Rich vs. Reality

Tom and I had a date night last week and we went to do a traditional Orange County activity – walk on Balboa Island and watch the Boat Parade. Balboa Island is a very exclusive enclave of multi-million dollar homes on the water. For the benefit of “looky-lous” like us, there is a wide walking path around the island where passers-by can see the Christmas decorations of these homes, both inside and out. It was fun! There were lights everywhere. Many people were having parties that spilled out from their homes and onto their patios. We got to see the festivities and the decorations. There were some very elaborate and ritzy parties. And the boats were amazing also, some with live music and parties too!

I got caught up in all the glitz. It is so much fun to see! Lots of people have amazing decorations, and have spent a ton of $ getting ready for the holidays. We got to enjoy it all without spending a penny.

However, as we walked past all the people and festivities, there were a couple of things that shocked me back to reality. First, we saw an old woman sitting in the window of a dark house, looking out at all of us passing by. She was all alone, hunched over in a wheelchair. Second was a man in motorized wheelchair, surrounded by people at a party. He looked like he did not have any mobility, but that his mind was sharp. I thought to myself how fleeting life is! No matter what we have on this earth, one day we will be taken away from all of it – from fancy homes, from big bank accounts. And then we are left with God. Have we chosen the way of salvation, or trusted in our riches? This earth and its pleasures will all fade. They give us no security after death.

It was a good reminder. Orange County has a way of making you think that life will be perfect if you are successful, beautiful and wealthy. It’s not true. The Bible says it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. The rich man feels secure in his riches. But it offers no security.

It’s better to trust in Jesus, in the baby born in a stable, who came to save us from our sins. He has proven His faithfulness to me, and to you, time and time again. Don’t be fooled by this world. Taste and see that the LORD is good!

All I Really Need

How was Christmas day for you?  Did you enjoy time with family or friends?  I hope it was a meaningful celebration of Christ’s birth.  The celebration has been real for me this year in many ways.

We enjoyed a Christmas Eve Candlelight service at a local church with Tom’s family.  The carols were so much fun to sing and I felt very blessed to know the truth of the words we sang. 

“All is well, all is well
Lift up your voice and sing!
Born is now Emmanuel,
Born is our Lord and Savior!”

“He comes to make His blessings known…And let the nations prove, the glories of His righteousness, and wonders of His love.”

On Christmas Day I awoke feeling so very blessed.  We have good family relationships on both sides, we have healthy children, and food on the table.  We have the promise of an eternal future with Christ.

How many people didn’t get what they wanted for Christmas?  Our world makes us think that Christmas is about us, and about what we can get.  But I realized yesterday that I have received all that I really need.  I received a Savior.  I have received love, and forgiveness, and fellowship.  That’s all I really need.   And that’s what I want to remember and celebrate.

I pray that you also come out of this Christmas season knowing that you have all that you really need. That’s the good news of great joy!

The right perspective

I’ve been thinking about the healing of the blind man in Mark 8:22-26. Jesus spat on the man’s eyes and touched him, and his sight was better, but he said that people looked like trees walking around. Jesus then put his hands on the man’s eyes again, and “his sight was restored”.

I have been praying that Jesus would restore my sight and help me see things from the right perspective. What do I not see correctly in my own life? What are my vision problems?

Tunnel vision: I focus on the wrong things and everything else is lost.
Blind spots: I jump to conclusions about people and situations without seeing all the evidence.
Near-sightedness: I forget the big picture of a short life and long eternity.
Far-sightedness: I am oblivious to the needs right around me.

I earnestly desire that God would open my eyes and help me to see things the way they really are. If Jesus needs to touch me two or more times to help me see clearly, I want Him to do it!

Pray in faith. God can heal blindness in every area of your life and give you the correct perspective.

“Two roads diverged…”

Anyone remember this famous poem of Robert Frost from high school English class?  To refresh your memory:

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
two roads diverged in a wood, and I --
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

It is so easy in my mind to travel the familiar old paths of routine and comfort, impatience or fear.  It is harder to beat down the brush on a new path in my mind.  Maybe God wants to teach me a new way, one of joy, peace, understanding, and patience, but I am too comfortable with my old patterns of thinking.

Here are some examples.

1. Someone cuts me off in traffic. 

Old thinking says, “Hey!  Watch out! You’re a terrible driver!”

New thinking might say, “I hope that he gets safely to his destination.  Maybe he is in distress over something.”

2. My heater breaks and I need to spend lots of $$$ to fix it. 

Old thinking says, “Aargh, I am tired of all these bills.”

New thinking says, “I am thankful that God provided the money to pay my bills.”

We can give more room to the Holy Spirit to renew our minds to think in ways that are more pleasing to God.  There might be a lot of overgrowth to cut through in our minds, but once that path is easier to walk down, we will be more likely to take it.

A story from Rekha (7 yrs old)

This is a break in our regularly-scheduled blog posts to bring something of a lighter note.
Here is a story that Rekha wrote back in March. Enjoy!

The Two Kittens
One is a kitty, the other has mittys.
One is a kisser, the other has a wizard.
One likes cats, the other likes bats.
One has clips, the other has hips.
One has a fit while the other one hits.
One is cute and the other has boots.
One is kind, the other stays behind.
One is a loco (crazy), the other has mocos (snot!).
One has a blanky, the other has a hanky.
SO BEWARE OF THE KITTENS!
One is a kitty, the other has mittys…
The End.

The richness of God’s presence

In our staff women’s Bible study, we examined Moses’ relationship with God.  Exodus 33:11 says, “The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend.”   Wow!  Imagine sitting down and chatting with the God! 

What does it take to achieve a closer walk with God?  I love how God clearly tells us in His Word that God meets us where we are:  “Come near to God, and He will come near to you.” (James 4:8a).   We are not the ones doing all the work to know Him better

I want to be close enough to God so that He can touch me – heal me, restore me, comfort me.  Also, I want to be close enough that I can touch Him, to know His power, to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that I can be a blessing to others.

There are lots of us on this journey.  Let’s keep walking and seeking Him with our whole hearts.

“You will seek me and find me if you seek me with all your heart.  I will be found by you,” declares the Lord.” (Jer. 29:13, 14a)