Chosen

"and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him." (Romans 8:17)

When I was a kid, adoption wasn't often discussed. I remember thinking it must be bad to be adopted. I can recall hearing people speaking in whispers, "She doesn't know she's adopted." In retrospect, I still don't understand the secrecy in most cases.

Now I know several couples who've adopted children, usually at a significant financial cost. Attorneys' fees, other fees I probably don't even know about, travel expenses sometimes. But it's not about the money to those couples. It's never about the cost.

It's about bringing someone else into the family.

Oftentimes, the couple I know who've adopted a child have traveled to a foreign country and chosen a child. And that's the word I wanted to get to when I started this blog.

Chosen.

We refer to the Israelites as God's chosen ones. And they were. They were His people.

Then Christ died for us, and a new covenant took effect. A covenant under which I was adopted. Suddenly I was one of God's chosen. Me! Who am I to be chosen by God? The Israelites could trace their lineage and tell you which tribe they belonged to. Meanwhile, I'm a mutt. If I did one of those DNA tests, I figure it'd look like a wheel of fortune. A little slice of this, a tiny sliver of that, and a whole lot of how-did-that-end-up-there? Like a chihuahua and a Great Dane.

But you know what? It doesn't matter whether I can trace my ancestry back to the Mayflower, the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria, or even a boat on the sea of Galilee.

God adopted me. He chose me. I didn't deserve it. I can't earn that inheritance. I will never be worthy of being His child. And yet ... here we are.

So I encourage you to consider what that means for us. What does it mean to you, personally, to be adopted, chosen by God? Blessed. Humbled. Thankful.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

• Spend some time thinking about the cost of your adoption--Christ's sacrifice. Really think about what that means, to be chosen by the Creator to be one of His own children.

A Love That Lasts Forever

"For the mountains may depart
    and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
    and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”
    says the Lord, who has compassion on you." (Isaiah 54:10)

This verse was part of our daily Bible reading this week. I read it a couple of times.

"... my steadfast love shall not depart from you ..."

People come and go in our lives. Someone moves away. Friends grow apart. Let's face it, sometimes people fight and choose to end a relationship.

We're often amazed when we hear of a couple celebrating a lengthy marriage. Fifty years. Seventy-five. Or maybe you know of someone who's been friends their whole lives. I'm friends on Facebook with the little blonde girl who was my best friend in first grade. That's been a year or two.

But no matter how long a marriage lasts, no matter how long you've been friends with that kid from first grade, a love that lasts forever is nearly beyond human comprehension. Especially--especially!--when you consider how unlovable we often are.

Imagine a mountain. Pick any mountain. Doesn't even have to be a mountain. It can be a really big hill. Now try to figure out how long it'll take for the wind and the rain to wear that mountain down into a plain. I can honestly say I've never seen that happen. Our yard has a distinct slope to it. Enough that one section could even be called a small hill. And no matter how much dirt ends up in our driveway every time it rains, that slope hasn't flattened out.

Now imagine a God who will always love you. No matter how long you live. No matter what you do. No matter the storms that come into your life. He will always love you. (Mind you, I'm not condoning a life of sin just because God loves you anyway. The Bible is very clear regarding punishment for sin.)

Not only does He love me, He has compassion on me. Merriam-Webster defines compassion as a "sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it." God is always aware of my sufferings (those storms I mentioned). I am never alone.

How can I not love such a God? How can I not want to worship Him and give Him my all?

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

• Look back on your life and consider the times you know you were unworthy of God's love. Write them down. Then throw the page away, because God loves you anyway.

The Danger of Shallow Roots

"rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving." (Colossians 2:7)

I am a notoriously bad gardener. When I buy a poinsettia in December, the poor thing starts dropping leaves before I get it home. When I tried to grow bean plants with my great-nephew--beans! Everyone can grow beans!--the only thing that sprouted in that foam cup was a sad little fungus.

Seriously. I can kill a plastic plant.

Both my parents had green thumbs. Mom kept houseplants alive for years, rooting new ones from cuttings with ease. Daddy had a garden in the back yard which flooded the kitchen counters with tomatoes, peppers, okra, and lettuce. Mom stuck a sprig of mint in a bed beside the patio once, and the stuff flourished.

So while I can't grow anything green to save my life, I understand about roots. One of the best examples I can think of to demonstrate roots are cottonwood trees. If you don't have cottonwoods (also known as poplars) in your area, Bradford pears will work for this illustration, too.

Cottonwoods grow tall. I mean, really tall. They can tower over neighborhoods, growing year after year, blanketing everything with their fluffy, white-fibered seeds. Making most of us sneeze. When I was growing up, we had a really big cottonwood in the back yard. The roots from that tree branched out, blocking pipes, crawling across the yard, tripping us up every chance they got.

But you know what? Those far-reaching roots weren't deep. One day, that tree literally fell over. Same thing has happened in my current neighborhood. The builder planted Bradford pears on all the easements. They're all pretty big now, their branches reaching into the sky above rooftops. And ... shallow roots. We've had two fall over in our yard. It's like they just give up one day, and say, "I'm done. I can't do this anymore."

So no matter how big you think your faith is, no matter how strong you believe you are spiritually, if your roots aren't deep, you may find yourself knocked down by a stiff wind. The winds of doubt, winds of change, winds of trial and tribulation. So many winds out there. Please make sure your roots are deep.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

• How can I make sure my roots are deep enough to withstand trouble? Which of my friends can I turn to to help shore up my roots if needed?
• What areas can I work on to strengthen my roots?

Higher Ways, Plans, & Waiting

"For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:9)

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11)

"Wait for the Lord;
    be strong, and let your heart take courage;
    wait for the Lord!" (Psalm 27:14)

During the past week, I had the opportunity to talk to two young ladies. Neither was happy about the situation in which they found themselves. Completely different situations, and these girls are separated by a decade. While I quoted scripture to both of them, I didn't quote these three scriptures. But in retrospect, all three apply (and I happen to know both young ladies read my blog).

The first, I believe, speaks to both a warning and a promise. The warning, that I--and you, too--just don't have the capacity to think of everything, to always know the right way, or to always make the right choice. Thus, I look to God. The promise? Well, it's the same thing. There's always One whose thoughts, whose ways, whose answers will be better than mine. My life may not always work out perfectly, but if I'm following His ways, my life's imperfections are easier to bear and easier to work with.

The second ... I hear that verse quoted so often. The context (because, as my favorite preacher says, "Context is everything.") is God speaking to the Israelites in Babylonian captivity. The prophet Jeremiah, with pen inspired by God, is encouraging the exiles. "Hold one. This isn't the end. God has plans for you, and they're good plans." Of course, that's paraphrasing. But I want both of these young ladies to remember: what you're going through is not the end. I may not know what they are, but I know God has many blessings in store for you. Trust me on this.

And then there's that last verse. Waiting. I hate waiting. Don't you? The doctor's office. Restaurants. Movie lines, amusement parks, the post office ... don't even get me started on traffic. But then we have that little phrase ... it's worth the wait. Even the examples I used above are usually worth the wait, aren't they? The doctor makes you feel better, you get a good meal, watch a good movie, all of those examples.

So how much more worth the wait are God's blessings? I've watched so many people wait and pray while waiting. Do we always get the answer we want, even after waiting and praying? No. And I'm not going to pretend we understand life's disappointments. But I do know, at the end of the day, and more importantly, at the end of my life, God loves me.

God does have plans for you. I don't begin to know them because of that first scripture. His thoughts will always be higher than mine. His plans will always be better than mine. And if I wait and pray, I know I'll spend eternity in a life better than I can imagine.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

• Think about those situations in your life about which you're unhappy. List them (as in, write them down). Now pray about those specifically.
• Wait. Pray some more. Look for God's blessings that may be unexpected answers to your prayers.

What Do You Bleed For?

"And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them." (1 Kings 18:28)

You're trying to figure out where I'm going with this verse, aren't you? Bear with me. (I say that a lot in these devotionals, don't I?)

A little context. The prophet Elijah challenges the people of Israel (under Ahab's ungodly rule) to pick who they intend to follow. He tells them if the Lord is God, to follow Him, but if Baal is, to follow him. He goes on to call the prophets of Baal to meet him. Y'all know this story, right? It's one of my favorites.

The prophets of Baal build their altar, ready their sacrifice, and pray. And pray. And pray some more. From morning until noon, they cry out to Baal, and there is no answer. To add insult to injury, Elijah's standing on the sidelines mocking them. Mocking their so-called god. "Maybe he's sleeping. Maybe he's in the bathroom." You have to admire that kind of smack talk.

The idolatrous prophets double their efforts. They cry and cut themselves "... until the blood gushed out ..." And that brings me to the title of this blog.

What do you bleed for?

So many things demand our attention. Jobs, school, hobbies, family, friends, entertainment, health issues. None of these things are bad, in and of themselves. But when they become a higher priority than serving God, do they not become idols? What are you crying out for? What are you willing to bleed for?

What do you bleed for?

Oh, and in case you're not familiar with this story and its ending, Elijah finally has enough. He digs a trench around his own altar and readies the bull for sacrifice. Three times he calls for four jars of water to be poured on the altar, the bull, and the wood. So much water the trench is filled. Then he calls on the Lord. The true and living God. And that God--THE God--sends down fire from heaven that burns the bull, the wood, the altar, and even the water in the trench.

What do you bleed for?

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

• What are the things in your life that sometimes distract you from truly worshiping God? Name them specifically and pray for those areas to remain where they should in importance.
• Join me in praying for focus so we never lose sight of the God we serve.

Tattoos and Engravings

"Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
    your walls are continually before me." (Isaiah 49:16)

When I first considered writing these devotionals, I asked my friends on Facebook to tell me what their favorite scripture is. I got this one about three times. I think that speaks volumes about believers.

We take strength and comfort in knowing we belong to God.

I have three tattoos. Each one means something special to me. One is a combination of the meaning of my kids' names. One is a quill pen (writing), with three tiny hearts (my husband and children), and the inscription COL317 (Colossians 3:17, which I blogged about earlier). The third is Hebrew, eshet chayil (that's the woman in Proverbs 31, and it means woman of valor).

Each of those tattoos was somewhat painful to have done. And they're permanent. To have them removed is even more painful, I'm told, and it's an expensive procedure. More costly than the original tattoo. So before I got my tattoos, I thought about it. I considered it. I weighed questions. And then I got them (not all at once). And now, when anyone asks about my ink, I'm proud to explain what each tattoo means.

Engravings are much the same. I wear my grandmother's wedding band alongside my own. Engraved on the inside are my grandparents' initials and their wedding date: EM to CM 8-22-25. Almost 100 years, and the engraving is still clear. To remove it would destroy the slender band.

If my tattoos and the engraving on that ring--and what they represent--mean that much to me, how much more do I mean to God that He engraved my name on His hand? My name. Your name. The name of every one of His children.

Engraved on His hand.

That's permanent. I belong to Him. I can choose to reject God, but He's not going to remove my name or cover it up like that ex-boyfriend's or girlfriend's name.

Engraved.

Think about that. Think about the assurance of belonging to the Most High God. The Creator.

I will never be worthy of having my name on His hand. But thanks be for grace and mercy and forgiveness. Because without those, my name would not be there.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

• This blog is all about encouragement, so how can you use this verse to encourage someone today? How can you use this verse to show how God loves us?

Leaning

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not lean on your own understanding." (Proverbs 3:5)

That was one of my mother's favorite scriptures. But she didn't just love that passage. She lived it. Every day of her life, she lived that verse.

Mom would've been 88 years old today. I was beyond blessed to have had her in my life for almost 50 years. Because to have that kind of example is absolutely a blessing.

It was my mother who lead my father to Christ. It was Mom who taught about a million Bible classes--pretty much all ages. It was Mom who set an example for me of how to be a wife and mother, how to be a friend and sister, how to be a Christian.

When I say she lived that verse, I mean it. Mom trusted the Lord would always love her. And no, she didn't live a completely carefree life--she had a husband and four kids, after all. But during those times she didn't understand why sometimes things turned out the way they did, she never lost that trust in God, the trust that He was in control.

The funny thing is, Mom didn't talk about this a lot. I mean, she talked about Jesus, His love for us, her love for Him ... her walk with Him. But I don't remember her ever specifically talking about this verse and what it meant in her life. Instead, she truly did embody this type of faith.

Mom's been gone about seven years now, but every time I hear this verse, I think of her. Every time I question why something has happened in my life, I think of her trust. And I thank God for her every day and the example she was to me and others.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

• How can you apply this verse to your life and live it on a daily basis?