If you are a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or friend, I think we have all heard “give me … I want … buy for me”. Children especially constantly ask, but many adults do likewise!

Consumer debt, unrealized expectations … we want what we want and often are disappointed when we don’t get it.  Christmas. Birthdays. Anniversaries. Promotions.

I heard recently that we in America are richer than 90% of the world.  Now, whether that is correct or not, I do not know, but this I do know … I have traveled to many places in the world and know that we live far above those in many, many countries.  Materially, we have so much!

But what do we do with what we have?  Maybe you have a lot, and you hold it close.  Perhaps you have little but give out of your heart.  It comes to mind the story in the Bible of the widow who had little, but the small amount she put in the offering bucket at the temple was more than the Pharisees put in because she gave out of her heart and not to be seen.  

I love the story of the lame man who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple.  Acts 3 gives us the story … He was lame since birth and had to be carried daily to sit and beg at the temple gate.  Acts 4:22 tells us that he was 40 years old! He lived on what was given to him.  No disability payments, no insurance, no wheelchair, no attendants … just pity in the few coins tossed his way. FORTY years he sat there with no hope for his future.  UNTIL!  

Jesus was no longer around to heal him, so day after day he sat there begging.  But something was about to happen!  Peter and John were on their way to the temple for the time of the regular prayer meeting, and suddenly, the lame man grabbed their attention.  He called out for money, hoping to get a few coins.  Verse 2 “to ask alms of them that entered into the temple; who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked an alms.”

That was what he did, that is what he was expected to do, that was all he knew to do.  Probably such a fixture at the temple gate that many bypassed him without seeing him or paying attention to his need.

It would have been easy to toss a few coins into his bucket and go on to the prayer meeting. After all, the prayer meeting was important to them. They had business with God.  But what did Peter answer? Peter and John stopped and looked at him intently, then Peter told him to “look at us.” At that moment, the lame man may have thought, “Here is someone paying attention to me,” and was probably thinking he might get more than a few coins. But he may have been disappointed when Peter said, “We don’t have any money for you, but I have something better” (my paraphrase!). 

What is it that the world needs?  Your needy neighbors, your co-workers, your family?  They think a little bit more money will help, another prescription to help the pain, a different spouse, a bigger house, a better car … but we need to give what Peter and John gave.  

Peter and John knew it wasn’t just money that the lame man needed … he needed Jesus.  He needed healing.  With boldness, Peter said, “We don’t have any money for you! But I’ll give you something else!  I command you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!”  He took him by the hand and pulled him to his feet! I wonder why Peter took his hand … perhaps the crippled man hesitated, thinking, “What in the world is going on here? But Peter knew that Jesus had told His disciples that they would be sent to do miracles in His name!

Peter PULLED him to his feet!  His healing occurred as he was pulled up. It caused a revival … he was EXPECTING a gift but got love I’m action.  Had he remained seated, his miracle would not have happened.  The people were surprised, and Peter grabbed the opportunity to PREACH.  

People today think they need one thing to make them happy, and they are looking to us … you and me!  We can’t give them what they want, but we can give them what they need!

Oh, the joy of seeing a life changed!  What did the lame man do?  As he stood to his feet, he was instantly healed and was strengthened so that he came up with a leap and took off walking, then went into the temple with them walking, leaping and praising God!  I see a second miracle there … that a man who had never walked knew how to leap and walk!  He also knew to praise God!

What are we giving to the needy?  There are many government agencies, secular and religious foundations giving money, food, shelter, and needed necessities to the needy, and that is good because we need those programs.  But what is far more important is to give them what they need the most, and that is Jesus!

We don’t have what the world wants, but we do have what the world needs! We, as Christ followers, filled with His Holy Spirit, need to be BOLD in our faith and in our actions.  GIVE TO THE WORLD WHAT THEY NEED, NOT WHAT THEY WANT!

A song comes to mind, “Oh to be His hand extended reaching out to the oppressed …” Be God’s hand today!

Kids love having a piñata at a party.  Blindfolded, they are given a baseball bat or a heavy stick and have to try to hit the piñata so the candy inside spills out.

As kids, we loved parties with a piñata… the lucky ones were the closest and could grab most of the candy!  

I’ve often thought of this in relation to my heart.  When my heart takes a hit or gets bombarded with hurts, what spills out?  Retaliation? Hurtful words? Silence?  Anger?  Stuff it?

“Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45)

What’s in your heart?

I’ll be honest here … I wish I could say that whenever I’ve been wounded, only good and forgiving words flowed out of me!  I guess I’m not that sanctified!  I’ve had to apologize for my wrong emotions and words many times.

So, what is in your heart that comes out of your mouth?  Psalm 119:11, “Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee.”  If we study and hide God’s word in our heart then there is more opportunity for His Word to come out.  But if we don’t read or study His Word, what are we putting in our heart?  Oh, I’m not saying that the Bible is the only thing we can read or only watch Christian programs on television, but what is feeding our heart?

We’ve all heard the saying … garbage in — garbage out.

I dare say we have all had wounded and battered hearts … spouses, children, employees, and employers … what is your response?

It depends on where you are living!  Where is your dwelling?   “He that dwells in the secret place …” (Psalm 91:1).  God inhabits (lives in) the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3).

In hard times when you get hit, knocked around, slammed … when your guts spill out — is it curses or blessings that bleed out? Kids love the candy that gets knocked out of a piñata… do people love what comes out of you? Curses and blessings cannot come out of the same fountain. What you’ve locked in will be knocked out.

Please understand I am NOT talking about physical or verbal abuse here … I’m talking about wounded hearts.  We are not to be doormats, but when our hearts feel like we’ve taken a piñata beating … it is important how we respond!  How do we answer back?

“God has two dwellings:  one in heaven, and the other in a meek and thankful heart.”  Izaak Walton (1593-1683)

There were several things that were very heavy on my heart that I had been praying for some time.  One of the issues was clearly something that needed God’s correction and healing … the others were “God, what is happening, how do I cope, when are You going to step in … HELP!”

So on and on I prayed.  I had quit telling God HOW to do it, but “God, can’t You hurry a bit?”  I knew God’s timing is not my timing, that His ways are not my ways. I quoted the scriptures many times that He had given me to pray over these situations, but nothing seemed to be changing and was only getting worse.

I remember exactly where I was standing, saying, “God, I don’t know how much longer I can take this …” when in my spirit I heard God say, “I want you to bend to my will!”

Well, that brought me up short!  Clearly, I was not praying totally in the will of God!  At least in one of the issues involving a spiritual need, I knew how to pray, but the other issues?  

It is not easy to surrender to His will in some matters!  I immediately said, “O God, I DO want to bend (surrender) to Your will in these matters, and I want to do it with a totally happy surrendered heart … I do not want to be a Balaam that follows You but still wanting it his way!  Help me to let go and let You.  There are others involved who will still try to do it their way, so help me in conversation with them.  Not their will, not my will, but Thine be done O Father!”

As I pondered “bent,” I realized that bending is not always easy.  If you take a stick and bend it … it will break.  If you take a metal rod, it must be heated (fire!) and gradually bent to the shape you want.  I don’t want to be the stick and break, but going through fire to shape me is very painful!

After several days of God speaking to my heart, I still find it hard to truly “let go,” but it is a constant prayer.  In letting go, I still pray for God’s will to be accomplished in the various situations and also in my heart.  In “letting go,” I do not want it to be a case of “whatever will be, will be” but truly God’s way!
Reading today’s scripture, “Therefore do not be like them.  For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.” (Matthew 6:8).  Praying is not to remind Him of what I need but to keep reminding me to continually cast my burden on Him!  But cast with confidence that He hears, He knows, He cares, and in His time the answer will come.  Can I be patient, or will I be broken before being bent?

I was just watching the last eaglet fly out of its nest… it was on my iPhone, and many have been watching and waiting for the two eagle eggs to hatch.  The marvels of hidden cameras to catch the images of these bald eagles!  The Los Angeles news has captured these images since the eggs were in the nest.

One young eagle has already left … perhaps braver than the other one. It looked like the last young eagle was testing the air, almost looking like it was afraid to fly.  “Will my wings know what to do? Did my parents do the right thing in teaching me how to fly? Are my instincts correct? What if I fail and fall?”  The young eagle flapped her wings several times but wouldn’t leave the limb she was standing on. Finally, she soared into the air, and off she went.

How like us!  First of all, as parents, we are to teach our children what their future is. Then we teach them how to live in that freedom.  God’s Word is our instruction manual as to what and how to teach them, and our freedom is found in Him.

God has instilled in the eagles the “know-how” and the capability to fly.  As the baby eagles reach maturity, they need to leave the nest and fly into their destiny.

But it is not only for the young!  This morning, as I watched, I wondered, “Lord, in my advanced years and being a widow, am I afraid to fly?  Am I afraid to flap my wings and try new things?  Help me to jump off my safety limb and fly in the new destiny You have for me!”

I don’t think I am the only one facing this decision.  In my list of friends, I have quite a few who have lost spouses … what do we do?  Where do we go? Who can we lean on?  Who can we teach and share with? “Father, don’t let our/my years of life and experiences go to waste … teach us/me to fly and soar into the unknown with excitement and joy.  It’s been a year now (in six days) … let me soar, take the fear of the unknown away.  Take the leftovers of my life now and use them for your glory! In Jesus name, I ask this. Amen (SO BE IT!)”

A popular television series from 1994-2003 was Touched by an Angel. Fiction for sure, but it portrays how angels can interact in our lives even while we are unaware. I loved watching this program.

I wonder how many of us have had numerous encounters with angels of which we were unaware.  Protection in accidents, promptings to stay or go in any given situation, guardian angels.  There is a verse in Hebrews 13:2 that gives me pause, “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”

Jacob had an encounter with a Man in Genesis 32:24-32 that changed his life.  Jacob was known as a sly ol’ trickster, a deceiver of his brother, father, and father-in-law.  He was also a hard worker and went after what he wanted but at times he was not a nice guy!

After deceiving his father he had to run away (OK, so he was sent away by his conniving mother!) to a far country, worked for his mother’s brother’s family, got married (to two sisters!), had a family, grew in wealth and finally decided to return to his homeland.

On the way home he learned that his brother was coming to meet him and fear stuck Jacob.  Esau was the brother he had deceived and cheated out of the family blessing YEARS earlier (be sure your sins will find you out! Numbers 32:23).  Jacob was afraid of meeting his brother so he sent his family, servants, and flocks ahead first (nice guy!). Now Jacob was alone.  ALONE and afraid. Then he had an encounter with a supernatural Being. 

The Bible doesn’t tell us how this happened … did Jacob get down on his knees and begin to pray? Was he sitting on a rock with his head in his hands, “Oh God what do I do now? Esau is going to kill my family and me and all is lost! Oh me, Oh my … my life is over … my deceitfulness is catching up with me …” I think I might have done something like that!  But in his aloneness, a Man came and wrestled with Jacob!  Imagine a man wrestling with God Himself!  Jacob had spent years working in the fields and with animals and became very strong but the Man kept the wrestling match going until the sun began to come up.  The Man said, “Let me go; it’s daybreak and I gotta’ go!” But Jacob answered (realizing he was fighting with a supernatural being and undoubtedly growing weak) “I will not let you go until you bless me!” He wasn’t wrestling just to wrestle … he was in a fight for a blessing!

WOW!  What an encounter!  The Man then asked his name and Jacob, well aware I’m sure of what his name meant, answered Him, “Jacob”.  At that moment he acknowledged who he was … his name meant “deceitful”. Jacob had to acknowledge his weakness before he could be transformed! The Man then gave him a name change!  “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and prevailed …” Did you get that? God came down to have a wrestling match with Jacob! Jacob was desperate and God met him.  Jacob, imperfect.  Jacob, a deceiver.  Jacob, a conniver.  His name change meant “Prince with God”!  God saw his future!

Then the Man touched him … not only a name change (he still was an imperfect man!) … the touch threw his hip out of joint and thereafter for the rest of his life he walked with a limp. I believe that not a day went by but that he recognized the fact that the pain he bore from his hip displacement and his imperfect steps was because of his encounter with God!

The match is over.  Jacob received what he fought for … a blessing from God.   Before Israel crossed over the brook to join his family on the other side he named the place where the wrestling match took place, Peniel, meaning “Face of God” (v30) “For I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.” He named the place as a memorial.

I am reminded of the chorus … “Shut in with God in a secret place, there in His presence beholding His face; finding new power to run in life’s race, I long to be shut in with God.”

I do wonder however just because Israel had this encounter with God he still struggled with his human flesh!  He wasn’t a great dad (in my opinion!). He showed favoritism in his children, he did not protect them as he should have and yet God was honored in his life.

How is it with you?  Have you wrestled with God?  I don’t mean in hand-to-hand combat, but have you wrestled in prayer? Have you ever been desperate? Have you sought God for answers? For a blessing? Has He touched your life in some aspect?  Have you built a memorial of remembrance? Can you look back on moments of your encounter with God with thanksgiving?  Has it helped you to remember His touch?

I’ve had some encounters with God that changed the direction of my life.  Some I felt were knock-down drag-out encounters … others were nudges, little pushes.  Some of you have been touched by physical healing … did it change the way you live for God? Others had a spiritual healing giving you a life-changing direction … are you still living for Him?

Some are weary in the struggle, I get that!  But we don’t fight in our own strength!  God gives strength to the weak and I love that but we must be faithful to pursue Him. Has His touch changed the way you walk? Our “limps” or our “scars” are to remind us of what we have gone through, what we have learned, and how we MUST lean on Him for the rest of our lives.

This touch wasn’t given by an angel … it was God himself who came to wrestle with Jacob.  What a thought!

Let me ask you … do you walk with a limp?

What new can we learn from the Christmas story?  It’s a story we’ve known all our lives.  We read it every year and often during the year.  We’ve heard it preached, watched pageants, heard choirs, and children’s renditions, … what’s new?

More than ever this year it came to me forcefully … He came as a Baby so that I could hold Him close … and now He holds me close!  There are times when I just want to hold Him as close to me as I can and other times when I cry out “Jesus, HOLD ME!”

One of the “newer” (not so new anymore) Christmas songs that I love is, “Mary Did You Know?” by Mark Lowry.  I’ve learned that he wrote it as a poem 10 years before it was set to music.  One theologian suggested it was “the most sexist Christmas song ever written … it treats her like a clueless child …” but I think that is FAR from truth.

I’ve had a word from God before and I accepted it as from God but I had NO clue as to what that word would accomplish or be in my life.  I believe the same is true of Mary.

Mary had a word from God … did she fully understand it?  I don’t believe so.  Did she know the ridicule she would endure?  Probably.  Did she wonder if Joseph would believe her story? It would be natural to wonder! Did she fully understand what His life would be?  Did she really know and understand that He would open blind eyes and ears, touch lepers, and not get diseased? That He would walk on water, that He would turn water into wine for a wedding? That He would raise the dead?  Did she even have a clue that watching Him on the cross, His blood dripping down to the ground the pain that would grab and twist her heart?  No, I doubt that she grasped all that at her initial acceptance of the angel’s announcement.

If she knew, would she have said “Yes”?  The Bible says that Mary “pondered these things in her heart”.  I get that!  I’ve “pondered” lots of things! Things we wonder and pray about and don’t share with anyone but God.

None of us (at least me!) would choose to suffer and Mary suffered!  But she also had a great love in her heart for her newborn.  Have you ever held a newborn baby close to your heart and just fell in love immediately?  Can you imagine anything different from Mary?  I could see her kissing His cheeks (and knowing she was kissing the face of God … WOW!), changing diapers (do I dare say that???) nursing Him and all the while knowing that He was the Savior of the world?  Unbelievable!

This is a “sidebar” but I’ve often wondered that as a toddler when he realized Who He was? That’s a question (unless we know all the answers when we get to heaven!) I want an answer too! (smile) I’ve also wondered if growing up His younger brothers were jealous (because we know they did not at first believe He was who He was!) because He never got in trouble!  Do you think Mary ever shook her finger at her other children and said, “Why can’t you be as obedient as your older brother?”  Ok … that’s enough of that!

As for me, I’m glad Mary said “Yes, be it unto me according to Your word.”  I’m glad she was willing to be vulnerable and she knew Him at His death and resurrection, no longer as the One she gave birth to, but as her Savior!

And He is our Savior too.  He came as a Baby to die for me … and for you. He came to take our punishment because the wages of sin is death … but He took our sins and they were nailed on the cross with Him.  But He rose again that we might have eternal life with Him.  But there is a catch … we need to ACCEPT what He did for us and that means confessing that we are born sinners (no matter how cute our babies are!), none of us are righteous in ourselves so we repent and ask Him, Jesus, to come into our hearts … and then a new life begins as we grow in Him.

If you’ve never accepted His free gift of salvation … pray this right now … “Jesus, thank You for coming into this world for me.  Thank You for Your willingness to leave the perfection of heaven so that I could enter heaven! Thank You for living a sinless life here on earth and then taking my sins with You on the cross and dying in my place.  Forgive my sin. I ask You to come into my heart and make me a new creation and I will follow You and Your word for the rest of my life.  I love You, Jesus.  Amen”

Hold Him close and never let Him go!

If you think this is a recipe for a new barbecue sauce for chicken wings … sorry to disappoint you!  Smile!

There is a story that has circulated for years, in varied forms about a mother hen who protected her young from a forest fire.  I looked up the story on the Internet and found that it has evolved from maybe something that did happen but is it true to its beginnings?  I don’t know but here is the story (edited by Connie!) …

After a forest fire, a forest ranger was going to assess the damage and found the charred remains of a chicken petrified in the ashes at the base of a tree.  Somewhat sickened by the sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick.  Suddenly several tiny chicks scurried out from under their dead mother’s wings.

The bulk of the mother’s body had covered the chicks from the fast-moving searing flames.  Though the heat was enough to consume her, it allowed her babies to find safety underneath her wings.  She had stayed with her young in the face of the rising flames.  Her dead carcass and fleeing chicks told the story well enough … she gave her life, her ultimate sacrifice, to save her young.

She could have flown away and saved herself had she only wanted to save herself but gathered her babies under her wings to save them.

So what do we learn about chicken wings and God from this illustration?  

It was another sleepless night for me and as I got up I was directed to Psalm 63:7, “Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice.”

Psalm 36:7, “How excellent is Thy lovingkindness, O God!  Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Thy wings.”

Does God have wings?  Well, having never seen God upfront and in person, I can’t tell you what He looks like in that regard but I can tell you what the Bible says and it gives me GREAT comfort! 

Psalm 91:4, “He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge.”

Psalm 57:1, “Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me! For my soul trusts in You; and in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge, until these calamities have passed by.”

Psalm 61:4b, “I will trust in the shelter of Your wings.”

These verses relate to the protection and shelter we can find in God.  We can run to Him when trouble chases us.  We may smell smoke, and we at times might be singed but we can TRUST in His intervention in our lives if we run to Him!

In returning to the above story there was one comment by an observer of free-range chickens.  Not all chicks run to their mothers in times of danger.  Some are either paralyzed in panic or try to find a way to save themselves but they end up being destroyed.  The mother hen cannot run around gathering them individually … they have to come to her.

There is a greater story here … it is the story of our God Who before time began made a way to save His own wandering children from destruction.  Look what Jesus said in Matthew 23:37, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!  How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!”

How, HOW can we be so hard-headed not to run to Jesus when troubles chase us?  HE is the only One who can save us!  Yes, in this life we WILL face hard times, trials, and tribulations and we know that we will all face death and die in this life … but through it all, we can run to Jesus for safety.

There is another verse that brings comfort … Malachi 4:2, “But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings …”.  I believe this is twofold… there IS healing for sick bodies, sick emotions, sick relationships, mental sickness … there IS healing in His wings!  But the greater healing is what He provides through His sacrifice on the cross … the healing of men’s souls!

Are you covered by His wings?  Read with me Ephesians 1:4-7, “… He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.  In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”

If you have NOT come to Christ and accepted His provision of salvation … do it NOW … don’t wait for the fire to come … be covered by His blood before destruction!

Pray with me now, “Dear Jesus, I believe what Your word says … I come to confess my sin and repent from my way of life.  Please cleanse me with Your blood, create in me a new heart, and may Your precious and holy life begin to flow to and through every part of my life.  I invite you to be my Savior and my Lord. Amen”