“October is my favorite color.” Not sure where I read that, but yes. Year round autumn is fine with me. It’s the weather and the colors and the Halloween memories. Like rummaging through mom’s big box of old shoes, purses, dresses, fedoras, and flannel shirts.

It’s fun to dress up and pretend on occasion. But, do we wear costumes in our everyday life?

Is performance and approval more important than who we are on the inside?

We can wear religion like a label. “Hello, I’m Baptist … I’m Catholic … I’m Lutheran … I’m Jewish.”

We can grip it like a ticket. It’s punched and done and we’re bound for heaven. Or perhaps our faith is more like fire insurance, because we’re not quite sure where we stand in our relationship with God.

Is it enough to obey rules and do all the “right” things?

Nicodemus had an inkling there was more. He was a prominent member of the Jewish ruling council, the Supreme Court of Israel. Pharisees were all about power and performance. They wore faith like a costume.

Jesus called them “white-washed tombs, which look fine on the outside but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all kinds of rottenness.”

Whoa.

As you can imagine, Pharisees didn’t like him much. They watched him close and asked loaded questions. All that talk about the Spirit and healing people on the Sabbath messed with their religious system and comfortable habits. They liked to keep things surface level. They liked hard-set rules. They kept people in line.

But, Nicodemus wanted more than rules and religion. He wanted relationship. So, he talked to Jesus, one-on-one.

Jesus told him it’s good to believe his miracles and teachings. It’s good to obey rules and do what’s right, but “Unless a person is born from above, it’s not possible to see what I’m pointing to: God’s kingdom.”

Born from above? That’s a bit weird.

My friend, we are designed with a body and a spirit. Our spirit is part of our original creation. Until we allow it to be reborn, part of us is hiding—is dead actually. Without spiritual rebirth, we aren’t fully alive. Our relationship with our Creator is incomplete and we feel something’s missing. We won’t have the abundance Jesus offers.

At his last meal with the disciples, Jesus told them, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Then he made a promise.

“I will ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate [helper], who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth.”

The next time we see Nicodemus, he wraps Jesus’ body in spiced linen and puts him in a tomb. Pharisees weren’t supposed to touch dead bodies. But, Nicodemus had shed his churchy costume.

Who he was on the inside was more important that who he was on the outside. He gave up surface level religion and chose a soul-deep, one-on-one relationship with Jesus. He decided to stop being defined by power and performance and a need for approval and live in that spirit-to-Spirit connection. Nicodemus was reborn.

And  he was free.

New, abundant life.  And it all began with a simple conversation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Peace comes not from the absence of trouble, but from the presence of God.” ~A. Maclaren

My grandson, Braden, was nine when he taught me a new color.

“Come on Meema, you gotta see this! But hurry or we’re gonna miss it!” Holding my hand, he led me around a row of pine trees and pointed to the sky beyond the cornfields.

The sunset was spectacular. We spoke in whispers.

“Braden, what color is that?”

“Oh, that’s porange. You know, pink and orange.”

We were quiet. The world was quiet.

And the huge, fluorescent porange ball floated through gray-blue sky and sank behind a black tree line.

The Jewish Sabbath begins at sunset Friday and ends sunset Saturday. Jesus grew up observing this weekly invitation to stop and enter God’s rest.

Maybe our daily rhythm is backwards. What if we started tomorrow, tonight? What if, instead of going to bed with a head full of worry, we start a new day?

An hour or so before bedtime, I disconnect from screens. I find a quiet space away from phone, TV, computer, and people. Separated from noise, I center in. I slow my brain and breathe deep.

Sometimes I read. Sometimes I pray. Sometimes all I can do is whisper Jesus’ name. This nightly rhythm saves my sanity.

My friend, when we’re exhausted, it’s easy to let the day mess with us. Work, finances, family stuff. And our mistakes often overshadow all we did right.

So, we need to intentionally interrupt our thoughts and center them on our truest source of peace.

When noise, demands, and distractions are gone ~ there’s just you and Jesus.

Wrapped in His compassion, we have courage to review the day. To see where we rocked it and where it rocked us. We soak in the good we did and accept what we can do better.

Soaking in grace, God reminds us we’re actually doing better than we think. We are human. We are forgiven. And it’s a brand new day.

So, in the morning, before our head leaves the pillow, we remember to hold on to this rest. Because the world didn’t stop its frantic pace and all our problems did not get fixed. But, when we  stay connected to God’s presence, we rise above it all.

Though the world is loud, God is not silent.

He often speaks in whispers too. From sunset to sunset, we are invited to watch and listen for the sacred to descend.

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace … Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” ~ Jesus, in Matthew 11:28-30

“Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. For the spirit indeed is willing, but how weak the body is!” Matthew 26:41

 

Oops. I did it again. Went to bed feeling low and woke up under the same poop cloud. So, I prayed and … POOF!! …everything was unicorns and cupcake sprinkles.

Just kidding.

My only thought was the words on a t-shirt I saw hanging on a rack at the mall: “Carpe the heck out of this day.” 

I’m not sure who created the shirt but it felt like my own little personal cheerleader. It’s a paraphrase of Horace, a Roman poet. To “Carpe Diem” is to “pluck the day, trusting as little as possible in the next one.” To enjoy life while we can. Today.

But, sometimes, we just don’t feel like carpe-ing anything but a strong cup of coffee, a good book, and a bag of Cheetos.

We all have days when our mental and physical energies are low. And we need to rest. But, aren’t you glad we aren’t just random thoughts, and hormones and flesh and bone? 

God created us with the desire to be more than the sum of our biology and human experiences. We are spirit. And that’s the most resilient part of us. So, we know when it’s time to get up. We know when our resting becomes wallowing. We know when it’s time to get real and get unstuck. So, why don’t we?

Because it’s hard. Left unchecked, our brains will choose what seems easy. Even if it’s killing us from the inside-out. Thoughts are powerful. They dictate our emotions. And emotions, left in charge, control our actions. Or inaction.

Let’s face it. Change is scary. So, we ride the loop around crazy town wanting change but not changing ourselves. Our desires and decisions to move forward collide with  resistance. And resistance is evil. It may be subtle. It may be loud. But, it’s always straight from hell. It brick walls us from living life in our divine design.

I know. I have a couple fresh bumps on my forehead.

So, it comes down to this. The pain of staying stuck has to become more painful than moving forward. Change is a choice. And we can only change ourselves.

Let’s look at what isn’t working ~ what keeps the stink cloud over us ~ and try something new. Now. To shake up our days and stir up our faith.

Now is the time to put pride aside and look at how we treat people.  Maybe instead of making demands, it’s time to make amends. Now is the time to say sorry and back it up by changing the way we roll. It’s okay if they don’t get it. Just do the right thing because it’s a battle for your spirit.

My friend, we are God’s children. We can pluck the hell out of today or we can let it pluck us out of our birthright. All the power and privileges that come with knowing who we are and Whose we are. “The thief [resistance] comes to kill and destroy.” Jesus came to give us abundant life (John 10:10). If we so choose.  And I do. One hundred percent.

Wake. Pray. Carpe. Repeat.

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” ~ Mother Theresa.

 

 

 

 

“But now, [Child of God], the Lord who created you says:

Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.

I have called you by name; you are mine.

When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you.

When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown!

When you walk through the fire of oppression,  you will not be burned up;

the flames will not consume you.

For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior …

Do not be afraid.“ ~ Isaiah 43:1-2 & 5

My friend, I needed this today, so I pass it on to you. We are capable of more than we know. Look at what we’ve already endured and find rest in these Promises. There’s Peace for difficult days. And Pugs. Just ‘cuz they make us smile 🙂

Photo from Pixabay.com