The fifth garment

“When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”

John 19:23-24 (NIV)

I think there may be a deeper meaning to that remaining fifth undergarment of Jesus, which was not torn and deliberately gambled for. The prophesy in Psalm 22, that men would divide up the Messiah’s garments and cast lots for His clothes is not something that could be staged just to appear to fulfill a prophetic scripture. Roman soldiers had no knowledge or interest in Hebrew messianic prophecies, and they didn’t know that they were doing what was prophesied a millennium earlier. 

John’s gospel confirms that the four soldiers, who were at the foot of the cross, said to one another, regarding that fifth garment, “Let’s not tear it, but decide by lot who will get it.” 

A skeptic could say that everything written in Psalm 22, might have been written from David’s own personal experiences, but some lines are too specific, especially verse 18, which says,

“They divide my clothes among them

  and cast lots for my garment.” 

That psalm foretold details of the crucifixion, inspired by the Holy Spirit.

There were five pieces of clothing, but only four soldiers, so they divided His clothes among them, and cast lots for the remaining fifth piece of clothing.

That fifth garment was a one piece seamless tunic, typically worn as an undergarment by temple priests since the time of Aaron, the brother of Moses. The priests who wore it, interceded for their people, as they offered a sacrificed lamb upon the altar. 

Traditionally, this tunic was woven by the priest’s own mother. I can just imagine Mary watching in horror, as the soldiers gambled for the hand made priestly tunic, woven by her, as her son hung on the cross. 

The Mosaic instructions for the care of this tunic undergarment was that it must never be torn. Not knowing anything about those Mosaic rules, the Roman soldiers cast lots for it, to avoid tearing it. 

The fifth garment would have been worn by Jesus when He healed the sick, raised the dead, and cast out demons. He wore it at the feeding of the 5,000, while walking on the water, and on top of the mount of transfiguration. He wore it at the last supper, while telling His disciples that He is the sacrificed Passover lamb. 

The day finally came when His tunic was stripped off of Him and treated as a common piece of clothing to gamble for. The soldiers cast lots to see who gets the tunic, but they were ignorant that the one who wore it, was dying for them. 

Such disregard for the sacred, is no different 2,000 years later. Some of the most sacred truths of the Christian faith, are still treated irreverently by our current culture. All that is highly regarded by God, is often treated in low regard by the world’s standards. 

During my college days, I went to a pub that was frequented by many college students. One night the owner was celebrating along with his patrons, and he began pouring wine in everyone’ glass, while mimicking the words used when serving communion. I was not religious back then, but I was a still shocked, knowing it was inappropriate to mock something as sacred as communion. 

People often do sacrilegious things in total ignorance, just like the Roman soldiers who gambled and cast lots for that priestly tunic. They handled that fifth garment in a common and unholy way, although it was worn by the holy, incarnate Son of Almighty God. 

As sacred blood flowed from the foot of the cross for them, they casually gambled, playing a game to win the fifth garment.

I know from my own experience that God has incredible mercy towards the ignorance of all people. His grace reaches far beyond the foolishness of our hearts. The fifth garment is a reminder of how grace and mercy overcomes all ignorance. “Where sin increased, grace increased all the more.”  (Romans 5:20)

Sin and mockery of what is sacred, grieves God, but He has the heart of a Father, like the father of the prodigal, and He patiently waits for us to come back home to the truth. He gives people time to discover who Jesus really is, and His kindness leads all to repentance. 

(Romans 2:4)

God is not like people, who are quick to judge and condemn. He has a Father’s heart and responds with mercy instead of what we may deserve. 

The fifth garment reminds us of the patience, mercy and grace of God. Jesus was stripped of His priestly garment, to become our sacrificed lamb. “For by one sacrifice, He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” (Hebrews 10:14)

Lord, we have all mishandled your fifth garment at some time in our lives, but you are a loving Father, who patiently draws our childlike hearts back to you. Thank you for your mercy and grace that is greater than all of our sins. Amen

Cherished and flawless

“You are all fair, my love;
 there is no flaw in you.”

Song of Solomon 4:7 (RSV)

The Song of Solomon was written around 965 B.C. by King Solomon but it seems to correlate with a New Testament chapter known as the “love chapter.” The love chapter is 1st Corinthians 13, and it’s read at all Christian marriage ceremonies. 

The love chapter describes the perfect love of God, as we are encouraged to emulate it. It fits with the Song of Solomon, because it describes love as that which “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.” 

Bears, believes, hopes and endures, sounds like a rock solid commitment of devotion, even if everything around us appears to be crumbling. Since God loves us with this kind of devotion, it also pleases Him when we seek to do the same.

Both Jewish and Christian traditions across the centuries have adopted “allegorical” interpretations of the Song of Solomon, which has been read to portray the mutual love between the Lord and his people.

Christians have interpreted the Song of Solomon as the union between Christ and His bride, the Church. Jewish theologians view it as a picture of the ideal Israel, flawless, chosen and cherished by God. Both are beautiful insights into these sacred scriptures.

From the Christian perspective, the Song of Solomon, is Christ telling His bride, the church, that we are cherished and flawless in His eyes.

When Jesus looks at us, He knows us throughout, and sees the good and the bad, but it is His love for us that sees beyond our flaws. He is the one who cherishes us, who believes all things, bears all things and hopes all things. 

While we all know we have flaws, most of us don’t realize how much God loves us as we are, even before being cleansed and forgiven.

There are people who believe in God, but have doubts that He loves them. Some people were raised to believe that they are only lovable when they are good, or doing good things, but God loves us as we are, not because we are deserving. He doesn’t reserve or hold back His love from us, until we say we’re sorry. That is contrary to the truth of His word, which says, 

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

(Romans 5:8)

While we were sinners, God had passionate, relentless and unconditional love for us, long before we were remorseful or sorry for our sin. It is the love and kindness of God, that leads us to repentance in the first place.

Once we respond to the one who loves our soul, He shapes and develops us later. His Holy Spirit continually regenerates us during our life long journey of faith. If we try to see people through the same lens, that God is still transforming them, we can love better, by believing, bearing and enduring all things.

Through the Song of Solomon, we identify Jesus as the only one who loves us this perfectly, and cherishes us beyond our flaws. 

The truth that Satan keeps hidden from many well meaning Christians, is that God knows our gifts, sees our potential, and if Jesus is for us, nothing can succeed against us. 

Even if we give up on ourselves, become deeply discouraged, and are filled with doubt, God never stops believing in us, because in His eyes, we are cherished as His fair and flawless bride.

Lord, we surrender both our gifts and our flaws to you, and we ask that you shape and develop the beauty and talents that you have placed within each of us. Help us love one another as you have loved us. Amen

Golden bowls

“The twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.”

Revelation 5:8 (NIV)

It’s good to have an occasional glimpse of heaven to meditate on. 

Each of the twenty four elders in heaven are holding a golden bowl filled with prayers, our prayers. In their other hand, they are holding a harp, and then they all bow down before the Lamb, who is Jesus. 

These twenty four elders probably consist of the twelve apostles plus the twelve sons of Jacob, who are the twelve tribes of Israel. As they hold these golden bowls, they bow down before the High Priest of Heaven, who is Jesus. The entire image confirms the idea that worship goes hand in hand with prayer. 

This image of heaven describes a vivid combination of sights, scents and sounds. All of our senses are stimulated in heaven. There will be golden bowls to see, fragrant incense to smell and harp music to listen to. These elders hold our prayers within their bowls, and present them to Jesus, who told us to pray, asking anything in His name.

While we face times of adversity in our lives, it can be a struggle to believe that God still hears our prayers. John’s vision of heaven revealed that God not only hears us, but He values our prayers enough to put them in golden bowls, which are then lit up to become a fragrant incense, permeating heaven.

There are no boundaries of time or space in heaven, so our prayers are ever present before Him. We may forget what we asked for a year or two ago, but Heaven never forgets. Every prayer we pray, endures in His eternal presence through the smoke of fragrant incense. He answers us in due time, according to His plan and purpose. Whatever we ask for in Jesus’ name, carries the aroma of Christ with it, all the way to God’s throne. (2 Corinthians 2:15)

Knowing this, we put our hope and faith in God, through Jesus, and offer Him praise along with every petition. 

He loves us for who we are, and not for what we do. Therefore, we praise Him for who He is, even before He does what we ask. 

David knew this truth and he offered praise to God with every petition, as we can see by reading his Psalms. I find it is very therapeutic to praise God for who He is, even before He answers our prayers. 

Since my son’s motorcycle accident in September of 2023, after being in a coma for two weeks, he has been awake and moving ever since, but still isn’t responding cohesively to any questions. There is no doubt that he has a long road of recovery ahead. 

God has really kept me in peace, and I attribute that peace to living in a state of constant praise. Praise is truly the secret to inner peace. When people ask me how I stay calm through all that has happened, I  believe it’s because of praise. Not a day goes by that I don’t listen to christian contemporary praise and worship music. Each day I say something that praises Jesus, even if it’s only telling Him I love Him.

A situation may be really bad, but  God is really good. When we keep that in mind, and His praise is on our lips, He keeps us in perfect peace. There is something supernatural and amazing that happens deep within us, when we live in an attitude of praise. 

I know my son is receiving good medical care, but my hope is founded on more than the field of medicine. I believe in those golden bowls in heaven, filled with prayer requests, and that is the vision I keep before me. I thank each one of you for the prayers you have added to those bowls. 

God is good, and whatever His plan is, He considers every single prayer that is offered up to Him. He collects our prayers in golden bowls, which are then lit with fire, spreading a fragrant incense of our petitions, all throughout heaven. That image alone deems Him worthy of praise. 

Lord, we praise you and thank you that all of our prayers come before you as fragrant incense in golden bowls. We believe that you will hear, smell and answer all that is asked in  the holy name of Jesus. Amen

Passover mysteries

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any one hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”

Revelation 3:20 (RSV)

The Passover holiday memorializes the Israelites’ exodus from slavery, which is also called the Feast of Unleavened bread. Jesus celebrated a Passover Seder feast every year of His life. At His last Passover, which was spent with His twelve disciples, He told them He would not drink the Passover cup of wine again until they drink it together in His kingdom. Every feast, holiday and ceremony established by God, is a foretaste and hint of our life to come in heaven. 

Throughout generations, unleavened bread or Matzo is eaten for the week of Passover. It’s a reminder that God’s people left in great haste from Egypt to journey to the promised land. During their journey in the wilderness, God sustained His people with bread from heaven, called Manna. It was a supernatural nourishment provided by God, for forty years, until they arrived in the promised land. 

God still supernaturally sustains His people today, for the same purpose: To bring us to the promised land of heaven. 

Manna was a foretaste of the living bread, who came later from heaven. Jesus called Himself the bread of life, saying, “If any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever.” 

(John 6:51)

Jesus is our living bread, who gives us supernatural sustenance throughout this life, in order to lead us all to heaven. 

Since the 11th century, an interesting Passover tradition was added. An extra place setting was made at the table for the prophet Elijah, who is believed to attend every Passover Seder in spirit, until the Messiah comes. The front door of the home is to be left open during the Passover Seder as a symbol of invitation to Elijah’s entrance. 

The mystical tradition of leaving the door open as an invitation, reminds us of Jesus saying that He stands at the door and knocks, waiting for us to open the door and invite Him in to dine with us. 

I’m sure Elijah handed over his place setting and the open door to Jesus, long ago.

Another Seder tradition is to break off a piece of matzo, wrap it in a linen napkin, and then bury it in a hiding place in the home. The child who finds it later receives a reward.

In the deep mysteries of God’s wisdom, this Passover tradition also points to Jesus, the bread of heaven, and lamb of God, who was sacrificed for us. Jesus died, was wrapped in burial linen and then placed in the hiding place of a tomb. All who find and believe in Him, are promised the reward of eternal life. 

We can go another step further and invite Jesus to be our guest beyond the Passover table, but at every table of our lives. We set a place for Him first at the table of our heart, then at the table of our family. 

We invite Him to the table of our mental and physical health needs, our job concerns, financial obligations, and at the table of our personal pain, grief and sorrow. 

Jesus sits at the table with us when we have stressful decisions to make or when we receive a difficult phone call. He is seated next to us when we are going through something so intense that the best we can do is to whisper His name, because we are too sick, weak or discouraged to pray. He is sitting at every table of our life, if we open the door and invite Him to enter in.

The feast of unleavened bread, that celebrates freedom from bondage, is fulfilled in the form of living bread, in  the gift of Jesus’ Presence.

He frees us from all bondage and a day is coming when we will be invited to a heavenly Passover Feast, where He prepares a place setting for us at His table. 

Jesus, Lamb of God, we invite you to every table in our life, and thank you for the wondrous mysteries of the Passover Feast and the place you are preparing for us at your table in heaven. Amen

Remaining in Jesus

“As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love.”

John 15:9 (NIV)

These are such simple words, spoken by Jesus. He tells us to remain in His love, as if we have the option to remain in it or to depart from it. We always have the option to walk away from God, since He gave us free will, but it won’t change the fact that God’s love is unconditional, and He never changes. In this verse, Jesus tells us to remain in His love, which puts the burden of action on our part.

In first reading this scripture, it seemed too simple to develop into a meditation. As happens with all scripture, if we read and then pause to pray and listen, the Spirit brings a new insight that we didn’t realize before. 

The Lord said through Jeremiah, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” 

(Jeremiah 33:3)

Maybe the Lord has more to tell us through simple words of scripture, if we call and ask Him to tell us something new. 

The word “remaining” in His love is what stood out to me. God’s word is living and active, so when we ask Him to teach us something new, the Holy Spirit will bring new life to His words as Jeremiah said, by revealing the unsearchable things we didn’t know. Someone once said that God’s phone number is Jeremiah 33:3. 

So, while reading scripture, let’s give Him a call and ask Him to show us things we didn’t know before. 

Monks in monasteries developed a technique, long ago, in reading scripture. When they read, it isn’t treated as texts to be studied, but as the living and active word of God. 

“Lectio Divina” is a method of treating scripture as if it’s alive, pausing to meditate on it, and praying for insight, as the Holy Spirit brings words to life in a new way. It’s really just doing what Jeremiah 33:3 said to do. 

I’ve started practicing this method and some verses took on new meaning to me, since Lectio Divina simply helps us pause and listen to the Holy Spirit.

I wondered what Jesus intended by telling us to remain in His love. A little Greek lesson can also help give new life to a scripture. The Greek word for “remain” is “menos” which means to abide or dwell-as a home base. In other words, remaining in His love, is not a visit, it’s our home base with Jesus. We cannot be at home with Him if we keep thinking He’s some place far away from us. 

Although God never changes, we do, which is why Jesus asks us to remain in Him. Anytime we get caught up in worries and uncertainty, due to some hardship, we tend to live like Jesus is far away, and we momentarily depart from being at home in His love. Remaining in Him is not something we do passively, it’s an action of constantly bringing ourselves back home, to the place of knowing He loves us and is with us. 

I got carried away worrying about something one day, and the Spirit reminded me of the meaning of “remaining” in His love. I realized that worry and uncertainty can cause us to depart from that home base, until we pause and listen to Him. So, I took the action of bringing myself back home, saying, I’m going to trust Jesus in this matter, then once again, I remained in His love. 

Jesus stands before us every day, calling out to us, with outstretched arms, asking, “Will you remain in My love?”

Lord, thank you for your unchanging love for us. Help us to pause and listen to your Spirit, who is always showing us new things, so that we keep taking action to faithfully remain in your love. Amen

The humility of Moses

“Miriam and Aaron began to talk against Moses because of his Cushite wife, for he had married a Cushite. “Has the Lord spoken only through Moses?” they asked. “Hasn’t he also spoken through us?” And the Lord heard this.” Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.” 

Numbers 12:1-3 (NIV)

Although the book of Numbers dates back to 1440-1400 B.C, it is considered the best preserved of the first five books of the Old Testament. Jesus read the book of Numbers, since He once mentioned the bronze serpent story in the 21st chapter of that book.  (John 3:14)

Every good Jewish boy in Jesus’ day, would have been familiar with the stories from the book of Numbers. Under the leadership of Moses, there were healings of poisonous snakebites by gazing at a bronze serpent on a pole, and a story about water gushing out of a rock, when no other water was around. The book of Numbers follows the most important event in Moses’ ministry; receiving the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, which is the pride of Judaism, even to this day.

Pride, however, was not something that Moses was familiar with. That same book of Numbers tells us that Moses was the “most humble man on the face of the earth.” Despite his humility, people tried his patience and he had his share of anxieties, in leading a large group of complainers to the promised land. There were power struggles and some were even trying to replace Moses, but he kept doing what was best for the people, not himself. Studying Moses gives insight into the scriptural perspective of humility.

The book of Numbers tells us that the same Spirit that was upon Moses as a leader, was also given to the 70 elders chosen among the tribes, to assist him, after his laying on of hands. Those elders are described as “men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain.”

The choice of elders sounded good, so Moses laid hands on them and the Spirit came upon them. It sounds like an Old Testament version of Pentecost. 

Joshua, Moses’ closest friend, who stood by him long before the selection of the 70 elders, had an issue with two of those elders. With his own prejudice against those two men, he thought that they shouldn’t receive the Spirit, and he urged Moses to exclude them. Moses told Joshua there is nothing to be jealous of, and that he hoped that all people would receive the Spirit. 

A special trait about Moses’ humility was in wanting the best for all the people. He didn’t pre-judge those who God anointed to help him, and neither was he prone to favor an elite few. He never even regarded himself as someone more special than the rest, but regarded all the people as part of the family of the tribes of God’s chosen people.

Moses’ brother Aaron and his sister, Miriam, eventually rose up against him as well. They questioned their brother’s leadership, insinuating that they could lead the people better, but the real reason that Aaron and Miriam were critical of him, was their prejudice towards his wife.

Moses took a wife from the land of Cush, which is present day Ethiopia. She was not from any of the tribes of Israel, and of a totally different race. The Cushites were dark skinned people, not Semites. So, besides questioning his calling as a leader, in truth, his siblings were critical of him for choosing a Cushite wife. 

The way Moses reacts to all these prejudices and criticisms is key to why he is called the most humble man on the face of the earth. When someone complained against him, he didn’t argue to defend his honor, nor did he ask God to punish his enemies. He kept doing what was right, and then asked God for mercy, interceding for his enemies in prayer. 

Moses’ prayer to the Lord was,

“Pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray, according to the greatness of Your mercy, just as You have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”  (Numbers 14:19)

Most leaders of that period in Moses’ position, would condemn or remove all who were against him. Moses, instead, sought the welfare of the people and prayed for them. His selfless spirit, had no concern for his own popularity, honor or dignity. He had the spirit of a humble shepherd, interceding for his flock.

Moses probably hoped his chosen people would behave like people who were chosen, and lead the rest of the world to faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Moses responded to criticism as Jesus told us to do, if we were in that situation, saying “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:44-45)

Anyone who has ever been in a leadership role, whether in church or in a place of employment, and has been criticized for doing the right thing, can relate to Moses. Those who have been criticized for their choice of a marriage partner, and suffered disapproval by friends or family, can also relate to Moses. 

Despite being misunderstood, Moses’ response is always in line with Jesus’ teachings and New Testament standards. Paul’s advice to every believer, not only leaders, actually sounds like something Moses would have wrote:

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

(Philippians 2:3-4)

Lord, thank you for Moses’ example as a leader, who was ahead of his time. Give us the wisdom and humility to pray and intercede for those we lead, and to also be supportive toward those who lead us. Amen

A father to the outcasts

“As for your birth, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut; you were not washed with water or anointed; you were not rubbed with salt or wrapped in swaddling clothes. No eye looked on you with pity or compassion to do any of these things for you. Rather, on the day you were born you were left out in the field, rejected. Then I passed by and saw you struggling in your blood, and I said to you in your blood, “Live!”( Ezekiel 16:4-6)

Ezekiel uses strong words to describe the pitiful, raw scene of a forsaken newborn infant, lying in its blood, with uncut cord, unwashed and struggling to breathe. These words were written metaphorically at the time, to reveal God’s desire to nurture His people, the Israelites. Jesus, by example, made it clear that His Father desires to nurture every living soul, from all nations, cultures, and ethnic origins. 

This scripture came to my mind one day, while I was driving, as I saw a  goose lying dead on the side of the road. It was obvious that it was hit by a car. The image of a creature that was created to soar graciously through the air, but instead, was lying dead, with mangled wings, was so sad to see. There is something heart breaking when any life form is unable to do what it was created to do.

We are wingless creatures of God’s creation, but we were created to soar in faith, hope and love, during our time here. I wondered if God sees people in the way I saw that poor goose. God wants us to soar in whatever way He created us to soar. 

In Ezekiel’s brutally raw description, scripture often uses physical imagery to describe a spiritual or emotional condition. The wording indicates that God was “passing by” and saw the infant struggling to live. 

God doesn’t cause anyone’s trauma, affliction or abandonment, nor does He inflict tragedies upon people, but He certainly seeks out those who are outcasts, abandoned and suffering, in order to speak new life to them. 

Over and over in Old Testament scripture, God is depicted as a parental figure, and in this case, He shows His compassion for a helpless infant, gasping for breath, struggling and squirming to survive, and says,

“I saw you struggling in your blood, and I said to you in your blood, Live!”

I believe that God is speaking to every human being through this scripture, calling us wherever we are, to rise up and  “Live.” 

Even when people resist His call, and abandon themselves, God is the good Father, who never gives up. 

Ezekiel’s imagery describes a helpless new born, not a rebellious man or woman, doing evil or committing various sins. This passage of scripture reveals that God sees people as helpless children, who He wants to pick up and raise as His own, as one would raise an adopted child.

We may see some people as lost causes, but God sees sons and daughters.  Some were cast out by society, but others have cast themselves out, through ignorance or rebellion, but God’s desire is to pick them up wherever they lie and wash them clean. By grace He forgives, adopts, nurtures and makes them new. It’s a message meant for everyone to hear. 

I was once sharing my faith with an atheist many years ago, and he said that he wanted nothing to do with an ego driven God, who demands to be worshipped. It left me speechless, because I wondered how anyone could have such a perception of God, as egotistic and demanding worship.

The scripture today reveals a God, who sees Himself as a father to all outcasts. He picks up the discarded ones in the world, and nurtures them back to health, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, and His motive is pure parental love, not egotism. 

During my years in the Pentecostal church, I knew several people who once lived as outcasts, but after surrendering themselves to Jesus, were transformed. I remember a man named Jim, who lived the first half of his life as a heroin addict, on the streets of Chicago, until he heard the message of the gospel, and surrendered his life to Jesus. He found the loving arms of His heavenly father, and like the baby in today’s scripture, Jim was picked up by the Lord, washed, and healed through rehab, never touching drugs again. He found who he was meant to be, and soared in faith, hope and love, serving God and ministering to others for the rest of his life. 

God loved us first, asking nothing in return. He finds us, we don’t find Him. He offers us His fatherhood, friendship and a family of believers during this life and for all eternity. 

The same parental instincts are placed within each of us, because we were created in God’s image.

Lord, we love you, because you first loved us. Thank you for washing us in the waters of forgiveness and baptism. Help us to soar in faith, hope and love, showing compassion to those around us who are suffering as outcasts. Amen

Living in confidence

“For whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God.”

1 John 3:20-21 (ESV)

It seems that John is saying that there are times when our hearts falsely condemn us, but God is greater than our hearts. We were meant to live in a confident relationship with God, through Jesus.  He knows our hearts and we know His love for us, so there are no secrets. We can walk in confidence, knowing that He loves us and gave Himself for us.

Life is a series of memories and moments which mold and make us who we are today. Days, weeks, months and years are condensed into key moments, that form our self image and how we develop our faith and trust in God over time.

We remember moments throughout our life spent with family and friends, as well as the sad times of saying our last goodbyes to our loved ones and friends. Not all memories are profound ones, yet some stay with us, and subtly form a part of our faith journey. 

I recall one, when I was very sick with a stomach virus, and too weak to care for my four month old twins. At the time, my husband was on strike and had an obligation to his union, to go to the picket line that day. With no one else available to help, I managed to dress the babies, pack a diaper bag with bottles, and gave it to my husband, sending the babies with him to the picket line. 

A newspaper reporter who was covering the workers’ strike that day,  came by and took a picture of the twins in their stroller, with their father, and the neighborhood newspaper headline read, “Striker does double duty on picket line.” It was an amusing, memorable moment for our family, but I was also grateful that God helped me rest and recover, providing a way for the babies to be cared for that day.

I like to listen to peoples’ stories, and I have learned that everyone has key moments, or turning points that influenced their faith and trust in God. Some moments helped them grow in confidence of their faith, while others left them feeling self condemnation. John’s words reminds us that feeling condemned in our hearts, is not from God, since God is greater than our hearts. Paul also said that there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)

The collection of moments stored in our memories, were meant to lead us to a deeper, more confident journey of faith and friendship with Jesus.

People who had near death experiences, who died for a number of seconds, but brought back to life, all reported similar stories. During those few seconds of death, they all saw their lifeless body where it laid, as their spirit or soul was drawn upward from it. They all experienced going through a tunnel, toward a bright light, and they all saw some sort of a life review, like a brief video reflecting their key moments, both joyful and sad ones. Though they died for only seconds, they felt like they were in that state of being for hours. 

That life review is derived from the key moments of our lives, which all connect to form our journey of faith. We have all had moments when we were moved deeper in our level of faith, and moments when our faith was tested by unexpected sorrows and losses. There were moments when we missed what the Holy Spirit was trying to tell us, and others, when we heard Him and responded, in a way that positively changed someone’s life for good.

If we watched a video of all the key moments of our lives, some would make us laugh and some would make us cry, some would give us a sense of satisfaction and others a sense of shame, but there is a prevailing theme that runs through all the moments of our lives, and that is, the boundless “grace of God.”

As we lean on the everlasting arms, clinging to Jesus, whether our faith waxes or wanes, He stays with us through every storm. When we feel downhearted, He lifts our head up and we keep moving forward. God’s grace and strength is perfected through our weakest moments. When our heart condemns us, we remember John’s words that God is greater than our heart.

In those redemptive moments, our confidence in Christ’ love is secured within us. If we lack confidence in God’s love, it’s a false sense of self condemnation, and we have His word as our truth. We all need to be reminded;

“By grace, we are saved through faith, and not of ourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

The tiniest seed of faith, planted in Jesus, opens up a boundless fountain of mercy and grace which He generously pours out upon us. I know from experience that when we anchor our hope in His love, we receive many fresh starts, and He forgives our failures and mistakes. We do not let our heart condemn us, because God is greater than our heart. The divine love of God offers us an abundance of grace and mercy, which we could never earn, because it is His gift to us.

We were made to live forever, and this present life is the brief time we are given to make key moments out of difficult circumstances. When we live in confidence, we use our time left, to build up one another and we discover the good in others that we at first, missed. We are creating key moments that will last forever, in that final reel, called Our life.

Lord, thank you for your gift of grace, and your love which gives us confidence to make many fresh starts, so that we keep doing better, creating key moments in our lives that will bring honor and glory to you. Amen

Yes you can

In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which perishes though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

1 Peter 1:6-7 (NASB)

From time to time, we need to revisit the single most distressful period in our lives, because according to this scripture, those trials brought out the gold in our faith. There’s a period of testing that purifies our faith, the way gold is purified in a furnace. As we stand the test of faith through fire, we become transformed, and the fiery test turns into a testimony, bringing glory and honor to Jesus. 

In 2018, my late husband, Stephen,  received the diagnosis of ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. It’s an incurable disease which causes progressive weakness and atrophy in all the muscles of the body, while the mind remains perfectly intact. While caring for him at home, the ALS foundation assigned a nurse to check in with me once a week and help oversee his care. Each week, that nurse came to our home, she would order another machine to help in his home care. 

Just when I became trained and familiar with one machine, she would send another one the following week or two. She also sent a person to train me in the use of each machine. One machine was for breathing, one for suctioning, and another to give liquid tube feedings and medication through the stomach. While I was thankful to have help and supplies to care for him at home, rather than in a Nursing Facility, I still felt pretty overwhelmed and inadequate. 

I remember thinking at the time, that it was all too much, and I used to tell God “I don’t think I can do this, Lord,” but He always had the same three word answer, “Yes, you can.” 

Not only did I feel inadequate for the task, I felt like I was failing every test of virtue, often losing patience, faith and trust in God. I couldn’t see how anything good was coming out of the whole situation or what wisdom could be gained during that period. Years later, I came to know without a doubt, that God was there with me all along.

My years of working in health care, were in the field of neuromonitoring as a technologist, not a registered nurse, so my work experience was nothing compared to what was required of me, while taking care of Stephen. With each new challenge, I kept telling God, “Lord I cannot do this, it’s beyond my skills.” The Holy Spirit kept giving me that same answer, “Yes you can.” 

That year was quite an ordeal and I did adjust to all those machines and everything I needed to do. It was still a fiery trial of testing for both Stephen and myself, as the disease rapidly progressed, until he passed away in his sleep in 2019.

Peter wrote about times of extreme distress like this, in his epistle, saying that our faith is being tested as gold is tested, by fire. He told us to rejoice because we are sharing in the suffering of Christ. Jesus knows about all that we are going through, and we also get a tiny taste of what Jesus went through. 

Caregivers are pushed to the limit, sacrificing time and sleep, and yet, oddly, it always felt like the natural thing to do, while caring for a terminally ill loved one. Anyone who has ever been a caregiver can relate to what I am saying. 

Peter also wrote that we shouldn’t be surprised at the fiery trial which comes upon us, as though something strange were happening, but rather encourages us to rejoice that we share in Christ’s sufferings. (1 Peter 4:12-13)

Besides Peter, Paul also wrote mysteriously about suffering, that we can know the power of his resurrection through participation in His sufferings. (Philippians 3:10)

We don’t realize in the moment, that the fiery trial is a way of sharing in Christ’s suffering, or that it is purifying our faith, like gold.

In hindsight, I know now that the Holy Spirit was coaching me all along, producing perseverance and strength in me. He is making all of us stronger and better people than we were before the trial. Our suffering also enables us to empathize with those who suffer in a similar way.

There’s a reason scripture says that God is near to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. In our distress and brokenness, we develop a unique closeness to Jesus. 

I may never fully understand the benefit of suffering, but I know that when I felt the most helpless and hopeless, and kept telling God, I don’t think I can’t do this, the Holy Spirit kept saying, “Yes, you can.” 

Through His resurrection power, I can and I did. We can do all things through Christ.

Lord, help all today who feel helpless or crushed in some way, thinking they cannot do anymore. Fill us with your resurrection power so that we can and will do all things through Christ. Amen

Engraved

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!

See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.”

Isaiah 49:15-16. (NIV)

When Isaiah wrote this, the Israelites were facing imminent captivity by the Assyrian Empire. Their hopes were shattered and morale was at an all time low. 

Isaiah’s inspiring words assure the reader that God’s love is far more enduring than even a mother’s love. 

Isaiah tells us to “see” the engraving in the palms of His hands. He says this after using one of the tenderest of all images, that of a mother nursing her baby. Although rarely, some mothers may forget their child, the Lord will never forget us, and has engraved us in His hands.

Because He loves us with a parental love, God is committed to us, despite our shortcomings and failures. He chooses the imagery of a mother, who nurses the child she bore. We are God’s children, He made us, and no matter what, He loves us and engraved us in the palms of His hands. 

To engrave, pierce or cut into one’s hand is a strange way to express love, but it is a prophetic image, which foreshadows Jesus, 700 years before He came into the world.

An engraving correlates to a covenant. People have wedding bands engraved to symbolize the covenant of their marriage. The ten commandments were engraved in stone tablets, as a covenant between God and His people. 

God went a step further with the new covenant, which also involves an engraving, but not on wedding bands or stone tablets. Jesus came into our world with a human body, to tangibly reveal His Father’s love for us, far beyond words. With His body, He touched, hugged, consoled and looked into the eyes of the most forsaken people in society. His body which comforted others, with His physical touch, was the same body that became engraved by nails piercing His hands and feet. 

The tender words in today’s scripture  convey the message that God’s love is parental, unconditional, enduring, and transcends all of our human limitations and frailties. Love is best expressed by sacrifice, and Jesus loved us enough to permanently engrave us in His hands and feet forever.

Scripture ironically says that Jesus endured the cross, for the joy that was set before Him. (Hebrews 12:2)

It actually gave Him joy, knowing the greater good that would come from the cross, for centuries to come. 

The deep scars in His hands and feet remained on His body after His glorious resurrection. Thomas was offered the chance to touch those pierced engravings. Jesus could have erased His scars, but He chose to wear them forever. They are a permanent memorial and a reminder of the Father’s love for us.

Isaiah’s words reveal the unwavering love of God, who is in relentless pursuit of reconciling and restoring all people. We are forever engraved in Jesus’ hands and feet, as a memorial of the greatest expression of love and mercy, incomparable to any other love relationship in the world.

There are times in every believer’s life, when God seems far away, especially during some of the most trying circumstances. We may feel forgotten by God, and under siege by problems, tests and trials. Things will happen at times in all of our lives, that cause us to look up and ask, “Lord, are you still there ?” 

That’s when Jesus answers us, and says, “Look at my hands and my feet, you are engraved in Me forever.”

Lord, thank you for the memorial scars of your love for us. Remind us whenever we feel forgotten, to see that we are engraved in your hands and feet, because we are the beloved, highly valued children of our heavenly Father. Amen