

Luke tells us that, a great company of angels appeared with the angel praising God and saying “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.” Luke 2:13-14

From a Jewish perspective to be in ‘God’s favor’ was to be one of His chosen. But this was not automatic for all, but only for those who responded to God’s grace. Jesus came for all, but not all will benefit from His coming.

This amazing good news proclaimed in such an unforgettable, breathtaking and dramatic way completely blew the shepherd’s minds. It radically interrupted the shepherd’s daily routine. It was a ‘holy interruption.’

Are you ready to be interrupted in your daily routine? Will your heart's posture recognize a God interruption during this busy Christmas season? God has a way of getting our attention.

Notice that part of the angels’ song was,”on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”Oh, how desperately we need peace in our world, but peace begins in the human heart. 

Even as Jesus told His disciples, Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27

The peace of God comes only to those ‘on whom His favor rests.’ God’s favor, His extravagant undeserved grace comes to those who are ready to receive it and allow it to change their lives.

When the Christ that was born in the manger is born in our hearts we will then truly experience His satisfying peace and favor.

The babe in the manger grew up to suffer and willingly give His life to show His incredible love to you! He came to have a relationship with you. Take the Christ out of the manger and allow Him to take up His rightful place in your heart. When you do He’ll wrap His arms around you and let you know how much he loves YOU! Now, go out and share the 'good news' to a world who really needs it!

Merry Christmas and May You Experience His Shalom This Season,

Mark
mark@startingoverworkshops.com

Your Plans and His Promises

In our last blog we saw how patience and prayer can practically help us to look up with hope. Another choice is to…

Allow God’s promises to be your plan.
We humans keep brainstorming options and plans, but God’s purpose prevails. Proverbs 19:21

When we’re deeply hurt and feeling hopeless we can strategize and chase after any plan that seems good. We can do crazy things when we don’t look up to God in hope.

Instead, Allow God’s purposes to be your plan. Get on board with what God is doing.

After his Father’s death Solomon remembered God’s promise to his father.
The LORD promised my father David, ‘I will make your son king after you, and he will build a temple for worshiping me.’ Now, I plan to build that temple for worshiping the LORD my God.’ 1 Kings 5:5

Notice the order, the Lord promised and then Solomon planned. We see it differently. We plan and then look for a promise that fits into our plans. It doesn’t usually end well that way. Please don’t waste your time following the shallow and fickle conventional wisdom of our culture for answers.

It’s easy to think it’s too late for God’s plan for you and think you should have started earlier.

Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “To be 70 years young is far more hopeful than being 40 years old.” A lot of life is still in front of you. It’s not too late grab hold of God’s incredible plan for you. 

We find hope in God’s plan through His word.
For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Romans 15:4

Hear God’s word wherever you can and look for his promises. Hear and hope with others who desire to be on board with God’s plan as well. Read His word, talk and hope along with others for strength and direction.

As you make these choices you’ll develop a whole new refreshing way of looking at life’s problems that will enable you to be more patient with the things you can’t change. It will be worth it. It’s not too late to look up!

Mark
mark@startingoverworkshops.com