The One He Loves

 “So the sisters sent word to Jesus, ‘Lord, the one you love is sick.’” 

John 11:3 (NIV)

       When my oldest grandson Noah was a little guy, I always told him his name was really “best boy in the whole world.” He would call me on the phone and when I heard that sweet voice say “Hi Grandma,” I would immediately put on my gruffest sounding voice and say “Who is this?!” and he would giggle “It’s your best boy in the whole world!” and I would respond with “Oh, this must be Noah!”

    To this day, many years later, when he calls and I question who it is on the phone, he responds with the same answer - “best boy in the whole world” – because he knows my special name for him.

    In the Scripture found in John 11, Lazarus has become ill and his sisters Martha and Mary immediately send word to Jesus. Their message is not “Lazarus is sick” or “our brother is sick” but rather “the one you love” is sick. Jesus constantly had many different people around him and yet He knew exactly who “the one you love” was.

    In the same way, Jesus knows each of us personally. When I call His name, He is quick to acknowledge me as His child and to listen to my requests. Just knowing I have that kind of close personal relationship with Him makes me stand up straighter and smile bigger. Because He knows me by name, He will also be faithful in hearing and answering when I call.

    What are you going through right now? A marriage in crisis or a spouse that has passed away? A child who has turned his back on those who love him? A serious illness? Do you feel completely alone and wonder if the Lord even knows who you are?

    Let me be the first to assure you that yes, God not only knows what you are going through but He knows you personally. There is no doubt that when you call His name, He immediately says “I am here, my child, the one I love.” Call on Jesus with complete confidence in knowing He hears, He answers and He knows you by name. 

    Father, thank you with all my heart for loving me as your child, for knowing my name among millions, and for listening and answering when I call. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

 

R.A.P. it up . . . 

Reflect

• Have you ever felt that when you pray, God does not really hear you or even know who you are among the billions in the world?

• Why do you think you have felt that way?

 Apply

• Journal Exodus 33:17 from the power verses today. Put your name in place of “Moses” and rewrite the Scripture

• Thank the Lord for knowing you by name.

Power 

• John 11:3 (NIV) “So the sisters sent word to Jesus, ‘Lord, the one you love is sick.’”

• Isaiah 43:1 (NIV) “But now, this is what the Lord says – he who created you O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”

• Exodus 33:17 (NIV) “And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”

 

God Had A Different Plan

 “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

Proverbs 19:21 (NIV)

     My afternoon was perfectly planned. My list was written down and as each errand was completed, I scratched it off with a giant check mark. Nothing could stop me as I raced through what I needed to get done for the day – and my list – to be completed. One more stop and then I could hurry home, to make more lists and repeat the same routine the next day. Oh, but God had a different plan.

    I grabbed my one item at the grocery store – my last stop – and impatiently looked over the checkout lines until I saw the shortest one and made my way toward Aisle 2 as quickly as I could. That’s when I saw him. 

    He was a former student of mine who was always respectful and polite but also one that I knew struggled on the edge between good and not-so-good choices. He had been on my mind several times but I had not seen him for months. I instantly felt the Lord nudge me.

    Suddenly my plan to finish my list and rush to get home no longer mattered. I gave him a smile and a hug when he looked my way and asked how he was doing. He muttered a noncommittal answer but waited until I got checked out to walk outside with me. 

    As we walked, he told me the latest in his life. My heart wanted to cry as he shared the trouble he had gotten into and what he was doing now. After a few minutes we said our goodbyes but not before I told him that I loved him and was praying for him. He shrugged at the prayer comment but smiled and said “Love you, too.”

    How wise are the words in Proverbs 19:21. We plan every single minute of our lives, from the second we get up until we go to bed and even then we lay there, planning our list for the next day.  It’s as if we are afraid to stop, take a deep breath, and simply allow the Lord to direct our tomorrow.

    I could have waved, said “hi” and hurried on so my plan would not have been altered. But I believe that God is sovereign over our lives and that His plan that day was designed to include a meeting with my student on Aisle 2.

    My heart cries when I think of all the opportunities the Lord has placed in my path and my “not your plan but mine” attitude that has kept me from simply encouraging one of His children. 

    My encouragement for us all is that we never get so busy being busy with our plans that we ignore God’s plan for us to show His love to those who are hurting and searching. Even on Aisle 2 in a grocery store. 

    Father, may your plan be my plan every day. I do not want to miss your direction and will for my life. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

R.A.P. it up . . . 

Reflect

• Have you seen someone and felt that you needed to talk to them but didn’t take the time to do that?

•  If you didn’t talk with them, why not? Did you have a plan of your own that you thought you needed to complete?

Apply

• Make a list of everything that you feel you need to accomplish for one day.

•  Beside each of those items, write down the worst thing that can happen if you choose to share Jesus instead of completing those things on your list.

Power

• Proverbs 19:21 (NIV) “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

• I Timothy 2:1 (NIV) “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone . . .”

•  Proverbs 16:33 (NIV) “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.”

Putting gods Before God

                                “You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3 (NIV)

   A glance at the clock, as I sat down and opened my Bible for much-needed moments with the Lord, showed almost 8 am – more than enough time to dig in His Word before I met a friend for lunch. I looked at the curtains pulled across my glass doors to the deck. “I’ll pull them open,” I thought. “Much nicer to see God’s creation during prayer time.”

   And the view was better . . . except for the hand prints on the glass. Several sprays of Windex and swipes with paper towels cleaned up my view even more. As I turned to go back to my quiet time, I noticed a cob web. “Good grief! What if someone came to visit and saw that thing hanging down!” my mind winced. It didn’t take long to remove the offending web but it had friends in the corners of my living room so as long as I was getting rid of one, I decided to clean the rest of the room.

  I sat down and picked up my Bible and realized I didn’t have a pen or paper to take notes. As I scooped up a pad of paper on my computer desk, it occurred to me that I hadn’t wished my friends “happy birthday” on Facebook so I took just a few minutes to get that done.

   I found a pen in a drawer by the kitchen sink but I also noticed all the dirty dishes so I rinsed them and put them in the dishwasher. As I sat back down in my chair, I again glanced at the clock and was shocked to see that over two hours had passed since I first opened my Bible for prayer time!

   What was more important than a face to face, intimate conversation with God my Father? Clean glass doors and no cobwebs and a loaded dishwasher. I put household chores before the Creator of the Universe. God was not my first priority of the day. To be honest, He wasn’t my first priority at all.

   As I sat in silence, one of the Ten Commandments spoke to my heart. “You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3. Surely household chores or getting on Facebook aren’t gods? They are simply things that need to be done . . .right? Sure . . . unless. Unless I allow them to take first place in my life.

   Now, just to be clear, I know we all have those days when a daughter is throwing up, a son can’t find his shoe and the bus is coming, and the washer is broken  – all BEFORE 8 am. And our only prayer is “Get me through the next five minutes, Lord!” Believe me, I get it.

   But if we are continually putting daily activities before the Lord, they have indeed become idols – in other words, gods – because they have taken His place of importance in our lives. My encouragement for all of us today - and every day - is to do a daily heart check. Are there any “gods” in your life moving up your priority list each day as your time with the Lord moves down?

   If so, decide today – this minute – to re-evaluate what holds first place in your life. If it’s your time with the Creator, fantastic! If it isn’t, see what you can change to make sure you are never putting gods before God.

   Lord,  I want you to have first place in my life. Please show me those things I need to rearrange so I can spend time with you daily. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 R.A.P. it up

Reflect

• Look over your last few weeks of being in the Word and having prayer time with the Lord. 

• How many times have you put activities before Him?

Apply

• Before bed, make a “to do” list for the next day. 

• Rearrange activities to make time with the Lord a priority.

Power 

• Exodus 20:3 (NIV) “You shall have no other gods before me.”

• Proverbs 3:6 (NIV) “In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

• Matthew 26:40 (NIV) “Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. ‘Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?’ he asked Peter.”

For Future Generations

  “O my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth….We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord; his power and the wonders he has done…so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.”

Psalm 78:1, 4, 6 (NIV)

   John Atkinson, my granddad, passed away on September 7, 1979. I remember exactly where I was standing when I got the phone call and the instant sadness that filled my heart. He was a man of integrity and honor, laughter and love, and a huge part of my life.

  I remember hugging him and loving the scent of mothballs and Old Spice as he wrapped his arms around me and my siblings and asked “Well, fellers, how are you doing?” His home always had a glass candy bowl in the living room full of white mints with a soft green jelly in the center.

   Grandmother would only let us have one mint but Granddad always sneaked more to us when she wasn’t looking. He became my hero and I became his biggest fan for life when he defended my refusal to try Grandmother's oyster soup. I gagged at the thought of eating it and he gagged at me gagging. 

  But one of the things I remember most was his love of the Bible. One particular conversation has stayed with me all these years. We were talking about reading the Scriptures and I mentioned that it was hard for me to get interested in them. “Too many thee’s and thou’s,” I told him. “Is reading the Bible really that important?”

   He reached over and picked up his well-worn leather Bible on the table by his chair. “I’ve read it completely through three times so far,” he quietly commented “and I find something new and fresh every time. Our hope for tomorrow is in this book, Nancy. Never forget that.”

   “Never forget that.” I didn’t . . . all because my granddad took the time to share story after story from the Word and then explain how it related to me. Jonah and the whale taught me about obedience. David and Goliath gave me courage. An empty tomb gave a little girl a big hope in her Savior.

  What happens when we do not share God’s Word with our children and grandchildren? We are told in Judges 2:19 that after Joshua and his generation had died, another generation grew up who did not know the Lord or what He had done for Israel.

   Could it be that Joshua’s generation, though they loved the Lord, neglected to share their faith with their children so that it could be shared with children and grandchildren in future generations? The result of their not being taught about the Lord and how He had blessed the nation of Israel resulted in their turning to idol worship and ultimately to discipline from God.

  My granddad’s example impressed upon me the importance of continually turning to the Word of God and teaching my children – and now grandchildren – about His love and compassion, mercy and forgiveness so they will never forget.

    My question is this: What will you leave for future generations?

   Father, nothing is more important than sharing the Word with my children and grandchildren. Please help me to recognize teachable moments to tell them about you. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

 

R.A.P. it up . . .

Reflect

• What do most of your conversations with your children or grandchildren center around?

• How often do you talk to your children or grandchildren about Jesus?

Apply

• Have mini-sessions with your children and grandchildren to share stories from the Bible about God’s power and love for them.

• Emphasize the importance of God’s Word by having a “proud board” in your home to hang pictures your children and grandchildren have drawn from Bible stories.

Power

• Psalm 78:1, 4, 6 (NIV) “O my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth….We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord; his power and the wonders he has done…so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children.”

• Psalm 102:18 (NIV) “Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the Lord.”

• Romans 15:4 (NIV) “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

Obvious Living

 “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

 Colossians 3:17 (NIV)

    My family loves a crazy, wild, out-of-control card game called “Obvious.” A team of two partners competes against another two-man team. The object of the game is to draw four of the same cards and signal your partner without being . . . wait for it . . . obvious! If your partner gets the signal, he or she yells “Kent!” and you win the game.

    The key to winning is to work out a signal with your partner before the game starts – a signal that only the two of you know. At the same time, you have to be watching the opposition because they, too, have worked out a sign between them.

    If you think you see a signal between the members of the opposition, you yell “Obvious!” and they have to prove – or disprove – your claim. If you caught them with four kings, for example, you win. If not, you lose the game. It all depends on how careful you are when it comes to being obvious.

    I wonder what it would look like if I was an obvious follower of Jesus. If people could look at me and, at a glance, know Who I worship. Now, let me pause immediately and state that being obvious about my faith does NOT mean that I walk into a restaurant, for example, climb on the nearest table and announce “I am a Christian. Watch me and you will see how to live!” My goodness, I would run from someone like that – fast!

    What I am wondering is this: can people tell by how I live each day what I believe or do they frown as they try to figure out the “signals” I am giving off? Am I “obvious” in the checkout line at the grocery store with a new cashier; at the airport with a flight delay or driving in slow, heavy traffic? Do my conversations reflect kindness, compassion, and mercy or are they condemning and cruel? It should be obvious, wherever I am, whatever I am doing, that I belong heart and soul to Jesus. 

    As I remember Who I serve – a Father who is faithful, loving, forgiving, and merciful – my signals should be clear to every person around me. What a concept: that we meet every single day head-on with obvious living for Christ.

    Father, my desire is that my faith and trust in you is so obvious that no one ever doubts Who I serve. Keep me focused on you every day of my life. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

 

R.A.P. it up . . . 

Reflect

• Have you ever been guilty of not living your faith around certain people or groups?

• Why or why not?

Apply

• Journal Colossians 3:17 and beside it write down everywhere you will be each day for the next week.

• Carry that list with you on those days and as you leave each place, check whether or not you were obvious in your faith. 

Power 

• Colossians 3: 17 (NIV) “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

• Matthew 5:16 (NIV) “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

• Colossians 4:6 (NIV) “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”