A Sweet Gift ...

374. Malli - is there anything sweeter?

Forsaken

At the cross, He cried out,

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Mark 27:46

I have felt painfully alone lately. Alone, surrounded by family and even dozens in my return to the workplace. Fear has crept in and taken up residence in this heart. No one knows the depths of my hurt, the disappointment, the anxiety, the loss, the sorrow, and the grief I feel.

But truthfully, I am not alone. Jesus was the only one who was ever truly alone. On that cross, He cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 27:46). When I feel alone, believing the lies of the enemy, looking at my circimstances instead of looking to Him, I, too cry out. But then I must listen, trust, believe the only One who truly knows loneliness, the One who took my place. He was forsaken, abandoned, and left alone so I would not be.

Writer Marvin J. Rosenthal notes, Jesus was forsaken to a degree that no other man has ever known - He was forsaken utterly and utterly forsaken. He was forsaken by the world He created.He was forsaken by the nation from which He sprang. He was forsaken by the village in which He lived. He was forsaken by the brothers with whom He grew up. He was forsaken by the disciples He had trained. He was forsaken by the Father with whom He had eternally fellowshipped. Jesus was forsaken that you and I,through faith in Him, need never be forsaken. Here then, is grace –grace greater than all our sin.

His closeness does not depend on my feelings or my situation. Whenever I am so anxious and overwhelmed I can believe He understands, my heavenly Father is there.

What we have lost God will restore –
That, and Himself, forevermore.
- John Piper, Job (Desiring God, 2008)

With Thanksgiving ...

Since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.
Hebrews 12:28

366. comforting, encouraging words from my sweet Moma

367. Savannah-Jane's homemade carrot cake

368. preparing for a non-traditional Thanksgiving in Atlanta

369. unpacking Christmas decorations

370. antibiotics for my sore throat ... sick again

371. a week at home, away from school

372. a phone conversation with Taylor

373. a hug and kiss from Griff

Uncle Mark

Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror;

then we shall see face to face.

1 Corinthians 13:12

Obviously, I have not seen Christ, but I have seen pictures created by artists. As beautiful as these images are, they do not compare to the experience of seeing Him face to face. When we finally see Him face to face, all our suffering will be gone…all our worry, pain, doubt, anxiety, fear, depression, and darkness shall have passed away.

Born into a hard-working rural south Georgia family, my Uncle Mark would know the struggles of farm life early on. His eyes may not have seen the world like some of the other family, having been born legally blind, but I believe he had a clear view of what mattered in life. He lived simply, loved Jesus, had a good sense of humor, was gentle, kind, and had a big heart for others.

Last night when I saw his body lying in the casket dressed in denim overalls, his straw cowboy hat lain carefully on his breast, through my tears I smiled.

Because I remembered the many times as a little girl I followed him around on that farm. I was always astonished at how quickly he could figure math in his head, no pencil or pad needed.

Because I remembered how he managed to care for those stinky, squealing pigs with limited eyesight and how I couldn't help but laugh each time when he got mad at their stubborness, muttering under his breath.

Because I remembered it was in his bedroom that I first heard Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner sing on his 8-track player.

Because I remembered he actually drove a truck with me by his side, guiding him along the dirt roads on the farm (and sometimes venturing onto the paved ones). Me, too young to take the wheel, directing my Uncle Mark as he sat behind the wheel of that truck saying, 'now slow down, there's a stop sign coming up, ok, now stop' ... or, 'veer to the right a little, ok, now turn ...'

We were living dangerously!

But, mostly I smiled because I know he is home. No more worry, pain, doubt, anxiety, or fear. It's gone.

There is a quote, by John Milton that goes "To be blind is not miserable; not to be able to bear blindness, that is miserable."

Uncle Mark bore his blindness and everything else he was dealt in this life with humility, grace and quiet strength. He has gone home now, his body made perfect in Christ.

Lord, help me to see what matters in this life. Take away my spiritual blindness so I may see what you would have me to see, until I am in your presence ... face to face.

Mercy

This is something I struggle with.

My feeble, finite understanding of how merciful my God really is.

It is hard for me to grasp that truth, that reality

that He actually extends His mercy and grace to me

new and fresh every day.

What a threat to the Enemy when I believe this truth.

This truth that I am free.

No longer a slave to sin.

All because every day He is faithful and ready to forgive me again.

That is amazing!

This is an powerful excerpt from a book by Paul David Tripp called

“It Won’t Wear Out”....

“If you are one of God’s children, there is something in your life that will not wear out. In fact, it has the amazing capacity to be new day after day after day. Scripture says that God’s mercies are ‘New every morning.’
Now, you know you need mercy, because you know you need forgiveness and help. Almost every day you mess up in some way. Almost every day you face things that are bigger than the size of your personal wisdom and strength. You and I constantly need the mercy of forgiveness and the mercy of enablement. And so, it is very encouraging to know that God’s mercy is new every day! God’s mercy never grows stale and it never loses it’s transforming power. God’s mercy is brand new morning after morning after morning.
This also means that God’s mercy is form-fit for the problems that you are facing right here, right now. Each morning you are given new mercies for the particular things that you will face that day.
So, you can wake up tomorrow with courage and hope. And you can do this, not because of your strength and wisdom, but because you know that the most important thing you have ever been given will never wear out. You can also have hope because you know that the God who has given that new mercy, knows exactly what you are about to face.”

Through the LORD'S mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

Somthing to consider...

Said one demon to another: “One of our great allies at present is the church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see her spread out through all time and space and rooted in eternity, terrible as an army with banners. That, I confess, is a spectacle which makes our boldest tempters uneasy. But fortunately it is quite invisible to these humans.” (from C. S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters, cited in Alan Jacobs, The Narnian, 217)