No Strings, No Chains

Imagine with me if you will. We board a spaceship. We blast into outer space. We are given the opportunity to view Earth from a distance. All of it. Not just our little corner. All. of. it. One of the things I think I would be MOST amazed by is that Earth is just there. Hanging in the darkness. Suspended. No strings.

Thanks to the internet and satellites, we no longer need to question whether the Earth is flat or alone in the universe. We don't even need to wait to be able to afford to enter space on our own!

Just Google "earth images" and peruse for a few moments. Amazing. No visible means of support. Just there. Perfectly suspended. Rotating in just the right position between light and darkness. No strings.

We can argue HOW it got there. We can argue WHY it's there. We can argue about lots of things. Sometimes the more we know the more we question. Questioning is not a bad thing. It's how we learn.

While I was busy being amazed by the no strings thought for Earth, my thoughts turned to how some people may view Christians as being controlled by seeing God almost as a puppeteer. Pulling our strings that are ultimately connected to a God they may or may not believe in. I'm guessing that if this is how God is envisioned, it is not totally surprising that interest stops there. 

I think I would even go a step further though. Beyond strings. I would go as far as saying that before becoming a Christian (a true Christian NOT just tangled up in religion, but finding a relationship with Jesus) that it was worse than being connected by strings. I was bound. In chains. Chains of self doubt, self pity, guilt, shame, fear, etc. etc. Chains that served no purpose other than being heavy and keeping me from getting where I needed to get in truth. In faith. I was so busy focusing on the chains and on myself that I didn't look for a key or even see if there was something to do to become unbound.

I was busy focusing on my little corner of me. I didn't look at the big picture or look at it from a different perspective.

The day that I said YES to Jesus is the day I said NO to chains. I was free. I am free. Sometimes those chains still try to show up. As thoughts that try to move my focus back to me. Now though I have keys. Faith. Prayer. Fellow believers. The Bible.

There is life beyond our little corner of the world. There is life beyond chains.

Dear Father in Heaven,
May we never lose our amazement of our world just because it can be more explained through pictures and information overload. Help us to keep our vision expanded beyond us and the chains that we may feel bound by. Help us to watch for others that are bound in their own chains. Help us to not be afraid to share how we have been set free. Help us to share that it really is just as easy as acknowledging our dependence on you and not ourselves. Thank you for providing the keys to loosen our chains and set us free. Thank you for the gift of the Bible so we can continue to receive the gifts it contains.
Amen

If you've found your way here, read this far and have questions about receiving Jesus as your personal Savior, this is a good place to start:  Need Him

Psalm 107:13-15 (NIV)
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness,
and broke away their chains.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,

Isaiah 52:1-3 (NIV)
Awake, awake, Zion,
clothe yourself with strength!
Put on your garments of splendor,
Jerusalem, the holy city.
The uncircumcised and defiled
will not enter you again.
Shake off your dust;
rise up, sit enthroned, Jerusalem.
Free yourself from the chains on your neck,
Daughter Zion, now a captive. 

For this is what the Lord says
“You were sold for nothing,
and without money you will be redeemed.”


Isaiah 61:1-3 (NIV)
The Year of the Lord’s Favor
 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor.

Galatians 5:1 (NIV)
Freedom in Christ
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

The Beauty or the Beast (a fable)

The Beauty or the Beast (a fable)

Once upon a time in a far off land, there was a story that floated around a kingdom. A story of a magical item that would show the owner his or her best friend and his or her worst enemy.

Many people searched far and wide over the kingdom for this magical item. It should be worth a great price when it was found. 

One day, a young girl was cleaning up in her grandma’s castle attic. This girl was truly beautiful inside and out. However, she never realized it about herself. There were kids at the local school that were cruel not just to her, but to many others as well. She always wished that someone would stand up to them. She wished it could be her. Unfortunately, she knew that fairy godmothers weren’t real and wishes don’t always come true.

While she was cleaning, she almost knocked a very dusty box off a shelf. As she went to catch it, she noticed some very nicely lettered words:

“The contents of this box will show the owner his or her best friend and his or her worst enemy.  Open at your own risk.”

THIS box must contain the item from the long told story. The girl’s curiosity got the best of her. She eagerly and carefully lowered the box to the floor and proceeded to open it.

Inside she found…… a mirror. “That’s it?” she angrily exclaimed, “There are mirrors all over the kingdom. Why is this one any different?”

She lifted the mirror and as she truly saw herself a small piece of paper floated to the floor. It said:

While an ordinary mirror this may appear,

Let it show you very clear.

The person you know you are and others see

Or believe what the beast tries to tell you to be.

YOU can be your best friend….or your worst enemy.

Moral of the story: We can be so hard on ourselves and so caught up in what others opinions are of us that we fail to see how truly wonderful we are.  The “beast” in your life may be at your school, in your house….or worst of all in your own head. Let your beauty shine. It is SO much more than what appears in a mirror.

Isaiah 61:3 (NIV) to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.

A Royal Wedding

The months of hype will begin to draw to a close.  The "royal wedding" of Prince William to Kate Middleton has taken place.  My guess is that unless you are a person of relatively high station, you...like myself, were not invited or included in the 1900 people in attendance.  We were invited to watch it on TV...and millions (or more) did.  The questions of who designed "the dress" and what it would look like have been answered.  There will be magazine covers and special issues in the coming weeks to cover every intimate detail of this wedding.

Summer - the wedding season - approaches.  You may have already received a save the date card or an invitation to join in the happy celebration as another couple becomes husband and wife.

I want to take this opportunity to remind you that there is another upcoming wedding celebration that you are invited to.  You may not receive an engraved invitation.  It may come as an invitation from a friend to learn more about the wedding.  In the Bible, Jesus is referred to as a bridegroom numerous times.  God is king.  That's a Royal Wedding I want to attend.  It's a party that will last for eternity.  I hope you'll join me.
 

Isaiah 61:9 (NIV) I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. 

Revelation 19:9 And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” And he added, “These are true words that come from God.”

Free Donut Day – Freedom, a free gift?

Recently it was “Free Donut Day”. You could go to your local donut shop and get a free donut…sometimes with a drink purchase, but still a good deal. Facebook and the internet were abuzz with the declaration of said donut day. We do like our freebie deals, don’t we? Sometimes companies have to shut down their offers when the word gets spread around almost instantly in cyberspace and they are inundated with freebie seekers.

Fast forward to Sunday. I’m sitting in church and we’re singing and praising God. The free gift of salvation is mentioned. I get rather sad quickly, because I realize that there are people missing out. I am very quick to share freebies or good deals I find online and in the store. I am rather disappointed with myself as I realize I am much more willing to pass on info regarding temporary good deals instead of the most freeing gift I’ve found.

I was raised going to church – sometimes twice on Sunday. (THANKS mom and dad!) I’ve known God loves me from little on. I know where I’ll go when I die. It is not based on how good I am…..or not. There is great freedom in that. I have great respect for people who become Christians as an adult. By then, we are jaded. We’ve been hurt. We’ve hurt others. I have a lot of respect for those who are good at helping people find their way to God and helping God find them by praying for family and friends.

Why am I not more willing/able to pass on the good news that knowing Jesus can bring?

Maybe a donut is a good example of salvation. There’s a hole in most donuts. There’s a hole in us God wants to fill. If you are not a Christian, are you willing to take that first step in asking God to reveal Himself to you? Are you willing to talk to a trusted friend about your questions? Are you willing to get a Bible and not be afraid to open it and read some? Are you willing to seek freedom?

Isaiah 61 The Year of the LORD's Favor

¹ The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,

² to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,

³ and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.