One of my favorite Bible stories has always been when Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from the dead. It’s a great story, but it has always left me with more questions than answers. Why did Jesus wait until after Lazarus had been dead for four days? Why did He wait to travel to Bethany? If he really loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, why didn’t he drop everything and go when they sounded the alarm? I mean, this literally was a life and death situation.

Many Jews during the first century believed that the soul remained close to the body for three days and could return to the body within that time period. When Jesus showed up on the scene, all hope was plainly gone. Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days! Surely, God had waited too long. Yet, Jesus’ timing was perfect. You see, He doesn’t panic when He sees our predicament. He waits for the proper time so that His power might be revealed to a world which has chosen not to acknowledge Him.

We look at our circumstances and think, “All hope is gone! The fourth day has passed.  Perhaps yesterday, life could have been restored to this situation but not now. In fact, let’s just bury it and try to hide the stench.” However, God in His perfect timing arrives and says, “All is not lost. Life will be restored. Take away the stone!” And we stand on the side lines with our mouths gaping in utter disbelief not knowing what might come walking out of the tomb.

Jesus still works miracles in His timing for the glory of God. When marriages are restored that have been on the brink of destruction, to God be the glory! When employment comes right before financial ruin, to God be the glory! When the world sees hopeless situations turned around through the power of God and lives are transformed, then once again, to God be the glory!

What situations in your life do you believe the fourth day has come and there is no hope for healing? Where have you given up because you believe it is too late? Remember, Jesus stands outside the tomb declaring, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”

John 11:1-44

Pastor Kevin Myers of 12Stone church just co-authored a book with John Maxwell titled,  Home Run.  In the book, life is compared to a baseball diamond.  One must run to first base before he continues on to second, third, and then home.  Although we may laugh in little league to see the batter run to third base first, Kevin points out that beyond little league, it is no longer humorous.  However, in life that is exactly what we have done—we continue to run the bases backwards and wonder why we are left feeling empty and depressed by time we reach home plate.

While listening to Pastor Kevin Myers’ analogy this past Sunday, I realized that the same thing has been done when it comes to intimacy.  We have run the bases backwards.  In today’s society a couple is almost encouraged to become physically intimate upon the first date.  Sex is crammed down our throats through every venue possible—movies, television programming, commercials, magazines, music, books, etc.  The list is exhaustive!  The expectation is that a couple should have sex before marriage.  Third base has become first.

Once a couple has had sex, then they work on developing a friendship.  Yet, these friendships are superficial; there is no authenticity.  Even so, the couple—usually one party more than the other—will cling to this relationship because they know deep down that sex is an act of the utmost intimacy.  They desperately want to cultivate a committed friendship which will eventually lead to marriage.  Second base is challenging to reach.

If the couple ends up surviving this second step of the game, many times they do marry and, like in my case, after the marriage many discover God and forge a relationship with Him.  Then the task of developing spiritual intimacy begins.  After building on the physical as the foundation for the relationship, this is the most difficult step.  It requires complete disclosure.  All the masks must come off, and many times, we do not like what is revealed.  We realize we married someone we never would have chosen had we been in relationship with God at the time.  First base is nearly impossible.

If we would just run the bases as God designed, the game would go according to plan and reaching the next base would be the most natural progression.  When will we realize we cannot continue to run the bases backwards?  We cannot build intimacy with a physical bond as the adhesive.  It will never be strong enough to hold together the relationship when the storms of life come crashing through our doors.  Intimacy must be built with God as the foundation.  After that, the friendship follows, then the love making.  And what is home plate?  Fulfilling, delightful intimacy!

Fifteen years of blood, sweat, and tears reduced to a box of memories.  Woody gave his best over and over again, leading the country in sales time and time again.  Vacation after vacation he carried work with him in his back pocket, ready to pull it out in a moment’s notice and make himself available to his employees.  Dedicated, hard-working, relentless were all adjectives used to describe Woody as he exceeded expectations upon every review.  And now all the awards along with framed photos of our family sit in a box upon his desk collecting dust.

Yet, we are hopeful, almost excited, as God begins a new chapter in our lives.  How can we look ahead with joy in the midst of mayhem?  Because we serve a God greater than our circumstances!  We are not fearful nor do we grow faint.  Don’t get me wrong; we know there will be suffering and doubt along the way.  However, we also know that growing sometimes involves pain.  We are looking well into the future—maybe even beyond our time here on this planet—to our final destination.  Nothing can disappoint us or dim the beauty of what we have yet to experience.

“And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”  Romans 5:5 

Shocked, mortified, bewildered doesn't even begin to encompass all I am feeling right now.  And I didn't even take a direct hit.  My husband absorbed the impact of the news we received this morning.  His ego, any shred of confidence he had, has been blown to bits.  He is the type of man who takes his responsibility as a husband and father quite seriously.  He will protect and provide, but at this moment I know he is questioning how he will continue to do so.

What is my role?  What do I say?  I am just as blown away as he is.  I am on my knees begging for answers and the silence is deafening.  However, my faith is not shaken.  I am looking into the future expectantly, wondering what God will do.  How will we grow from this?  What will we gain?  Those are the questions running through my mind searching for a place to settle.  As shocked as we were by the news we received, God was not.  He has a game plan ready to be played.  We need merely to keep our eyes focused on the way which He has prepared for us.

It doesn't mean the pain is any less searing, nor does it mean we will not doubt the way; yet I know without a doubt we will come out ahead.  God always has a better plan.

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" Jeremiah 29:11

Life Is Exhausting!

Life is exhausting!  If being a wife were not enough to zap the wind from my sails, being a mother is.  I feel like I’m in a row boat on the high seas during a hurricane.  Paddling keeps me afloat and that’s about it.  I am pretty sure “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” did not cover what to expect for the next 18 years while your little bundle of joy grows into a hormonal teenager with an opinion to boot.  Nor did it cover how to keep the romance alive while teenagers roam the house and grow suspicious of any time their parents’ spend alone in the bedroom.  The exclamations of, “That’s gross!” and knocks on the bedroom door really do nothing to add to the ambiance.  I am quite sure that the reason no one has written an in depth book describing what it is like to raise a child from infancy to adulthood, is because if she did, we would fail to "be fruitful and multiply."

Yet, we trudge through the days, some bringing tears while others bring triumph.  We laugh, we cry, and we continue on.  And soon, our oldest child will be off to college and we will be left redecorating his room and trying to fill the void he leaves behind.  We will find more time as a couple to talk about us rather than our children. 

We spent ten to fifteen years in a daze as we developed our children’s character, molded their futures, and helped them develop their passions.  We gave them faith in God and a source for truth.  Occasionally, we would glance to our sides and notice each other there in the dark.  We never thought the light at the end of the tunnel was just that; no, we were certain it was the locomotive that trampled us over every night, leaving fatigued and fighting individuals in the morning.  Now we can clearly see that it was just what so many who had traversed the way before us said it was, hope.

Yes, life is exhausting, but we only have one opportunity to do it right.  In the end we will be rewarded by well-adjusted children who, by the way, will end up traveling down the same road someday.  And I for one can hardly wait to see karma work its way through the next generation.

I have known great longing in life.  I have longed for loyalty, love, and a life of peace.  I have searched in vain for true happiness, only to know disappointment and despair.   When I married, I was sure that my thirst would be quenched—I would finally find fulfilment.  Instead, I felt as if I were standing near the edge of a stream flowing with pure, refreshing water that I was unable to reach.  Instead of finding relief, my desire intensified.

We are broken in so many ways.  We have lost sight of hope.  We do not trust.  We do not love.  We are full of fear.  Searching for contentment, we cling to others or push them away; and still we suffer from scarcity.  We are on the brink of emotional starvation.  How do we extinguish our thirst?

Before we can realize love, loyalty, and a life of peace we have to learn to love self.  We need to recognize our value, and we will never find it through the eyes of another person. Our true worth can only be found through the eyes of our Creator. Believe it or not, everyone was created for a purpose.  God has a plan for each and every person.  In fact, part of that plan involved the greatest sacrifice imaginable—death on a cross in order to grant reconciliation and renewal.  You are precious!  You are worthwhile!  And you are loved!  Once we gain this knowledge, we can truly know intimacy in relationships as God designed.  Intimacy satisfies longing. It brings peace to our troubled souls

What is holding you back?  Where have you been searching in an attempt to find your value?  Where is your hope?  Go to the stream of living water and let your thirst be quenched by the sustaining love of Christ.

“Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” Psalm 43:5

I have watched with curiosity while the whole “Duck Dynasty” hoopla has played out.  I still have yet to read the whole article in question in which Phil Robertson is accused of being homophobic and racist.  I have only heard and read snippets of the interview, all taken out of context I am sure.  The Robertson family appears to be a family of strong, biblical faith.  I have seen and heard far more positive coverage of the family than negative.  I am convinced that Mr. Robertson’s comments have been sensationalized and his intent was not to be hateful or hurtful to anyone.

That being said, I would like to address the issue of what he is accused of saying and why I believe as a Christian he should have kept his mouth shut on such matters when being interviewed for a magazine such as GQ.  In Matthew 7, Jesus told his listeners not to give what is sacred to dogs.  GQ magazine is not a Christian publication which targets a Christian population.  Why would someone attempt to define what is “sin” with a periodical that clearly is not concerned with the definition?

Another teaching Jesus gave his followers in Matthew 7, is not to hypocritically judge others.  Why bother cleaning up your neighbor’s minute mess when you have a junk pile in your own back yard which needs to be cleaned up?  Before a Christian sits down and starts condemning homosexuality, he needs to make sure the sins in his own life are not weighing him down.  Romans 1:29-32, gives a comprehensive list:  greed, envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, boastful, disobedient to their parents, senseless, faithless, heartless, and ruthless.  I look at this list and realize there is so much work to do in my own life; I do not have the time to go around telling others what sins they need to take care of in their lives.  If someone comes to me and asks for guidance, I am more than happy to point him or her to the One who can help.  Why do we as Christians spend so much time judging the sins in the lives of others rather than nourishing the relationships with which God may bless us?  Instead of pointing to a particular group of sinners (by the way, we are ALL sinners) and saying, “You’re wrong;” we should be introducing them to the One who has the power to redeem everyone from his or her pain and sin and give new beginnings. 

1 Corinthians 5:9-13, makes it quite clear that judging people outside of the church is God’s work, not mine.  My job is to love those who are outside of God’s loving embrace.  Through my love they may very well come to know Him who loves them no matter where they are and who they love.  Perhaps next time Mr. Robertson is interviewed, he will remember all of Christ’s teaching. 

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”  Jesus replied: “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Matthew 22:36-39