Hummingbirds

This weekend Beth and I went with a group of leaders in our church to do some planning for the college small groups that are starting in the next few weeks.  I got up early on Saturday morning, well before everyone else, because I enjoy that time alone.  For me, it's a chance to sit quietly and read my Bible, drink a cup of coffee, and truly rest in the Lord.  Even if I'm really tired I find myself energized by that, prepared to face whatever the day has in store.

So, I went outside with my Bible and journal to enjoy the cool of the morning while I read, and just as I had gotten settled into the rocking chair and reading from Psalm 100 I heard a buzzing noise.  I looked up and nothing was there, so I dismissed it.  The second time I heard the noise I ignored it for a moment, but when it persisted I looked up and there was a hummingbird, getting nectar from a feeder nearby.  It kept doing this interesting thing, though.  It would get some nectar, then back up and look at me, then get some nectar, back up and look at me - definitely an interesting experience being stared down by a hummingbird...

Anyway, as a result, two thoughts occurred as I watched this tiny little bird feeding and watching and feeding again.

The first was of the song by Tenth Avenue North called "Love is Here."  The lyrics say, "Come to the water you who thirst and you'll thirst no more."  I was reminded that just as this hummingbird needed that water for life, so also do I need the living water that Jesus offers in John 4:

"Jesus said to her, 'Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.  The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

I love the picture of that bird coming for water, needing that water to sustain life, and the reminder that Christ offers us all water that's better than any we could ever find on earth - pure enough to quench our thirst for eternity.

The second thought was of the scene in C.S. Lewis' The Silver Chair where Jill meets Aslan for the first time, posted here in its entirety because I could never do justice describing it.  The main gist is that Aslan (the symbolic Christ-figure in the Narnia series) offers Jill water and she is concerned about the danger of drinking the water in the presence of the largest, wildest, most dangerous looking Lion she's ever seen.  As I watched the hummingbird, who needed and wanted the life-giving nectar, it also kept an eye out for me, the very large human who could destroy its life in an instant.

More fitting than the scene in The Silver Chair, though, the hummingbird really reminded me of 1 Peter 5:8, which says:

"Be sober-minded; be watchful.  Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."

Peter is telling us to be watchful because just like I could have jumped up to harm the hummingbird, so also is the devil prowling around looking for any way that he can possibly destroy us.  I find it quite easy in my own life to remember that Jesus is the living water, but all too often I let my guard down and don't keep an eye out for the schemes of the devil.  He's crafty and cunning, and if I let up watching for just one minute, he steps right past my defenses and starts wreaking havoc in my life.

I'm taking the hummingbird as an example of what I want to emulate - while I continually come to the Lord as my source of life, I also want to keep watch so that I don't get caught in the snares of the devil.

And I'm praying the same thing for you.

Good Measure

Sometimes I sit down to write, having been inspired by a passage I read in the Word that day or that week, and I've found that a lot of what I write about hits on topics that have been convicting or challenging me - and that makes sense to me because I know how sinful I am and how much I mess up on a daily basis.  It makes sense to me that God would convict me over and over about things - I can be just that dense a lot of the time.


The other day, though, I was sitting on the couch (I think) and these thoughts started to overwhelm me.  It all stemmed from a verse that I've known and read many times over the years:

"...for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self control."  2 Timothy 1:7

I love that verse because it reminds me of the true spirit that God puts inside each of us.  He makes us powerful and loving and self controlled through His strength and movement in our lives - and I love that!


Anyway, this verse made me start thinking about how this school year is different that the last few.  This school year I have a different attitude.  I know things are stressful sometimes and I know I'll be frustrated over the course of the year, but God didn't put the spirit of fear inside of me and He doesn't want me shying away from the work that He's going to do.  Rather, He started to remind me further of promises found in scripture.  John 10:10 - 

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."

 And Luke 6:38 - 

"...give, and it will be given to you.  Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap.  For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you."

I love these promises and it was so encouraging to have God remind me of these particular passages in His Word.  It's a beautiful thing to serve a God Who gives life abundantly and Who fills our lives up with good measure.  God has called us to live lives that are full and abundant and running over with good measure, not spent shaking in fear.  He blesses us way more than we could ever deserve and He calls us to live lives that glorify Him as a result.


So I challenge you (and myself) to live out this year abundantly in Christ.  Don't miss out on opportunities because you're afraid of what might happen.  And don't forget that ultimately we're glorifying the God of the nations who blessed us in the first place.

Strive

I hear a lot of people talk about the American Dream or life goals or their calling in life.  Especially when they don't have clear direction - then they start to talk about feeling lost and unsure of the future.  If they're a Christian, then I hear phrases like, "I don't know where God is leading me" or "I'm trying to figure out God's will for my life."  I hear it a lot - probably because I say those kind of things so much myself.


But, I was convicted this morning reading through Luke chapter 13.  Verse 24 really stood out to me:

"Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able."

That word "strive" really gets me in the gut.  Jesus didn't say "Hope to enter through the narrow door" or "Think about going through the narrow door."  Jesus said strive.  That's a word that implies effort.  The definition is "exert oneself vigorously, try hard."  Don't get me wrong, I don't think Jesus is telling us to work to earn our salvation.  That's not the intention here at all.


Jesus is saying this phrase and He's convicting me so much this morning about not being lazy.  About not having a laissez faire approach to life - and to my walk with Christ, specifically.  Instead of waiting for God to "reveal His will" to me or complaining that I don't know what my calling is in life, He's pointing out that He's already told me His will for my life.  He tells me in His Word to, "Seek first the kingdom of God."


Just because I'm saved and I know I'm going to heaven doesn't mean that my work stops there.  I still have a call on my life to lead others to Christ.  I still have a mission in life to bring glory to the Father.  Do I have to do anything to earn my salvation?  No.  But I still have tasks here on earth that God has called me to do and will continue to call me to do until I go home to heaven.  Jesus is just reminding me of that this morning.


So the challenge for myself as I go on to the rest of my day, and the challenge for you as well, is to strive.  Seek out ways to advance God's kingdom.  Look for ways to glorify Him.  You may not know specifically what school you're supposed to go to or what state you're supposed to live in.  You may be unsure about who to marry or what job to have.  BUT - if we're seeking after God, if we're striving for the narrow door - do any of those details really matter?  Don't we serve a God who is bigger than that?  Trust Him.  He's bigger than any of the details and He's infinitely more capable of handling them.

A Reminder

I just need someone to remind me of basic truth every once in a while.  Have you ever been there?  That's this morning for me.


I got up this morning to run and after I got home and cleaned up a bit, I sat down to read today's Bible passage from the L3 Journal, which was Luke 4, and what really hit home with me seemed so basic...and yet so necessary.


But then I started thinking about it.  I knew I wanted to write about what I had read and share that truth, but it seemed too simple.  What I had learned seemed like it wasn't good enough or spiritual enough.  I started to go back and re-read the passage, maybe find something 'deeper' to write about, but God grabbed hold of my attention and pointed something out to me.


Sometimes I see what the pastors at church blog about or what other 'spiritual giants' in my life comment on when they read the same passage I read and I get a little twinge of...I don't know...jealousy maybe?  It just seems like they got so much more out of what they were reading than I did - but like I said, today God just grabbed hold of me - I make things too complicated sometimes.  I look too hard and miss the most obvious things.  This morning is a bit of a convicting reminder for me to rest in the joy of reading scripture, to be open to God telling me what He's going to tell me, and that's it!


I almost skipped over that last couple of paragraphs to write about what I got out of Luke 4 today - that Jesus was tempted, that temptation is always something God provides a way out of, that being filled with the Spirit is a guaranteed way to escape temptation.  Those are all necessary truths for me to be reminded of today in my own walk with the Lord.  But that's for me.  It's what God chose to reveal to me today.


I would encourage you to seek the same thing.  What is God revealing to you today?  Compared to anything I could ever say, what God has to say to you is going to be far more relevant, more convicting, more valuable.  Genuinely seek God's face today and He'll show Himself to you more clearly than anything you've ever seen.