Beauty for ashes….

The scenes coming to us daily from Haiti are simply incomprehensible. They are stunning and heart wrenching. The pictures of pain and suffering, of desperate families who have lost loved ones and what few possessions they had, and, most difficult to see, displaced, newly orphaned children…
In the midst of unspeakable anguish, there are images of hope…one picture, especially, grabbed my attention and my heart. The picture was captured by free-lance photographer, Matthew McDermott, as the seven-year old boy, named Kiki, was pulled from the rubble after being trapped for seven days. As he emerged from the rubble, he lifted his arms, as if in praise, and smiled from ear to ear. You Tube refers to the picture as “the smile seen round the world!” The picture speaks volumes to me, and reminds me that, regardless of how desperate and hopeless the situation in Haiti appears, our sovereign God reveals in His word that a time of healing for all nations is coming. It is the reason Christ admonished His disciples to pray, “Thy kingdom come…”


Until that prayer is fulfilled, “the creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed…creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God” (Romans 8:19-21). “The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first” (I. Thess. 4:16). His foot will stand upon the Mount of Olives…”and the Lord will be King over all the earth.” “Thus the Lord my God will come, and all the saints with Him.” (Zechariah 14: 5, 9)

After the temptation in the wilderness, scripture records that Christ began preaching “the gospel (good news!) of the kingdom of God” (Mark 1:14). His first sermon is recorded in Luke 4, verse 18-19. He read from Isaiah 61, “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from the darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor…” Jesus stopped in the middle of the sentence, closed the book and sat down. Imagine the scene….you could have heard a leaf drop, as all eyes were fixed on Him. He went on, “Today, this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” By ending where He did, He showed that His work would be divided into two advents. In His first coming, Christ fulfilled the things mentioned in Isaiah 61:1-2. At His second coming, He will fulfill the things written in verses 2-3. . (The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Bible Commentary, 21st edition).

The people of Haiti have a promise. God’s heart is breaking for them. Just as when Jesus saw the bitter sorrow of Mary because her brother, Lazarus, had died, He wept. Mary fell at His feet and said, “if you’d only been here, this would not have happened…” Some say, if God had been here this would not have happened! Jesus’ response was, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” Christ is coming again. In God’s perfect timing, the second part of Christ’s mission will be fulfilled. He will give “beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified. And they shall rebuild the old ruins. They shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the ruined cities…” (Is. 61:24). As His resurrected saints, all who are His at His coming will have a part in this massive restoration.

“Behold, the Lord God shall come with a strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him…His reward is with Him, and His work before Him (Isaiah 40:10). He will say then as He said to Lazarus, “Come forth!” and there will be smiles seen round the world and arms lifted up in praise.

Bubble Forth!

The holidays are behind us now. Most of the decorative lights that brightened our neighborhood have been turned off and taken down. All of the celebrations, in church, in the work place, at home, are now only memories. Temperatures have plummeted, and without the cheerful lights of the holiday season, the harsh reality of winter has settled in. I can remember sitting on a swing on a Christmas afternoon in West Texas when I was about ten years old thinking to myself, “is this all there is?” All the gifts had been opened. The anticipation was gone. What was there to look forward to? What was there to celebrate? I had received most of the toys I had wanted, but still felt empty. I didn’t understand it then, but God was already giving me a desire to seek Him.
I love celebrations. My dearest friends and I share a motto, “life is a special occasion!” We look for any little thing to celebrate….a snow day, a birthday, a trip to the beach, a sunrise, a sunset, finding a good parking place! But the underlying joy in all we celebrate is our awesome God. Alan D. Wright in his book , God Moments, states that “real joy is not the product of better circumstances or even more victories: it is the product of a heart that has chosen to celebrate God.” With Him, the anticipation never ends….” Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” (I. Cor. 2:9). Psalm 145 is described as a song of God’s majesty and love. “Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; His greatness is beyond our understanding. One generation shall praise your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. I will meditate on the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works. Men shall speak of the might of your awesome acts, and I will declare your greatness. They shall utter (eagerly utter, bubble forth) the memory of your great goodness, and shall sing of your righteousness.” (v. 4-7).
A couple of weeks ago, we had the opportunity to have our seven year old grandson, Owen, stay with us for a couple of days. Proverbs 17:6 says “Children’s children are the crown of the aged.” We are blessed to have several such “crowns” (six in all), and they are such a joy I don’t even mind being regarded as “aged!” To say we enjoyed Owen would be an understatement. I loved watching “Papa” help him put together a wooden airplane and show him the wonder of a blood cell through the lens of a microscope. We explored exhibits at the local science center and shared the awe of the planetarium. I loved watching them pelt each other with snowballs while dodging a few myself. Owen’s playfulness was contagious, and definitely brought out the kid in Papa and me. Although he can sit through a movie (preferably about dinosaurs), when it is over, he is up and out….look for him in the nearest mud puddle or snow bank, or listen for rubber dinosaurs battling in a clash for survival. Owen is a living expression of joy and he delights us. His exuberance reminded me of a carbonated beverage opened for the first time….it just bubbled over!
We were blessed to have many of our family together on New Year’s Eve, all
gathered around the TV to watch the ball drop in New York City. I carefully opened a bottle of champagne. The cork popped and the happy beverage began to bubble forth. I thought about Psalm 145. The joy God gives really cannot be contained. “Rejoice in the Lord always..again I will say, rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4). Knowing God and His purpose for our lives is the real source of joy. Like exuberant children, may we “bubble forth” in celebration of His great goodness… Life is a special occasion!