Where's Waldo

I imagine that you are familiar with the Waldo character. Blue pants, red and white striped shirt, beanie, brown hair, and round glasses. Perhaps you've spent hours pouring over pages simply CRAMMED with other characters and objects, searching for the ever-elusive Waldo. Or maybe your children have played the computer equivalent. There were even TV episodes starring him for a while.
If you've spent any time at all searching for Waldo, you know that sometimes he can be pretty hard to find. But once you know where he is he sticks out like a neon light.

I've written before about how every page of Scripture whispers about Christ. And I have encountered that again recently as I've studied Ruth. Most teachers I've heard agree that Boaz is a shadow pointing to Christ because he redeems Ruth and Naomi in the story. But as I meditated on chapter two, I saw SO MUCH MORE than just the climactic purchase of the land and marriage of Boaz to Ruth. You see, just after Boaz meets Ruth, he begins to provide for her in extraordinary ways. First he tells her to stay with his own servants for her safety. There was also an element of security for her in knowing that she can return to glean in Boaz's fields throughout the harvest. He provides her the water that his servants have drawn. Later in the day, he gives her so much food that she is unable to eat it all. And He commands his reapers not only to allow Ruth to glean wherever she wanted in the fields, but even to pull out extra stalks of grain for her to gather. This command allowed her to bring home an unheard of amount of grain that first day, which lightened her burden as she worked to provide food for herself and Naomi.

As I pondered these wondrous ways that Boaz generously provided for Ruth, I was reminded of the ways that Jesus provides for His people.

He is our protection.

Of David. The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalms 27:1

The wicked watches for the righteous and seeks to put him to death. The LORD will not abandon him to his power or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial.
Psalms 37:32-33

He is  our security.

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Ephesians 1:13-14

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:6

He is Living Water for our souls.

Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock." Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
John 4:10-14

He is the Bread of Life.

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
John 6:35

He lightens our burdens.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
Matthew 11:28-30

And He does redeem us from our sins!

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Romans 3:23-26
 
In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
1 John 4:10

The Whole Picture

My family loves puzzles. We like to set up a table with a 500+ piece jigsaw and work on it bit by bit until it's done. If you've ever worked a big one like that, you know that for the most part you can pick up a piece and maybe have a general idea where it might fit, but it doesn't really look like much of anything.

Recently we had to do a dresser swap. Somehow no one's clothes quite fit in the dressers they were using. After several trips for supplies, a few coats of paint, and a full day of shifting, we are all settled again. During the middle of the shifting, one of my girls began to tell me how we "should" arrange things. While her idea wasn't bad, what she didn't know was that I had measured several times and made arrangements for the pieces of furniture that we were lacking. So I told her that she couldn't see the whole plan and she needed to trust that I could see the whole plan and that it was a good plan. As I was speaking, it was as though the Lord was whispering the same things in my ear. "Precious child, you don't see the whole plan. You have no idea how much is involved in the circumstances of your life. But I see the whole plan, and it is a GOOD plan. Trust me."

Dear Christian, I don't even know the full details of my own story, much less the details of yours. But I know the God who is writing both our stories into the marvelous fullness of His great story. The story of the greatest Father who sent His perfect Son to reconcile sinners to Himself through the cross. Then sent the Spirit to live in us and work holiness into our lives. And I know He is GOOD! Whatever trials you may be facing, trust in your Father who cares for you!

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:6-7

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isaiah 55:8-9

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
Romans 8:28-32

You can't give what you don't have.

I love to read! I love the feel of covers and pages between my fingers. I love the flow of words on a page. I love the smell of the binding and the paper and the glue. I love stories and poems and informational articles and advertisements. I love libraries because they are overflowing with things to read! And I have done my very best to pass this love on to my children. It's not hard. I've read to them since before they were able to do anything except eat, sleep, and poop. I've taken them to the library for preschool storytime. We've tasted the unfamiliar foods we encountered in stories. We've purchased shelves upon shelves of books. It has been very natural for me to share my love of reading with my children.

Sports on the other hand, not so much. I am not athletic. I HATE to run. I was never able to do a cartwheel (despite the best efforts of dozens of adept teachers). If it requires fancy footwork, I'm probably going to injure myself. If it involves hitting a ball with a stick, I can almost guarantee you that it won't turn out well. With most sports I don't understand the basics of the game, so even watching isn't fun!

Christian, have you tasted that the Lord is good? Do you believe that Jesus is what you need above all? Do you feel your need to spend time with Him through Bible reading and prayer? Do you love Him? Because you can't give what you don't have. If you haven't tasted the goodness of the Lord, how can you share it? If you don't believe that Jesus is the thing you need most, there's no way you will convince your friend that Christ is what she needs. If you don't feel your need for Bible study and prayer and spend your time on it, what does that say to your family about the value of your Father? If you love Him, it becomes the most natural thing in the world to share Him. So, taste and see that the Lord is GOOD!

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation-- if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
1 Peter 2:2-3

I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears..
Those who look to him are radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him
and saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!
The young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
Psalm 34:4-10

Brokenhearted

When I was growing up, my parents were avid news-watchers. While Mommy made breakfast and we got ready for our day, one news program or another was running in the background. The same was true as she made dinner in the evening. Since becoming an adult, I have tried several times to add regular news watching to my routine. I quickly fall away from a regular morning or evening newscast because it seems like nothing but bad news. Needless to say, I tend to catch big headlines a little late.

This was true back in June when the Orlando shooting occurred. The first I heard of it was as we prayed for the victims and their families at church. And it broke my heart. One of my first thoughts was that all those souls, if they had not repented of their sin and trusted in Christ for salvation, were now lost for eternity. Following swiftly on this thought was the horrifying knowledge that there are people who claim the name of Christ who would rejoice over this tragedy.

Fast forward a few weeks, and we have the news of the deaths of two black men at the hands of police, and the shooting of the police officers in Dallas. And my heart is broken again. There are at the very least eight families grieving the loss of a loved one from these events. These were people made in the image of God to reflect His glory, and now they are gone. And in the wake of these tragedies there is hatred spewing from many sides.

Now I am a youngish white girl from Texas, and I don't presume to understand the ins and outs of any of these events. But I will say this, if you claim the name of Christ, there is no place for hatred in your speech, thoughts, or actions towards your fellow image bearers! I don't care how that other person is different from you. You are not the standard. Jesus Christ is. And His standard is love.


The LORD is near to the brokenhearted
and saves the crushed in spirit. 
Psalm 34:18
​
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor;he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives,and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
Isaiah 61:1

The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses. 
Proverbs 10:11-12

Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. 
1 John 2:9-11

If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. 
1 John 4:20-21

I'm Dying

FIRST, while this title was meant to grab your attention (as all good titles are), this is not a melodramatic announcement of a bad doctor's report. I'm not physically dying any more than any other healthy thirty-something on the planet.

I got married right out of high school. I was older than I'd ever been before, and felt mature for an eighteen-year-old, but I was a baby. I changed my last name, and added to my familial allegiances. Almost immediately I was assailed with doubts about committing the rest of my life to this other person. And I died a little.

In short order, I was pregnant with our first child. We were elated. I trudged through morning sickness... and swollen ankles... and all-around discomfort... Then I gave birth, and zombied my way through breastfeeding, and dirty diapers, and sleep deprivation. Then I did it again three more times. And I died a little.

As my children grew, they began to take interest in things that hold absolutely NO appeal for me. But I attended ball games, and played video games, and read books, and splashed in COLD water because they asked, even though I would rather have spent those moments doing other things. And I died a little.

And when I fix that last taco after the children have already made PBJ sandwiches, but one of them says, "Oh! I love tacos! Will you trade with me?" And I say yes this time. I die a little.

Or when there is finally a quiet moment and I have settled in with a cup of coffee and a book. Then the silence is broken by "Mama?", or "Sweetie?" And I respond by putting down my coffee and my book and serving one more time... I die a little.

The list could go on, and if you're reading this, you can probably think of dozens of moments of your own. If we dwell on all we've given up, we could end up feeling really morbid and depressed. But as I thought about and looked up verses that talk about dying (I was actually thinking there was a verse that says to "die to self"), I was so encouraged! We're not just supposed to die. We're supposed to die to sin so that we can LIVE!

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
1 Peter 2:24
 
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
Romans 6:1-5
 
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
 
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
2 Corinthians 3:18
 
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,
2 Corinthians 4:16-17