Only God...

"No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him-
the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough-
that he should live on forever and not see decay...
But God will redeem my life from the grave;
he will surely take me to himself."

Psalm 49:7-9,15

Such truth to ponder. "Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me...My God my Savior ransomed me." Praise, awe, humbled..."I'm forever grateful to You, who came to seek and save the lost."

ALL of God's Goodness: Who can imagine

Moses said, " Now show me your glory." And the Lord said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you..." (Ex 33: 18,19)
Wow! What must that have been like? God's glory displayed by all His goodness. We continually see and experience God's goodness, yet I think that we only recognize it in snatches. We attribute this blessings and that provision we receive to God's goodness. We proclaim the delight of experiencing God's creation in a fresh snow or brilliant sunset as His goodness to us. I think that I tend to look at God's goodness as a dividend here and a dividend there, yet he is always good, all the time. It is His character. "You are forgiving and good, O Lord." (Ps 86:5) When I fail to recognize God's goodness at all times, then I am failing to recognize the extent of His glory. For it was the manifestation of all His goodness that was God's means of showing His glory to Moses. Oh, that I might not be short sighted. Oh, that I might recognize all of God's goodness, all of the time, so that I might behold His glory!

Raised Hands

Three times (Ex. 23, 24 & Deut. 16) God makes this amazing exclamation. "No one is to appear before me empty-handed."
How do I come before my Lord, my God? Too often it is with wanting hands. Yes, those are empty. Oh that I may first come with hands filled with praise, adoration, exclamation, admiration, and proclamation to my God for who He is, what He has done, and what He is to do. Then as He receives my "sacrifice of praise" (Heb. 13:15) I will have hands ready to be filled with His goodness.

A Friday Night Teen Night talk

On Friday nights, The Coffee Oasis in about two things: a fun safe place and Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. God has given us the privilege of providing that two-fold emphasis for almost 12 years now. Wow! Over that time God has brought hundreds of kids through the doors. Sometimes kids have come back after "outgrowing" the Friday Night Teen Night to thank us for providing a safe place. Some have come back to thank us for telling them about Jesus.
Ten years ago a young man, John, came just about every week. He found Teen Night to be a fun safe place as he was weathering those difficult years of high school. John wasn't a particularly popular kid. He was slight in stature and was finding his niche in the ROTC as Bremerton High School and was most excited about his involvement in the Orienteering Club. We weekly hung out with John: played pool and table games, talked about his life and most importantly we talked about Jesus, lots!
John will never come back to thank us for a fun safe place. Nor will he come to thank us for talking to him about Jesus. John committed suicide a couple of weeks ago.
In the book of Psalms God describes people in two ways: a tree that flourishes by the stream or as chaff that is blown by the wind. What is it that makes the difference in what a person becomes? It is what they do with God and His Word. That same Psalm (1) identifies people with one of two labels: righteous and wicked. Romans 3:23 says that we all start out wicked; "All have sinned..." I was there, many who come through the doors of The Coffee Oasis are still there. Romans 6:23 says there is one penalty for that sin which we all have and that is death. Yet, John 3:16 says that God loved us so much He send His one and only Son, Jesus, to pay that penalty of death. But, we must accept it.
John didn't ever accept that gift of life and without it, the burdens of this earthly life became too much for him. He never found God's hope and forgiveness.
Acts 16:31 simply says, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved." We do not have to dry up to chaff that is blown about by the wind. Jesus offers life and hope. Believe.

Not Forgotten

"God remembered Noah and all the wild anaimals and the livestock that were with him in the ark..." (Genesis 8:1)
Sometimes when we are in the middle of what God has called us to do and things are just carrying on and on, we feel like God has sort of forgotten about us. We would like a bit of reassurance that we are where we are supposed to be and doing what God is still wanting us to be doing. I think that is how Noah was probably feeling 150 days into God's flood as he carried on his daily duties aboard the ark. As we know, God hadn't forgotten Noah and all the animals and neither has He forgotten us. Faithfulness is all He asks of us. He will not forget, He will remember. And as He sent the wind over the earth for the waters to recede, He will continue to minister to us through His Holy Spirit as we carry through the task that He has set before us. Praise God.

Basking in God's Goodness

Every good and perfect gift is from above...(James 1:17) Wow, have I felt poured down upon. Remember the old hymn, There Shall be Showers of Blessings. Beside the beauty of the snow that we have delighted in this past week, I have been filled to the full with the delight of family. To begin with, our Coffee Oasis family is so excited about Jesus. The worship and praise times have been bonding to our Lord and Savior. And the excitement of proclaiming Him to the individuals that God brings along our paths is invigorating. I can't put words to the excitement of seeing others grasping God's salvation and amazing goodness. Our larger Hope in Christ family has enthusiastically entered into God's moving to provide the drive thru to expand the Coffee Oasis business and training. God's provision has been unbelievable. It is on Him alone that we depend and He alone has provided! Showers of Blessing!
Then yesterday (Christmas) we were warmed to the depths of our hearts as we spent the day with our children, grandchild(!), parents, siblings, neices and nephews and 4 "extra" family. Oh, the blessing of a godly heritage. Oh, the sweet fellowship with those with whom we have shared life for so many years. God has been, is, and will be truly good, always!

They Found Him

"So the shepherds hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen Him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child." (Luke 2:16,17) "'...a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.'" (2:11)
I am constantly challenged in my heart to "spread the word concerning what has been told to me about this child." Yet sometimes I feel so inept. How do I turn a conversation to what is so important to me. It's easy to talk about anything else that I'm jazzed about. And I am jazzed about Christ the Lord. Oh, that I would be bold. Oh, that I would glow from the edges just as the photo of our lawn display shows.