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You are a spring in the garden, a fountain of pure water, and a refreshing stream from Mount Lebanon. Song of Solomon 4:15 (CEV)
Stagnant water.
Just reading those words conjure up the rancid odor, the slimy film, the repulsiveness of it. It could have been on a walk through the woods on a stifling summer day or while cleaning up some deserted lot full of tires and other ‘water catching’ containers.
Stagnant water breeds disease. Stagnant water squelches life. Stagnant water pushes us away. Stagnant water never satisfies. Stagnant water puts within us a desire to find fresh water.
Sometimes life can be like that stagnant pool we try to avoid. You can’t put your finger on it really, the source that is. You just feel flat. For a writer or speaker it can be those times when you stare at the computer screen or paper for what seems like hours wondering what comes next.
Stagnancy of the spirit. It’s tough. It takes away your creativity. It can make you irritable, impatient, restless. Stagnancy of the heart drives us to look for more in our relationships, more in our job contentment, more in our spiritual walk. At its worst, stagnancy of the heart can drive us to lose the will to live at all.
You rarely see condominiums built next to an ugly bog, or see people gather to take pictures in front of a swamp. On the other hand, people yearn for the freshness of a mountain stream, a shooting fountain or a waterfall plummeting over a cliff. These are signs of life, of beauty, of freshness!
In one of the greatest loves stories of all time, the ‘beloved’ is described as a spring in a garden, a fountain of purity, a refreshing stream from the loftiest mountain. As one scholar wrote, “Though the fountain is lowly, the source is lofty; fed by the perpetual snows of Lebanon, refreshingly cool, fertilizing the gardens of Damascus. It springs upon earth; its source is heaven. It is now not “sealed,” but open “streams”.
It’s easy, during those ‘stagnant times’ of our walk to forget the source of our vitality. The follower of Jesus Christ need never fret those times of occasional stagnancy for we know that the freshness of our souls, the vitality of our hearts, doesn’t rest on our own abilities or on the environment we live in.
May we always be the conduit of freshness from heaven. May our hearts overflow with the fresh water of God’s Holy Spirit. May others see in us a fresh mountain stream with its source in heaven and not a stagnant pond intent on focusing on ourselves.
PRAYER: Father God. I confess that there are times in my life when I allow the cares of life to cause me to be stagnant. Fill me to overflowing with the freshness of your Spirit so that I can feel revived and others can benefit from your love. Amen.
You did not choose me. I chose you and sent you out to produce fruit, the kind of fruit that will last. Then my Father will give you whatever you ask for in my name. John 15:16 (CEV)
The man led us down to the shed where we could hear the excited barking of puppies. I could see the look of anticipation and excitement in my son’s eyes. We’d been looking for a Cocker Spaniel for months and the price on this one seemed right.
As we entered the shed the pups called home, we were met by five excited, jumping little puppies. “Price on all of them is the same,” the kindly old gentleman said.
While I was looking at the five that met us, my son’s attention was drawn to a smaller, quiet puppy in the corner.
“What’s up with the little one in the corner?” My son asked. I could see by the look in his eyes that his heart had made its decision. My son had always had a soft spot in his heart for the down-and-outers of the world.
“Oh him? He’s the runt. Lucky to be alive actually. Came down here one morning and he had managed to climb the fence and fall in the stock tank on the other side. I figured he was a goner, but he seems fine now.”
While I would have chosen any of the other five, you have probably already guessed which one we went home with that day. The pup became my son’s closest friend until it died a few years later of cancer.
There are times in each of our lives when we may feel like the ‘runt’ in our circles. It seems like everyone else we know seems to get the whole Christian life, get the jobs they want, have the families we long for, and the list goes on.
The heart is a cruel liar. It constantly reminds us of our weaknesses. It continually points out the successes of others and compares them to our failures. It reminds us of our faults on a daily basis.
When your heart rears up and points at all the ‘uglies’ of your life, remember this: You were Chosen by the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Creator of the universe. Not only did he choose you as a friend, he made you His Child!
And if that isn’t enough, he did all this knowing you would fail, rebel, stray, stumble and fall. That’s because he didn’t choose you on the basis of anything you could offer. He chose you simply because he loves you.
Just as my son chose that puppy based on compassion, he chose you. Rejoice!
PRAYER: Father God…Daddy. Thank you for choosing me even though I have nothing of real significance to offer you. Help to live as a son of the Most High God. Amen.
For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. John 3:34
I was watching one of those television shows about the rich and famous the other day. I don’t usually do that but I was channel hopping and something caught my eye. It is amazing to me how that side of society lives. That side of life in which you don’t have to count pocket change to see if you have enough money for a cheap cup of gas station coffee. That side of life where you don’t have to decide how you can take your kids to McDonalds and pay the electric bill the same week.
It’s easy to get caught up in the trap of wishing for more. We want more money, more land, more toys, more from our relationships, our church, our children, our government.
M.O.R.E. My Only Reason to Exist!
So much of our world is built around the idea that what we own is what we are; that what we’ve accomplished is our legacy; that the only way to push through life is by our own strength.
If King Solomon were here, he’d tell you different. He had all the wives he wanted, he had the financial resources to acquire anything he wanted and so he did. He bought, he built, he conquered. And when it was all over, he looked at what he possessed and saw that in reality he had nothing of any value.
On the other extreme was Jesus. Jesus and his disciples often used stones as pillows, ate raw grain from fields due to hunger, were ridiculed and looked down upon by society (especially the church) and were homeless! Yet, Jesus spoke of life and fulfillment. Even on the cross he looked out in his pain and said “it is finished.”
Forget, for a moment, all the theological implications of that statement. Focus instead on what Jesus was saying in his heart. “I’m done. The work that I came for is complete. I have accomplished everything I intended to accomplish.”
So what did Jesus accomplish? He didn’t acquire great wealth. While he was very popular among those he touched, the group was relatively small and made up of prostitutes, farmers, the sick, the lame and the destitute. Not extremely impressive, not so that is unless you consider that his lifestyle and his teachings changed the world. Regardless of what liberal theologians, scientists and professors tell you, much of the world is the way it is because of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
So what was it the drove him to greatness? What power was it that kept him going when all seemed hopeless? It was God’s Spirit working in him and through him.
Now, here’s the good news. The same Spirit that empowered Jesus to make a difference in his world is the same Spirit each of us are filled with when we accept Jesus Christ as the Lord and Master of our lives. And we don’t get just a little piece of the ‘Holy Spirit Pie’! John tells us that God’s servants, those that live under the forgiveness of Christ’s sacrifice, are filled to overflowing with that power.
So, still think you are too weak to accomplish much for God? Think you past, or your present are too insignificant to make a difference? Guess again. God’s Spirit is given to each of us with no limits!
PRAYER: Father, forgive me for the times I feel too insignificant to accomplish great things for your Kingdom. Help me to live in the power you have given me for your glory. Amen.
So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. Colossians 2:10 (NLT)
Have you ever had a huge project to do and lamented over getting it done? A home I used to own had a yard built into a hill. I hired an excavator to level part of the yard and then spend hours hauling rocks from farmer’s fields to built a rock wall complete with waterfall and pool. I added a few lights and had my own little backyard paradise. It took many hours and I had many sore muscles from the project. But when it was done the feeling of accomplishment was tremendous.
Paul says we are complete in Jesus; a finished project. Ephesians 2:10 tells us, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”
I like that! I have to admit it’s hard for me to think of myself as a masterpiece. At best I’m a bruised apple. Okay on the outside for awhile, but my true character may come bursting through at any minute.
Do you feel that way too sometimes? Are you constantly reminded of your shortcomings by other people or the voices of your heart?
We’re wrong you know. Our view of ourselves isn’t anything like the view Jesus has of us. I’m a masterpiece, flaws and all…and so are you. I know, I know. I’ve seen the buttons and the T-shirts that say ‘Please be patient with me, God isn’t finished with me.’ I understand the implication. We are growing and as children we stumble and fall, just like when we were toddlers. But the finished product was completed on the cross and that’s really all that matters.
Scripture seems to teach that God IS finished with me. Sure, I have some maturing to do, but I am his masterpiece and I feel pretty good about that. So should you. So, when you sin, when you stumble for the umpteenth time, remember this. God IS finished with you and YOU are his masterpiece. There is nothing you need to add. There is no religious activity you need to complete, no schooling you need to take. Jesus Christ knows you inside and out. He knows your struggles, your fears, and your rebellious actions. He knows the secret you’ve been trying to hide for years. He knows all this, and you know what he says about you?
“Look, there, right there in your mirror. THAT is my masterpiece!”
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I get tired of the struggle. I get fatigued trying to measure up. Help me to remember that it isn’t about my striving. It’s not about what others may think of me. It’s not about me at all. I AM your masterpiece and by the power of your Holy Spirit I resolve to live worthy of your love. Amen.
As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. Genesis 15:12
It’s during those darkest times of our lives that God often reveals himself. It’s when we are too tired from striving that his strength comforts us. It’s during those times when we can’t see his hand that he reveals himself.
Imagine the scene when God revealed himself to Abram. Jehovah God had promised Abram that his descendants would be more numerous than the sand and that his seed would deliver mankind from their captivity.
God’s promise was sealed with sacrifice but not until Abram fell into a deep sleep and a thick and dreadful darkness encompassed him. It was then, at this darkest time in Abram’s life that God restated his promise.
That’s the way God tends to work. We don’t understand it. It doesn’t always seem real loving for a God who is, in essence love, but it’s the way he works and our trust in him is the foundation on which we enter into the darkness and exit in his timing.
Hundreds of years later, on a stormy Sea of Galilee, a small boat was tossed about in the darkness. The crew was trying desperately to get the boat to shore before the waves broke up the ship and sent them all to a watery grave.
In the midst of the terror, someone noticed a lone figure asleep in the bow. “Jesus!” They screamed over the howling wind, “Don’t you care that we are drowning?” It wasn’t a gentle question. It wasn’t whispered in his ear. It was a scream of terror.
How could Jesus sleep through the darkness and fierceness of the storm? It’s easy to do when you trust the one directing the wind. Complete trust in God allows us to rest in the midst of the most dreadful periods of our lives.
If you are like me, you will admit that most of the time, we lay awake at night because of worry. It could be worry based on our own poor choices. It could be worry over the effect others can have on us. It can be worry over things we know we should have done, or not done, long ago.
Abram, like Jesus, teach us something important for life. During the darkest, scariest, most dreadful times of our lives, our hearts can rest when we completely trust a God who loves us and has promised he will never leave us. EVER.
PRAYER: Father, I confess to you that I’m scared. The things I see in my world, my relationships, and my future are dark and dreadful. Through the power of your Spirit I ask that you would help me rest in you because my trust lay wholly in you for my tomorrows, regardless of my past. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 