Monthly Archives: July 2020

Face To Face

poolspicBy Judy Villanueva

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:12)

“Crinkle, crinkle yittle star, how I wonder what you are…” I sang gently alongside my little grand-daughter as I rocked her to sleep. Her head rested on my shoulder and before long, I could feel her go limp in my arms.  I placed her in the crib, prayed a quiet prayer and stood a minute watching her surrender to sleep. In those sweet moments, I felt God tap me on the shoulder and draw me into awareness that, much like this

He watches over me wherever I am in my life.  He sees me as I come and as I go.  He sings alongside my songs and delights in knowing and loving me.

He may feel distant at times, but I only need look up to find His face!  He is always there, His eyes awaiting my notice.

Seeking the face of God as we walk through our day invites us to notice where He is speaking, correcting, or guiding.  It may seem vague, but it really is as simple as  returning to awareness that God is here.   It is easy to live immersed in activities, mentally disconnected from God, but anytime we agree to slow down soul-space opens up, and the potential for face-time!  How do we look at Jesus?  There are many ways including prayer, spiritual reading, listening to worship music, meditating on the Word and learning how to experience God’s presence in the life around us.

We live fully known by God, but if we want to see His face and desire to have His heart  formed in us, we must engage with Him.

I am always intrigued by the moments in Scripture that mention eye-to-eye encounters with Jesus. Like Jairus, who upon receiving word of his daughter’s death, looks up to find Jesus’ eyes on him with a command, “Do not be afraid. Just believe.”   Can you imagine what Jairus was thinking, “What shall I believe?  My daughter has just died!”

Whatever it was that Jairus saw as he stood facing Jesus grabbed him from the midst of his despair, set him on his feet, and led him to a resurrection!

“Talitha Koum! Little girl, wake up!” And, she did! Is this what happens when we face Jesus?  Do we notice Him looking at us over what crowds our lives and into our broken hearts?  Are we helped to hear His voice that shouts hope to our despair?  Are we emboldened to follow Him to places where our lives are restored and where we feel His gentle tap that reminds us He is with us?

“Lord, I want to see Your face. I want to remember You and live in Your presence more today than yesterday. Help me to engage with you, to slow down enough to hear you calling to me over, what is sometimes, a crowded life.  Thank You for the taps on my shoulder and the reassurance that you are with me. Amen.”

What about you?

What would be like to live a day looking at Jesus? How might it affect your thoughts? Your choices?

Have you experienced the face of God?  The sense of Him seeing and knowing you?

Does the pace of your life allow for slowing down?  Can you see Jesus over what crowds around you each day?

What habits help you connect to God?

God loves you and knows you.  He is with you always.  Look up!

Worship

Poking Around

fullsizeoutput_32f8By Judy Villanueva

Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him.

After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly. (Mark 7: 31-35)

My husband and I got stuck recently.  It reminded me of the definition of insanity,  when you try the same thing over and over and expect a different outcome.  In this case, we each tried again to explain our points of view and once again we ended up at a stalemate.  “Maybe if I say it this way or louder or, if I wave my arms and jump up and down?”  Nope.  It didn’t work.  We could not hear each other and were both left kind of sad and stuck with the unresolved matter between us.  Now what?  As I read the story of the deaf and mute man, I begged Jesus to place his hand on me and my dear husband, to open our ears and fill our mouths with grace.  

I’ve read this story many times over the years and am always amused at the way in which Jesus heals this man.  I smile every time I picture Jesus putting his fingers into the man’s ears and, get a little grossed out at the part when He spits and touches the man’s tongue!  As I meditate on this passage today and curiously ponder Jesus’ methods of healing, it occurs to me that this kind of touching is very intimate!  It’s NOT a hand on a shoulder or even an embrace. 

It’s a couple of fingers in a couple of ears!  It’s NOT holy water, but holy SPIT on a tongue!  It’s invasive and it startles me. 

This was not a “Go, your faith has healed you” moment but rather, an “I’m going to move in uncomfortably close and touch the places that are hurting you, that are closed  — or dead!”

Do I want my hearing restored enough to allow Jesus to invade my personal space?  Will I permit my Savior to poke around my soul  sufficiently to purify my heart and mind?   I desperately need to hear Jesus say, “Be opened!” to the closed and wounded places within me. 

Only He can help me hear with a freed soul and only He can loosen my tongue to speak with words of grace. 

No sooner had I begged Jesus for help than my husband walked over to where I was sitting and offered me his presence and a willingness to try again.  We did and, this time, we heard one another and felt the power of God’s deep sigh command us to be opened, “Ephaphatha!” Yes, the love of Christ is invasive and startling, confronting and healing,  patient and powerful — and always aimed at our freedom!

“Lord, I need your fingers in my ears and spit on my tongue!  Thank you for knowing me intimately and hearing my pleas for freedom.  Thank you for helping me to see, hear and speak.  Amen.”

What about you?

Do you need God to sigh and say over your life “Be opened”?  Do you have a sense of your need?

Are you aware of how or where your hearing might be blocked?

Can you hear God say “I love you”?   Can you hear his corrections, confrontations, or words of encouragement?

Are you willing to let Jesus move in uncomfortably close in order to touch the places in you that need healing?

Worship