Waiting is Not Our Default Mechanism

Waiting is so difficult for children at Christmas time!  The anticipation of opening those glittery gifts under the tree clicks some kids into overload mode.  Many a home echos with parental threats of Santa skipping their home because of such hyper behavior!  Child or adult, none of us like to wait, really.

When we have the medical test, we would like the diagnosis immediately, thank you.  How many drivers feel personally attacked when the light turns red on their road!  Having to make an extra round circle of the parking lot because there are so many shoppers is annoying.  Computers that take an extra few seconds to load are considered obsolete.  Waiting is not our default mechanism.  Food is fast, and we want it faster.  And waiting in lines?  Thank you for online shopping and small local shops.  We don't like to wait.

And then there is prayer.  We want the quick answer, the miraculous, the "sign" - a neon one if possible.  But instead, we wait.  Sometimes we seem to receive instant results for those incidental prayers (a close parking spot, Lord - it's raining...).  However, we wait for that unthinkable and mentally excruciating circumstance day by day, season by season and many a time for years.  When will that loved one come back to You, Lord?  When will I be able to get out of debt?  When will that job I wanted so badly come to fruition?  When will that teenager make a mature decision?  When will that person apologize for their actions?  When will my loved one's health improve?  And we start to think that perhaps God is not hearing.

Isaiah has some words for us about waiting:  "So the Lord must wait for you to come to Him so He can show you His love and compassion.  For the Lord is a faithful God.  Blessed are those who wait for His help."  Isaiah 30:18 (NLT)

Interesting that the Lord is also waiting for us.  Waiting for us is a time that either intensifies our faith or a time we choose to give up.  Waiting for the Lord is a time when He demonstrates His mercy, compassion and long suffering.  Isaiah goes on to say..."though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, He will still be with you to teach you."

Ah, so waiting is a time that we are learning.  What we learn pivots on our attitude as we wait.  The impatient driver may swerve around the slow moving car in front and into oncoming traffic.  The patient driver eventually sees the light turn green and moves forward. 

Mrs. Charles Cowman articulates in Streams in the Desert, "Our unbelief is always wanting some outward sign.  The religion of many is largely sensational, and they are not satisfied of its genuineness without manifestations, etc.;  but the greatest triumph of faith is to be still and know that He is God."

Our world doesn't place much value in stillness or quiet faith during times of adversity.  But a trusting patient heart gives our Heavenly Father delight and increases our ability to experience the fullness of joy at the time of His choosing.  May you have some quiet peace in your waiting today. 
 

Of Art and Mercy...A Free Concert

Friday night, October 19th at 6:30 PM there is a free local concert featuring Alex Walker.  The concert takes place in Hydesville, which may be perceived as an out of the way venue, yet this sanctuary draws hundreds on a weekly basis from Fortuna, a short six miles away.  Humboldt County’s cultural dimensions have been gifted another rich layer with the introduction of Alex Walker into the region’s art scene.   Alex’s appeal is drawn not only from his musical expertise, touring days with the band Five O’Clock People, obvious talent and multi-quilted history of varied vocal and instrumental experience.  Alex connects with the audience with a casual warmth and quick wit that it makes the concert goer feel like you are welcomed into a harmonious conversation in an overly large turn of the century living room.  He’s talented and he is real.

Of Alex’s approach, reviewer David Martin compared Walker’s former band, the Five O’Clock People’s style, to Caedmon’s Call and Jars of Clay.   Citing the use of “acoustic instruments and writing deep, soul searching lyrics” Martin expresses this regarding the song “Same Old Line.”  “The mandolin and accordion…give this song the feel of being in a medieval fantasy world, which I guess is quite fitting, given how we pretend we're living happily everafter because we're afraid people won't love the truly messed up, hurting person inside.”  Alex’s songs address “broken and troubled relationships with an almost brutal honesty, while (other) songs… tackle matters of faith and redemption in stark, confessional terms.  Alex feels there's room for both kinds of tracks on their album. "There's something legitimate about not every song being a composite of all you are, all that you hope for, all you dream of being. It's OK to write songs that precede as a series of snapshots and maybe by the end of an album or even a body of work, you're getting the whole picture of who this person is."

Alex’s appeal is multi-generational.  He is as much at home performing to his thirty-something generation as he is leading a group of energetic children or conducting a sing along for seniors at Hydesville Church where Alex is the worship director. 

The concert on October 19^th is to raise awareness for something called Celebrate Recovery.  Appropriate since Alex’s songs speak of honesty, struggle and faith, Celebrate Recovery is about dealing with life’s hurts, habits and hang ups from a spiritual perspective.  Everyone struggles with something.  Celebrate Recovery is an honest place where confidentiality is highly valued and where one can be real about addressing the things in life that trip us up.  Hope is for real.”  This concert is an opportunity for the public to check out Celebrate Recovery.  The concert is at the Hydesville Community Church located at the corner of Highway 36 and Rohnerville Road in Hydesville.  For more information contact the church at 768-3767.

 

Friday night, August 10th at 6:30-7:30 PM there is a free concert featuring Alex Walker and Jennifer Dietz.  This concert is presented by the Celebrate Recovery at Hydesville Church.  The location is at the corner of Highway 36 and Rohnerville Road in Hydesville.

Celebrate Recovery is all about seeking God's healing for life's hurts, habits and hang ups.  Everyone struggles with something.  This is an honest place where confidentiality is highly valued and where one can be real about addressing the things in life that trip us up.  Hope is for real.  This concert gives one an opportunity to check Celebrate Recovery out.  Come Home to God.  It's time!   

Please Come Home to God

Troubles in life are many.  Some happen to us, some we create.  But there is hope, because God knows all about that and is waiting for you, dear one, to come back to Him.  He wants to take your bruised and bleeding heart and heal and comfort you and give you a new life.  The Bible says, "...that  anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.  The old life is gone;  a new life has begun!"  (II Corinthians 5:17 NLT)


You may have practical issues.  You don't know what to do next or how to overcome the bad situation you are in.  Life may seem confusing.  The one thing you can count on is God.  He never changes and is always faithful to you - ever waiting for you to come home to His arms.  He took the punishment that each of us deserve when He gave His Son, Jesus to a world that mistreated Him and crucified Him.  When that happened, He willingly took all our wrong upon Himself, and He was the only One that could do that for He never did anything wrong.  He did this so we could be made right with God.  It is a free gift.  Come home to God.  He will show you what to do next - but first, just come home. 

Go Home and Tell Everybody

He was the picture of torment.  "Day and night he wandered among the burial caves and in the hills, howling and cutting himself with sharp stones."  From a slice of history, this man is not unlike some anguished people today.  It may be mental illness, it may be something amiss in the spiritual nature, or perhaps it is the effects of years of drug or alcohol abuse and the tragic choices that tend to accompany the lifestyle.  Insomnia was his constant companion.  He was indeed miserable and without a sense of hope, and people were afraid of him.  Even those with a touch of compassion didn't know how to deal with him, so alone he stayed.  Cut off from the warmth of social contact, finding strange familiarity among the tombs, and injuring himself.  Some say cutting eases the pain.  But more pain comes as a result.  In every conceivable sense, he was a mess.


And then it happened.  Jesus found him and dealt with his issues.  Jesus was not afraid of his condition or appalled at his choices.  Jesus showed tremendous compassion, dealt with the man's heart and healed that which was terrible injured, physically, mentally and spiritually.  And that's how Jesus works.  By the time the bystanders encountered the man they found him described as "fully clothed and perfectly sane."  In fact the change was so dramatic that the bystanders became afraid, because they knew this was beyond human.  It was miraculous.   


Jesus then had to leave, for He had much to accomplish.  The man who had just been through a remarkable transformation begged to go along with Jesus, but Jesus gave the man something of his own to accomplish.  "Go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful He has been (from Mark 5, NLT)."  


Even when we make bad choices...God is the compassionate Heavenly Father ever searching for His wayward children.  Be saved, be healed, be transformed.  Go home and tell everybody.     

Compassionate Shepherd

This is a detail of a painting I finished today and you may be wondering why I painted Jesus crying.  Well, even though Jesus certainly experienced all the emotions that we do while He walked planted earth, including laughter and joy, it is His tears of compassion that touch me most.  In fact, I tend to be a cryer when I pray.  I think that God gave us tears to express those deep emotions that just can't be expressed in any other way.  The shortest verse in the Bible is simply "Jesus wept."  Here we see the most strong and powerful being that ever existed.  And at times, He cried.  Most notably, He cried over us.  We tend to weep over those we love most.  The love in those tears are more than I can comprehend.  May you feel the mighty and compassionate love of God wrap around you today.  

"NO WAY!" "Well, O.K...."

"Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.  The son answered, 'No, I won't go." but later he changed his mind and went anyway.  Then the father told the other son, 'you go,' and he said 'yes, sir, I will.'  But he didn't go.  Which of the two obeyed his father?"  They replied, "The first,"  Then Jesus explained His meaning.  "I tell you the truth, corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom of God before you do."  Matthew 21:28-31

We human beings tend to look at the outside of a person to make an assessment of another person's attitudes and motives - or what we would call 'the heart."  I'm so thankful that we have a heavenly Father that sees far deeper to the inner core of our being, knows us in intimate detail and truly "sees our hearts."

Jesus in the above passage was addressing some religious leaders.  These leaders were strict, legalistic, and did much of their pious works for show and attention.  Jesus saw right through them.  While they may not have engaged in what we would consider "big sins," their pride and arrogance was offensive to God.

Jesus had an overwhelming compassion and desire to reach out to those who "had really blown it" in life.  In the people who were regarded the least in society - "corrupt tax collectors and prostitutes," Jesus saw souls who had certainly made bad choices and even caused others pain - but also saw a humility that was redeemable.  For Jesus saw that the person who has really messed up by the world's standards often times recognizes their humble state before God and has no quarrel with the fact that they have sinned.

It was to these that Jesus said, "come" - do leave behind that lifestyle - but come now, come as you are.  You can be a brand new, forgiven and amazing creation with a fresh start.  For through Christ God forgives completely and He is all about the attitude of the heart.  He simply asks us to "come."

And so, ultimately, it's not about the mistakes we have made or having a 'clean track record.'  No, rather it is about the condition of our hearts.  And truth be told, sometimes we human beings have to go through a lot of bad stuff before our hearts are willing to become humble and soft and able to see our desperate need of a Redeemer.

Looking for a merciful and compassionate "Shepherd of your soul?"  Come to Christ.  Express your belief in Him, ask Him to forgive your past and accept His free gift of life.  And, if you let us know that you did, we will celebrate with you.  For a brand new start on life is cause for joy and celebration and open to anyone.         

Carried Up the Mountain

SoulArtist
Listening to the Heart…Responding with Colors from the Master’s Palette

Carried Up the Mountain
I enjoyed seeing the third part of ‘The Lord of the Rings’ out on video. The movie screen, of course, is ‘larger than life’ and so dramatic, but video affords me the opportunity to turn on the closed captioning and see the words of everything being spoken. Some people are irritated by extra words on the screen, but I have grown accustomed to it, and even like the added nuances it brings out. It was funny seeing the words “fat hobbit!” uttered under the breath of the schizophrenic Gollum.

If you are familiar with this classic tale (and saw the movie) you will recall near the end when Frodo, weak and weary from the journey, collapses near the top of the mountain of Mordor, where he must return the ring. His faithful and also weary friend, Samwise Gamgee, reaches deep within himself and proclaims, “I may not be able to carry it (the ring), but I can carry you!” And with a final push of adrenaline Sam scoops up the mud-stained weak body of Frodo and charges up the stony mountainside. It was a great visual illustration of the admonition of Scripture to “Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2).

Like Sam, sometimes we can’t exactly “carry the ring.” That is, our hearts may go out to someone who is suffering, but we may not relate to their pain. Maybe we just haven’t “been there” before, or we just don’t quite understand. But also, like Sam, no matter what ‘the ring’ represents, we can scoop up our brother or sister and help carry them through a difficult time. The bearing doesn’t relate so much in the specific nature of the burden, but more in the willingness to care and be a support.

Like Job’s friends, who were a strong silent support for seven days (until they started speaking); intentional presence can often speak more eloquently than words.

Bearing one another’s burdens sometimes simply means, “ I care that you hurt. I don’t really need to know why, unless you feel like telling me. But either way, I notice, I care, and I’m here.”

Ultimately, we are upheld by our Great High Priest, Jesus, who does intimately understand every type of human suffering, because He experienced it. With Christ, we are “carried up the mountain” and never alone.