IT'S NOT TOO LATE

I cringed and wondered if he was too late.The older gentleman squeezed sideways between two automatic doors that were almost closed. They didn't crush him, but immediately the doors sensed he was there and opened. He walked through into the store and I followed behind him.

The verse that says our "calling makes room for us" had been in my mouth earlier that day. This gentleman illustrated that verse in front of my eyes.

Our "calling MAKING room for us" didn't mean walking unopposed into what God had created us to do. This man saw a small opening, a small opportunity almost closed and jumped into it. The doors that were almost closed detected his presence and opened.

When we were created God put a calling, a gifting into us. So whether your gift is to serve, to teach, exhort, give, lead, or show mercy, it's time to squeeze sideways into that doorway and see your destiny open and others will follow. (Romans 12:7-8. )

"For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevoccable." Romans 11:29

Roast Husband

 This made me laugh. It was a woman’s retreat. Four women were sitting at a table eating roast husband while an older lady and I sat there hearing their comments. We ate and did some polite chit chat, but she seemed in a hurry.

“He forgets our anniversary,” the first gal said.

“Well, mine gives me gifts, but all I want is more time with him.”

“My husband thinks washing dishes is women’s work. I would love to have him help me. But he sits in his chair while I cook, clean, and care for our kids.”

“Mine helps around the house, but he never talks. If he would just ask me how my day went, or tell me I did a good job.”

The older lady sat there with a twinkle in her eyes. When they finished she stood up to leave and spoke up.

“Well ladies, the way I see it, you can either switch husbands, or learn how to receive and give love to the one God gave you.” Later they walked into the auditorium together and realized she was the speaker for a retreat called: Learning to be Content.

But Godliness with contentment is great gain. 1Timothy 6:6

Grandma's One Room School

            “I learned the three R’s in a one-room school. Reading, Riting, and Rithmetic taught to the tune of a hickory stick.” The lady I called Grandma often repeated stories from her childhood. Her tales about  a one-room school with twelve grades were my favorite.

I could visualize the bully who pushed her off the swings, and the older sister who pushed him off and washed her skinned knees. I saw the older student who helped her learn to read, and how she fought to get honor grades.

            As I got older I compared her one-room school to life. In the school of life we learn the three G’s. As predictable as the sun rises and the sun sets the three G’s come. Grief. Grace. Glory.

Grief leads the team and often comes without warning. Relationships are broken. Hurt, guilt and anger knock on our door. Someone gets pushed off the swing and we pick them up, and clean their wounds. Sometimes we get pushed off and only Jesus picks us up. As long as we live on one planet filled with good and bad children we will have conflict and grief.

Grace comes next. God’s grace is what we need to recover from grief, and what we need to release and forgive those who cause the pain. We are admonished in Hebrews twelve to “receive the grace of God, and to watch that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you and others.” Grief can grow a weed called bitterness. This weed will spread through the whole field if we don’t apply the weed killer called grace. We are told to come boldly to His throne to receive grace.

Glory waits patiently to be revealed last. God’s order is grief, grace and then glory. We are changed into his image from glory to glory. Now! Not when you get to heaven. “Our present sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed in us, ” Roman 8:18.

Grief, grace and glory run in cycles throughout our life. Grandma fought hard to receive an honor grade in her one-room school.  We fight hard to receive glory in our schoolroom called life.

Voice Activated

            Have you told your alarm clock to shut up in the morning and it didn’t obey? Or stumbled in the dark to turn on the lights? Your dilemma is over. Alarm clocks and light switches are now available that obey your voice.

            Sound modernistic? Amazing? Not really. God spoke in the beginning, “Let there be light: and there was light.” The only amazing thing is that God gave us voice-activating abilities, too.

Romans chapter 10:10 says that we start our relationship with the Lord by our voice. “For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”

The faith walk is a voice activated walk because whatever we believe in our heart determines what we say. We learn to look at dry bones and ask, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know if these bones can live.” (Ezekiel 37)  If he says that the bones will live we stop looking at the bones and start speaking to them. “Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!” Words from the Lord are given so we can activate dry, dead things.

The future we activate by our voice can bring life or death (Proverbs 18:21).  The Sunday school song says:

Be careful little mouth what you say.

There’s a Father up above and He’s looking down in love.

So be careful little mouth what you say.

The ten spies and doubters in Numbers 14 learned the hard way that God listened to their voice.  “…as you have spoken in my ears, so will I do to you. Your carcasses shall fall in the wilderness.”

I love the voice activation described in Mark 11:23 the best. It tells us we can tell mountains, ”Go jump in the lake.” Got any mountains that are in front of you? Sickness? Relationships? Finances? Stop staring at your mountain and describing how big it is. Join me as we say together, “GO JUMP IN THE LAKE.”

Tickets Please

           They were confused and upset. An usher came down the stairs to the row of people sitting in front of me. He asked to see their tickets. He looked at the tickets, and told them the tickets were for the last performance.

They asked, “Can we stay? There's no one here.” He nodded toward the top of the stairs where others waited. They had to leave to make room for those who came for the present performance.

I began to apply this story to my thought life as I faced a new year. The fame and  shame of the last year came back to occupy my mind. I remembered the good old days and glorify them. But I  also glorify the ”bad old days” by dwelling on them. Both occupied space. 

I decided I was the usher for my mind. It was time to firmly unseat past thoughts and make room for the New Year. These thoughts were sitting in the space reserved for today’s performance. They had to go. Tickets please.

            Question:  Is this year going to be about my now, or wasted on my yesterday? 

Scripture: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?”  Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)