Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Giving Up for Lent



Sorry to post so late. Sometimes weeks and days don't go as planned. Now a month on I thought I would catch up. So why the delay? Namely a broken wrist has made quite a few things difficult. Along with other things the doctor at the hospital said I was upside down....I knew what she meant but won't go into detail. However, I have been thinking alot about things being upside down.

How does life get turned upside down? Why do we feel under pressure to do? Do we sometimnes feel as though all our intentions,tasks and relationships have caved in on top of us?

Jesus said, "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.”

That is, following Jesus leads us to become a certain kind of person with a certain kind of life; namely, one that doesn’t get buried under the pile of sand.... This begs the question, “How did I get so upside down again?” Answer: "Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell--and great was its fall."

The thought of trying to keep my own head above water is a worrying thought. Worrying because I know my foot slips and my head goes under. Yet when my feet are on solid ground then it is easy for the head to be above water. When I am not worried about what I am standing on, when I know how firm the foundation then I can be focussed on the one who offers a foundation.

I love following Jesus, there is no other place I would rather be. I admire and respect him because of his courage and consistency. Jesus knows what to say and do, and how to say and do it. He leads us. He does not pretend to be something that he’s not. He is what He says, and he says what he is. He faces hardship with strength and prayer. He fears no-one, yet he gives himself up even his enemies.

His path is straight and good and walking in it gives a sense of identity and direction, a security that is not about comfort, but confidence and hope.

When with him, all is well and the pile of sand falling around does not seem so bad, after all it is the follish one that would start digging and building with it. For me solid ground that is it......

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