Double Doors

Can you see them?

Look up at just right angle and you will see high on the Hill of Calvary there is a set of double doors created just for us.  The lintel and center post is covered in the blood of our Passover Lamb, our sweet and precious Jesus.

His Cross holds these doors open for us… and through this opening He calls to us, beckoning for us to come, come in and see!

RUN my friends, run to His Cross, run through the doors while He holds them open for us!

John 14:6
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Isaiah 45:1-4
Thus says the LORD to His anointed,
To Cyrus, whose right hand I have held—
To subdue nations before him
And loose the armor of kings,
To open before him the double doors,
So that the gates will not be shut:
‘I will go before you
And make the crooked places straight;
I will break in pieces the gates of bronze
And cut the bars of iron.
I will give you the treasures of darkness
And hidden riches of secret places,
That you may know that I, the LORD,
Who call you by your name,
Am the God of Israel.
For Jacob My servant’s sake,
And Israel My elect,
I have even called you by your name;
I have named you, though you have not known Me…

Matthew 25:1-13
“Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The five who were foolish didn’t take enough olive oil for their lamps,  but the other five were wise enough to take along extra oil. When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

“At midnight they were roused by the shout, ‘Look, the bridegroom is coming! Come out and meet him!’ “All the bridesmaids got up and prepared their lamps. Then the five foolish ones asked the others, ‘Please give us some of your oil because our lamps are going out.’“But the others replied, ‘We don’t have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.’ “But while they were gone to buy oil, the bridegroom came. Then those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was locked. Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!’ “But he called back, ‘Believe me, I don’t know you!’

“So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return.

Expressions of His Love

We are all expressions of God’s Love – each existing only as a silent dream, that when whispered from His Heavenly lips came to life.

We are all wounded and broken in some way by this fallen and fragmented world, yet still beautiful as the very act of living expresses His Great and Infinite Love.  Welcome all who come to you gently knowing that this sweet, precious, and broken being is an expression of His Love and as you send them forth – send them floating down the river of prayers flowing from your heart, easing their pain and yours for a moment or maybe a lifetime.

Psalm 46:4
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy dwelling places of the Most High.

Strong Roots

Remember – it is trees with the strongest roots that bear the most glorious fruit!

My friends, dig deep into the Gospel, connect with others in prayer, silent or vocal, believe Him and in His wonderful promises, and LOVE – only then can you bear fruit worthy to be set before the King.

Colossians 1:9-10
… we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s  will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God.

The Golden Touch

If we could realize the merit concealed in the actions of each moment of the day… if we understood that surrender to the will of God is the true philosopher’s stone that changes into divine gold all our occupations, troubles, and sufferings, what great consolation would be ours!

I read this the other day in The Joy of Full Surrender by Jean-Pierre de Caussaude (chapter 9, Holy Made Easy) and I immediately thought of King Midas.

I’m sure you have heard of King Midas.  He was a king of great fortune who wished for – The Golden Touch, for everything he touched to be turned to gold.  Initially he received his wish with great joy, running through his castle turning everything to gold, but his joy quickly turn to fear as he realized even the food he tried to eat turned to gold before reaching his mouth, and finally his fear became true horror when he turned his own daughter to gold by giving her a hug.

Isn’t it crazy how quickly the desires of our flesh that seem good, can be twisted and turned into horrors?  Yet with the eyes of faith, a heart of love, and a true desire to fully surrender to the Will of God, we all gain The Golden Touch and everything we do is changed into divine gold in His Heavenly Realm.

Matthew 6:19-21
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done!

Glimpses of Infinity

Infinite – limitless or endless in space, extent, or size; impossible to measure or calculate.

Finite – having limits or bounds; possible to measure or calculate.

We have been given many things to help us comprehend the infinite, the sands of the earth, the drops of water in the ocean, the insects in the world, the seeds of the forests, the leaves of the trees. These things we know are finite, and yet not being able to count them gives us a tiny glimpse of infinity.

Many still debate whether our universe is infinite or finite, but I think this too is finite, yet so immense and still expanding that it offers us another glimpse of the infinite within the finite.

Without these glimpses of infinity within the finite, how could we ever hope to think outside of our box or bubble and contemplate the INFINITE Glory, Love, and Mercy of our sweet Lord?

Psalm 147: 4-5
He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit.

A seed

I was talking with my daughter about the beginning of the universe and gave her a very brief explanation of “The Big Bang Theory“.

After we finished talking she said, “I understand – it is just like a seed.”  Hmm… I thought – I have never heard it compared to a seed, but I think she is right.  I love this analogy!

Wouldn’t it be just like our sweet Lord to grow our whole universe from a tiny seed, next fill our world with seeds and the process of amazing things growing from seeds, then talk about seeds throughout the Bible and then patiently wait for a sweet little child to make the connection!!!

Our Lord is so AWESOME!  I love the games of hide and seek and seek and find that He is ALWAYS playing with us!

Vibrations

Sweet Lord as we surrender to Your Holy Will – could it be true that the vibrations of love flowing from our our hearts compose a beautiful symphony for You in Your Heavenly Courts?

The Greek word sumphoneo, where we get our modern English word Symphony is used to describe being in agreement, in unison, in one accord, to speak together, to concur with one another.  Thank you to Lowell Hohstadt for this definition.

Sweet Lord – I thank You for granting us such an amazing gift and privilege to fill Your Heavenly Courts with beautiful music when our hearts are aligned with Your Holy Will!

Matthew 18:19-20
Jesus said, “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.  For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”

Ephesians 5:18-19
… be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord…

Let the walls come crashing down!

I often hear prayers for the Lord to put up a hedge of protection around people, schools, neighborhoods, and I get it – I long for my loved ones and friends to be safe too, but when I hear this prayer something in my heart remains unsettled.

I heard it again last week when a very sweet friend prayed for a hedge of protection to be placed around our children’s school.  As I spent time mulling it over once again, I think His sweet whispers finally came through, and the thought came to me…

We have too many walls!  We should instead let the ripples of love flowing out from our hearts unite with His infinite tsunami of love as it spreads out and breaks down the walls within the hearts of all who come near!

My sweet Lord – I pray for all who come near our loved ones, our friends, our neighbors, our schools – any child in the whole world – to have the walls they have built in their hearts come crashing down allowing their hearts to once again be fully open to Your Mercy and Grace.

Hebrews 11:30
By faith the walls of Jericho fell…

A New Clear Eye

One of my daughters is beginning to study the human body.  Last weekend we were studying some of the definitions.
Cell and Nucleus (pl. Nuclei) were two of the words.

Cell – The basic unit of all living things.
Nucleus – The central part of most cells that contains genetic material.

As we were studying, she started thinking about how she used believe that her body was full of little people doing all of the work inside.  When she was little used to talk about “Pooper pushers” and “Mrs. Wishy Washy” and the different jobs they did in her body.  She told me towards the end of studying that it was awesome to hear that all of these little people really existed, and now she knew that they were called cells.

After savoring this sweet and precious memory, I started thinking about all of our cells as people too.  I wondered about their individual wills within each nucleus, and I wondered if I ask all of the little people (cells) in my body to collectively turn their nuclei towards the Will of Our Heavenly Father – what might happen?

Obviously I don’t know the answer to this, but I think if every cell in my body is aligned with the Holy Will of Our Heavenly Father, it would be more difficult for me as a whole person to fall out of alignment with His Holy Will.

Sweet Lord, I pray to  surrender to You at the most basic level of my body, and I pray that as my inner nuclei align with Your Holy Will I am given a New Clear Eye allowing my whole body to be full of Your Light.

Matthew 6:22
The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.

Holy

This morning I woke up struggling with a conversation I had yesterday regarding my belief and thoughts on a topic that I had prayed, read and thought about for quite some time.  I woke up wondering if I was being closed minded, hard hearted, and proud.  In search of an answer I prayed, “Sweet Lord, please align both of us with Your Holy Will and please lead me to what You would like me to read this morning.”

After this prayer, I looked aimlessly through the books scattered around our house, and then finally decided to complete a few questions in my Bible study.  After looking for my bag, I remembered that I had left it in the car.  When I opened the door to retrieve it, I found page 16 from my disintegrating copy of The Joy of Full Surrender by Jean-Pierre de Caussade laying beside my bag and Chapter 8 jumped out at me.

It read…

Who is the Most Holy?

The will of God gives a supernatural and divine value to everything of the soul that is submitted to it.  All the duties God’s will imposes, all those contained in it, all the matters it touches, become holy and perfect, because the will of God is unlimited in power and makes everything it touches divine.

Thank You my Sweet Lord – I submit myself again to You and pray to continually submit myself every day, every hour, every minute, every second for the rest of my life.

Thy Kingdom Come, They Will Be Done