Ashes for Beauty

Now I can trade these ashes in for beauty, And wear forgiveness like a crown; Coming to kiss the feet of mercy, I lay every burden down At the foot of the cross. Kathryn Scott

You're getting this Enews early this week because today is Ash Wednesday. For those of you who grew up in the church, you may have participated in Ash Wednesday by having ashes applied to your forehead. Being marked with ashes at the beginning of Lent was always kinda cool when I was a kid, but why do we do it? Ashes are an old symbol. Wearing ashes on our forehead is a symbol of  our mortality ("...ashes to ashes, dust to dust"). They are also a symbol of repentance (i.e. wearing "sackcloth and ashes"). And they indicate our humble recognition of our need for a savior. On this day we have ashes placed on our forehead in the shape of a cross because it is a sign and a reminder of our Christian baptism. Have you ever wondered why a season which ends with such a great and glorious victory at the tomb of our Risen Lord would begin with ugly, dirty, gray ashes? Friends, it is because we need to be reminded during this season of Lent that the road to victory for Jesus was not easy or beautiful; it was dirty and bloody and full of suffering. And he won that victory for us. Read these words from a beautiful song by Kathryn Scott: At The Foot Of The Cross Where Grace And Suffering Meet You Have Shown Me Your Love Through The Judgment You Received And You've Won My Heart Yes, You've Won My Heart Now I Can Trade These Ashes In For Beauty And Wear Forgiveness Like A Crown Coming To Kiss The Feet Of Mercy I Lay Every Burden Down At The Foot Of The Cross At The Foot Of The Cross Where I Am Made Complete You Have Given Me Life Through The Death You Bore For Me I'm Laying Every Burden Down I'm Laying Every Burden DownI invite you to use this song as a reminder and a prayer during this Lenten season. I will. Greg

Setting the Framework of Prayer

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,  His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23

I've been reading Jack Hayford's book, Penetrating the Darkness. In it he talks about the four areas that shape our daily devotional time with God. We have talked so often recently about having a "place" set aside to meet with our Lord. We also want to have a "time" set aside - preferably in the morning. When we come before God each morning we want to be mindful of these four things: 1. Present yourself 2. Present your heart 3. Present your day 4. Present your "reach" Let me talk a little bit about the first one: Present yourself. We present ourselves to the Lord by coming before him with thanksgiving and praise. As I read about this I found it interesting that the suggestion was to review the previous day, thanking God for his kindness shown to you. That keeps things new and fresh. We are not thanking God for the things he has done throughout history; we are thanking him for what he did yesterday in our lives. Jack Hayford says, "When we praise Him, we not only come into His presence, but also invite His rule into our lives and current situations." Nehemiah 9:17 teaches us something about this. In this chapter, Nehemiah is describing the Israelites' journey through the wilderness. They had been wandering for quite a while, and, well...let's just say they had a lousy attitude. In verse 17 we find out why: "...they were not mindful of His wonders." Isn't that interesting? We get our attitude out of joint when we do not recall God's goodness to us. I think that is a great reason to start each morning by recalling how God helped us through yesterday. When we do not recall (are not "mindful" of) his mercies, we develop disobedience, pride, rebellion and thanklessness. Let us always be mindful of God's goodness. Let us thank Him for his goodness daily. Blessings and Peace, Greg

The Stinky Ole Cat

The Stinky Ole CatThe Stinky Ole CatThe Stinky Ole CatThe Stinky OlThe Stinky Ole Cate Cat

He has put a NEW SONG in my mouth.      ~ Psalms 40:3 ~

I can't believe it! What were they thinking? Why didn't they? Why didn't I? This is so stupid! Regrets. Anger. Grudges. Should haves. Poor choices. Bad decisions. Self-reproach. Unforgiveness. They plague us, don't they -- those seething, simmering thoughts about the past? They rob us of today; they smoke and smother out what little hope we have for tomorrow. I had a mentor and teacher in my early years who used to say it's like the stinky ole cat that dies. We give it a funeral and bury it in the back yard. But just for good measure, we leave a little bit of its tail sticking up out of the ground. Then, every once in a while, we go outside in the back yard and grab that tail and yank up the stinky ole cat. Whew. And every time we do it, it stinks even worse! Then we bury it again and wait for the next time. Do you do that? Do you bury petty grudges and regrets just to go back and pull them out of the ground again? For what purpose? To flog yourself or another? To try and change the past? Does it do any good? Is it useful? Edifying? Fruitful? Does it help you live better today? Or is it robbing you of your joy, your relationships, and your future? Jesus speaks about something entirely different: New Life. New Heart. New Creation. New Wine. New Self. New Spirit. "So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view... Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a NEW creation; the old has gone, the NEW has come!"  2Corinthians 5:16-17 "This "new creation," says one writer, "is of such transcendent importance that our past lives of sin have no bearing on our current relationship with God in Christ. The expression "in Christ" expresses briefly, but profoundly, the incredible significance of our redemption." (from Women of Faith Study Bible, NIV) Wow. Our sins, shame and guilt are in our past and buried "in Christ." They are part of a life we no longer live. Sometimes it takes discipline of the mind and spirit to live in our new birthright in the Kingdom of God. Learn when to leave the ole cat alone, friends...and bury the stupid tail! Greg

Where Do You Get Your Mail?

One of the hardest mysteries of the faith to grasp is that we live in two worlds. Scripture tells us we are "...in the world, but not of the world." We are at the same time citizens of this crazy, twirling globe called earth and citizens of the Kingdom of God. And Jesus clearly said in John 18:36 when he was brought before Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world."

Furthermore, the Apostle Paul writes, "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Eph. 6:12

"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds." 2Cor. 10:3-4

Whew. It's difficult to live and do battle in two different world sometimes. My friend, Chuck, used to say the answer is simple: "Where do you get your mail?"

Chuck and I both came from the Midwest. As you know, many people up there in the north lands temporarily relocate when it gets cold & blustery and they find themselves in Arizona or Florida or Texas for a few weeks visiting relatives or renting a condo. They may even own property in the south.

They have fun, soak up some sun, play golf and make new friends; but if you ask any of them where they are from they'd answer without hesitation that their home is in Minnesota or Wisconsin or Michigan. They may be temporarily situated in the south, but their heart, thier identity, and their roots are in the Midwest. THAT is their home. THAT is their permanent address. And although the mail might be forwarded for a short time to somewhere in the south, THAT is where their permanent mailbox stands!

I've had to remind myself lately about where I get my mail.

When push comes to shove and I face the battles of life, I either live out of my earthly wisdom or I turn to the truth from my Heavenly Father. I follow His Facebook page. I check His messages. I get His emails and I answer His phone calls. I look at His pop ups.

Get my point here? The fight is to listen; to listen through the static interference of life. To fight through the temptation to read and listen to other things that are not helpful or fruitful. The fight is to ignore the other "voices" in my head and simply listen for the one voice that speaks life and leans into the promises of Christ.

May it be a good reminder for all of us.

A blessed week to you,

Greg