Stars and Stripes Forever

When I was a child, the 4th of July celebration was as memorable as Christmas.  We would spend the day at my grandparents house. While my grandma and great grandma would be preparing the dishes for the barbecue, my grandpa would be building the platforms for the firework show he would put on for us and the neighbors.  My grandma always bought the largest box of fireworks and what a show we'd have.  Living so close to Disneyland, it made for some competition.

My sisters and some of the neighborhood kids would dress up as patriotic forefathers and parade up and down the street singing patriotic songs, like "God Bless America," as the sun was setting.  This was the opening act prior to the firework show.  I can remember so vividly how grateful we all felt living in the land of the free.  We would carry a large flag. We carried that flag with pride because we were proud to be Americans.

Our flag is dressed and carries an attitude of what it stands for. One of the nick names for the flag is "old glory". Adorned with stars and stripes, the story of our country is told. The stars represent the 50 individual states and the red strips for the thirteen colonies and the white representing courage. There are some who believe the color red represents the blood that was shed for the freedom that we have in this great nation today.

The atmosphere in our country today is very anti Christian. It is "politically incorrect" for me to share my faith, except in the context of church functions. To be honest, I'm a little uncomfortable writing this blog because of those who disagree with me. I've realized when one side is outspoken, the other must be quiet. When I visited the Mayflower and heard why those people came to this country, it was for religious freedom. In the last 15 years, the name of Jesus is used more as a curse word than one that will set one free. Before long, it won't be legal for me to profess Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior in public. I can say that I am a Christian now because I live in a free country. As a follower of Jesus Christ, I thought about the "stars and stripes" of my faith. the "stars" in my faith represent couple of things. One when God promised Abraham a large family, He told him he would have as many as the stars in the sky . (Genesis 15:5) These stars are symbolic of the Jewish people who are God's chosen people, which is the line of people Jesus came from. The next symbol of a star is the "Star of David." I was told by our tour guide in Israel that the Israelites needed a symbol to represent them. They were forbidden to carve any images out of wood or stone so instead they chose the symbol of this star. Unsure as to why this kind of star, it is possible that three of the letters in David's name in Hebrew together form this symbol. It could also reflect back to the promise God made to Abraham of his children being like the stars in the heavens.

But another star spoken of in the Bible was the star that lead the wisemen to the King of the Jews. (Matthew 2:2) The star that lead them to Bethlemham also called the "City of David" where Jesus, the Son of God was lying in a feeding trough wrapped in swaddling clothes (burial cloth) in a stable. (Luke 2:7). Last but not least, in the book of Revelation, Jesus is called the " bright morning star" the "offspring of David." (Revelation 22:16)

The stripes on the other hand tell a different story. Isaiah 53:4-5 says it all. "Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed." (NKJV) The stripes only Jesus could carry for us. The red stripes represent his blood that was shed for our sin and sickness, but the white stripes represent the forgiveness and peace that we can receive when we believe in the sacrifice he made for all of mankind. Because of all those stripes we are healed and free from the bondage of sin in our lives.

Unlike the days that our forefathers formed this great nation, they were "united as one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."  What is bothersome to me is the heart of where Americans are now. Like the days of Noah and Sodom and Gomorrah so shall it be when the Son of Man comes. (Luke 17:26) The issues we face today have divided us which will surely bring us down. But hopefully to our knees! Jesus said in Matthew 22:25 "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand." But don't lose heart, Jesus came that we would have life and life more abundant. (John 10:10). We don't put our hope in man because man is human. Psalm 42:5 & 6 says, "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and 6 my God."  Remember those who put their trust in God, our faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. (Hebrews 11:1 NLT) A life in Jesus is for eternity. His stars and stripes are forever!

R.E.A.L. Women Devotional - A Heart to Heart (Valentines Day)

This photo has a very special meaning. In 2007, Jeff and I had the privilege of going to Israel. On the third day of our trip, we went to "Peter's Primacy" on a beach in Galilee. This is the location where John 21 happened. My Bible subtitle's it "Breakfast by the Sea." 

As we were walking back to the tour bus, I noticed these two rocks on the gravel beach. They looked like hearts and one having a hole in it. This is the place where Jesus had his "heart to heart" with Peter. 

In John 21, after the death and resurrection of Jesus, Peter goes back to what he knows, fishing. After fishing all night, Jesus calls out to Peter and the other disciples and asks them if they have caught anything. A familiar call, as this was what Jesus said to Peter the first time he met him. Jesus tells them to throw their nets to the right side of the boat and suddenly their nets were full.

Jesus had breakfast waiting for them as they came ashore. The key portion of this passage is the heart to heart that Jesus has with Peter. "After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, 'Simon son of John, do you love me more than these? “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.” “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him. 16 Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.” “Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said. 17 A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep." (John 21:15-17)

This is intimate conversation Jesus had with Peter shows the love that Jesus had for Peter, despite all of Peter's mistakes. Jesus loves us too despite all of our mistakes. All of us are born with a hole in our heart, that only Jesus can fill. It's a hole that will make you whole. Jesus loves you no matter what. The question he asks you on this Valentine's Day is "Do you love me?"

R.E.A.L. Women Devotional - Field of Weeds

We've had an unusual amount of rain this year.  Our state has been in a drought now going on six years.  We've had water restrictions for the past year and many  homeowners have removed their grass/landscaping and replaced it with plants that don't need much water.

Today, as I took my lunch break walk, I noticed this field of weeds.  The weeds were at least 3 feet in height.  Usually this lot is dry and filled with dirt and just random patches of weeds.

This reminded me of a movie back in the 80's called "Field of Dreams" starring Kevin Costner.  As I thought about the title of the movie, while looking at this field of weeds, it was a teaching moment.  The rain has been amazing.  It has greened up the hillsides that are often brown, it's cleaned the air and most importantly is getting us out of the drought.

As I looked at this field, it reminded me that along with the goodness of rain, the unwanted weeds also grow.  As we go along in life, we have dreams that we hope will come to pass.  As we allow God to reign in our life, often those unwanted issues in our lives will begin to sprout.  So much so that sometimes it can be overwhelming. Often times, we choose to let the weeds grow because "at least they are green and living."  But weeds are not the same as a true plant or tree.  Weed roots are short and suck the life out of the real plants that are trying to grow. A plant's roots go deep into the soil and eventually produce something sturdy and healthy.

Many times, we trade our dreams for the weeds, just because it's too much work to remove them.  Your back begins to ache, it's dirty, there are worms and snails that surprise you as you dig around in the dirt, but those weeds will never die unless you pull them from the root. 

This field was a good reminder to me today, that as I continue to trust God with my dreams and allow Him to reign in my life, the weeds are going to grow with my dreams. My responsibility is to pull the weeds, God's responsibility is to grow the dreams.  One of my favorite Proverbs is "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life." (Proverbs 13:12)  It's going to take a lot of work to keep the weeds from choking out my dreams, but I'd trade a field of weeds for a field of dreams any day! 

R.E.A.L. Women Devotional - Pageant of the Master

So many times when I am reading my daily devotional, it lines up with something that is actually happening. The other day when I was reading Isaiah 22, I came across verse 13 that says, "Let us eat and drink," you say, "for tomorrow we die!" I wasn't sure why that scripture caught my attention, until later that evening.

We had friends who just happened to get tickets, invite us to see "Pageant of the Masters" in Laguna Beach. If you have never seen this way of displaying art, it is spectacular. They have taken famous paintings and sculptures and have recreated these life size pieces of art using people. It is absolutely amazing! It just so happened the theme for 2010 is "Eat, Drink and be Merry." That was no coincidence. That was God bringing something to my attention.
We sat there in awe of the amazing artwork. Not only were we admiring the original artists work, but even what the contemporary artists had done using real people to portray the people in the painting. I started wondering how long it takes them to dress them up and how much practice it must take to get them posed picture perfect. I'm sure when the cast members are being painted and dressed in their costumes, they aren't telling the artist who is doing their work what to do. Not to mention that they have to stand still for a minimum of 3 minutes while posing in the painting or sculpture for the audience. They probably have to sit there quietly for hours while they are being transformed into a piece of art. Rather than complain, they are willing to be uncomfortable for those hours just because it is an honor to be apart of such an amazing event.

As I was sitting there admiring this work, the Lord reminded me of what I had read that day. In chapter 29, verse 16 this particular verse talks about a potter and clay. This took me to Isaiah 45:9-12. It says, "“What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’ Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?’ 10How terrible it would be if a newborn baby said to its father, ‘Why was I born?’ or if it said to its mother, ‘Why did you make me this way?’” ¹¹ This is what the Lord says— the Holy One of Israel and your Creator: “Do you question what I do for my children? Do you give me orders about the work of my hands? ¹² I am the one who made the earth and created people to live on it. With my hand I stretched out the heavens. All the stars at my command." (New Living Translation)

What is it about our human nature that we always question what God is doing in our lives? He says right there in verse 12 that HE is the one who made the earth and the heavens and created people to live in it. That word live is very important. God didn't just create people, but He designed our lives. Living the life God has given us every day is a stroke on the portrait He is painting. Each one of us has a unique life that is being painted by the Master. Why is it that we think we can argue with the Potter? Yes, sometimes it hurts when we, like clay, are being stretched and pulled and even put into the kiln. It's then our paint colors become more vibrant. But there are times when we are softly stroked with the tiniest of detail because our Creator is so particular with His artwork. Ephesians 2:10 says "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (NLT)

But what about when we find ourselves broken in some way?  All of us have chips (unforgiveness) and broken pieces (hurts) in our lives.  When we come to God broken and unrepairable, this is when we get to see Him make the greatest masterpiece of all!  When we can bring our broken pieces to Jesus and lay them at his feet, we get to see the most incredible work of art when he places them in such a way, that we become even more beautiful than the original piece! Jesus died so that we could live a life to it's fullest! (John 10:10)  God takes the broken pieces of our lives and makes a beautiful mosaic. 

If we would rest knowing that He already has our lives, or I should say, the portrait of our lives sketched out, then there would be less stress and less wresting in our souls. I admit, it is not easy, but in the grand scheme of life, our lives would be rest assured. Isaiah 64:8 says, "Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand." Our lives are on display for all to see in God's "Pageant of the Master" where life becomes art.

R.E.A.L. Women Devotional - Apart or A Part

Recently, I had a dream that I was in a room with tables of glass containers filled with water.  Each container had a twig or branch in the container.  After waking from this dream, the verse from John 15 came to mind, "For apart from me you can do nothing."

For several days now this has been weighing on my spirit.  Going back to John 15, which in context is Jesus sharing with his disciples, the importance of being connected to him and to some degree one another. So was God speaking to me in this dream? Or have I watched too much HGTV and the use of greenery as decorative items?

The passage in John 15:1-9 reads "'I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. ³ You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. ⁴ Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. ⁵ “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. ⁷ But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! ⁸ When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.'"  (NLT) This is a very powerful message that Jesus is sharing with his disciples. 

As I have spent several days, meditating on this passage, I think God was showing me something that has happened in the Church.  These containers of individual branches are many believers today.  I often meet people who would say they are Christians, but haven't been connected to a church in years. They may visit a church once every 3 or 4 weeks, but never commit to anything. As a pastor's wife, I've seen people leave a church to search for something that meets their need and spend years looking and never connecting.
  
These branches may thrive for a season.  Much like evergreen plants can thrive after being cut for a long period of time. Eventually, like everything, it dries up. I think sometimes people think visiting church every now and then keeps them filled up. It's reminds me of a vase of flowers.  When a flower is first cut, it drinks up the water that it needs to keep vibrant. There have been times when I've poured out old water and re-cut the tips of my flowers to try and keep them longer.  But even then, the water becomes stale and smells to high heaven and the flowers die. I think this is what happens to many Christians when they cut themselves from the vine. 


The illusion of being a lone branch in a container of water is that you are thriving. Much like the photo above. It looks green and seems to be just fine.  In just a little while, that lone branch is going to stop taking in the water and wither. The other container will do just the opposite. This vine has roots and has more than one branch connected.  This is a better picture of what Jesus was talking about in John 15.  Where does it say in this passage that not being connected is going to keep one fruitful? It doesn't, it says just the opposite.  I think this goes for those who, like in this picture, look connected by being regular attenders in a church, but don't serve or give themselves to the community God has placed them. In this passage, Jesus says "branches" not branch. To me this means we are to be connected with others. There's a fine line to pruning and cutting off.  When a branch is dead on a vine, it gets cut off and thrown away.  When a healthy branch gets pruned, it's still connected to the vine.  It's just the part of the branch that is beginning to die and needed to be trimmed. Which goes back to why we need each other to keep us spiritually healthy. Others see what we can't.

Instead, it's our responsibility to make sure we connect or get grafted into a church body. Instead of us asking the question, "how can this church serve me?" we should ask "what are my gifts and where can I serve this church?" The photo on the right is a picture of an olive tree in the garden of Gethsemene.  A new vine has been grafted into an old vine trunk.  It's amazing to me how this can be done.  Both the old and new get their strength from one another and can continue to thrive. 

There is an urgency in the world today for Christians to unite. When the Holy Spirit was moving in Acts 3, it was because the Church was united and serving one another.  There are too many "lone branches" out there.  I think that is what God was showing me in my dream with all those containers of branches. I want to encourage you today if you are a "lone branch" there is a body of believers who need you! Stop listening to the voice of the enemy telling you that you are doing just fine not being a part of a church community. The voice that says you can be a Christian and not have to be involved in a church. That is a lie! It's a lie because Jesus said, "For apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:5) It's time to be "a part" and bear fruit together!

R.E.A.L. Women - Gift With Purchase

This week I worked at the Clinique counter as it was their first week of "gift with purchase." Interestingly enough, it was amazing at the nature of the average person. Most were grateful for their gift, but many were either ungrateful (not happy with the colors or creams) or they were greedy and wanted more free stuff along with their gift.

Today is a day we reflect on the one priceless "gift with purchase" that we did not pay for, but was paid by Jesus because he loved us so much (1 John 3:16). A gift that cost more than anyone could ever pay in this world. Yet, many reject this gift, many are unappreciative of this gift or maybe grateful for the gift, but have put it in the cupboard and forgotten about it.

If you don't even know about this "gift with purchase," it is available right now for you. God loved you so much, that he sent Jesus, perfect in all his ways, to this earth to give his life for you (John 3:16). Don't pass this gift of eternal life up. Ask God to forgive you for everything you've done. There is nothing too great that He won't forgive! "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9. Make this Good Friday your eternal birthday.

In the mean time, If you have received the gift of salvation, take some time today to reflect on how precious it is. How nothing in this world has more value than the blood that was shed for our sinfulness (Isaiah 53). Give thanks that you have received it for free and that you did not have to pay for it yourself! Not only have you been given eternal life, but Jesus said in John 10:10, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." This is the only "gift with purchase" that will change your life!

R.E.A.L. Women Devotional - Making Mountains Into Mole Hills

 There is a saying when a person faces a challenge in life that fear causes one to make it bigger than it really is.  The phrase is "making mountains out of mole hills."  I must say, fear can do that!

As I was reading in Matthew 17, this passage is an interesting one.  It begins with Jesus taking his disciples up to a high mountain.  While they were there, something amazing happened to Jesus and he was transfigured (Matthew 17:1-13).  

The next portion of scripture (Matthew 17:14-19), Jesus has an encounter with a demon possessed boy. The father of the boy tells Jesus that earlier he asked his disciples to cast out the demon, but the disciples could not.  Jesus rebuked the disciples for their lack of faith and then cast the demon from the boy.

Jesus concludes this portion of scripture with this profound statement.  Matthew 17:20-21 says, "'Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.'"

When I read this, I thought about that phrase we often say, of "making mountains out of mole hills."  Then I wondered if Jesus was really saying that we make mountains in our lives out of our fear, doubt and unbelief.  Jesus starts out by saying they have so little faith.  If we looked at fear more like a mole hill, we would change the world.  But often we let the fear, doubt and unbelief become a man-made mountain, and actually becomes a place of worship for us. I've heard that what you worry about is what you worship.  We build our own high place. We start adding accessories to it, that it becomes greater than it should.

In the days when the Israelites were conquering Israel, God was pretty clear to them that they were to destroy the false gods where the people of Canaan worshipped on the high mountains (Deuteronomy 12:2). You see, only God is to be worshipped on the high mountain.  It takes faith to enter into the presence of the Lord.  God met Moses on top of the Mount Sinai and it was there that He made a covenant with Moses.  The very first commandment being "Do not worship any other gods (Exodus 20:1-17)."  This would include the gods of worry and fear. When Moses came down from the mountain after being with God, the glory of God was all over Moses, so much so his face had to be covered with a veil it was so bright (Exodus 34:29-35).

 Jesus wasn't saying that mountains are bad in Matthew 17.  In fact, he doesn't say speak to all mountains, he says to "this" mountain which I think could be the mountain of fear, doubt and unbelief.  God wants to meet us up on the mountain tops of faith. That is where we are transformed.  

What mountains of fear have you created that need to become mole hills? You can't go around it. You can't go under it.  You can't go over it. You have to just "move" it! Instead, stand on the word of God, enter His presence with thanksgiving and praise and there you will find joy. When we are filled with the joy of the Lord, it reflects our faith.  It's in that high place that we look down from and see that our mountains of fear are nothing but mole hills.