His Way or No Way

Thud…thud…thud…thud…was the sound I heard early one morning coming from outside our Sunroom window. My husband said it was a Robin and that this poor bird had been slamming itself against our window for several days. At first I thought he was seeing himself in the reflection of the window and trying to get to that other bird. My next thought was maybe he was just trying to get in. But nonetheless, there was no way that Robin was going to get into my house, no matter how hard he tried or worked at doing so. It didn’t matter if he beat his body up against that window for another year, his beating would be in vain. That is, unless we opened the window and let him in. We are, after all, the owners of this home, and if we wanted to, we could entertain confused little Robins couldn’t we? Yet, Robins don’t belong in our home no matter how sad or confused they are, so we choose not to let them in.

Hmmm…this brought to mind John 14:6 – I am the Way, the Truth, the Life, and no one comes to the Father but by Me. Christ told the disciples…and us...that to get to His Father, we would have to go through Me (Jesus) first. THERE IS NO OTHER WAY.

Many people today believe otherwise. They think their good works or their good name or their giving to the church is the Way. Some even think that if they try hard enough, they’ll finally gain access to the Way. But that’s not what Christ said. He said that He alone is the Way. No one will get to the Father. No one will receive Heaven, unless they go the way of the cross…unless they go by faith in Jesus Christ.

Poor robin. No matter what he does or how hard he tries, he’s never getting into my home. I pray that today, if you are like the little bird outside my window, attempting to reach Heaven by your standards and what you think is the way, I pray you will think about this a little more. I pray you’ll turn to John 14:6 and read what it says. I pray the Father, whom you so genuinely seek will reveal to you the Way…the Truth…the Life.

Thank You Father, that You have given us access to You through the life and blood of Jesus Christ. Thank You for His death on the cross…for making Him who knew no sin to be sin for us. Thank you that You made the Way, for You knew that we could not and would never be able to. I praise You, Father. Amen.

Restoration

Restoration. When I think of that word, my mind automatically drifts back to the year 1993 - the summer Steve and I got married. We didn't have a lot of money to furnish our new home in NC, so I learned how to purchase old furniture at a discount price and refinish it. I didn't have a job at that time either, so I had some time on my hands. One day, as a gift to my Mom and Dad, I decided to clean out the garage. It was quite the undertaking for you see, I hate spiders...and there had to be at least 54,000 hidden in this unfinished, open-air carport. Thankfully, the dirt dobbers had done a pretty good job of keeping them under control.

I wiped down the freezer and the old sewing machine and made my way to this old cabinet that had been in our garage ever since I could remember. It was tall with only a chunk of wood nailed to the top to keep the doors closed. That piece brought back many memories as I stood there looking at it. As a farming family, we'd always kept poison in it, along with a few pairs of old work boots. I opened the doors. The boots and poison were still there.

I decided to give this old piece of furniture a rub down. To my surprise, the first swipe of that dirty, old, wet rag revealed a beautiful piece of pine. The more I wiped, the more excited I got. My mind started reeling with what the piece of furniture could look like, if it was refinished, so I continued wiping and cleaning until there was nothing left to wipe and clean.

The piece was gorgeous! I later found out from my mother that this wardrobe was a gift from my Paw Paw to my Grannie. Like Steve and me, they had no money and very little furniture when THEY got married, so in order to have somewhere to put their clothes, he made her a wardrobe. It wasn't perfect, but that didn't matter. The story made me want it, all the more. Graciously, my mom agreed to let me keep it, and I began my work. It took a lot of hard work and sweat in the MS summer heat, but after several days, my new wardrobe perked up even the old garage. Everyone to this day talks about what a beautiful piece of furniture it is, and when they do, I always tell them the story of where it came from and how it came to be beautiful.

Restoration. That's what God does with us too, isn't it? We're just old pieces of furniture that He's decided in His time and goodness to make into beautiful pieces He can use. Day by day He works diligently to clean out the poison, the stinky old work boots, and then (when we allow Him) He wipes us clean of every speck of dirt and dust. He takes old vessels - unused and stored away - and turns them into something beautifully useful. He's in the business of restoration...and I'm thankful.

Dearest Jesus, thank You for restoring my soul...for taking it from where it was and making it anew into something beautiful and useful for Your kingdom. Continue in Your goodness to restore me, Father. Amen.

Hacking Through

Do you remember movies where the good guys "hacked their way through" some tough, unyielding jungle on the edge of nowhere? Films like that usually picture the soldiers as hot, thirsty to the point of dehydration and half-starved. The men were always a sad sort of bunch, and you never thought they'd make it out alive. Yet, right before you got up to turn off the TV because you thought it was the end of them...and you...the leader of this fledgling group of tired warriors hacked through the last vine and the last thicket of brush to find himself almost transported into a beautiful, breathtaking place. A place where birds flew over cascading waterfalls, the sweet smell of flowers filled the air, and an abundance of fish filled the bottom of a large pool that shone in clarity and purity. Against all odds, they'd made it. They'd traversed through the steaming hot, impassable jungle to find themselves standing at the valley of refreshment.

I've seen those movies, and I cringe every time a scene like that starts to take place. I never know what's going to happen, and I suffer with the weary ones the whole time they're hacking their way through. Maybe that's because I can identify with them. Hmmm...

Many times in my own life, I've found myself hacking through a jungle while living in the middle of a city...literally. Sometimes the jungles were physical. Sometimes, they were mental or spiritual nature, but no matter...they were jungles - and I had to hack through. I struggled through places of dryness, of heat, sometimes great pain and suffering. Many times I've cried out to God and said, "I don't want to do this anymore!" or "This is too hard!"

But you know what? Always...always at the end of my "hacking through," I found exactly what these men searched for in the movies. I found beautiful waterfalls and pools of refreshment, filled with something to satisfy my longings. I found fresh clean water just at the point when I thought my life was over. I found hacking through the jungle only made me appreciate the respite all the more. And I found Him - Jesus.

God says in 2nd Corinthians 4:18 not "to look on the things which are seen, but to look on the things that are unseen for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are unseen are eternal." My friend, as you hack through this week, or this month, or even the next several years, don't look at what you can see around you. No matter how dark and dismal and scary the jungle you're trudging through may be, there IS a place of rest. There IS a place of refreshment, and it might be just beyond the next vine...the next thicket of brush. Don't stop and throw your gear down on the ground and give up trying to get through. God has something waiting for you, just beyond what you can see.

This life is temporary, along with everything in it. So, choose to look not on the things that dissolve, look to the eternal things. Look to what He's doing in you - drawing you closer to Him and making you more like Christ. Look to where He's wanting to take you in your life. Look to what He is doing in the lives of others because of your testimony in your jungle. Don't give up. Hack through, my friend. Hack through.

Jesus, help us fight today. Help us hack through the temporary things of this life, focusing our eyes and our attention on the eternal...on what You're doing in our lives and the lives of others around us. Don't let us grow heavy-hearted in this jungle, but instead, let us find new strength to hack through. Thank You, Jesus. Thank You.

The Room

I just wasn't expecting to see THAT.

I went upstairs to one of my children's rooms and was amazed. There were piles of clothes literally lining the walls, trash on the dresser and in the floor, glasses and bowls and paper plates. You name it. It was there. Why should you be so shocked, you might ask. Well, it was only the day before I'd asked this particular child to clean his/her room, and he/she'd done a beautiful job. Things were put away. There was room to walk. Why, even underneath the bed was clear of any clothes or junk.

I just shook my head. How could this happen? It got dirty again SO quickly.

As my child and I stood there, gazing into a room of havoc, the Spirit of the Lord quietly whispered into my heart, Belinda, your heart looks just like this.

Ouch.

I understood what He meant completely. I had things - not necessarily bad things - lying all around the corners of my heart that needed to be picked up, thrown into the purification wash cycle of Christ, and then hung back up into the proper place. There were also those things in the room of my heart that just need to be disposed of - thrown away. And then, there were the hidden things that I needed to pull out, humbly show to Jesus, and let Him take away.

As I stood there with my child, I couldn't be angry or condemning. Instead, I simply asked him/her to clean the room again, and then I went into my prayer closet and cleaned mine!

What about you? What’s your heart condition? Are there good things in your heart – like serving the church or singing in the choir – that simply have become more of a duty and a responsibility, instead of an enjoyment? Or is there some sin cluttering up the corners of your heart, so the Spirit has to share the space created only for Him? Or, maybe it’s a hidden thing – some habit or secret you’ve been trying to hide from everyone, including God? If you answered yes to any of these questions, I implore you. I beg you. Be reconciled to Christ. Confess those things and allow the Spirit to do a little house cleaning. He’s already got the equipment to do it. You’ve just got to be willing to give Him the go ahead.

Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and I shall be innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the mediation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. Ps. 19:12-14

The Little Branch - With Alternate Ending!!!

Once upon a time there was a Great Tree in the middle of a Beautiful Garden. The Tree was so great that all the birds and squirrels of the world could come and make their home in It at the same time. There were thousands of branches on this Tree. Some hung low to the ground carrying the weight of their fruit, while others bounced highly above, just beginning to produce. On the very top was a new shoot that sprouted out proudly into the sunshine. The little branch was so excited to be on the top of the tree. He felt very happy knowing that everyone could see he was part of the Great Tree in the middle of the Beautiful Garden.

It was a glorious life, there on the top of the Tree. But there was one problem. Every time the little branch got comfortable, the Great Tree started to make Him grow. Now, growing wasn’t all bad. It did make him taller and stronger. Yet there were times the little branch just didn’t want to grow. He didn’t want the Life-Giving Sap flowing through his little stem into his shiny new leaves. It didn't always feel good. Sometimes, it just plain hurt. Sap from the Great Tree stretched and hardened his bark. It pulled and widened his leaves. Something seemed to always be happening in him that was beyond his control...and the little branch, well, he didn't like that.

One day, he'd had enough. Even though he knew the hardness of his bark, the thickness of his leaves, and the tiny bunches of unripe fruit that hung gently from his branches were because of the Life-Giving Sap, none of that swayed his determination to be free. He didn’t want to grow anymore. He didn’t want to be stretched. He didn't want to be controlled. So one day, as Life-Giving Sap from the Great Tree was rising through his stem at a rapid pace, he constricted himself around the liquid, all but cutting if off. “Hey, that wasn’t so hard,” he thought to himself, “I’m finally in control.”

For the next few days, the little branch squeezed and constricted the Life-Giving Sap and kept It from reaching his leaves. It wasn’t long before he didn’t feel the pain of growth anymore. He actually began to not feel anything at all. What a relief. He could finally breathe a little.

In all of his new-found comfort, the little branch forgot about his budding fruit and his shiny leaves. He didn’t recognize that the little birds and the squirrels never played on him anymore. And frankly, he just didn’t care.

One day, a little boy passed by the Great Tree. The little branch noticed that he didn't look happy, as most children did when they would pass by on their way to school. Instead, this little boy looked very frightened and thin. "He must be hungry," thought the branch.

You see, the child had wandered into the Beautiful Garden and become lost, not knowing how to get home. Just the thought of this made the little branch very upset. He'd been fascinated by little children since he first began to sprout. “I know, I will help him," he thought, "I’ll shake my fruit from my limbs and let it fall to the ground so the little boy can at least have something to eat.” Pleased with this thought, the little branch looked up to see which limb held the ripest and plumpest of all the fruit. To his horror, what he saw was a mass of leafless, lifeless limbs with only rotten fruit where the healthy fruit used to be. His bark was gray and peeling off, and his shiny green leaves were nowhere to be found. “What's happened to me?” he thought.

And then, a great voice came from below. It wasn't a thundering voice with harsh, cold tones. Instead, it was a gentle whisper: “Without Me, little branch, you can do nothing, for a branch cannot live or produce any fruit when it cuts itself off from the Life-Giving Sap of the Great Tree.” Saddened and ashamed, the little branch hung low, and the little boy continued on his way. How horribly sad. The little branch had missed the chance to give life to the child. If he’d continued to grow and allow the Great Tree to give him life, then he would have been able to provide the little boy with something he desperately needed…fruit.

Devastated by what he'd done, the little branch now understood that his job as a branch was to grow and produce fruit, even if their was pain in the process. Oh how he wished he'd realized that sooner.

The next day there was a great wind in the Beautiful Garden. The little branch watched in horror as the withered fruit and dried branches from his own limb, fell from the top of the Great Tree and hit the earth below. Reminded again about the little boy, he began to ache with sorrow. Then, as gently as it had come the first time, the little branch heard the voice of the Great Tree saying, “Let Me live in you, little branch, and you live in Me and together, we can produce much fruit."

"That's it! That's it!" and with that thought, the little branch who had long ago squeezed and constricted himself so as not to feel the Life-Giving Sap of the Great Tree, relaxed his bark and gave in to the Sap that waited patiently to pour back into and completely fill his woodened stem.

"I feel it! I feel it!" the little branch cheered with excitement. From that day on, he never hindered the work of the Life-Giving Sap again. Yes, sometimes it hurt to be stretched and hardened, but the little branch knew what would happen if he didn't grow, plus what could happen if he did! Never again did a little boy visit the Great Tree and not receive fruit from the little branch. Never again did a child grow hungry because the little branch's fruit was withered and rotten. Never again did the little branch NOT give in to the Life-Giving Sap. But instead, the little branch grew and grew producing great amounts of fruit that fed all those who came by the way of the Great Tree in the Beautiful Garden.

John 15:4,5 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. A branch cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in the vine. In the same way, you cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in Me. I am the vine, and you are the branches. If any remain in Me and I remain in them, they produce much fruit. But without Me they can do nothing.