Lent

Jesus Gives New Life

March 1, 2016

Jesus Gives New Life

For everyone who believes on His Name, Jesus gives new life (2 Cor 5:17). If you have accepted the work of Christ as the only way for you to be at peace with God, as the only way for you to be right at all, then you have been given a new life!

The butterfly has long been a symbol for new life in Christ. During its life cycle it undergoes an amazing transformation! But sometimes, symbols like this that can leave us confused and discouraged. Often I look at myself and wonder, Where is my new life? I still feel like that worm in the Before picture. No progress! Some ~~days~~ ~~weeks~~ seasons are one step forward, two steps back! When do I really get to the After? When am I going to transform so I can take flight??

The truth is that, in this life, we are always a bit like the worm, and we are always a bit like the butterfly. Two processes are being depicted by the life cycle of the butterfly: justification and sanctification (immediate, saving grace and gradual, growing righteousness). This Gospel is true in the now and in the not yet.

In the now: When God justifies us, He makes us like that butterfly, immediately. He accepts us and gives us a new identity — like the pretty butterfly, He makes us a totally new creation (2 Cor 5:17). He declares us to be not-guilty and perfect because of the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, who was not-guilty and perfect (Hebrews 10:14). God is not bound by time, so right now He can declare us not-guilty on the future Day of Judgement. “The blood of Jesus has made us right with God now, and certainly we will be rescued by Him from God’s wrath in the future” (Romans 5:9, VOICE).

In the not yet: While we are in this world, we cannot live completely not-guilty and perfect lives — we still make mistakes. For all practical purposes, we live as worms and not butterflies throughout our time on earth, and that’s ok. God is not surprised by our flaws and weaknesses, in fact He is glorified by them because they teach us how we must rely, so completely, on Him (2 Cor 12:9). Still, we have to remember that we won’t be perfect in this life. We can’t be perfect this side of heaven. But we can be humble, just like our little friend, the worm.

And God’s promise is that, in the end, He will absolutely finish the work of making us into beautiful butterflies (Phil 1:6). That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor 2:9, ESV). Life feels uncertain at times, but we can be certain of this: Jesus Gives New Life!

When your life seems to taunt you, showing you how stuck you are, when everything around you is begging to be finished, remember that God is at work right here in the middle. He is very present. His timing is perfect. His plans are certain. His love is strong.

Oh! You might be wondering why I called the little creature in the Before picture a “worm” and not a caterpillar. Caterpillars are not worms, but they are worm-like. This Before & After reminds me of a song by John Newton, who is most famous for his hymn “Amazing Grace.” The song about the worm describes the process of sanctification. “I Asked the Lord” always brings tears to my eyes, it explains that God wants to make us more and more like Him, even if the process is a little painful. You can read the words here or you can listen while you read the lyrics via Youtube (if the video doesn’t appear, please refresh your browser and, if you are reading this via email, you’ll need to visit the website to see the video).

I shared this post at Kristin’s Three Word Wednesday:

God Wrote Your Story

February 24, 2016

My friend Jodi is a scrapbooker, a diligent keeper of stories. She treasures the special moments, takes the pictures, and keeps the photos all organized till she can find a few minutes for herself. She saves up these memories in neat little boxes, collects just the right stickers and papers, and buys special tape and fancy scissors. And she bides her time. When she finds a few hours to craft, she lovingly arranges the pictures so that they retell those memories. She curates her family’s story.

God Wrote Your Story

The Lord is the best keeper of stories. He is the Author of all life. He plans our special moments before we are born. His scrapbook is full of stories about us, His children. He knows us so well. He sees all the messes that we are going to make, before we make them, and He loves us anyway. In fact, He sent Jesus Christ to make sure that all of our stories, even the hard ones, have a happy ending: “We have been made right in God’s sight by faith. We have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us” (Romans 5:1, NLT).

You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
Psalm 139:16, NLT

Did you ever think about how God wrote your story? Next time you take pictures to post on Facebook — pictures of your family on vacation, or dinner with friends, or your new haircut — remember that all of your story was written before you were born. God has left nothing to chance. He is always at work to fulfill His plans for you. He makes it so you can grow in wisdom and love and peace. He wants you to walk closely with Him everyday. He will stop at nothing to meet you in the middle.

My good friend Kristin has a link-up called 3 Word Wednesday. She is joining us on this project, so we are joining her too!

Taught by God

February 16, 2016

All your children shall be taught by the Lord,
and great shall be the peace of your children (Isaiah 54:13, ESV).

My husband was deployed when my youngest was born. Then, during the next year, we had so many difficulties: we were displaced by Hurricane Katrina, he deployed again, I sold our house, and I moved to a strange city, alone, with the kids. When he returned from overseas, the adjustment was hard. Since then we’ve endured chronic illnesses, separation from family, marriage troubles and more…and I’ve been grieved that, for so long, we’ve been stretched so thin.

It has grieved me that we haven’t always shown our children
a clear picture of their Heavenly Father.

Parents are supposed to demonstrate the Father’s character, in part so their children will know what He is like. We tried. We gave them God’s Word and told them about the sacrifice of Jesus and the love of God. But, as for showing them God’s Word by living a life of sacrifice and love, we have fallen short. Here’s what I wish we could imitate better:

The Lord is compassionate and merciful,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.

For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.

The Lord is like a father to his children,
tender and compassionate to those who fear him.
For he knows how weak we are;
he remembers we are only dust.

Psalm 103:8, 11, 13-14, NLT

I know about sowing and reaping. We should reap a harvest that matches what we have sown. We want to sow seeds of love, but too often, we have planted selfishness, fear, unforgiveness, unkindness. Yet, our children are pretty happy, mostly polite, genuinely kind, very forgiving, and they really love the Lord. Huh? I am so thankful for God’s grace—that we don’t always get what we deserve. Thank you Lord, for instructing their hearts, where we have failed.

When I think of all the years and all the difficulties between these two pictures, I am astonished. This is truly the work of the Holy Spirit. Because of the work of Jesus, our Great High Priest, this is true:

I will put my laws in their minds,
and I will write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
And they will not need to teach their neighbors,
nor will they need to teach their relatives,
saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’
For everyone, from the least to the greatest,
will know me already.
And I will forgive their wickedness,
and I will never again remember their sins.

(Hebrews 8:10-12, NLT).

It is good to remember that “successful parenting” is done best by Our Heavenly Father. Isn’t is wonderful that Jesus bridges our shortcomings and meets us in the middle?

Welcome to Ash Wednesday, 2016

February 9, 2016

Ash Wednesday Marks a Beginning

There’s so much I want to say about #MeetMeintheMiddleProj and Ash Wednesday and Lent. Sometimes, when there’s too much to say, there’s no way to say it. You have to SEE it instead. But in pictures, we’re limited too. A photograph captures a single moment in time.

Life is a journey, not a postcard.

But something amazing occurs as we look at pictures—our imagination is ignited. Sometimes we remember being there when an event happened. Sometimes we see the story that’s behind the image. With a Before & After collage, we can mark change that has occurred between the pictures. It’s as if we can imagine what happened in the middle.

Stuff happens in the middle. Still, we want to plow through the middle and get to the end. We crave resolution and peace. We want closure. We want the happy ending. But living and growing happen in the process, not in the ending. In fact, every ending is just a new beginning and more change is always bound to come.

For many of us, time spent in middle places can grieve us. Our comfort must be that God is right there with us, in the middle. He rolls up His sleeves. He’s always at work. He’s not distracted. He doesn’t nap, or take a vacation, or call in sick. He is steady.

It’s easy to miss seeing God at work. When we struggle, we often feel lost, forgotten, and overlooked. We might wonder, Where He is in all this mess? He’s there, at work in the middle:

Between Christmas and the Cross, Jesus worked miracles, and signs, and wonders. He worked to fulfill God’s promises. He worked in the hearts of His followers.
Between the Cross and the Resurrection of Easter, Jesus worked powerfully to defeat Sin and Death. His work broke the Curse. He raised Himself from the dead. His work continues in us.
Between your wounds and your new life, Jesus is the healer. Between newborn babies and young adults leaving the nest, Jesus works in their hearts through you, and in spite of you. Between your sin and your reconciliation, Jesus purifies your heart.

Jesus rocks the middle, y’all. So, why shouldn’t we? We were created to be like Him. We have the same Father. We’re being nurtured and pruned by the Holy Spirit to be more and more like Him everyday.

We need to start recognizing and celebrating what happens in the middle. We need to see how the work that we do in the middle, imitates Him. To model ourselves after God is to glorify Him.

Before & After – Making Peace

The Before & After collages below (for Pinterest and Instagram) come from my dear friend, Cati. They remind me that Jesus came to make peace. As we put our homes in order, we participate in making peace from disorder. We sort, discard and prioritize. We clean and wash, renewing and refreshing bed linens, dishes, clothes and floors. In the same way, over time, Jesus rearranges our priorities, discards wrong thinking and behaviors. He makes us clean. Jesus is faithful to bring order where there was chaos.

If you get discouraged when you see a mess, remember that bringing order and peace honors the Lord. Just as you can do this in a bedroom, so you can do this in a relationship or within your own heart, by imitating Jesus.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Matthew 5:9, ESV

FOR PINTEREST

FOR INSTAGRAM

Meet Me in the Middle Project is a creative way to share the truth of the gospel (during Lent) on blogs, Pinterest, and Instagram, through Before&After collages. Post a collage, tell the story, explain how it demonstrates the gospel. Simple!

If you have a blog, you can grab our button in the sidebar and join right in! Otherwise, Please use #MeetMeintheMiddleProj on social media.