brennan manning

A Fitting End

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“I’ve read the last page of the Bible, it’s all going to turn out all right” (Billy Graham).

I read today where Billy Graham will be buried in a simple pinewood casket made by inmates at the Louisiana State Penitentiary. I find that very fitting for a man who saw himself as a humble Southern Baptist preacher blessed to be able to present the Gospel to so many over a long and faithful life.

I think Billy Graham himself would say that it’s only his mortal shell that’s being put six feet deep in the ground. He is face to face with Jesus, hearing the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” He is reunited with his wife Ruth. He is home.

I think he’s finding out how true those words he spoke so long ago are. If you’ve read the last page of the Bible, then you know that it’s truly going to be all right.

In case you haven’t gotten to the end of the Bible, spoiler alert– here’s how it ends.

“The Spirit and the Bride: Come.

And let everyone who hears these words say, ‘Come.’

And let those who thirst come.
All who desire to drink, let them take and drink freely from the water of life” (Revelation 22:17, The Voice).

I believe Billy Graham would want his funeral to be one more opportunity for people to be able to respond to a Gospel invitation. He would want his death to result in more people coming to faith in Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Maybe you can be one of those who will join Billy Graham in heaven.

https://www.lifeway.com/en/articles/salvation-through-christ-a-matter-of-faith.html

 

 

Thank You, Billy Graham

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“I am not going to Heaven because I have preached to great crowds or read the Bible many times. I’m going to Heaven just like the thief on the cross who said in that last moment: ‘Lord, remember me'” (Billy Graham).

It felt like a blow directly to my heart when I saw where Billy Graham had passed away this morning at 99 years of age. He had been such an icon and presence in my formative years. I guess part of me thought he’d be like George Beverly Shea and live to at least 100.

But I believe God decided it was time to welcome his servant home.

I’m sure right now that millions of blog posts and Facebook posts and other social media outlets are heaping praise on Rev. Graham right about now. I’m also just as sure that Billy himself would have deflected such praise, saying that he was a sinner saved by grace and used by God in spite of himself. He would point to Jesus as the real hero of the faith.

He started his ministry 80 years ago, faithfully preaching the salvation of Jesus Christ as found in the Word of God. He never wavered and never faltered morally. He wasn’t perfect and would himself admit to many failings, but he persevered in presenting the gospel of the Jesus Christ who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Right now, he’s free from every ache and pain. He’s free from the symptoms of Parkinson’s. He’s reunited with Ruth and all of his other friends and fellow Crusade co-workers.

Best of all, he’s seeing for the first time face to face the Jesus he preached about all those many years. He’s hearing the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Thank you, Billy Graham. There are millions and millions of people (including me) who echo the words of the old song and say, “Thank you for giving to the Lord. I am a life that was changed. Thank you for giving to the Lord. I am so glad you gave” (Ray Boltz).

Happy 18th Birthday, Lucy

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Today, I carried a pang of sadness in my heart. You see, my old cat Lucy would have turned 18 today.

It even seems a little silly to me to carry on grieving for a common ordinary cat who passed away back in June. But Lucy was no common ordinary cat. At least not to me.

She was one of the few constants in my life in a time that saw geographical and career upheaval in which I relocated to Nashville from Memphis.

She was a quiet presence in my life through those good and bad days. She always ended up in my lap, curled up and either asleep or very near asleep. She usually wound up sleeping on the pillow next to mine, comforting me with her quaint little snore.

I don’t think I’ll ever forget that day, June 21, when she crossed the rainbow bridge.

I honestly don’t know if our pets will wind up in heaven, but I like to believe that she’ll be there on the other side of the rainbow bridge, waiting for me when it’s my turn to cross over.

In the meantime, I find that the sadness continues to give way to happy memories. I feel blessed for every day of the 17 years she was with me, even those painful last six days.

When she got sick that last time, I kept hoping that she could somehow manage to pull through one more time, but this time, it was not to be.

I know in my heart she tried her very best to stay, but in the end her furry little body finally failed her and she was just too weak to go on.

I have a rambunctious new kitten named Peanut, who is a tortie and full of curiosity and life. She could never take the place of Lucy, but she’s a channel through which my love for Lucy can flow.

So happy 18th birthday in heaven, my little Lucy. I’ll always love you can carry you in my heart forever.

 

No Plan B

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“The key is that your request be anchored by your single-minded commitment to God. Those who depend only on their own judgment are like those lost on the seas, carried away by any wave or picked up by any wind.  Those adrift on their own wisdom shouldn’t assume the Lord will rescue them or bring them anything. The splinter of divided loyalty shatters your compass and leaves you dizzy and confused” (James 1:6-9, The Voice).

Tonight at the Room in the Inn Bible study, the teacher spoke from James 1 about what it means to be double-minded when it comes to prayer.

It occurred to me that praying in faith with no doubts (see James 1:6) is to pray with no plan B in mind, knowing that God hears your heart more than He hears your words, especially when words won’t come.

Maybe you’ve had a plan B in the past. You pray the words, but you have a backup plan just in case God doesn’t come through. You hedge your bets, so to speak, and don’t fully trust in God.

I wonder how many of our prayers go unanswered because they aren’t really prayers at all. They’re more like wishful thinking while we implement our own plans and rule our own lives — or at least we have the illusion that we do.

Have you ever stepped out in faith and prayed boldly in such a way that if God doesn’t come through, what you’re doing or hoping for will fail spectacularly? It’s a lot like stepping out on a high wire with no safety net below. It’s scary but that kind of faith never goes unrewarded.

Pray big and pray boldly, knowing that it’s not a great faith in God that brings about answers to prayers but faith in a great God who always keeps His promises to His people.

 

 

Hesed

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A very astute Bible teacher recently opened my eyes to the biblical word hesed. Basically, he said that there’s really no English word that truly captures all the essense of this Hebrew word.

It’s often translated as lovingkindness or stedfast love and is used in reference to God’s faithful love to His people in regard to His promises and His covenant toward them.

This teacher defined hesed in a way that made it come alive for me: “When the person from whom I have a right to expect nothing gives me everything” (Michael Card, Luke: The Gospel of Amazement).

That’s it.

I have no right to expect anything from God. Actually, if anything, I can expect what the wages of my sin have earned– death and hell.

Yet God has given me everything. His everything. Not only did God in Jesus save me from the wages of those sins, He has given me everything for life and godliness.

The best part of the promise is Emmanuel, God with us. That means God with you and God with me. Even in the valley of the deepest darkest shadow of death, God has promised that He will be with us.

“Certainly Your faithful protection and loving provision will pursue me
    where I go, always, everywhere.
I will always be with the Eternal,
    in Your house forever” (Psalm 23:6, The Voice).

Lent 2018

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“Lent is the season in which we ought to be surprised by joy. Our self-sacrifices serve no purpose unless, by laying aside this or that desire, we are able to focus on our heart’s deepest longing: unity with Christ. In him– in his suffering and death, his resurrection and triumph, we find our truest joy” (from the devotional Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter).

That’s the reason for all the fasting. For me, it’s been a tradition for the past few years to fast from social media. This year, I’m adding Netflix to the mix.

I don’t want it to be merely an exercise in going without. I want that space normally filled with Facebook, Instagram, and all those Netflix shows to be spiritually useful.

My prayer for all you who participate in this Lent season is that you will find Jesus in all the space normally given to television or food or social media. I pray the deprivation will open your eyes in a new way to what Jesus is saying to you in the days and weeks leading up to Easter.

May all of the sacrifice of Lent lead to an Easter where our hearts are captivated all over again by God’s own sacrifice in sending Jesus to us and for us.

Amen.

Dangerous Prayers II: The Sequel

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I was just going to call this blog post Dangerous Prayers, but then I discovered that I wrote one with the same name back on July 24, 2012. Here it is, in case you’re suddenly interested.

https://oneragamuffin.wordpress.com/2012/07/24/dangerous-prayers/

But today during the prayer time at The Church at Avenue South, Amy Bryant (the wife of teaching pastor Aaron Bryant) shared that her mentor challenged her to pray at least one dangerous prayer every day.

The one Amy offered to us today was essentially “Lord, take all the pieces of my life and consume them all, having your way with every part of me and my life.”

It reminded me of the prayer I wrote about way back when, “Thy will be done,” which implied that my will must be undone.

Those prayers are dangerous because they’re scary. They both involve giving up control and letting God take over. It’s Jesus, take the wheel.

For me, the fear comes that God won’t really do what’s best for me. That comes from a place where fear overrules faith. That fear says that God is untrustworthy and that I really shouldn’t give up control.

It’s the same lie the serpent told Eve in the garden that started with “Did God really say . . .?”

Every time I pray those dangerous prayers, I move closer away from fear to faith. I declare to God (and more to myself) that I trust Him completely to do what’s absolutely best for me.

I believe that you can be scared out of your mind and still pray these dangerous prayers. After all, courage isn’t the absence of fear but the dogged determination to proceed in the face of all these fears, no matter how daunting.

Lord, take all the pieces of my life and consume them for your glory. Take what’s left after all that is unworthy is burned away and use it however You will, wherever You will, whenever You will for as long as you give me breath.

 

 

 

 

Forgiveness at 1:44 AM

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“Forgiveness is the answer to the child’s dream of a miracle by which what is broken is made whole again, what is soiled is made clean again” (Dag Hammarskjold).

I can’t really add much more to that, and not just because it’s an ungodly hour of the night and I am dog tired. That statement really says it all about forgiveness.

Forgiveness is a miracle and you become a miracle worker every time you exercise the choice to forgive instead of holding onto bitterness and anger.

While bitterness against another is like drinking poison and expecting that person to die, forgiveness is like southern sweet tea (the best drink I could think of at this moment) that refreshes your soul as well as the soul of the forgiven.

One last thought: I still believe that sometimes the person most in need of your forgiveness is yourself, and that’s often the hardest to both and extend and receive it.

Good night.

Missing the Old Gal Again Tonight

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When I came up the stairs tonight, I caught myself looking for my old cat Lucy in one of her familiar napping spots either on the couch or on top of the chair. It took a second before I remembered that she’s been gone since June of last year.

Even though I had her in my life for 17 years, I still wish there had been more time.

It seems that with our loved ones, we get greedy (but in a good way). No matter how much time we have together or how long they live, it never seems like enough. Even if they live to be 105 years old, it still will be too soon for them to say goodbye.

I don’t have an answer for how to learn to be content with the amount of time we or our loved ones are given. I do think that it’s important to take all the time we have with those we love and redeem it to its full potential.

There will probably always be regrets after the fact of missed opportunities and wasted time. There will be days when things overtake people in your priorities.

You can’t go back and undo yesterday’s missed opportunities or go forward to make sure you do right.

You can only use what time you’re given in the time that’s called today, the gift of the present.

You can choose to be fully present to those who love you and whom you love.

I know to some it may sound crazy to grieve over the loss of a pet, but I don’t regret my tears. I see how the memory of her passing is giving way to all the memories of the beautiful moments we had.

Plus, I have Peanut to help continue to heal my heart.

As the old saying goes, don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.