My Unchanging God

Jesus has never changed. Still today He remains unchanging. What has changed is my ability, and yours, to approach God. It is only because of what Jesus has done for you and me, what He accomplished on the cross, that we have full access to the Father. His blood spilled and His body was pierced on the cross for all to forever satisfy the law for all. We must simply come. Since that day on Calvary no sacrifice, or effort, on my part could ever bring me near to God. Jesus accomplished it all.

There is never any new way of approaching God either. Once the curtain was torn Jesus forever became the only way for all to reach God. So what does this mean for me today? What does this mean for you? Well, I know He is always trustworthy and I can and should bank my life on the words He speaks to me. It means I never have to strive to do anything to somehow try and gain His approval. Simply being His son means that I am priceless to Him and He is constantly displaying His love to me.

Being able to really trust Him also means that His promises are true for me and I can be content and wait for Him when He calls me to wait. It means that the next time He calls me to something that is far beyond me, especially that which I would otherwise not choose, I can do it with confidence anyway. It means I can also trust Him to care for those I long to help, but cannot. When we lack the strength and wisdom to help those fallen in the mire He never does. He is faithful to pull them out and bring to them the healing they need.

Indeed, though we often change He never does. Although we are prone to weakness and frailty He never is. Although we may lose hope and begin to lack faith He never does. Jesus Christ is the unchanging God. We can always depend on Him and always go to Him. He will always receive us and always be exactly what we need.

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."

Hebrews 13:8

Robert's Gift

"I want to know Christ, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becomming like him in his death." ~ Philippians 3:10

I remember meeting a man by the name of Robert the other day. I recalled our meeting as I read my Bible recently because as we parted he asked me about my favorite verse which I happened to later read. Usually, I don't enter into conversations when approached by able bodied men, like Robert, who are asking for money (which probably speaks more to my insecurity than anything else). However, Robert was different. He bore a sincere smile on his face and seemed awfuly full of joy.

As he came closer to my car I could see by the container he held that he was apparently not asking anything for himself. It held a picture of some children who Robert described as "at-risk youth" who were headed for the streets, the same place he'd come from. The eldest among them couldn't have been more than 11 or 12. Robert also spoke of his faith in Jesus Christ and mentioned a few Biblical passages about caring for those in need, which were not simply rifled out but spoken as if truly believed.

I don't know whether Robert's entire approach was a part of a facade or not. It is certainly possible that everything from his appearance, the picture, his words, and even his smile were all fabricated. However, I doubt this very much and I have a feeling that instead Robert was a man on a mission. When our conversation was drawing to a close and I was asked of my favorite verse I spoke of Paul's words to the Philippian church. Robert seemed to connect with them.

As I later considered his words, demeanor, and apparent selflessness I began to realize that he too is a man intent on knowing Christ, and the power of his resurrection. It is the power to overcome even death and hell, and as I'm sure Robert would testify, it is the power to break the hold that the streets can have on so many, even children. I think rather than being fooled by him I was given a gift. He vividly portrayed to me the same verse I shared with him. So, wherever you are Robert, I thank you and I pray for safety and the life that flows from Christ's resurrection for you and the children you aim to help.

Running Rebel

There are times, so many times, that I am overwhelmed by desire to run my race and be free from self and sin. I long to sit at Your side and write to You a song so beautiful. But it seems every time I set out I quickly wear out. When discouragement has set in and taken its toll my feet seem to shrink beneath me. The moment I set pen to page, even with Your hand embracing me, the ink dries up and the words just disappear.

Lord, train me to run well without growing weak and breaking down. May Your words be in me and me and may their flow be free. I know You've set my feet to run and my lips to speak Your love. Yet it always feels like I've finished before I've begun. I want to speak of You but so often remain disappointed by the setting sun. Overtake me Lord, train me to run. Open my ears that I might truly hear.

"But you, son of man, hear what I say to you. Be not rebellious like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you."

Ezekiel 2:8

Ask in His name

"Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full." -John 16:24

These were the words I heard the Lord quietly speak to my spirit as I read His word this morning. It seemed strange to me that on the eve of Christmas I would be encouraged to ask something of Him rather than being encouraged to give. Somehow it didn't seem quite right that I should be asking for anything when He came to give everything. Then, it occurred to me that perhaps it's not all that strange that Jesus continues to desire to give of Himself, indeed He never ceases to give.

So, I thought about what I really need. With all the change my family and I have experienced over this past year I've often felt exhausted and the ability to really give from my heart, the way Jesus always did, seems to be lying dormant. That's when I realized why the Lord chose this morning, in this season, to encourage me to ask of Him. I think that what I need most right now is a renewed ability to selflessly love again. I'm tired of feeling as though I have nothing to offer others. I know this hasn't at all been true, but the exhaustion of this past extended season has taken its toll.

I've happened to watch the movie, "The Grinch" with my family several times over the past week or so, and I couldn't help thinking about a particular scene. It's near the end of the movie when the Grinch finally learns what Christmas is really about and his heart grows three sizes. This is what I desire, to have my own capacity to love others expanded far beyond what I've known before. This is what I asked of the Lord.

If the Lord were to invite you to ask something new of Him today how might you reply?

Words of Life

Pure words are very rarely heard among the people of this world. Even while a well intended and meaning person may attempt to speak with complete truth and honesty the ability to really do so is fleeting. It is not for lack of effort or desire that this challenge exists. So many of us really want to be completely transparent, honest, and loving with one another, and at times we are. Most often I fear there remains, however small and minute, a measure perhaps of pride or insecurity, or maybe anxiety, or even selfishness. I know at least this has been true of me, but I do not think this to be an uncommon reality. Even the great writers of the Bible spoke of the need of being refined. They recognized that they were not unlike jewels and precious metals concerning purity. They often used the image of a metal worker refining silver to describe their (and our) need for refinement.

In our world today, a premium is paid for drinking water that has been purified. It is water that has gone through intricate and thorough filtration processes, sometimes repeatedly, all in an effort to extract the smallest germ, bacteria, or particle so that the water can be considered pure. These are those which mostly can only be seen through the lenses of a microscope. Yet, if they can be found, even in the smallest of numbers, the water cannot be labeled as pure. Our words are like that. They often contain ill feelings and thoughts that are veiled by the sounds actually formed by our mouths. Oh, we don't intend for this to be how it is with one another, but we cannot help what is really felt deep down, which is the reason that we so desperately need the Refiner's touch. And isn't that interesting? This Refiner of people, the One who takes us as we are and cleanses us, bringing His skilled and gentle strengthening touch is also the One well accustomed with purity.

I love the way David writes about this in the twelfth Psalm. In verse six he writes, “The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.” While true purity of speech ever remains a challenge for people, well intended as we may be, it has never been a challenge for Jesus. His words are life giving, rich and abounding with blessing. They are filled with hope and peace. Reassurance and rest are found in them. Truth and honesty are at their core where love also abounds. They flow from His lips more pure than the highest mountain stream. There is no guile, no deceit, no insecurity or anxiety in them. They contain no pretense, no false humility, no pride or arrogance, no lie is found in them whatsoever. Evil and wickedness, all that defiles, anything untoward could never enter into His speech.

It is for the Lord's efforts alone that pure speech can be found at all, sometimes through the voices of believers, but always by His Spirit. May we cling to the words He's spoken to us, centuries ago, which saints long ago captured and wrote upon scrolls of parchment. May we embrace the words His Spirit speaks to our souls still today and may our ears ever be open to Him. And may we allow our own mouths and tongues be instruments for His pure words to flow to one another.

The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.

Psalm 12:6

A Season of Change

I listened to the minister speak of a preferred future verses God's promised future as I drove through Merced, CA the other day and I could most definitely relate. He talked about a number of major transitions in his own life, and others' lives, in which there was always a preferred future that he expected to unfold. This was an attempt at a picture and a plan to get to the place the Lord had some time earlier spoken of concerning him. However, the Lord had other ideas in mind, another plan to unfold that was necessary in order to bring him into the future He had promised rather than the one the minister preferred. He found that when he waited for the Lord to lead him through the change instead of pressing ahead with his own plans he experienced something far better, far more grace-filled, and blessed than anything he could have devised.

This morning I consider the past 11 years of my life with a different perspective than I had just 1 year ago. There have been many many changes my family and I have walked through which no doubt would have gone without God's blessing (there is a difference between provision and blessing) had we not waited upon Him. I quickly remember praying for the Lord to bring me companionship, but not just that, a bride who would honor Him first of all and would together walk with me alongside Jesus. The Lord completely blew me away when He blessed me with Charis' hand (8 years now). He promised with each of our children that He would teach me how to love them as they needed, to be the father He desired me to be. Then, there were jobs the Lord brought my way, each one I hardly felt qualified to hold. There have been very meaningful, sometimes tender, conversations which required special care and attention. All of these required in one way or another me to wait upon the Lord, sometimes just for the sake of timing, but often because of what He was doing behind the scenes. Although I believe I've understood this value of waiting upon Him I now have new appreciation for it as we seem to be experiencing it in an entirely different dimension.

It was nearly a year ago when the Lord first spoke to Charis and I about moving away from Utah and into California to connect with another church family. I immediately recognized I would need a new job, my daughter a new school, and something that has proved to be the hardest part of all. We would be leaving the most precious church family we'd ever known. Some of the dearest people in the world to us, and closest friends, would of course remain there while we set out for some place unknown to us then. Yet, we knew with certainty what the Lord had spoken, so unmistakable was His message to us. We began to prepare ourselves as well as we could for the eventual transition. However it would be about another 3 months before we were sure of the place God was leading us. In January we drove out to Bakersfield, CA, as it seemed this was where He had in mind for us. By the time we left there, after attending several services and spending time with some of the folks from this new church, we knew this place would eventually be our new home.

It was both a great relief to actually know where we'd be moving to as well as a deep sadness because it represented a further assurance that we would indeed be leaving the place we had called home for so long. For whatever reason I had expected everything to move very quickly after that visit. However, it felt like anything but quick. First, we tried selling our house on our own. After 3 months of trying this, and without anyone coming to see it, we finally decided to call our friend Mitch, and have it listed. After about 2 months, and 6 or 7 showings, we finally had an agreed upon offer.

Still, there was still the matter of finding a job. I had done numerous job searches but could find very little in or near Bakersfield, in my line of work. Somewhere around March a couple of folks talked to me about the possibility of working from home and with 1 of the businesses who are a part of the organization I supported. This sounded like a great idea and after talking it over with my wife, and praying about it, I told them I'd be interested if such a possibility presented itself. Well, it would be about 3-4 months before there was anything concrete. In the meantime I had taken a voluntary demotion so that my replacement could be trained. Then, as we approached our closing date on the sale of our home the job finally came through. Whew, talk about last minute!

When the dust finally settled (for the most part) we had landed in Merced (about 2.5 hours north of Bakersfield) so that we could be near to some very close family here while we began looking for homes down the road. We had determined several weeks earlier that we would home-school our little girl for now and through the moving out/in process we crazily figured it was the right time to start. There were definitely a few bumps early on, but we felt this was the route the Lord wanted us to take for her schooling, at least for now, so we persisted. Thankfully, a few weeks into Charis and Caitrin have begun to hit a groove.

Some of our dust will continue settling for sometime now I'm sure, especially considering we haven't made it all the way to Bakersfield just yet. However, the Lord has been abundantly gracious to us. Even in the midst of all this change, our lives truly feeling uprooted, He has continued to work things out for us in such a way that has become increasingly clear that our waiting upon Him has been very important. Early on in this process He spoke to me a passage from Psalm 37. He told me to "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him". I continued to speak this to me throughout the entire process, and each time there was a sense that He wanted to do something within me.

So, while I couldn't control the pour housing market, the lack of jobs, or simply the difficult timing of it all I could do one thing. I could repeatedly yield myself to His plans and his timing. This I've chosen to do and will continue to. While He's worked out some very cool things for us in terms of practical needs, the most valuable things have been the changes I've sensed within. This has also been some of the hardest change, as it's required the depleting of my pride and selfishness and stretch my faith, and then stretched it some more.

Still, I will continue to be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him. For, as the minister spoke of a preferred future verses God's promised future while I drove through Merced I knew exactly what He was talking about.

He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,

your vindication like the noonday sun.

Be still before the Lord,

and wait patiently for him

Psalm 37:6-7a

Two Shepherds

For six weeks I watched a beautiful transformation take place and the Lord allowed me a place of honor, up close, taking it all in. No picture captures it more perfectly than one particular scene from Pastor Mark and Cheryl’s sending off party.

Much of the evening had been spent honoring the two of them, but this one portion epitomizes both Pastor Mark’s and Pastor Robert’s heart. They were both welcomed up front, fittingly to the altar, along with our longest active member and a very dear friend, Ginny Dominquez. She first stood before Mark, with a shepherd’s staff in her hands, a symbol of how faithful, tenderly, and lovingly he had served this family of believers for 15 years. She spoke to him about the way he’d lived out these virtues before us and how thankful we’ve been for his care. The staff was then extended to him and embraced before being offered back to Ginny and then transferred to Robert. Words of welcome, holy expectation, and trust were offered to him, believing God had brought about this change, this transition of shepherds over a flock. Robert then also embraced the staff and humbly accepted the responsibility. Tears were in his eyes and gratitude was on his lips for Mark, who’d walked so close beside him these last six weeks, and for the Lord’s call and for the family welcoming.

It was simply the most beautiful and emotional transfer of leadership I’ve ever witnessed, rote with care and concern for one another, mutual respect and true brotherhood. Yet, it was not a scene which unfolded in that moment alone. For those six weeks (the first two of these occurring before either of them knew what would transpire) I watched and walked near them. There were many early morning meetings, at Starbucks of course, which really centered in their heart-filled exchange about our church family, listening together to what the Lord was saying. There was perhaps the most wonderful family camp we’ve ever held. At one point Mark and Cheryl were prayed for by the entire church (a moment I sadly missed). There were times of concerned conversations for each other and those they had been called to care for. I watched as they both served each other in prayer, counsel, and even in work. All along they were of one heart, mind, and spirit.

They walked together so well through this transition, as dual shepherds of a single flock because God had graced them and because they were both set upon loving God with all they had and loving others well. Yes indeed, I had a very privileged place of honor near them both as they walked along. However, it was not my privilege alone. This journey, taken by two shepherds was not done in private, as though isolated from those they cared for. It was walked out in front them, lived out free of pride or shame, or any other ill thing. It was walked out openly because it was ordained of the Lord, and those of us a part of this church family can all attest to the privilege of witnessing the beauty of their six week journey together. Thank you Pastors Mark and Robert for giving us such an example.