Month: November 2016

I love a good Peace Lily.

By good Peace Lily, I mean one that springs back.  Do you know what I mean?  You can let that thing go without water for a month.  It will lie down all wilted sad. But when you pour water all of it, it springs back up — standing tall again.

It’s a great example of the restorative power of our Lord – the water of life. Luckily our souls have that same sort of spring back that a Peace Lily has.  Feeling flat like a dried up peace lily? – look to the water for restoration.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

3 He restores my soul. Psalms 23

Yesterday in the middle of worship, we sang an old hymn that pricked my heart in a way that it had not before.  It’s a song I have song probably hundreds of times, as it was an old favorite year’s ago.  I think it may have been in the worship schedule every other week for a while. Anyway, it had been a while and the words of “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us” pierced my heart.

The entire song has lyrics that are raw and gripping, but the last two stanzas just nailed me yesterday

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

Sometimes, I feel pretty special and talented.  I mean, I am an Ironman.  But seriously, not one thing that I have ever done compares to the actions of the Christ on the cross.  His actions make me whole, take away my worry and give me something to really focus on each day.  All those other things are just things – ways to give glory to the Christ and show his impact in my life.

Today as you go about the day, think about what you will boast in, and who paid your ransom.

But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5 (NIV)

I haven’t posted for sometime, because I felt that my thoughts were pretty stagnant and duplicate.  The time has been good, as my mind is now full of thoughts that may make it to words.

For instance, lately I have been thinking about the power and majesty of the grace of our savior.  How it can permeate every aspect of the our day if we let it.  It impacts our relationships, our thoughts, our intentions, our interactions with others and the way we view ourselves.

That grace, and the light that it creates is something worth following and living in.

Find your way to that light today and then reflect it to the others around your.  Receive the grace given to you, and then give it away. Give it all the time to others.

2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.1 Peter 1:2