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Today We Weep

Published April 7, 2012 | By Jan Renée

By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept…
Psalm 147:1 New International Version

Yesterday was Good Friday. I think that must make today Sorrowful Saturday. There will be joy, there will be rejoicing, but that won’t come until dawn has broken and brought us the Sunday of Resurrection.

Today, we sit at the riverside and weep as we remember. We remember the suffering, the agony. We reflect on the pain that Jesus went through in our place. We think of those events.

One day He rides into town and is hailed and hosanna-ed. Not too long after that He is hissed and booed. Shunned by the people He came to cheer. Arrested and questioned. Beaten beyond recognition. Friends, gone.

His followers had fled. Disappeared into the night. Now they hid in the crowd afraid to be discovered. Were they now silently praying the prayers He’d asked them to pray when they’d fallen asleep instead? Were they now beginning to understand what He’d tried to prepare them for? But how could they have understood this? This betrayal by one of their own. This public humiliation. This torture, this pain. When He’d told them of the seed that must die to bring life, how could they have imagined this?

Whipped, bruised, nailed, scorned, mocked. Alone. Alone and yet He reaches out to a dying thief and brings one more into the Kingdom. Alone and yet He looks down at a mourning mother and makes sure she will be cared for. Alone He cries to the Father who has turned away. Perhaps because even He can no longer bear to watch. Alone, Jesus dies. We weep when we remember.

Saturday’s sun brings no joy. Shines no light on the growing confusion. He is gone and sunshine feels like sacrilege. The hope that He brought, that He taught, was buried with Him. On this Saturday, the light has been swallowed by darkness and we sit on the banks of the river and weep.

Ah, but tomorrow! Tomorrow the Son shines. Tomorrow we will learn that in our darkness, He was fighting on our behalf. As we wept, He was securing the victory. Tomorrow He delivers that victory to us. Tomorrow we sing. Tomorrow we dance with Him. Tomorrow, we hold Him tight and promise to never let Him go. Tomorrow we rejoice because tomorrow He is risen.

Tomorrow, we will rejoice. Today, we will sit on the banks of the river and weep as we remember.

 

© Jan Renée 2011

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Alright

Published March 13, 2012 | By Jan Renée

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

~Hebrews 11:1 KJV

 

It is alright.

Somedays you just have to say it, “It is alright.”

We, (or maybe it is just me), would much rather wait until everything is good, everything is perfect, everything is fine before making that declaration.

If someone asks, we reply “It will be alright” and we think we are speaking in faith.

But if faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen the real faith speak is speaking in the future tense, but bringing it into the now. Faith is not in saying “It will be alright”, faith says, “it IS alright”.

I know it may look dark; it may in fact be chaotic and stormy, but if I can take my eyes off of the circumstances and look at my Jesus, then I can know that it IS alright.

My Jesus who could sleep in a rocking boat in the middle of a storm, wake up and say “Peace. Be still.”

My Jesus who looked at a Happy Meal and saw food for thousands.

My Jesus who told lame to walk, blind to see, deaf to hear.

My Jesus who walked into a stinky tomb and told dead Lazarus to get up.

When I look to my Jesus I find a light that far outshines any dark place I may encounter.

When I look to my Jesus I find The Truth that overrides the enemy’s lies.

When I look to my Jesus I can stand firm in the center of the storm in the middle of the rocky boat and with confidence I can say, “It is alright.”

It may still be dark. It may still be windy and rainy. But I am with my Jesus and I AM alright.

Lord, today, I lift my eyes to you. You are my help. You are my strong tower. You are my victor and my victory. I praise your name because you are worthy of my praise. In the light places, in the dark places, in rain or in sunshine, I will lift my eyes to you in worship and know that I am alright. Amen.

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Some Believe & Some Do Not

Published February 22, 2012 | By Jan Renée

February 21, 2012 – Today’s Life Journal Reading Numbers 8, 9 & Acts 28

Acts 28:24 - And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not.

Paul is arguably one of the best apologists, debaters, presenters of the gospel of all time.  Acts 28 finds him under house arrest, waiting the final trial, ultimately waiting for the sentence of death.  While he waits he is visited by religious leaders, protégés and the occasional “seeker”.  They come and ask him questions.  They come to sharpen their debate skills.  Occasionally they come to provide comfort or companionship.  They come, they question, they listen.  At the end of the day, some believe and some don’t.  Paul with all his knowledge, with all his eloquence still runs into people who flat out refuse to believe.

How often do we as Christians run into people who will not believe?  How do we react? Are we excited, threatened, offended?  Do we lash out or reach out?

If there were people that Paul face to face could not convince of the truth of the gospel, there will be people that I cannot convince.  I can’t afford to take it personally if someone chooses not to believe.  It is not my failure.  It is my job to present the truth, to live the truth, to be the truth to those around me and to pray that God will use that to His Glory to reach the some who will believe.

Today, Lord, give me wisdom, give me patience.  Let me speak with grace and love.  Whether I am planting the seed or reaping the harvest, let my words honor you. Amen.

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The Seventh Animal

Published January 3, 2012 | By Jan Renée

January 3, 2012 – Today’s Life Journal Reading: Genesis 6-8; Luke 3

And Noah built an altar to the Lord and took of every clean [four-footed] animal and of every clean fowl or bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. ~ Genesis 8:20 Amplified

It’s a familiar story.  Noah builds an ark. He spends 100 years toiling in faith and obedience.  Finally, the last nail is pounded, the last bit of pitch is patched and it’s time to fill the ark.  God tells Noah to gather 2 of every unclean animal: one male, one female.  Then God commands that he bring 7 of each clean animal.  Not 2, 4, or 6, but seven.   Noah does it. 2 of these, 7 of these until the ark is full.  Finally, God closes the door and the rain begins.

Noah counts the days.  40 days, 40 nights rain.   Then begins the waiting.  Waiting for the rain to stop. Waiting for the waters to part. Waiting for the land to dry.  Months and months of waiting.  Eventually the day arrives. The dove has not returned, it has found a place to land and to stay. God speaks It is time to leave the ark.

Noah builds an altar.  Noah then proceeds to undertake what must have been the biggest, longest offering ever recorded. Noah sacrifices not one animal or two animals, but at least one animal from every clean species.  How many days, weeks must that have taken?  Talk about dedication.  This wasn’t just killing a sheep or a bull.  This was sheep, bulls, lions, tigers, elephants, doves, robins, sparrows geese, ducks, and so on and so on. At least, one of everything.

Could this have been the purpose of the seventh animal? Was the seventh animal ordained to be the perfect sacrifice that reconciles a new world to God.  The one that marks the cleansing of the old and the freshness of the new. The perfect sacrifice. According to Genesis 8:21, it was a sacrifice that touched God’s heart to the point that He makes an eternal vow.  Never again.

“…I will never again curse the ground because of man … Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done.”

One man acts in obedience, waits in patience, then offers everything. In doing so, he  touches the heart of God and releases a covenant promise that changes the fate of the world.

We, as Christians live in a world that desperately needs changing.  A world that needs a promise from God.  But before we can touch the world, we have to touch the heart of God.  We have to give Him our everything.   Can we really afford to give Him less?

Lord, forgive my willful disobedience. Help me to walk in total obedience to Your call. As I willingly, cheerfully give You my all, let it touch Your Heart and change my world. Amen.

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A Tale of Two Offerings

Published January 2, 2012 | By Jan Renée

January 2, 2012 – Today’s Life Journal Reading: Genesis 3-5, Luke 2

“… The LORD was pleased with Abel and his offering…” Genesis 4:4 Contemporary English Version

Genesis 4 tells the tale of two offerings. Cain who has labored in his gardens, his fields brings an offering from his crops. Abel, a shepherd, brings an offering of a first born lamb. Abel and his offering please God. Cain… not so much. God displays His pleasure in a way that is visible. Abel can tell God is pleased and so can Cain. Cain sees the favor on Abel and becomes upset to the point that he gets angry. He throws a tantrum and sulks. Enter Abba Father.

In Genesis 4:6-7 God speaks to Cain a father’s word of correction. The Amplified Bible puts it this way:

And the Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry? And why do you look sad and depressed and dejected? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin crouches at your door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.

What was really wrong with Cain’s offering? Perhaps, it is more than just the difference between grain and sheep. Could it be that at least part of what made Cain’s offering unacceptable was not what was offered but how it was offered? God says “If you do well, will you not be accepted.” He doesn’t say “If you offer me sheep, you will be accepted.”

Now, I could be wrong, but, I think that even if Cain had offered a sheep, as long as his attitude was wrong, it still would have been a wrong offering. Just doing the offering was not enough. Abel gave a first-born sheep. He didn’t pick just any sheep. He took time and effort to get it right. What would have happened if Cain had offered not just from his crop, but from the first fruits of his crop?

Perhaps Cain’s emotional outburst points not to a poor choice of offering material, but instead to a poor heart attitude. In essence, God tells Cain, “Okay this time you didn’t do so well. What you do next is important. Sin is right there waiting to pounce. Don’t let it master you. Master it.”

God’s words are not just correction, but are a pep talk. Unfortunately, Cain is not hearing it. He doesn’t get that it’s not a competition. In his insecurity and jealousy, he doesn’t respond to God, but he has words with Abel. He fails to master the crouching sin and instead he lets his anger run wild. He ignores God’s reproof and the results are disastrous.

Today I have to wonder. How do I view the worship of those around me? How do I respond to the favor of God on others? When I choose to be jealous of someone else’s offering; when I choose to give in to insecurity, the temptation is to sit back and do nothing. Be a spectator. Be a critic. Be unusable. If I want God to be pleased, I must focus not on the size or the talent of the other fish in my pond, but on the quality of my offering and the attitude of my heart. Am I bringing my best? Am I giving my all? Am I focused not on my fellow offer-ers but on the recipient of the offerings?

I will mess up. I will get it wrong. When I do, I must choose to remember that God is not grading on a scale. He is not measuring me against anyone around me. He is concerned with my heart and with my response. When I pick myself up and determine to bring a offering pleasing to God, I will find His favor.

Lord, let my heart be right in your sight. Help me to quiet the voices of insecurity, inadequacy, and jealousy. When I fall, help me to get back up stronger and more determined to worship you fully in spirit and in truth. Amen.

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