Wednesday, May 20, 2009
"Thank You, Father, for the eternal hope, which gives our lives purpose. We are made complete in You alone. The breathe of Your Spirit is real life, and it is only by Him that we become Your image bearers. Amen, in Jesus."CHOOSING CEMETERIES:
THIS,
OR THIS?
OR THIS?
Dear Loved Ones,
We are approaching the end of Jesus' life, which will leave those who have encountered Him with memories, some bitter, some sweet. My life - each of ours - is the same. When we are gone we will have left bitter/sweet memories with those whom we have encountered in life. Our relationships will have been both bitter and sweet. Let all bitterness be long past in memory, and may sweetness live on through eternity.
Memorial Day
Is not for passing thoughts
Just once a year;
It's every morning when I awake,
Sweet __________,
Whose life I hold so dear.
With joyous memories of times past,
Reunion is my promise,
And with a swelling heart,
I wait with impatience,
Till we meet again, at last!
Is not for passing thoughts
Just once a year;
It's every morning when I awake,
Sweet __________,
Whose life I hold so dear.
With joyous memories of times past,
Reunion is my promise,
And with a swelling heart,
I wait with impatience,
Till we meet again, at last!
During this Memorial Day, may you enjoy times with family and friends as you build sweet memories. We are leaving for Nashville, where all of our family is gathering to watch Ryan, our grandson, graduate on Saturday morning.
I will be back on line with you next Tuesday.
Lowell Martin
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Tuesday, May 19, 2009
"Lord, I am awed by the work of Your hands, and the love of Your heart. You are the point of all of life; You take majestic pity on us; You are the Divine Care-giver of all that has been made, and we are honored that You would put on flesh for a little while, in order that we might bear Your image forever. We are immeasurably blessed! Amen"
THE QUESTIONS OF MEN AND GOD
At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. "If you are the Christ," they said, "tell us." Jesus answered, "If I tell you, you will not believe me, and if I asked you, you would not answer. But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God." They all asked, "Are you then the Son of God?" He replied, "You are right in saying I am." They said "Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips." Luke 22:66-71
At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. "If you are the Christ," they said, "tell us." Jesus answered, "If I tell you, you will not believe me, and if I asked you, you would not answer. But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God." They all asked, "Are you then the Son of God?" He replied, "You are right in saying I am." They said "Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips." Luke 22:66-71
Dear Reflectors with Questions:
How unnatural could it have felt for the Eternal God to wear the "clothing" of a man's skin, and to bear the full force of the curse, which He himself had decreed on men? Jesus knew exactly what was coming, because He had planned it before time, and He knew the end from the beginning.
The councils of men determine destinies; and all of them are self-serving. Only the Council of God has emptied itself in service to others, and it is the preeminently greater council. Men ask questions of status ("Who are you, Jesus?"), whereas the Son of God simply asks, "Who do you say that I am?" Peter answered it rightly, but then withdrew, when his faith became fear.
Jesus told the council the truth of who He is, and they, in a sense, "flipped Him the bird." It's shocking isn't it to think of it in that way? It should strike fear in us to realize what our rejection of Jesus means. Peter went out and wept bitterly. Our culture is less emotional about it--even casual; and we are more likely to keep filling our lives with distractions. We have become experts at watching our own feet.
Meanwhile, Jesus moved closer to being seated at the right hand of God. We now visualize Him getting there by way of the cross - a direction, and an event, of surprising mystery - where He revoked the curse for all who receive Him, by taking it upon himself. There is no love equal to His.
Lowell Martin
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Monday, May 18, 2009
ON THE LIVES OF WORMS
Dear Seekers of Survival:
The singular focus of an earthworm out of its natural environment becomes survival. Mornings after a night rain I find them on the walkway to my shop building, having escaped the danger of drowning only to find themselves facing the new dangers of being stepped on, or eaten by birds or ants, or ultimately to simply dry up and die. Couldn't Earthworms find a permanent environment to be rid of the dangers to their survival?
"Lord, I do not want my imagination to twist Holy Scripture in order to match my conclusions, but I want Your Words to shape my various reflections and encouragements so that I may become like You. Amen in Christ Jesus."
Imagine a "revolt of worms," where they rise up and attack the "Lord of Sidewalks," doing so blindly, but swinging in every direction trying to slime their enemies to death. Such are we! The men guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. They blindfolded him and demanded, "Prophesy! Who hit you?" And they said many other insulting things to him."
Luke 22:63-65
Men are the pinnacle of God's creation, and we are greater than worms, but no less challenged by various dangers to our survival. When I encounter a worm's plight, I see them writhing to get back into the moisture of their natural environment. Failure to do so means certain death, and often, as the day gets later, the sun dries them up, while others are quickly drying out. I am emotionally moved when I see their struggle, and I reach down and move them into the grass. Immediately they begin poking deeply for a passage to safety and survival.
Their desire to live, is very close to my own heart, and so I have compassion on worms. It's not a big thing in the scheme of things, but then again, maybe it is. Jesus has moved me back into an environment full of life, where I am privileged to "poke" around for grace, for myself, and others. I am a worm who has been gifted with eyes, ears, heart and hands, and with a creative imagination, desiring to be shaped into the image which God has in mind. He is the Rescuer of my drying out soul, and He is making rescuers of us all with hearts which want to save.
What a funny way for us "worms" to think and act - it is simply the audacity of faith. What a grand lesson those little creatures can teach us! Indeed, every living thing, in one way or another, points to, and illustrates, our Creator. Further, inanimate living things do as well!
And now we are getting very close to seeing Jesus audaciously transform our "wormhood" into "children of the Living God." It is an environment for the living, and it is good to talk His talk, but better still when we "walk His walk," looking for "drying out" souls. There is much to be done!
Lowell Martin
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Friday, May 15, 2009
"Lord, as I read further into this event with Peter, give me a vision into his head and heart, so that I can see into, and learn from his experience, and to be caught up into the 'net' of salvation. Amen"
SHAPING, AND THE GRANDCHILDREN OF PETER
A little later someone else saw him and said, "You also are one of them." "Man, I am not!" Peter replied. About a hour later another asserted, "Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean." Peter replied, "Man, I don't know what you're talking about!" Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: "Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times." And he went outside and wept bitterly. Luke 22:58-62
Dear followers of Christ Jesus:
What shaped Peter, a man of fishes, to be a "fisher of men?" Who destined him to become whom he became - who but God himself? There can be no doubt that the Deceiver too was deeply involved in his shaping, but Light shapes and limits darkness, to the glory of God.
I am learning to live with two sets of eyes - night eyes, which see into darkness with a truer vision of what it is and how it operates; and eyes of light, which are overcoming the darkness. It is a vital part of the process of our shaping.
Much of our life is lived in shadow, but, as in Nature, the order of events causes light to chase it away. Jesus was Light all of His life, but by Divine planning, the nature of things was reversed, and for a while darkness was allowed to rule. When darkness comes to Light it can only be temporary; it is a part of the nature of God, who is both Life and Light, to allow it to be so.
"If God is for us, who then can be against us?" Darkness, even though it must come for a time, will not prevail. It didn't with Jesus, nor Peter, nor will it with us! The morning of the resurrection of Jesus would see an enlightened Peter, and we are children of the same Light, and we are destined to see, and to be shaped by it, to the glory of God!
Lowell Martin
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Thursday, May 14, 2009
"Lord, above all else I want to follow You, but I confess that it is sometimes very hard to go where my human nature resists going. It is here that I need an extra measure of faith in Your watchcare, and I am believing that You will not fail me. Amen"
SEIZURES!
Then seizing him, they led him away . . . Luke 22:54a
Then seizing him, they led him away . . . Luke 22:54a
Dear friends and followers of Christ Jesus:
How can God be "seized" by mere men? How can mere men resist being seized by evil? In this triad, we mortals are the underdogs, and it is to this hour that Jesus surrendered His human body. Where we resist going, Jesus went willingly to be ravaged by mere men who gave no mercy, but some of whom would later seek His. Peter, the man, resisted going to where his human nature feared to go. Later, Peter, the Apostle, lead believers to the cross of Jesus, and to the manner of his own death, seized by the Lover of men's souls.
Salvation could be seen as a matter of seizure and surrender. There are only two possibilities! Only a God who vicariously experienced human failure can break the grip of the flesh, and Jesus was the One. When we surrender to Him, the sounds of the rooster crowing start to fade in our life and loves. It happened with Peter, and it will for us, because we are loved. Meanwhile, Satan stays busy, attempting to wrap us into immobility with very little wiggle room. I remind each of us that "the principal work of Satan is to convince saved people that they are lost, and lost people that they are saved."
This is a call to rejoice in freedom and hope, wrapped in the trustworthy love of God!
Lowell Martin
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Wednesday, May 13, 2009
"Lord, what is there in this event that I need to focus on? Guide my thoughts, Lover of my soul. Amen"
LIFE AND LOVE IN AN IMPERFECT WORLD
Then seizing him (Jesus) , they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. But when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, "This man was with him." But he denied it. "Woman, I don't know him," he said. Luke 22:54-57
Dear followers of Christ Jesus:
I grew up with mixed feelings of love for my parents. They both were generous and helpful at times, but bad things from others happened to me while I was under their watch. I was shaped by things beyond my control, and my love for them became a mixture of emotions - it was an inconvenient love filled with an unconscious resentment. It took many years for me to consider forgiveness as a "rooster" took up early residence in my young head. Too often good intentions become a matter of convenience. I did it with my parents and I have done it with God.
In the above-quoted passage we read of Jesus' arrest, while Peter "followed from a distance." In this imperfect world, God allows His own arrest and imprisonment; and it is preposterous! How topsy-turvy is that? And what happened to Peter's bravado, when he said, "Lord I am ready to go with you to prison and death." Peter's was an inconvenient love. When the woman accused Peter of being with Jesus, what if Peter had said, "Yes, I am one of His followers, and I love Him more than my own life. Take me as well so that I may suffer with Him."
But life and love in this imperfect world has its inconveniences, with parents and friends, but more importantly with God. We are quick to jump to self-preservation, or so we think, and the rooster hidden in our heads doesn't have much time to sleep. Such is the shaping of our lives and loves. Roosters don't belong in men's heads, but The Lamb is to be much sought after in our heads, hearts, and hands.
Peter suffered greatly as his shaping continued toward the feeding of God's lambs, and who could have imagined the process?
Lowell Martin
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Tuesday, May 12, 2009
"Lord, You are the Ground under my feet; You are my Place of Refuge; You are my Light in the darkness; You are the Source of my joy. You alone are Original, and it is from Your flowing out that men are raised up to eternal life. I applaud You with the 'Wow' of awe. Amen"
FIFTEEN MINUTES OF FAME
Dear watchers of clocks:
At the end of Luke 22:53, when men came to arrest Jesus, He said, ". . .this is your hour. . . - this is your hour Satan; this is your hour Judas; this is your hour chief priests, temple guards, and elders. This is your hour Peter and John, and the others." And today is our hour, our "Fifteen minutes of fame." What am I doing with mine? What are you doing with yours?
I am sitting here this morning, and I see shiny green leaves shimmering in a light breeze; and cloud tops are being struck by the early morning sun - the same sun which was setting in Jesus life. This same old sun has seen it all, but Creation was unprepared for the manner in which God's eternal fame and glory was about to be seen as He was nailed to a cross.
In this our hour, I pray that we trust in the right things, and focus on our God and our love of others in right ways. God owns the clock, and He offers us endless time, because He is our gracious Friend.
Lowell Martin
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