Journey to the Cross

If you are looking for a way to draw your children into the arms of Jesus this Easter, here is a 12-day devotional for you. It begins in Genesis and ends in Revelation, showing how the cross is everywhere in the Bible. The cross is not just something we celebrate and remember merely at Easter, but rather it is the very essence of life.

I pray that both you and your kids will be captivated by God's story and his relentless pursuit of your hearts. And as you journey to the cross, may the eyes of your hearts be opened to this glorious God who desperately wants to dwell with his people.

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Blessings,
Melissa

The Choice

The alarm goes off way too early. I groggily set the snooze button again, all of my aspirations to get up early slinking away with my dreams. The pitter patter resonating through the walls tells me that six little feet are already up and running around. Hungry bellies call. A fight erupts as someone accuses someone else of another heinous crime. Stealing. Lying. Hitting. Looking. It could be any one of these atrocities. The looking at each other is one that seems to create the most havoc. Her plea for justice will assail me as soon as I enter the kitchen. Yet for some reason, my verdict is never good enough. Not being fair is one of my most recognized attributes. I sigh, looking at the clock to see how many more hours until bed time. Only twelve. I can do this.

I open the curtains, and my heart sinks at the sight of the street cloaked in a shroud of white. So much for getting all that energy out at the park. The drudge of winter settles deeper in my heart with every snowflake that falls. What I wouldn’t give for a beach right now. What I wouldn’t give for a margarita. Wait…should I be thinking about margaritas at 7 am?

The kitchen greets me with three precious smiles and one giant mess. Cheerios blanket the floor. Milk lines the table. The voice in the back of my mind tells me that a good mom would have woken up earlier. A good mom would have made them oatmeal, bright eyed and smiling, with devotions for their hearts and fresh squeezed juice for their brains. But all I can see is that mess, which gives me one more thing to do on this snowy, dreary, same as every other, day.

My tea brews as the wind howls, its grip threatening to rip the house apart. Another fight erupts. This time the victim takes it upon herself to hand out justice. A good kick to the back ought to do it, she decides. I grip the counter and bite my tongue. How many more hours?

Sometimes Curious George is a really good babysitter. He’s free and he doesn’t ask any questions.

I crawl back to bed while George takes over downstairs.

The day looms before me. Oh, if only summer was here. If only they were all in school. If only my husband didn’t travel. If only we had a bigger house. If only we had more money so we could go somewhere warm—right now. If only I was a better mom. If only God had given me what I wanted. If only…….the list is quite lengthy.

That’s when I remember. That’s when the gentle voice of Truth beckons me yet again.

“Come to ME, and I will give you REST!”

Oh, how easily I forget. Oh, IF ONLY He was the first place I ran.

I’m reading through Psalms. Probably not a coincidence that this is the verse I read today.

The people refused to enter the pleasant land, for they wouldn’t believe His promise to care for them. Instead, they grumbled in their tents and refused to obey the Lord. Psalm 106:24-25

Oh, the tenderness of my Savior, wrapping this message up so sweetly for me—on this day—in His word!

They refused to enter the pleasant land! It was a choice, and they politely declined.

In Joshua 1:13, Joshua tells the people about this pleasant land that their fathers chose not to enter. He says, “The Lord your God is giving you a place of REST. He has given you this land.”

The Promised Land isn’t a place free from trouble or hardship.  It isn’t a new job, house, or situation. After all, the land flowing with milk and honey is bound to have some spilled milk in it, don’t you think? The Promised Land isn’t a place we arrive when everything in life finally falls into place and we get everything we want.  The Promised Land is REST.

Rest is a choice. It’s not dependent on my circumstances. It’s not dependent on the weather. Or if my life is turning out the way I thought it would.

REST is the place we come when we actually believe that God is for us and trust in His promise to care for us, regardless of the chaos around us.

I close my Bible, relish in my Savior’s Presence, and start the day again. George is relieved from his duties, and I see the mess downstairs through new eyes. The kids still fight. My disappointments still remain. The wind still howls. The snow still falls. My husband is still out of town.

But I have a choice today. For the next twelve hours, I can grumble in my tent, or I can enter the pleasant land. I choose REST!

Which will you choose?

Hooked

When I was in third grade, I vividly remember playing the same game every day at recess.  It was called “boys chase the girls”.  Yeah, real creative name, right?  Well, just as the name describes, the boys would chase the girls all around the playground, and we would scream and cry, “No, leave us alone!”  There was one time when a teacher came up to us and told the boys to stop.  She said, “Can’t you hear them?  They’re asking you to stop.”   I remember looking up at her and saying, “No, we don’t want them to stop.  It’s fun.”

From the time we are little girls, the desire to be pursued is profoundly ingrained into our hearts.  There is something fun indeed about being chased by someone who desires you.  We enter into adulthood with these same desires, hoping that the man of our dreams will chase us, catch us, and carry us away.  If he’s smart enough, he’ll know that the running away is merely part of the game. 

Whatever you are going through today, you are loved. You are loved by a King who bears your name on His nail-scarred hands. It’s a make your knees tremble, heart skip a beat, do crazy things kind of love.  And He is zealously, passionately, and jealously pursuing your heart.  Right now.  Right here.  HE WANTS YOU TO BE HIS AND HIS ALONE!!!!

The problem is we like to run.  After all, it is part of the game, right?

“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders.” Luke 15:4-5

I struggle fully understanding the imagery of Jesus as my shepherd. Every sermon I’ve ever heard on it highlights the fact that sheep are stupid. They wander around, getting into trouble because they are too dumb to stay focused. Shepherds use their crooks to catch straying sheep.  The curve at the top of the crook is just the right size to fit around a sheep’s neck.  When we think of Jesus as our shepherd, this image often comes to mind.  We picture a man who is constantly grabbing those trouble-making sheep who can’t seem to get their act together.  There have certainly been times when I’ve been caught red-handed wandering to who knows where.  I can wake up in the morning determined to stay on course, but it seems like something always draws me away.  Whether it’s a thought that reminds me of the hurt I’ve experienced, or the temptation to surrender to pride and selfishness, I so easily wander away from who I am created to be.  Sometimes I run ahead of God, telling Him which way to turn because I’m pretty sure He doesn’t know where He is going.  And then there is always the tendency to think that I can do things on my own.  I’ve experienced the discipline of being pulled back to where I belong.  It doesn’t feel good, but I’m glad I have a shepherd watching out for me.

If we only see Jesus as the one who keeps us in line, though, we’ve missed the point.  There is a difference between being caught and being hooked.  The word hooked means, “To be captivated by or devoted to.”  How do you view Jesus?  Is the staff that leads and protects you one that must always be catching you?  Or are you hooked?  Are you captivated by the love that He freely offers you?

I want to be more than just caught by His embrace.  I want to be so hooked that I won’t ever want to wander away again.

Isaiah 40:11

He will feed His flock like a shepherd.  He will carry the lambs in His arms, holding them close to His heart.  He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.

Are you doubting God’s love today? Are you struggling with disappointment or loneliness? Are you tired, frustrated, and let down? Are you unsure of your worth?

Let Him carry you in His arms, close to His heart. For that is where you belong.

Detours and Dead Ends

The curtains were picked. The paint colors were chosen. The garden was planned. The chicken coop was designed. The papers were signed…our offer was strong. I even had my facebook update ready.

Driving home from the gym, smiling at glistening snow while children sang along to the music, that’s when the call came. That’s when I got the answer to my earnest prayers.

NO again. It seems that that is the only answer we ever get. No…No…No…

I had told myself over and over not to hold on too tightly to this dream. Yet deep down I could not deny how devastated I would be if it didn’t happen. I told God that I would praise Him regardless. I did. I praised Him because I know who He is. He doesn’t play games. He doesn’t dangle carrots in front of us and watch us chase them, even though it seems like it sometimes. His plans are good for our life. His dreams are big for our family.

My praise didn’t feel complete, though. I couldn’t escape the nagging feeling that God had made a mistake this time. Didn’t He realize how much I wanted it? Couldn’t He see how ideal the location would be for ministry? We had prayed for months for this house specifically. The doors kept opening. Why does He always lead me straight into disappointment?

I was reminded, as I often am, of the Israelites standing hopelessly before the Red Sea.

When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through the Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land…So God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea Exodus13:17-18

What?  A roundabout way through the wilderness!  If you look at a map of ancient Egypt, you will notice that in order to get from Egypt to Canaan, the people did not need to travel anywhere close to the Red Sea.  It’s a straight shot along the Mediterranean Sea, which should have taken around eleven days.  But God didn’t take them the easy way.  In fact, as soon as they thought they were out of harm’s way, he actually made them turn around and change course.  Can you imagine the thoughts racing through their minds—the questions, the doubts, the fears encircling their anxious hearts? 

Here they are on their way to the culmination of centuries of dreams, and God says, “Actually, can you please go back.  Trust me, I know what I’m doing, but I want you to head right back to Pharaoh.”

Umm…yeah right!  I don’t know about you, but my response may have sounded something more like, “No way, Mister!” 

Surely God didn’t really know what he was doing, right?  How often do I accuse him of ignorance in my life?  In my anguish I cry out, “If you only knew what was going on…If you could only see what I see…”  Sounds crazy, but it’s what we do.  It’s what the Israelites did.  But can you blame them?  Basically, they found themselves in the worst situation possible.  Rugged mountains blocked their way on either side.  The Red Sea loomed in front while the Egyptians shouted from behind.  No way across, and no way to run back; God had led them straight into a dead end.

Talk about a serious disappointment. 

In my own disappointment, God probed my heart once again with the mystery of this story. I responded with questions. “Why does it have to be about your glory?” “Why can’t you give me something just because I want it?” “Why do you have to lead us to the Red Sea when there is an easier route?”

In the midst of my questions, I found this verse:

Your road led through the sea, your pathway through the mighty waters—a pathway no one knew was there! Psalm 77:19

Does God actually lead us to disappointment? That’s often how I view my life. He leads us to disappointment and then comes through at the last minute to prove once again how faithful He is. But this verse made me see things differently.

God never viewed the Red Sea as a disappointment. It was the people who made it into one. God didn’t make something good happen out of something bad. The Red Sea was something good. While the Israelites saw their dreams dissipate, God saw the path there all along. In God’s eyes, the Red Sea wasn’t an obstacle. It wasn’t a setback. It wasn’t the loss of a dream. IT WAS THE DREAM—A bigger dream than the people could have ever conjured up on their own.

What if I really believed that God wants what’s best for me? What if I really trusted Him enough to stop questioning His goodness? What if I began to view the Red Sea not as a disappointment, but rather as the pathway to a dream bigger than I can see right now?

What disappointments are you facing right now?

What if you believed that maybe, just maybe, there is a pathway only God can see? Can you trust Him enough to praise Him before He parts the water?

A Dare to Do Nothing

You may have noticed that the past few months have been a bit dreary for me. If I’m totally honest with you, the past three months have been some of the darkest months of my life. I could give you the list of everything that’s been going on, but it would be neither appropriate nor beneficial. I want to tell you that I’m strong. I want to tell you that I have it all together. When you read my writing, I want you to think that I am an incredible mom, wife, and friend. I want you to see how completely sold out I am for Christ. After all, why would you think a crazy lady stuck in a pit of depression has anything to say? There’s always the temptation to pretend to be someone I’m not. And I realize that I fool no one with this charade.

I will be honest with you. It’s been dark. Dark. Lonely. Scary. Depressing.

Just last week, though, two friends opened my eyes. A five hour dinner woke me up from a long sleep.

I’ve been wrestling against the darkness, and that’s the very thing that has made me miserable. I’ve been trying to figure out how to escape the darkness.

What do I need to do, God???? What do you want me to do????

Nothing.

Moses knew darkness. When the people build a golden calf and God refuses to go any further with them, Moses begs God to change his mind. He knows that without God’s presence, any attempt is futile. So God listens. And to prove it, he tells Moses, “I will make all my goodness pass before you” (Exodus 33:19). But here’s the catch. It requires darkness first.

Verses 21-22

The Lord continued, “Look, stand near me on this rock. As my glorious presence passes by, I will hide you in the crevice of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.”

It must have been dark hidden there under God’s hand.

Could it be that the darkness is actually the safest place we could be? Could it be that when we feel life can’t get any darker, it’s because we are secured in the crevice of the rock, hidden by a nail-scarred hand while God’s goodness passes by? And if we stopped. If we stopped wrestling that hand, maybe, just maybe, we would catch a glimpse of His glory?

And then suddenly we’d realize that it’s actually in the darkness that we see HIM. We would realize that an unexpected friendship is actually the revelation of his heart. The failure you can’t get over is actually the greatest expression of his grace. The person who hurt you is actually the stairway to a new level of his affection. The loss of one dream is actually the doorway to a place greater than your wildest dreams.

Be still and know that I AM GOD.

Can we ever truly KNOW God unless we are still? Unless we stop wrestling against his hand?

This is my year to stop.

This is my year to simply be.

I’m not a fan of New Year’s resolutions. I’m more of the daily resolution kind of girl. Today I won’t yell at my kids…Today I won’t get mad when my husband comes home late…Today I will let go of that hurt…Today I won’t eat ten chocolate chip cookies…Today I will be patient, kind, loving, skinny, energetic…perfect. Hah!

It’s a recipe for disaster. It’s a recipe for darkness.

What do you want me to DO God?????   Nothing.

Today…

Instead of trying to be a good mom, I will be still and know that HE IS GOD.

Instead of trying to be patient, I will be still and know that HE IS GOD.

Instead of trying to overcome my anger, I will be still and know HE IS GOD.

Instead of trying to measure up to who I think I should be, I will be still and know HE IS GOD

Instead of trying to manipulate my dreams into reality, I will be still and know HE IS GOD.

Instead of trying to find purpose, I will be still and know HE IS GOD.

Instead of trying to muster up grace for others, I will be still and know HE IS GOD.

Instead of striving for worth, I will be still and know HE IS GOD.

And maybe if I’m still long enough, I will actually KNOW him. Not the God I’ve conjured up in my head. Not the God I think he should be. Not the God I expect to find. No, I will KNOW him as HE IS.

I have a feeling that all the other things will fall into place.

And maybe, just maybe, the people around me will look my way and realize that I’m not there anymore. No, they will look my way and stop for just a moment because they see God’s goodness passing by.

Radical Living

It’s over.

Another Christmas has come and gone, and I for one am exhausted.

I got caught up in a frenzy this holiday season, but not the usual frenzy of shopping and consuming (although I did a bit of both, I must admit). No, I allowed myself to get caught up in the Christian frenzy that begins every December 1^st. Something happens to Christians at Christmas time. Bibles come out, Jesus becomes an all-consuming focus, and Santa Claus and materialism turn into the sole contributors for America’s moral decay. 

Seems to me like Santa Claus is given more credit than he’s due.

Meanwhile, parents desperately attempt to counter Santa Claus’ power by inundating their kids with the true meaning of Christmas. As long as our kids know the answer to that one vital question, we’ve succeeded, right? If they can tell their grandparents, teachers, or preferably a random passerby whose birthday we will celebrate on December 25th, we pat ourselves on the back and deem the season a success.

I did everything I was supposed to do this Christmas. It just never went as planned. Maybe my kids aren’t as spiritual as they should be, but they didn’t sit on the edge of their seats when we did the Jesse tree. In fact, they did everything but sit still and listen. At least one of us was crying by the end of our time together each evening. Not exactly how I saw it going in my head. I tried really hard to give them special memories to last their lifetimes, but they just didn’t seem to appreciate all the important things I was trying to do for them. Making sugar cookies, for instance…I hate making sugar cookies (Gasp!!). Don’t deny that you hate getting them from little kids too. You know they are full of boogers and drool. Well, I did the good mom thing, but it resulted in a different child in time out for the entire experience.

Yes, memories to last a lifetime. That’s what we made…

What surprises me most, though, is how many blogs, sermons, and articles are written about how to keep Christ in Christmas as if this is somehow a radical idea. Don’t get me wrong. I think there is something very holy and beautiful about Christmas. But keeping Christ in Christmas isn’t radical. Jesus is everywhere at Christmas. Walmart plays songs about him during the same month we frantically tell our kids about his birth. Many of the real-life influential leaders in our country’s moral decay suddenly proclaim Christ’s birth through our stereos. We give to the poor. We take a stand against materialism. For one month, we are not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.  

And then it’s over, and everything goes back to the way it was. The Bibles go back on the shelves, traditions melt into normalcy, our passionate pursuit of the Messiah in the manger dissipates into complacency, and all our efforts to live radically leave us unchanged on January 2nd. We can’t keep our resolutions because we haven’t been transformed by the One who came to turn our lives upside down.

A REAL encounter with the Messiah doesn’t leave us unchanged.

What if we pursued the God-incarnate miracle of Jesus as passionately in February as we do in December?

What if God’s Holy Word actually became our daily bread instead of an annual feast?

What if we were as worried about teaching our kids the true meaning of life as we are about teaching them the true meaning of Christmas?

What if we changed the way we live so that giving to the poor becomes a way of life instead of a special occasion?

What if we realized that our own complacency is a greater threat to our children’s faith than Santa Claus ever will be?

Now THAT would be radical!

Invasion of LIGHT

It’s been a rough year. Piercing betrayals, ugly disappointments, shattered dreams, and empty promises have left me struggling to find my way. At times my soul feels enveloped in darkness. Why keep chasing the illusion of victory? Is it better to just bow out of the fight? Hand over the trophy to the enemy?

Have you ever felt this way?

This Christmas season has been hard. I’m reading the stories. I’m singing the songs. I’m watching the lights. I’m remembering the Savior. But I’m void of joy. I just can’t shake the darkness. I just can’t find the hope.

The thing about darkness is that is comes upon you unexpectedly. When afternoon surrenders to twilight, our eyes adjust as the darkness encroaches around us. The enemy doesn’t knock on the door and demand for us to hand everything over to him. No, he’s much more cunning than that. He steals things bit by bit. Slowly. Stealthily. Until suddenly we wonder where our joy has gone. What happened to the mom who saw big dreams for her family? What happened to the marriage that wouldn’t succumb to the ranks of statistics? Where is the heart that refused to give in to the status quo? If we think back, we won’t remember when we gave it away. It happened right before our eyes, but when we weren’t looking.

As darkness circles, our hearts adjust and hopelessness becomes the norm.

But Light is different. Light isn’t sneaky like darkness. Light can’t be ignored.

Light INVADES.

Light invaded my soul last night. Sitting in the back row among hundreds at New Life Church, LIGHT invaded the very fibers of my being.

Darkness around me so deep, I couldn’t see the child sitting on my lap. Darkness in my heart so deep, I couldn’t see the Christ we came to worship.

And then it came. Angels lighting up a black sky. Shepherds running in hope of a glimpse of glory. A star blazing in the night, blotting out the shadows. Three strangers giving up everything to follow its beckoning. A manger glowing with the luster of day. A baby cradled in the arms of an lowly carpenter. Famous words fill the space around me, and finally, finally the veil lifts and I remember. I remember why He came! I remember why we are celebrating.

I remember and the tears erupt from a heart that is finally waking up. The scene unfolds before me of that Holy night when the world was waiting in darkness. A thrill of hope arises as a weary world rejoices.

Why?

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

And oh, how I fall to my knees.

Do you hear it? These aren’t just words. This is the key to the prison cell of the heart. This is the gulp of air after suffocating too long in despair. This is an invasion of Light, and the darkness races to find an escape.

Oh, child of the King, will you let Light invade your heart today? Will you allow it to invade your home? The shadows of fear, depression, hopelessness, anger, anxiety, and loneliness will run as Light absorbs the mess. The star that blazed above a humble home those many years ago beckons you today. Come and find the King who radiates in the brilliance of HOPE.

He came to invade our darkness. He came to invade our hopelessness. He came to invade our plans, our dreams, our days. He came to invade our hearts.

May this Christmas be an invasion of Light. And may we invade the darkness of this world with the Light of the King!