Imperfect, Yet Loved

In Japan, food products are immaculately prepared and packaged. Not only must they taste good but they must look good too. Often I wonder if I am purchasing the food or the packaging! Because of the Japanese emphasis on Good quality, products with slight defects are often discarded. However, in recent years wakeari means " there is a reason" in Japanese. These products are not thrown away but are sold at a cheap price " for a reason"--for example, a crack in a rice cracker.
      My friend who lives in Japan tells me that wakeari is also a catchphrase for people who are obviously less than perfect.
     Jesus loves all people--including the wakeari who society casts aside. When a woman who had lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at a Pharisee's house, she went there and knelt behind Jesus at His feet, weeping. The Pharisee's labeled he " a dinner", but Jesus accepted he. He spoke gently to her, assuring he that he sins were forgiven.
     Jesus loves imperfect, wakeari people-which includes you and me. And the greatest demonstration of His love for us is that " while we were all still sinners, Christ died for us." As recipients of His love, may we be conduits of His love to the flawed people around us so they too may know that they can receive God's love despite their imperfections.
     I know I'm not perfect, Lord, so help me not to be hypocritical and pretend I have it all together. Open my heart to others in acceptance and love so that they might know Jesus's concern for them. Broken People are made whole by God's love.
   

Lay Down Your Cares

Praise the Lord, God our Savior, who helps us everyday. Psalm 68:19

      Perhaps the heaviest burden we try to carry is the burden of mistakes and failures. What do you do with failures?
      Even if you've fallen, even if you've failed, even if everyone else has rejected you, Christ will not turn away from from you. He came first and foremost to those who have no hope. He goes to those no one else would go to and says, " I'll give you eternity."
      Only you can surrender your concerns to the Father. No one else can take those away and give them to God. Only you can cast all your anxieties on the one who cares for you. What better way to start the day than by laying your cares at his feet?

The Power Of Empathy

Put on the R701 Age Suit and you immediately feel forty years older as you experience impaired vision, hearing loss, and reduced mobility. The Age Suit was designed to help caregivers better understand their patients. Wall Street Journal correspondent Geoffrey Fowler wore one and wrote, " The unforgettable, and at times distressing, experience she'd light not just on aging, but also how virtually reality equipment can teach empathy and shape our perceptions of the world around us."
     Empathy is the power to understand and share the feelings of another. During a time of severe persecution against the followers of Jesus, the writer of Hebrews urged fellow believers to " continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering." This is exactly what our Savior has done for us. Jesus was made like us, " fully human in everyway... that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."
      Christ Lord, who became like us, calls us to stand with others " as if [we] were together with them" during their time of need.
     Lord Jesus, we marvelous at Your willingness to share our flesh and blood in order to purchase our salvation. Give us grace to stand with others who are in need today.
     Jesus calls us to stand with others as if we were in their place.

Nothing Less than Jesus

I have obeyed my Father's commands, and I remain in his love. In the same way, if you obey my commands, you will remain in my love. John 15:10

     Good rewards those who seek him. Not those who seek doctrine or religion or systems or Creed's. Many settle for these lesser passions, but the reward goes to those who settle for nothing less than Jesus himself. And what is the reward? What awaits those who seek Jesus? Nothing short of the heart of Jesus. " And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him."
      Can you think of a greater gift than to be like Jesus? Christ felt no guilt; God wants to banish yours. Jesus had no bad habits; God wants to remove yourself. Jesus had no fear of death; God wants you to be fearless. Jesus had kindness for the diseased and mercy for the rebellious and courage for the challenges. Good wants you to have the same... He wants you to be just like Jesus.

Our Powerful God

One day by the seaside, I delighted in watching some kite surfers as they bounced along the water, moved by the force of the wind. When one came to shore, I asked him if the experience was as difficult as it looked. " No," he said, " It's actually easier than regular surfing because you harness the power of the wind."
      Afterward as I walked by the sea, thinking about the wind's ability not only to propel the surfers but also to whip my hair into my face, I paused to wonder at our Good the Creator. As we see in the Old Testament book of Amos, He who " forms the mountains" and " creates the wind" can turn " dawn to darkness."
      Through this prophet, the Lord reminded His people of His power as He called them back to Himself. Because they had not obeyed Him, He said He would reveal Himself to them. Although we see His judgment here, we know from elsewhere in the Bible of His judgment here, we know His Son to save us.
      The power of the wind on this breezy day in the South of England reminded me of the sheer immensity of the Lord. If you feel the wind today, why not stop and ponder our all powerful God?
      Father, thank You for Your power and love. Help us to daily rely on you.

God Knows Us By Name

The Lord is my Shepherd; I have everything I need. Psalm 23:1

     Sheep aren't smart. They tend to wander into running Creeks for water, then their wool grows heavy and they drown. They need a Shepherd to lead them to "calm water". They have no natural defense--no claws, no horns, no fangs. They are helpless. Sheep need a Shepherd with a "rod and walking stick" to protect them. They have no sense of direction. They need someone to lead them " on paths that are right."
      So do we. We, too, get lost. We need a shepherd. We need a Shepherd to care for us and to guide us. And we have one. One who knows us by name.

Knowing Better

When we brought our adoptive soon home from over seas, I was eager to shower him with love and provide what he had lacked over the preceding months, especially quality food, since he had a nutritional deficit. But despite our best efforts, including consulting specialists, he grew very little. After nearly three years, we learned he had some severe food intolerances. After removing those items from his diet, he grew five inches in just a few months. While I grieved at how long I'd unwittingly fed him foods that impaired his growth, I rejoiced at this surgery in his health!
     I suspect Josiah felt similarly when the Book of the Law was discovered after having been lost in the temple for years. Just as I grieved having unintentionally hindered my son's growth, Josiah grieved having ignorantly missed God's fullest and best intentions for His people. Although he is commended for doing what was right in the eyes of the Lord, he learned better how to honor God after finding the Law. With his newfound knowledge, he led the people to worship again as God had instructed them.
     As we learn through the Bible how to honor Him, we may grieved the ways we've fallen short of God's will for us. Yet we can be comforted that He heals and restores us, and leads us gentle into deeper understanding.
     Thank You, God, for showing me how to live in a way that pleases You. I'm sorry for the ways I've not done that in the past. Help me to honor and obey You now.
God gives us a new start.