King of your castle?

"I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians.
Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." - Mohandas Gandhi

So much of what I find in my heart every day reveals the absolute need for a Savior. Gandhi assented to Christ's teachings, His lifestyle. And that's easy to do, to call him a "good man". But when He comes inside your heart and becomes King of your castle, He has full authority to re-arrange the furniture, to clean out cluttered closets, to get rid of old pictures and trinkets you've had and kept from previous lovers. He truly is King and this requires yielding again and again to His power working in your life. Sometimes that's not easy, especially when you selfishly want what you want. But more than an acquaintance or someone you see from a distance, as Gandhi may have, when Christ is King of your heart, there is a love that overflows in thanksgiving too. Because you realize, sort of like Extreme Home Makeover, that you could never afford to do it on your own.

"Christ beside me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ within me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me." - Saint Patrick

Sunrise/Sunset

Ever been captivated by a sunrise or a sunset? I can't help but stand in awe when I see one, but its usually only a minute or two before I'm on my way again, busy with the day's events.

My favorite sunsets and sunrises take place near the Ocean. What an incredible, majestic sight! There have been times I've wished to live in the brilliance of its beauty for longer than the few moments it takes place. But soon the clouds shift, day breaks or the sun goes down and it's gone. A brilliant moment, repeated daily. Every day the sun rises and the sun sets. At different times and places all over the world. And each sunrise and sunset looks a little bit different. Isn't that amazing? That's amazing to me!

I once heard someone say that God is the greatest artist, shown in how He paints the sky for us every day. I believe it. I believe He is a skilled craftsman. Think about the intricacies of the body. Think about the vast number of plants, animals, flowers that this world contains - all unique, all with a different look, sound, function.

Every single sunrise and every single sunset is God's uniquely painted picture of His character, His beauty. Whether we choose to recognize it or not, our days and nights are capsulated inside that beauty and that character. Ever think of that?

How easy it is to go about the day and not stop long enough to recognize the Creator and sustainer of all life. God is not those things we see like the sunrise or an animal but He has created them in this world we live in and they speak. They tell a story of His goodness. When I do stop long enough to consider that, I realize He is so incredibly worthy of my attention! He speaks through the things that are visible. His invisible reality is seen in these visible things. He is not those things, but He uses them to tell us a story of His goodness. Are we reading it?

There comes a moment when one realizes a few truths. 1) There is a God. 2) I am not it. Stopping long enough to approach this truth with a humble heart and receive things He's doing all around is the place I'm constantly wanting to get back to. Funny thing is, it doesn't matter if I get back to that place or not because He'll continue to speak and summon the earth day after day after day. I just miss out if I don't live in that reality.

In Psalm 50 it says He summons the earth. What does it mean to summon? Being the word nerd that I am, I had to look it up. To summon is to "authoritatively or urgently call on (someone) to be present, esp. as a defendant or witness in a law court. It means to bring to the surface (a particular quality or reaction) from within." The heaven's are God's court of law. Every day, by His authority, He calls forth the heavens to be present as a witness to His glory. That just makes me want to stand up right here and thank Him for that!

Do you have a picture of a favorite sunrise or sunset?

I'd love to see them....Here's a few I found that I enjoy.

Psalm 50: 1-23
"The mighty one, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to where it sets. ....He summons the heavens above and the earth....the heavens proclaim His righteousness for he is a God of justice.....God says, 'every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world is mine and all that is in it'.....fulfill your vows to the Most High and call on me in the day of trouble. I will deliver you and you will honor me.....those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me...."

Jeremiah 23:24
"....Do I not fill heaven and earth?," declares the Lord?

Here I am.....

"It is not the critic who counts:
not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles
or where the doer of deeds could have done better.

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena,
whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood,
who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again,
because there is no effort without error or shortcoming,

but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions,
who spends himself for a worthy cause;
who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement,
and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly,
so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls
who knew neither victory nor defeat."

(Theodore Roosevelt)

Thank you Theodore. Reminding me to keep my eyes on the prize of living a long life, through all the changing seasons, with a warm and willing soul. Here I am Lord, send me were the words of Isaiah. And they're mine too.