Treasure
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For God … made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. (2Cor. 4:6-7)
Paul says we have a treasure – the knowledge of God. Not everyone can say that. God made his light shine in his children’s hearts. That’s the only source – only God.
And it’s in “jars of clay.” That word in Greek is used for an every day utensil. Not the kind of decorated ones that archeologists find. More like paper cups today. They don’t last long, but when they break you aren’t out much.
And then Paul goes on to say:
We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. (8-9)
He knows us. He knows our weaknesses. He knows his treasure is in very fragile cups. If you think about, it doesn’t make much sense. Why put a treasure in something so flimsy?
To show his all-surpassing power. How else would we continue? If he were not all powerful? If he were not with us? If he were not faithful? The power is not from us – we could never do it on our own.
We have this treasure in paper cups to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are may be crushed – we are not destroyed!
Soaring – Isaiah 40:30-31
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For even young people tire and drop out,
young folk in their prime stumble and fall.
But those who wait upon GOD get fresh strength.
They spread their wings and soar like eagles,
They run and don’t get tired,
they walk and don’t lag behind. (Is. 40:30-31 MSG)
This is a well known piece of Scripture. It can become one of those Ya, ya, ya, kind of verses. We don’t hear the words anymore because we think we know them.
Look at it again – as if you never saw it before.
I did that this morning. And I saw … those who wait upon God will get fresh strength – and soar.
Usually I think of birds madly flapping their wings to stay in the air. And I do the same thing. I flap madly, flying in one direction and then another.
But, think about the last time you saw an eagle soar. What was it doing? When I thought about it, I realized that the eagle wasn’t doing anything at all. Its wings were basically motionless. It was resting on an air current.
Think how beautiful that eagle looked. God wants the same thing for me. Quit flapping and rest on him – then I’ll soar.
Beautiful!
Watch and learn
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You know my method. It is founded upon the observation of trifles.
(Sherlock Holmes, The Boscombe Valley Mystery)
I like to watch people. You can learn alot from things they do. And how they respond. The way a husband responds to something can tell about how he was raised. Or what he thinks.
The same is true of cats.
Muffy was a fearful little thing. Well, not so little. She weighed in a 20 lbs. But she hid from most of life. And even had nightmares. She would wake up screaming for me and had to be petted until she calmed down. We got her when she was 8 weeks old and our home life is really boring by most standards. So, I assume that something happened to her during her first 8 homeless weeks that colored her view of the world.
Lilly was 7 mos. old when she joined our family. I assume she was with a breeder who gave her to the SPCA. Why do I think that?
She’s beautiful and exotic looking.
She wasn’t spayed.
She had a heart murmur (ethically she shouldn’t be having kittens)
She wasn’t used to hands – it has taken awhile for her to get used to petting. And she’s still figuring out how to take treats from my hand.
Anyway, she’s learning. And we’re learning. She’s more comfortable with us. And we’re understanding more about this wonder of a creature the Lord gave us.
I often picture God smiling as he looks at his creatures – they’re personalities are so unique. So worth knowing.
A surprising thot …
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what once started out as a broken chair in a heap of junk became a treasured possession of mine. Sure, it took a lot of work. But the work didn’t make it mine, the purchase did. The work only proved how much I wanted that chair. (Debbie Alsdorf, He is My Freedom – the bold emphasis is mine)
I read this awhile ago and it’s still rolling around in my head. Ms. Alsdorf bought an old chair. A chair with layers of paint coveirng up the beauty underneath. She has used it throughout her book to be a picture of us and the work God does to uncover beauty He sees underneath.
But it’s the part in bold that really struck me.
The work didn’t make it mine. She did alot of work to take off all the paint layers and sand down the wood underneath. Then refinish it.
The purchase did. The chair was hers from the time she paid for it. When Jesus died on that cross He paid for me. I became His right then. There is no question of ownership.
The work only proved how much I wanted that chair. Read it again. The work Jesus has done up to today proves how much He wanted me. How much He wanted you.
Christian, you are already His – because He died for you. The work to build the family resemblance – to make you more like Him – that shows just how much He wanted you. If we keep that in mind, it will change the way we think about ourselves. But more than that, it will change the way we come to Him.
A lot of the time, I operate as if I snuck under the fence and He just said, “Oh, all right!” But, He loved me before the world began. He sent His Son to pay for me. And He is working now to make me more like that Son. Think about it – that means that He’s glad when I come to Him for forgiveness. He’s glad when I come to Him in prayer. And He’s my proud Father standing beside me when I have a victory. Can you picture it?
Hold on to it!
God’s smiles
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I’ve been thinking about how we develop our self-image. For children, adult faces are their mirror. More than a piece of glass does, it tells them who they are and what they are. Good. Bad. A disappointment. A pain in the neck. The words we say are important, but we don’t always think about what our expression says.
The message I heard Sunday was about Jesus’ ascension. The thing that struck me most was that Jesus was blessing them as he left. The last the disciples saw of him was his smile and blessing on his lips.
Imagine how that would affect them. It says they went away rejoicing (check out the end of Luke).
What kind of face do you picture when you think of Jesus. Do you picture him smiling at you? He is, you know.
If he lived for you. If he died for you. Then he loves you. And he smiles.
It’s not that he thinks you’re perfect. He knows better than that. He knows you better than you know yourself. But he loves you.
When God sees you, he sees you in Jesus. He’s known the end from the beginning. He’s not worried. He’s not upset. And he smiles, too, when he thinks of you.
I wonder how I can keep that picture in my mind. I want to. I want to think of God and think of him smiling. As I talk to him. As I go about my day. I want to keep the picture in my mind. And rejoice like the disciples did.
It will take practice.
The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face smile at you [shine upon you] and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace. (Num. 6:24-26)
Lilly
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After Muffy died we both started praying. We wanted another cat and prayed for some things in particular. Some of the things on the list:
a cat who had no home
a sweet cat
one who always used the litter box and didn’t attack us (like Muff did sometimes)
one who adopted us (hard to discribe but we prayed that we’d know it when it happened)
Anyway, we planned to go to the SPCA and see. Each time we made plans to go something came up to change the plan. So we just kept praying.
When the day finally came, we set off for the SPCA. I had seen a kitty online named Miracle that caught my heart. So we asked for her.
She wasn’t there. She had been adopted.
So, we looked at all the others and saw a tuxedo cat (like Muff) named Samatha. We went to lunch to talk about it. When we got back to adopt her we found out she had been adopted, too.
We had to start over. The volunteer showed us a number of sweet cats. But they didn’t seem to click.
Then I saw Lilly. She was younger than I was looking for and was a long hair kitty – also not what I thot I wanted.
But I picked her up and she looked me right in the eye. She was so scared she was shivering, but she looked at me as tho she trusted me.
I put her back in her cage and looked around some more. But I had to go back and hold her again.
This time she didn’t just look into my eyes, she relaxed and rubbed her head against my chin. I was hooked.
Since we’ve had her home, God’s hand has been even more evident. She is the most sweet, loving cat I’ve ever met. She was comfortable with us from the very first. But the most amazing thing to us – she was only put in the adoption room that day.
That’s why we had to wait. God’s plans are always good!
Goodbye, baby
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Muffy passed away this morning.
She was supposed to be Renee’s cat.
I remember when we brought her home. She was so scared that she hid under the couch all day. I let her stay there until after the dinner clean up was done, Renee went out to play and the house was quiet. Then I moved the couch and got Muff out.
I took her over to her food dish. She ate some and then went to sleep. I stayed with her until she woke up. Then we explored the downstairs together. She would take a few steps and then look at me. I’d say “ok” and she’d continue on. We explored the whole downstairs that way. Then we did the same thing upstairs. She went from room to room checking with me every few steps.
By the time the evening was through I was hooked, she had me wrapped around her little paw.
At first, she was so tiny that one of her favorite places to play was a tissue box. I’d toss a toy in it and she would jump in and scurry around after it. I set a mug of coffee down for Glenn and she was just tall enough to get her chin over the top and sneeze in his cup.
She used to give me a two second warning – if I didn’t give her some attention she started climbing up the leg of my jeans. When I had studied long enough she jumped up and went to sleep on my Bible.
She moved on to be a fierce jungle hunter of foam balls. One of her favorite games was hiding behind the drapes and pouncing on whoever went by – she was sure that no one could see her.
She was the sermon supervisor and the neighborhood watch. She had some kind of radar, too, she knew when we needed comfort and she was there with it.
I’m not sure if she was my sidekick or I was hers, but she was my friend. She was nervous. She was shy. Maybe even neurotic. But she was a blessing. And I loved her.
(To see this with the pictures go to our website.)
It’s almost over!
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Since fall we’ve been re-doing our house. Mostly for health reasons. And we’re almost at the end.
We’ve been here 16 years. Never painted or replaced carpet ‘coz I was afraid of the chemicals involved. As more and more people overload on all the chemicals, with Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, Sick Building Syndrome and the like, they’ve started making things for MCSers like me and we found some that we could use.
I’ve had a spinal fusion, so we converted all the kitchen cabinets into drawers – no more climbing in to reach things.
We both have migraines, so we had dimmer switches installed in several rooms.
The most exciting things were paint and flooring:
We found “miracle” paint that I could tolerate. Mythic Non-Toxic Paint is amazing! So far, the cloest place to get it is in Baltimre. But it was worth the trip. And the painter was so impressed with it he said he was going to start using it himself.
I was in tears on the way to make the final decision about floors. It seemed like any of the options could be wrong and I would end up allergic to my house. When we got there we were shown a new product – only available weeks before. They showed us non-toxic woven bamboo flooring. EcoTimber’s woven bamboo is harder than Red Oak, but, more importantly, there was nothing for me to react to. There was no wood smells and no formaldehyde or other fumes. Wonderful!
God provided what we needed. (And most of the stuff is back in from the garage!)
Made in the likeness of God
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Part of being made in the image of God is freedom – the freedom to make choices.
Everything I do involves choices. I may not be aware of them, but they’re there. I choose how to respond to someone’s words or actions. I choose how to respond to interruptions. Or emergencies. Or anything else that disrupts my plans. Everything involves a choice.
Being in His image means that He’s also given me a dash of His creativity. I can choose to make something beautiful. Or something really ugly. Whether it’s things or relationships.
Have you ever watched a child think through things to get what they want? Or not have to do what they’re told? There can be some amazing creativity involved!
And really I’m no different. I may be able to use more finesse. I may be able to hide the mechanizations better. But, in the space of a second, I can choose whether to do right (build up) or do wrong (tear down).
Lord, help me not to just be in Your image, but to reflect your character, too.
Voting #2
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I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:1-4)
Today’s the day. They call it historic. Not only is it the longest campaign in our history, it also involves race and sex barriers.
But regardless of how it turns out. Whether I’m happy with the outcome or not – God has given me a course of action.
I am to pray for these leaders – and not just the prayers I usually think of – thanksgiving is part of the list. He doesn’t say anything about the thanksgiving being based on the characters of those leaders or even where they are leading. So, thanksgiving for what, I wonder. That they are there – that someone’s leading? There would be chaos otherwise.
Paul says that the goal of our prayers is that we may live peaceful and quiet lives. The word “live” has to do with “spending life.” And the word “lives” means “everyday lives”. We pray for our leaders so that we can spend our everydays in peace – able to live out our faith (that’s the godliness and holiness).
Then he says this is good and pleases God. The word “good” can be translated “beautiful.” Imagine! Something I do is beautiful to God and pleases Him.
The next thing Paul says tells us why God is so pleased with those prayers. Living is peace and quiet isn’t just for us. Being able to live out our faith isn’t either.
Living our faith will touch others. They will want to know why we live like we do – and we’ll have a chance to tell them.
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