As a little boy growing up, I often struggled with an identity crisis.  You see, there would be times when I would be playing by myself in my bedroom and my mom would sometimes call me to come to her for something she needed me for.  She would call out my name, “Tommy, come here!”  I would go to her but very adamantly and with a serious tone, remind her, “My name is not Tommy! It’s Batman!” Of course, she would smile and from then on call me Batman.  So, later on in the day, she would need me for something again but this time she remembered and would call out for Batman instead of Tommy.  But little did she know, I had retired my bat wings and moved on from Gotham City and was now faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and I was now able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!  “I’m not Batman mom”, rolling my eyes, “I’m Superman!” Of course, she would smile again and call me Superman.  Apparently according to my mom, this went on quite a bit.  The next time she called me as Superman, I corrected her again for her obvious mistake.  “Don’t you know, I’m not Superman, I’m Spiderman!”  My mom laughs whenever she still tells this story.  She never knew what to call me.  

You know sometimes even today, I bounce back and forth with who I really am.  No, I don’t go around calling myself Batman but somedays, I call myself a child of God when there are other days, I forget my identity and call myself a failure, a sinner who really blew it.  One time I was trying to worship God at church and I couldn’t feel connected.  Everyone else seemed to be but I couldn’t get into it.  I started to think about all my past sins and failures and the thought occurred to me that maybe the Lord was mad at me.  Maybe because of my broken marriage, my past failures, the promises I failed to keep, the Lord was holding himself back from me.  Maybe I had forfeited His love for me.  And so I took on this identity, one of a messed up villain.   I was not good enough to be a superhero, at least not in God’s eyes.  But one day the Lord called me by a name that I had forgotten about.  He called me “Justified, come here!”  And He didn’t just call me “Justified”, He showed me my name in my birth certificate found in Romans.  In chapter five He explained what my name actually means.  He told me that my name means peace with God.  I’m no longer a villain, but I’m part of the dynamic duo, I’m with Him, and He is with me.  “But God you don’t understand”, I told him.  “I’m Suffering…”  He insisted and called me again by my real name, “Justified, rejoice, don’t get discouraged, there is hope, your real self is being developed by my Spirit inside you.  You are not your circumstances.”  Again I insisted on being called something else, “But God, I’m a sinner, I have made bad decisions, failed big time.  Aren’t you forgetting, my name is DIVORCED.”  He stopped me, wrapped His arms around me and whispered in my ear, “Justified, I gave you my love before you could ever give me yours.  I committed myself to you before you could ever commit to me.  Why do you think there is anything you could do or have failed to do that I have not already died for?” His words penetrated my whole being and suddenly I felt like that day on my spiritual birthday.  I was only eight but birthed by faith alone and not by works into my new family.  My earthly father led me by the hand to Jesus that day, and Jesus led me by the hand to my Heavenly Father who took me in his arms and for the first time, He named me.  Who am I?  It’s written on my birth certificate in Romans five.  My name is JUSTIFIED.  I’m an orphan no longer but a son forever and nothing has nor ever will separate me from the love that is in Christ Jesus my Lord.

Romans 5:1

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:8

But God demonstrates his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.     

When I was a young child around the age of five, I received from my parents, a gift.  This gift was a Spiderman bicycle.  It came with training wheels and everyday I used to ride it up and down the sidewalk pretending I was “Ponch”.  Just in case your eighties pop culture trivia is not all that great, “Ponch” was the character played by Eric Estrada from the hit  television show about two motorcycle highway patrolmen, called “Chips”.  I thought he was so cool.  My friend Danny and I used to argue who would play the motorcycle officer, “Ponch” and who would play his road sidekick, “John”.  None of us wanted to play “John”, because well, he was just too boring.  Anyway, it wasn’t until my grandfather, or a.k.a, “Buppa”, came to visit us for a couple of weeks, that I finally was able to ditch the training wheels.  I remember it was very difficult for me at first. Buppa, would hold on to the seat and then whenever he would let go, “splat”, down I would hit the pavement.  I just couldn’t seem to balance myself but even with some slight bruises on the knee, I found myself determined, like a rodeo cowboy saddling up once more to tame the stallion once again.  Yes, sir, I had to learn this thing, cause after all, “Ponch” didn’t chase down bad guys with a motorcycle on kiddie wheels and neither was I going to. I had to do this, I had to learn.  Buppa, noticed my frustrations, and just when I was getting slightly discouraged, he told me to be patient and don’t think too hard, just let it come naturally.  He then changed tactics, and reminded me of a time when I was two and how I used to ride my favorite toddler push bike around the house.  He said I’d just plop on the bike and use my two feet to just give me a push and I’d coast for awhile and then push off again.   He said to give that a try starting out, then coast, then start pedaling. What he told me made perfect sense, and just like that I pushed off until I was coasting well enough that I was able to get a hold of the pedals and before I knew it I was long gone, just pedaling carefree down the sidewalk, big smile on my face, full of accomplishment. That was one of my very first memories that I remember as a child and today looking back, I am forever grateful that my grandfather taught me these skills, skills that I still use to this day, skills that enable me to experience the sheer pleasure and joy that bike riding can give you. And it all started as a gift my parents bought me when I was five.  I was thinking about this in relation to another gift that I received when I was eight.  The gift given to me by my heavenly Father, the gift of eternal life by faith in Jesus.  Like riding a bike, I got excited and started to try and learn all I could about this gift.  In fact I learned that eternal life was a relationship with the Father and it was mine never to be taken away from me.  In my learning process on how to use the gift, I would often fall from time to time, sometimes, getting myself all bruised up in the knees.  But God sent me wonderful mentors, like my father, and other men of faith that I could learn from and model myself after, men and Godly women to come alongside me and teach me how to have proper balance in life; God first and everything else second.  There was a time I neglected my gift, and stopped using it and I remember how foolish I was thinking I could experience the same results. But the gift of God’s love and mercy was always still there with me that eventually I found myself back on it again pedaling down the trail of the straight and narrow, full of joy that only comes when using this gift. Jesus says in John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly”.  Jesus gives us the gift of eternal life and that’s for free, no strings attached and it’s just by believing in Him but that’s not all, he wants us to experience it abundantly or fully.  Eternal life is not just to be received but to be used.  For us to experience the quality of eternal life, that’s where we have to participate along with Him through learning, and obedience.  My parents gave me a bike when I was five, but for me to fully enjoy the experience of bike riding I had to get on the bike and learn to ride it.  I had to have someone teach me, I couldn’t do it on my own.  A lot of believers miss out on the quality of eternal life and never fully grow because they never had a spiritual “Buppa” to come alongside them and disciple them, to show them how to push off so they could ditch the kiddie wheels for good. If you have received this wonderful amazing gift of eternal life, my prayer for you is that you are using it to the fullest.  If not then may I ask why not?   You are only missing out on what the Lord truly has for you.  Yes, receiving this gift is incredible and there is nothing like it but using it is where the real joy is.  And if you are using it, do you ever take the time to train others on how they too can pedal on a spiritual bike ride without training wheels? Or maybe you’re the person that’s been riding for awhile but now you have gotten tired and are tempted to just get off the bike and quit but I want to encourage you to keep going, don’t stop.  You see, the Lord doesn’t just give us any bike, He gives us a tandem bike.  In fact, you may think you’re pedaling on your own but all along He’s always been the one in the front doing most of the work and guess who gets the credit for the pedaling?  You of course, and how do I know, cause He’s been doing that for me all these years since I got on that bike at eight years of age.  Yes, my God, the best riding partner one could ever have is still with me, pedaling for me.  Even after all my stubbornness I have put Him through, the times I quit, or went my own way, it’s amazing He still takes pleasure in wanting to ride with me. And as we coast down the trail of life, the wind blowing through my hair, I hear Him from time to time encouraging me with words of love as He calls out my name, “Ponch” and although I always insist He should play the part of the cool guy, He just smiles and humbly says, “Just call me John”.  

Christmas may be over but for us as believers, we should never stop reflecting on the meaning of Christ’s birth, daily.  As you focus on Christ’s birth during the Christmas season and throughout the many seasons of your life, I want to encourage you to not overlook the manger scene.   It wasn’t all calm and not all was bright.  No it wasn’t such a silent night full of peace like our nativity sets like to picture it.  Rather it was a hard difficult journey for a couple of teenagers who were tired, overwhelmed, finding themselves in a smelly, dark, cold cave filled with animals and surrounded by foul-smelling strange shepherds from the hills disrupting their privacy.  Imagine a nativity scene of confusion, chaos, difficulty, uncertainty and then stop and look.  Do you see it?  Right in the middle of it all, is that manger.  That lowly manger which contained in it the Savior of the world.  Now think about your life.  Do you ever feel at times like life’s journey has led you to being stuck in a dark cave filled with the stink of life’s stress?  Maybe the future is unclear and doubts and fears have begun to disrupt your silent night.  I want to encourage you, to take a look around you.  In the midst of your situation, that is where you can still find Him.  Just like that lowly manger, thousands of years ago, He still resides in the midst of our here and now.  Mary was able to cherish all these things in her heart.  She knew and so did Joseph that the prophecy was fulfilled.  God was with them.  So the next time you happen to come across another nativity set, don’t just ignore it.  Stop and focus on the manger, let it be a voice that speaks forth tidings of great joy and let it serve as a constant reminder that in the midst of our messiness and difficulties, there is one who is still with us in the middle of it all because He chooses to be.  Jesus, our Immanuel, “God is with us”.

Isaiah 7:14

“Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign.  Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”  

Hope, we are all searching for it.  As believers in Christ, we are all believing for it someday in the future, “the sweet by and by”.  If our circumstances need changing, we hope that God can do a miracle to make it better.  When He doesn’t, there goes our hope.  I heard a terrific sermon the other day by my pastor on this very topic and he used the illustration of the movie the Matrix to drive home his point about where we can find our real hope.  Remember the movie the Matrix?  It came out twenty something years ago.  A movie about a guy who is a computer programmer by day, “Mr. Anderson” and a computer hacker by night, “Neo.”  One day these so called special agents who are the bad guys come visit Mr. Anderson at his office and give him a threatening warning that the hacking he is doing is wrong and he needs to stop messing with the system.  Throughout the movie though, Mr. Anderson doesn’t stop and instead of conforming to the agent’s demands and just going through life as Mr. Anderson, he begins to fight back the system and embrace his real destiny, the one as Neo computer hacker. My pastor brought up the scene where the bad special agent dude has Mr. Anderson by the neck in a speeding subway train.  All is lost as the agent calls out his name several times, “Mr. Anderson!”  Caught in the death grip of the special agent and barely surviving, Mr. Anderson looks up at the agent and with everything he has left, he cries out, “My name is Neo!”  And just like that he becomes almost superhuman, freeing himself from his enemies grip, and bursting through the roof of the train, victorious.  You see where my pastor was going with this?  Sometimes we as believers in Christ, get caught up in the grip of Satan as he tries to remind us of his lies, as he tries to accuse us, condemn us, tell us there is no hope, identify us by our past sins, addictions and failures.  Yet when we look to the promises of God’s word and renew our minds in who He says we are in Christ, we will be able to free ourselves from the grip of Satan’s lies.  When circumstances are holding us down, we will be able to rise above it all because we know that real hope isn’t found in our circumstances getting better, or even changing for the good.  Our hope is found today in who we are in Christ and the trials and suffering that we think are there to hurt us, will only aid us in doing the very thing Satan doesn’t want us to know; the truth that trials transform our identity into becoming more like Christ.  When we can learn to embrace this truth, we will be able to endure the grip of anything that Satan and the hardships of this life want to strangle us with.  So the next time you find yourself faced under the death grip of Satan’s stronghold, just tell him your real name,  “My name is Child of God!” Then go and live differently in hope and in the freedom your new identity.     

2 Corinthians 5:17 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 

Romans 5:3-5

Not only that but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit whom he has given us.”

The other day while at work, I crossed paths with a co-worker of mine whom I haven’t seen in quite awhile.  As a TSA security officer at the airport, I often exchange conversations with various employees throughout the airport; such is the case with this co-worker of mine who works for Delta.  Greg, is his name.  I call him the “preacher man”.  In fact, every time I would have to do a security procedure or have to patrol the baggage ramp area, that’s where I would often encounter this jovial fellow.  Always, cheerful, always smiling and always would have a word for me and for whomever my TSA work partner was for that day.  He would always say, “So what’s the word?”  Before you could answer anything, he would go right into his little sermon and give you an encouragement from God’s word.  And every time it was always something that I needed to hear.  Recently, I have been going through some difficult situations that have caused some stress in my life, so when I bumped into him on my way to the baggage area to conduct a screening procedure at one of the employee doors, it was such a welcomed sight to see him.  The first thing he asked me was how everything was going.  I was honest with him and told him my situation.  He smiled, looked at me with those Jesus eyes of love and everything that came out of his mouth were words of hope, examples from scripture, such as Joseph having to endure his prison to get to the promises that God had for him.  He encouraged me to thank God for what He was going to do and then he got on one of those ramp trucks and drove off.  There I was, left standing at the employee door perspiring in the extremely hot conditions along with my fellow TSA co-worker, in the baggage area.  Just when I was processing all that Greg had said to me, about five minutes later, he came back, stopped his vehicle and handed me and my partner two cold bottles of water.  Encouraged me some more and then drove off.  Then just minutes after he drove off, another airline employee, stopped loading bags onto his cart and came over to us and adjusted one of the big air fans to face us.  He didn’t have to do that. That fan was for him but he did it anyway.  So there we were, drinking cold water and feeling refreshed by the breeze of the fan blowing on us while we stood at the employee door screening employees.  I couldn’t help but cry.  I had to turn away so my co-worker wouldn’t see me.  All I kept thinking to myself, was how God is so good.  It was as if God was saying, “I notice you.”  Even in the cargo area of an airport, the dingiest and hottest of places, I felt His presence reminding me that He was there with me and that I was not forgotten.  Then a song came to my mind.  A worship song called, “Sovereign Over Us”.  In one of the lyrics these words kept replaying in my mind.  “Even what the enemy means for evil, you turn it for our good.”    

Maybe that’s you today?  Maybe you feel like you’ve been abandoned, or forgotten?  Joseph in the Bible could have felt that way.  Especially after being abandoned by his brothers, sold to slavery, falsely accused of being something that he was not, and thrown into a prison cell.  But through it all God used all of those trials to teach Joseph to trust Him and as he did, God was faithful to Joseph.  He made him second in command to Pharaoh, and eventually reunited him with his family again.  Joseph realized looking back that God was working for his good and for the good of all of Israel all along.  “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about the present result, to preserve many people alive.”  Genesis 50:20. 

I don’t know what you are going through, perhaps you find yourself going through something that it just seems like you are stuck in your prison cell and there is no way out.  Stay encouraged.  Just like with Joseph, God is at work for your good.  You are not forgotten.  He reminded me of that in the most unlikeliest of places; that even in a hot, dimly lit, dungeon of an airport called the baggage area, He gave me water to drink and a fan to keep me cool.  If God can meet me there, God can meet you where you are at too.  So, when you are in the midst of the heat, remember, to drink up the bottle water of His Word to replenish you with stories like Joseph, and others to remind you of His faithfulness. Allow Him to point in your direction the fan of the Holy Spirit who will blow upon you His refreshing breeze, cooling you off with His peace and His strength so that you may be able to endure, knowing that His plans are still to prosper and that He has not forgotten.  He is sovereign over us!

Mark 4:37-41

A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.  Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion.  The disciples woke him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”  He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!”  

Recently my wife made a trip to Honduras to visit her family.  Her mother who is nearing eighty seven years of age, lives in the mountains south of the capital city, Tegucigalpa.  To find her house, one must have to drive up the winding narrow dirt roads to get there.  One evening, on the way to visit her mom, she ended up driving through one of the worst storms she had ever seen in a very long time.  To make matters worse, the car was having mechanical issues and stalled in the middle of the road.  There she found herself stuck in a car with her two kids and niece, in the dark while the rain poured even harder and the waters kept rising.  For a moment all looked lost, she started panicking, her life flashed before her eyes, she really thought that the end was very near.  But something inside her told her to pray.  She lifted her fears up to God and left everything in his hands and just at that moment, she noticed up ahead, coming out of the darkness, a pair of headlights shining brightly from another vehicle passing through.  It turned out to be one of her family members, who was heading back home from her mother’s house.  Thankfully, they were able to quickly get to safety.  God came through for her that night and delivered her and her family from the deadly storm.

We may not find ourselves stuck in a literal storm but as travelers in this journey called life, from time to time, we are bound to face situations, difficulties and circumstances which could very well make us feel like we are stuck in a storm.  Sometimes these storms produce waves that can be so overwhelming, we start to fear and wonder if we will ever make it out alive.  Storms, trials, whatever you want to call it we all face them.  There are times when God calms the storms, and there are times when He doesn’t and sometimes it just seems like He doesn’t care.  I love this passage in scripture where the disciples, were frightened, in the midst of a storm.  It must have been a really bad one for it even made some of the disciples who were experienced fishermen worry and fear for their very lives. But where was Jesus in the midst of the crazy storm?  He was sleeping on a cushion.  You see the disciples were at peace while the waves were calm, there was no fear because they willingly went along with Jesus into the boat to get to the other side. However, it wasn’t until the waves got rough, that their inner peace turned to fear.  But isn’t that just like us though?  When circumstances are going great, everything is smooth sailing, we are at peace but when chaos ensues and all hell breaks loose, there goes our faith, there goes our peace and we too just like the disciples end up questioning, if God really cares.  The disciples failed to see that the very person who could control the wind and waves was with them in their boat.  Often times we too when facing our storms, drown in our fears because we forget that the God of the universe is always here with us, living inside us.  Recently, I have been going through my own personal storms, which has rocked my boat of certainty and there have been times, when I felt like all is hopeless.  But when I started to turn my attention to God and off the waves, that’s when I began to see things from His perspective. In fact my situation still hasn’t changed, instead it’s actually gotten worse.  Instead of trying to question God, losing my composure, “don’t you care God?”, I simply have learned to just be still, grab a cushion and nap along next to my Savior.   My cushion is a double sided firm mattress made firmly out of prayer and God’s word.  The scripture says,  “Do not be anxious about anything, but in prayer and petition, present your requests to God with thanksgiving, and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus,”  Philippians 4:6-7.   When we choose to not be worried, but to give it up to God in prayer with thankfulness, God promises us peace.   When we pray in thankfulness, we are thanking God not that we have what we want in advance but we are thanking Him that no matter the outcome, His answer is best and will be good for me.  God doesn’t guarantee that our prayers will be answered the way we want it to but what He does promise to give us, is His peace, a peace described as one that surpasses all understanding.  It’s a peace that comes over you that others will be scratching their heads wondering why are you not stressed or frightened when the circumstances tell you that you have every right to be.  It’s a peace that says no matter if I get my way or not God I trust you, you are my joy and you are my peace.    Memorizing scripture, has also really been the life preserver for me.  The more I  began to hide God’s word in my heart, the more I began to dwell on positive truths for my life.  “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if anything is excellent, or if anything is praiseworthy, think of these things.”  The Bible tells us that when we do think of these things, the “God of peace will be with us.” Philippians 4:8-9. 

 Life is never easy and God never promises us a smooth sail but He does promise to set sail with us.  The next time we find ourselves in a stormy situation, don’t waste your energy trying to save yourself.  Instead be like Jesus, find a cushion and just sleep in the arms of God, resting in Him, knowing that Father God who created the wind and waves, has got this.                    

There was a movie that came out in the late nineties, a sports Cinderella movie called JERRY MAGUIRE.  I remember watching it when I was a student in college. There were several lines in that movie that have later become as iconic as any other famous movie quotes out there. For example, you might be familiar with, “You had me at hello,” or “Show me the money!”.  But there is one quote I still remember that doesn’t get much attention as the others. It’s from one of the early scenes in the movie where Jerry Maguire, a sports agent, wants to sign a contract with the future number one draft pick of the upcoming NFL draft. Jerry goes to visit the family and when he presents a contract, the father of the future star quarterback tells him he doesn’t do contracts but promises him that he will sign with Jerry and with a handshake the father looks him dead in the eye and says,”my word is stronger than oak”.  Of course Jerry believes him and shakes on it but unfortunately for Jerry he has to learn the hard way, that in this fickle dog eat dog world called the NFL, there really is nothing as loyalty. The father backs off of his promise leaving Jerry out in the cold while his son signs with another agent instead. Betrayed, Jerry feels lost, and humiliated for trusting in a promise that was supposed to be “stronger than oak” but instead was nothing but a twig. Perhaps you can relate to Jerry, perhaps you too have felt betrayed by someone who gave you their word and went back on their promise? Maybe you have failed to keep your own word, maybe you have let someone down yourself? If I’m honest I admit I have been there too. I’ve unfortunately failed others by not keeping my word, and I’ve also been the victim of a broken promise or two. It can be disheartening that’s for sure.  Can we really ever be assured of anything in this world?  We are constantly bombarded with empty promises, from politicians, to commercials trying to convince us that their product or their agenda will change our lives for the better and some even guarantee it.  But time and time again we listen to them, buy their product, vote them in office believing them but as usual they never deliver like they were supposed to and we get jaded and let down once again.  It can be hard to ever trust again but praise God, when it comes to God’s promises for our lives including our hope of eternal salvation, we never have to doubt or lack assurance because unlike our fallible selves, God won’t ever go back on His word but will always fulfill it. Numbers 23:19, reminds us of this. “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” I know of some Christians who believe that assurance of our salvation is based on our spiritual growth. Yes, spiritual growth can encourage us but it is not where we get our full assurance.  No, if our assurance is based on us and how we perform for God, then how can we ever be fully assured we are saved? As Christians we don’t always get it right and spiritual growth is never complete on earth and will never be fully realized until we die.  Some days we will be living for God and on fire and the next we could find ourselves apart from God and suddenly we are no longer close and intimate but rather distant and cold.  No, our assurance is a hundred percent based on one thing and one thing only, His word. In John 6:47, Jesus says, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.”  How do you fully know that you are saved? Is there a contract we have to sign, a commitment that we have to live up to in order for His promise to be fulfilled? No, it is simply trusting in Christ without any doubt that what He says is true and that is all we need for us to be sure, that is all we need to be certain that what He says about us will come to pass. So when we mess up, return to His word, when we don’t measure up, return to His word, when we hear the voice of the enemy slandering us, reminding us of our past wrongs, when we feel overwhelmed by shame and guilt, return to His word. Remember, that we have an inheritance kept in heaven for us, we have a Holy Spirit that has sealed us until the day of redemption, we have a Savior who is the author and finisher of our faith, and we have a God who calls us His kids and no one can snatch us from His hand. How do I know this, what reason do I have to be able to stand here free of any shame, no matter how bad I screw up my life? Simply this, His Word. It is and always will be His word, and no amount of awesome things I may  happen to do for God nor commands I may fail to keep, will bend or break His immovable love for me and that is what I am trusting in.  But don’t take my word for it, take His.  1John 5:13, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.”  And those my friends are words of hope, words to trust your life with, words of a promise from a perfect God to an untrustworthy people.  Words we can count on to be true always, words stronger than oak. 

Matthew 18:12

What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?

I love a good love story.  For me the best love stories always have a strong ending. There is always a breakup that happens midway into the story, when the lovers separate and all looks lost but towards the end, it’s usually the male love interest that gives up something that he must learn to let go, whether a job, or his pride. There is usually some decision he has to make that requires great sacrifice or that makes him seem foolish and ridiculous but instead he gives it all up and that’s when it comes to my favorite part of the story, the scene where the guy goes back to win the girl’s heart once again. You know the Bible is a love story, the greatest love story ever told. I was recently reminded of this when I was meditating on the parable of Jesus describing himself as a Shepherd. There’s a great image of Jesus going after us: His bride, His girl.  In this parable, he compares His love for us as a shepherd who would leave the flock of 99 behind for the sake of one sheep that strayed. The one sheep that strays is us and the ninety nine is the sacrifice that God makes for us. What sacrifice? Well if you think about it, any shepherd that leaves behind his flock unsupervised knows he’d be putting his sheep at risk of either being stolen by thieves, vulnerable to being eaten by wolves, or leaving them to wander off and scatter off on their own. In other words, he’d be putting his very livelihood on the line, knowing if he found the one and then returned, the ninety nine would more than likely be gone. He’d be sacrificing his earnings, what puts bread on the table for him, his very life. Of course, no shepherd would do that, but this is exactly God’s point. Jesus loved us so much that He was like a shepherd leaving his ninety nine all for us. We strayed, we sinned, went our own way but He left the comforts of heaven, gave up His title of God for the role of humbled servant and gave it all up, even His very life. Foolishness? “Reckless Love”, as one song says? Yes, that’s how much God loves us, “That while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” He left behind the ninety-nine so that He could say to us, “You are mine!” Now that’s a love story worth telling over and over again. God and His Bride, a love story for the ages. 

When I was twelve years old I remember I was placed in a class that was geared for students who liked math, who were good at building things and pretty much had the knack to be an engineer or architect. Why I had to take this class I have no idea but apparently the school heads thought it was a great idea. So, if you know anything about me, that is not who I am at all. I am not a hands on, let’s build it kind of guy. In fact today, I literally have to watch a YouTube video on how to replace a light bulb. Anyway, I will never forget our assignment. We had to construct a model of a building, or something of that nature. We had to sketch drawings of it and then we had to build the model from scratch. Well, some kids went right to work and in the coming weeks, these brilliant little engineers were building beautifully constructed wooden bridges, hockey rinks, skyscrapers, pretty impressive looking. I remember the teacher would walk around the class, marveling at some of the projects and would give them positive feedback but when he came to my workstation, it was not going so well. There I was at my desk with a glue stick putting together popsicle sticks. You see, I was going to build a popsicle stick house and all I had to show my teacher was just me gluing a few sticks together. He was polite and would smile and wish me the best but I could see he was concerned about if I even had a clue of what I was doing. Actually, I really had no clue and even I felt like I wasn’t going to be able to do this, but thankfully mom and dad came to my rescue. I really don’t think that’s how my parents wanted to spend their weekend but the day before the deadline they lovingly helped me and we finally finished my dream home. When I presented my freshly spray painted lopsided house to my teacher, he finally saw all along what my intentions were and even cracked a smile.  Yes, it wasn’t nearly as good as everyone else’s, but so what, I still did it and was proud of my accomplishment. Today, I was thinking about my spiritual journey and if I’m to be honest, it sometimes feels like I’m at my desk with a glue stick and a couple of popsicles and the deadline is approaching and what do I really have to show for God? I feel overwhelmed, disappointed in myself, I look at all my failures, feel like everyone else around me has it better. But then He reminds me to stop trying to compare myself to others, stop trying to perform for Him, it’s a process and I can’t do it without Him. Just like my parents came alongside me and helped me to finish,  God is there to glue the broken pieces of my life together. Wherever we find ourselves in this life, remember don’t give up, He has promised to complete what He’s started. Even if you feel stuck and discouraged, maybe even a little overwhelmed in your spiritual walk, with only a couple of popsicle sticks and some glue, don’t give up, just give it up to Him and watch Him transform your life into the person He knows you can become. 

Philippians 1:6

6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Colossians 1:27
“To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, THE HOPE OF GLORY.”

Did you know that the reason people search for that pot of gold on the other side of the rainbow is because they are searching for their glory? God first designed man before sin and bestowed His glory on man. Man was truly satisfied but fell from glory when deceived by the lie that glory could be found on their own. Whenever we chase after glory outside of God, we make ourselves idols. How many times do we chase after idols? Whether money, success, praise from others, pleasure? And how often do we run to relationship after relationship chasing glory? Nothing wrong with any of those things, nothing wrong with glory either. Remember with glory comes happiness, meaning, significance, hope, fulfillment but when we stop chasing after glory through counterfeits and idols and seek Him first, giving glory to the one and only, guess what happens? The God of glory satisfies us and gives us His glory. The glory from the Father is more satisfying than anything that can come from our meaningless pursuits from other gods. The Psalmist says, “the sorrows of those who run after multiple gods will multiply.” But Christ in us is the hope of glory! He is the hope that will truly satisfy our souls as it was always intended from the beginning. Psalm 8:5
“Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with GLORY AND HONOR.” Let’s live to give our lives to God in praise and worship as living sacrifices, giving up our man made idols for a cheap imitation of glory and in return, we will be filled with more of Him, more of His best, more of His presence, more of HIS GLORY!!!!