Pieces

My lack of presence here at me blog (no that is not a typo, I'm just feeling very Irish this morning) is the result of a life that has just been crazy, nuts lately.

This morning there is a verse giving me comfort that may give you comfort too, especially if you're life feels as nuts as mine does right now. Actually it's not really a feeling of being nuts as much as being in pieces. Lately it just seems easier to be discouraged than hopeful, tired than energized, worried than certain.

If you can relate at all then maybe God will comfort you too with His words.

Luke 20:18
"everyone who falls on that stone [Jesus] will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."

There it is, "PIECES", the work of God is to break us to pieces. Can't you feel the comfort flowing now (yes, sarcasm is my native language).

Why in the world would God break us!! I mean I guess we can be thankful, on one level I could say, "well, hey, I guess being broken is better than being crushed!!" but the question still remains, WHY THE HECK ARE YOU BREAKING ME JESUS!!!!!!!

I can't answer that any better than the apostle Paul already has...

2 Corinthians 4:8-18

^"8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. ¹⁰ We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. ¹¹ For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body. ¹² So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

¹³ It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak, ¹⁴ because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. ¹⁵ All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

¹⁶ Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ¹⁷ For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ¹⁸ So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

Something crushed is just gone, destroyed, done, that's' all folks!

But something broken can be repaired or even BETTER, it can be completely rebuilt into something new! Paul reminds us like Jesus that the work of God is not to crush us, and though breaking is painful -- IT HAS PURPOSE, eternal purpose that gives life to us and glory to our beautiful savior. But this also means that the work of breaking is not punishment it's the work of sanctification!

How horrible of a life this would be if God just left us alone and refused to sanctify what He has redeemed.

How great it is that Jesus loves us enough to break us an rebuild us. May we trust His work & be patience with His process in our lives.

He Taught Me To Love Jesus

Judges 2:10

"After that whole generation had been gathered to their ancestors, another generation grew up who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel"

For several weeks now my dad has been in the ICU at a downtown hospital. What started as a cold grew to pneumonia then an infection then began to spread to his vital organs and even shut down his kidneys.

We thought we were going to loose him.

Just a few days ago my dad began to improve. While he still has a LONG way to go he is out of the ICU and there are good sign of a full recovery to come.

The last three weeks have been such a whirlwind of activity and commotion that I don't think the emotion of it all caught up to me until this past Saturday night.

When he first woke up his voice was very raspy and hard to understand but in his half awake state he only needed to be awake for a few minutes before he began requesting a Dr. pepper, milk duds and something called a blimpy burger!

It wasn't long before he asked how long he had been asleep and it was emotional for him and the rest of us when he found out he had been unconscious for two weeks. Then he began to get some of his memory back, slowly. As thoughts returned he started telling us how he was so scared when they put him on the ventilator. He said he was scared because he thought he might die.

My dad is not usually one for a lot of emotion or details of what's going on in his head but for the next few minutes he poured them out to us.

This last Saturday night, almost 24 hours after that hospital room conversation I kept replaying one particular thing over and over again in my head. My dad told us how he was angry at himself that he was scared to die, when my mom tried to console him with "but you didn't, you're here now", he explained more.

He said in that moment he had to ask himself, "ok, do I REALLY trust Jesus and trust that I matter to him no matter what happens", he went on to say that he finally answered the question "yes, yes I trust the Lord Jesus Christ with my life". It was at that point that he said he relaxed and that was the last thing he remembered until waking up the other night.

I've always known that my dad loved the Lord but until the other night I never understood that it is BECAUSE he so deeply loves the that I do too.

Depending on your relationship with your parents growing up, it may be difficult to figure out what to put in the, "I am who I am because my parents______________" blank.

After the other night I know what to put there now. I am who I am because my dad has always so deeply and authentically loved the Lord Jesus Christ!

The only reason I am not as ignorant to the love & existence of God as the generation of children in Judges, a generation that needed the judges to come and painfully remind them, is because of my dad & the ways his love for Jesus was modeled to me & passed on to me.

If we fail to love Jesus in front of our children then we fail as parents. No matter what things you will do wrong as a parent, if you teach your kids to love Jesus by how you love Him, so will they. If you give them EVERYTHING else but not this, you've given them NOTHING.

Thanks for all your prayers & concern. Please keep praying, he has a long way to go still.

And, thank you dad for loving Jesus, I do because you did.