A Miracle of Faith (on 34th Street)

I love the old traditional Christmas movies.  This one is no exception.  Miracle on 34th Street is story about a single mother and her daughter, and the efforts of two men who try to offer a world of imagination and faith to each of them.  Susan's mother has raised her to only accept absolute truth, and never to learn fairy tales or believe in the things unseen.  This is stemmed from the way she herself views the world after her own life experiences.

Susan was growing up to a world without faith.  She was distrustful of the things she could not see or verify for herself.  Let's consider the definition of faith.  "Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see." ~Hebrews 11:1 (NLT).  Faith cannot exist without hope.  It was the desire for good things that was ultimately missing in Susan's and her mother's thoughts.  Each was afraid to hope, afraid to desire the good things, thus not even being able to imagine the unseen or have confidence in that hope.  

Have you ever lost hope?  Just imagine what you felt like as a little child, unspoiled by the world on the eve before Christmas morning.  You were filled with hope for things desired, full of anticipation for the things to appear below the Christmas tree.  You had faith in Santa Claus.  

I would like to challenge all of us adults to renew that childlike hope for God's promises.  When our hope grows, then our faith becomes renewed.  It is by faith… well, read the rest of chapter 11 of Hebrews to see what the people of old could accomplish through faith.

"O Lord, You alone are my hope.  I've trusted You, O Lord, from childhood." ~Psalms 71:5 (NLT)

Expressing Gratitude

What does it mean to be thankful?  As we start the prep work for our annual day of Thanksgiving in the United States, we should stop for a minute and think about the things we are grateful for.  The Bible often points to David as the ultimate example for how to live a thankful heart.  Consider Psalm 100.

Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!

Worship the Lord with gladness.

Come before Him, singing with joy.

Acknowledge that the Lord is God!

He made us, and we are His.

We are His people, the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving;

go into His courts with praise.

Give thanks to Him and praise His name.

For the Lord is good.

His unfailing love continues forever,

and His faithfulness continues to each generation. (NLT)

David had a pattern of thinking that helped him to think on the positive things, making the feeling of gratitude grow within his heart.  The psalms he wrote was an outward sign of this gratitude: the expression of thanksgiving.  

I recently heard a quote at a community thanksgiving event that struck me.  I found the quote in an article written by Thomas S. Monson.  "Often, we feel grateful and intend to express our thanks but forget to do so or just don't get around to it.  Someone has said that 'feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.'" 

Thank-you for the things you are doing.  Thank-you for the attention you give your families, your churches, your communities, and your Lord.  

Remember Who the Real Enemy Is

The movie Hunger Games: Catching Fire is a compelling one.  This is the second movie of a trilogy, based on a book series by Suzanne Collins.  It is a compelling book series, and I highly recommend reading all three books.

When I saw this movie, I was struck by a single line, "Remember who your real enemy is," spoken by Haymitch Abernathy.  He was referring to the Hunger Games - an arena type game where the 24 tributes selected by the Capitol rulers are forced to kill one another until there is only one left.  None of the tributes are allowed to have mercy for the others if they wish to remain the one alive.  This barbaric game is meant to distract and entertain the capitol city, while at the same time keeping the outlying districts afraid and remain in line.

With the conditions in the arena this way - kill or be killed, it is easy to forget who it was that forced them into the arena, the Capitol rulers.

As Christians, we often come across people that stand in our way, bully us, or even persecute us.  We become hyper focused on the evil ways of these people and think about how we can "fix" them.  If the people are doing these evil acts, they are under the influence of Satan.  Among other things, Satan uses people to stand in the way of Christian fulfilling the purpose that God set out for us.  If we allow ourselves to become distracted by this, we fail in sharing the Good News.  Christ died for us to save us from our sins, and He rose again defeating death.  There is a place for us in Heaven, if only we just believe and accept God's grace and mercy.

Stay united with your Christian brothers and sisters and always remember who your real enemy is.

"Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil.  He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.  Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith.  Remember that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are going through the same kind of suffering you are."

~1 Peter 5:8 (NLT)

Dreaming About Trains

As I journeyed through the East Coast, I had a dream.  I dreamed about a passenger train, carrying many people in each cabin.  The train was destined to a single end point, with no stops along the way.

The people on the train were each from different places and walks of life.  Everyone trusted the train engineer to make sure the train arrived at the destination.  At times, some of people were behaving in a questionable manner, but they remained on the train going to the same destination as the other people who always followed the onboard rules of the train.  The only thing that prevented a passenger from arriving at the destination was getting off the train.  As long as the passengers remained on board the train, and trusted the engineer, they would arrive at the destination.

I feel like this dream illustrates grace in a way I haven't thought about before.  A person must accept Christ as their savior in order to be assured a path to heaven.  To remain on the path, we must trust in Christ as our savior and be repentant.  Acts of sin alone do not boot us off the path, unless we are unrepentant.

Get a ticket for that train that leads to heaven.  Stay on the train.  Help others to stay on the train and not jump off the train.  What a reward there is waiting for us!

"So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.  And because you belong to Him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death." ~Romans 8:1-2 (NLT)

A Storm Approaches... Are You Ready?

Have you even stood outside and watched a storm front come in?  There is something ominous about standing in the sun, but seeing the dark clouds roll in.  This is the image I sense as I look toward the future.  Somehow, it seems we are gearing up for a great spiritual battle.  Does anyone else sense this oppressive feeling of pending doom?

Maybe I am being negative, but I just want to send a word of warning that as a church body, we need to get ready for a storm and get prepared.  If we are caught in the cross-wind of this spiritual storm unprepared, we could be hurt.

And just how are we to be preparing?  Paul tells us very specific advice about this in the book of Ephesians.

"A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.  For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.  Therefore, put on every piece of God's armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil.  Then after the battle you will still be standing firm." ~Ephesians 6:10-13 NLT

Paul describes all the components of the armor, but places a special emphasis on praying.  We are to pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion.  We are to stay alert and be persistent in our prayers for believers everywhere (verse 18).  Paul was in chains sitting in prison when he wrote these words.  We have been called to pray.  If we are unified in our praying for one another, perhaps this pending storm will blow over.

I am praying.  Will you join me in praying for our leaders?

Winds

This past summer season, I have been introduced to a new hobby.  Sailing! Yes, this indoors-loving movie-holic has found a new outdoor fun (Gasp!). Just look at photo I captured of a fellow sailor just a couple weeks ago on the lake.  Beautiful shot taken just with a simple smartphone.  No editing with Instagram, either.  It was just this beautiful.

I thought sailing would be easy.  Just get into the boat, hoist the sails, and let the wind push me.  Little did I know, there is more to it.  There is a way to set the sails to work with the current wind conditions.  If a sailor is good, a sailboat can sail any direction, except directly into the wind.   Seems easy, right?  Well, it's all well and good until the winds shifts when we don't pay attention.  On my first solo trip, I was sailing so well, back and forth on the lake several times, until... the wind shifted.  I drifted along on the lake waiting for a gust to fill my sails enough to bring me back to shore.  The ducks even came out to quack at me when I was stuck on the lake alone, drifting.  Thankfully, I made it back without having to paddle it.  Whew!

This made me reflect about God, and how he wants us to be useful.  We could think of God's power as the wind, and the boat as us.  He moves us, depending on how receptive we are to Him.  In this way, I am thinking we should be setting our sails favorable to move the fastest and most efficiently in His work.  If we don't hoist our sail, we won't move or be purposeful.  If our sails are set opposite of the direction He moves, we won't be purposeful.  Instead, we will be like the little drifting boat, moaning about how the wind died, when indeed, the wind (or God) had not died, or stopped moving, we just stopped paying attention to it.  

So, what is the lesson here?  We should pay attention to God's Word, seek Him, and we become much more in line with His purposes.  We then move with a purpose, rather than drifting aimlessly.

"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, 

and He will give you everything you need."  (Matthew 6:33 NLT)

No Point in Hiding

Today, in my daily reading, I found Psalm 139.  I was captured by the words, and then reminded of a worship song we sing often. Take a read, and then listen to the song.

O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.
     You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
     You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do.
You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord.
     You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand! I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!

If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there. If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.

I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night— but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you.

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. (Psalms 139:1-18, 23, 24 NLT)

Desperation Band - Highest Place

So, stop trying to hide.  He's already there with you.  Yield to Him.
~Kathy