Hope

Easter is coming. I like to read through the Gospels in the early spring days that usher in Resurrection Day. Last week, I read this short story found in Mark 1: 40 - 45.

A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”

Jesus was filled with compassion.v He reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cleansed.

Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: “See that you don’t tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” Instead he went out and began to talk freely, spreading the news. As a result, Jesus could no longer enter a town openly but stayed outside in lonely places. Yet the people still came to him from everywhere.

The Greek word used for leprosy could be used for various diseases affecting the skin, but most people believe it was leprosy by the way the people reacted to his healing. In the days of Jesus, leprosy was considered a hopeless, incurable, mutilating disease.

I didn't really know anything about leprosy except that it was a yucky disease of the skin. I knew people thought it was highly contagious by the way in which they treated lepers. God created laws found in Leviticus 13 in order to prevent the spreading of these skin inflictions.

I'm a fan of WebMD, so I looked up leprosy and this is what I found out. Nowadays, we know that leprosy is a chronic infection disease that is caused by a nasty, slow acting bacteria. Today, there are treatments available for lepers, but back in Jesus' time, there were none.

Lepers experience skin lesions that are pale or red, dry, hairless and numb. These lesions can appear anywhere on the body or in mucus membranes (think eyes, nose, and mouth). Not only do lepers lose sensation where the lesions appear, the disease also affects the peripheral nerves in the body, particularly the hands, feet and eyes.

Remember in kindergarten when you learned about the five senses. Lepers slowly lose them. First, they lose the ability to feel. The man in Mark 1 would reach down to pet a cat, and not feel the softness of its fur. He would touch a hot pan and not feel the heat burn away his skin. He would step on a sharp stone and not feel it cut into his flesh. A cool breeze would blow across his face, and he would not feel the refreshment it could provide.

As lesions spread into his mucus membranes, the man would lose his ability to smell. The nerves within his nose would deaden to the smell of spring flowers. Mercifully, he would also not be able to smell the stench of his own flesh rotting away or the odor of the decomposing trash. Most lepers lived in either dumps or graveyards.

Though rare, lepers can also lose their ability to taste and hear if lesions develop in their mouth and ears. Vision, however, was almost always affected by leprosy. As the disease progressed, the man in Mark 1 would not have been able to see well; the reality around him would have been cloudy and unclear.

As lesions spread over his body, the man would have become disfigured as lumps and bumps expanded over him. Deadened by the disease, he may have had fingers and toes literally fall off.

Most profound, the man would have been cut off from society. A true outcast, not only may he have been numb to human touch due to deadened nerves, it is very likely he did not have human contact since the disease was first noticed. At any potential for human contact, the man would have had to yell, "Unclean! Unclean!" so that others could avoid him.

The man in Mark 1 did not yell unclean when he came to Jesus. Instead he bowed before his only hope of healing with faith uncommon in the healthy. "If you are willing, you can make me clean." And with a touch, the man was healed, cleaned, renewed.

There are less than 200 cases of leprosy in the United States a year. It is a bacteria, a nasty bacteria, but treatable. So why did I spend all of this time telling you about the disgusting symptoms of leprosy?

It is because leprosy reminds me of another terrible disease, a disease that deadens the senses, isolates its victims and robs people of their ability to function. Many people have this disease and don't even know it. Maybe even you. Sometimes even me.

Some people call it spiritual leprosy. The heart becomes hard. Lesions grow on the soul. Apathy overtakes the spirit. The true person God has created you to be is distorted. Maybe you stopped feeling compassion for those in pain. Not only have you lost the ability to feel love, but you also don't feel the pain of rejection anymore. You feel numb. You can no longer taste and see that the Lord is good. Your vision is so cloudy, you can't see reality. You ceased to hear God call you to him. You're indifferent to determining right from wrong. Your heart is calloused. Maybe you have to physically hurt yourself to feel anything at all. You feel hopeless.

There is hope for this disease. The hope is the same for you and the same for me as it was for the man in Mark 1. The hope is Jesus. He is the one who can heal your distorted heart. He is the one who can cleanse your soul. He is the only one who can renew your spirit. Through him, you can be all God created you to be.

Maybe it is not you with the disease, but someone you know. Either way, I invite you take to few minutes and watch the following video. It is called, "A Man Fell in a Hole."

Easter is about resurrection, a new life, a real hope. My prayer is that you would experience it this year.

One more thing. God has put someone in your life to help you through this. It might be your friend, a teacher, a co-worker or even a family member. But God will never leave you without help. If you can't figure out who the person is, leave a comment and we will help you find someone to help you. There is hope.

[If you wish to reset to original video press the replay button. All other videos may not necessarily be endorsed by Young Hearts Blog and Lovely Branches Ministries.]

Click here to go to the HOPE page at lovelybranchesministries.org http://lovelybranchesministries.org/HOPE.html

Got A Secret?

Got a Secret?

In Lake Wales, Florida, there is a tranquil spot called Bok Tower Gardens. When I was little, my dad would take us there for a quiet walk among the beautiful flowers as the tower soaring above us serenaded us with glorious songs of carillon bells. We always brought peanuts because the trees were home to a large number of very friendly squirrels.

In Genesis chapter three, verse eight, we read about another daddy walking with his children.

"Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day..."

Can you image the Father, Elohim, the creator of the universe, the one who breathed life into your soul, strolling down the path every evening to walk and talk with you, maybe even feed the squirrels with you? That is God's plan.

His desire is to be known by you.

Oh, to live in the garden! Maybe you could stop by the river and sit on the bank with your toes hanging in the water. Maybe you could skip a few stones with the God who created them. However, the verse continues.

"...and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden."

Oh, how I wish I could tell you that Adam and Eve were enjoying a playful game of hide-and-seek with their heavenly daddy. How I wish I could tell you that they were not crouching behind the trees experiencing for the first time a feeling of shame, embarrassment and fear. How I wish I could tell you they did not choose to go their own way, to do what was right in their own eyes, but instead followed the LORD all of the days of their lives. But that is not what happened.

The Fall

Sin

Hiding

Fear

An Attempted Cover-up

An Attempt to Shift Blame

Broken Relationships

Loneliness

Dallas Willard writes about a 2-and-a-half-year-old girl in her backyard who one day discovered the secret to making mud (which she called "warm chocolate"). Her grandmother had been reading and was facing away from the action, but after cleaning up what was to her a mess, she told little Larissa not to make any more chocolate and turned her chair around so as to be facing her granddaughter.

The little girl soon resumed her "warm chocolate" routine, with one request posed as sweetly as a 2-and-a-half-year-old can make it: "Don't look at me, Nana. Okay?" Nana (being a little co-dependent) of course agreed.

Larissa continued to manufacture warm chocolate. Three times she said, as she continued her work, "Don't look at me, Nana. Okay?"

Then Willard writes: "Thus the tender soul of a little child shows us how necessary it is to us that we be unobserved in our wrong."

Any time we choose to do wrong or to withhold doing right, we choose hiddenness as well. It may be that out of all the prayers that are ever spoken, the most common one—the quietest one; the one that we least acknowledge making—is simply this: Don't look at me, God.

It was the very first prayer spoken after the Fall. God came to walk in the garden, to be with the man and the woman, and called, "Where are you?"

"I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid," Adam answered, "so I hid." Don't look at me, God.

John Ortberg, God Is Closer Than You Think (Zondervan, 2005), p. 40-41

I praise God that forgiveness comes through the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus. If you have trusted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, there is no need to hide anymore.

So here's the question I'm really trying to get us to think about today.

Do you have a secret? Are you doing something, thinking something, planning something, or maybe dreaming something, that you would not want anyone else to know about, least of all your heavenly Father. Well, God already knows.

The impulse to hide, to keep it a secret is a big red flag. It is conviction.

Instead of hiding like Adam and Eve, try stepping out from behind the bushes like David.

Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thought.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalm 139:23-24

As a child of God, are saved from your sin; there is no reason to hide. You are redeemed; there is no reason to fear or cover-up or shift the blame. Your relationship with God is restored; there is no reason to be lonely.

Finally, let me leave you with a reminder from the God who loves you spoken by Michael W. Smith.

Taste And See That The LORD Is Good.

It is summer. It is hot. My best friend, Krystal, and I are about eleven-years-old. The days are long.

Me: What do you want to do?

Krystal: I don't know. What do you want to do?

Me: I don't know. Let's make a list of things we could do and then pick.

Krystal: Okay.



The List:
Go swimming in the lake.
Go swimming at Krystal's house.
Play in the woods.
See if Jennifer wants to play.
Go to Circle K

Me: They pulled a nine foot alligator out of the lake just last week.

Krystal: The pool will be full of Mom's day care kids and they never get out to go to the bathroom.

Me: The woods are a good idea even though we aren't allowed in there.

Krystal: We could go to my cousin Jennifer's house. She has air conditioning and we don't.

Me: All she ever wants to do is play school; I don't even like school.

Krystal: Candy sounds good. Let's walk to Circle K.

Me: I don't have any money.

Krystal: Let's go see what my dad left on his dresser.

And so we were off. Krystal would sneak into her parent's bedroom and snag change. She couldn't take all of it because then they would know. Sometime we would have thirty cents. Sometimes we would have two dollars.

Leisurely, we walked down the railroad tracks adjacent to the forbidden woods, balancing on the rails like circus stars. Along the mile journey, we would discuss our purchase options. What candy could we buy that would give us the most sugar bang for our buck? We would have it all figured out and then walk into the convenience store and have to rethink the entire purchase.

Rows of sweetness tempted us.

As a general rule, we stayed away from chocolate; it melted too quickly. Most of the time our pockets held less than fifty cents so our choices were limited to the nickle candy. Tootsie Rolls. Smarties. Lolly Pops. Bazooka Joe Bubble Gum. If we had enough we would indulge in candy cigarettes. I liked the red Pall Mall box because that's what my daddy smoked. We thought we looked so cool puffing on those white sticks of sugar. They tasted good, too.

To be honest, I like just about anything that is sweet. Candy. Ice cream. Cake. Pudding. Cookies. Pie. It doesn't matter. As kids, we dreamed about being able to eat whatever we wanted. Chocolate cake for breakfast like Bill Cosby. Oreos for lunch. Ice cream for dinner. Why not?

In high school, I somehow survived on Dr. Pepper, cinnamon rolls from the school lunch room and Little Caesar's bread sticks. The trouble with eating sweets is that it gives you a sugar buzz, and then you don't feel hungry. Candy masks the fact that your body needs protein and vitamins. The sugar buzz masks your hunger for the real nutrients that you don't have. Your body is unable to function the way it should.

Things like popularity, sex, power, money, and success—as well as favorable circumstances—act like spiritual sugar. Christians who have these spiritual candies may say, "Sure, I believe in God and I know I'm going to heaven," but they're actually basing their day-to-day joy on favorable circumstances. When the circumstances change, it drives us to God, because when the sugar disappears, when the candy gets taken away, we're forced to pursue the feast that our souls really crave. We'll hunger for the spiritual nutrients we really need.

Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
Fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
Psalm 34:8-10

Do you remember how the LORD fed the Israelites as he brought them through the desert? Though they constantly grumbled over their lost Egyptian sugar, He fed them with manna straight from heaven. Check out Exodus 16.

¹⁵ When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was.

Moses said to them, “It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. ¹⁶ This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.’”

¹⁷ The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little.

The word Omer, spelled in Hebrew Ayeen-Mem-Resh is a measurement believed to be equivalent to about 3 pounds or the size of half a pitcher of milk. The only time this measurement is used in the entire Bible is in Exodus 16.

However, there is another Hebrew word that is pronounced the same way, though it is spelled slightly different, Alef-Mem-Resh. This word means, "Promise! Speech! Answer! Word!" Perhaps this is a pun of promise.

Authors Bodie and Brock Thoene explain it this way in Second Touch.

Every day Adonai was saying to his people of Israel as they gathered an Omer of manna, "This is My promise to you! I AM speaking here! My Word is the true bread from heaven! My Word will feed your souls as you cross the wilderness of life! Until the end of time there is a battle raging against you, but I, Yahweh, will win the battle for your souls! I, Myself will lead you and provide for you, if you will only trust me! My Word sent from heaven is your salvation!"

Maybe they learned; maybe they didn't. But this is the lesson: This small truth speaks to us in a big way of Messiah. He is the WHO, the Messiah! He is also the WHAT, the Bread of Life sent from heaven! He is also the WORD, the OMER, the full measure of truth that feeds men's souls. There is always enough to meet our needs and to satisfy the hunger of our hearts.

Visualize this beautiful word picture:

Let my teaching fall like rain
and the words (omer) descend like dew,
like showers on new grass,
like abundant rain on tender plants.
Deuteronomy 32:2

In his book Exodus and Revolution, Michael Walzer shares three lessons we can all learn from the Exodus event of the Old Testament:

First, that wherever you live, it is probably Egypt. Second, that there is a better place, a world more attractive, a promised land. And third, that "the way to the land is through the wilderness."

I'd like to add a forth lesson. That God will provide all of your needs as you go because Jesus is the Messiah, the Bread of Life and the Word.

Taste and see that the LORD is good. Spend time with Jesus. Read His Word. Fill your heart and soul with the nutrients you need to pass through this wilderness. Take refuge in Him and you will lack no good thing. That's a promise

Can Anyone See The Difference?

This is a picture of my dad taken many years ago.
He died in 2000 and I miss him like crazy.

But that is not what my blog is about.

This blog is about his beard.
Can you see it?
When I was growing up, my daddy always had that beard.

There is a family story that I believe to be true, though I don't remember it myself. One day, my dad decided to shave off his beard. He went into the bathroom, lathered up, took out his straight razor and a few minutes later, it was gone.

At the time, my brother, Daniel was not very old. My dad came out of the bathroom. Daniel saw my dad for what very well could have been the first time without a beard and he stopped in his tracks. He knew immediately that something was very different.

The words Daniel spoke are what I find humorous.

He said, "Dad, can I take you to school for show and tell?"

That just makes me giggle. But it also makes me think. Why did Daniel want to take Dad to school? Because he looked so very different. So different that it was worthy of showing him off in one of Daniel's rare turns to bring an item from home for show and tell.

Sometimes I think about my own life and the way I live it and I wonder if it is show and tell worthy. Is my life different enough in Christ that people stop in their tracks and wonder what is so different about that lady? Do they see God's love, mercy and joy?

Do you know the verse known as "the great commission?"

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" Matthew 28:19

There are three verbs in there. Go. Make. Baptize. When I was in college, I got a little stuck on the go part. Evangelizing was something that you went out to do. We would go to the snack bar, go door to door in dorms, go do surveys on campus, and even go to other countries. This was all very good.

Later, however, I learned that in the original language, the verse reads a little closer to this, "Therefore, as you are going, make disciples..." This has really made a difference in how I think about sharing the truth of God's word with others. I still need to be intentional in my going and in my speech, but I also know that the way I live my life every moment is a testimony to the work God is doing in me.

So, what's the conclusion?

You don't need to shave your beard.

I know. You don't have a beard. That's good.

"Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardships, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry."

2 Timothy 4:2-5

A Baby Changes Everything

So, today I listened to Christmas music for the first time of this holiday season. Before Thanksgiving?! I think that might be a crime, but the song was called "A Baby Changes Everything" sung by Faith Hill. It really got me thinking about the baby aspect.

I don't really like thinking of Jesus as a baby. That's not my first mental picture of him and somehow maybe even makes me uncomfortable (you know that's just where He wants you - THEN He can teach you something!). So, I thought, "Well, is this really all that important?" But obviously it was or God wouldn't have specifically done it that way. It is no accident that Jesus came to earth as a baby.

This evening, twelve hours later, I was faced with the baby issue again. This time it came from the Oswald Chambers devotional, "My Utmost for His Highest." In it, Chambers warns against the pride of wanting to appear deep spiritually. He challenges that it is not our deep devotion to God that makes us refuse to be shallow, but our wish to impress other people with the fact that we are not shallow. This is a sure sign of being a spiritual snob. "Beware of posing as a profound person; God became a baby."

Whoa! Did that point out some pride in my heart! See, I knew I was uncomfortable with the baby issue. But Phillipians 2:5 says that our attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. What was that attitude? One of humility. He did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but lowered himself completely to our level, became an obedient servant on our behalf and offered himself as a sacrifice for our sins. What a Christmas story!

So this Christmas season, when you see the baby who changed everything, think of humility. What might humility change about this Christmas season for you? How might you become other-centered and God-centered instead of self-centered? What a gift that would be to our Savior!

CHALLENGE: For the next 25 days, specifically do something other-centered as a gift to your Saviour and write it down in your journal. You might even want to post some of the blessings you have received as a result of taking the focus off of yourself. Merry Christmas!

A Facebook Challenge

I think I need to make another confession. I like Facebook. Some of you already know that about me because you like Facebook, too.

There has been an unintended but welcome consequence to me joining Facebook. Reading people's status reports has increased my prayer life. I am honored to pray for others.

Sometimes, I praise God for how He is working in people's lives, but there is not a day that goes by that I don't find myself before the Lord on someone's behalf because of something I read on Facebook.

Does your Facebook look like mine? Do you know any of these ladies?

• the girl who missed the bus and is hoping her dad will get up and take her to school
• the college freshman who procrastinated too long on a final project
• the wife whose husband won't talk to her
  
• the friend who is having to file bankruptcy
• the girl whose heart is broken over a boy
• the little girl in the hospital fighting for her next breath
• the middle schooler who sits alone at lunch every day
  
• the young lady whose mysterious medical condition leaves her unable to control her own body and with major memory losses
  
• the young mom experiencing another miscarriage
• the teacher writing substitute plans again because her little boy isn't getting better
• the young girl whose two fish died
• the high school girls who shamelessly post provocative photos
• the friend fighting cancer again
• the widow who can't pay her bills
  
• the teen who can't figure out her homework and calls herself stupid
• all the ladies who suffer with allergies, migraines, depression or insomnia
  
• the young mom whose husband works out of town - a lot
• the out of work
• the lonely
  
• the lost

You know them, don't you? They hurt. You hurt.
We live in a fallen world. Sin is a nasty thing.

Last weekend, my husband and I attended the funeral of my sister's ex-husband. He committed suicide leaving behind four children. The emotions were intense.
Grief. Anger. Sadness. Abandonment. Guilt. Bitterness. Pain. Loneliness.
The unanswered questions were as unending as the emotions.

My husband, who always seems to know the right thing to say, stood up to speak. He reminded us all that no matter how dark the moment seems, God is always good. He is always faithful.
Sometimes, it is hard to see. If you haven't known God too long, it may be hard to believe. If you don't spend time in his Word, you may forget. So, let me just remind you like Jeff reminded me.

God is good all the time.

God is faithful.

God never changes.

"Don't be deceived, my dear brothers (and sisters). Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:16-17

Thanksgiving is coming up. Let's do ourselves a favor, shall we? Let's remind ourselves every day this month of God's gifts. I want to remember every day the great God we serve and I'm praying you will help me along.

So, here is our challenge. Let's make our status reports every day in November start with the words, "I thank and praise God for..." Let's give God credit for the good he is working in this fallen world.

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." I Thessalonians 5:15 - 18

I'll be watching to see what amazing things God has blessed you with!

• I thank and praise God that she cares enough to want to get to school
• I thank and praise God the final project was turned in on time
• I thank and praise God she is faithful to love her husband unconditionally
  
• I thank and praise God she has a family who loves her, a job and a roof over her head
• I thank and praise God she is realizing what a jerk he was anyway
• I thank and praise God she is receiving amazing medical care
  
• I thank and praise God she knows Jesus is her friend
• I thank and praise God for her family's love and support
• I thank and praise God she knows with zero doubt that the life the Lord knitted together in her womb is living in heaven with Jesus
  
• I thank and praise God for his comfort and healing
  
• I thank and praise God for Facebook so she can share her sadness with friends without being yelled at to get off the phone
  
• I thank and praise God there are people in these young girls' lives teaching them about purity and praying for them daily
  
• I thank and praise God she knows the Lord and will rest in Him when her battle on earth is over
  
• I thank and praise God for being her provider, the husband of widows
• I thank and praise God for the brilliant brain He gave her and the friends who remind her of that.
  
• I thank and praise God for being the healer
• I thank and praise God every time he comes safely home from a business trip
  
• I thank and praise God for the generous
  
• I thank and praise God for the neighbor
• I thank and praise God that He came to seek and save what was lost
  

Come and Listen!

Come and listen, all you who fear God;

let me tell you what He has done for me.

I cried out to Him with my mouth;

His praise was on my tongue.

If I had cherished sin in my heart,

the Lord would not have listened;

But God has surely listened

and heard my voice in prayer.

Praise be to God who has not rejected my prayer

or withheld His love from me!

Psalm 66:16-20



Hey gals, I have something to tell you!

I want to tell you how the Lord was so faithful to me.

I really and truly did cry out yesterday driving home from work.

I just needed to be saved from myself and the horrible, critical running commentary going on in my head and I just cried out to God. Sobbed out. Probably looked a little pathetic -hey, that's heading towards critical again!

He changed my focus from critical thoughts of myself and my failures to focusing on His truth and His love and His plans for my life. As I stopped staring at all my obvious faults and started magnifying His amazing strength and love, I was given peace. Oh how I needed His peace!

What was the sin in my heart? It was pride. I don't like to mess up and look incompetent. I was so obsessed with how I looked, that I wasn't really considering how He looked in my life. I wasn't concerned for His reputation, just mine. That is pride. That is putting me above Him, and that is a miserable place to be.

So I confessed that sin. Called it by name and asked for forgiveness. And with that mess out of the way, He could speak truth into my life and answer my prayer.

Praise the Lord who did not reject me or give up on me or withhold His love from me. Some days it feels like the world does that, but never Jesus. He is faithful. Always. Praise be to God!