Remember

Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken. Psalm 62:5-6

Easter is a time to remember. We remember what Jesus did for us on the cross. We remember and celebrate His awesome resurrection from the dead. We remember we are forgiven and set free. We remember the promise of eternal life.

On the evening Jesus was arrested for claiming to be the Son of God, He had dinner with His disciples. It was the holiday known as Passover, and they shared a special meal together. At one point Jesus took bread and broke it into pieces. He gave them some and said, "Eat this and remember me."

We remember the sacrifice Jesus made and how He didn't stay dead. We know the next part of the story. But when Jesus spoke these words about "remembering" to His disciples, all of that hadn't happened yet. So I wonder, what did Jesus want them to remember?

Think back over the last year or two of your life. What do you remember? What stands out in your mind of times you've spent with your family and friends? What special events have happened? What do you remember about school, church, and activities you've enjoyed? What difficult things have you faced, and what do you remember about those moments? How has Jesus made Himself known to you, taught you, guided you, rescued you...?

The disciples of Jesus had spent three years with Him, and I'm sure they had a lot of memories. Jesus wanted them to think about the past because it would help them with what they were about to face. Their leader was going to be arrested, tried unfairly, beaten, crucified, and buried. But He doesn't focus on that and tell them to run and hide, or even to protect Him; He says, "Remember."

Remember the miracles. Remember My power over death. Remember what I have taught you. Remember to love. Remember...

As you celebrate Easter, what do you need to remember about Jesus? Or maybe I should ask, how much do you actually know about Jesus? More than anything He wants you to know Him. He wants you to know how much He loves you. He wants you to know you are forgiven. He wants you to remember you are never alone because He has promised to never leave you.

Faith is all about remembering. It starts with knowing who you are putting your faith in. It grows with remembering all the things that made you believe. And it carries you through the good times and the hard times.

Perhaps today you need to remember how much you are blessed, how much Jesus has done for you, and His promises to always care for you. Perhaps you need to remember He is near and you can call to Him if you are in need of help, forgiveness, or hope.

Trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:8

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.  All rights reserved.

What Are You Worth?

They worshiped worthless idols, so they became worthless themselves. 2 Kings 17:15 (NLT)

Imagine for a moment that you are invited to a special party or dance, and you go to the mall to get something new to wear. What would you be looking for? A pretty dress, sparkly shoes, and bright nail polish? Or would you be more inclined to look for new jeans, a nice belt, and flashy earrings? We each have our own tastes and needs, but whatever we get when we go shopping for back-to-school clothes or a special occasion, it will likely be what meets our wish-list--or as close as we can get with the money we have to spend.

Let's say you get exactly what you're looking for. It's nice.  It's something you want to show off. It was worth going to ten different stores to find. It's valuable to you. It's worth the money you paid for it, and you wear it proudly to the party or to school or church.

We can all agree on the value of having what we need and getting what we want. In many ways our lives revolve around what we have, how valuable those things are to us, and what we're willing to do to gain them. We walk the neighbor's dog and do extra chores around the house to get money to buy the things we want. We go to school to get an education that can lead us to the life we want as an adult. We search for love and happiness. We're not content with life being meaningless and without purpose.

But why? Why are we so driven? What makes life so valuable? What is worth fighting for? What does it matter if I have a new dress or wear an old one? Why do we want the best clothes and shiny jewelry?

When we were created by God, He gave us the inherent value of worth. He made us in His image, and in the very act of making us, the God of the Universe says, 'Here is My very best work. More valuable to Me than anything else in all Creation.' He calls us to worship and value Him, but only because He did it for us first.

In Old Testament Israel, God's chosen people had the Law to guide them, and the first items on the list told them to have no other gods and to worship Him alone. But why? He wanted them to know where their value and worth came from and to know they didn't need anyone else because He would never fail them. He valued them. He loved them. They belonged to Him as His prized possession. But they didn't get that. They worshiped other gods and made idols for themselves because they didn't think He would care for them. They sinned and feared His wrath and ran further away. He still loved them as much as ever and promised them mercy and forgiveness, but they didn't believe it because they did not see their value. So, they worshiped worthless idols and became worthless themselves.

But not in God's eyes. He still valued them and no one could take that inborn value out of their hearts, so they tried to fill it with other things: gold and silver idols replaced wooden figures, small idols were replaced with grander ones; their hearts became filled with greed, and anger burned for what was taken from them; small victories of gaining the land and possessions they were entitled to led to mass murder for more...and on and on it goes.

Most of our value-seeking is more civilized: pretty clothes, making the honor-roll, well-decorated bedrooms, stained-glass church windows; but the principle is the same. We're looking for value. We want things that say we have worth. We want our best qualities to shine and to sweep the rest under the rug. But in the end, these "valuable" things are only emptiness. Like an elusive treasure we know should be ours, and we're right! But we look in the wrong places.

We must realize that we ourselves are the treasure. God's greatest masterpiece. His workmanship. We don't need to look any further than who He has made us to be, and attaining this greatness takes little more than worshiping Him for who He is. Our value lies in who He says we are, and when we embrace this value He has given us as His dearly loved children, we don't look for value in nice things, our achievements, or what fulfills us, but rather we simply enjoy them because of His goodness to us. We're thankful and content with what we have because He Himself has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5)

Jesus told a parable to illustrate the kingdom of God. He said, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. (Luke 13:45-46)  I believe we can take this two ways, and they are both necessary to living victoriously in His kingdom. We must believe God is our greatest treasure and seek Him all of our days. We may have to leave things behind to do that, but He doesn't hide from us and will be found. Our pursuit of Him will have great rewards.

But to do this, we must also believe we are like that fine pearl of great value to Him. You are His treasure, and He wants you to see yourself through His eyes: loved, priceless, beautiful, the very best on His wish-list; and He's never letting go.

Blessed For Believing

"My soul glorifies the Lord and my soul rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me--holy is his name."

As I write these words, they bring me much peace. You could say the author of them knew how to look at the glass as half-full, rather than half-empty, because the times and circumstances in which they were spoken were difficult and filled with uncertainty. Any idea who said them? I'll give you a hint, they come from Luke 1. That rules out Moses, David, and the prophets of the Old Testament, along with Jesus since He isn't born until chapter 2.

They are spoken by Mary, the mother of Jesus, who was most likely still a teenager at the time. She had just received the news that she was going to be the mother of the Messiah. Great news, right? Well, except for the fact she wasn't married and only had a disappearing angel to vouch for her claim to virginity. I can hear her parents now. "You saw an angel, and he said what?"

She had a reason to be freaked-out and takes off to visit her cousin. Who wouldn't? I'm sure Elizabeth was someone she loved and trusted or she wouldn't have gone to her, but she probably wasn't expecting to be greeted with such excitement.

"Blessed are you among women, Mary, and blessed is the child you will bear!"

"What? How did you know?"

"Oh, the baby told me," Elizabeth laughed, patting her own rounded belly with her wrinkled hand. "Blessed are you who has believed that what the Lord said to you is going to happen!"

Mary wouldn't have believed Lizzy except her cousin's story was just as crazy, and she needed to hear those words: "Blessed are you because you believe."

It can be difficult to believe. And it can be difficult to believe we are blessed for believing.

Faith is all about believing the unbelievable. Mary may not have known what was going to happen next, but faith isn't about knowing what is going to happen, it's about knowing that whatever happens will be good when God is involved. It's not about what I know, but Who I know.

Mary and I have never met. Mary lived in a different time-period, a different country, and a different culture than I am living in today. But we know the same God. Yahweh. Jehovah. The Mighty One who has done great things for me. Holy is His Name.

Others can say that God doesn't...or God won't...or God can't...But God will always show who He is and what He can do. God is always who He is whether we believe it or not. He is mighty, holy, amazing, awesome, powerful, loving, merciful, good, right, and just.

He wants us to recognize and believe Him for our benefit, so we can have confidence, peace, hope, joy, and patience. Like Mary did. She believed because of what she heard God say, not because of what she could see.

I'm sure she had her moments of doubt too. Perhaps when she did, she sang these words penned by her ancestor David. We would be blessed to do the same:

"Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings." Psalm 62:1-4