Internal Life...

A re-post from Christmas 2010...

Translated into over 1100 languages from Afrikaans to Zulu, John 3:16 must surely be the most memorized verse in the Bible. Martin Luther called it 'the Gospel in miniature'- just 26 words that summarize God's entire purpose for sending Jesus into the world: 

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Recently, I was teaching a 3rd Grade Bible class and had challenged the students to memorize John 3:16. A cute little girl raised her hand and recited the verse perfectly until she got to the next to the last word:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have internal life.

Her mom and I smiled as we automatically started to correct her, but then we stopped. That little girl was not wrong. In fact, she was absolutely right! We who believe in Jesus, along with eternal life, can claim 'internal' life too. As we celebrate the birth of Christ this season, let's remember that we have Jesus living inside us, with all the peace, joy and hope that He alone can bring. No matter what may rage externally, we can hold on to internal life- life 'in all its fullness.' This Christmas, let's sow the message of internal life deep into the hearts of the children we nurture.

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10: 10

Down, Down, Down..

Last year when my husband and I flew back to England to visit our families, we went to see Lord Horatio Nelson's flagship- the HMS Victory. Now lying in a dry dock, the Victory is the oldest commissioned warship in the world and fought in the American Revolution, the French Revolution, and the Napoleonic Wars. One of the Victory's most impressive features was an enormous anchor, weighing an incredible 2 tons! I stood on deck and imagined that huge anchor plummeting down, down, down, to the murky depths of the ocean below in order to hold that ship safely in place. And it made me think of Jesus.

Weighing probably less than 10 pounds, that tiny baby came... down, down, down, to the murky depths of humanity below in order to hold us close to Him. Friends... you and I are anchored in heaven by Jesus Christ. Storms may blow and seas may rage around us, but He is holding us safely to Him- a firm anchor that will never let us go. What an incredible message to teach our children this Christmas!

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. Hebrews 6:19

A Captivating Moment

I witnessed a beautiful little scene today. Returning home from my morning walk, I heard the sounds of laughter coming from a neighbor's driveway. A grandpa was playing hide and seek with his young grandson. The little boy covered his eyes and began to count whilst Grandpa hid behind the car. When the little boy reached 10, he ran and immediately found his grandpa, who took off running. The little guy squealed in delight and followed in hot pursuit. I stopped to watch this little scene. It was captivating. It made me smile.
I am convinced that God stops to watch us when we are bringing joy to His children. I am convinced that he is captivated by those little moments and wants to share them with us. And I am convinced that when He sees us serving His little ones in ministry, it makes Him smile. Imagine that.We can make the creator of the universe smile. How awesome is that?

The Great Rescue

My son and his wife were landscaping their front yard. They rented a very loud and very powerful stump grinder to remove some deep roots. Not long after beginning to use the machine, they noticed a little squirrel running down the tree behind them, carrying what seemed to be a small mouse in her mouth. A few minutes later, she appeared again, this time scurrying down the trunk with something wrapped tightly around her neck. Fascinated, my son and his wife stopped to watch and realized that the squirrel was rescuing her babies from her nest in the tree above. She was frightened by the noise, and was carrying her children to safety. I guess that little squirrel would do just about anything to rescue her little ones.
As we begin this Advent season, I am reminded that we are waiting for a great Rescuer too...One who would do just about anything to rescue His little ones. And I am reminded also of the awesome privilege we have to teach our children about Him. 
Watch This True Amazing Rescue 
Question: What are you reminded of this Advent?

Just a Little Frost...

I stood back to admire the pretty pansies I had planted in the window box. How amazing that I could be planting flowers in the middle of November, when back in my hometown in Michigan, we would soon be getting ready for snow. But today I was in sunny North Carolina, where the temperature was in the 70's. Beautiful! The next morning though, my pretty pansies looked dead. They hung their heads, limp and lifeless as the frosty air surrounded them. But during the course of the day, those same flowers came back to life! As they felt the warmth of the sun, they turned to it, picked up their heads and began to dance in the wind again. With relief, I remembered that my little flowers can survive a little bit of frost.
Have you ever planted seeds of God's love in a child and then thought those seeds had died? Have you ever watched as a child you nurtured turned their back on God? Don't despair. There is nothing that can destroy those seeds. One day, that child will feel the warmth of God's love again and just like my pansies, they will turn and respond to Him. God's love can endure the harshest of winters. And it will surely survive a little bit of frost.

Baby Shoes

It is 11pm. The house is quiet. For the moment, my 8 month old grandson is sleeping peacefully in bed but his little shoes sitting on the fireplace remind me that I can expect another action packed day tomorrow. Tomorrow will bring another busy round of exploring, crawling, climbing, and learning new things. Tomorrow, little Xander will fill those shoes, and one day soon, he will be ready to walk in them...one step at a time.
Are you ready to fill your shoes tomorrow? How wonderful that no matter who has served in ministry before us, we do not have to worry about filling their shoes- we just need to fill our own. Are you ready to walk wherever God leads? Step out in faith...He will lead us one step at a time.

The Umbrella on the Roof

Several years ago, despite being advised that in the event of a tornado, the safest place for us to go would be the basement, my husband, our four young sons and I stood in sheer amazement, watching the storm outside our living room window. In the front yard, our thin little scarecrow hung on for dear life as the wind tried to wrench him from the ground. The tornado was over in seconds...but it took several months to clean up our town. We were surrounded by fallen trees, wrecked cars and debris. On the back deck of our home, our patio table lay on its side, the chairs were strewn around the yard, and our fancy red umbrella was on the roof. We all set to work and soon, our table, chairs and umbrella were put back, our little scarecrow had his hair combed and was set upright again...and everything was back to normal. It must be part of our human condition...to put everything back just as it was.
But it made me think...if the power of the Holy Spirit blew through our ministry, like that 'violent' wind at Pentecost- what sort of things would He want to move? What changes would He want to make? And if we truly invited that to happen, would we be ready to change, or would we want to put everything back to normal, just the way it was? There is power in the Holy Spirit, and if we truly want to feel His presence, we might find our umbrellas on the roof. The question is...are we brave enough to leave them there?