From Mess to Message

If we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself.  2 Timothy 2:13 (ESV)

I sat alone in my living room, recovering from the flu and a horrible lingering cough. While my body regained strength, my heart grew weary with regret. Christmas decorations still adorned my house. I couldn’t put them away because I wanted a do-over. 

The expectations of a joyful holiday had collided with disappointments: outdoor Christmas Eve service cancelled due to extreme weather conditions and our annual extended kinfolk gathering halted due to illness. Then the last day with our out-of-town daughter and her family concluded with misunderstandings and arguments. And yet, the hope of Christmas, Immanuel—God with us, abided with us. His faithfulness transcended all of our faithless uncertainties and divisiveness. 

Sitting solo in silence, I desired restoration with my people and forgiveness from God. I looked around the room and caught sight of the jumbled toy nativity set on a nearby shelf. It had provided entertainment for my two-year-old grandson. Tears fell as I stared at the jumbled mess. What a mishmash he had left. But what good news it now proclaimed!

God loved the world so much that He sent His only Son to provide salvation for sinful mankind.* Jesus entered a broken world in desperate need of forgiveness, grace, and mercy. He exchanged heavenly royalty for earthly humility, giving up indescribable power to be born a babe in a manger. Jesus lived life with humanity, modeling the love of His Heavenly Father. He was Immanual—God with us.* Through His crucifixion, death, and resurrection, Jesus Christ gained abundant life on earth and eternal life in heaven for whoever would believe in Him. 

What love the Heavenly Father lavished on His children.* He sent His Son Jesus to die for us while we were still sinners.* And He loved me enough to remind me of His marvelous message of salvation through a little messy manger scene.

God composes messages out of messes. They’re evident, if we’re paying attention. My soul despaired until God spoke and thankfully, I listened. He brought new life to the new year. 

How was your Christmas? Did you confront discouragement, division, disaster, or defeat? How about the new year? Do you already feel like a failure? Have you lost all hope?

Let the image of a messy manger remind you of God’s love. Even when we are faithless, He remains faithful. For He sent His Son Jesus into a wicked world, not to condemn us, but to save us. Now that’s a message this mess of a woman can take to heart.

*John 3:16

*Matthew 1:23

*1 John 3: 1

*Romans 5:8

His Name is Freedom

Standing under the canopy of blue skies and billowy clouds, I sense the vast space afforded me by our Creator God. Descriptive words—airy, expansive, immense, open, unconfined—achieve their purpose, and still the opportunity to experience such a spacious place fills me with indescribable delight. Breathing room. Elbow room. FREEDOM! 

Quite the opposite of an open space, the confines of four walls hem in. Breathing room diminishes to a corner. Tentacles of anxiety surround and suffocate. Worry plagues the mind. Angst sets in. And fear claims another captive.

The years of Covid–yes, we are nearing the close of a second year—have been anything but free. Sickness, confusion, and gloom have shrouded the world in darkness. Various forms of confinement have been forced upon us. Disease and death seem to have become the norm. Because of the polarization of the facts about the virus and its cure, people are more estranged than ever. Fear waxes while freedom wanes. 

Our generation is not the first to have experienced a plague. We’re not even the first people to be ruled by authoritarian leaders. From the beginning of time, every generation has faced trials and tribulations. The Israelites, known as God’s people in the Old Testament, encountered all types of ordeals. Just as they were increasing in number and thriving in Egypt, a new king, who knew nothing about their patriarch Joseph, came to power. The massive population of Israelites threatened this new authority figure. So he began to oppress them with forced labor. 

Subjugation, ill-treatment, persecution, tyrannical rule—the Israelites groaned in their slavery for hundreds of years. They cried out to God for help and eventually He sent them a deliverer named Moses. Through many miraculous acts of God, Moses was able to free the Israelites from Pharaoh’s rule. They walked on dry land between walls of water that had formed the Red Sea. As their captors chased them, the Israelites watched the walled water splash down around their enemies and drown them. The Lord had saved them. They celebrated freedom with songs of victory.

But freedom didn’t last. For generations, the Israelites lived in cycles of bondage and deliverance. When they faced adversity, the Israelites looked to God to send a deliverer. They longed for a messiah to rescue them. When the Messiah finally came to earth, many of God’s people overlooked him because they were seeking a military leader. Jesus Christ, the Messiah, entered the earth as a babe. God sent Jesus, His Son, to be the Savior of the world, to bring salvation to all who would believe in Him. 

At 30 years of age, He began His ministry with a proclamation. “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Luke 4:18-19

And He went about completing His mission, preaching good news to the disenfranchised, giving sight to the blind, freeing people from oppression and captivity. All this was done under the religious eyes of the Jews and the tyrannical rule of Rome. Because these groups enjoyed power, they despised the freedom Jesus was spreading among the common folk. The authorities sought to quiet Him through physical death. Even though these authorities achieved that goal, it wouldn’t have happened if Jesus hadn’t willingly given His life to save humanity. After all, He was and still is God, and He came to earth as the final sacrifice for sinfulness. He offered His life to deliver us from the bonds of sin and death. His resurrection from death made a way for all who believe in Him to live eternally with Him and enjoy abundant life while on earth. 

Once the Holy Spirit had empowered the believers and followers of Christ Jesus, they discovered it didn’t matter what the authorities did to the body. Holy Spirit power through belief in Jesus had freed their spirits. He had rescued them from the fear of human power. Maybe their bodies were in chains, but their minds and souls enjoyed freedom by trusting in Him. 

Throughout the years and around the world, many people have suffered the pangs of captivity. The burdens of mental, physical, and spiritual restrictions have weighed heavily on the hearts, minds, and souls of humans, and it continues to this day. The confines of four walls, chains of captivity, oppression and affliction hem in people, suffocating them. 

““Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victim may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies.”

— C. S. Lewis

No matter the persecution we may endure, our spirits can be unshackled through the power of Jesus. A heart’s desire is freedom and a wide open space offers breathing room, but true freedom only comes through belief in the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. He saves and delivers, extending peace and strength. When you believe and trust in God through Jesus, even if physically confined, nothing can exploit your spirit. If Jesus has set you free, you are free indeed.  

“So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.  ”

— John 8:36 (NLT)

Renewed Faith, Joyful Heart

The ultimate resurrection—Jesus rose from the dead! Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia!* Because He lives, I can face tomorrow!* Yes and Amen!* 

With Jesus we can face anything. He died on a cross, carrying every evil scheme of the devil to defeat us. Jesus triumphed over sin, physical ailment, mental anguish, death, and even coronavirus. We too can conquer life’s miseries through Jesus our Savior. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.* Through Scripture and song, we can shout for joy to a God who saves. 

Experiencing a resurrection, revitalization, or revival of anything yields joy, jubilation, triumph. Renewed faith, revived flowers/plants, reconstructed churches/houses, restored souls, returned prodigals, resuscitated lives, rekindled relationships—sorrow usually precedes life’s refreshment and reawakening. God breathes new life into our situations when we draw close to Him, when we humble ourselves and pray. 

I’ve prayed for my children since their birth. My prayers increased as they grew. Heart-felt prayers wrapped in tears poured from my lips when my daughter lost her way in life. I joined my prayers with other mournful mothers to set captives free. And we waited for God to work. 

God answers our prayers in His way and in His time. Some remedies are instantaneous and others evolve—all are reasons to rejoice. He turns tears of sadness into rivers of joy. 

I wept this holy week for me, my family, and this dying world. I pondered the pains my Savior endured for us all. And then I sobbed for joy over a Facebook post by my daughter. She has granted me permission to share her words, poignant and unedited. If you are suffering in any way, I pray you find comfort through her words of hope because of Jesus Christ. 

There are only a few more weeks of Randy and I being a family of two (well 3 including Goose, our dog). Jackson Lee will be here in no time and our little family will grow a little more. To bring a child into this world during this time with Coronavirus has been overwhelming! The things we have looked forward to, planned for during our first pregnancy is not working out the way we wanted. It’s sad to think that our families and friends will not be able to meet our lil man for a while. It’s devastating us! But I can’t wait to tell our little fighter what was happening in our world when he made his appearance. I can’t wait to tell him that his Daddy, my sweet husband was/is working the front lines as a paramedic firefighter serving his community and world, risking his life. The stress I know my husband is under has been unimaginable. I see it on his face, I feel it in his touch, but without fail he does it for our family and those he is helping. He goes to work for days with little sleep and helps those in need. Then comes home to me hoping and praying that he wasn’t exposed so that he doesn’t expose anything to us. The idea that he might not be able to be in the delivery room for the birth of our first child has been piercing. He is my person, my quiet storm, my peace, the good good thing my Lord brought into my life. During this time it has been disheartening to think about the future and condition our world is in. There is so much division, loneliness, depression, heartache, evil, disease, etc. It can weigh heavily on us at times and it can seem so dark, but I am constantly reminded of the brightest thing in my life….that is my Heavenly Father! He calms the storm in my heart, floods my mind with peace, gives me incredible strength. This world has so many beautiful things that we don’t see sometimes because it’s clouded by darkness, but I promise you Jesus shines brighter! Our faith and prayer through God has and will carry us through this time and every time after that. We will get through this and anything with the Way Maker, Miracle Worker, Promise Keeper, Light in the darkness! This has been on my heart for a while now. Stay safe!

May you experience a resurrection of sorts as you draw close to our Savior Jesus Christ. He died for us all. May we live everyday for Him. 

They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion;
they will be radiant with joy
because of the Lord’s goodness,
because of the grain, the new wine, the fresh oil,
and because of the young of the flocks and herds.
Their life will be like an irrigated garden,
and they will no longer grow weak from hunger.
Then the young woman will rejoice with dancing,
while young and old men rejoice together.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
give them consolation,
and bring happiness out of grief.
I will refresh the priests with an abundance,
and My people will be satisfied with My goodness.
This is the Lord’s declaration.  Jeremiah 31:12-14 (HCSB)

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

*footnotes

1. Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia!  Hymn lyrics written by Charles Wesley

2. Because He lives, I can face tomorrow!  Hymn lyrics written by Bill and Gloria Gaither

3. Yes and Amen!  2 Corinthians 1:20

4. For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16