They Stood Together

 

At the gate of Heaven she and he stood together, the woman and the man who had bombed her city. They died on the same day. Different causes, she by mortar, he by a tiny grain of sand in his heart. He recognized her somehow, though they'd not met before and her city was one of many. He was afraid, of her and of the judgment he would face.

"Is that Saint Peter?" He asked her, pointing.

"No," she answered. "That's my father. He died ten years ago and has come to welcome me." 

The man looked around bleakly. He did not see his own father.

"Maybe he's coming later," she suggested and felt sorry for him.

"No," he said. "I am alone here."

"I'm with you," she said, unsure why they were there together.

Suddenly, it dawned on her.

"I forgive you," she said simply.

He smiled. He looked like a shark when he did it.

"I do not deserve your forgiveness," he said.

"You think you're the only one who has killed someone," she said.

Unnerved, he asked, "Did you?"

"If you have hated someone in your heart it's the same as murder," she explained.

He thought she was wrong about that and asked for proof. 

Her father had a Bible and it spoke aloud to them.

"Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. 1 John 3:15."

Have you ever heard a book speak? Sounds like thunder.

"Ok," he nodded. "So we are both guilty."

"There is forgiveness," she said.

"Even for me?" He hoped.

"There is enough forgiveness to go around," she said.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why is there forgiveness for me?" He paused, then added, "And for you."

"Jesus," she said.

"Jesus?" He knew the name, but he didn't know it. As he lay dying he had said it a thousand times, hoping his mother's stories were true.

They were.

What is This?

 

Her phone rang in the elevator. It was a prayer request, so she held up the flat rectangle and prayed in Tongues. Quietly. Calmly.

The doors slid open, bringing in two souls, a man who was smart but unwise and a woman who was a wise fool. The pair stood silently and faced forward as she completed the prayer and put the phone away.

"Do you speak English?" The man asked.

She nodded yes.

"I have to ask," said the man. "What was that beautiful language?"

She answered simply, "I don't know. I was praying in Tongues."

Important silence filled the space.

He had a million questions, but didn't know how to ask them.

His foolish partner spoke up, "What were you praying?"

"I don't know," came the honest reply.

Now the man really had questions.

He spoke out of the side of his mouth without turning, "It seemed like a real language."

"Yes." The praying woman agreed.

"Not just sounds," the man added, "I always thought it was just sounds."

His friend asked, "Can you see the future?"

"No," said the praying woman, then, "Sorry."

It made him uncomfortable. He understood most everything, or so he told himself, but not this.

The elevator opened and they got off on the same floor. The praying woman went one way. The two of them went the other.

Some Say the Rose of Sharon

 

Others say the Prince of Peace.

But I can tell this old world, He's been a Rock and a Shelter for me.

Hallelujah

To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time

 

Gather ye Rose-buds while ye may,

    Old Time is still a-flying:

And this same flower that smiles to day,

    To morrow will be dying.

The glorious Lamp of Heaven, the Sun,

    The higher he's a getting;

The sooner will his Race be run,

    And neerer he's to Setting.

That Age is best, which is the first,

    When Youth and Blood are warmer;

But being spent, the worse, and worst

    Times, still succeed the former.

Then be not coy, but use your time;

    And while ye may, go marry:

For having lost but once your prime,

    You may forever tarry.

Robert Herrick, 1648

What do I remember most of the years gone by? Taking my boys to our smalltown homeschool co-op. That day we couldn't find the shoes and a bumper sticker ahead of us reminded me God allows U-turns. I remember funny things. A joke, a smile. A friend in the rain, a coincidence to run into each other at that statue on Monument Avenue. It's gone now, torn down, like those old days. 

But are they gone? 

They live in my heart with my sons winning awards and that camping axe and patches for vests and long-practiced songs. I have forgotten most of the other songs and the pop stars who sang them, and why our hair was so big. I wore a white dress and long gloves at my wedding. I got married! I remember the army of bagpipers on that wonderful day. My husband taught me to drink coffee. I love it and I love him. 

One day Jesus showed up in my life and changed me all of a sudden. I was that and now I am this. My non-believing friend dreamed of Him. Do you know colors we've never seen before swirl around the Messiah? I have prayed and have been answered. It's a feeling that's hard to describe, somewhere between shock and surprise. 

To the virgins, to make much of time. I say that even to us, the ladies here in blogland and Jon. I am old, but I have been young. My hair is as white as my wedding dress and I am wise. Wise? I still have so much to learn. 

Make the most of it. We shall not pass this way again.

Psalm 90:12

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Thanksgiving

 

Let the shalom of Messiah rule in your

hearts—to this shalom you were

surely called in one body.

Also be thankful. 

Colossians 3:15

What is Hanukkah?

 

It's the final day of Hanukkah. Did you know, due to the timing of history, it is mentioned in the Bible only when Jesus observes it in John 10:22? It celebrates a miracle. The oil was enough for one day, but lasted eight.

Who is Jesus, you may ask? Does anyone ask that? Everyone has heard of Jesus, right? A Messiah was promised to the Jews in Isaiah 53. Read that chapter slowly and realize it was written 800 years before Jesus was born. That is not the only prophecy about Jesus. There are many. And how about this one? 

He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. 

John 11:51-52

Do you see how that happened? How do people ignore it? How do people not see? Maybe they don't read these words in the Bible, but more and more in our world lately these words are appearing in the hearts of desperate men. The world is crying out for a rescuer. Our oil is almost gone. What do we do now?

He still calls His people. Read Isaiah 43. He has not forgotten the Jewish people. He has not forgotten you. He calls to you who have not heard this message before or understood it. This is the plan for the redemption of all mankind. You can pray easily. Jesus. That Name is like no other. Try it and see. 

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. 

Romans 10:13

Psalm 27:14

 

Wait for the LORD;

be strong, and let your heart take courage; 

wait for the LORD!