Carpenter's Shop (Easter)

Hey, Y'all,

Here's another interesting Easter thought from Max Lucado...

"Jesus looked around the carpenter's shop one last time. He stood for a moment in the refuge of that little room that housed so many memories...and among the innumerable voices that found their way into that quiet place in Nazareth was your voice. Your silent prayers uttered on tear-stained pillows? They were heard before they were said. Your deepest questions about death and loss and eternity? They were answered before they were asked."

"This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same temptations we do, yet He did not sin. So let us come confidently to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it." Hebrews 4:15,16

God Came Near pp.24,25


(BTW, you've been prayed for today).

Remember This Easter...

Quick thought on (fast-approaching) Easter from Max Lucado...

"Remember Jesus. Remember holiness in tandem with humanity. Remember the sick who were healed with calloused hands. Remember the dead called from the grave with a Galilean accent. Remember the eyes of God that wept human tears. And most of all, remember this descendant of David who defeated death."

"Where, oh death, is your victory? Where, Oh death, is your sting?"
1 Cor 15:55

You've been prayed for today...

Big Trees, Big Picture

Hey, Y'all,

I've been moving some older RSTs to their new archive home (here at the blog) when I ran across these thought-provoking, perspective-lending, and deeply encouraging words which were originally sent out 5 October 2004. Even if you're not preparing for exams or dealing with academic stressors, these are really good words to live by...

"...The end of the semester's around the corner again--unbelievable. Can't deal with the stress? Take a moment, say a prayer, and I mean a real prayer, talk to God like a friend, tell Him what's on your mind, and then meditate on His goodness and generosity to us. Think about it. Like look at His wonders in creation--the birds, the plants, the oceans, the air, and yes, you. Try to see the big picture. Yesterday, I stopped and stood in the sequoia grove by Hildebrand. For the first time in 3 years here [Cal-Berkeley] I stopped and tried to see the tops of those massive trees. As I stood there craning my neck and listening to the wind rustling the leaves, it occurred to me...no one's ever watered these trees...yet, they're there, massively and gloriously...

Here's another cool thought along those lines: 'Like the stars in the vast circuit of their appointed path, God's purposes know no haste and no delay' (Desire of Ages, p. 32). Hang in there, God's right there with you, and His peace will cover you. Do as (the apostle) Paul counseled us, 'Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus' (Philippians 4:6,7)."

Thanks Paul ("the other Paul") for a very cool RST--it spoke volumes to me today, and I know there are many who have been (and will be) blessed as well.

You've been prayed for today...

Of Ants and Contacts

Hey, Y'all,

I don't remember where I've read this little ditty before, but today it seemed to hit me differently. You might have run across "the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens"--a fairly inconsequential and fluffy little story about God granting the request of a hiker who'd dropped her contact lens and, after frantically and fruitlessly searching for it, prayed that He'd help her find it. [Little editorial comment here: I'll admit it; ordinarily, these stories make me cringe, because out here in "grown-up world" things don't always turn out OK, and we're usually talking about things somewhat weightier than lost contacts].

That being said, this time I saw something completely different--and thank God for that! (you hate to think that maybe you get too cynical or stressed or too sophisticated to be surprised or to hear from God unexpectedly). So I'm "ho-humming" through the story "blah-blah-blah lost contact, blah-blah-blah prayed, blah-blah-blah spotted the contact only because it was being held aloft by an ant," and then it hit me: a mental image of this little-bitty ant lugging an enormous contact lens.

And then I thought of the other prayer being offered simultaneously: "Lord, I don't know why You want me to carry this big ol' whatever-this-is. I can't eat it, I can't use it for anything that I can see, and it's awfully heavy. But, if this is what You want me to do right now, then I'll gladly carry it for you."

Wow. Floored by a silly story. But think about it for a second. How often do we get completely self-centered in our prayers and act as if we were the only spoiled children---err--people on earth? Is it possible that there might just maybe be other facets to what we think is solely our story that we are completely unaware of--but that God is fully aware of?

I love the idea of those two prayers intersecting at our Heavenly Father's In-box. It would probably do me some good to at least occasionally stop praying/whining "please please please" long enough to instead pray like the ant, "Lord: I don't know why you want me to carry this load. I can see no good coming from it, and it's awfully heavy. But, if you want me to carry it, then carry it I will, and I'll do so joyfully, until your will is accomplished." How much better of a prayer is that? And how much better of a way to live is that?

You've been prayed for today...

Think and Choose (Easter Thought)

Hey, Y'all,

Here's a thought from Max Lucado's book No Wonder They Call Him The Savior...kinda gets you thinking...

Something about the crucifixion made every witness to it step toward it or away from it. And today, more than two thousand years later, the same is true. It's the watershed moment of humanity. It's the Continental Divide. And you're either on one side of it or the other. No fence-sitting is possible. A choice is demanded. And by the way, no decision, a decision for the status quo, is still a decision. So you're going to have to think about it: where do you choose to be today? And tomorrow?

Brings to mind the words of Joshua (Joshua 24:14,15) where he lays out to the people of Israel that there can only be one God guiding your life if you expect it to make any sense whatsoever, and you must therefore choose very carefully whom you will serve because there are a lot of things vying for our attention--vying for rulership of our lives. And I love that he concludes by emphatically stating "as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Love that--gets me every time.

Interestingly, this same sentiment was echoed by Christ in His sermon on the Mount found in Matthew 5-7--which BTW is always an amazingly powerful few chapters that are easy to read but are definitely life-changing (if applied, of course); this is where Christ first explains what His "kingdom" is about and what His followers ought to be doing: the destiny and birthright that humanity had all but forgotten (and that He came to restore to us)--how ridiculously cool is that?!?! Check it out, you'll never be the same.

You've been prayed for today...

The Greatest Miracle (Easter)

Today's RST is another Easter thought this time based on a quote from Max Lucado's book "Six Hours One Friday"...


No stained-class-framed and eloquent homilies. No excuses nor mitigating circumstances. Just an honest, desperate plea for help...

At this point, Jesus performs the greatest miracle of His ministry. Right there on the cross. Greater than raising the dead or healing the sick. Greater than casting out demons or feeding thousands. Greater than the earthquake that followed His death, greater than the tearing of the curtain from top to bottom, greater than the darkness, greater even than His resurrection and the appearing on the streets of the simultaneously-resurrected saints. He performed the miracle that, by the way, He still loves to perform--the miracle of forgiveness...

Wow. One second, a convicted thief, paying for his crimes, like a beggar nervously squeezing his hat at the castle door, wondering if the King might spare a few crumbs. The next, suddenly standing in an impossibly well-stocked pantry and hearing--"this is all for you." Such is the very definition of grace--God's grace...


"Jesus, please remember me when you come into your kingdom."

"I will--you will be there with me."

(Luke 23:42,43)


You've been prayed for today...

Meaning (and Peace) in Difficult Times

Hey, Y'all,

I know there are several of you who are struggling with life right now and who are weighed down with various things. Here's hoping this weekend holds a special Sabbath rest and blessing for you, and now listen to these words of hope (from John Fischer of PurposeDrivenLife.com)--but first, of course, let's hear from The Word (James 1); I now you know these, but read them again slowly, roll the words around in your mind...


Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything...God blesses the people who patiently endure testing. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

We all experience loss sometime, whether it's a job or a business or a relationship is immaterial, it's a loss, and how we handle it is actually a true test of whether we really believe God has a purpose for us or not (and, just by the by: what do you think this whole "faith" thing is about anyway if not this?).

If He does have a purpose for our lives, then these losses are not truly losses in His view [notice--His view, which is a bit more comprehensive than ours]. They are opportunities to learn what we couldn't learn any other way, or in some cases, time shows us that through this "losing" He was actually leading us toward something even better (or protecting us from something worse!) that we couldn't see coming...

Brings to mind a thought Trina shared (thanks, Trina!)...

"You are covered in prayers--prayers for wisdom, comfort and a sense of His peace...I don't know if this will help, but I remembered this quote from the book that we were discussing the other night in our women's group:

"'The difference between trusting that there is an ultimate happy ending, and making an idol of that ending, lies in our willingness to let it be a mystery of God's timing and not of our choosing.'

Peace to you..."

And peace to you all as well--you've been prayed for today.

Waiting Calmly, Especially When Things Are Unclear

Hey, Y'all,

Today's RST comes from Silvia (thanks!)--especially love how it closes: strong!


I was checking out my very cool new bible [from the Thrive Seminar] and this just jumped out as if it was looking for me instead of the other way around...how cool is that?

"The main thing to remember while you're waiting on God for whatever -- a child, a job, a spouse, a dream, a direction -- is that God is at work. He is in control of everything. It may not seem that God is even listening to your prayers, but He is. And He will act on your behalf in His timing and His plan. Trust, even when you don't see. Especially when you don't see. And always believe [that He has your best interests at heart]."

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you,
whose thoughts are fixed on you!

Trust in the Lord always,
for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.

Isaiah 26:3,4


"How cool is that" is right. You've been prayed for today...

God Had A Plan (Easter)

Today's thought is very similar to yesterday's and it again reminded me of something we said in the men's group--it's something I don't spend enough time considering: the inconceivable unselfishness, generosity, LOVE in other words, that God showed--and continues to show--in assuming complete responsibility for dealing with a terrible mess not of His making--the mess we've made. That brought to mind a couple of other passages (and the RST is based on a quote from another book of Max Lucado's, God Came Near)...

Christ's death was not the result of a panicked cosmological engineer. It wasn't some tragic surprise, a knee-jerk response to a world plunging toward self-destruction. The death of the Son of God was anything but an unexpected peril. No, it was part of a plan, The Plan in fact. It was a choice; the choice of a loving parent seeking to recover His lost children.


"[Jesus] was handed over...by God's set purpose and foreknowledge..." Acts 2:23


"You know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ [who] was chosen before the creation of the world." 1 Peter 1:18-20




You've been prayed for today...

First "Easter" Thought

Today's thought was brought to mind by last night's discussion in the Men's Ministry study of the book "Messiah" and it serves to start a sequence of Easter-related thoughts. It's based on a quote from Max Lucado's "And The Angels Were Silent"...


Forget any suggestion that Jesus was trapped. Erase any theory that God made a miscalculation. Ignore any speculation that the cross was a last-minute last-ditch attempt to salvage a failed mission. For if these words tell us anything they tell us that Christ died on purpose. No surprise. No hesitation. No faltering. On purpose.

[Jesus said] "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified." Matthew 20:18,19


You've been prayed for today.

God's Cure For "The Blahs"

Today's RST comes courtesy of Amanda (thanks!)--you should look up and underline these verses in your Bibles--it's good stuff!

Happy Sabbath (more on that below, interestingly enough)...

God's Cure For "The Blahs:"

Just "R.E.L.A.X."

R = realize your worth--He loves you just as you are, and He loves who He knows you can become. God says, "you are precious to me. You are honored, and I love you." Isaiah 43:4 (NLT)

E = enjoy what you already have--be content and don't chase after "more stuff." Paul said "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, wheter well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want...my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:12,19 (NIV)

L =limit your labor--rest; take a breather; change the scenery and look around at the beauty of what God has done. "You have 6 days in which to do your work, but the seventh day is a day of rest dedicated to me. On that day no one is to work..." Exodus 20:9-10 (GN)

A = adjust your values--seriously now: what really truly matters, and what's just hype? Think about it..."What good is it for man to gain the whole world yet forfeit his soul?" Mark 8:36-37

X = eXpect God's care
"Do not worry saying, What shall we eat...drink.. or wear? For the pagans run [chase] after all these things, and your Heavenly Father know you need them. Rather, seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:31-34 (NIV)


You've been prayed for today...

Worry Is Blind

Hey, Y'all,

Today we're doing things the other way around: this quote is from The Desire of Ages (from which sprang the updated version "Messiah")--my mom e-mailed me this a while ago (she says it's one of her favorites and I've got to agree):

"Worry is blind and cannot discern the future; but Jesus sees the end from the beginning. In every difficulty He has His way prepared to bring relief. Our Heavenly Father has a thousand ways to provide for us of which we know nothing." (p.330)

You've been prayed for today...

Church Sign

Hey, Y'all,

Today's RST comes to us courtesy of Becki:

"Today as I was driving to work, thinking of the 100 million things that need to be done, I passed by a church, and the sign out front read as follows:

"'The task ahead of us is never as great as the power behind us.'

"How cool is that?"

Pretty cool--thanks, Becki.

You've been prayed for today.

(Originally posted July 1, 2004)

Good Shepherd and Comforter (from "Messiah")

Today's RST is taken from Jerry Thomas' "The Messiah"--a modern adaptation/retelling of Ellen White's "The Desire Of Ages," a moving book on the life of Christ (thanks Papia for sending this my way).


Jesus--the Divine Shepherd--knows His flock even though they're scattered throughout the world. Jesus knows us each as individuals: "I have called you by name, you are mine." He knows where we live and the things we face each day...Jesus knows each of us as well as He would if we were the only ones for whom He came to die. He knows our needs and our pain. He cares for each of us as if there were not another person on the planet.

Our untiring Good Shepherd has not left us alone to struggle...Though we cannot see Him, by faith we can hear Him saying, "Don't be afraid, I am with you. I have shared your sorrow, your struggles, your temptations. I have cried tears like yours -- I know the pain that is too deep to share with anyone else. You are not alone."

Reminds me of the passage that says, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." 2 Corinthians 1:3,4. Kind of cool to think that--as is also implied in The Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:7-15)--just as we've been comforted, so we're to share comfort and acceptance with others.


You've been prayed for today...

God's Protection

Hey, Y'all,

Here're some more good thoughts on God's protection...which BTW doesn't mean we will always skate through difficulties unscathed, but we do get through them without being crushed or destroyed (see 2 Corinthians 4:8,9):


Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the hills--
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip--
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD watches over you-
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

The LORD will keep you from all harm-
he will watch over your life;
the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

_______________________________________________________


The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.

Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

Psalm 34:7,8


You've been prayed for today...


(Originally posted June 13, 2004)

The Piano

Hey, Y'all,
This one starts a little cheesy but winds up strong.
Happy Sabbath...

****************************************************************

"The Piano"

Wishing to encourage her young son's progress on the piano, a mother took her boy to a Paderewski concert. After they were seated, the mother spotted a friend in the audience and walked down the aisle to greet her. Seizing the opportunity to explore the wonders of the concert hall, the little boy rose and eventually explored his way through a door marked "NO ADMITTANCE."

When the houselights dimmed and the concert was about to begin, the mother returned to her seat and discovered that the child was missing. Suddenly, the curtains parted and spotlights focused on the impressive Steinway on stage. In horror, the mother saw her little boy sitting at the keyboard, awkwardly picking out "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." At that moment, the great piano master made his entrance, quickly moved to the piano, and whispered in the boy's ear, "Don't quit. Keep playing." Then leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in a bass part. Soon his right arm reached around to the other side of the child and he added a running obbligato. Together, the old master and the young novice transformed an potentially humiliating situation into a wonderful experience. And the audience was mesmerized.

Whatever our situation in life and our history--however outrageous, however desperate, whatever dry spell of the spirit, whatever dark night of the soul--God is whispering deep within our beings, "Don't quit. Keep playing. You are not alone. Together we can transform the broken patterns into a masterwork of my creative art. Together, we will change the world with our song of peace."

Don't quit...Keep playing...You are not alone...Together we can change those halting, broken notes into glorious music, to move us and those around us with the peace that comes from knowing the Master Musician.

(You've been prayed for today).

(Originally posted June 11, 2004)

Sacred Ordinary Things

Cool thought today from PurposeDrivenLife.com's John Fischer which is reminiscent of thoughts we've discussed previously (especially in the Men's Group study of the book "The Pursuit Of Holiness")...


Jean-Pierre Caussade, an 18th century writer, once said, "What God arranges for us to experience at each moment is the holiest thing that could happen to us."

Nothing stunts our spiritual growth more than the imaginary line by which we separate holy things from secular things. Christ lived a human life on a strictly human level, and yet all of it was holy--why? Can you imagine Jesus ever having a purely “secular” moment? Neither can I, and He is the example we are striving to emulate. Now, does that mean He walked around with His hands in a praying position all the time, spoke in a low voice, never laughed, and whenever He opened His mouth, scripture came forth? I don't think that's what he came to show us either.



It's time to welcome Christ into your world. All of it. Welcome Him to your coffee, to your cell phone conversations, to your chores around the house, to your commute, to the board meeting and the shopping mall and your home--to the kitchen, the family room, and the bedroom. All of it.


We exhaust ourselves trying to get into His world with no success, which is pretty silly when He already came to our world, lived in flesh like ours and intends to continue living in us daily. The Word became flesh, and it still is flesh--it's just that the flesh is now yours and mine. Until we believe this we will never understand what it truly means to be holy.


So let’s set aside all those flipped-out ideas about holiness and welcome Christ to our seemingly insignificant and frequently dysfunctional lives--it's where He wants to be anyway. And that's precisely where the enemy doesn't want Him to be, because once He is there, we discover that, in fact, all of life is sacred, and we can finally say along with Jean-Pierre Caussade, indeed, "What God arranges for us to experience at each moment is the holiest thing that could happen to us."

Or as an unknown writer has said: "May I bring God pleasure as much by simply walking through my day today as I would by going to church or reading my bible or praying." There are in fact no spiritually insignificant moments in life.


You've been prayed for today...

Spiritual Schizophrenia

Hey, Y'all,

Here's some cool stuff that reminds me why I have to follow God and not my own defective thinking (which may have gotten me into trouble in the past...yeah, I know it's just me, right?!?).

First, to set the stage, Romans 7:14-25 which captures the human condition beautifully--"why did I just do that? that's not what I wanted!" (kind of interesting how little some things change over a couple of millenia, huh?)(and yes, I'd suggest you read the whole passage in a couple of different versions if you have them as it fleshes out the excerpt)(and yes again--I can already hear some of you getting ready to fire off an e-mail--you should definitely read the whole of chapter 7, and then chapter 8 as it resolves the issue--but in the interest of space, that's for you big boys and girls to do on your own). Alright, here goes:

"The law is good, then. The trouble is not with the law but with me, because I am sold into slavery, with sin as my master. I don't understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do the very thing I hate. I know perfectly well that what I am doing is wrong, and my conscience shows that I agree that the law is good. But I can't help myself, because it is sin inside me that makes me do these evil things.

"I know I am rotten through and through so far as my old sinful nature is concerned. No matter which way I turn, I can't make myself do right. I want to, but I can't. When I want to do good, I don't. And when I try not to do wrong, I do it anyway. But if I am doing what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing it; the sin within me is doing it.

"It seems to be a fact of life that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another law at work within me that is at war with my mind. This law wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin."

"For the word of God is full of living power. It is sharper than the sharpest knife, cutting deep into our innermost thoughts and desires. It exposes us for what we really are."

Hebrews 4:12

"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? 'I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind.'"

Jeremiah 17:9,10

"Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path."

Psalm 119:105

Cool, huh?

You've been prayed for today.

(originally posted October 27, 2005)

Simple (and yet somewhat complicated)

Hey, Y'all,

Today's thought is simple yet profoundly complex, straightforward yet astoundingly deep...tell me this isn't cool--and challenging. Read it slowly, let it roll around in your mind, let it wash across your heart, and hear it like it's the first time (and thanks Art for the idea)...


"Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
Why spend money on that which is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

Give ear and come to me;
hear me, that your soul may live...
Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.

Let the wicked forsake his way
and the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him,
and to our God, for He will freely pardon.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.

"As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Isaiah 55:1-9

He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?

Micah 6:8

Do justly...hmmm...and love mercy...not always easy...and walk humbly with your God...wow. That's what is good; not some esoteric list of "dos" and "don'ts"--just simple instructions: do the just thing, the right thing, every time, without exception...love mercy--which almost by definition is extended to those who don't deserve it...and walk humbly with your God: dethrone the tyrant Self and yield to the gracious and legitimate Lord of my life...

Yeah: I'd say Isaiah quoted the Lord accurately--though He might have understated it a bit--when He said

"My thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD.

"As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts."

And yet, this, this is what He yearns for me to aspire to, and for you as well...this is part of "the most excellent way"...

He has shown you, O man, what is good...

Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live...

You've been prayed for today.