Feeding frenzy

 

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, you’re probably thinking I am going to write about that. Not this time! God brought to mind something different.

“But Jesus replied, “I have a kind of food you know nothing about.” John‬ ‭4‬:‭32‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Then Jesus explained: “My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work.” John‬ ‭4‬:‭34‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This isn’t about the food at the table. But it is about a table. And it is about serving… your serving… what you can offer at a table where all are welcome. So, what’s on the menu?

Your offering of time. Giving out of your abundance. It’s your priceless listening. Your scheduled donations. Phone calls made. Sharing and laughter and great discussions at book club, knitting group, the church coffee hour. These are all foods for someone’s soul. It is nourishment to someone’s spirit. Vital. For continuing the journey of faith. Knitting scarves. Making blankets. Sending cards. Dropping off a meal. Visiting a nursing home. Saying a prayer. Inviting. Including. Taking turns. Sharing. Your table of love extends far more than you may realize. 

From the Message, John 4:35

I’m telling you to open your eyes and take a good look at what’s right in front of you. These Samaritan fields are ripe. It’s harvest time!

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?” Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭25‬ ‭NLT‬‬ (emphasis mine)

And as the verses continue, your Father knows you need them. But seek first! The kingdom of God. The kingdom is the presence of God’s love. The love of God being served up and provided for one another.

“When I discovered your words, I devoured them. They are my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God of Heaven’s Armies.”  Jeremiah‬ ‭15‬:‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

There is always the reward of joy when you are giving.

“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’” Matthew‬ ‭25‬:‭40‬ ‭NLT‬‬

When you did it…

May your “pantry” be filled with the fruit of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. 

May you extend it to all you meet with the invitation -  “Come to the table of love….”

Fill me up!

 

… until only Jesus was left…

Yes. This hit me. As often as I have read the account of the adulterous woman, today - this one phrase caught my attention.

Then Jesus said to her,  “Go and sin no more.” (John 8:11) It made me think of all the things like anxieties and fears, like grumblings, negativity, and temptations vying for my attention and filling my head. My very life. Surrounding me day and night. If I could only get rid of them. If they would all just GO.  I could have some peace.

If I didn’t allow temptations to overtake me, it would be so much easier to “Go and sin no more.” Just remove them all…

“When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none. Then it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and in order.” Matthew‬ ‭12‬:‭43‬-‭44‬ ‭NLT‬‬

But wait! Peace doesn’t come from just removing them all. That space needs to be filled - with something. Or Someone.

…until only Jesus was left…

Another verse comes to mind. We like to hang on to the first part, but I focus again on the second part:

“So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. (Yay, God!)

 Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham. And yet some of you are trying to kill me because there’s no room in your hearts for my message.”

‭‭John‬ ‭8‬:‭36‬-‭37‬ ‭NLT‬‬ (emphasis mine)

Spend your time with Jesus, living a life of loving and giving, remaining in Him and living as a testimony of His character - choosing, deciding, again and again - this lifestyle with no room for that which is dark and hindering to yourself or others… until only Jesus is left as your resource for living. Then you can enjoy the freedom and peace of Christ. It is a gift meant for you.

I AM the Light of the world

I’m sitting here this early morning - in the dark. And I’m asking the Lord what to write about for my next blog post. He has such a great sense of humor as the answer comes to me: the darkness.

So I did some digging for some scripture verses about darkness (and of course, light also chimed in!). Here is what I discovered; what was revealed to me:

The first thing I noticed in reviewing several passages is that darkness is not a permanent thing. It doesn’t have to be. There is another way.

For Job, the Lord brought light to the deepest gloom (Job 12:22). We can certainly agree Job knew about deepest gloom. But he is not alone in that, is he? Have you also been in such deep, dark despair?

Isaiah also speaks: for those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine (Isaiah 9:2) Another reference to deep darkness. Deep. Heavy. Suffocating. Blindness. And yet, again, a light WILL shine.

In the Message translation, Psalm 139, verse 12: Then I said to myself, “Oh, he even sees me in the dark!” What glorious news is that? You are not lost to God. No lost sheep here!

“I will say to the prisoners, ‘Come out in freedom,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Come into the light.’ They will be my sheep, grazing in green pastures and on hills that were previously bare. (Isaiah 49:9)

The light shines in the darkness (it does!) and the darkness can never (never ever!) extinguish it. (John 1:5 emphasis mine)

I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark. (John 12:46) Woo hoo! There is a way! You don’t have to REMAIN in the dark. 

You can be rescued from the deep, heavy, suffocating, blinding darkness. Yay, God! But then what, you ask? Simply sit back and relax in the warmth and comfort of rescue?

If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight were filling you with light. (Luke 11:36)

Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble, then your light will shine out from the darkness. And the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. (Isaiah 58:10)

I’m going to be honest here. I need your light. After you have turned to the Lord in your darkness, and have received the relief that comes from trusting in Him, then I need you, or somebody nearby needs you, to shine that light given by Him as a testimony to uplift and support and build up our faith. 

“Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, “How can I help?” Romans‬ ‭15‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭MSG‬‬

Behind the scenes

 What have I been up to, you ask? Here is a glimpse - past, present, and future!

An oldie but a goodie. A devotional book I self-published several years ago.

 Still being purchased through Amazon.

So many of you have been graciously supportive of my latest endeavor. This devotional published last Fall. Available through Amazon as well.

And now this book. I was one of several Christian women authors sharing the joys that come only beyond the age of 55. I am reminded of the “senior” choir my mom joined at her church. They called themselves, “the Zestful Living Singers”!

Available through Amazon October 27.

(I will be purchasing some copies of my own, and you can purchase through me. It will be autographed! Let me know right away if you are interested. I will be placing my order soon!) email: juliecrane.57@att.net

And looking ahead. 

Lifeline Prayers: when the hurt is too big for words

(Click on the picture below for better viewing)

“But all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ [making us acceptable to Him] and gave us the ministry of reconciliation [so that by our example we might bring others to Him],”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭18‬ ‭AMP‬‬

“For from Him [all things originate] and through Him [all things live and exist] and to Him are all things [directed]. To Him be glory and honor forever! Amen.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭11‬:‭36‬ ‭AMP‬‬

In the waiting room

 

Can you serve a God, can you love a God Who doesn’t fix everything? Your prayers are for good things… why doesn't He…

I have heard that we all have a cross to bear. What does that mean exactly? 

Those bound to wheelchairs. Those with chronic pain. Those living in abusive situations. Trapped in unhealthy, addictive habits. Paul, in 2 Corinthians, speaks of a thorn in his flesh - even after asking the Lord three times to remove it. The list goes on… you know them. Are them.

But the thorn does not define Paul’s life story. And your thorn shouldn’t either. We can’t let short or long term challenges, no matter how grueling, dim the light of Christ in us. 

So turn your eyes upon Jesus. The kingdom is surely coming. All troubles will pass away. And the promise of no more tears is real and true. Afflictions are temporary, even the huge ones, and will one day become a thing of the past. And as forgotten as a woman’s labor pains.

You still have a shining testimony despite these daily challenges. You are able to pour energy into that which is good and distract from that which has caused a temporary cloud. Trust in the Lord with all your heart (Proverbs 3:5). Right? The Lord is our certain help and strength. That is a promise from God Himself. He will carry you through (Isaiah 46:4)

“Jesus answered, “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” John‬ ‭13‬:‭7‬ ‭NRSVUE‬‬

“So we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are unseen; for the things which are visible are temporal [just brief and fleeting], but the things which are invisible are everlasting and imperishable.” 2 Corinthians‬ ‭4‬:‭18‬ ‭AMP‬‬

And so, I ask you again, can you love and serve a God Who doesn’t fix everything? I pray you lift up your head and look to the heavens and realize, even in the smallest measure, all the goodness and greatness God has in store for all who believe in Him. Goodness immeasurable. Unfathomable. Huge. It is all surely coming - for you. Keep your eyes on the prize.

Looking back - and ahead

(One of my first card drawings)

Fourteen years ago I published my first blog post for Intermissions for Hope. My desire was to encourage people to reach out in love, support, and encouragement to one another. I designed notecards and made up lists of suggested messages. Back then a postage stamp cost 42 cents. (And we probably thought that was too much!)

It all started as a child… oh, how I loved to sit at the table with coloring books and crayons! I certainly didn’t dream of becoming an artist back then. It would have been inconceivable to even suggest that I would someday print drawings and actually sell them.

But God had His own plans. 

My mom was the first one to promote this idea several years ago. She invited her friends over to her house for a card party (like Tupperware). We played games and I talked about my artwork and I sold some cards. This concept ebbed and flowed until October 9, 2012 when the Intermissions for Hope website was created and I began posting encouraging words about the value of the hand-written note. Again, I never really thought it would take off. But if you do nothing, you get nothing in return.

And once again, in the past year, not only did I publish a devotional book but I illustrated it as well. As a child I would have laughed at such an impossible notion. And 14 years ago, you would have had a hard time convincing me not only that it would be possible, but that I would actually sell them. Hundreds of them. 

But God had His own plans.

I couldn’t foresee all that God had in mind for me. I was just a kid who loved coloring. Who grew up to be a person who wanted to lighten another’s load with a cheerful drawing. And then wanted others to join me.

And I can’t foresee now what God has in store for me or for Intermissions for Hope. I continue to write though the focus has shifted. Now I just want you all to know of God’s faithfulness and love for you. How that gets shared in the coming year… well, as you can see, God always seems to have His own plans. And it’s always bigger than what one can imagine.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah‬ ‭29‬:‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,” Ephesians‬ ‭3‬:‭20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Maybe you have been fruitful in the past and think your fruitfulness may be over. Maybe you’re like me and are older. Too old for anything new with purpose and impact. But God wasn’t finished with me when I first started selling my little cards. No, He had another layer of fruitfulness for me. Even at this age! Things bigger and better than I could ever imagine coming from me. 

You will find passages in the Bible about vineyards and the grapes (fruit) that are produced. But the grapes are not the end of the story. The grapes are then turned into wine (another layer of fruitfulness). And the wine brings about gladness (Psalm 104:15)

I encourage you now, to believe bigger than you can even imagine, and to trust in the words of God Himself… He has plans for you. Be excited. Smile inside and out at what great big goodness God is thinking about, planning, organizing, timing out perfectly. Whether you see it or not…

God still has His own plans and purpose for you!

My name is Peter

 I have been “fishing” all night long. For resolution to a problem. I’ve worked and struggled and tried all kinds of things. Everything I know. I really need this to come to fruition. I really need results. I’ve begged. But now I am exhausted. I am done. Spent. There is nothing left to do. The end result is: nothing.

“Simon Peter said, “I’m going fishing.” “We’ll come, too,” they all said. So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing all night.  John‬ ‭21‬:‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Have you been there? Pouring all you have, all your wisdom and strength into something. And it just doesn’t pan out. All you know is that it has to happen. You’ve given it everything you’ve got but time is running out and now all you have is emptiness. And the darkness of the night.

But a new day dawns. And it was at the dawning of the morning light that Jesus appears. But as in many biblical accounts, they don’t recognize Him at first.

At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn’t see who he was. John 21:4 NLT

He calls out, “Did you catch anything for breakfast?” Breakfast? They need fish, and a lot, to cover their taxes. And now! But either way - the answer is the same. No. None at all. We are at our lowest low. Time has run out.

He called out, “Fellows, have you caught any fish?” “No,” they replied. Then he said, “Throw out your net on the right-hand side of the boat, and you’ll get some!” So they did, and they couldn’t haul in the net because there were so many fish in it. John 21:5-6 NLT

It’s only when Jesus says, “Try it. This time with Me. See what happens.” And the nets were filled beyond belief. Truly, the Light shone in their darkness and the darkness did not, could not, overcome it (John 1:5)

And it is then that they realize - it is Jesus! The Master! All fear is gone. He has rescued us. Come now. The danger is over. Let us sit down and have a normal breakfast together.

Jesus came to help, save, comfort and defend them - and us. To rescue us. He did. He does. And He will. Now and forever.  The morning light will come to you as well. The danger will pass. And you will relax in His presence. Morning has broken… the darkness!

Is it any wonder He is called Bright Morning Star!