Longing for a break in this world

Some days are hard. Some days are full of stress and anxiety and fear that you long to get away. The problem is that we can't always run away to an all inclusive resort. Vacation and "mental health days" are great but we can't stay there forever.
The Book of Revelation is an authentic taste of what will be. It is a promise that in the end, God wins.      Life may be hard now and unfair. But in the end, God will win. And we get paradise.
I do not think that paradise is a place like Jerusalem but a state of mind, of course that is another whole blog.  But for now let us be content with this.
"All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved." The end will much like the beginning. The God who shaped Eden out of the chaos of our world will shape it into some thing new.  Come Lord Jesus come.

It is amazing to me how I can ask any question and find an answer within seconds on a search engine on my computer. I was surprised to find out that the #1 question asked is "Where is the safest place to stand outside in a thunderstorm?" Jesus liked to ask questions of his disciples like "who do people say that I am?" But really he was far more concerend about their own personal answer. "who do you say that I am?" Friend, teacher, compassionate leader are all good but Peter hits it right on the head.. You are the Christ! He is God in the flesh, he is the king of my life. He is my savior. Of you may have enough common sense to not be caught outside in a thunderstorm but what does your life say about who Jesus is to you? Your answer may be the best thing you do all day.

When life feels like it's on a roll. Sometimes you may feel like life is a big gamble. Like the outcome of your life is resting on how the dice roll for you. If they roll right, you get "lucky". If they roll badly, your life goes down the tubes. It does seem that certain times in our life the stars are in align and there are lots of blessings. Then just when your relax everything seems to fall apart. Others may call this luck. But I don't. That's life and in everything, good or bad I see another hand at work, God. In the past few months my reading of THE STORY I realize that I need to remmeber the UPPER STORY, God will. The Book of Esther is a dramatic portrayl of this. God seems to be silent as his people suffer but then there is Queen Esther standing up to the King and the reversal of fortune of Mordeci. Whew! God was doing some major stuff. There are days you may think God is not around or even cares. But as you read the book of Esther it reminds us that God is active, often behind the scenes, working things out for "the good of those who love him." Romans 8.28 He has put you right where you are, right now, so you can make a difference. You can say the words someone needs to hear. You can be the example someone needs to see. You can help someone find freedom from sin. So let others roll the dice and you let God take care fo the rest.

More to the story

As we read through The Story we meet lots of people like ourselves, maybe some who are even worse. David is one of those people. His little affair with Bathsheba may have not been caught on tape but it was seen by God. When the prophet Nathan says "you're the man" he had a choice, deny, run away or confess. He could have made excuses or blame Bathsheba but instead he chose the better and healthier choice. "I have sinned against the Lord." 2 Samuel 12.13.
And God did with David's sin what he will do with yours or mine. He put it away. Psalm 103: 12-13.
You can so what David did today. Whatever you did on the first week of April you can stop right now and admit you have not only hurt yourself and maybe someone else plus offended God. Isn't that the apporiate thing to do on Holy Week?
And then let another shepherd from Bethlehem forgive it. That's better than any other choice you could make.