Let's Be with That A Minute

     My sweet friend, Rhonda, and I once attended a community seminar on healthy eating for the digestive system.  The zealous woman in charge (bless her heart) was passionate about her subject.  Anytime she made a statement she wanted us to absorb, she would suddenly stop, gaze above our heads and say with a tinge of awe at her own sagacity, "Let's be with that a minute."  Silence. Crickets chirp. Just as suddenly, she resumed her animated speech on fiber and regularity.  
     We still say "Let's be with that a minute," when topics become awkward or uncomfortable, or when we're not sure how to respond to what other people (bless their hearts) say that makes no sense to us.  
     God, passionate about His Son, basically said, "Let's be with that a minute" to Peter, James and John after they witnessed Jesus' transfiguration on top of a mountain.  Peter, stunned by seeing Jesus in His glory and talking with Elijah and Moses (didn't they die?) began babbling about building three tabernacles.  God stilled Peter's mouth and hands by enveloping the group in a bright cloud: "This is my Son, Whom I have chosen; listen to Him." (Luke 9:35)  Then, according to Luke, they took more than a minute to process this revelation: "The next day, when they came down from the mountain, . . ." (Luke 9:37).
     Reading the print on Bible page doesn't let the Word sink in deep where we need it.  Repeating prayers doesn't do it either.  However, God's Word transforms our hearts and transfigures our lives when we take time to open ourselves and fully absorb His revelation and His voice.  Jesus and the three disciples were praying when heaven opened; they were prepared and in the right posture.  They stayed put to process God's Words and the hope of resurrection they saw in Elijah and Moses briefly appearing on earth.  Peter later wrote:
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.  This inheritance is kept in heaven for you."  1 Peter 1:3-4

Ah, Peter, you got it! Let's be with that a minute.

"Father, our culture teaches us to rush and do and we burn out quickly.  Guide our prayers to prepare our hearts and minds for  Your revelations.  Still and shush us to listen to Your Voice and to process what You're teaching us.Sometimes, we run down the mountain with a little knowledge and do more harm than good.  Transform and renew our minds, hearts and mouths.  May we swim upstream and refuse to be swept away by the rush of bits and pieces of Truth. 
In the Name of Jesus, Who prayed and Who fully pleases His Father. 

I Think That I Shall Never See . . .

     Driving to work this morning I watched the morning sun illuminate leaves and thought, "God could've made only one type of tree, but He didn't."  His creative glory led to seasonal changes embedded in perenniel stability, balls of flame seated among the cool of evergreens. (And thank you to whoever came up with the name "evergreen:" it's a lovely consolation for serving as a backdrop for fall flare.)

     Some of us are evergreens: constant, stable, dependable - and, maybe even a little unexciting to the young and the restless. Others of us are project-oriented, and like hardwoods unfurling the intensity of spring green, we deepen our colors and sprint toward autumn fireworks before hibernating for the winter, or until a new project, job, mission, or calling presents itself.  True, the evergreens among us may be a little envious of the seasonals in the spring and fall, but certainly not in the winter, when we shine and keep the rest of the scenery from fading into a dull and colorless existence. B

     Each needed, each contributing to the landscape, the environment, shouting the glory of God across acres and acres for the world to see as a reminder of the Creator. The trees don't fight for centerstage but stand quietly blazing in their turn, serving as a backdrop then stepping up to fulfill their roles. Why should we do any less than the trees?

"Let the fields and everything in them be glad.

Then all of the trees in the forest will sing with joy."

Psalm 96:12

"For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace:

the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing,

and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands."

Isaiah 55:12