View from the Sparrow's Nest

I saw an amazing display of creativity recently.  My granddaughter Catherine entered a cake contest at a local school. Since we were visiting, we got to be in on the event. There were all kinds of cakes. There were pool cakes and mountain cakes, cakes with snow scenes and volcanoes. But it wasn’t in the display of cakes where we saw the real creativity. This was a “everybody-wins and no-one-loses” kind of contest – equality at its finest.  So each of the over 100 cakes there won a ribbon – and each of the over 100 cakes there won a ribbon for a different category! I was in awe of the creative ability of the judges to come up with that many different award categories. It did make for a very lengthy award ceremony, however, as each person’s category was announced and they were presented with a ribbon. Everyone was a winner!

What a convenient plan, but it does raise some questions. Why bother to do your best? Why enter in the first place? And how meaningful is a ribbon that is given to everyone – regardless of their cake? There were some cakes there that were not ribbon-worthy! Others were an impressive display of skill and creativity. (Catie’s was the best, of course, but who’s going to believe a grandmother.)

Some people believe our lives are like that cake contest?  Everyone’s a winner – you just have to “enter” to get a blue ribbon at the end. However, Scripture makes it clear that there will be a day of judgment – a day when we will be accountable for our lives. The wonderful news is that God has given us the perfect recipe to receive an eternal blue ribbon.  It won’t say, “Purest Life,” or “Most Good Deeds.” There won’t be a ribbon for the “Most Righteous,” or “Perfect Attendance at Church.” Your ribbon will be dipped in blood and declare you to be “A Child of God.”  What an amazing award ceremony that will be. Even though none of us has lived a ribbon-worthy life, we will be declared an eternal winner and invited to share in the glorious reward planned for us by our Creator.

Catie’s little sister thought the cake was a winner too.

Sometimes simple, familiar phrases become new and profound. That happened to me today in my Bible reading as I read Paul’s reminder, “You are not your own.” (I Corinthians 6:19) I understand the theology of this – the atonement that purchased my salvation; that bought me back – but it was the practical reality of those words that struck me. I am not my own. So many things are impacted by that truth.

If I am not my own, then I must agree with the words of Jeremiah when he declares, “I know, O Lord, that a man’s life is not his own; it is not for man to direct his steps.” (Jeremiah 10:23) The One who holds ownership of me has every right to choose my steps. What a blessing to know that He chooses with wisdom and is motivated by love.

If I am not my own, then it makes perfect sense that to offer my body as a living sacrifice really is a “spiritual act of worship.” It is giving over the rights to the rightful owner.  It also means that conformity to the “pattern of this world” can’t be for me. I must instead conform to the principles and standards of an eternal kingdom. (Romans 12:1,2)

If I am not my own, there is only one answer to the question God asks: “Can I not do with you as this potter does?” (Jeremiah 18:5) God has every right to shape me into the vessel of His choosing for His use and glory.

And, if I am not my own, then my heart needs to echo the words of John as he declared, “He must become greater; I must become less.” I must strive to allow everyone around to see the wonder and glory of the One who rightfully owns me.

I must never forget that the hands that reach out to claim me have scars – scars that are evidence of His right to ownership and are proof of the love that makes me so richly blessed to be able to say, “I am not my own!”

My thanks to Cynthia Vogel for posting “All the Vain Things” (my post from April 19th, 2012) on her blog. As always, my prayer it that God will use these words. Below is the link to her blog. Thank you again, Cynthia, for sharing these words.

http://cynthialottvogel.blogspot.com/2013/04/guest-post-by-author-esther-lovejoy.html

There are two incidents in the gospel of John that so clearly convey the singleness of focus and purpose of Jesus. He was walking directly toward the cross – each step carefully calculated to bring Him there.

The first incident is found in John 6:15. “Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make Him king by force, withdrew.” He had every right to be king. He had every right to be acknowledged by His own people as their Sovereign and Lord. But Scripture tells us He withdrew; He walked away from all that was rightfully His.  They wanted to crown Him king, but He knew that another crown awaited Him – a crown made up of thorns that would rip into his skull and evoke mocking and ridicule. And yet He withdrew from the easier crown in obedience to His Father’s will.

We find another incident that also begins with much the same words. In John 18:4 we read, “Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to Him, went out…” This time He didn’t withdraw, He went out, or as the King James Version puts it, He “stepped forward.” Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to Him – the betrayals, the beatings, the agony of the cross – didn’t withdraw, but stepped forward.

Jesus withdrew from what was rightfully His, and stepped forward to what was rightfully ours. I don’t know how this affects you, but it leaves me overwhelmed with love and worship.

“Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my  life, my all.”

Have you ever felt like you just can’t find God? You’re not alone. Job had that same struggle. Job had a lot of things to complain about, but in Job 23:3 we hear the real anguish of his heart. “If only I knew where to find God…” In the midst of Job’s suffering he wanted to be able to talk to God, to share his heart, and to find God’s answers…but he can’t seem to find Him anywhere.

It’s not that Job didn’t look. We sense his heartache as he shares that he went to the east and God wasn’t there; he couldn’t find him in the west. He looked for Him in the north and tried to catch a glimpse of him in the south, but to no avail.

Many of us can identify with that sense that in the midst of our worst times, we can’t seem to find God – no matter where we look. While our suffering may not compare to Job’s, we share his anguish in not being able to find God when we need Him the most. But Job himself offers us hope when he declares: “But He knows the way that I take.” (Job 23:10) He says in essence, I may not be able to find God, BUT He knows where I am. I can’t see Him, but He still sees me. And we, like Job, can find tremendous comfort in that.

Most of us know how the story ends. God greatly blessed the later years of Job’s life with wealth and cattle and family. But I suspect that Job’s greatest blessing is found in Job 42:5 when he declares, “but now my eyes have seen You.” Job finally found God.

Be encouraged!  When you can’t find God, He still sees you, He is aware of everything that you’re facing, and the day will come when you too, like Job, will be able to say, “But now my eyes have seen You.”

(Adapted from a Radio Blog by the same name)

Lisa joined our family at the age of 14. Everything was new and different for her, and even though those differences were good, they were still foreign to what she had known before. Somehow we needed to find a way to ease Lisa into our family.

Our lifestyle is even farther removed from God’s than Lisa’s was from ours. In ourselves, we have nothing in common with Him. Just as we “called” Lisa to join in our family, to participate in being one with us, God invites us to share in His own divine nature as He lovingly adopts us into His family.

I Peter 1:15 states: “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do.” Many see this verse as a command. Personally, I see it as a wonderful invitation—a call to reflect the nature and character of the One who has chosen us to be His own. He has called us to be His child, and now He calls us to live in a way that reflects His family and His lifestyle.

God is holy, and we’re not. It’s that simple. God calls us to a lifestyle that is unfamiliar to us – one that can only be learned in His presence. We never would have expected Lisa to learn the rules and standards of our home apart from living with us. We didn’t say, “This is how we live, and when you get it right, then we’ll claim you as ours.” However, the longer Lisa lived with us, the more she became like us. The more she identified with our family, the more she reflected our standards. But most importantly, the more she understood our love for her, the greater desire she had to please us and become one with us.

The parallels are obvious. We are called to be holy and the more time we spend in God’s presence, the more we’ll learn to be like Him and to reflect His standard of holiness. This call to holiness echoes throughout the pages of Scripture. It was His call to Abraham. It was His call to the nation of Israel. It was His call to the fledgling church. And it is His call to us today. May our prayer be that of the songwriter:  “I long, oh, I long to be holy. Conformed to His will and His word. I want to be gentle and Christlike. I want to be just like my Lord.”

(From the hymn, I Want To Be Holy, by Dr. A. B. Simpson)

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I’ve always wanted to be really good at something. If only I could weave the most intricate fabric, bake the best sticky buns, or produce the best quilt. But, above all, I wanted to be the best mother ever – the one whose children would all “rise up and call her blessed.”

I’ve enjoyed weaving and quilting, baking and mothering, but have fallen short of being great in any of those areas. And I don’t see anything in my near future that suggests greatness in any other accomplishment.

But today I read these words by A. W. Tozer: “The great in the kingdom have always been those who loved God more than others did.” Notice he didn’t say the great in the church, or in Christianity – that greatness is measured by man. But Tozer declares the potential for a greatness that is measured by God alone, and is attainable for each of us. Amy Carmichael encourages us also with the reminder that even the least of us can be a lover of God. It doesn’t require years of training or education, professional credits, or an impressive resume. It simply requires a heart that longs to return to God some measure of the love He offers to us.

Would you like to experience greatness? Would you like to excel at something that leads to a greatness that is seen by God alone? Then look for every opportunity to express your love to God. Take time in His presence – get to know Him more and you will find it impossible not to love Him more. And the best part is that soon you will find yourself lost in the only greatness that matters – the greatness of God!

For me it began at the age of eight at a little red table decorated with nursery rhyme decals. I placed a blank piece of paper on the table, thoughtfully picked up a #2 pencil, and began my first book. It bore the lofty title When Revival Comes, inspired by a passion for revival that was my father’s and a passion for writing that was my own. The “book” was never finished, and its few pages are long gone, but the dream of that eight-year-old girl has remained.

And today that dream has become a reality! This is the official release date for The Sweet Side of Suffering. The Psalmist tells us that if we delight in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our heart. I truly believe that the dream of that little girl was placed there by God in anticipation of this day. He has truly fulfilled the desire of my heart – not just to write, but to write His truth. The paragraph above is the opening paragraph in my Acknowledgments. God has used so many people to bring that dream to reality and, even though I have “acknowledged” them in the book, I want to do so again.

Dave Fessenden – you have been a friend, an encourager, and a light along a new and unfamiliar path. Thank you for your guidance.

Marlene Bagnull – God has used you to open doors in an industry where it’s often hard to even find the knob. Thank you for being sensitive to our Father’s voice.

Cec Murphey – thank you for your willingness to invest in the dreams of others.

Becky English – thank you for believing in the message of this book and offering practical help and suggestions.

Diana Flegal – thank you for being my agent, cheerleader, and friend.

July Markham – thank you for your touch on these words that brought clarity to this important message. You have been wise and gentle – the perfect combination for an editor. (And what I failed to include in the book: and to Miranda Gardner who started and ended this process with me. Thank you taking a manuscript and turning it into a book.)

And a thank you that can’t be fully expressed to my wonderful (and patient) husband who has lovingly nagged this book into existence. Thank you for believing that dreams can come true.

But most of all, thank you to my wonderful Heavenly Father, who loved a little girl enough to give her the desire of her heart.

Who knows…maybe my next book will be When Revival Comes.

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