Wounds

A couple weeks ago after receiving an abnormal skin biopsy, I went back to the dermatologist to have the surrounding area removed to ensure "it" was all gone.  I knew I was getting stitches that day but didn't realize the care and discomfort it would cause me.  Having a bandage on sensitive skin for two weeks was not fun.  I was so excited to have the stitches removed on Valentine's Day just in time for a few fun nights out with my love and friends.  We also squeezed in a day at Hollywood Studios with the boys.  Maybe the roller coasters were not such a great idea...

You can imagine my dread and discouragement when I felt something *pop* in the middle of the night.  Yep, the wound had opened.  I {cringe} as I type this and literally almost passed out from nausea when I surveyed the raw wound in the daylight.  (I'll spare you the gory details.)  I was so <mad>.  After calling the doctor, I sort of reeled in the disappointment all day until the Lord revealed something to me that evening.

During a time of worship, He said...

Man tries to heal wounds with temporary fixes such as "stitches".  But God allows open wounds so He can lay His seeds on fresh soil and heal the wounds His way.  "Trust My ways," He said.  The opening of a wound makes us nauseous and uneasy so we must trust in Him to support and sustain us.  Open wounds make us uncomfortable so we take comfort in Him.  When I don't want to or can't get up, He holds me up and comforts me in rest.  We have to look at our wounds and not turn away, so when He heals us, we remember where we were before.  And when He has healed us, we can reflect back and look how far He has brought us.

He allows our scars so that they can be testimonies to others of what He has done.
"Don't hide them," He said.  "Show them.  Talk about them.  Talk about Me."

So, I ask myself and let me ask you, too...

What wounds do I need to let Him open and heal His way?  What scars of mine have a story, a testimony, of Him to be told?  How could those testimonies help others?

By allowing Him to touch our wounds, we can be healed.

the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by His wounds we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5b

"He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross,
so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness;
by his wounds you have been healed.
1 Peter 2:24

PS - Wear sunscreen! ;)

God's Right Hand Man

My boys love to watch Bibleman.  I had never heard of this animated series until Noah's K4 teacher gifted him a DVD for Christmas last year.  My little superheros love watching Bibleman and his friends fight evil with God's Word.  I think the truths are sinking in because the other day Cooper (3) was playing and randomly came up to me in the kitchen and said "mom, I need you to sell me your birthright".  He must have remembered it from hearing the story of Jacob and Esau! haha

One day, I overheard the show quoting Isaiah 41:10...

So do not fear, for I am with you;
    do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

The words "my righteous right hand" kept ringing over and over in my head.  I thought to myself Jesus is seated at the right hand of God the Father.  I couldn't let that thought go so I decided to dive a little deeper and here is what I found...


Jesus was...

John 1:1-5, 9-14
The Word Became Flesh
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

~ Jesus was with God in the beginning.

~ Jesus came down and made his dwelling among us.

Isaiah 48:13a
My own hand laid the foundations of the earth,
    and my right hand spread out the heavens;

~ Jesus spread out the heavens.


Jesus is...

Exodus 15:6
Your right hand, Lord,
    was majestic in power.
Your right hand, Lord,
    shattered the enemy.

~ Jesus is powerful and victorious!

Psalm 17:7
Show me the wonders of your great love,
    you who save by your right hand
    those who take refuge in you from their foes.

~ Jesus saves!

Psalm 18:35
You make your saving help my shield,
    and your right hand sustains me;
    your help has made me great.

~ Jesus sustains!

Psalm 16:11
You make known to me the path of life;
    you will fill me with joy in your presence,
    with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

~ Jesus fills us with eternal pleasures!

Psalm 63:8
My soul clings to you;
    your right hand upholds me.

~ Jesus upholds those who cling to Him!

Psalm 110:1 & Acts 2:34
For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
“‘The Lord (God) said to my Lord (Jesus):
    “Sit at my right hand...

Romans 8:34
Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.

Hebrews 1:3

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

~ Jesus is seated at God's right hand.


In closing, this is my prayer from Ephesians 1:17-23 for anyone who reads this post.

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.  I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

Jesus was, is, and will forever be

God's right hand man!

The Heart Maker's Teachings

If I found a key on the road, and discovered it fit and opened a particular lock at my house, I would assume most likely that the key was made by the lock master.  And if I find a set of teachings set out in pre-modern oriental society that has proven itself of such universal validity that it has fascinated and satisfied millions of people in every century, including the best minds in history and the simplest hearts, that it has made itself at home in virtually every culture, inspired masterpieces of beauty in every field of art, continues to grow rapidly and spread and assert itself in lands where a century ago the name of Jesus Christ was not even heard; if such teaching so obviously fits the locks of so many human souls, in so many times and so many places, are they likely to be the work of a deceiver or a fool?  In fact, it is more likely that they were designed by the Heart Maker...

~ G.K. Chesterton (as quoted by Dr. Timothy Keller)

"You better not just doubt that it's not true.  You better know it's not true.  Because if there is a chance it's true and you miss it, your life is ruined." ~ Timothy Keller

Beautiful, Wonderful Laminin

The months are flying by, the days seem so tight and over scheduled, and the nights are oh so short.  It's only Wednesday, and it's already been a long week.  So, I needed a little pick-me-up, and this video came to mind.  Every time I see it, I instantly get teary-eyed...in a happy way!  If you haven't seen this before, take 6 short minutes out of your busy day to watch it.  You may just learn something new!

For in him all things were created:
things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities:
all things have been created through him and for him.
He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Colossians 1:16-17

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Psalm 139:13-15

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for creating us so intricately beautiful!  You are so good!

If you have a chance, check out this longer version of Louie Giglio's sermon "How Great Is Our God".  It will blow you away!

Hope this helps you get through the rest of the week.  Only 2 days left until the weekend!  Woohoo!

His Names

I carry this bookmark around in my Bible.  It was passed out during a Bible study I was in a few years ago and I've kept it ever since.  Every once in awhile it falls out or I open the front cover and there it is reminding me of how AWESOME our God is!  I love that He is ALL things.  Everything we need Him to be and right when we need Him.  We just have to seek Him.

My favorite is Jehovah-jireh meaning The Lord Will Provide.

When I seek Him, the Lord has always provided for me.  Maybe not when I wanted

and not always in the way I wanted but He has always been faithful in providing for me

according to His perfect plan for my life and for that I am so thankful.

What is your favorite?

Psalm 9:10

Those who know your name will put their trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.