Soul desire

On October 8, 1871, Horatio Spafford, a successful attorney and real estate investor, began to experience what would become his life’s purpose; to overcome tragedy with triumph through Christ.  The journey began after the loss of one of his five children and only son.  Only a few short months later the Great Chicago Fires would consume his real estate investments lending a devastating blow to his financial security, wiping out his entire life savings.  Just as the Spafford family attempted to rebuild their lives, life dealt Horatio and his wife, Anna, the final blow; the loss of their four daughters to the sinking of the S.S. Ville De Havre on November 22, 1873.  Can you only imagine what helpless hopelessness threatened to take whatever joy, purpose and strength both Horatio and Anna, had left?  But God…… 

^“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)

The result of such tragedy spurred Horatio to write one of the beloved hymns the Christian faith has ever known; “It is well with my soul”.  Spafford was a man of many, many sorrows.  From the world’s perspective, Horatio surely had reason to be bitter, angry and confused toward God.  The list of reasons why someone could have confusion and issues over the way their life turned out or why God didn’t protect them could barely ever be trumped by what Spafford's faced during their lives here on earth.  How much more can a person take than that, you might ask?  Any how could any one of us turn those tragedies into triumphant purpose for Christ?  Where does that kind of faith come from?  Only from a deep and abiding faith in God through Christ will our true faith rise up.  It was during the long ride across the Ocean to retrieve Anna, that Horatio penned the famous hymn, “It is well with my soul” as he neared his four daughter’s final resting place.   Following their final tragedy, the Spafford’s turned their sorrow into service for Christ, becoming missionaries in 1881 for Christ through their outreach to spread the gospel in Jerusalem to both the Jews and Muslims   

Remember this if you remember nothing else when tragedy strikes:  God took it upon Himself to experience human tragedy when He allowed Christ to be beaten and nailed to a cross, taking our place here on earth so that one day we’d taste eternity in heaven.  God demonstrated the understanding of even our greatest loss, sorrow and pain when He watched His only son suffering in our place.  What the Spafford’s did with that kind of understanding leads us to not only repent of our own lack of understanding but turns us toward the One who completely understands:  Christ.

Thought to live by:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cu42EN42zEQ

“Who’s your daddy; knowing God as Abba Father” is a devotional written by Pat Ferguson, 2011

Cookie-cutter Christianity

In the drawer of my kitchen rest three familiar shapes:  A reindeer, Christmas tree and Santa Claus.   Only once a year do I ever pull these cookie cutters out and use them (unless I want my family to think I’m stark raving mad and commit me to the “funny farm”).  A cookie is a cookie, right?  Not really.  The shape, decoration and timing of a cookie make a cookie a cookie.  Somehow Christmas cookies seem odd to make or eat during the summer, just as it would if I lit Fourth of July fireworks during a Thanksgiving celebration.  While my family would laugh at my quirkiness, my neighbors might think I’m insane……

^“1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”  (Philippians 2:1-4 TNIV)

Nobody (really) wants to be just like everyone else.  There’s nothing wrong with being “yourself”, uniquely and definitively who you were made to be (fireworks and all).  The more important thing to be as a Christian is not to be a “cookie-cutter” (being like everyone else) in order to be accepted, but to be a “one-minded Christian” (being uniquely “you” while respecting others with humility and sincerity).  Timing is everything and sometimes it does make a difference in how effective you’ll be if you just focus on yourself (your opinion, beliefs and attitude), too much.   Unity creates “one mindedness” with its focus upon the greater interest for betterment of the body of Christ.  Fitting into a mold only does one thing; stops God’s purpose from living and breathing through your life in the unique way for which He has purposed.  So……are you a “cookie-cutter versus one-minded Christian”?  There’s a big difference between the two; the former makes you think you’re accepted and the latter lets you know you are.

Thought to live by:  Being of one mind in Christ takes the focus off of me and puts it where it should be:  on Him.

“Who’s your Daddy; knowing God as Abba Father” is a devotional written by Pat Ferguson, Copyright © 2011, All Rights Reserved

The birthing process reborn

Only a mother can know the pain that comes with childbearing.  The agonizing discomfort and the joy-filled exhilaration rarely compare to anything else she might experience in this life.  For some women, childbearing seemingly occurs without complication or extreme discomfort.  But for most, childbearing is the most painful process they personally experience followed quickly by the most joyous moment in their life.  Shortly after the birth of our first son, Doug II, my thoughts raced to the idea of having another baby.  Why?  Because I had just experienced for the first time (ever) the greatest moment of my life; giving new life to another human being.  Even though the previous twelve hours of labor had been the most excruciating hours of my life, the joy of holding someone that I had helped to create left me speechless.  The mere thought that I had been the only human being in the universe to bring forth this new life filled my heart with undeniable joy and love, making it easy (for me) to want to experience that moment again.

“Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.  You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’  The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” John 3:5-8 (NIV)

When a “believer” in Christ is “born again” they become filled with the greatest gift God has to offer; Himself.  At that moment in time when we accept God’s greatest sacrifice – Jesus Christ – not only do we experience the presence of God into our lives in a profound way, God experiences the “giving birth” process as well, just in a different way.  Because I am a mother, I can only imagine the joy-filled moment God must experience when we accept the new life He has to offer us.  God, who watches over us from the moment we’re in our mother’s womb to the moment we accept Him as our Savior, experiences the same emotions as a new mother; complete joy and exhilaration.  No wonder God wants so badly for us to accept His gift, Jesus, so that He can fill our lives with the only gift He has to offer:  His love.  The joy God must feel when He gives us a new life through re-birth in Christ must (somehow) compare to that of a mother giving birth to a child; complete immeasurable joy.

Thought to live by:  At the heart of God is a mother’s love for us.

“Who’s you daddy; knowing God as Abba Father” is a devotional written by Pat Ferguson.  Copyright © 2011, All Rights Reserved