Eternity Now

The Holy One calls me this morning with exciting new thoughts of Eternity.  We live at an accelerated pace in the advancement of technology and knowledge.  We live at an accelerated pace in travel and communication.

People are racing toward the next weekend, the next romance, the next promotion, or the next acquisition to make temporal life more comfort.  The world is racing in an accelerated pace toward something and few recognize it as Eternity.

God's Word says that "with the Lord, a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day".  II Peter 3:8   The Holy One speaks to remind me that God does not view time as we humans do.

The Lord has provided for my Kingdom education and I am in this season finding the time to to sit and savor rather than strive and stress with things happening that I cannot control.

The most exciting and fascinating thing to come out of His command to "wait, watch and worship", is the grasp of what time may actually be, in light of Eternity. 

Given the description of II Peter 3:9, we sometimes resign ourselves to have to "wait" for God to move in our behalf. 

I understand that God inhabits Eternity and that, (while a mind bending thought) reveals the truth that He is beyond our comprehension of time and space. 

When we follow the directives given to pray, "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven", we may fail to take into account the absence of a clock and calendar to Heaven's Will. 

Heaven's Will is bound up in the Great "I AM".  "I  AM" as God describes Himself, is always in the "present" moment.  If I truly believe that, then His will doesn't require time on my calendar and clock to become my reality.

Could it be that this dynamic is how Jesus conferred miraculous, instantaneous healings over people on earth?  And then again, why Jesus said to His followers in John 14:12, "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in Me, will do what I have been doing and will do even greater things than these because I am going to the Father".

What does it take to experience the fulfilling of that outrageous promise?

First and foremost is the relationship to the One who made the promise.  Jesus said, "I am the Vine, you are the branches.  Apart from Me you can do nothing".   We must be in that very special relationship with Jesus that He describes as "Vine Life".  John 15

Next is the relationship we have with the Holy Spirit. He is the One, Jesus said would be our enabler and the very One who would teach us all things and remind us of everything He said in His written legacy.  John 14

By and through our relationship with the Savior and the Spirit, we are then invited into relationship with the One who resides in the Holiest of Holies, the Father God and Voice that called all things into existence.  Jesus said, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life and no one comes to the Father except through Me."  John 14:6

And then there is the relationship we have with the physical world around us, and this is the place where most fail and why we experience and witness so little of what Jesus did.  Our relationship with the temporal is so strongly connected with our flesh that we speak out flesh fears.  Our flesh is so convinced by what we may see in one moment that we denied what can change about our circumstances in the next. Words have creative power so these words influence our life and what happens.

Believing God, Who is Spirit and resides in a realm beyond our senses, makes it necessary for us to trust Him to be outside the human reasoning, and above and beyond our comprehension or what we "see" with our human eyes.

If we can push to that place of Truth, then we can push a little further to the place where all things are possible and what we dream about is already a "done did deal".

The Spirit is calling me to that place and I am excited to see what will happen in the next season of my life. The idea of time in light of Eternity is a thought still a little "ethereal" to me. When I am being taken in an unfamiliar direction by the Holy Spirit, He will pose questions to stimulate my thinking and extend my grasp or understanding of His ways. Today begins the "what-ifs" and"why-nots" that open up a whole new arena of thought.

I find myself looking at things like the "compression of time".  When a person falls victim to sickness and disease, not unlike some of Jesus' patients, the natural world tells us that time for healing would be days, weeks,  months, years or never to be expected on earth.  Yet Jesus brought instant relief to the afflicted, and defied the natural "law" by operating in God's Eternal Law of the "Present".

If time does not exist in the Spirit realm, then answers to our prayers and petitions can come instantaneously, just like Jesus modelled. 

What if delayed answers are nothing more than the time it takes for us to wrap our brain around God's willingness to provide them?

What if we accept the fact that the Spirit realm is the real realm and the natural world is just a shadow?

What if, as soon as we petition from our right relationship with the Promise giver, we believe and declare the answer is granted?

I have to admit the revelation of possibilities is causing my Spirit to soar against the caution of the flesh to slow my roll.  But I have lived long enough in places of deferred hope and resigned delays in the answers to life's challenges that I am ready to learn more and live in light of Eternity Present.

How about you?

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?






 

Wait, Watch, Worship

Today the Holy One calls to me.  New life springs out of the rocks in the forest.  Tiny but exquisite flowers are finding their way from the crevices to delight the eye of those who take the time to look for them.  The message of "slow down" seems to be coming from my Counselor and Friend.

What an interesting, message considering where I am in my life journey.  Last July, life took a sudden turn and I found myself a widow after 31 years of marriage to a move and a shaker.  This life change seems more like a shut down than a slow down so the "message" is curious to me.

Gone are most of the old ways of familiar activities.  It's interesting to discover how much I used to do to keep up with his energy level and his drive.  I guess as a wife we all can and do become the "cog" in someone else's wheel.    

As I look back, I have to admit I was a "hoop-jumper" going through the motions and trying to meet the expectations of another.  Performance has been an issue all my life so performance anxiety presses down upon the flesh emotions that I learned to live with. 

Tension is a familiar feeling and an unwanted intruder, yet it has always lived side-by-side with the other voice of self-preservation, "I am woman, hear me roar!"

Since I have had to accept the new normal AKA widowhood, I realize the old life is gone. There is a future and a hope but different now that I am facing the challenges without the human husband I lived with for so much of my earthly life.

The call of the Spirit this morning takes me to His Word, Psalm 46:10, "Be still and know that I am God".  Today the sense of the verse is the power within it.

The Sovereign God of all Creation spoke it.  His Divine Will is in it.  Power beyond all comprehension stands behind it.

There always seems to be a "moment" right before a great display of nature's power is unleashed that we know to be the calm before the storm; the still before the rush of a tornado; the silence in the atmosphere as Creation seeks to hide from its Creator.

"Be still and know that I am God" is only part of that verse.  It continues on to say, "I WILL be exalted among the nations.  I WILL be exalted in the earth".

While so much of our earthly life boils down to the pursuit of individual, happiness and whatever it takes to obtain our personal goals, this verse commands our attention upward toward the Almighty God enthroned in Heaven.

I have learned over the last year that this life is tentative.  It can be over in a heartbeat or on a day we least expect it to end. We are not in control of life or death no matter how hard we may try to self-protect. 

I am so thankful when I hear the comforting voice of my Savior no matter what He speaks.  I trust Him with all my life circumstances.

Leading up to the translation of my earthly husband, my Lord spoke calming directives for each day's struggles and challenges.  Just like in the days of Abraham I found Him to be my faithful friend.  "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?"  Genesis 18:17

My relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ traverses decades.  I have walked with Him for most of my life.   He has never left me nor forsaken me even when I failed, I betrayed, and I stumbled on the journey.  He was always there to pick me up, dust me off and put my feet back upon the higher ground.  He has also been the wind beneath my wings when I found the courage to soar.

When He speaks, I know to listen.  My Lord knows the end from the beginning of all things.  He knows the pathway ahead and the twists and turns of each day's events before they touch my life.

Today, when He says, "slow down", I need to make some changes even if I have not registered my own speed on the trail.  There are important things I might miss, but even if it is just to linger longer so I can catch my breath, I know my Beloved has purpose in the wait.

Who knows what dramatic and powerful move of His hand might be just around the corner and He is placing me in the perfect place to witness and stand in awe of what He is about to do.

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?

Monday Worship

The Holy One calls to me this morning with a deep sense of worship flooding the atmosphere.  Yesterday was a Resurrection Day Celebration as each Sunday has become, for me, the day to remember that historic event and what the "Church" has instituted as "Sunday Service".  It reminds me to worship the Risen Savior each week as we gather together wherever that may be. 

So much has been lost over the generations since the Disciples and the Church saw Jesus Ascend, up into Heaven, out of their physical sight, to take His eternal position and receive the Glory that was His before the foundation of the world.

These days, there is some worship, but mostly teaching and some of that has become error leading us even further away from Christ and the worship of our God.   Perhaps the point of Holiness toward the  call  to worship, is that today is NOT Sunday.  It's Monday.  A work day.  A get up and out and onto the treadmill day.  The mood, if it ever was worship, is surely different on Monday. 

Thoughts flood my mind about the One sent to save all of us.  Jesus is the Son of God, a distinct One of Three who make up the Tri-une or 3 person God Head we know as our Creator.  His role was to make the personal sacrifice and to suffer the death that was made necessary at the fall of humanity. 

Holiness cannot and will not be compromised without the ultimate consequence being suffered and penalty for it's violation paid.  God said, in essence, "If you choose the forbidden and eat of it's fruit, you will die".  The forbidden tree was there to give man's free will a choice.  What would be the privilege and responsibility of free will if there were no choice.

The choice given was life or death.  The choice given was between a relationship with or separation from, the Creator.  The choice given was to live in the wonder of  God's abundant and permissive blessings or to take the freedom and use it to defy God's Sovereignty and merciful warning.

Thus began the treachery of a dark, defiant evil and the loss of innocence.  The peace of God fled along with the innocence and man found himself knowing more than he could handle with the knowledge of good and evil now flooding his finite mind and soul.

That is really at baseline what true death is, after all:  The rebellion that led to Holiness withdrawing Himself from relationship with man.  Knowing about things beyond our control, creates a climate of fear, worry, and anxiety.  Having to discern between good and evil without the appropriate wisdom and courage leads to judgement, unforgiveness, rejection and then ultimate isolation.

If we stop the story there, then all hope is lost. But God, in His unconditional love for His Creation, was never out of Sovereign control.  In His eternal plan, there was always a rescue in mind.  Awaiting the perfect time in the history of man's days upon the earth, Jesus was set to enter our world (the fallen one) and reclaim the turf surrendered by Adam and Eve.  He was the chosen One of the Three Person God-Head to make the sacrifice that would "redeem", as in "pay the price" required to re-establish man's relationship with the Holy Creator without compromising Holiness Himself.

Jesus said, "I have come into the world as a light so that no one who believes in Me should stay in darkness.  As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him.  For I did not come into the world to judge the world, but to save it..  There is a judge for the one who rejects Me and does not accept my words."  (John 12:44-48)

Judgment is the flip side of Salvation, and God, the Father,  has been preparing men for that day and giving men, individually, the choice since the garden and Adam and Eve.  While none of us chose the forbidden tree, each one of us today can and does choose life or death.  The Tree of Life that stood in the garden of God, left behind when the pair chose the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is still being offered today. 

Jesus, the Christ, is the Tree of Life.  He came without judgment to be the One to take all judgement upon Himself.  Holiness poured out the severe consequence for it's violation on the Son of God.  Since all humanity is guilty and no one could be found to take away the sin of the world, God Himself stepped in.  The Creator took the form of His created to redeem what was lost.  He took up flesh to die for the souls of all men.  And that is why we worship Him.

But God did not leave the One He sent to rot in a human tomb. In a miraculous intervention, the Holy Spirit (Who is the 3rd Person of the Tri-une God-Head) entered into the drama of creation to renew and resurrect the Life and Body of the Savior of the world.

Jesus came and accomplished the entire purpose for which He was sent.  Now, our access to the Heavenly Throne of our Creator, whom we have the privilege of calling "Our Father", is assured. The connection lost so long ago has been re-established and made possible for all who call upon His name. 

With our eternity secured and our relationship with the Living God established, earthly life takes on a whole new joy and freedom. Judgment is gone and with it goes all the fear, frustration and performance anxiety of our flesh.  Life with Jesus is full of Divine purpose and the peace that was lost in the rebellion. 

The reminder to worship is a blessing in more ways than one.  It opens my heart and mind to the much more there is to celebrate and experience in the Sacred Romance with my King. 

What does He have planned for us today?  I find that as I set my heart to worship, it doesn't really matter. because it's all going to be sweet in fellowship with my Beloved.

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?
 

Who Do You Trust?

The Holy One calls to me this morning. He is leading me into some very narrow catacombs of thought about the structure of Divine Authority.  Today, He poses the question of ultimate accountability.  "Who do you trust to stand before a Holy God in your behalf?"

In the big issue of rescue and safety (Salvation) that is not an unreasonable question.  As I walk with the Lord, I am more and more convinced that life is a matter of perspective and seeing something from a different angle is important to the picture of our lives here on earth.

We talk about "salvation" and those who are "in the know" about Christ realize He is the only One making the claim as that of man's Savior.  Of course He backed up His claim by dying on the Cross and defying death through a miraculous resurrection, historically documented from eye witness accounts. 

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John speak of the event and, then, at the beginning of Acts chapter 1:1-11, the account of His mysterious Ascension was recorded by Luke in his letter to the one known as "Theophilis".

The question posed by the Holy One this morning takes me to the thoughts of life on this fallen earth:  The sin nature of all men.  The personal accountability for "missing the mark" required by Holiness, and the ultimate salvation from the penalty we all know we deserve..

Somehow we have perfected the art of blame-shifting in an effort to free ourselves from the guilt of our unacceptable actions.  This behavior represents a big part of the problem in getting it right with the Sovereign God of all Creation.  Blame-shifting doesn't cure the guilt or bridge the chasm between God and man.

White-washing sin is another method we use to try to diminish responsibility for "bad form".  That method may postpone the accountability but in the end at some point we will have to deal with things we have said or done.  Consequences follow actions.

The Holy One pushes me past what I already know about personal guilt and accountability, to press in about the historic and symbolic, but obsolete function of the "priests" of old.  These were men chosen by God to represent the coming Intercessor and Savior of the world of men, Jesus the Christ.

Before Christ came and gained the honor of becoming humanity's Great High Priest, men served in that function and role under the Divine structure of authority and accountability before God.  They offered up blood sacrifices to atone for the sins of men and to quiet the guilt and fear of Holiness.

But now, by the sacrifice of Christ and His Blood of atonement,we are assured that the curtain that existed between God and men keeping humanity at a distance was torn in two. Access to the God, the Father was obtained and made available to any and all as individuals.  "All" meaning any who would choose to follow Christ Jesus and claim Him as their Savior and Lord.

Jesus is the Great High Priest of Holiness.  All who came before or who have taken up that role since His death and Ascension are merely men, fallen flesh, just like you and me.

I understand the point to the question that the Holy One asks.  I look around at the structure of our religious age and see that many are relying on Pastors and Priests to not just teach truth but somehow represent us to God the Father and that is a dangerous mistake. 

Since the Cross, the responsibility and accountability for our life falls directly on our own heads.  We will not make it to Heaven because we belong the this "church" or this "denomination", or follow and support that person's "ministry". 

For all the confession going on in a box to the ear of a man, nothing is forgiven that does not issue out from God Himself and through the Blood of His chosen sacrifice for our sin, Jesus the Christ.

Likewise any shepherd we may find to respect and honor is still just part of the flock and a sheep himself.  There is only one Great High Priest.  Only one Good Shepherd and only one Savior of the world.

I know and confess that there is no one besides Jesus that I will trust to stand in my behalf before a Holy God.  I respect those called to be "pastors and priests" to teach and instruct us but when it comes to my eternal security and needed forgiveness for all I have done or will be tempted in my flesh to do, the only One I trust with my eternity future is the one who came from there to save me.

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?            

The Ark in the Storm

The Holy one calls to me this morning. There is an especially dark foreboding in the atmosphere.  It's starting to rain.  Gentle at first, then come the torrents. 

I have learned that the Mysterious One who calls my name frequently abides in the dark swirling clouds of uncertainty.  Our move to a state where the seasons and weather patterns are forces to reckoned with, has provided me with symbolic references to the Creator.

Weather and seasons are out of my human control and they have given me a deep sense of vulnerability that emphasizes my human need to be in the care and keeping of Someone bigger than myself.

Having come from a state of almost perpetual sunshine, California, my self-serving agendas were never interrupted by rain or snow or tornadoes or the formidible "winds of change".    Earthquakes would shake the earth below us but they were short lived and unless the house was above the epi-center of the "quake" little effect was felt by most of the population. 

Here in the South East, the heavens shake and the power of nature sends visible and audible reminders of our inability to control our environment.  We all experience the power of an electrical storm with  it's dramatic thunder and lightening.  Most weather events pass with little damage to our lives but they still serve as a reality check that a force greater than our frail human bodies is out there.

Today's storm is a fitting back drop for my early morning meeting with the Holy One.

His warnings come with the deepest compassion.  "Just like in the days of Noah, the door of the Ark is about to close".  Genesis 6-7

For any who do not grasp the important events of the Old Testament or understand how each represents to us a picture of God's Son, our Savior, Jesus the Christ, let me explain this one. The ark of Noah was a symbol of Christ to come, and the flood was the real life judgment by God upon the ancient earth and it's inhabitants.

Noah was a man who had found favor with God because he looked for and found a relationship with Him.  While the whole world was indifferent to the outstretched hand of the Sovereign Creator, Noah made his connection.  It is written that Noah walked with God. (Gen 6:9).

Because Noah was in a relationship with God, God talked to Noah.  And Noah listened.  God told Noah what He was about to do, and gave instructions along with a blue print for a vessel that would become his place of deliverance from the wrath to come. 

The Holy One provides me with a visual in one of those "freeze frame" like moments to just study the scene:  The world under the indictment of Holiness.  The flood of God's judgment.  One man, his family and a few animals bobbing around in a box called an "Ark".

Today is a day of deep concern for those of us who are grieved by all we see.  We know the world is ripe for some form of judgement due to all the wickedness of man that just grows worse by the hour.  Something is coming though we know not what.  As I am caught up in the Lord's message to my heart, I feel a peace come over  my being.

In pondering the text, I realize Noah's rescue was IN the flood, DURING the unhinging of the waters of the deep, and AMID all the destruction heaven unleashed against the wicked inhabitants of the earth.  His rescue was in and not out of the danger zone.  The rain and water fulfilled their purpose while Noah, his family and the animals God intended to keep safe, floated in the water-proof vessel.

What a comforting picture of God's faithful provision for His people considering the conditions of the world we live in today.  Evil abounds, and wickedness is flourishing.  God's indictment has been given but there is a place of safety to be found. 

Within the Church is a hope for what we call "Rapture", but there is a great debate as to when it might take place relative to what is understood to be the "Tribulation" period.  The account of Noah provides a sense of comfort for all who are walking with God and listening to His voice in our day.  We will be kept safe regardless of one's interpretation of the sequence of the rapture/removal of the Church of the Living God.  Jesus is the Eternal Ark of our Salvation, no matter what we may have to face in the days to come.

Matt 24:36- Jesus recalls the days of Noah and relates it to the day and hour that is coming but unknown to the mortals of this world. Speaking of the end of the age, Jesus said:

"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in Heaven, nor the Son but only the Father.  As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.  For in the days of Noah before the flood, people were eating, drinking, marrying and giving in marriage up to the day Noah entered the Ark.  That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.  Therefore keep watch!  You do not know on what day your Lord will come."

It seems to me that in the days leading up to the flood, Noah's voice could be heard but was ignored. It has been said that Noah faithfully built the Ark over a long period of time, like 100 years or so.  His daily life and work was clearly visible to the world around him.  The sheer size of the project would have made it a tourist attraction or at least a curiosity to any inquiring minds.

God's love is patient and He does give warnings to those who have an ear to hear Him. The fact that earth has survived over 2000 years since He sent His Son into the world to bring the knowledge of the Creator God to us humans is evidence of His long enduring patience.  However, scripture tells us that there is a day on the Calendar...a moment when the history of man's days upon the earth as we know them will be over....fully written.... complete.... and then will come "judgement".

Until that day, the Ark of our Salvation stands open.  The Ark of God's eternal deliverance is holding out His hand of mercy and rescue. Time is short but until the very last moment of God's amazing Grace there remains a way of escape.  Just as there was only one Ark, there is only one Savior and only one way to escape God's ultimate judgement.  His name is Jesus. 

The Ark was pounded by the force of the judgment of our Holy God, yet the occupants within survived the wrath of Holiness.  The "Ark" was a symbol of Christ to come.  Christ, on the Cross was pounded by the force of God's judgement for all the wickedness of men.  Yet for all who come to Him for safety and rescue, He is the "Ark" of our salvation and deliverance.  He died the death for all of us and paid the price for sin but only those who enter into a relationship with Him will be spared on that last day.

The clouds on the horizon are forming, and it may well be starting to rain.  Have you made it to the safety of the Ark? 

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?

 

 

 

The Storm

The Holy One calls to me this morning.  A huge thunderstorm rocked my world last night leaving me for hours without electical power.  But now in the quiet of the dawn, He beckons me into a brand new day. 

I think about Jesus and what it may have been like to walk and talk with Him like the Disciples did. I can only imagine the awe and wonder of watching the Creator of all move among His Creation.  The concept of Trinity is difficult to grasp, but then so is the principle of gravity to my unscientific mind.

The Holy One enters into my imagination and guides me to the place of the historical account of when Jesus was asleep in the boat while the storm was threatening to end all of their lives at sea.  The picture of Jesus, the Christ, asleep in the boat...the sea raging....and the Disciples falling apart is interesting to process in light of last night's storm.  (Matt 8:23-27)

It is a picture so many of us are living in today.  The storm is raging, the boat is rocking and the One we are called to trust and follow seems to be asleep.  We find ourselves crying out, "Oh God, wake up, wake up, wake up!  Can you not see I am about to perish?" 

How can this be?  The Creator of the storm is asleep in it?  Oh the mystery of our Sovereign God.

Through the miraculous, Jesus established the fact of His Deity in the hearts and minds of His Disciples.  The storm and His authority over it came early in their relationship with God in the flesh.

The Disciples had just heard the words of life Jesus spoke in what we call, the "Sermon on the Mount".  The Disciples had been eye witnesses to His healings, yet, now, when their own lives seemed about to be altered in a dramatic and devastating way, the One they hoped to be "Messiah" was sound asleep.

Isn't it funny how we can trust the Lord in someone else's life, but then fail to trust Him when the trial touches our own.

The strong winds, the thunder, the lightening, the loss of power during the twi-light hours of last night brought all the natural elements of this life's vulnerability to a head.  The storm was symbolic and this morning, the threats hit my mind like waves upon the boat that the Disciples were in that night long ago.  I found my own self wondering, "Jesus, are you asleep?"

The soft voice of the Holy One falls gently upon my ears, "I will never leave you.  You are safe with Me. Just trust Me".  His peace reminds me that storms will come and storms will go.  The Holy One speaks and I must listen.

All the provisions were made for the Disciples to arrive safely at their appointed destination and the same is true for me.  I know that life is not so much about the storms that hit but about the way I choose to go through them. 

The One who oversees each of life's storms, is the very One who captains my boat.  I must trust my temporal life here, to Him, in the same way I trust Him with my eternal life hereafter.

 Maybe someday He will teach me how to "rebuke the winds and the waves".  But until then, I will continue to trust Him to do it.

The Holy Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?

The Holy Navigator

The Holy One calls me this morning in the dark and quiet beginning of a new spring day. Celebrations of Passover and the Resurrection of the Savior of the world, Jesus the Christ,  have passed and a new year has begun.

The Holy One has arranged for some very interesting new friends and new experiences and a deeper revelation of Himself.  Each detail of life is very carefully, personally and Sovereignly orchestrated by the One who called time itself into existence.

Sometimes the only thing to be done is to bow at the Throne of Sovereignty with the deepest reverence for the Holy One and there surrender any and all personal agendas that the human mind has the audacity to plot and plan. 

The Holy One listens to my heart.  He speaks gently.  He knows my concerns.  He knows me better than I know myself and now, He asks me to listen to Him:

Isaiah 46:3b-5, "Listen to Me, you whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth.  Even to your old age and gray hairs, I AM HE.  I AM HE. I am He who will sustain you and I will rescue you."

The greatness of our God spans eternity.  Yet we are so worried about the temporal.  This new season requires an even deeper dependency on the Lord my God.  My "plan" never included being a temporal widow.  I know a little about becoming an eternal bride with all it's symbolism conveyed in God's Word, but when the one hit, the other became that much more relevant to the world that I wake up in each day.

The Holy One has gently led me these 9 months since my temporal husband crossed the finish line of his life journey on earth.  While there are times when the sense of that loss can take my breath away, my Lord's undeniable Presence sustains me just like He promised in His written Word.

All of us are facing challenges today.  There is no life that is perfect or one with all the answers to those deep questions we find ourselves asking.  But what I do know is that the One who places the stars in the Heavens, the One who calls the sun to rise each and every morning, the One who loves all He created and said, 'It is good", has an eternal plan for each one of us.

What we experience this side of Heaven is, in some way, preparation for what is to come.  Nothing is random in God's economy.  The question for me is, "will I allow the honing of my life (that we call sanctification or being made into His likeness) to go on unimpeded by my will, or my fears or my rejection of opportunities to trust Him at the deepest levels"?

While there is much I do not understand about this life and the events that unfold, I am thankful to know the One who does.  Life is, and can be an exciting adventure when the Holy One is THE Navigator.  He holds the map and the ultimate destination point, and I have chosen to trust Him with the itinerary He Himself has designed for my life journey.  How about you?

The Spirit is calling.  Can you hear Him?