Alone Together #2 God has not Changed

Greetings fellow quarantined friends. I trust you are all sheltering in place, only venturing out for essentials. Rough news increasing around the world. We continue to pray without ceasing.

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit." Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that."

(James 4:13-15)

So many cancellations, delays, changes, and disappointments. Minor disappointments and heartbreaking grief of loss. So many things we have counted on or taken for granted now gone, delayed, or upended—for a season or permanently. If this crisis teaches us nothing else, it should crush that any delusion we may entertain that we are in control. We are not sovereign, but God is.

The world has changed. God has not. ”Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) Do I believe that? Really? When the rubber meets the road, can I lean into His sovereignty and trust His character, no matter what happens?

Today, I invite you to pour your heart out to God. Many of you have done Pete and Geri Scazzero’s “Explore the Iceberg”. Pull out your journal and set aside four pages titled mad, sad, anxious, and glad. Begin to write what’s in your head and in your heart. We need to write because things will flow out of your pen you may not have realized were in your head or heart. Know that many items will wind up on multiple lists. That’s okay. Especially right now, we are a jumble of emotions and thoughts.

When you have spent some unhurried time pouring out your soul, bring the entire jumble before God. Surrender to His sovereignty. Lay every detail out to Him. Write a prayer or even a psalm to the Lord. Invite the Prince of Peace to rule in your head, heart, and hands.

My prayer is often, “Lord, meet me where I am, take me where you want me to be.” Invite Him to meet you in the depths of your iceberg, then spend some time remembering and rehearsing who He is—His names, attributes, character, past faithfulness in your life. Selah: take some time in silence to let Him whisper to you.

May I invite you to sing and meditate on one of my favorite hymns:

The Solid Rock by Edward Mote

    My hope is built on nothing less

    Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;

    I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

    But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

        Refrain:

        On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;

        All other ground is sinking sand,

        All other ground is sinking sand.

    When darkness veils His lovely face,

    I rest on His unchanging grace;

    In every high and stormy gale,

    My anchor holds within the veil.

    His oath, His covenant, His blood

    Support me in the whelming flood;

    When all around my soul gives way,

    He then is all my hope and stay.

    When He shall come with trumpet sound,

    Oh, may I then in Him be found;

    Dressed in His righteousness alone,

    Faultless to stand before the throne.

Lean into the unshakeable truth that God is still sitting on His throne.

The LORD sat as King at the flood;

Yes, the LORD sits as King forever.

Psalm 29:10

Rest. Go in peace and the peace of God attend you.

Alone Together #1 The Divine Mentor

I’ve been sharing encouragement and tools for staying connected with God with those who signed up for “Alone Together” during this challenging season. I thought I’d share a few online in case they might encourage you too…

Good morning! Or Good evening, as the case may be! How are you holding up? My kind friends have loaded me up with food and TP, so I am set for a indeterminate quarantine. Hopefully I can share some good resources and encouragement with you during this season.

Today, first things first: Psalm One

How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,

Nor stand in the path of sinners,

Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!

But his delight is in the law of the LORD,

And in His law he meditates day and night.

He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,

Which yields its fruit in its season

And its leaf does not wither;

And in whatever he does, he prospers.

If we are alone without the Word, we can wind up in introspection, emptiness, and distortion. There’s more Christian content available than ever, but some is devoid of Scripture, some is decorated with Scripture, but very little gets us into Scripture. How many of you have started out January 1 with honorable goals to read through Scripture, only to wind up lost and giving up in the wilderness of Leviticus or Numbers? How can we absorb the truth of Scripture while socially distancing?

Wayne Cordeiro has developed a simple plan to get us into the Word from Genesis to Revelation. Many of you have done this with me before. The beauty of this plan is that it can be done alone, with a spouse or friend, with your family or small group, with 1, 2, 5, 10, 100, or 1000 people. And it gets us into the whole of Scripture, instead of a verse here and there.

Three steps (with cheat sheets attached):

1. Read the passage silently (in a paper translation instead of a paraphrase or electronic gadget). Read slowly, as if you’ve never seen or heard this before, and meditate on the passages. You may have time to read both multiple times, or you may be drawn to spend most of your time in one passage or chapter. Leave everything else alone and simply read the Scripture. Do not cross-reference, do not flip to other passages, do not take notes. Rein yourself in and remain only within these passages.

1. When the timer goes off, pick up your pen and journal and silently respond to God. Is there one particular word, phrase, or passage that grips you? Is there message of comfort? Or a good kick to the head? An answer to prayer? A marching order? What do you see about God? Is there any encouragement or challenge for you? Write a letter to Him, confess, worship and adore Him, list the attributes of God or instructions from the passage, consider how this relates to your life, whatever the Lord prompts you to do in response to what you’ve read.

1. When the time goes off again, discuss and pray… If you’re on your own, you might want to go straight to prayer. 😉

Some links to help:

https://www.amazon.com/Divine-Mentor-Growing-Faith-Savior-ebook/dp/B00B85A7WC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGh6Xke1sPU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSyP6zOnObk

https://www.lifejournal.cc/

Weird times. Surreal days. Unprecedented situations. Uncharted territory. Emotional roller coaster.

I’ve been under house arrest for a month now. Whenever I get antsy, I remember Anne Frank and her family remained hidden in the secret annex for twenty-five months. I am being asked to quarantine safely in a comfortable home where I can work from home, still get a paycheck, finally catch up on unfinished projects (at least that’s the theory), with endless entertainment and options to connect with distant friends and family in so many creative ways. Friends leave groceries on my doorstep. I’m being asked to sit on the couch and watch Netflix. As an introvert, I sometimes enjoy social distancing too much. Although I am at very high risk if I should catch covid-19, I am certainly not among those in great hardship. I am grateful every day.

My heart is breaking for those who

• are ill and dying

• have lost loved ones

• are lonely and isolated

• are hungry

• do not live in a safe place or with safe people

• are separated from friends and family

• are trying to do jobs, family, education, ministry, and life in a whole new way

• have lost or may lose their jobs or business

• are facing tremendous financial issues

• fight fear every day while they work on the front lines

 Any of my disappointments or cancelled plans pale to nothing beside what others are experiencing. Nevertheless, all of us may be encountering grief stemming from so many losses. Some of us are struggling with loneliness, depression, fear, sadness, uncertainty, and disconnection. If we ever needed a reminder that we are not in control, it is now. If there was ever a time when we needed to lean into Jesus, it is now.

 In the midst of all this, I have an unshakeable hope. I see good things happening. I see people

• working harder to connect

• handing their fish and loaves to God

• getting creative

• finding renewal in beauty

• sharing waves, smiles, laughter, joy, and hilarity

• appreciating the small and big things in life

• realizing the power of genuine connection

• valuing relationships

• looking for ways to help

• checking in on others

• making a real effort to worship

• working together as a planet

• dropping divisions and attacks

• surrendering their arrogance and easy answers

• sacrificing personal comfort for the greater good

• spending time with family

• leaning into God in an intimate connection

• getting back in the Word

• clinging to Jesus

Some deep changes only come out of suffering and loss. May we each emerge from this challenging chapter as different people, people of perseverance, proven character, hope, and love.

“And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5)

Much love,

Linda