Frozen ground

This morning I went out for my walk around our farm just as the first rays of morning sun were touching the white, frost covered ground, setting crystals of ice to sparkle like a million diamonds. The air is frigid, the ground frozen hard, but the sight is beautiful, oh so beautiful. I pause in awe, take it all in. Breathe a prayer-thank the Master artist. 

Then moving again. And with each footstep, I feel the cold, hard ground. It's frozen, and there's no give. Solid coldness, crunching under the boot. 

It's then truth comes home, crystallizes. 

I am frozen. That ground, is my heart. People walk through this life, and this ground stays rigid, unforgiving, resistant. Refusing the footprints, maintaining its shape. But there's this thing with rigid objects. They get broken. Shattered into a million pieces. Crushed. 

I sense it. And I need something. And I don't know how, but somehow the rays of the Sun of Righteousness must changed this piece of frozen earth. Make it impressionable to the footprints. Melt the icicles, until a river of grace flows through, a source of blessing, a life of giving. 

So this my prayer... Melt me.

Jesus Only

We worry. We fret. We try to make our lives work out. All the while forgetting Jesus, trying desperately to hold the pieces of our self-destructed lives together. But it's only Him. Only He can take the broken pieces and make them whole. Only He can give meaning to our meaningless lives. Yet we keep Him at arm's length. 

Oh, we want Him there. But not too close. Not touching the precious pieces of our existence taped together, just barely in tact, teetering on the edge of disintegration. We know it's inevitable. Just a matter of time before it crumbles. 

Let a hand come close to the treasured fragments, and we immediately assume defense. Don't touch that. Don't. 

What we fail to see is that we, with our fragments ready to fall apart, need sustenance. We're relying on it at this present moment, or our breathing would long have ceased. And, when the cookie crumbles, where will we fall if He's not there to catch the pieces, to put us back together, to make us new? What will become of us if we stubbornly keep Him at away? 

Yet it's not that we don't want Him. We just slip, slide so easily. Before we know it we've left His side. 

"Who has the heart? With whom are our thoughts? Upon whom do we love to converse? Who has our warmest affections and our best energies? If we are on the Lord’s side, our thoughts are with Him, and our sweetest thoughts are of Him. We have no friendship with the world; we have consecrated all that we have and are to Him. We long to bear His image, breathe His Spirit, do His will, and please Him in all things." – {CCh 185.2}

Christ must be all in all to us. With Paul we must say,  "For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified." (1 Cor 2:2) When Jesus is everything, we will live an entirely different lifestyle. Every breath will be a prayer of thanksgiving.

"If we are Christ’s, our sweetest thoughts will be of Him. We shall love to talk of Him; and as we speak to one another of His love, our hearts will be softened by divine influences. Beholding the beauty of His character, we shall be “changed into the same image from glory to glory.” 2 Corinthians 3:18." – {DA 83.5}

And so there is only one thing left to say:

"He must increase, but I must decrease." John 3:30

On the Shoulders of Giants

Argue with me, but I will be so bold as to venture to say that anyone who has had any amount of success in life is in some way or another indebted to someone else. As the saying goes, "No man is an island".

What we achieve is always linked in some way to some person. You simply cannot get away from that fact.

I know it's true for me. And, in my absence from him, I have seen more clearly the strength of character of the man on whose shoulders I stand. 

I didn't always have a hero. In fact, when I got those essay questions in school, I was the kid who spent the whole day staring at the blank page because I had no idea who to write about. And if happily I should come to a conclusion and choose someone finally, the great quandary would then be what to write about them. 

I was also the kid who was a fighter. Who screamed out violently on more than one occasion at my precious dad. Couldn't seem to get along with him. Hardly even knew him. Wanted to change him.

Now that I think about it, he wasn't trying to be difficult. We're just so similar. And he always wanted more for me than I wanted for myself.

But mercifully the story doesn't end there. My dad and I are on a journey. Of course this will last as long as we live, but we have worked on our relationship. We have come to understand each other a bit better. Enjoy each other. And now that I'm away from home, I appreciate him more than ever before. 

As I begin to shoulder the responsibilities of adult life, I realize how very much like him I am. The way I do things, how I think. Yes, I'm Daddy's girl. 

And I really look up to him. He's a man of character. I can't help but picture him always going out somewhere in the morning to spend time with his God, no matter where we are, be it an early morning, or a late one! His genuine concern for people, how he gives of his time, himself, to others. His hospitality, his diligent work- he always does his best. His commitment to God, and His willingness to admit when he makes mistakes. These are things I desire to emulate. 

My home life has shaped me. I am who I am today because of it. 

And I am thankful, because I stand on the shoulders of a giant.

Acts 29: The Story Today

The work won't finish with any less power than it started. So what are we lacking? Why aren't we seeing the kind of things the early apostles experienced? God longs to pour out His Spirit. But we have a part to do. And we can learn what this is by studying what happened at Pentecost.

"In solemn awe they bowed in prayer, repeating the assurance, “Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it you. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in My name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.” John 16:23, 24. Higher and still higher they extended the hand of faith, with the mighty argument, “It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.” Romans 8:34." – {AA 35.2}

Higher still higher. Do we have that kind of faith? Are we willing to trust God with more and still more?

"As the disciples waited for the fulfillment of the promise, they humbled their hearts in true repentance and confessed their unbelief." -{AA 36.1}

How much time are we spending in true heart searching? In turning from sin? In seeking to trust Him more? 

 As they meditated upon His pure, holy life they felt that no toil would be too hard, no sacrifice too great, if only they could bear witness in their lives to the loveliness of Christ’s character.-{AA 36.1}

Our lives must be consumed. Nothing else should hold priority. Christ and Him only. No sacrifice can be too great to claim the promises of the gospel for our own. It is to be our very identity. When nothing else matters to us, we will see this kind of power again.

"The disciples prayed with intense earnestness for a fitness to meet men and in their daily intercourse to speak words that would lead sinners to Christ. Putting away all differences, all desire for the supremacy, they came close together in Christian fellowship." - {AA 37.1}

We must feel our need, and spend our time in deep heart searching. We need to pray as never before, and press together! We need to plead for a passion for lost souls. They shared the truths that came to their memory with each other.

Their hearts were transformed by beholding Him. 

"They did not ask for a blessing for themselves merely. They were weighted with the burden of the salvation of souls." – {AA 37.2}

We must ask for the gift of the Spirit. We have been told to, and when we do this in obedience, Christ in heaven also intercedes so He can pour out this gift on His people in all fullness.

"Every known tongue was represented by those assembled. This diversity of languages would have been a great hindrance to the proclamation of the gospel; God therefore in a miraculous manner supplied the deficiency of the apostles. The Holy Spirit did for them that which they could not have accomplished for themselves in a lifetime." – {AA 39.2}

And they themselves were transformed. Whatever language they spoke, it was always pure. They also spoke simply, and everyone could understand.

"They could speak the name of Jesus with assurance; for was He not their Friend and Elder Brother? Brought into close communion with Christ, they sat with Him in heavenly places. With what burning language they clothed their ideas as they bore witness for Him! Their hearts were surcharged with a benevolence so full, so deep, so far-reaching, that it impelled them to go to the ends of the earth, testifying to the power of Christ. They were filled with an intense longing to carry forward the work He had begun. They realized the greatness of their debt to heaven and the responsibility of their work. Strengthened by the endowment of the Holy Spirit, they went forth filled with zeal to extend the triumphs of the cross. The Spirit animated them and spoke through them. The peace of Christ shone from their faces. They had consecrated their lives to Him for service, and their very features bore evidence to the surrender they had made." – {AA 46.1}

The world will know. We say our lives are to be our testimony. But are they? Are they any different from everyone else's? Is there any reason your friends should think you have something they need? Because if they don't, you're but soothing your conscience. 

Christ must be all in all to us. When He is everything to us, we will live as such.

"Lost in wonder, the apostles exclaimed, “Herein is love.” They grasped the imparted gift. And what followed? The sword of the Spirit, newly edged with power and bathed in the lightnings of heaven, cut its way through unbelief. Thousands were converted in a day." – {AA 38.1}

The God Who Restores

Isn't it sad that despite what we know to be right, we still make foolish mistakes because we drift away from God for just a moment... Because we choose our own way. Because we do not allow Him to do for us that which He longs to do. We tie His hands. The all-powerful, all-wise, all-knowing God of the universe is limited by us?! Because we think we know better. We think we know ourselves. 

Even our best efforts end as but hopeless failures. For in and of ourselves we can do absolutely nothing. 

Yet though we have fallen so far, He does not leave us. All along He seeks to bring us back to Himself. From the emptiness of self-service, to His banqueting table where we can be truly filled. From the love of empty pleasures to a knowledge of the depth of His heart. He strives to win our hearts, never forcing, always loving. 

"Not one soul who in penitence and faith has claimed His protection will Christ permit to pass under the enemy’s power....Angels of God will walk on either side of them, even in this world, and they will stand at last among the angels that surround the throne of God." – {PK 587.1}

And when He restores, it's perfect. Better than what was before we fell. Closer to Himself than ever before. Hearts overflowing with love and gratitude to the One who has plucked us as brands from the burning.

"We have been great sinners, but Christ died that we might be forgiven. The merits of his sacrifice are sufficient to present to his Father in our behalf. Those to whom he has forgiven most will love him most, and will stand nearest to his throne to praise him for his great love and infinite sacrifice. It is when we most fully comprehend the love of God that we best realize the sinfulness of sin, and the fullness of salvation. When we see the length of the chain that was let down for us, and understand something of the merits of that infinite sacrifice that Christ has made for us, the heart is melted with tenderness and contrition. – {ST March 11, 1889 Par. 3}

Unrequited Love

Imagine...loving someone for your entire life, doing absolutely everything you can to make them happy, only to be shunned by them. Unrequited love. A tragedy at best. Yet, isn't this exactly what we do God?

Or am I being too extreme? Would you rather be happy to be loved half-heartedly? How would you feel if the one you loved only loved you back when it was convenient? Only when certain people were around. Or, weren't. What if they hardly took a minute out of their day to spend time alone with you?

Would you put up with such an arrangement? 

Or, take it a step further- would you give up everything that was rightly yours to exchange places, and take what they deserve? 

Would you DIE for that person?

Yet, isn't this, and so much more, exactly what Christ did for us?

Honored, loved of angels and His Father, happy and blessed, holding the wealth of the universe in His hands, He gave up all. To be born to an impoverished couple, under the stigma of illegitimacy, to shoulder the woes of the human race, to be deserted by His best friends, denied, betrayed, rejected, scourged...the list goes on. Why? Oh and there's more: hung naked upon one of the world's cruelest inventions, watching His mother suffer through it all, hearing the taunts of those who had so lately sung His praise, and the silence of those who up until now had believed, still loved...those very ones for whom He was doing all this. And by far the worst: He must endure the absence of His Father's presence as the darkness closes in.

If this doesn't transform you... It must! When you look at the cross...No, when you look at the Saviour on the cross, all else pales. What can hold value by comparison? Our greatest treasures are but tinsel. What would you trade for Him? Or, what would you NOT trade, for Him? For should you reserve something, life instantly loses its meaning. Then it is no wonder that inspired writing urges us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the closing scenes of the life of Christ.

So why do we stay away? What keeps us from Him? 

The enemy of souls loves to convince us that we are too far gone. That we have passed the point of no return. He knows that if we but ask for pardon we WILL obtain it. And he exalts in our defects, even trying to make our best service appear corrupt. 

But we have the promise: "All who have put on the robe of Christ’s righteousness will stand before Him as chosen and faithful and true. Satan has no power to pluck them out of the hand of the Saviour. Not one soul who in penitence and faith has claimed His protection will Christ permit to pass under the enemy’s power." {PK 587.1}

Yes, we see our sinfulness. We are fully cognizant of that fact. Our weakness and unworthiness make us ready to despair. But, our hope is in the mercy of God. And our defense is prayer. 

There's more to the promise: "But while the followers of Christ have sinned, they have not given themselves up to be controlled by the satanic agencies. They have repented of their sins and have sought the Lord in humility and contrition, and the divine Advocate pleads in their behalf. He who has been most abused by their ingratitude, who knows their sin and also their penitence, declares: “The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan. I gave My life for these souls. They are graven upon the palms of My hands. They may have imperfections of character; they may have failed in their endeavors; but they have repented, and I have forgiven and accepted them.”" – {PK 589.1}

It won't be easy. The refining process is a trying one. "But the anguish and humiliation of God’s people is unmistakable evidence that they are regaining the strength and nobility of character lost in consequence of sin. It is because they are drawing nearer to Christ, because their eyes are fixed on His perfect purity, that they discern so clearly the exceeding sinfulness of sin. Meekness and lowliness are the conditions of success and victory. A crown of glory awaits those who bow at the foot of the cross." – {PK 590.2}

When Jesus brings forth His gold, it will be purified, all earthliness removed, the image of Christ revealed, perfectly. 

I leave you with a passage I have encountered over and over this last while, and have come love:

"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2

As we enter a new year, look to Jesus. Think of His great love for you, don't leave it unrequited. Contemplate His great sacrifice, and spend time with Him each day as you would if it were your very last.