undividedspirit

Shalom dear friends! I greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on this quiet day, the day before He would rise from the dead.

The Covid-19 outbreak which has affected the whole world has made this a very strange Easter but also a special time to be quiet and think on things. I think we all feel that, whether or not we call ourselves disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. All our outward busyness and coping mechanisms have been stripped away from us and we can find ourselves panicked, anxious and frustrated. The whole world has been forced to stop and take a “time out”. Coincidence?

We can all appreciate the good this does for the environment, but, as many people face going broke, rising unemployment, and worldwide uncertainty, we are forced to ask ourselves, what remains? As we look inward, at the things that we cannot change, at the things we don’t like about ourselves, and our families, we are forced to ask what now? Many of us, whether we realize it or not, have used busyness to keep fear at bay and, most damningly, to keep truth at bay. We have used substances to drown out the empty black hole in our lives, like alcohol and drugs. We have climbed on pedestals of status to build ourselves up. We have used money, work, a nice car, a  magazine-worthy home, human approval and human praise to hold ourselves away from slipping in to that, ever-present, often ignored, black hole. We have used education to build ourselves up and hide the fact that we know we are inadequate. We have lied, we have manipulated, we have pretended, and we have white-washed our walls on the outside but inside are brokenness, fear, dread, malice, hatred, envy, hypocrisy, slander, self-promotion, covetousness (a fancy name for wanting more, more, more, especially what he/she has). We all think they, he, she is our problem, if only he/she would change then I’ll be ok, because it is never us right? We are never the problem. We have all had to hit pause on these lives that were made up of so many activities and so much fake news (lying to ourselves most especially), all while broadcasting our TV-sitcom-worthy-lives on social media when inside is fighting, bitterness, hardness of heart and self-pity. We like Jesus, are in a grave, wrapped in grave clothes but, there is hope today, for tomorrow.

Many, more qualified men and women of The Book, are saying it, and I am praying for it, that this is the next great move of God. The next Billy Graham type season: revival. A word search of the meaning of the word ‘revival’ brings the following results:
1. An improvement in the condition, strength, or fortunes of someone or something. Synonyms: improvement, rallying, betterment.
2. A restoration to life or consciousness.
3. An instance of something becoming popular, active, or important again.
Synonyms: comeback, reintroduction, re-establishment.
We need it don’t we? We all need revival. 2020 years ago, Jesus is about to be revived. Today we need to be revived. Perhaps Covid-19 is the pause button before revival.

Friends, we have been filling up our lives with stuff to block out our true need. We have all been trying to meet our need with things that don’t satisfy and don’t last. For many of us, we have been filling up our lives with things that don’t even matter, like the sports car you can’t afford and the botox that won’t change the facts. And for those of you who feel smug, the cupboards full of stuff you don’t need; the friends and enemies you’ve been impressing your whole life, who, like you, are headed the same way (to all our ends, death). You’ve been, I’ve been, trying to get our needs for love, peace, value, acceptance and belonging met in all these things that don’t last and won’t satisfy. Sure, you get a little rush from them, you may even be able to get your “fix” daily, hourly however or how best you get it: posting a gorgeous pic of yourself, or your happy toddler (ok, a happy toddler is like a mini hallelujah so I accept this), eating (or not), drinking (or not), paging through all your family photos on your phone that speak of your amazing legacy, tidying your enormous closet full of stuff you won’t wear twice in a year (or a decade), checking your stocks portfolio, or inviting your work team to, yet another, pointless Zoom meeting. You get the picture. I say all this not to point fingers but to cover all our bases. I am right there with you friends; I do all the above, and some.

I was praying about (ok, obsessing about)  my personal black hole this morning, you know, that one thing that keeps waking you up at 3am, it gets better, it gets worse, and so on, but it never goes away. So I was obsessing over this, in front of Jesus, which makes it spiritual right? (Tiny hint, the answer is: no). God, doesn’t talk about my black hole with me. Refer to Exodus chapter 3, where Moses is talking with the angel of the Lord in the burning bush, Moses points to his issue, and God points to Himself. This is what God does. He points to Himself. So I pick up my study that I am following, which is Lysa Terkeust’s: “Finding I Am”. Incredible! She is such a great teacher and the content is so well-researched. It is so powerful that every day, I get my mind blown. I need to add right here that I am personalizing content I found in this study, so Lysa Terkeust, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, brought this to light in my mind and I am passing it on.

I watched the video “I am the Light of the World” available for rent here. Lysa (I hope she won’t mind my familiarity here), is standing at Jacob’s well where, 2020+ years ago, Jesus spoke with the Samaritan Woman and declares Himself to be the Messiah, for the first time. This is huge because Samaritans were seen as unclean outsiders, loathed by the Jews. Think a black man, sharing a drink of water with a white woman, during apartheid. The implication is it is socially unacceptable and would be interpreted as somewhat sinister. Jesus was always doing this, and does it still today. He associates with the outcasts, the dregs, the sick, the lame, the prostitutes, the sinners (not nice folks like you, am I right?) Ok, take a break and read the account in John 4 verses 1-42 for yourself, in your bible, or if you don’t have one on hand, here. The story of the woman at the well has always had a special place in my heart because she, and the woman who washes Jesus’s feet (Luke 7:36-50), is me, an outsider, without connections, or protection, an immoral and sinful woman, who looked for love and belonging in the wrong ways, and in the wrong places.

Jesus tells the woman at the well that He is the source of living water which never runs dry. In the video teaching, Lysa explains how Jesus is referring to cisterns that run dry. A cistern, at the time Jesus is speaking, is a man-made storage facility for water. If it became cracked the water would run out. Jesus tells the woman that He is the wellspring of water that never runs dry, it never cracks. Our man-made cisterns are what we have used to store up what will satisfy us but these cisterns become cracked: they move town, they stop loving you, they go bust, they die… but, the well of Christ never runs dry. We can come to Him again and again and drink. Lysa reminds us of the verse in Jeremiah 2:13 which says: “My people have committed two sins; they have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns that cannot hold water.”

Jesus was saying to me this morning: you are looking at the wrong thing to satisfy you. You are building yourself a cistern that will never hold the life-giving supply that you crave. Jesus said to me, and to you: “I amthe only thing that will satisfy you”. Jesus, is the only true, lasting thing in this life, and in the next. He is the only thing to base our decisions and our hopes on. Jobs will come and go, money will come and go, love will come and go, parents will die, children will marry and move away, your beauty and strength will fade, you won’t always be a business man or woman, but you will always have Jesus and He is able to satisfy you, through all uncertainty and every change. Right now, if you have never done so, say the following (aloud):
“Lord Jesus, forgive me, I have been digging cisterns that don’t hold the “water” that I need, for long. I am always patching them up or digging new ones. I recognize that you are the only supply that never runs dry. God, won’t you come and take hold of me, take control of my life and give me “living water”. Won’t you pour cool water on all my hurts, frustrations and mistakes. Won’t you heal me of my brokenness and cleanse me of my sins. I believe, Jesus, that you died on the cross for my sins, I believe you rose again and that you are Lord, to the glory of God the Father. I ask you to fill me with your Holy Spirit and enable me to live a new life of purpose, of meaning, and of passion.Teach me what it means to follow you. I offer myself to you completely. Come and bring life to these dry bones. Amen.”
You are on your way my friend! You who was not a people, is now a chosen priesthood and a holy nation unto God (1 Peter 2:9). He has a great plan for your life to influence those close to you for eternal blessings, theirs and yours. It is time to reset and start doing what matters. It is never too late. While you have breath in your lungs, God has a plan for your life!

Tomorrow, Jesus rose from the dead and called us all out of our figurative graves. This passing from death to life is what we all do when we accept His invitation to come and choose His ways. When we do this we take on a new nature that starts on the inside and slowly works its way to the outside. Don’t panic if you are still the same weak and broken person outwardly, these things take time. Study the Bible (you can start with Lysa Terkeust’s: Finding I Am, available digitally through Lifeway.com), pray every morning, even for just a few minutes and ask God to help you. Start attending a church and connect with believers. Google churches in your area, read their mission statements and if it says: Jesus Christ, the Bible, faith, you can connect with them on Facebook and watch their sermons on YouTube, until they reopen. Tell them that you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ. I promise they will be thrilled to help you grow in your faith.

Join me tomorrow in saying in grateful praise: “He is risen! He is risen indeed!”