loving our enemies

One of Jesus' most difficult teachings is for us to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-47).

um. yeah.

like trying to swallow a watermelon...whole.

but it must be possible.

it has to be.

not in our own strength.

but through the power of the Holy Spirit.

absolutely dependent upon Jesus Christ.

May His strength be made perfect in our weakness.

May He be glorified as we do the hard work, in His strength.

Turning Our Eyes

Thought i would walk through this simple chorus, and what it has meant to me this week.  :-)

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Take your eyes off of anything else. Completely turn your eyes. Not just a bit. Not for just a moment. But completely, steadfastly, resolutely, fix your eyes on Jesus.

Look full in His wonderful face
definitions from dictionary.com (except for His) ~ 
Look: To turn one's eyes toward something or in some direction in order to see.
Full: Exactly or directly.
In: Used to indicate inclusion within space, a place, or limits.
His: the great I AM
Wonderful: excellent; great; marvelous.
Face: The front part of the head.

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace!
As we turn our eyes toward Jesus Christ, all of the cares and worries here are put in perspective. As we turn our eyes to His excellent Word, we are reminded that this world is truly not our home. As we read and meditate on the Bible, we realize that the hooks of materialism and self-love loosen their grip. We see that it is truly ALL.ABOUT.HIM. all we do. all we say. all we are, to His glory.
When the things of earth, those things that we have set our affections on higher than Christ, grow dim, we can walk in freedom. The freedom given to us in Christ.

We start to see things from His perspective.
We love, because we finally see how He has loved us.
We give, because we finally see how much we have been given.
We forgive, because we know the depths of our own depravity, and how very much we have been forgiven by God in Christ.

We can simply be, because we know that our very breath is given to us by Him.

Hub-Bub

hopefully this is not what you are looking like, or feeling like. 


yes. it is December 8th. Seventeen days til the 25th. 


if you are on facebook, you have read the posts of what everyone has been doing. how crazy things are. how frantic their days and weekends are. 
All the hub-bub, for lack of  a better description. 


But i wonder...


What if we didn't: stress, over-spend, over-plan, over-indulge, over- ____?


What if we actually took the time to savor? to recall that, although it is not the ACTUAL day that our Savior, Jesus Christ, was born, it is a season that we remember His coming? And in this focused time of remembering, we can't help but realize that He came to seek and to save that which was lost (you and me), to die a violent death as the price for our sins, and to rise from the grave on the 3rd day. 


Lately i have been absolutely struck by those who were present at the birth of our King. Think about it: Who was there? Mary (duh), Joseph, maybe a female "helper" from the inn, some animals, and.... some shepherds. 

from the book Fit For a King, which
my husband, Brian York, illustrated

shepherds. 


a despised, low-class group of people. they smelled like sheep (oh yes they did!). They were tough. They knew sheep. THEY were the ones who were there THE NIGHT Christ was born. an angel appeared to the shepherds out in the fields of Bethlehem. The shepherds were "sore afraid." In today's words, they were terrified! these shepherds were tough men, able to fight off packs of wolves, panthers, bears, and thieves. These men were MANLY men. you didn't mess with a shepherd. 


Yet these tough men (and maybe women, as there were some shepherdesses), were SORE AFRAID. okay then. The angel had to say to them “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:10-12)
After that, the sky filled with a myriad of angels singing:

"Glory to God in the highest, 

And on earth peace, 

goodwill toward men!”

Just soak that in. here the angels of the Most High God appeared to the lowliest shepherds, who were despised among men, and told them to REJOICE! for the Savior had come! Think forward to how Christ Himself was despised and rejected, and is called the Good Shepherd, the Chief Shepherd, the Shepherd of our souls. 

Here, the shepherds' response (Luke 2:15-20):

When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.”  So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

No wonder that people wondered! the shepherds, of all people, had had the birth declared to them by angels! 

This season, i wonder if we have wondered at the fact:

 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21

 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.. 1 Peter 3:18

 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. John 10:14-15

This season, let's intentionally slow down. let's be different. let's be focused.


I close with a quote from Michael Card's book A Violent Grace:

"Jesus was born to die...so that I could be born again to new life. It is the miracle of a violent grace: God securing for us the priceless treasures of His grace---One violence at a time. Will you open your heart to receive now these costly gifts from your loving Savior?"