Calling

My daughter went out to ride her bike in the parking lot. I watched her through the window for a few minutes and then turned my attention away. Looking back two minutes later I saw her bike parked in the driveway but she was not with it. 

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Minutes later I still did not see her so I opened the front door and called for her. 

No answer. 

I walked to the back door, opened it and called for her. 

No answer. 

Walking through the house, back toward the front door, I called for her. 

No answer.  

Stepping out the front door, into the driveway, I called for her. 

No answer. 

Scanning the parking lot, the front yard, and the side yards, I called for her.

No answer.

Running to the back yard, looking in the pool and into the woods, I called for her.

No answer.

Back inside, frantically running from room to room, I called for her.

No answer.

Through the front door again, panicked in the front yard, I called for her.

No answer. 

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Turning toward the swing set there she now stood - smiling and waving - without a word.

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So I asked;

Did you hear me call for you?

Why didn’t you answer me?

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And I wondered;

How often does God call for me?

How often do I hear Him call?

How often do I answer Him?

#preparetheway

The Answer

Have you ever been wrecked by the very words that come out of your mouth?

Today - as I was preparing for the message tomorrow morning - I spoke words that cut me to the heart and wrecked me at the moment I spoke them. In the midst of preaching (to myself I proclaimed, "How can we claim that Jesus is the answer for our world when we don't depend on him as the answer for our churches - our homes - our relationships?"

As I proceeded to fall to the ground and to pray through this very phrase, I was more and more convicted by the Holy Spirit.

As believers we make the claim that Hesus is the answer for our world - that He and He alone is the source of hope, healing, and joy that the world needs so desperately. And yet, we often find ourselves in the midst of difficult situations - worried, fearful, or searching for answers within our own control - and we leave Jesus out. 

Relationships are broken, souls are lost, illness plagues us daily, and we struggle with our emotions and yet we fail to go to Jesus and trust in His power and provisions. 

Let us renew our faith in and faithfulness to Jesus as our Savior and Lord. 

Let us depend on Jesu as the answer and as our answer. 

The Answer

We talk a lot at our church about the importance of a daily quiet time with God. Not only is it important that we read the Scriptures on a daily basis (or at least strive to do so daily), it is vitally important that we communicate with Him and allow Him to communicate with us through prayer and meditation.

It is all too often when I allow my schedule to get in the way of my time with the Lord and I find that the later in the day it gets, the harder it is for me to sit down, clear my mind, and focus on God. And I have found that even when I don't feel like sitting down for an extended period of time and meeting with God, as soon as I begin to focus on Him, nothing else matters and I find complete joy in our time together.

However, early last week I would have my quiet time, I would read Scripture, journal, pray, and meditate in His Spirit, and yet nothing. I spent more time, and, nothing. This same thing went of for a couple of days, the harder I tried, the more time I spent, the more disciplines I followed, still nothing.

That is when God made me aware that I had gotten away from a total dependence on Him and that I was instead looking to myself for the answer.

In John 14:5-6  Thomas says to Jesus; "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" And Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." 

Last Thursday morning I echoed these words of Thomas, "I don't know where you are going, so how can I know the way?" 

It is at these moments that Christ reminds us that, we don't need to know where He is going, we just need to hold on to Him, to cling to his ways, His truths, and His life and we will come to the Father. 

May we all depend on Christ at a very deep level, to His way, His truth, and His life. May we be drawn to God our Father as we are shown where He is going and where He is leading us. May we be open to His call and His ministry through us.