Chaos

     Do you sometimes feel that our country, yes, and the world are in chaos?  Well this is one of those days for me!
     Today the supreme court is deciding whether the centuries old definition of marriage should be changed to accommodate same sex marriage.  What's wrong here? I've had wonderful gay friends, but I never expected to have a major cultural tradition, let alone my personal Christian belief, demolished.....why?
     Today, I'm watching the riots in Baltimore.  Masses of police, National Guard units, and other law enforcement have come in to quell the lawless thugs who have destroyed their community in the guise of a protest against unjust treatment  by the police that resulted in a prisoner found dead in their custody.  There's no doubt the protest has real merit, but these thugs looted, set community services and improvements on fire, then cut the fire hoses in defiance as the outmanned police stood by trying to at least prevent harm to people.
      Just as you can, I can list a multitude of other major hits to my Christian world view.  That's most likely how people felt in 30 A.D. when Jesus walked the streets of Jerusalem, especially when they saw a great crowd following this Holy Man being led to His crucifixion crushing all their hopes for a Messiah that would set things right.
      One thing is different, though.  We hold that Hope in our hands, our hearts, our very lives.  Why, because this Man, Jesus Christ, gave us the key to peace.   PRAYER in the Name of Jesus!
    
     As so many Christians have, I am lately compelled to my knees, on almost a daily basis, to pray for The Church, my country, and the world in crisis.  I'm praying for:
       The Church......The Church, the Body of Christ, is the holder of the LIGHT (Matthew 5:13 - 16).
However, what is the state of  The Church in America?  If you are hearing what the Holy Spirit is telling me, we need to pray for her.  Pray that she will be delivered from the things of this world (both material and spiritual) that are like rotten apples in a redeemed soul.     
     The Church......the hundreds of modern-day martyrs who are suffering from the extremist Islamic  terrorists all over the world, their families, their local churches who are under attack.
     America....that God will have mercy on us and give us, as His Church here, another chance to be a light in the world.  We can repent for our past apathy, pray for change, and get informed so that we can vote for godly and men and women who are culturally sensitive to the Judeo-Christian ethics as they are raised up and run for office.
      The African American community in this country.....that these communities where poverty and crime are rampant, leading to hopelessness, might be healed by a sovereign move of God.  There has to be local leaders from local churches that will teach the Christian values of traditional families who take responsibility for their children.  There must be encouragers from those Blacks who have been successful who will work with the young men and women who want a chance to succeed.  These and so many other elements, needing wisdom and enablement, must be prayed for by their fellow Americans who believe there is power in the Name of Jesus.

     There is so much more I could sermonize on in this serious entry today, but you are not ignorant of these things, I'm sure.  All I can do is join with you as you, too, pray... as you, too, commit to give up some time from your personal plans and pray each day.  Yes, I still have a quiet time most days for personal devotions, but the Holy Spirit has pressed me to take some additional time during my evening relaxation in front of the TV set watching a favorite series.  Thank God for DVR's so that I can record and go back to the show I missed....a gift of grace from my Beloved.
     There's one thing I know for sure.  Jesus, Himself, promises that these prayers will be heard and that they will be answered....because they bear His Name....the Name which causes the demons in Hell to shudder because He has already defeated them.  This Name is the stamp of Guarantee!

Giftings

     I've been thinking of gifts lately...not new jewelry, or a new jacket, or even a gift card. For instance, at my watercolor class, Saturday, I gave two students the same subject to paint... a beautiful hot pink hibiscus blossom.  I gave them step-by-step instructions and watched their progress.  It was not long before I realized that each would create a totally different painting.  However, each painting was beautiful...the kind that makes a teacher speak out, "Oh, I'm so proud of you both. These are each so gorgeous!" 
     Both students have a lot of artistic talent,  but both have very different personalities.  One is very careful, disciplined, and conscientious.  The other student is much more a free spirit.  And these characteristics were so obvious in their paintings.  The instructions and subject were the same, but the painter was true to who she is.
     Later, when I settled down after dinner, I tuned into a PBS Masterpiece Classic, Mark Morris Dance Group. It was not a traditional ballet. The costumes' woodsy color scheme was soft and muted and very pleasing to the eye, fitting the choreographer's conception of  the story of mankind.     
     The 30 or so dancers sometimes moved together and in unison, sometimes in groups, large and small, mirroring another group, and sometime a lone dancer told a story for a few moments.  The choreography was so ingenious and captivating that even though I wasn't sure about the story, I loved watching the movement of the incredibly talented dancers.
     And, if you're still with me, I want to share with you the revelation about gifts that I received as I watched ....spiritual gifts, that is. 
     First of all, our Creator designed us all to be unique and beautiful in His eyes. You need only to look around you to verify that.  However, we learn in the New Testament that the Holy Spirit also has gifts...spiritual gifts... for us as believers. And that's where my two artistic events on Saturday come in. 
      They showed me how, just as a good instructor or director or choreographer leads and guides the many talents of his artists or dancers to portray the vision of the composer or creator, the  Lord takes us each, equips us with unique giftings that will express His eternal plans. He allows our individual gifts  and talents  to express themselves through the uniqueness of who we are. The Holy Spirit is the director, carefully guiding us to fulfill the Master's plans.
     And that is what means so much to me.  I can be His bride....unique in who I am and in my gifts, and still, with the help of the Holy Spirit, I am His Bride...the corporate Body of Christ.  The dancers all have the same music, the same picture to present to the audience, but each must carefully follow the director in order to complete accurately the vision of the composer/choreographer.
      Whether our gift is teaching, serving, healing, hospitality, administration, leadership, or any one of a number of others, we must yield to the guidance of the Lord and His Spirit to learn how to use these gifts.  He wants to use them through our personality, our abilities, and our unique personage, making us each His "special one".  However, at the same time, He fits our uniqueness into the totality of His plan for His Creation... His eternal ballet.
     It will be a wonder to behold when we get to heaven and see the whole picture.  I can't wait!

New Beginnings

        Yesterday was Easter and what a glorious Arizona day if was!. After church, I joined my son and his family in the car as we drove to a friend's for a scrumptious Easter dinner in their beautiful back patio.  But the highlight for me was my son's question in the car.  "Mom, do you want to hear Handel's Hallelujah Chorus?'  I said, "Sure!"  And his wife fiddled around with her Iphone and he punched in some things on the car's fancy dashboard, and then at almost full volume, the glorious strains of the classic masterpiece of praise for the Resurrection filled our journey.  My daughter-in-law's mother opened her window a few inches so that the music could be heard by all who were walking or bicycling nearby.  We were all singing as the last strains caused us to want to stand and wildly applaud.....which of course doesn't work real well in a car.
      I was transported to the heavenlies as I sang along and, as it finally ended, I asked my son if he remembered that I always played that on Easter morning when he was growing up. He said, "Not really."  However, I knew his spirit remembered, prompting him to play this incredible piece for us on this Easter day.
       How often we don't know how vital our efforts to build a foundation of spiritual truths into our family are. It may be years from now, but each stone we place is not forgotten by the Lord.  And regardless of the immediate response, I believe He sets them with the mortor of His Spirit into those for whom they were intended. Those stones are permanent and living with the Life of the Holy Spirit. I, like you, am still waiting for dear ones to hear the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit as He draws them into the Truth of the Gospel and the Life and the Way.  Easter is a wonderful time to remember the faithfulness of God.
       So, I am taking this season of New Beginnings to be more consistent in my postings.  The Holy Spirit has been nudging me, also.  For my followers, I apologize for the gap in postings.  No really great excuse, just busy-ness with three watercolor classes I teach, double knee replacement, and other priorities that cause me to be lax in staying up on all the new ways to involve myself in social media.  But if you'll give me a second chance, I promise to be consistent.  I believe our Jesus has some things to say through this humble writer.