Crowned in Grace

Isaiah 61:1 "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me, to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and freedom to prisoners."

 June bursts into July like a firecracker.  An explosion of  pictures with  rainbow filters, commentary, debate, and questions permeate our social media and conversations. 

Amongst my circle of close friends, we dialogue.

How can we be more like Christ? How do we do this?  Our own God-filter doesn't screen the darkness perceived;  it lets the light in, giving us a correct focus.  Light scatters the darkness.  

We live and breathe the Good News.  God is the Doer. 

So, we step ahead, continuing to soak in the Light and give off the Light. 

I took a small day-trip this week, going with another friend to visit a very sick young lady. As moms, we both can relate to  "the living in a hospital" situation, tucked away in the lonely, fearful sections of our memories.  This young girl suffers with a genetic affliction, a life-long chronic disease.  She is a miracle girl really, holding on with all her strength. Her hope, to once again hold a camera to her eye and capture God's miracles in her photography.  Her Facebook page holds a last attempt before this ground-breaking surgery 5 months earlier, a  most courageous step. As we visit, dialysis filters her blood because her kidneys sleep;  her two new lungs, new liver, her new pancreas fight to be accepted. She is our brave hero. 

Her heart,  bound up tight by the love and sacrifice of her family and her knowledge and love of the Lord from an early age, beats with a passion to live. At three years old, she sat in her car seat on a long trip and told the story of the Savior from His birth to Revelation, amazing her parents. Her dad shared that story with us. 

Now in her early 30's, to us,  she is held captive by her disease, yet her joy is a smile from her dad and a promise he'll return with a little chili from the cafeteria. I wish I could open the windows so she could breathe in the smell of the ocean which is not too far away or hear the booming fireworks as Freedom is celebrated tomorrow night.   

While walking back from lunch with her dad, planters in front of a bungalow held a certain plant, four of them.  I stopped to take a picture of the Crown of Thorns also known as a Crucifixion plant. 

 I know the Truth as the blood of the Lamb of God trickled down, our sin filtered out by our own belief in the Miracle,  through Grace and Perfect Love so that we can be free to resume a relationship with the Father.  How many stopped to notice the four pots of thorns as we walked along the broken up sidewalk, notice the hospital rising up from the everyday lives of people out strolling the beach town and making a living, a place where the afflicted hope to be healed?  The captive sit at their bedside, pace the halls, and press into their own crown of thorns circling their heart.  

We are all afflicted. We all fight to be accepted. We're held captive by our opinions, our politics, and even our religion. We're imprisoned by our anger, our fear, our weak faith.  

The Crown of Thorns, it flowers.  In it, there blooms Life. 

The red flower bursts forth through the thorns to capture our attention. 

In our freedom,  may hope be found in our thanksgiving, in our humble awareness of grace.  We are capable of great love in our freedom to choose His Great Love. God sets us free to be a Light among the crumbling sidewalks of this great nation and beyond. 


Plant it Lord, deep into my own affliction, bloom in me the grace I need for the moment, for the day, for change and culture. You Lord, are the King of Kings, Giver of Life, crowned in Eternal Glory. Make me into a healer, not a wound-maker. Make me a locksmith, ready and equipped to provide a key for the captive. Holy Spirit, be upon me, prompting and urging me to pray for our nation, our leaders, our children, speaking words of hope, forgiveness and truth in love. Lead me into obedience in Your Word and in my actions. I  ask Lord for healing, for Grace upon amazing Grace to trickle down, for compassion and wisdom to walk this busted up path, knowing where it leads. Help me to lift open windows for others to    see Your power and to listen with an open heart, the boom of Your hope, an eternal fireworks show of Your sovereignty. 

Be near our dear girl Lord, her family and her doctors. In Jesus Name, Amen.  

Precision Decision

Romans 16: 25  "Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past...

The chatter this week seems to be on two things, an American sniper and a quarterback and his football. I find one thing with both these participants and their "controversy," in common:  both are  trained to be precise.

 Bradley Cooper
 from the movie "American Sniper"

One protected us; one entertains us.  Both are heroes to some, to many.

Tom Brady, QB for The Patriots 

Any U. S. military man or woman serving in harm's way is a brave hero to me, no doubt for a minute here. 

In this verse, the Apostle Paul uses the word "according," meaning to be harmonious or consistent with.  A trained sniper has to be consistent, his life as well as others is on the line. He is serving his country, maybe even rescuing a hostage. A quarterback has to be consistent in his efforts to score, for his receivers to trust him, for his fans to approve of him. 

To be consistent, means to hit the mark every time. They rely on their training, their weapons and or equipment, and know their target. It takes training, planning and skill. Both have obstacles to overcome. 

The Gospel is consistent, precise, a revelation of a mystery we can only get a glimpse of. It is precise because it is Perfect. The Gospel is the Good News of Redemption and our Redeemer, Jesus Christ  who precisely and perfectly loves you and me. 

As human beings, we are flawed, imperfect and may not always hit our target. 

As human beings, we may manipulate things, make a bad judgment, not hold true to our words, bring disappointment, cause controversy. 

Jesus caused controversy, still does. Truth does that. 

God's desire for us is to surrender. Quite the opposite of what we think of as heroic. In doing that, He longs to reestablish harmony between Him and the world, to personally bring hope into our lives in Him; peace. It doesn't mean we'll never see trouble again. He desires for us to practice and train towards sanctification, the willingness to seek to know Him more, with calculated, thought out precision. How can we do that when we are surrounded by the enemy, under stress and worry, unsure of our own capabilities and skills, under pressure to win, be a winner? 

We can't. The mystery is in the surrendering, for sometimes the obstacle in our way is ourselves. God reveals to us a helper, the Holy Spirit, who precisely and lovingly directs our efforts, our prayers, our desire towards the target of God's own heart. At the precise moment we prayed for forgiveness, God's precise and perfect redemption saved us and then leads us towards the goal line. There is nothing we can do or manipulate to gain God's favor. 

Lord, thank you for allowing us to be the precise target for Your love.  We do not deserve it. Your Word provides for us the training we need to grow. Our skills, our birth-given qualities, our horrendous sad stories all can be used for Your glory; no need to manipulate. At precisely the right time, in our availability, in our trust and obedience, You establish us, help us through our fears and into heroics, giving us the courage to stand true, confidant in You for all our needs. Help us Lord to keep our eyes on the Target and trust in Your plan. Now to Him who is able, Amen. 

An American Hero