Jesus

Dear Middle-Aged Christian Man,

/ mytimesinhishands / Leave a comment

You are so deeply respected by your heavenly Father. He sees you. He sees how you daily shoulder your burdens with strength and determination. He sees what you are up against and how you overcome. He made you… all of you… and created you with a purpose. He calls you “son” and invites you on a great adventure with Him.

Do you know Him? I sometimes notice men who are convinced of a beautiful, precise theology, holding it with steadfast certitude. But do you know Him? I sometimes notice men who are persuaded of the veracity of Scripture and know the right answers. But do you know Him? I sometimes notice men who faithfully attend church on Sunday but find faith irrelevant to the rest of the week. Do you know Him? I’m asking this because I’ve wondered about a disturbing trend among the Christian men in mid-life I happen to know. Somehow the “knowing” is not connected to the “living.” I have seen suicide attempts, sexual addictions, secret double lives, apathy mixed with anger, chronic frustration, marriages lost, ministries ruined, reputations stained, families fractured, children damaged, faith destroyed. It makes me wonder about “correct thinking,” when there is so much inner pain.

But you, man of God, are so deeply loved by your Father. He calls you friend… brother… son… warrior… accepted… honored… loved… holy. Your Father has called you to holiness, and he invites you to wholeness—no fragmentation between heart and head… between emotion and intellect… between gentleness and strength… between inner man and outer man. Are you whole? Is there Life (with a capital L) coursing through you and spilling over like rivers of living water, as Jesus promised would happen to those who come to him (John 11)? Or are you weary? Do you function out of a whithered, dry, and sometimes hardened, heart? Do you want more?

What if I told you there is abundance waiting? How would it feel to know you are deeply loved and accepted? Do you know, as a child of God, you are good? Do you know you are no longer a slave to the flesh, to your sin nature? You have been translated into the kingdom of God where the HEART is the place of action? Have you given the broken, fragmented, and wounded places of you heart over to the Great Physcian (Healer) to be restored? Do you know the PERSON who makes this possible? Do you walk daily with HIM?

These words were prophesied hundreds of years before Jesus was born:

““The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the Lord’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies.”‭‭ (Isaiah‬ ‭61:1-2)‬ ‭

When Jesus was a grown man beginning his public ministry, he stood up in the crowded synagogue one Sabbath Day and took the scroll of ancient Scripture. As was the custom of the day, he took his turn to read. He spoke, reading these exact words from the prophet Isaiah. Then he declared, “These words are fulfilled in your hearing today.” He sat down. Can you imagine? All eyes in that ancient house of worship were fixed on him. Confusion. Did he just say that? Uncomfortable shifting. In some, anger heated up. How dare he? But others felt a wave of excitement. Could it be? The Messiah—here? Some were cautiously curious. Jesus was a good man. But to claim this? Really? The broken-hearted bowed their heads and quietly wept. Finally. Finally He is here. 

Who is the good news for? 

The poor, the broken-hearted—those in prisons of their own making, captives to sin, mourners—in a word, US. ALL of our hearts have been severely wounded. ALL of us have tried to escape pain of living in ways we regret. ALL of us need saving. ALL of us need the good news that we again can be satisfied, whole, healed, unbound, free, revived, joyful, favored, honored, defended, respected, loved. 

“To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory. They will rebuild the ancient ruins, repairing cities destroyed long ago. They will revive them, though they have been deserted for many generations. Foreigners will be your servants. They will feed your flocks and plow your fields and tend your vineyards. You will be called priests of the Lord, ministers of our God. You will feed on the treasures of the nations and boast in their riches. Instead of shame and dishonor, you will enjoy a double share of honor. You will possess a double portion of prosperity in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.”‭‭ (Isaiah‬ ‭61:3-7)‬

Jesus was the most whole and integrated human to ever live. He loved from His heart. He lived in union with the Father. He never intended for us to live in our own strength. He promised the Holy Spirit, who is declared in Scripture to be the Comforter, Helper, Advocate…. the One who convicts of sin, guides into truth, and reveals the Son. God meant for us to live our lives connected to our power and life source … Himself! We cannot do it by ourselves. This broken world and our broken hearts eventually catch up with us. We come to the end of ourselves and look at our shattered lives with despair. 

My man-friend, lift up you head and receive the LIFE Jesus offers you. Loved Infinitely For Eternity. LIFE. All because of the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of the second person of the Trinity, who proceeds from the Father and, with Him, generously gives, today, the Holy Spirit to those who ask. 

“Everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. You fathers—if your son asks for bread, will you give him a stone? If your child asks for a fish, do you give him a snake instead? …. If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 13:10-13)

Ask.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill my thirsty soul. Jesus said, if I come to him, rivers of living water will well up and flow from the inside out. I am broken hearted and poor in spirit. I need you. You are life, power, and love. Restore my heart. Wash me. Fill me. Come. I invite YOU into my life today. 

Christmas 2018

/ mytimesinhishands / Leave a comment

It was Christmas Eve. Everything was done. The cut sugar cookies, colorfully decorated by my family and friends a few days before, lay neatly stacked between parchment paper in containers. Gifts, wrapped in sparkles and shades of green, red, and gold, waited quietly under the tree. Luminaries, a neighborhood tradition, dotted the curb in front of our house, ready to light at sunset. In an hour we would leave for church, a favorite service of the year graced by the melodies of traditional carols and readings, then punctuated with the soft candlelit glow of “Silent Night.” In the meantime, while my husband finished up at the office, my three sons traversed the neighborhood delivering cards, gifts, and holiday greetings.

 
I fell into the sofa, a bit exhausted from the holiday preparations only mothers really understand. But I could rest and enjoy thisevening. My own mother was giving me a great gift: a night to just show up. After church, we planned to have dinner and “do Christmas” with my parents. I offered to contribute to the meal, but she insisted I do nothing. “Just bring yourselves!” she smiled. I was so looking forward to the evening. And the idea of Christmas morning, cozy and joyful, appealed to something deep within me. I could hardly wait. 


Yet, in all this anticipation and potential joy, I felt a pang of sadness I could not shake. As I sat in my house alone, I gave it some thought. (I’ve learned not to ignore those feelings. They only grow bigger when shoved down or ignored.) Confused, I asked myself, “Why do I feel so sad?” Quickly, I realized the answer. In 24 hours it would all be over, just as all the Christmases before. I’ve had 44 of them so far. Weeks of preparation, and soon I would be left with cleaning up the paper, cutting off tags, finding places for all the new things, and eventually dismantling the tree and decorations, stuffing everything back into plastic bins until next year. I so wanted the happiness to last. My sadness was grief over how fleeting the joyful moments pass.


As he so often does in his goodness, God cut through the sting of that moment with truth and grace. Christmases come and go, yes. But the greatest gift that came to me through the first Christmas does not. In 24 hours another day will pass and life returns to normal. But… the next day is also a gift! And the day after that. And the day after that. All the way into eternity. The reality is that Christmas brought a person. And that person brought the gift of eternal life—days that never end. My Jesus’ birth, life, death, resurrection, and salvation change everything. Although the moments of joy are fleeting, he will give more moments in this life. And he will give have many, many, many more moments and much more joy for all eternity when he sets us entirely free from the constraints of time and broken hearts. Eternal life starts now. As Elisabeth Elliot once said, “All that was ever ours, is ours forever.” 


Jesus came into that moment—truth and grace—with light and life that dispels the darkness and shadow of death. Just like that first Christmas. A bright star shining in the dark sky. The true light born into the night. No wonder the angels sang, filling the shepherds’ cold, inky field with the glory of heaven. The good news keeps coming in various tones and shades, in my life story, and in the Great Story that goes on and on.