God's gift to me on the anniversary of Mom's passing.

It has been on my mind a little bit the past couple weeks.  Thoughts of all that time in the hospital.  Thoughts of her quickly changing from from vibrant, to sedentary, to unresponsive in six weeks.  Thoughts of the fiery pain in her body and in my heart.  Thoughts of singing to her as a family in those last hours of her life.  God has taught us so much through that trial.

I have tucked a lot of this away out of self preservation.  I don't like to hurt, and so I put it away in one of the remote closets of my heart.  Yesterday, however, God wanted me to remember.  He gave me a little gift through an unsuspecting Sam's Club worker.

As I was leaving the store, I noticed the name tag of the person checking the receipts at the door.  "How's Marlene doing today?", I asked.  After taking my receipt she replied, "Good Ter Bear." (pronounced t-air bear).  I stopped in my tracks.  I couldn't believe my ears.  You see, this was mom's nick name for me.  No one else called me by that name.  I haven't heard it for two years.  For a moment I thought that maybe she knew me.  I said in astonishment, "What?"  She again replied again with the name Ter Bear.  I asked her how she knew my nick name and she simply motioned the my name printed on the receipt and said that since my name was Terry she wanted to call me Ter Bear.

This still baffles me that a complete stranger would call another complete stranger a nick name.  Let alone the very nickname given by a mother who saw Jesus almost exactly two years ago.  And here's another point that I find too close for coincidence.  My mother's name was Darlene and the worker's name was Marlene.  She was a younger grandmother which also reminds me of mom.

The rest of the night was joyfully somber as a mix of memories and awe of God flooded my mind.  I called my brother Tom and relayed the story as we both choked back the tears.  It was as if Jesus was saying, "She's here with me. She says hi."

Thank you Jesus for touching my heart.  You are soooo good.

"Oh LORD God, do not turn away the face of Your anointed; remember Your lovingkindness to Your servant David" ~ 1 Chronicles 6:42

Solomon just wraps up a huge and bold request to God.  No matter where they were and no matter how dark the situation, if they prayed toward the newly constructed temple and to the name of the LORD, that God would hear and grant the request.  This prayer was not only for the Jew, but also for the foreigner so that all would know His name.

It would have been amazing to be there when he was done praying in front of all the elders, priests, and tribal leaders.  Imagine hearing a prayer like that and understanding the fullness of what that means for your relationship with the LORD now and in the future.  God will ALWAYS hear my prayer when I pray in His Name and toward the temple.  That's huge.

And then it happened.  Just as Solomon  finished in 1 Chronicles 7:1, "fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the house."  If you are like me, before the fire came, you may have been thinking, "Would God really answer a prayer like that?  I mean, shouldn't we allow some provision for when He doesn't answer?"  Then there is a flash of light and heat that leaves you awestruck.  God just consumed the sacrifice, signifying acceptance.  God just confirmed the prayer in the biggest way possible.  Then in verse 2, God fills the temple with His Shekinah glory signifying that not only does He accept the prayer and the worship, but the God of Heaven is present with them. I love the reaction of the people in verse 3.

"All the sons of Israel, seeing the fire come down and the glory of the LORD upon the house, bowed down on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave praise to the LORD, saying, 'Truly He is good, truly His lovingkindness is everlasting.'"

I'm so encouraged by their words.  Notice they did not mention His holiness, or power, or the fear He strikes in their hearts.  He certainly is all of those.  But that is not what was foremost in their minds.  What was foremost was this word that was so important to them.  They mention His lovingkindness.  This is a steadfast love that is never thwarted and is ever faithful.  Truly He is good!  On top of the holiness, power, fear, justice, was His everlasting goodness toward them.  He had chosen them as a people to shower with blessings and goodness so that other nations would know for sure that there is a God and He is amazingly good.

What a blessed people.  They had the promise that God would hear from Heaven and answer them if they prayed toward the temple.  If only we could have lived in that day and had that kind of assurance.  But before you begin wishing that you were wearing a tunic and leading your sheep to the temple, you need to see the prophetic nature of this passage.

I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb. ~ Revelation 21:22-23

I believe that the temple itself and this promise of the temple is prophetic of Jesus.  That when we pray in the name of Jesus, it carries with it an even greater promise.  When we pray in the name of Jesus, our loving Father in heaven will hear and answer.  Oh what a promise for those of us who long to know Him and accept Jesus as our sacrifice, King, Priest and Prophet!

I'm not saying that if we ask for a million dollars in the name of Jesus, that He must grant it.  I'm talking about His intentions for us as stated many times in Scripture, that we would be holy and blameless before Him.  He wants us to be conformed to the image of Jesus, and to that end God extends His surpassing greatness of power towards us who believe.  If your soul is burdened and you long to be closer to Him, pray in Jesus name knowing that there is a promise attached to it and declare in your soul, "Truly He is good, truly His lovingkindness is everlasting!"

You gotta know my DAD...

I've been reading through the gospels of Matthew and Mark lately. This time through there is an underlying thought that has been jumping off the page. It may be an over simplification but I think it's on the money. Here is the message of Jesus in a nut shell: You gotta know my DAD!

I'm not talking about, "You have to know Him to be saved", though that is certainly the case. But there is something different, something better to be convinced of here than just fire insurance. I'm talking about Jesus being overwhelmed by the goodness of His "Dad" which overflowed in a desire for others to know that goodness too.

John 1:17-18
For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.

Jesus came to make the Father known as more than just a holy God who cannot tolerate sin, but also a loving, caring, forgiving God who longs for us to be reconciled to Him. Paul even says in Romans 8 that this knowledge of Him causes us to cry out to Him, "Abba, Father". Abba is an intimate form of Father that can be translated as Daddy.

Many times while mentoring the disciples to know His Dad, He would say to them, "You of little faith." Again, I think this lack of faith goes beyond believing that He is capable of helping them. This reaches deeper into our souls and asks the convicting question, "Don't you believe He is good and cares deeply for you?"

I have no problem believing God is amazingly and mind blowingly powerful. He is capable of feats beyond our wildest imagination. But there are times that I've wrestled with thoughts of His care and concern for me. I know that He is a loving God and that He loves the sinner. But does He love me... right here... right now... in this circumstance? Oh me of little faith. This is why it is so vitally important to be in the Word daily. The Scriptures or so clear on this point that God so loved the world. For those of us that have embraced Jesus as our Savior, He will not hold anything back.

Romans 8:32

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?

If He went far enough to even give His only precious Son... If He desired our reconciliation to Him so deeply.... If He ached for our coming home enough to allow the cross... who in their right mind would even imagine that He would withhold His amazing goodness from us after we return? Many times Jesus healed people in the gospels and said, "May it be done according to your faith." So I ask you the question, how is your faith in His goodness toward you? Are you holding on to things that you know are wrong because you doubt His goodness can be better? Oh believer and non-believer alike, believe He is good and come to Him as a cherished child to an infinitely loving Father. Taste and see that the Lord is good. Let your evangelism say simply and genuinely... You gotta know my DAD!

Prayer as an expression of love

Inspired by: Prayer as a way of walking in love ~ Francis Chan (http://bit.ly/es5cBh)

I'm listening to a talk by Francis Chan on the topic of prayer as a walk in love. There is something that he just said that stuck out to me. He was painting the contrast between "busy… get a bunch of stuff done" prayer and prayer that emanates out of worship of Him. So often we get caught up in the things that we are doing "for" God. We make all these plans and have all these great ideas and we just ask God to bless them. Rather than that, Francis talks about this idea of abiding in Jesus. His words indwell us. We meditate much on Him, His goodness, His grace, His holiness, His love, His justice. When we are abiding in Jesus we are consumed with Him. I wanted to say we are in worship, but I think that term has become too ambiguous much the same way that love now can be interpreted as lust. There are times when you are in the word that you are locked in. You get it. You are excited to be there and you don't want to leave. You have just seen a part of Jesus or the Father that blows your mind. He is so good that we feel small and He feels big and you are more than ok with that.

This is the abiding that I think we strive for. When we are walking that way, daily striving to stay near to God in all that we do, God honors our prayers. In 1 Peter 4:7 it says, "The end of all things is near; therefore, be of sound judgment and sober spirit for the purpose of prayer." So what are we getting drunk on that is clouding our judgment? Is it media, friends, good times, drinking, the significant other? Gut check: How much time are you spending with Him rather than all the other distractions? I'm not saying you can't take your nose out of the book. What I am saying is that when you close the book, you don't have to close your mind to Him. Keep Him near in your conversations, in your activities, in your work. Stay "sober" for the purpose of prayer because the end of all things is near. Abide in Him and pray what He lays on your heart. If you abide, you may just get to the point that you are surprised when He doesn't answer a prayer.