Month: November 2022

On the Hunt

~ mercyfortheday ~ Leave a comment

She poured the contents of the brownie mix into the bowl. As she stirred the ingredients, she could imagine the joy she would feel as she ate her favorite dessert. Oh. It looked so good. And the scent wafting from the oven was heavenly. She dreamt of that first bite. Her teeth would sink into the soft brownie and her taste buds would erupt with satisfaction. She had made sure to use a smaller pan so the brownies would be thick. It didn’t matter that a smaller pan made fewer brownies. What mattered was the satisfaction they brought when savoring each bite. So for the moment, thin brownies in a larger pan were no longer in vogue in her kitchen. And she was hoping the rest of the household would turn their backs on this batch of brownies. If only. Her name was written all over them.

So she ate the brownies. Oh. She’s never one to cut a dessert into small pieces. Big pieces are magical. In her mind. Small pieces require more to be eaten. And if she could say she only had two brownies, who cares if that really meant she ate the entire row. Who’s counting anyway? And does it really matter? If she’s happy, then life is good. At least, that’s what she tells herself.

Once the plate of brownies has been eaten, then what’s next? Another batch? Will happiness remain if she continues to eat brownie after brownie? Is that what brings true fulfillment? Is that what life is all about? Brownie happiness? Or is it really gluttony?

Perhaps for you it isn’t an endless supply of brownies that satisfies. It could be swiping the credit card for new purchases. Whether the item is needed or not, just the zip of the card brings a flutter of happiness in that moment in time. Perhaps it’s the scratching of the penny on the lottery ticket. Scratch after scratch. How many lottery tickets are enough? Or it could be the downing of that drink each night. Glass after glass of the intoxicating liquid soothes the worries of the day. But does it? Tomorrow will come fresh with a splitting headache. Then where is the happiness from last night? Oh. It could be the viewing of those pornographic movies or erotic photos that stir some deep longing within. But is it truly satisfying? When does lust ever end for you?

It seems that the search for happiness is never quite fulfilled. Just one more brownie. One more drink. One more lottery ticket. One more exotic vacation. One more pair of shoes. But happiness is so fleeting. One day we’re happy. The next day we’re searching again. Does it ever end?

Sometimes too much of a good thing is just that. Too much. And too much of a bad thing is just that. It’s bad.

This past Thursday, we stuffed ourselves with a turkey feast and called ourselves thankful. Now we rush onto our Christmas shopping in order to make others happy. No longer do we differentiate between need and want. We just want our loved ones to be happy. So we buy their happiness in the name of Christ’s birth. Somehow it doesn’t translate. We’ve gotten our priorities so misplaced that we don’t know how to search for the true meaning of life. Yet we call ourselves blessed.

Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11

God has planted eternity in each of our hearts, and we’re all searching for it. Oh. The Thanksgiving feast was a momentary pleasure. The Christmas indulgence will soon be forgotten. We’re searching for something far more eternal than what money can buy. We just don’t recognize it. We’re looking in all the wrong places. We’re wasting our time and we won’t admit it. We become quickly dissatisfied with the things we thought would make us happy. But we find out that those things, too, are meaningless.

And yet. God has made everything beautiful for its own time. There is a time for beauty. And joy. And fulfillment. There is a time where our deepest longings will be satisfied.

We don’t realize that what we’re really looking for has always been right in front of us. Oh. Sometimes it’s veiled. At times, it’s misrepresented. And at other times, it’s simply ignored. In our searching for fulfillment, we must search deep within. We must realize that our longings don’t come about because of boredom or abuse. They come because we’re made for fellowship with our heavenly Father. And those longings can be so deeply satisfied if we allow ourselves to fall in love with our Creator. The Maker of our souls.

These longings that will never be satisfied this side of heaven can lead us down a dreadful path. We search in all the wrong places. And leave less fulfilled than when we started. It sometimes seems a never ending search. But it doesn’t have to be that way. We can find fulfillment in God alone. But we must be willing to pay the price of giving up first place in our lives to everything else. Only then will we be content.

If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.

C.S. Lewis

Peace or Sword

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There they were. Sitting around the table. Thirteen of them. One was the leader. Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The other twelve were hand picked by Jesus to share his message with the world. They were gathered to observe the Passover meal. And as he broke the bread, Jesus said it was given in remembrance of his body. They drank the wine together, for it was the last time Jesus would partake of it with them.

Then he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come.” He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” Luke 22:17-19

After the meal, Jesus raised another toast and proclaimed the cup was the new covenant between God and his people. He confirmed that his blood would be spilled as a sacrifice for all people. Yet the disciples didn’t understand the veiled truth that Jesus was speaking. Oh. He often spoke in parables. Later he would offer explanations of the parables to his chosen twelve. But on this night. On this occasion, Jesus was preparing them for the suffering that lay ahead for him when he walked out the door.

Not everyone is ready for truth when it is spoken, so it is unclear. Truth, at times, is unclear because of unbelief, fear or misunderstanding.

Jesus went on to tell them that one of them sitting at the table would turn against him. This man would turn Jesus over to the authorities. And this act of betrayal would propel Jesus down a path of no return. Oh. He knew it would happen. He was, after all, God Incarnate. He was God in human form come to die a brutal death for the sins of all mankind. And this was the moment. And yet. As he sat there with the twelve, knowing that one would betray him, he offered the cup of wine to everyone. He didn’t share it with only the eleven who would remain faithful until death. He also offered it to the one who had already made arrangements to sell him out. Yet he didn’t speak the man’s name. And the remaining group was unaware of their friend’s impending betrayal. Nor the cost of it for all seated at that table. They had no idea what lay ahead for them even that very night.

But here at this table, sitting among us as a friend, is the man who will betray me. For it has been determined that the Son of Man must die. But what sorrow awaits the one who betrays him.” The disciples began to ask each other which of them would ever do such a thing. Luke 22:21-23

As plans were being put in motion to celebrate the Passover meal, Jesus could have uninvited this one man. He could have offered the man a reason to excuse himself from the dinner. But he didn’t. This man. One of the twelve, chosen specifically by Jesus, would betray him with a kiss in front of the others. His fellow disciples. No one knew he was planning to abdicate his position. Imagine how the eleven felt seeing their brother betray the man they followed and believed. Yet here he was. Kissing Jesus on the cheek to show the authorities and soldiers who had come to make an arrest. He was a traitor and his closest group of friends suddenly saw him in a new light. And it wasn’t a pretty sight.

Sure. It’s obvious that Satan had planted the seed of betrayal in Judas’s heart. There’s no other way to explain it. Judas was the treasurer of the group. So he held all the money. Perhaps he had delved into the funds on different occasions to make his life easier. After all. They didn’t get a paycheck from Jesus. Their loyalty was on them. And a group of donors helped fund their travels. This was not a paying gig. In spite of the fact that Jesus knew in advance that he would be betrayed, he ate the last supper with his traitor. And he loved him still. He was willing to give his life for even back stabbers. Because some backstabbers do repent.

But this traitor. He was hiding in plain sight of the Savior of the world. Oh. Jesus hadn’t been crucified and risen from the dead yet. But Judas traveled with Jesus and the other eleven. He was a follower of the Way. He believed Jesus was the Messiah. But yet. His humanity was evident in the way he conducted business. He was known to pilfer money from the group’s funds. He helped himself to cash when he ran short. Oh. It must not have bothered him. And there’s no evidence that any of the group were aware of his theft. So no one ever confronted him on it.

We’ve all heard the saying. Keep your friends close. Keep your enemies closer. But that only applies if we recognize the enemy. What if we don’t realize the enemy is in such close quarters? It isn’t even a fair fight. But not all fights are fair.

Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword. Matthew 10:34

So why should we expect any different in our circle of friends?  Why should we expect those closest to us to stand with us when we stand for truth?  Why should we expect allegiance and support when we don’t know the other person’s heart?  We see what they want us to see.  And the reverse is also true. How can we support someone close to us when we disagree with them?  How do we maintain that close relationship when it’s been fractured by disappointment and disbelief?  When trust has been shattered, how do we move forward in the relationship? 

Who sits at the table of fellowship with us?  There may be ones at the table who have turned their allegiance to another.  They may no longer be in a position of agreement on key issues.  They may offer betrayal when least suspected.  Are there any red flags?  Or are we too blind to even consider we’re close to being betrayed?  And then once the traitor has been exposed, what comes of the relationship? 

As believers, we can expect to be fired upon by Satan. We need to know that he will use all his evil ways to lure us away from faith in Christ. When he successfully uses these same tricks on our loved ones, the fallout can be enormous. He will use his wiles against everything we stand for. And everything we hold dear. Even at the expense of relationships and close ties to others. Sometimes the relationships that are severed are the ones we thought would stand the test of time. And then when testing comes, cracks in the relationship appear. At times, there are permanent consequences. Are we ready for that? Do we know who is sitting at the table with us? Of course. It’s impossible for humans to know the full extent of someone else’s intents and purposes. So we must always be careful listeners and godly examples. We must always be fully dressed in the armor of God. We must be peacemakers even when being obedient to the Word of God causes division.

Oh.  Jesus was God come to earth as man.  So he knew the hearts of the men celebrating the Passover meal with him.  He knew one would betray him.  He knew another would deny knowing him, not once, but three times before the rooster crowed.  And he knew that every man sitting there at the table would desert him that very night.  Yet he chose to eat with them.  He broke the bread and drank the wine with this group of disciples.  Knowing all the while that in a few hours he would be standing alone. It’s easy to walk away from friends when they’ve hurt us. But Jesus knew his group of rugged disciples would turn away before they even committed the acts. And he still sat and served them. Knowing the hurt and aloneness he would face in his final hours. Would we do the same for those who will turn against us in our greatest moment of need?

Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I have come to divide people against each other! From now on families will be split apart, three in favor of me, and two against—or two in favor and three against. ‘Father will be divided against son and son against father; mother against daughter and daughter against mother; and mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’ Luke 12:51-53

Understory

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Our property is a sloping wooded lot. The house is built into the hillside, which drops off sharply a few feet from the deck. And boy. Does it ever slope. We added a homemade wooden staircase to help us walk a ways down the hillside. Over the years it has slid further down the hill, so there’s nothing to hold onto as you slowly and carefully make your way down the slope. It’s treacherous, to say the least.

I recently bought a couple of trees for our property. The redbud has been planted near the deck to provide a bit of shade and beauty in the spring. But the other tree has been planted at the edge of the woods. I chose this tree for a couple of reasons. It doesn’t need a lot of sunlight in order to thrive. It won’t get extremely tall. And it will attract swallowtail butterflies. It’s great for the environment. It’s called a hop tree.

The owner of the small nursery where I bought the trees was giving me instructions on how and where to plant this hop tree. She said it would do very well if planted on the slope of the woods. So that’s what I set out to do. Plant this small helpless looking tree on the steep slope. After scoping out the exact location, I gingerly made my way to the spot where the tree would be planted. As I began digging the hole, I realized I could be in trouble if I didn’t have a sure footing underneath. My foot slipped and I reached out to grab hold of a small but firmly planted tree. It swayed, but it could hold my swaying. For a short while, at least.

I began to dig and realized there were many roots and rocks in this dirt. So I worked even harder to dig the hole as deep and twice as wide as the container holding the tree. As I slung the dirt aside with each shovelful, I hoped I would be able to reach it to cover the hole once the tree was securely in place. I was afraid to move from my position, because the terrain was so steep. This was hard work for a physically unfit person. But I kept at it. I had a plan and a purpose for this new tree.

As I was digging the hole, I felt that I needed to stand facing the woods at all times. Just moments before, I had seen a large buck with a full rack of antlers watching me. I know that in mating season deer can attack humans, so I wanted to be careful. So, not only was I digging a hole in a sloping terrain, I was on full alert for any sign of the deer.

This hop tree won’t grow too tall or too big. It’s not the type to do so. And that’s ok. It’s a tree that will grow and thrive under all the canopy trees in the woods. This tree will support the native ecosystem in its surroundings. It has a job to do, and the size of the tree doesn’t really matter. It will still do the work it is meant to do.

This hop tree is called an understory tree. Understory trees or brush grow under the crown of the huge trees in the forest. Some would say these trees don’t reach their full potential. Apparently, they don’t have to in order to survive. But they can still do much good for the forest. They have a job to do whether or not they are stunted in growth. Understory trees can grow and thrive in shady areas. They don’t need full sun in order to survive. Some birds will only nest in understory trees. They aren’t attracted to the taller, canopy trees. Each tree or shrub in the forest will help the forest to thrive. They all have a purpose.

Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Colossians 3:23

Understory trees tell the story of the forest that’s not typically told. They’re wispy. They bend and move easily with the strong winds. They don’t grow to their full potential, but they live a full life regardless. They bounce back when pushed. They go with the flow. Their leaves turn colors in the fall just as the leaves of the canopy trees. They live under the canopy trees but above the forest floor. They’re a productive and essential part of the life of the forest.

The canopy trees are elegant and standoffish. They get everyone’s attention with their height. Their crown of leaves is beautiful. And the width of their trunks make them seem extra sturdy. But there’s no bend to them. They can snap and break under the pressure of heavy winds. They have massive strength, but they can easily topple when a huge gust blows in. They have no flexibility.

Sure. The forest needs the over achievers. The canopy trees show strength and endurance. They’ve lived many years and have reached their full potential. They provide all the shade and spectacle. It wouldn’t be a forest without the trees. But each tree has its own story to tell. 

Later in the evening after the tree was planted, as we sat on the deck we heard a commotion in the woods. I stood to watch two bucks fighting. They were pushing and shoving each other, each trying to win dominance. We could hear their antlers clacking against each other. One buck was standing up for his territory, while the interloper was trying to claim it. It was very interesting to witness this natural act of wildlife. Eventually, they both ran off. Later, only one buck returned. The territory was his.

I’ve never been the brightest. I’ve never been the smartest. Or the fastest. But I’m consistent. I’m resilient. I’m aware of my surroundings. I’m self aware. I’m an introvert. I’m never the life of the party. But I live a good life. Compared to extroverts or geniuses, one might think I’m a failure in life. I don’t seek attention. I’m quiet. I keep to myself. I don’t want to manage people in a workplace. I don’t need to be the shining star. But I want to do my work well. I want to be thought of as a considerate, kind person. So I must act like one.

Have I reached my full potential? How does someone even calculate that?

Many people aren’t looking to be the life of the party. Or the spokesperson of the group. Some are content being the understory who makes sure the work runs smoothly. They see to it that there’s flexibility when things change suddenly. They make sure all the bases are covered. And they know what bases must be covered. Yet, they’re not necessarily the ones on stage receiving the applause or the trophy. But their job is needed, nonetheless. Never discount those who are quiet or dependable. They don’t cause a scene, but the scene would be so undone without them. Everyone has a part to play in this life. Not just those with a swagger or a loud voice.

Life has a way of placing us in unexpected and even unwanted situations. We can still work hard and thrive wherever we’re placed. As believers, our work is always for the Lord regardless of our title or duties. Whether the work seems menial or glorious, it’s necessary work. Someone must do it. And when placed in that situation, then it’s our work. Let’s do it with joy and thanksgiving. Everything lasts for a season.

Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life. Ecclesiastes 5:18

Heart Search

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He was young and rich. Possibly handsome, but we weren’t given that information. He was a ruler. But who knows what he ruled. He was most likely a member of the Sanhedrin, which was a tribunal, a Supreme Court of sorts in the land of Israel. All he did was ask a simple question of the Incarnate God, Jesus Christ. This young man asked what he had to do to have eternal life. And Jesus responded with a seemingly effortless response.

Once a religious leader asked Jesus this question: “Good Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “Only God is truly good. But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother.’ ” Luke 18:18-20

The instructions Jesus gave him were simple. He’d been observing those commands his entire life. After all. He was a devout Jew. Whew. He thought. If that’s all I need to do, then life is a breeze. I’ve got it from here. But Jesus continued on letting the man know there was one thing left to do.

The man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.” When Jesus heard his answer, he said, “There is still one thing you haven’t done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Luke 18:21-22

This nameless young man was accustomed to putting others on trial for various reasons. And yet, by asking a simple question, he found himself in a trial where he had to define his heart’s intent. It was very unexpected for him. And the command was too much to ask. That’s what he thought.

So he walked away. The young man, who had a promising future as a member of the Sanhedrin, walked away from the free gift of eternal life. Oh. He realized it wasn’t so free after all. He would have to give up his material possessions. His wealth must be given to the poor. And he realized down deep in his heart that his possessions were more precious to him than anything else. His heart’s desires were put on full display in front of the only One who could save him from his sins. He walked away. He said no and refused the offer of an eternal lifetime.

But when the man heard this he became very sad, for he was very rich. Luke 18:23

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. Psalms 139:23-24

Sometimes we don’t know what’s in our hearts until Jesus commands us to act or speak in a way that isn’t easy for us. When we refuse to obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit, our heart issues are revealed. Oh. Perhaps not publicly. But our stubbornness and refusal to bow to God’s leading says it all. And that could be only in a one-on-one setting between myself and God. Or yourself and God. But not submitting to God lets us know that we have placed our will above God’s. In case we didn’t already know it, disobedience to God puts us in our place. Spiritually, of course. Because our private acts of disobedience may only be known to God and ourselves. It may never become public knowledge. It doesn’t have to become public in order for it to be sin in God’s eyes. Private sins are just as eternally incriminating as public sins.

Following Jesus may require us to give up something we really want to hold onto. It could be a career. Or a relationship. Or a vocabulary. Or an attitude. Or selfishness. It could be an addiction. Or stubbornness. It could be an unforgiving spirit. It could be a twenty-year old grudge. It could be a lifestyle. Or an identity. What we’re required to give up in order to be more like Jesus Christ is for our own good. It will draw us closer to the One who created us. And as believers, our one true goal is to be like Christ. We are his image bearers, after all. And as ones who have had their sins forgiven and erased from God’s memory, we are now called children of God.

Our life is no longer our own once we pledge to serve God. Oh. Some say it’s a sacrifice. But Jesus sacrificed his physical life so we could have eternal life. Perhaps the one thing we lack is loving God more than loving ourselves. What’s a little sacrifice on our part if it provides us freedom in Christ? Who are we to think that our lives on earth are of more importance than our eternal life with God? We have much to learn. And it may too late by the time we learn that lesson.

Let’s act now and repent of our sins while there is still time. God knows our hearts and our motives. He will forgive if we repent.