When It's All Been Said and Done

I had the words of this song by Robin Mark on my mind this morning during my quiet time.  It's a wonderful song to pray so I thought it was worth sharing this morning.  I tried to post a video so you could enjoy the music but being so very un-techie, I failed.  Here's a link to a you-tube video, though.  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1llIIhBMCjU&feature=youtube_gdata

Hope the words are a blessing.


When it's all been said and done
There is just one thing that matters
Did I do my best to live for truth
Did I live my life for You
When it's all been said and done
All my treasures will mean nothing
Only what I've done for love's reward
Will stand the test of time

Lord Your mercy is so great
That You look beyond our weakness
And find purest gold in miry clay
Making sinners into saints

I will always sing Your praise
Here on earth and ever after
For You've shown me Heaven's my
true home
When it's all been said and done
You're my life when life is gone

Lord I'll live my life for You

The Man on the Cross

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”  (Luke 23:39-43)

Two criminals sentenced to death; one mocked Jesus, the other somehow knew and recognized Jesus for who he was.  This man rebuked the other; after all, they were all under the same penalty of death.  But this unnamed criminal looked over to Jesus, called him by name, and asked to be remembered when Jesus came into his kingdom.  

Had he heard his teaching or seen Jesus' miraculous works?  Had he only heard about them?  Whatever the case, the seed of faith had been planted and this dying criminal prayed to the Son of God; his prayer was heard and answered.  He was saved from spiritual death as he was dying that horrible physical death.

It's quite a remarkable story - to think of this unknown criminal knowing who Jesus was and knowing there was a coming kingdom, even for the dying.  The Bible doesn't tell us how he knew.  I wish we could know more of the back-story but what we have is enough.  What really matters is the bottom line. This sinful man, at his death, was welcomed into paradise when he prayed his simple prayer:  "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

Our loving Lord, even as he was dying, was reaching out to a lost sheep.  He was saving a condemned man even as the mockers were crying out for him to save himself.  This criminal was forgiven, set free and saved from eternal death.  

So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:3-10)

Laughter

Then our mouth was filled with laughter,

and our tongue with shouts of joy;

then they said among the nations,

“The LORD has done great things for them.”

The LORD has done great things for us;

we are glad.  (Psalm 126:2-3 ESV)

We Christians can be a serious, somber lot.  How sad, when we have so much to rejoice over, to give thanks for, and to celebrate.  Think (or do a quick search on your computer) of the many times joy and laughter are mentioned in the Bible.  Sarah laughed when she heard she was about to become a mother at her advanced age; David's psalms and his life were filled with times of celebration.  One of the fruits of the Spirit is joy; Jesus promises us fullness of joy.  One of the sweetest passages is in Zephaniah:   The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)  Oh, how we need to meditate over the fact that our God exults over us with loud singing.  

Today due to a silly mistake, I ended up with, as my mother used to say, my giggle box turned over.  I could not stop laughing - sitting by myself in the living room, just laughing. It was wonderful!  When I finally pulled myself together, I thanked God because it felt like such a gift, something I hadn't done in so long!  He knew how badly I needed to just let go and laugh and that's exactly what happened.  Most likely, nobody else would have even thought it was funny, but what a good time that was!  

Maybe I needed that reminder.  Maybe you do, too.  Take some time today to reflect on the joyfulness of our walk with Jesus, the reasons to celebrate who he is and who we are in him.  We are not meant to show the world a sour face, dutifully going about our business as if we are carrying around the weight of the world on our shoulders.  I pray that the Lord blesses you with the gift of laughter today - just for the fun of it!

“Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. (Luke 6:21)

And the ransomed of the LORD shall return

 and come to Zion with singing;

 everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;

 they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

(Isaiah 35:10)

Trust

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.  He will bring forth righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.  Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.  Psalm 37:4-7

Trust in him and he will act.  

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.

Trust.  

Be still.  

Wait patiently.

Our God is true to his word, his promises.  The hardest thing for us, his children, is the waiting, being still in his presence - a holy waiting in the awareness of the presence of God's peace.  Sometimes, the hardest thing is the trusting.  Oh, we say we trust God to answer our prayers, to act on our behalf.  But what, then is at the root of our impatience, our worries or questions of "what if"?  Is it not a lack of trust, maybe even disbelief?

Trust.  

Be still.  

Wait patiently.

Delight yourself in the Lord - he delights in us.  Be at peace in the love he showers over us and in us.  Abide in him, rest in the knowledge of his faithfulness, his promises.  He will never leave us or forsake us.  He will never leave our prayers unanswered.  Trust him.  Wait with him and for him.  He will act.

I have been young, and now am old, 

yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken 

or his children begging for bread.  Psalm 37:35

Grace and Vision

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain.  On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I but the grace of God that is with me.  1 Corinthians 15:10

Paul's ministry was driven by grace.  He seemed always aware of how undeserving he was of God's gift of salvation - he knew so well "from whence he came."  Paul's conversion turned him from a zealous persecutor of the followers of Christ to a man zealous to bring others to the Lord he had come to know.  It was his mission from then on to follow and serve the Lord, to tell his story and to preach the good news of salvation to the Gentile world that they, too, may come to the knowledge of the love of Christ for, in and through them.  Paul never seemed to take for granted the grace of God.  His work was propelled by the knowledge of all God had done to bring him into this new life.

Can we say the same thing?  Is the Good News burning in us, compelling us to share it?  Speaking personally, I know how easy it is for me to get so caught up in the day-to-day busy-ness of my life that I forget how I got where I am.  I stay busy doing the Lord's work but don't always pause to look back and see how far the Lord has brought me - that it's only by his grace and power that I do anything.  Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.  Freely you have received, freely give.  (Matt. 10:8 NIV) In other words, all that we do in the name of Christ and for his kingdom is done out of all he has done and is doing in us.

Look around.  Where has God placed you - what community, church, neighborhood?  Who has he sent your way, what are the needs, where is the one who doesn't yet know the love of Jesus?  Where is the one who is sick in soul, mind or body?  Who is Jesus asking you to minister to today?  We are not all called to stand on street corners and pass out tracts but we are called to give freely of the love we have so freely been given. Watch for opportunities and be willing to share your story, your heart, your time, or whatever the Lord might be asking of you.

Take Him at His Word

And my people shall be satisfied with my goodness declares the Lord.  For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.  (Jeremiah 31:14b, 25)

How we strive to satisfy our soul's desires!  We feel a need and try to fill that need or emptiness ourselves: go shopping, buy new "toys", work harder, gain more prestige, perhaps pursue a new relationship.  When we become aware of an emptiness, we feel it must be filled and we run around trying many things or ways to satisfy.  But the truth is we're looking in the wrong direction and we're missing the true reason for our emptiness.  Temporary, earthly things can never satisfy the need that can only be filled by our eternal God. Everything else may feel like a quick fix but the depth of our need can only be addressed by God.

God placed within us our need for him.  We may spend our life running after love, things, fame, prestige, money, etc, thinking that's all it will take to satisfy, only to find the emptiness still there.  We see it all around us in people's lives spinning out of control, or in a desperate striving that never stops.  When is enough enough?

Only the one who created us, our deepest innermost parts, can answer and fill our deepest needs.  It's simple, really, and we can make it so complicated!  Be still and know that I am God (Ps. 46:10).  Or, as in the NASB version, Cease striving and know that I am God.  Stop this endless rat race like the hamster on its little wheel.  Cease striving. KNOW that he is God.

God's goodness is enough.  HE is enough.  He is the sufficiency for all our needs and it is enough.  God's goodness is abundantly more than we can ever ask for or imagine (Eph. 3:19); there is no limit and no end to the love, mercy, grace and goodness of our God.  The searching, running around, restlessness, striving, and constant reaching stops here, in the presence and fullness of our Lord.  In Ephesians 1:3, we read that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus.  How astonishing that is!  Every - not some - every spiritual blessing.  Nothing is left out or held back.  What an amazingly good and generous Father we have.

He promises to satisfy every weary, worn out, beaten-down soul and to replenish every languishing, weak, neglected, disheartened soul.  Look around.  These soul-weary people are everywhere.  You can see it in their eyes, their posture, their very presence.  You might even catch a glimpse when you look in the mirror. Our God is waiting, calling, reaching out to each one of us, saying:  Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Matt. 11:28 NIV).  He promises us his peace - not the peace the world can offer but the peace of God which passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7).  He promises us love; not the weak, watered-down, conditional love of this world but the love that knows no limits, is tender, compassionate and the love that will never leave us or forsake us.  His is the love that can never be taken away by anything:  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35, 38-39)

God's promises are true, they are forever.  Read these words again and take them to heart - take God at his word:  

And my people shall be satisfied with my goodness declares the Lord.  For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.  (Jeremiah 31:14b, 25)

Fellowship

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.  (Hebrews 10:23-25 ESV)

What a blessing it is to walk out our Christian journey within a community faith.  The writer of Hebrews admonishes us to encourage each other, gather together as a community, and help each other along as we live out our faith.  How badly we need to hear and receive these words.  In our world today, we are too inclined to try to get by on our own, considering the need of others almost as a weakness.  In God's perfect plans, it is through relying on one another that we are strengthened, grown and matured in our faith.  We learn from each other, we celebrate together and weep together, we discern God's will for each other and hold one another accountable.  What a gift that is.  


I had an occasion this morning to be reminded of a quote which is also the title of a book by Eugene Peterson:  "a long obedience in the same direction".  That is such a great description of a faith journey. It is long but purposeful; it is moving, not stagnant.  How much better - necessary - to walk among our brothers and sisters in the faith.  How can we possibly stay faithful and obedient if we wander along by ourselves?  I don't believe we can.  We can't be, and were never intended to be, Christians in isolation.  God created us for relationships - with him and with each other.  


I've been writing and reflecting on discipleship lately as I've been preparing a Bible study on the life of Peter, what a life of discipleship looks like from beginning to end with all its beauty, mistakes, sins, denials, transformation and sanctification.  Our Lord was preparing Peter for the role he was to step into in this new body of believers.  It was certainly not an easy path, this process of training and refining Peter went through.  But he was surrounded by his brothers and sisters in the faith who were learning with him, praying with him, weeping and celebrating with him.  They were strengthening each other even in their darkest moments.  Even in their doubt, as they may have scattered and separated from each other when Jesus was arrested, they came back together to try and make sense of all they had seen and were together in prayer as they were empowered to go out and serve their risen Lord.  Where else could they be but with each other?  Who else could really understand the depths of their emotions and the heights of joy when true understanding came?


Where else can we go?  The gift of community - of true Christ-centered friendships - is a gift beyond measure.  Those dear ones in our lives who know us and love us anyway - who encourage, support, pray, correct and re-direct when we need it - are the picture and reality of Christ among us.  

Behold, how good and pleasant it is

when brothers dwell in unity!

It is like the precious oil on the head,

running down on the beard,

on the beard of Aaron,

running down on the collar of his robes!

It is like the dew of Hermon,

which falls on the mountains of Zion!

For there the LORD has commanded the blessing,

life forevermore.

(Psalm 133 ESV)