Straighten Up!

"It's off by three inches!"  He walked around the construction site with the tape measure bobbing on the ground in front of him.  Sighing, he muttered to no one in particular, "Off by three.  Going to have to dig again and move the concrete pier."  The tape measure rattled as he pulled it out of its encased metal coil in a wonky slither before hooking itself  to the end of the rigid beam.  Dirt was tossed, wooden blocks moved.  Another reading of the tape.  A rapping of the hammer rang out with a truing of the vertical and parallel lines. I went back to work and allowed the craftsman to continue his labors.  The melodic sounds of building a dream played out its tune.  

As a precise measurement in a building foundation is crucial, so in life.  Without exact measurements every stage of development will reflect whether the measurement was true or defective. God has the plans.  He is the builder.  There are those that believe they can build it all by themselves without the master plan.  But by what standard do they comport?  Where's the plumb line, the measure, the blueprint?



Amos 7:7 says, "Behold, the Lord stood on a wall made with a plumb line, with a plumb line in His hand."  Can't you just see Him?  Strong arms heaving heavy timber beams onto His broad shoulders, swinging with steely strength the hammer of justice, striding across the expanse of a construction site attentively overseeing every detail--truly every bit a man's man, but yet with tenderness and love expressed so dynamic in strength it will knock you over with a feather.  Certainly not this sickly, mealy-mouthed artwork that has really done Him a disservice to show who He really is.  He walks around with lightning bolts in the palm of His hand.  He is the God of all. The Almighty One.  The walking, living, breathing, loving God.  He's magnificent!  If you don't know Him, you need to get to know Him.  Really.  He will definitely take your breath away.

So how do you know what the measuring line is?  It's fine to talk in ethereal terms, but where does the rubber hit the road?  Right here.  Right out of His own mouth.  "I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plummet" (Isa. 28:17).  He said, "The world is out of alignment.  It's way off the mark.  They can't fix it, but I can."  And you know what He did?  It's really something.  He gave up the only Son He had just for you.  The beam was laid out in place, the plummet came down upon it on the cross spiked with love and made the alignment.  Boy, was it ever a heavy debt to pay.  An indescribable gift--one without measure and beyond price.  But you know what?  He thought you were worth it.  And even today where the world is off kilter, lawlessness cries to be the order of the day, lives are seemingly meaningless in value, and integrity lacking en masse, the measure of truth and illumination can still be found. Isn't that something?  That's mercy.  True mercy. 

I went out later to see how the building was going.  Now with the pier was moved, dirt back in place, and the beam firmly secured with a smile of satisfaction he said, "Look!  It's right on!"  And it definitely was.  It was plumb.  Level.  Perfect.  Now, that's something I couldn't do.  I didn't know how to "make it right" or what to do from there.  But boy, he does.  He my master builder. 



If you feel like your life is starting to list or even at full tilt, find the measuring line of justice and look up...to the plummet.  You'll find an alignment that cannot be paralleled anywhere on earth or in the universe.  I did.  It's the cross.  I can tell you from personal experience once you bring your life into alignment with His Word nothing else will be the same.  If you make Him Lord of your life today that saving mercy will bring you redemptive release.  It's your choice. 




Craig Nelson wrote a beautiful song; the lyrics express it in right on the mark.  Take them to heart.  They're for you:

The years had left scars,
And the scars have left pain,
How could He recognize me,
For I wasn't the same;
I knew I should pay and I knew the price,
For justice and law had demanded my life.

O but His tender heart heard my desperate cry,
And He saw all my past through merciful eyes!

Beautiful, that's how mercy saw me,
For I was broken and so lost;
Mercy looked at all my faults.
Justice of God saw what I had done,
But mercy saw me through the Son;
Not what I was but what I could be,
That's how mercy saw me!

Wherever you've gone,
You can't go too far,
That His eyes of mercy, can't see where you are,
He loves you so much to leave you alone,
You're flesh of His flesh
And bone of His bone

And His heart cries out for your heart  today,
See yourself through His eyes, then you will say,

You'll say:
Sin had stolen my dignity,
And all my self esteem;
But I was made brand new again,
When mercy looked at me.

Beautiful, that's how mercy saw me,
For I was broken and so lost;
Mercy looked at all my faults.
Justice of God saw what I had done,
But mercy saw me through the Son;
Not what I was but what I could be,
That's how mercy saw me!
 

Not what I was but what I could be,
That's how mercy saw me!
That's how mercy saw me!

What's the Color of Love?

What is the color of love?  You might say, "Color?  That's an emotion, not a definitive color.  What are you talking about?"  Oh, there's hues out there.  They crystallize into beautiful prisms of color poured out in grace from the Father's heart through someone else just to show you how much He really cares.  It's not often seen, but it's there.  And when you do, you'll know it.  It's billboard size in brilliance.  

Some colors are indistinct seen only in black and white.  A life of clouded grey darkens a bruised soul from anger thrown as projectiles of judgmental rejection, relationships are held for ransom and can and finally succumb to outright banishment.  Boy, it's hard to see the sunshine then.  It can be unrelenting cold daggers continually making frigid waters into icicles taking direct aim at a heart every time the thought of that person flies across the mind.  At ice storm's height the raging of the demons howling in the winds of hurt block out the voice of the Spirit of God and reason and forgiveness are unheard.  When the winds subside and ice cocoons the heart with sheathes of stubborn unforgiveness, the only sound can be heard is the crackling, snapping fragments of a broken fragile heart.  

Some people are color-blind.  They give apologies that tend to be more of a wannabe band-aid than anything else.  At best, the proferred "Oh, gee, I'm sorry" by the one that did you wrong can look like a warm, fuzzy teddy bear.  A lot of fluff, but no substance.  You can talk until you're blue in the face and, if you're anywhere over five years old, he'll never talk back or have a relationship with you that goes anywhere.  It's simply an exercise like your mother told you do, "Now tell your brother you're sorry," and you do.  But truly, you never really meant it in the first place and did it only to placate mother so she'd get off your back. Well, that's a nasty color.  It's black and blue.  A bruise that never seems to heal.

So what does all this really have to do with some color of God?  And for Pete's sake, what's it got to do with love?  Here's where the beauty comes in. Here when held up to the light of God you can see it in clarity like an exquisite diamond.  Love is completely unconditional.  It doesn't hold people for ransom.  It doesn't think back on the wrong and try to justify itself for why the silence is merited.  It doesn't place people in a box on the back burner hoping they'll catch fire and burn or place them on a huge burn pile as common rubbish and unredeemable.  It doesn't parade itself with banal superiority, complexity or exude rudeness laced with arrogance but, always exhibiting deference to another, strives at all costs to provide respect, honor, and dignity.  

I think the first color is transparent.  Clear to see.  Clear to hear.  Clear to cry.  Because without repentance of soul there can be no color.  No color at all.  Everything will be monochromatic, a narrowness of mind, soul, spirit that stifles and snuffs out all meaningful relationships.  The toll is great.  It's a life void of the redeeming grace of God.  There's no one that's immune.  Not even dear Aunt Lucy who people would say, "Oh, she's such a dear soul!  She just loves everybody."  Well, not always true.  That may be what is perceived, but not what is true when the door is shut, and the lights are off, and no one is in the room but Aunt Lucy.  In tempting moments, she may remember the hurt or nurture a suffered wrong close to the breast in unbridled unforgiveness.  Everyone has been hurt at one time or another.  Everyone.  It's how we deal with it that is the wringer.  We can try to be all self-sufficient and do it on our own ... and ultimately fail, yet again.  But when the Spirit of God is allowed to move within the soul things change ... and change rapidly.  Suddenly, the bright light of God is illuminated in spirals of glory that shoot through a person's soul to see exactly where a change needs to be made. 

That light illuminates the colors of God bigger than gigantic fireworks displaying awe of His love. "I did this for you.  I really did.  Do you see it yet?  I have redeemed you.  Take it.  It is yours for the asking.  I love you.  I always have.  I always will.  No matter what you do can change that."  And through that liquid repentance of heart as we seek forgiveness and truth we see the true color of love:  The red Blood of Jesus which not only absolves us of sin, but irradicates the pain and sting of the hurts we have accumulated and carried as favored luggage for years.  There is healing in that Blood.  Massive healing that cauterizes the hurt, seals it with His grace and mercy, and then His kisses that make you anew, awash by the Blood of Jesus.  It's red.  Blood red.  The hurt that was done to Him was carried for you.  

Oh, I know.  Sounds preachy.  Maybe so -- but that doesn't make it any less true.  He showed His true colors.  Show him yours and He'll make you new.

"If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.  If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love ...We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us! But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love." (Portions of 1 Cor. 13, Message version.)

Who Ya Gonna Call?

(Telephone ringing.)

RECORDING:  Hello, Celestial Soul Center.  If you know your party's extension, you may dial that now.  For all other inquiries, please press 0 or stay on the line for the next available representative.  


(Pause.  Harp music playing.)

RECORDING:  Your call is important to us.  Please stay on the line and the next available representative will be with you shortly.

(Pause.  More harp music playing.)

REPRESENTATIVE:  Hello, this is Agent 43789.  My name is Angela.  How may I help you?

YOU:  (Choking back tears.)  Hi.  Things haven't been going very well and I ... I ... well, wanted to talk to God.  Is there any way you can get Him for me?


REPRESENTATIVE:  He's in a meeting right now.  You can leave a message or I can take your number and ask Him to return your call. 

YOU:  (Tears freely flowing.)  Well, it's rather urgent.  My life is a mess and I just can't seem to get it together.  Is there any way I can talk to Him just for a couple minutes?  I really need to talk to Him.  

REPRESENTATIVE:  I'm sorry.  He asked not to be disturbed. Have you made an appointment to talk to Him?

YOU:  No.  No, oh -- so many things are happening right now.  I need help right now.  I HAVE to talk to somebody.  I have to talk to God!

REPRESENTATIVE:  Oh, I'm so sorry.  I'll tell you what, though, I'll switch you over to His voice mail and you can leave any message you desire.  He'll get it at His convenience and -- 

YOU:  Oh, never mind!

(Telephone connection terminated.)

*****

Some perceive God just this way, someone that's too busy, ineffectual, too judgmental, and most of all ... deaf.  How can a God that's supposedly loving and merciful hear me out of the billions of people that stride the globe?  How can He find me out of the crowd when my heart feels like it will explode with hurt, confusion and anxiousness?  


If you may feel that way I'll tell you this for a fact.  He is not ambivalent, indifferent or hard of hearing.  In fact, He sees every single sigh and whisper you utter.  He's not deaf nor blind that he cannot see.  He is a living God.  Mohammad died 632; Buddha died around 534 B.C.; many other gods have come ... and gone.  Oh, yeah.  There's funky and weird-looking statutes of them -- but they will never ever hear, see, feel or understand what you're going through.  

There's hope, though.  Truly.  When you need someone to talk to, there is a God that is very much alive.  Jesus will listen to everything you want to tell Him.  He's that close.  He died -- but unlike the others, He rose again by the power of the Holy Spirit so that you could be redeemed.  Now, that's love.  Love that's swathed in layers and layers of lush mercy.  Exquisite grace on display.

So when the challenges of life get dicey and you feel like you're skating on black ice, call out to God.  He's always available, always listening, always gracious to give us just what we need when we need it.  Whether it's salvation, direction or just simply love, He's the one that delivers in abundance far above any expectation.  

There's a verse in the Bible that is right-on proof.  You could call it His telephone number.  It's in Jeremiah 33:3."Call unto Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things you have not known."  

Call Him up.  I mean, what have you got to lose?  Come on.  What He has to say to you ... well, it just might surprise you and give you peace.

Like a Mighty Sea

Kona Inn - Kona, Hawaii (2011)

I ran down the plank that curled its way through a narrow alley opening up into a massive view of the warm Pacific Ocean water.  My view was not disappointed.  Surf was up!  Surfers with boards queued in the outer bay bobbing with the sway of the tide anxiously hoping against hope that the next wave would be the "big one."  


I quickly walked over to the edge of the sea wall, camera in hand waiting as well.  For I might just get "the one," that one picture to satisfy the longing of a wannabe photographer.  Never know.  This might be it.  

Surfer - Kona, Hawaii

Wave after wave came rolling in.  Surfers would get on their boards and try to ride it in; some waited; some fell while the waves kept rolling in without hesitation.



At every wave and the surfers mounted their boards, the camera clicked in rapid succession trying to frame that special movement that made them suspended in air or digital satisfactory proof they made in in the curl.  Surf spray shouted high, the waves pounding their exclamatory praise to the God who sent them.  


Just then I remembered an old song I had learned as a little child.  I started to sing it softly to myself and to the King who always stands watch with me (and points at things for me to shoot).  You may know the tune.  The words go something like this:

"Over and over like a mighty sea, rolls the love of Jesus rolling over me."  Just about in the middle of that I choked.  Couldn't even whisper.  Jesus' love was for ME.  The thought was overwhelming -- just like that mighty sea.  Here is the manifestation of it where I stood.  A "leftover" from a terrific storm that had been in Japan, I stood on the edge of Hawaii where it finally landed to bring in the last of its strength.  It still packed a terrific whallop that demanded respect.  No arguing or debating.  It evoked pure, raw awe to whoever would look its way.  

In that moment the tears flowed from my cheeks.  I was absolutely punched in my soul to know that that kind of God's powerful love and, oh, so much more was directed at me because of Jesus' gift of life.  Well, how could I contain it?  It was a moment that the Lord and I could shared on the sea all with the loud pounding waves.  Oh, I was in the midst of people, but sometimes there are moments that are exclusive, private and precious even in the midst of a crowd.  


There's a song that I really love.  It's "In the Presence of Jehovah."  I've learned that I don't have to be in my separate little library on the top floor of my home where no one else is to be in His presence.  I don't have to manufacture it.  He's as near and close as my next breath.  He's everywhere I am and I am everywhere He is.  We are one.  It doesn't have to be in commercial church or homemade home groups or really anywhere structured.  It can be as simple as taking some pictures of waves on a Pacific Island where people are having dinner by the light of tiki torches.  It doesn't matter.  He meets you where you are.  Isn't that fantastic? 


"Jesus answered, if a person really loves Me, he will keep My word, obey My teaching; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home, abode, special dwelling place with him."  (John 14:23 Amplified Version.) 

Kona Inn - Kona, Hawaii

The thing that got me, though, was that love wasn't anything I could foster.  It was given totally meritless.  I couldn't be "a good girl" to earn it in greater quantity nor could I be a monster and He love me less.  The gift was there for the taking when I asked him to be my Savior and King.  Simple as that.  It's a legal transaction.  A heavenly birth certificate made out in my name with Himself as the father.  


So next time the Spirit speaks to me with whispers of love, I will burst out in song and most definitely once again let fresh tears feed the rhema Word to my spirit and brings sustenance for the soul.  Rhema is the life-breathed, Spirit touched Word.  

Father, it touches me afresh today.  Please point me to the things I should see. Wrap me in your arms tight till the shadows of fear and darkness of the death passes by.  Laugh with me at the things that are before us to enjoy like puppies at play, children's laughter, the sunset on the water, and my husband's silly jokes made specifically to cheer me up.  And God, may I not be selectively deaf to the wind words You whisper in my ear.  Seal them in the night and cause me to be rock hard in my resolve to serve You only all my days.  If I do not rejoice, the rocks will cry out.  They aren't going to shout for me.  I will say and cry and shout "Over and over" ... (sing it with me) ... "like a mighty sea, comes the love of Jesus rolling over me.  Over the sea, over the sea, Jesus, Savior, pilot me.  Over the sea, over the sea, over the jasper sea."


Listen to the surf.  The wind.  The words in the waves.  He really does love you, you know.  With every breath.

Have You Been in Park Too Long?

It started off innocent enough.  An intended forgetfulness, a taking on of things that bogged one down.  Not really meaning to let the vines of inattention to wind its way around my feet its inevitable paralyzation gained its familiar stranglehold grip.  But it became crystal all too soon.  I was stuck in the ruts in the road.  Courage had lost spark while distrust, anxiety and fear had woefully corroded my resolve.  

Aw, I knew better.  Sure I did.  I had the manual.  I knew how to do preventive maintenance:  Check the terminals, fluid levels, spark, and fuel.  All things vital to making the engine turn over and purr like a kitten.

It's like that in life, isn't it?  Never wanting to court disaster or failure on the freeway on the long stretch of an uncharted course one goes forward with a lifeless wish like "one day I'll win the lottery."  But life with a smirk punctures hopes until running flat in discouragement we pull to the side unsure of the next step or direction.  Sometimes feeling like we'll never get anywhere at all.

Some give up.  Some never get the map to learn the directions, study the manual to know how the vehicle can be repaired.  Constantly they give excuses or are ambivalent to time passing like leaves in the wind.  They park it and wave at those that happen  by.  

It's really easy, though, to turn a mental/spirit/soul direction.  God shows us what we can do to be restored.  This may look like a foolish lesson in vehicle maintenance, but it's really a gentle prod to say -- follow God's Word.  Some don't believe in the Bible but that doesn't make it less true.  It's like walking into an old shop where the manual is to your vehicle.  When someone shows you where the problem is, how to fix it, and here's the parts for free, who can resist?  And on top of it if He'll do it for you.  As my husband will be quick to tell you, "She doesn't know how to fix the car!" (nor do I want to learn) having someone like him to know what to do is an unmerited blessing beyond measure.

Here's the instruction:  "... let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance, unnecessary weight, and that sin which so readily, deftly and cleverly clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us,  looking away from all that will distract to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith giving the first incentive for our belief and is also its Finisher bringing it to maturity and perfection. He, for the joy of obtaining the prize that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising and ignoring the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God."  (Heb. 12:1-2 Amplified Version.)

Easy huh.  So get back in the manual, find out where it went awry, get yourself washed afresh by the Holy Spirit of God Himself.  Be filled with the fuel of God's Word to encourage and strengthen.  


Then get back out there.  You can do it.  I know you can.  Put 'er in drive...

Careful Where You Stand

Botanical Gardens, Big Island, Hawaii

Experiencing the jungle can be exciting.  Can be awesome.  Sometimes unexpected.  "Watch it!"  The sign reached out and grabbed my attention.  One look upward left one dizzying at the height of the huge mango tree.  It viciously randomly takes pot shots from a dizzying height to the unsuspecting human forms below at will.  "Bombs away" as nature hurls its bounty to the jungle floor.

Made me think.  You know, it really does matter where you stand.  Some may say, "I don't want to get involved" or "I'll let someone else deal with it."  Some things we are born to do, others we are not -- but if truth is apparent on its face stay true to what God has put in your heart, your part of the plan, your "puzzle piece" that someone else needs to be encouraged to excel.  As we are not islands unto ourselves as we stand together for truth and justice, the unity of heart in the bonds of love will overcome all.  It is the strongest thing on earth. Nothing overcomes the love of God shining through the clear glass of the soul.  It is blindingly embracing.  "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."  

So make a stand.  The small things, the seemingly mundane, the important, the vital.  Don't stand ambivalent in the face of things that are rising on a tide of a world gone mad.  These are days of power.  These are days of sorrow, joy, triumph, unbelievable trials and adventures.  These are the days of the power of God.  

So while you may travel down life's path watch where you stand.  The mangos may be falling. 

We Accept Yen!

I walked through a trendy marketplace yesterday and saw posted right next to the nail care products "We accept yen."  My sweet niece said with a smile, "Who's Yen?"  We both chuckled.  We were both having fun with the nail colors and deciding which colors would look best, which I suggested was much more fun in scrapbooking and cards than on a nail that would chip away eventually anyway. 

It occurred to me, though, how the currency of life affects everything we do, everywhere we go.  The monetary value of relationships cannot be exchanged, devalued, or monetized.  When an imposter displays an immitation of so-called feigned love (which is really intolerance) you can smell the decay a county away.  What they bought was valueless.  A trash heap of emotions that only decay and erode what could have been a beauty in the wilderness.


The true timeless value of the currency of love far outstrips anything that can be bought or sold to accelerate or increase the value of a human life one to another.   What can be "purchased" in a store that accepts this kind of currency?  Oh, much.  So much.  Luscious grace, forgiving acceptance, humor and courage to name far too few in a noninclusive list.  These embrace the unique individuality of a life loving in full embrace, ignoring the negative bumps and jabs that would suck the joys like a lollipop in a summer sun.  Yep.  That's love.  It's abundant but you have to know the right place to shop.  So important.  Shop where it counts.  Where the true things are abundant and frankly free. 


So go ahead.  Stock up.  When you need courage, Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the LORD! (Psalm 31.24); when you need love, "For the Father Himself loves you," (John 16:27); when you need comfort, He is the God of all comfort and mercy (1 Cor. 1:3-5).  When your soul aches and has a "yen" for that which would nurture, give sustenance, and spur you into greater things than you ever thought you could achieve let the love of God, the grace of God, and joy of the Spirit of Grace lead you to the checkout. 

 

Stress Can't Swim

As the waters crashed with loud exclamations I paused to think how the sea compels one to abandon all tightly guarded packets of worry and anxiety.  "Give them to me and I will plunge them to the depths."  It's akin to what the Lord says to all who will hear, "Come unto Me and I will give you rest."  He never said "You shalt be religious" or a characterture of some goofy cathedral painting where people with sallow cheeks and wizined bodies say, hey, you can be just like me.  Please. 

Jesus was a man's man -- and with class knew how to treat the ladies.  He could saw timber with the best of them and with the same strong but tender voice converse with a woman drawing water without making her feel like it was a come on -- but truly interested in who she was on the inside.  Really.  Isn't that something?  Those are certainly traits that are not only noble and admirable -- but God-like.  The way He wants us to treat each other.  With respect, joy and unconditional love.  I don't know about you, but boy it seems we always gum up the works with control, ego, pride, selfishness and the like to our own peril.

I'll make the disclaimer right here.  I'm not saying that's everyone else and not me, too.  It's as real at home base as the outfield.  It's those things that gum up that bring everything to a standstill feeling like we can't reach out to a God who would say, "Give it to me.  I'll wash it away and make everything new."  It's a fallacy to think that anybody is immune to the carnality of man.  We're all good and it's just choices is really a totally deception.  Jesus' Blood can't annihilate all that and make a brand new person.

Oh boy.  She's gettin' preachy now.  Maybe to those that don't understand -- they can't conceive that something that sounds so vicious as killing someone can bring absolution.  To those who have heard and received, though, it's that redemptive salvation--personal, individual and unique--that makes me look at life a whole different way than before.  Does that make me a fanatic or one of those "Jesus people"?  Definitely.  Does it make me a laughing stock of those who don't believe.  Most probably.  Do I care?  No.   I know what I know that I know.  When you get to that place with God and you have experienced His power, you never go back.  Never. 

So when the packets of stress and anxiety that stick like super glue from daily challenges and schedules try to bury me in the quickmire of stagnation and depression, I go stand at the sea of God -- the one true God above all gods -- and say, "Take this junk.  May it go into the depths and cause it to crash on your shoulders.  I am free because of what You did.  I am forever thankful."

Amazing.  I stand amazed at the sea ... where His love crashes in loud waves on the shore of my heart.  I try to cry out with thankfulness and I am awash with His tenderness.

"He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, You will cast all their sins Into the depths of the sea."  Micah 7:19