Grace notes

Welcome back to unseen. I hope my technical difficulties are under control now. Today's post is an excerpt from my new book, Grace Notes. It is available on Amazon and at Author House bookstore. (Shameless plug). When we live unseen, dealing with the struggles of daily life can blind us to God's surprising blessings. Read on to see the lesson I learned about this from music

Grace Notes

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10

I love music. I love to listen, I love to sing, and I love to dance. Music can take to places that nothing else can. It can calm your soul when you are hurting and it can give you a way to celebrate when words are not enough. There are different elements of music. The first is melody. This is the tune or the lead line.  The second is harmony. This consists of notes that are different than the melody but work together to make it richer.   There is a third element that not everyone is familiar with. These are called grace notes. They are “extra” notes. They are not even written into the main line of the music. They are smaller and are often found at the top of the staff. They consist of runs and descants that make the music even more full and rich.

Our lives are like music. They too consist of melody, harmony and grace notes. The melody of our life is our walk with God and the purpose that he has given us. The rhythm varies and the key may change from major to minor and back again, but God has written the music of our lives and directs it. Harmony in our lives consists of the people we walk with through our lives.  Other people bring fullness to our lives and make it more exciting, even though there may be discordant notes. You may wonder if God really wanted you to play with the people he put in your family or church. Again, God directs the symphony of our lives. Then there are the grace notes in our lives. These are the surprises that God has for us. They may be times when we are down and a friend calls out of the blue.  It may be a friend you meet unexpectedly who turns out to be a mainstay in your life. It could be that something you do for fun, like music or writing or drawing, turns out to be used by God to touch others. Even better are the times when you are spending time in worship or prayer and the God of the universe comes to meet with you. There are so many things in my life that have been more than I imagined.

In this life we have an enemy. The word says he comes to steal, kill and destroy, but God says that He comes that we might have life and have it more abundantly. (John 10) In Ephesians He tells us through Paul that He can do exceeding, abundantly beyond all that we can ask or even imagine.  The God of Heaven and earth is our Father. He has chosen us as His children and wants to have relationship with us and lavish His love on us. Let’s look for the grace notes in our lives, whether in sunsets, phone calls, or other ways that God chooses to speak to us and point them out to others, too.

 

Keys

Welcome to Unseen this week. Those of us who live unseen deal with a lot of fear and often feel powerless. Read on to see the power that is available.
Keys

I am the first and the last and I hold the keys to death and hell.

 Remember when you got the keys to yor first car?  There was a sense of pride and freedom.  Yo cod operate your car whenever yo wanted, no longer required to depend on someone else. You could also limit other people's access to your car  You could decide who rode with you and who didn't. You could lock your car to protect your valuables and your vehicle. ( I know people in my hometown were just dying to get their hands on my avacado green car.) You soon realized that your freedom came with responsibility. You were responsible for maintenance, gas, insurance and following the traffic laws. Later keys brought similar joys and trials, such as the keys to your first place to live You paid the price and were given the keys and with them the privilege and responsibility of caring for your place.

On Holy Saturday, the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, classical Christian belief tells us that something vital happened. Jesus “descended into Hell and led forth captives in his train.” He told John in Revelation, “I am the first and the last and I hold the keys to death and hell.(    )  How did He get those keys? I admit that when I thought about it, I pictured a cosmic version of Friday Night Smackdown.  Probably a more accurate view is that He paid for them.  He didn't pay for them with cash or gold or silver, but with the priceless blood of a perfect sacrifice.  Picture a huge debt and all the animal sacrifices throughout the centuries making tiny payments on the interest. Jesus perfect sacrifice paid the debt in full.

Now, like your car or house, He has the right to do what he chooses with his property, or His victory in this case. When we accept Him as Lord and Savior, He chooses to share his victory over sin and death with us. The single word of advice-REJOICE!

More than enough

Welcome to Unseen today. This week's post came to mind because I had a discussion with God this week about money. Basically things had not gone my way this week and I was whining. God brought me  back to this selection. Guess what else? He met my need with More Than Enough.

More than Enough

Every Good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the father of lights in whom there is no change or shifting shadow. James 1 __

One day I came home from work. I had been out to eat and had some scraps for the dog. I put them in his bowl and then let him in. I tried to show him the bowl with the treats in it, but something else had caught his eye. He was pawing under the edge of the washing machine. I leaned down to see what he was doing, just as he pulled out a dried crust of bread and started chewing on it. I picked him up and set him in front of his bowl where he finally saw the scraps and enjoyed them wholeheartedly. Goofy dog, I thought. I have a feast for you and you’re digging around for dried out, old bread. Isn’t it great that humans are so much more advanced than dogs?

OK, how advanced are we really? We have learned to ask God to meet our needs but we fail to accept his lavishness. Ephesians 3:23 says God can do immeasurably, exceedingly, abundantly beyond all we can ask or even imagine. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He has called us his children and invited us to come boldly before his throne that we may receive grace in our time of need. I am not talking about prosperity gospel, here. I am talking about attitude. We settle for less than God wants us to have. I was convicted at one point that it is just as easy to ask God for more than enough as it is to ask for just enough. It was not an easy transition. I had become used to sneaking in the back door of the throne room and peeking out from behind a tapestry. I thought if I was really quiet and didn’t make any fuss maybe no one would tell me to leave. It was not all about material things either. It was about healing for me and others. It was about forgiveness and it was about being able to pour out my tears to a loving father. I am still leaning day by day, but I want to keep on learning. At a retreat last week, one of the speakers had been on a trip to France. She said that those people know how to eat. She described beautifully set tables and abundance. If she put her glass down and turned around to talk to someone, when she turned around her glass was full again. It impressed on her that this is the provision that God wants for us. He wants us to be continually in expectation of His blessings, like children who have no fear that their needs will not be met.

A preacher tells a story of a couple that saved all their money to go on a cruise. To save money, they brought crackers and cheese to eat. After a couple of days, the steward asked them why they hadn’t been to meals. They explained that their situation and he told them that all meals were included in the price of their tickets. After that they fully enjoyed all the ship had to offer them. God wants you to be His child. He wants you to accept the gifts and blessings he has for you. Have the courage to accept his good and perfect gifts, rather than digging in the world’s dump for dried out husks.

Do you see what I see

Welcome back to Unseen. I apologize for the delay due to technical difficulties. Today's post concerns the very essence of living Unseen.

Do You See What I See?

We fix our eyes on what is unseen, not on what is seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are unseen are eternal. 2 Cor 4:18

When I was growing up, I spent a lot of time at my grandparents’ house. Many Friday nights I would spend the night with them. They had an amazing assortment of interesting gadgets. These often occupied my attention while they were watching Lawrence Welk and Heehaw.  There was a covered wagon made out of pewter, a box of “rattlesnake eggs” (a noise making gag toy), and an Emmet Kelly doll. One of my favorite things at their house was a triangular prism. I loved to hold it up to different kinds of light and see the colors it unlocked. The window, the light fixture and the television all had their own special rainbows. I would walk around the house with the prism up to my eyes just to enjoy the interesting perspective. It showed me things that I couldn’t see otherwise.

The same thing is true in our spiritual lives. We look at the things we see around us and often see hurt and injustice. This is a fallen world, and whether through consequences or our own actions, spiritual warfare, or whatever reason, there is a lot of suffering. It is much more difficult to find the hand of God in these situations. This Sunday was the day after Christmas, and in church we read about Herod’s murder of the innocents. The preacher admitted to sometimes skipping past this difficult passage, and I understand. It raises some difficult questions.  What kind of monster kills hundreds of children just to eliminate one? Why would God allow it? Where was the justice? He went on to show how God did work through the situation, not only in sparing Jesus life, but by working in the bigger picture. One of the things that he said is that even in terrible circumstances, God is present. Also, there are forces at work that we can not see.

I know that this is true in my life. There are things in my life that are not as I want them. I am personally dealing with hurt and injustice. I can see though, that God is blessing me even in the midst of my trials. In many cases, the blessings are not in material things or in circumstances changed that I can see. Instead, they are the blessings of watching my teenagers learn to reach out to God and accept the faith that we have tried to instill in them as their own. They are the blessings of God’s sustaining grace in my storm. Looking back I can see how things lined up for God’s glory and my good. The storm is not over yet, but God is still in it with me. 

It is so easy to look at the mountains in our lives and become discouraged. Instead let us remember what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:17 and 18.

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more     exceeding [and] eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen [are] temporal; but the things which are not seen [are] eternal.

Just like the prism was able to reveal things I could not see due to the physical limitations of my eyes, so the Holy Spirit can reveal things that I can not see because of my limited spiritual eyes. Take heart and learn to see the things that are unseen, in your own life and the lives of others.

High Priest

Welcome to Unseen this week. It has been a wild week and I have been tempted to feel alone. I was reminded of an experience from my past that showed me the folly of that. Read on

High Priest

We do not have a high priest who cannot understand our weaknesses, but he was tempted in all things, just as we are, yet without sin.  Heb 4:15

    I was talking to my child the other day about sports.  I told him that when I was in high school the coaches would come out on cold days wrapped up in t-shirts; sweat shirts, quilted coveralls, jackets, gloves and hats.  We would come out in our sweats, and they would say, “Go run. It’s not cold.”  We always complained that of course it wasn’t cold to them in all their layers.  Off we would go, shivering and grumbling.  About half way around we would meet the boys coming the other way.  There was one important difference though.  Their coach was running right along with them. Dressed the same way and willing to undergo the same thing he asked them to, he would encourage us as well.  He did not let them get out of the workout, but he went through it with them.

    We have the same privilege.  We do not have a God who sits up in the expanse of heaven and shouts out rules to us.  He did not just start the world spinning and then watch to see how bad we would mess it up.  He came to earth, personally, in the form of Jesus.  He was tempted like we are. He felt the pain and joys we feel.  After leaving us a path to follow, he paid the price for our sin and shame. 

    I worked with a lady once who had problems, which had isolated her. She told me that she was complaining to God and said, “Lord, do you have any idea of what it is like to be rejected?” She said that in her spirit she felt that God was laughing, because of course he knew exactly how it felt to be rejected.

    Take heart when you feel alone. When temptation feels like it is too much for you, be assured, you have a God who has not left you alone.

The bigness of small

Welcome to Unseen today. When we live as unseen, it is easy to minimize the effect of our service ande our work. Read on for a lesson I learned on what is important.

The bigness of small

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 1 Cor. 1:27

Every year when I was growing up we had the Peewee Track Meet. As I remember, it consisted of 2 races - the 50 and 100 yard dash.  Each class ran a heat and the four winners from each class ran a final. The parent cheered and tried to keep order among twenty five kids waiting in the March wind for their turn to run.  I ran my hardest every year, only to watch the rest of the class pull ahead of me one by one. After snacks on the football field we would go back to our classroom where the teacher would hand out the ribbons.  The six place ribbons were blue, red, white, yellow, orange and green. (Ugly green, by the way). Then she would pass out maroon ribbons with cartoon kittens trying to look ferocious. They were printed with the words, “I’m a Little Panther”. I have six “I’m a Little Panther” ribbons, each with a slightly different ferocious kitten but no other ribbons. By 5^th grade I tossed them all in the closet.

I have encountered obstacles to goals in my life and sometimes feel that no matter how hard I try still end up with an “I’m a Little Christian” ribbon and no successes. I haven’t achieved some of the big things my family has and often feel that my life and service to God is inferior. Recently a preacher prayed for me that God would continue to anoint me in my work with disabled people. It stopped me in my tracks.  Wasn’t anointing for the big things like preaching or singing? I know He has anointed my writing and my music, but what about my work? Does God care when I try to soothe tears of frustration or chase flailing limbs with socks?  Is he present when I coax a smile out of someone who is locked inside a broken, twisted body? Does it bring Him Glory when I show up with a smile when I would rather be home in bed? How about when I love a family member who is acting unlovable? Could it be that these things bring him as much honor as the “big things”?

Recently at our church we had a series on “Extras”, the minor characters in the Bible. Take the Christmas story. The major characters are Mary, Joseph and Jesus, but God chose to include a host of extras, to make the story richer. He included the innkeeper who gave them a place, although not the best place. He included the shepherds who the equivalent of today’s rednecks, the wise men who were foreigners with vastly different customs and beliefs and two elderly people in the temple who were waiting for Messiah.  The next time the enemy tries to tell you that your life or service is inferior, take the advice of Joyce Meyer. “Just stomp your little holy foot and tell him that he is a liar.          

Lost in Translation

Welcom to unseen.  Many times when we live unseen we feel like we are not getting through to God and he is not getting through to us. Read on for what to do when you feel like you and God are not speaking the same language.

Lost in Translation

When the spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. Matt 12:46

                My mother taught for many years and for the last several years she worked with students in English as a Second Language.  Many times there were communication breakdowns. After Mom corrected one little girl’s behavior, the child said, “Who was that teacher that was here last year?”

                “You mean Miss So-and-So?” asked Mom.

                “Yeah,” said the girl. “I sure do miss her.”

                One boy told her that he would be out the next day because he was going to the eye doctor to get glasses. “Oh,” she said. “Are you near-sighted or far-sighted?”

                He replied, “I’m not ‘cited at all. I don’t want glasses.”

                Do you ever feel like when you try to communicate with God, things get lost in translation? The goal of this book is to help you learn to tune in to the things God can say to you in everyday life. The most important tool to accomplish this is the Holy Spirit. Jesus explains the Spirit’s role in John 14:15-17. He will guide us into all truth. He will remind us of the things we have been taught. He will intercede for us with groanings that are too deep for words.  We also read in Romans 11:34, “Who has known the mind of God or who has been his counselor?”

We are finite beings and God is an infinite God. Knowing that we would be limited in our ability to communicate with Him, He provided for our needs from the start. It is up to us to accept the help that is available to us.  If you feel that you and God are speaking different languages, be willing to go to the one who can intercede and interpret for us.