Gentle Shepherd

Gentle, loving and strong Shepherd...while I wandered away to a dangerous pasture, You knew where I was but did not pursue me. You saw me wandering to and fro, searching for green grass, but not finding what I thought I desired. You allowed me to stray while You tended the rest of the flock because You knew I was strong-headed, willful and full of pride and arrogance.  You knew that as long as I played by myself, I would be in danger. Yet, You allowed me to dance and to drink on the rocky mountain. Then the wolves came and I ran! I tried to hide but they sought me out! I ran farther and harder, I slipped off the edge and got caught in the brambles! As I struggled and bleated pitifully, You left the 99 to rescue me. You hooked my back legs and pulled me up. In my fear and panic, I kicked out. To save my life You broke my legs. You carried me back and sheared away my matted and filthy fleece. You washed me and bound up my legs. You gave me green grass and cool water and set me on Your own shoulders to heal. Now, with a rip in my ear and an eye that is swollen shut, I surrender to You. Your tender mercy to me, the disobedient one, is beyond words. That You would save me, even when I ran from You, makes my heart leap! The peace You have given me is so undeserved! I praise You for Your uncomparable grace! Lord Jesus, You are the Good Shepherd. Thank You for my life, my Lord and King!

I originally wrote this in 2015 but now, in this time of confusion and fear, it is important that we all REST in the one that loved us enough to die in our place.  Will we all survive this COVID-19 threat?  Of course not.  But those of us that know Jesus should be His hands and feet, ministering to those who do not know Him.  We, the Church, are obligated to carry His love to the lost, not by speaking, necessarily, but by demonstrating self-sacrifice and caring when others run away. Instead of living in fear of catching this horrible thing, please think, "how can I prevent the spread of this virus from me to everybody around me?"  Wash your hands!  Cough or sneeze into your sleeve!  Stay HOME!  You won't transmit the virus by checking on your neighbors by phone.  If you have to go to the grocery store, canvas your neighbors and ask if there's anything you can pick up and leave on their doorsteps for them.  If you have to go to the bank drive-through, bring a Clorox wipe and wipe down the ATM keypad for the next person.  If you go to the gas station, wipe th pump handle before you touch it and after you're done.  If we all think of the person next in line, maybe we can starve this virus out of existance!

Day One.

I made it through one day without my habitual sin.

One day without looking at sin casually.

One day when I read of the glory of my God and was awed at His magnificence.

One day where I bent my knees in sober, serious, sincere prayer, begging for the forgiveness that I do not deserve.

Only one day on a journey of a lifetime and not by my strength or resolve.  Only by the love of a Father that tenderly and gently asks , "Why do you do this to yourself?"  Only by the great power He has given to live a life sold out to Jesus Christ.

One day. . .

I looked at some old posts today and was shocked to realize that it has been nearly SEVEN years since the last one.  I think there are a couple of reasons for this.  One is life changes (I remarried my husband after two years of divorce and heartache) and I have been humbled by life and aging.  I'm just not sure that anyone cares to hear my opinions anymore.

When I was younger, I thought I had all the answers and what I didn't know, I could easily find.  I was sure of myself and my life and didn't believe that I could possibly be drifting off in a crazy direction.  But a few months ago, it was like a light came on and I realized that I HAD drifted.  I wasn't reading the Bible like I used to.  I wasn't looking forward to Sunday services like I used to.  I wasn't even enjoying the fellowship of my church family like I used to.  I began to ask, "Why?  Why would someone who has loved and lifted up the name of Jesus most of her life suddenly wake up one day and realize that His light is too bright and wonderful?"  The answer is now, as it has always been:  SIN!  That pure light of Christ has shown me a black blot on my soul.  It is there, just as plain as can be, yet, up until now I'd never seen it as such.  To think that I could actually be guilty and need to confess something more than just a cuss word now and then was more than I could absorb.  It has broken me!  I am not just ashamed but embarrassed!

So now what?  It's like tackling a giant, messy, overstuffed closet that has to be cleaned out.  It's too much!  It's out of control!  Then I remembered how I got in this mess in the first place . . . baby steps.  Maybe I can't wipe it all out at once, but I can work on containing the mess and mopping up the edges.  That'd be my approach and it'd work OK, right?  Wrong!  It relied on my own strength and resolve and it didn't work.  Time for reliance on my Lord and Saviour.  Time to put Him back where He belongs in my life, if He will allow it.  Time to fall on my face in true, penitent confession and beg for His forgiveness!

This has been a learning time that I suppose I really needed.  I have a very long way to go but He has promised that He will forgive.  Please pray for me in my deep despair.  Pray that He will pull me up and dust me off.  I need Jesus now!

Diplomatic Immunity

I received the following email yesterday. It was intended as a joke, but I think it contains a very serious warning for all of us: if you are chosen to walk as Jesus’ ambassador to this world, be very careful that you’re not depending on diplomatic immunity!

“The best road rage story ever…

A man was being tailgated by a stressed-out woman on a busy boulevard. Suddenly, the light turned yellow, just in front of him. He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection. The tailgating woman hit the roof -- and the horn -- screaming in frustration as she missed her chance to get through the intersection. As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched, finger printed, photographed and placed in a holding cell.

After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects. He said, "I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him. I noticed the 'Choose Life' license plate holder, the 'What Would Jesus Do' bumper sticker, the 'Follow Me to Sunday School' bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk. Naturally, I assumed you had stolen the car."

Priceless!”

I think this story reinforces the idea that when we walk out of church on Sunday, we shouldn’t be checking our faith at the door. It must be with us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and it must be real. It must be willing to stand up to microscopic inspection, because the world IS watching and waiting to trap us with our own words and behaviors. One of the most sobering phrases that we should never want to hear is, “Hey, I thought you were a Christian?”

Father in Heaven, I pray for us all today, that we may be faithful, true witnesses of your grace and mercy. Give us the power and strength, Holy Spirit, to live as You would have us live. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for Your saving work on the cross. I pray that we will be faithful followers today. In the name of Jesus, our Way, Truth and Life, amen.

Sick Day

Thanks to a lovely little stomach bug, I've had to take a couple of sick days. My exploration of daytime TV has been a very interesting revelation! What a cesspool! The advertising never stops! I think that even the cable shows, that were supposed to be 30-minute shows, were only 18 minutes long. The rest of the time was devoted to food and medications and wrinkle creams. Afternoons are one soap opera after another, full of every sort of immorality and perversion. Since I was really pretty sick, I ended up turning off the tube and sleeping instead of allowing that junk to invade my brain, but now that I'm feeling better, I'm disgusted all over again. My head still aches too much to read, so I guess I'll try going for a walk with my dog and see if I can get any of my energy back. At least the fresh air under God's beautiful sky should clear my head! Then maybe I can come back and do something exciting like washing windows or something!

School Days

Wow! More than a month since my last post! I’ve been so busy with school that blogging has been side-lined (see "Cobwebs, 6/16/06)!

I heard an interesting news item this morning. Seems a high school kid in Vermont threatened another kid. The threat was taken seriously and the kid was suspended from school for three days after he admitted his guilt. After “serving his time” the kid was allowed to return to school. Nothing newsworthy there until you find out that this all happened three weeks ago and the mother of the kid that was threatened is now raising a big rukus with the school department and has kept her son out of school since the incident. In light of the recent events that included kids killing kids and school invasions, I don’t know if she’s wrong and that’s my question. Is this woman over reacting or is she correct in keeping her son out of school? Was the school department correct in allowing the first kid to return to classes? Whose rights should prevail here? When should the bully’s threats be taken seriously and when should they be addressed with a simple suspension?

Public school has, for a long time, been a morally decadent place, devoid of good, decent values. Now it has become a physically dangerous place, too.

Your comments?

Letting Go

Yesterday, I sent my oldest child (what child? he's almost 20!) back to college for year number three. You'd think that it'd get easier each time I send him back, but it doesn't. I think kids teach moms how to trust God. I don't know how mothers do it without knowing that we have a loving Father that loves our kids more than we do. How can they ever let their babies out of their sights?

Tugging at the heart strings even more is the knowledge that we can't be there on his birthday next Wednesday. He will start classes on Tuesday and then celebrate his 20th birthday all alone. Yes, he has his friends, but it's not the same as being home and since he's clear across the country in Washington state, we can't work it out to be there. I praise God for the salvation that my son has received and he derives a tremendous amount of peace and strength from our Lord. But I'm still his Mom and he's still my firstborn son and I miss him like crazy already.

My daughter has adjusted to college life and already hardly calls at all. She's busy with class work and meeting new people. I know that my son will be swept up in his work very quickly and he, too, will be too busy to call. I guess I can be OK with that. This time is a rite of passage, that they both need, to become the adults God intends them to be and that I need to learn how to let them go. I need to let them leave me behind now because that's what a mother should do when a child becomes an adult.

And so, Father, I come to you again to pray for my son and my daughter. Put a hedge of protection around the ones I love. Keep them safe and help them to grow, even though it's away from me, because it was never your plan that I'd get to keep them forever. You gave them to me for 18 years and now they are Yours again. Be their light and their strength, in the name of our Lord Jesus, amen.