Between the Lines of the Sermon

As we climb up the stairs from the Sunday school classroom to the auditorium, I think about how well the children behaved today. A few of them may have had too much sugar in their cereal this morning. Anyway, we all sit down in the back pew, and the kids start talking. One of them is opening a hymnal, the other flipping through a tract. Don't rip it; don't rip it! - is all I can think. One of the girls is studying a missionary card, and she asks me what a missionary is. "A missionary--" HEY, WHO'S THAT?!? the boy next to me interrupts. "A missionary," I continue, "is a person that tells people about what Jesus did for them." The teacher and I calm the kids down for the singing. The pastor says "...page 541" and one of the kids wants to find it, starting at page one and flipping page by page. She eventually resorts to flipping about  50 pages at one time and finds it, only to sing the last five words of the song. Here comes the prayer... "okay, everyone, we're going to pray now," and I motion to them to fold their hands. "Dear Heavenly Father," the prayer begins, BANG! - there goes that hymnal...

...We're in the middle of the sermon. I've got a girl beside me that found the color-by-numbers page in the coloring book. She can't read, so she needs me to read them for her. Oops. There go the crayons. As I bend down to pick them up, she asks me about the lesson. I wince as the Pastor pauses and she is talking. But her question surprises me... "Jesus loves the children like in our lesson today, right? Is the baby in my picture Jesus? Why is He a baby? Why are there animals all around? I sit up, hands full of crayons, and glance at her pink-skinned baby Jesus, and smile. The important thing about this morning isn't that the kids are perfect and quiet during the sermon, or that the sound of their coloring is soft, but the important  thing this morning is that Jesus loves the little children, and between the lines of the sermon, these children are learning of Jesus's love for them.

Sometimes God speaks to me in church through the great correlating sermon points, but, sometimes like this morning, He is speaking to me through one of His kids, and maybe even through the dropping hymnals and crayons.

Grace in time of Need

Hebrews 4:15-16: For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

But we forget that too easily. We forget that Jesus Christ perfectly understands every single struggle every single human being has ever needed to confront. We also forget that He not only understands us, but He wants us to come to Him for help. We forget that He is the Lord of the universe but He intimately relates to each of us. He will give us grace in time of need; we need to boldly come to His throne of grace... Let me tell you a story of the not-so-observable side of something I recently went through... (but beware... there might be some run-on sentences, for effect :) )

I was feeling alone, empty-hearted, stale, confused, misunderstood... my hope was torn, my life was spinning, and I was dizzy, lost, and disoriented. I was falling, falling, falling... when a thread of confidence and hope surprisingly kept me from hitting the bottom of the pit. The confidence that He felt alone, empty-hearted, stale, confused, and misunderstood, just as I had, and the hope that He wanted me to reach for and receive His comfort and consolation that because of His mercy and grace I would be lifted out of the pit of discouragement and up to the plateau of heavenly peace... was more than my heart could hold and what it could not hold poured itself out in the form of tears.

There you have my personal experience, but the great thing is that He understands Your experience. He is with you, princess of Heaven, and He understands you more than anyone ever will. Reach and receive His comfort and consolation, for because of His mercy and grace He will lift you out of this pit of discouragement and up to the plateau of heavenly peace.

it's a good day

When the flowers smile and the sun shines or rain fragrance graces your nose or the clouds display their silver lining and you just know that today is gonna be a good day, no matter what comes your way :)