Indian Giver

When I was in the third grade, a girl in my class gave me a special ring that belonged to her. She said I could have this treasure as a token of our friendship. I was overwhelmed with joy! The ring was beautiful. It had an adjustable gold band with a pink rhinestone. Although the ring was from the local dime store, it might just as well have come from Tiffany's for the value it held to me.

The next day, I wore the ring to school with my favorite outfit (which matched perfectly with my ring). After receiving many compliments, I was shocked, when my friend said she wanted it back. I told her there were no backsies. The conversation soon escalated into an all out war with classmates taking sides on the playground and, if I remember right, a teacher getting involved after some blows were thrown. (I'm pleading the Fifth)

It's no good when someone gives you something special and then asks for it back. It's not fair. It's not right. It's a breach of etiquette!

This week, I was wrestling with a problem. I was stressed, worried and consumed. Because I am such a mature Christian (wink, wink), I decided the wise thing to do was to give the problem to Jesus. He can handle anything. He tells us to lay our burdens at His feet. He wants us to trust Him. He's certainly proven Himself plenty of times. This should be no problem.

So, I tossed it on over to God. I decided He was Chief in Charge of everything and whatever He decided to do about this problem was okay by me. Yep, that's what I did all right. I just handed that worry right over to my wonderful heavenly Father. It was great. I was free from worry! I was walking in the light. Satan had no hold on me. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart" (Prov. 3:5) is my motto.

This lasted all of about a day, give or take. Then I turned into that awful Indian Giver. I took it back! I snatched my worry right back from God. Without saying a word, I took that burden and started worrying all over again. My faith flew right out the window. What happened???

Do you ever struggle with being an Indian Giver? Am I the only one? Why do I insist on holding to my problems like Linus holding onto his blanket? What does God think of this?

Hebrews 11:6 says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him." God takes our faith very seriously. So should we. I realized that my fear to relenquish control gets stronger the farther I get from His Word. Instead of dwelling on the problem, I need to use that energy to dwell on His promises.

Next time you're tempted to be an Indian Giver, think on these:
"Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the PEACE of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ." Phil. 4:6-7

"My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ." Phil 4:19

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." Deut. 31:6

God can be trusted. Let's give Him our worries, our stress, out fears, our cares...and remember, no backsies.

Unrelenting Love

Happy Valentine's Day! Valentine's Day is so much fun. That is, if you have someone to celebrate with. Am I right? All the cards, candy, balloons and flowers on display at stores will either get you excited in anticipation of the big day or serve as a painful reminder of your loneliness (Can you hear the restaurant hostess - "Lisa, party of one!"). I've been on both sides of that holiday and I can tell you which one is more fun!

The truth is, none of us need feel lonely or without love on Valentine's Day. We have a love available to us that reaches far beyond the grandest bouquet of roses. We are pursued with great passion by a Love that knows no bounds. The book of Hosea portrays the greatest love story of all time.

Hosea was a man of God. God told him to marry a harlot named Gomer. Hosea obeyed God and took Gomer to be his wife. Hosea loved Gomer (despite her unfortunate name). He showered her with kindness and dignity. Gomer had never known such tenderness. Happy ending, right? Not yet. Sadly, old sinful habits die hard. She left her amazing husband and went back to her adulterous ways. Men used her and abused her until she was utterly broken then sold into slavery. All hope was lost, until...

God told Hosea to go and buy her back! What?! This makes no sense. Hosea was too good for her to begin with. Hosea gave her everything and Gomer just threw it in his face. She was getting what she deserved. Why would Hosea want her back after the way she treated him much less pay for her to be free? What kind of love would do this? Incredible!

Listen, this is our love story. Yours and mine. God is Hosea and we are Gomer. We, who are unworthy and filthy with sin, are greatly pursued by a righteous Love. We, who have turned our backs on Christ time and time again, are sought after and bought with a price.

"Then the Lord said to me, 'Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods.'" Hosea 3:1. This is the most beautiful love story. This beats any card, flower arrangement or...dare I say it...jewelry!

Yes, this is the love of a lifetime. We are not alone. Despite the intense pain we inflict on God by turning our affections elsewhere, God still loves us. This is not human love. This divine love. He will follow you to the depths of your sin to reclaim you. So, this Valentine's Day, whether you are "party of two" or "party of one", just know that you are prized!

I've got to get off this computer now. I'm going to spend time with my Heavenly Valentine!

The Un-Snow Day

Living in Houston means there are two things you can always count on, unreasonably long summers and constant humidity. For some of us who have lived in Houston long enough, we have developed thin skin which means, while we get sick of the heat lasting through October, we also dread temperatures below about 60 degrees. That is, unless there is snow involved.

This week there was much hype about the possibility of snow. As the weathermen upped the chance of snow each day, my children's hopes and dreams of white fluff inflated like a large balloon. Soon, the surety of snowfall was all anyone could talk about. The excitement was building as we all anticipated the arrival of a winter wonderland. Dads covered pipes and plants. Moms cleaned out the grocery stores and turned on crock pots. School districts cancelled classes. Then we waited. And waited. And waited.

If your house was like mine, you had children waking at all hours of the night (maybe I woke up a time or two also) to peek out the window as if it were Christmas Eve. But then, when morning came there was no snow. That inflated balloon of white winter hope popped right in our faces. We turned on the TV for some type of reassurance from the weathermen. Maybe the snow was just running late. Come on, weatherman, what happened to your forecast? You promised us snow!

The snow never came. The covered pipes and plants were safe, the food in the crock pot was still delicious and we did get out of school, but we would have traded all of that for the fulfillment of the promised snowfall. Our heads hung low, we tried to rally but let's be honest, our hearts were broken just like the weatherman's promise.

While it was easy for me to blame the weatherman, in reality there's only so much a weatherman can do. Weathermen read radars not crystal balls. They can only give their best guess at a forecast. Weather changes constantly. You can't really know for sure what the weather will be until it happens.

Fortunately, not everything works like that. There are precious few things that are certain. My favorite bankable promise is the assurance of Christ's return. Jesus warns us to 'stay awake' spiritually in anticipation of His coming. Unfortunately, we live in a very busy culture with lots of distractions. It's easy to forget all about eternity. I barely have time to think about what I should fix for dinner tonight, much less consider the life hereafter.

But consider these words of Jesus in Matthew 24, “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other."

It's amazing how often I miss this 'forecast' in my daily life. I plan and prepare like crazy for the slightest chance of snow. I want to be sure my family is ready. The snow may or may not come but Jesus is a sure thing. He IS coming back. Am I preparing my family? Am I living in anticipation of His return? I want us to be found ready.

Our un-snow day turned out fine. We were prepared for the winter blast of 2011. Maybe it will snow next year, maybe not. Maybe Jesus will come back and we won't have to worry about it. Weathermen report on shifting changes in the atmosphere. Jesus reported on the firm plans of His Father. Are you ready?