Give and Take

As Christmas quickly approaches (and all the stresses that go with it!) I couldn't help but reflect upon its true meaning. We often hear that Jesus is the greatest gift of all, and indeed He is, but I wonder if we really GET it?

A gift is something we GIVE to one another. It has to be handed over, opened, and then received. John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world that he GAVE..." Do you see that? God gave! What exactly did God give? The verse goes on to say that, "...he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through him." And his giving doesn't stop there. God also GAVE us...

HIMSELF -- Emmanuel, which means "God with us."
Eternal LIFE through his Son, Jesus.
PEACE with God through the removal of sin - through the blood that covers & redeems us.
HOPE to live each new day.
New MERCIES every morning.
JOY - deep satisfying joy that only comes from salvation.
Direction, WISDOM, counsel through his WORD and the HOLY SPIRIT (whom we receive at salvation).
Our DAILY BREAD and LIVING WATER.
DELIVERANCE from evil.
AUTHORITY over the enemy, not only in our homes but in our personal lives.
COMPASSION when we're hurting and the LISTENING EAR of a best friend.
COMFORT in our sorrow and the power of PRAYER to cover our needs and the needs of others.
ADOPTION into God's spiritual family -- we are CO-HEIRS with Christ!
His PRESENCE - He promises to never leave us or forsake us.
His SPRITUAL FRUITS - his love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are all within us if Christ is in us!
FAITH to believe!
STRENGTH when we are weak.
HELP in our time of need.
His NAME is a rock to lean upon, our strong tower, and a shelter from life's storms.
His GRACE to love others, to forgive others, and to live life righteously.
GIFTS and TALENTS to serve him and others. He EQUIPS us!!
The ABILITY to do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

The only thing that God TAKES is the sins of this world. Oh, and he also took upon himself our curses, our illnesses, and our diseases. He did all of this so he could give us the greatest gift of all - HEAVEN with him forever! He GAVE of himself so we could be FREE to enjoy him forever!

It's not that hard, really. God GIVES and we TAKE. That's the way He wanted it to be.
"For God so loved the world that he GAVE..."

Lost

I've really come to love and appreciate the song by Unspoken entitled, "Who You Are." 
The chorus goes like this:

You can never fall too hard,
So fast, so far
That you can't get back
When you're lost

Where you are is never too late,
So bad, so much
That you can't change
Who you are,
You can change who you are...

So let the ashes fall wherever they land
Come back from wherever you've been
To the foot of the cross
To the feet of Jesus,
The feet of Jesus
 

The truth is, I've felt lost...  
 
Ever since I was a little girl I wanted to write a novel. Sadly, fear shut me down and kept me from pursuing that dream. Finally, and with God's gentle prompting, I stood up to those voices from the past and tackled that ugly, old fear head on.  After 3+ years of endeavoring to write my novel, the dream was achieved!
 
Faithfully I covered the book in prayer. I worked hard to understand the business and worked even harder to find an agent. I finally found one, and yet the entire time I knew in my spirit it wasn't "right." In complete faith I ended that relationship, and have since been waiting to see what God is going to do. As of now I'm still waiting.
 
To say it's been easy would be to lie. It's been far from it. Frankly, I've felt confused, disappointed, and angry. The hardest part has been watching God swing the doors wide open for a dear friend who's also a writer. In my heart of hearts I want nothing more than God's BEST for this person, but sometimes the pull of frustration and jealousy overwhelm me and my flesh caves. When it does, I feel so unbelievably lost.
 
I know God has a plan. I believe that with every core of my being. In fact, I'm seeing Him use this time to work in my heart. The fact that I'm not a crier and am starting to tear up all the time is evidence that God is softening my heart. But for what, I don't know. I have no other avenues to try with my book except self-publishing. And a part of me wonders if that's not creating an Ishmael rather than waiting for my Isaac??? Plus, God himself would have to provide a way to fund that venture because it's anything but cheap. It's just hard waiting and wondering if this dream of mine was and is simply that - a dream that's quickly evaporating. Like the ashes mentioned above in the song, maybe God wants my dream to die so I'll come back to where I belong - at the feet of Jesus. I'd certainly say it's working!
 
Proverbs 13:12 says, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life."  
Right now my heart is still sick, but I want to be at the place where I can say, "If my dream needs to die, so be it." Although I am still wrestling with all of this, I do know that I'd rather have Him in the end. And He knows that. He isn't shocked by this turn of events. He isn't shocked by my anger, frustration or jealousy. He knew they'd be coming up and out. But at least I'm assured of one thing: I can never... fall too hard, so fast, so far that I can't get back...When I'm lost.

Who's Your Favorite Tax Collector?

²⁷ After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth.

“Follow me,” Jesus said to him, ²⁸ and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.

²⁹ Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house,

 and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.

³⁰ But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples,

“Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?”

³¹ Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick."

Luke 5:27-31

Have you ever stopped to wonder about the man named Levi? I mean here's a Jewish guy who grew up somewhere in Galilee and actually chose to turn on his own people and become a tax collector.

When I try to picture Levi, I'll be honest... my image isn't pretty. I picture him as a small, stocky, unattractive man who has a chip on his shoulder. I mean how else could he demand taxes from his own neighbors and childhood friends? And not only on a daily basis, but even on the Sabbath!? A day when you're not even supposed to work! Greed is a word that quickly comes to mind.

You see tax collectors worked for the Roman government. Their job was to set up their tables and measuring scales in a strategic location - most likely by the city gates. Whatever was brought in or taken out of the city was weighed and taxed. This was how travelers would pay their import/export duties. However, tax collectors were famous for demanding more than what was due. Why? Because it was an easy way to stuff their own pockets, and no one could say or do anything about it.

The Jews hated the fact that they had to give their hard earned money to this "Gentile" Roman government, but to make matters worse, it was one of their own demanding their cash! For this very reason, the teachers of the law lumped tax collectors together with other "bad" sinners like prostitutes, and drunkards.

Although tax collectors were well known and rightfully hated, they sure knew how to stick together. I guess it would make sense. Who else would want to hang out with these thieves? Who else could possibly see anything good in these wicked, selfish, greedy and hard-hearted men?

Who other than Jesus.

The Bible says that Jesus saw Levi at his booth, called him to follow, and that Levi immediately left everything to do so. Note that it was a HUGE no-no to leave his table, and yet despite the threat of death he still did it!! One thing's for sure - the man had guts.

However, I'm still convinced that there had to have been more communicated between Jesus and Levi for him to do so. Clearly Jesus reached something deep inside of Levi. Who knows? Maybe Jesus saw the wounded little boy still hiding inside - the one who desperately wanted his father's love but could never achieve it. The one who would "never amount to anything." No matter what it was, all it took was one, solitary connection with the eyes of his Savior for something to awaken inside of Levi. Maybe... finally... that small, fragile boy had found his home.

What I love the most about Levi, is what he does next. He throws a party for Jesus and invites all of his "sinner" cronies to the feast. I can just about hear him saying,"Come meet this man named Jesus. He'll change your whole life!"

Word quickly gets around about this banquet and (of course) the religious leaders show up. Immediately they complain to Jesus's disciples about what He's doing. "Why is Jesus dining with those people?" they whine. But rather than His disciples responding, Jesus gets up to answer their question. Here's my take on what He says... "This is so not about you, Pharisees! Because you think you're righteous you won't repent anyway! But these men will...  These men refused to follow your laws, but they'll follow Me. My LOVE brings LIFE, but your legalism kills."

And Jesus was right. His Love changed the life of the ever-despised Levi. So much so that Levi changed his name to Matthew, wrote the Gospel book of Matthew (a book written and dedicated to his people, the Jews) and gave his life as a martyr for Christ.

Only LOVE could drive a man to do these things. The love of a Savior who's love brings LIFE!