My Deliverer, the Prince

I sit…Crouched miserably against damp, cold stone walls. Shafts of dusty light filter in through the grated opening above my head. Dirty rats scurry around my feet fighting over the few dry crumbs left from my last meal…a small crust of bread. My hands and feet are chaffed by the heavy chains that bind them to the iron pins driven fast into the echoing walls. The deathly silence that hangs though these halls is cut only by the continual drip of a broken water pipe somewhere next door. The only thing worse then sitting in this miserable cell day after day is the thought of the warden’s next visit. His coming is petrifying. It seems that when he arrives I can only crouch all the lower and listen as he rehearses all my failings and all the acts that brought me here in the first place. And it seems his greatest delight is in reminding me of my sentence…death. I don’t argue with him. I know my sentence to be just. I sit miserable, alone and trapped. 

Until one day…

I hear footsteps in the hall and cringe inwardly. The warden again. Protestingly the door creaks open, as if to spare me the wrath to come. This time though, no voice is lifted. The footsteps cross the floor to where I sit huddled in a miserable heap and quietly stop. I dare not look up. I can’t stand to stare that cruel master in the eye. Finally though curiosity gets the better of me. I catch a glance and 

quickly hid my face again, driving it deeper into the dirty folds of my coat. Even worse…the prince of the beautiful country. Why would he come to talk to me, but to tell me my day of judgement has come. He continues to stand beside me silently and finally I dare to peek again. This time I look up into His face. Instead of cruel hard lines, there lies an expression of pitying tenderness. Intrigued, I find myself relaxing in His presence. Finally, after much silence He stoops down. Gently taking my dry calloused hand in His own He asks simply, “Will you allow me to take these off”. Silently with puzzled expression I nod. Taking the key, He fits it into the lock and I hear a “click” as the barrier that has bound me for so long is suddenly released. He then turns His attention to the ankle chains and after a second “click” they fall with a mighty clank that resounds down the long halls. I stand in awe. I must be dreaming. But tenderly His strong mighty hand grasps my tiny feeble one.

Lifting me to my feet He brushes off the dust on my rags. Then taking His fine coat He places it around my trembling shoulders. Turning to face me, His eyes lock with mine. He opens His mouth. “You are free to go.” I feel a hard cold object pressed into my hand. “The key to open any lock in this prison” He says simply. Questioningly I gaze at the key, the coat. The words finally come falteringly. 

“Why? Why have you done this? I don’t deserve it…I don’t understand.” 

“I love you, I want to give you a second chance. I want to allow you the opportunity to be a child of the King. He has already agreed to adopt you into His family.” 

“But what of my sentence? My past? My records? Surely if He knew who I really am He wouldn’t want me.” 

“They are clean. I have taken your place. I have taken your sentence. And yes, He knows exactly who you are and your past. But if you choose to put this prison behind you and keep on my coat He looks at you as a new person.” 

“NO! Let me die! You don’t deserve it, I do! It’s all my fault” I cry.

Quietly He answers, “No, it’s already been settled. Leave here today and be free, only go and sin no more.” 

“Is there anything I can do to repay you?” I reply with tears streaming down my face.

“See the key that lies in your hand?”

I nod. 

“There are thousands in this same prison who are chained as you are. Go, go and help them with their chains. Tell them what I have done. Tell them I died that they might live.”  

I fall to my knees before my deliverer. Broken that such a one would die for me and determined to tell all I could find of the one who saved me from the clutches of death.  

“For the wages of sin is death…but the gift of God is Eternal Life…through Jesus Christ, (our Prince, our deliverer), our Lord.” Rom 6:23

"Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us; we implore on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Cor. 5:17, 20-21

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.”  John 3:16

“I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins.” Is. 43:25

LOVE came down...

Light, exceeding brightness, streams from the glorious exalted throne. Golden arches reflect the shimmering ripples of the crystal river flowing peacefully between the trunks of the tree of life. The golden glistening grass upon the surrounding hills waves slightly in the gentle breeze forming cascades of gold and green down the slopes. Sweet music floats softly through the air causing the vaults of heaven to ring with glorious strains. And suddenly, thousands and thousands of voices lifted triumphantly in praise and worship join in, joyfully proclaiming blessing and honor and glory and power to Him that sits upon the throne. There your honored commander, the one whom it is your greatest delight to serve, the one who is the reason for your joy and rejoicing sits with His father. You love to wait before Him and hearken to His bidding. Service in His courts is bliss and altogether beautiful and fulfilling. You can’t imagine life without Him. 

And yet one day He calls all heaven together for a special meeting. As the angels of light join you in rapt attention the Prince of Paradise explains that because one little planet that He created has rebelled against Him, He must leave the glory of heaven, the adoration of the angels, the love of His Father, and the peace of the surrounding courts, that He might save fallen man. Startled you look up with questioning eyes. How could your LORD leave this beauty and humble himself to live on a degraded planet. At least the people there should be impressed by His greatness and majesty. But your Master continues to explain that He will not go to earth as He is or they could not endure His brightness. So instead, He will humble himself and become one of them. One of the sinful mortals. He will be born as a baby, and when He is grown will be killed at the hands of those whom He created. You try to grapple with all that has been said. Why would He leave? Why would he subject Himself to such a humiliation? 

Finally you feel a gentle hand upon your shoulder. Looking up you see the face of infinite LOVE. His words bring understanding to your troubled mind. 

“I know you don’t want me to leave. But don’t you agree that we must save the lost? I love them with an unconditional love, I created them, and cannot stand that any should perish, but that all should have life. I am LOVE, and LOVE will sacrifice life itself to save those whom it loves…even though they be undeserving.”

Your Prince turns away and as you watch Him climb the steps back up the throne you are filled with awe. You have seen a new side of GOD, of LOVE. 

When He reaches His Father you see them embrace, the last embrace for 34 years. And then He is gone. Heaven is strangely silent. Everyone’s focus is on a simple country girl, betrothed to a humble carpenter. She is pregnant…with LOVE himself. For 9 long months your Sovereign is carried in a small, fragile human. No one on earth knows that the greatest gift that could be given to the world is about to be born. No one is waiting to welcome their Creator. 

Finally the long awaited day arrives! The Prince of Paradise is born. The long months without Him have ended. Finally you can praise Him and adore Him once again. Your heart longs to shake the world up, to tell them the glad tidings. You look expectantly toward the throne. The Father is watching, eyes fixed upon His only begotten son. Suddenly He looks up and gives the excited command. “Go, go and tell them!” 

Smiles break out and wings take flight. You are soon hovering over the planes of Bethlehem waiting for the signal to break forth your light and song. Soon it is given and you watch the faces of the astonished shepherds as you bring to the world the glad tidings that LOVE is born. 

He has come.

 “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” 

Friend…This Christmas are you as in love with your Savior as the angels who stand around the throne? Are you as willing as they to spread the news that He is not only born, but is coming again? If not, I encourage you to spend this day in mediation of the sacrifice that LOVE made for you. For when you come to grasp a little of the sacrifice and love of heaven in our behalf our songs of gratefulness and praise cannot be quenched. Heaven has touched earth. 

Sing oh heavens and rejoice oh earth for…LOVE came down…for you. 

A Life Worth Living

What are you living for? What makes you get up in the morning? What gets you the most excited? Of what do you love to converse? Where do you find your thoughts drifting during the day? Who/what holds your deepest affections? 

Be honest. 

Most of us, myself included, would come up with answers that were to the general eye moral and upright. We might even pride ourselves with the fact that some of the answers are high and lofty…ministry, family, service, etc. 

But as I have come to a deeper understanding of a Love that is unconditional and unfathomable, a Love that simply asks for everything I have and gives everything He has in return; my pride in my “great” answers has crumbled into a thousand pieces, and a deep seating longing has remained. A longing for my Savior to be the answer to every question.  

For if Christ and Him crucified isn’t the answer to every question…I have a problem. 

If I am living for anything but Him, life isn’t truly fulfilling. If I don’t wake up and long for His face, I’m missing the greatest gift. If I get the most excited about anything other than Him, I don’t truly know the depths to which joy can plunge. If He doesn’t hold my deepest affections, I don’t understand LOVE in it’s beauty and loveliness. 

But if CHRIST is the answer…then I have joy unspeakable, love unfathomable, and peace that passes understanding. 

This is what drives the deep seated longing in my heart that simply grows greater with each passing day. For the more I taste of His loveliness, the more glimpses I catch of His face, and the more I come to hear His beautiful voice, the more I want to know Him. He has become my overwhelming desire. He has ravished my heart and though I don’t understand why He would want a poor little wretch like me, I love Him that much more. 

I don’t want to leave the impression that I’m perfect and I always love Him more than others, or that honestly the answer to all questions would be CHRST. Sometimes I’m scared to talk of Him, and afraid of what might be if I follow Him all th e way. Sometimes I allow things or people to take the highest seat of my affections. But the more I taste of LOVE the fear and shame begin to melt away. And I can truly say that:

I would far rather die young and live for Christ than to die old and live without Him.

Why? 

Because simply...my heavenly Prince has captured my heart. He makes life worth living.

If LOVE hasn’t captured your heart, take away the distractions, lay your heart bare before your Maker and plead with Him to reveal Himself to you. 

He will make Himself known to you. 

For He cannot lie. 

He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. John 14:21

I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me. Proverbs 8:17

Daddy

I'll admit...I'm a Daddy's girl and being all the way across the continent has been hard. I miss our dates together...the hours spent building and remodeling. Fixing tractors and splitting wood. I miss our heart to heart talks and the times we would just spend snuggling. I miss his protective arm around me and sometimes I just crave for a big Daddy hug... 
Today, the separation ends...a least for a few days. I'm so excited! I'll get a real Daddy hug at last! All the months apart have only made reunion the more sweet. 

And then me thought...
I'm a privileged girl! I have not one, but two Daddys! Both have been here from before my birth...leading me, guiding me, directing me, loving me. Both have gently called to my heart asking for my trust and companionship. Both have been there whenever I needed them. Both have given me safety and security and allowed me to rest in their arms. If I am this excited to see my earthly Daddy from whom I've only been months apart...how excited should I be about the news that soon the separation from my Heavenly Father will be over! That soon after a lifetime of apartness I will be able to see him face to face...

And so once again, I've determined to be faithful to the end. That one day I may see his smile upon me, one day receive an embrace. And the years of separation will only make the joy of reunion all the sweeter! 

Summer Adventures

An update on my summer for those who were wondering. :) 

They say a picture is worth a thousand words... so here's a few thousand for you!

Back home from the farm and enjoying a Sabbath on the beach!

 

The expert Crinoid hunter

 Grand Haven with Cousins :)

MI Campmeeting was such a blessing...

We also ran the 5K :)

I have the best running companion! 

Then off to CO to celebrate the 4th with family

The old cousins...

 And the young ones :)

A very special weekend...

2 lives uniting...4 lives embarking on a journey with the Savior

My brother one of them...can there be greater joy?

A very long car ride up to Idaho with my crazy companion! :)

YD camp!

Then down to TN for a midwifery class

Interesting Florida was next... ASI Orlando!

I worked in the kindergarten...but just realized that I was too busy to take pictures! You'll just have to imagine :)

Back home again after 6 long weeks and enjoying blueberries and family!

Isn't he handsome?

He's really strong too! ;)

And crazy :) 

And I love him dearly :)

Family

Hurray!!!