Month: August 2024

“For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter.”

Ecclesiastes 8:6 (NIV)

C.S. Lewis wrote the Chronicles of Narnia, which is a fantasy and an allegory with an underlying Christian message, but I never read the book or saw any of the movies that were made. I do remember my two boys reading and enjoying all the stories of the Chronicles of Narnia, when they were young.

Out of curiosity, I recently rented the movie, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”, which is the first series in C.S. Lewis’s book, just to learn what the story entails. 

The repeated mantra throughout the story is that “Aslan is on the move.” The belief is that Aslan is always present even when he is not seen, and that he will one day appear and make all the wrongs right, bringing peace and justice to Narnia.

Aslan is a lion, who is the true King of Narnia, and he also represents Jesus, the lion of Judah and the King of kings. 

He is the only hope against the evil white witch, who had taken oppressive control over Narnia. 

There is an appointed time for the day that Aslan will appear and render His righteousness in Narnia. The living hope of his presence is believed in without seeing him, until he physically appears in the 12th chapter of the novel. Until then, the words that were whispered and circulated among believers in Narnia, were “Aslan is on the move.”

One day Jesus will come and make everything right, in the 12th chapter of God’s novel story of creation. He will correct all that is wrong in our world, but for now, He has a proper time and procedure for every matter. It may not seem like it, but He is subtly on the move throughout this world, effecting the times, matters and procedures of all the nations. 

There is still a hidden message that I found through the Chronicles of Narnia, and it is that a proper time does not just refer to major world events, but to each of our individual lives as well. 

Just like Aslan, Jesus is on the move in our lives, as an invisible Presence, who is whispering to our spirits, responding to all prayers, and giving us hope and consolation. We can experience Narnia in a metaphoric sense, every day. The Lion of Judah makes Himself present to any person who asks or seeks Him. He effects every procedure and every matter in its proper time. 

My son, Jon, hasn’t eaten a thing by mouth in 11 months, ever since his accident. He is still being fed through a tube in his stomach. Knowing he is capable of drinking water, since I tried it for the past week, I decided to give him his first popsicle yesterday, the kind that is in plastic casing. He ate that popsicle with enjoyment, and never once choked. He had the craving to receive it by mouth and Jesus gave him the ability to eat it. Eating a popsicle may seem trivial, but it was a huge step of progress, to watch him eat without choking.

It was the first thing he has tasted in his mouth since the accident. It’s a small example that Aslan, the Lion, or Jesus- is “on the move” in Jon’s life.

The scripture today assures us that there is a time and procedure for every matter and without a doubt, the Lord is surely on the move in all matters in our lives as well. If He gives us the craving, He will help us to take the next step of progress in His timing, to fulfill His will in our lives, and discover His victory in our Narnia.

Lord, you are the Lion of Judah and King of kings, who is sovereign over all of our lives. We believe you are on the move and we ask you to keep working with your proper time and procedure for every matter in our lives. Amen

“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)

As I read about how we are all God’s handiwork, and created to do good things during our lifetime, I am reminded of how Jesus blessed little children. Matthew, Mark and Luke’s gospel all tell us that the kingdom of God belongs to the youngest among us, as they describe Jesus laying His hands on children, praying for them, and blessing them.  (Matthew 19:14)

While we are all God’s handiwork, Jesus spoke with authority in declaring the kingdom of heaven belongs to infants and children. Through His words, we are confident that infants and children who haven’t lived a full life, have immediate entrance into heaven. Jesus gave them a special blessing, but history would later reveal the stark facts of the mortality of infants and children.

Statistics show that 50% of all the children ever conceived throughout human history, did not live past the age of five, due to war, poverty, starvation and disease. If we include into that percentage, all of the spontaneous miscarriages and abortions, it would mean that the vast “majority” of human beings never lived to adulthood. I never thought of myself as a minority, but this makes all of us part of a minority of human beings who lived into our adulthood. 

Since the kingdom of heaven belongs to children, as Jesus said,  there must be a great multitude of infants and children populating heaven, many of whom may even be the children, siblings, or cousins of all of us, who are reading this today. 

Every human life is created by God and loved by God. Scripture says that the Lord takes no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies. (Ezekiel 18.32)

The Spirit inspired David to write that our inward parts were being formed in the womb, while the days of our life were written in God’s book. 

(Psalm 139:16)

God has a purpose for every human life, and a work for us to do, which He has prepared for us in advance. This is the case for every life He creates, regardless of the length of their days. 

There is a plan, a blueprint, and a purpose assigned to all of us. Every life is called to serve some purpose, whether we live for a minute or for a century. This means that those of us who are the minority who made it to adulthood, have a purpose to fulfill.  It’s up to us to pray and seek what our purpose is.

The scripture today reminds us that  we are created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance.  We are all living miracle human beings, a part of the minority who made it to adulthood, and we each have a unique purpose, according to our different personalities, family upbringing, abilities, disabilities, gifts and talents. 

Despite all of our differences, we all have one purpose in common, and that is to find the way we were meant to glorify God through our lives. (1 Corinthians 6:20)

Since God, in His patience and mercy, gives us multiple chances throughout adulthood, and the grace to discover and fulfill the purpose He has for us, we have the opportunity to do what we were meant to do, that will bring glory to God. Since so much has been given to us, much will also be required of us. (Luke 12:48)

Every lost infant or child can bring glory to God, as well. My mother’s sister was a mother of six, but she once miscarried identical twin boys. When I gave birth to identical twin boys, my Aunt Elizabeth seemed to be the happiest person among my entire family. It puzzled me at first, but in some mysterious way, she felt the infant twins she lost, who were in heaven, were being honored by the birth of her twin great nephews. 

I hope to be reunited with many loved ones in heaven one day, and maybe I’ll even meet those twin cousins who went from the womb straight to heaven.

All life is a gift, and since we are a part of that blessed minority who are adults, we can show our gratitude to God, by being open to fulfill whatever plan He has made in advance for us. 

Lord, thank you for allowing us to be among those who make it to the age we are, since we are all your handiwork and created to bring glory to you throughout our lives. As we value the purpose of all life, teach us how we can do those good things you have planned for us to do. Amen 

“But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumph, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.”

2 Corinthians 2:14 (RSV)

This scripture says a lot in a few words. God is leading us in triumph as we spread the fragrance of the knowledge of Jesus everywhere we go. 

Spreading the aroma or fragrance of Christ, at first, seems like an overwhelming mission, as if we are responsible in persuading everyone to believe. The Holy Spirit is teaching me that a simple way of spreading the aroma of Christ to others is by showing them gratitude. 

We only need to think of how good it feels to be thanked for something, because in some mysterious way, gratitude is very uplifting and healing. 

A few words of gratitude touches the heart, especially in those who may be suffering. It’s a God given trait that every human being is deeply touched by gratitude, because we were made in the image of God, and He is deeply touched by our gratitude.

Remember Jesus made a comment about the ten lepers who He healed, but only one returned to show his gratitude, and Jesus asked where are the other nine?  
(Luke 17:17-18)

There are other ways of spreading the fragrance of Christ, like good preaching and acts of kindness, but words of gratitude are so simple, that it’s often overlooked. 

Every person in our life is there for a purpose. Gratitude spreads the aroma of Christ to everyone He brings into our lives; to our next door neighbors, the coworkers we work beside, our family and the friends we make in this relatively brief period called our lifetime. Gratitude can often lift a person’s spirit more than profound words of wisdom.

Gratitude sends a fragrance and an aroma which reveals their worth and value to God. It leads the lost lambs back to their Shepherd. A few words of gratitude opens the heart, by healing and lifting someone’s spirit, and subtly pointing them toward God. 

An expression of gratitude can make a difference in a person’s day, especially those who are broken in some way. Gratitude opens the heart to knowing Christ and His love.

The first step in spreading the aroma of Christ is in making people feel appreciated.

Words of gratitude can send an aroma of Christ to people with mental health problems, or to those with contentious and argumentative personalities. When the smartest answers fail and there are no other words to say, words of gratitude can change everything.

I am learning how to be thankful for something in every person. Being thankful is like love, it’s not driven by emotion, it’s a choice we make.

I’ve even found gratitude helpful as I try to reason with Jon. He still gets out of bed each night, and out of his chair each day and wanders around. I tell him he has to stay in his chair, unless a nurse or therapy tech assists him, and when he sits back down, I thank him for listening, and he seems to relax. His brain still needs a lot of healing, but even he responds to the words

 “Thank you.”

The residents and staff keep telling me how they saw Jon walking all over the place. Someone told me he once managed to get to the second floor, when a staff person noticed and took him back to his floor. I am thankful for those caring residents who always watch out for Jon, and for the staff who are so busy keeping him safe. Yesterday I decided not only to verbally thank them, but I brought treats for all the staff and the residents.

Every person is a lost lamb who needs to find their place in the arms of the Good Shepherd. Some people  know this and some have no idea, but everyone needs to hear words of gratitude. God created our hearts to be touched when someone shows gratitude and thanks us. There is something about being intentional in  gratitude, that opens many hardened or broken hearts.

Lord, we thank you for showing us the ways we can triumph in our walk of faith, by spreading your fragrance to others around us. Use our words of gratitude to help you gather all your lost back lambs to you. Amen

With age old love I have loved you;

so I have kept my mercy toward you.

Again I will build you, and you shall stay built, virgin Israel;

Carrying your festive tambourines,

you shall go forth dancing with merrymakers.

Jeremiah 31:3-4 (NAB)

This phrase “age old love” is unique to the New American Bible version of this scripture, compared to most other versions which say “everlasting love”.  Both are beautiful phrases expressed by God to His people, but the phrase “age old love” reminds us of the love that lasts through all of life’s sorrows and challenges. It sounds like the love of partners who grew old together and remained united over the years. 

God also tells His people “I will build you up and you will stay built.” He loves us enough to find out what builds us up. He builds us up by turning our mourning into joy, and helps us to rejoice again, after a time of great sorrow. (Jeremiah 31:13) 

He sees us as individuals according to our personal likes or dislikes. God seeks the heart and interests of His beloved. It says in the love chapter of the Bible, 1 Corinthians 13, that 

“love seeks not its own.”

God showed us that He seeks our interests by example of the entire life of Jesus, and He teaches us to love others the way He loves us.

It reminds me of a conversation I had with a lady in my Zumba class a few weeks ago. Zumba is an exercise of dance steps, done to various types of Latin music. 

She shared her personal story with me one day before class started. She has always loved all types of dance, and attended Zumba classes very regularly throughout the years. Then her husband was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. 

As he became progressively worse, she was so busy bringing him to and from medical appointments and caring for him in his illness, that she stopped dancing, having no time to attend classes anymore. Eventually, the cancer progressed to the point of placing him in hospice. 

She was so sad and emotionally drained at that point, that she said to him, “I’ll never dance again.” Before he died, he looked at her and made her promise him that she would never stop dancing, and she hasn’t stopped since. 

She is now eighty plus years old and she never misses a Zumba class. She dances with more energy and enthusiasm than all those who are younger than her in the class. 

Her loving husband’s last words to her came out of an “age old love”between them. Love led him to seek her best interests, even on his death bed, hoping that she would later have her mourning turned to joy. He knew what dancing meant to his wife, which is why he made her promise that she would never stop dancing. 

We are the church, the bride of Christ, and He has also loved us through the years, with an age old love. Each of us has had a long partnership with Jesus through many sorrows and challenges, over the years.

His selfless love and faithfulness to us inspires our praise either by singing, playing an instrument, or through dance. He wants us to find our niche for the best way to express our worship and praise. Singing and playing instruments are beautiful forms of worship, but dancing is equally a form of worship, though not usually seen in churches. 

Praise enables us to leave our anxieties and inhibitions behind, and enjoy the pure freedom of praising God through music, song or dance. The prophet Jeremiah told the people to go forth and dance for the Lord. David worshipped in all three forms. He wrote and sang songs, played a harp and worshipped the Lord by dancing. 

Paul encouraged the Thessalonians to keep finding their joy given by the Holy Spirit, even in the midst of severe affliction and suffering. 

(1 Thessalonians 1:6)

Whatever we are going through, we have to find our joy and the Holy Spirit will show us what fits best for each of us. Our joy is restored when we worship and praise the Lord. 

The Holy Spirit knows how we can best respond to the age old love and mercy that the Lord has shown us throughout the years. 

Lord, thank you for loving us with an age old love. Teach us to love others as you have loved us, and to find our joy through our own unique form of worship and praise. Amen

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (RSV)

I was an art major in college and portraits were my favorite. I did many over the years, but nothing of this quality. When I found this portrait of Mary and young Jesus, on line, I thought it was breathtaking. It inspired me to write about it,  because I was struck by the purity and innocence in their faces, and the sense of comfort and security that Jesus, as a toddler, felt in Mary’s lap.

Being both human and divine, Jesus  grew up receiving the human love of His mother, the family leadership of Joseph, His step father and the divine comfort and sense of oneness with His Heavenly Father. It all qualifies Him to be the greatest comforter of all time. 

His earliest human connection of comfort came from the first face He ever looked at, His mother’s face, which is meant to be the case for all human beings. Newborns grow in comfort and security when they exchange glances with their mother. Mary also found eternal comfort in beholding the face of Jesus as well, knowing He was not only her son, but her Lord and Messiah.

From a natural perspective, no one denies that every human person needs the emotional security and comfort of a loving mother and father. Jesus is our comforter, not only because He is divine, but because he also had the love and comfort of being nurtured by both of His human parents.

Jesus also had a pre-incarnate family in heaven, with His Father and the Holy Spirit.  It was an infinite family relationship until He came to this world and was born as a human person, and raised in a human family, by the help of the Holy Spirit. 

Not much is mentioned about the childhood of Jesus in scripture, but at some point in growing up, He had to have made the connection of being one with His Heavenly Father. The gospel of Luke tells us that the twelve year old Jesus disappeared from his parents while traveling to Jerusalem, and was later found in the synagogue. (Luke 2:48-49)

He casually told Mary and Joseph that He was where He belonged, in His “Father’s house.”

Jesus probably grew in awareness of His divinity and hungered for His  eternal Father. As He approached adulthood, He found His comfort and true purpose in spending time with His invisible Father.

Jesus was always a part of a family, and after He became part of a human family, He pursued His life mission and created the spiritual family of God, which is the church, universal. God meant for all of the human race to find comfort through both their natural and spiritual families. 

As I meditate on today’s scripture with that picture, I see an interesting contrast. The most high God and Father of mercies, desires to share His loving comfort with humanity, in all of our afflictions. God, who is so high, came down so low, in order to comfort and lift us higher to Himself.

Jesus, the perfect blend of receiving human comfort, combined with divine comfort, now shares His comfort with us, which has a domino effect. He comforts us in all our afflictions, so that we are able to comfort others, with the same comfort which we received from Him. God always intended for the human and the divine to work together in the family of God, to ultimately draw us all closer to our true Father in heaven. 

Isaiah’s message of the Messiah are in these words: 

“Comfort, comfort my people,

says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned.” (Isaiah 40:1-2)

The pinnacle of God’s heart and purpose is to give His love, peace, comfort and pardon, to all people, if they will receive it. 

Jesus said blessed are those who mourn, for they will be “comforted.”

There is a lot to mourn for in this world, but the amount of love and comfort that Jesus wants to give us, is far greater than all the sorrow and mourning combined.

Maybe it’s just the artist part of me, or my attraction to great portraits, but I can see in this picture, the power and grace of the loving comfort Jesus received while growing up. He now desires to share that comfort with all of us, so that we can share it with others, so that the message will go on and on. 

Lord, I pray for all who need extra comfort today, in any affliction, help us to surrender ourselves to you, to be held close to you, and find the comfort, gentleness and security of a toddler sitting on their parent’s lap. Amen