By Judy Villanueva

So I want you to realize that the Lord your God is God. He is the faithful God. He keeps his covenant for all time to come. He keeps it with those who love him and obey his commandments. He shows them his love. (Deuteronomy 7:9)

I once heard a delightful story of a little boy who is discovered by his mother in a barn shoveling manure.  She sees the sweat on his brow and hears the fullness of his breath as he scoops and throws manure through the air.  When she finally asks what on earth he is doing, he responds, “Where there’s manure, there is sure to be a pony!”  I love this story because it points my face at the beauty of hope!  It also makes me smile because it reminds me of my husband.  He, even in the most dismal of circumstances, keeps on shoveling convinced that a pony awaits his discovery!  I love the hope with which he engages the challenges that face him, even when he’s tired.  It is inspiring to watch a person persevere under trial with hope.  It seems to push them from behind toward their dreams.  As I think more about it, I realize that hope is more than an attitude or feeling.  

It’s a GRACE, a fountain that springs up from the reality of a Hope Giver!  

Hope lives within us, like a friend who prompts us to dream with God and catch the vision He has for our lives.  It is a light that shines in our souls, a song that wants us to remember our Faithful King.  Can you feel it?  Look around and you will see evidence of a majestic Dreamer!  Slow down and awaken to the the song that Hope sings within you.  It’s a melody of promise grounded in our promise-keeping God! There are others songs, as we all know, that intrude with sour notes on our ability to feel hopeful.  Pain and disappointment, loneliness and loss can effectively drown out our “hope songs”. 

But, HOPE LIVES, not in our power to muster a positive thought but in the heart of TRUE LOVE, our faithful God, who cannot be drowned out. 

He is the author, heartbeat and fountain — the WHO, WHAT AND HOW of hope!  So, how do we refresh our hope fountains?

Have you ever studied the names of God?  Each one is a revelation of His face and whenever we point our face at His we are joined to a powerful river of hope!  Deuteronomy 7:9 reveals a name of God only mentioned once or twice in Scripture.  

It is “Ha’El hanne’eman” and it means, “The one true God is faithful.”  

Words cannot capture the magnitude of this divine name but if I were to add a few they would be,  “ALMIGHTY, FAITHFUL, TRUSTWORTHY and TRUE.“  Stop for just a minute, and let the power of His name touch you!  Breath in, “The One True God,” Breath out, “is faithful.” And, God has more names!  His name “El Roi” means “the God who sees me”, “Yahweh shalom” means “the God of peace,”  “Jehovah Jireh” means “God, our provider,” and the  most intimate name of God, “Abba,” means “Daddy Father.”  

Hope stirs in the presence of God and becomes a flow of life inside us, but we must sit now and then, and look at His face.

How are your hopes doing?  Are they alive and  well?  Have they drifted off to sleep?  Have they been crushed or buried?  Then, get out your shovel and with God’s help, dig because there is indeed a treasure waiting to be discovered and His name is Faithful and True! (Rev.19:11) Jesus IS the beauty of hope!  Point your face at His.  Listen to His words.  Follow where He leads you.  Trust Him with all your heart.  REJOICE  because Ha’El hanne’eman is here!

“Father, your name helps me to see you better and in seeing you better I feel hopeful!  Thank you for your faithfulness and love.  Help me to point my face at yours and fill my heart with hope. Amen.”

What about you?

Do you know the Hope-Giver who hopes for you?

How are your hopes doing?  Has life beaten and buried  them?

Do you need your hope fountain refreshed?  I pray the power of Ha’El hanne’eman over your life and ask that God will help you turn your face toward His.

Dig!

Worship

By Judy Villanueva

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the by myself? Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42)

To sit at the feet of Jesus and let Him be my one distraction sounds both enticing and elusive. More often than not, I find myself in the kitchen with Martha, scowling at Mary and wishing so badly I could be the one sitting at Jesus’ feet.  I like to think that Martha loved Jesus from the kitchen amidst her many distractions and wish I couldn’t relate to how she let them postpone the joy of entering God’s presence.  But, I can.   As I slow down with this passage and take my pulse, I become aware that I am stuck in the kitchen!  I want to be next to Jesus, close enough to see the expression in his eyes and hear the tone of his voice. I know he is in the room with me but am not quite sure how to drop all my doing and find a place at His feet.  Do you ever feel that way?

This moment of awareness becomes a prayer and I ask Jesus to take my soapy hands and lead me out of the kitchen. “Help me, Lord, to turn away from the many things that fill my heart with worry and teach me to want only one thing — only One.”  I suddenly realize that one simple nod from Jesus is all it will take to help me drop my dishes and run to Him. Imagine this moment with me.

Can you see Jesus looking at you in the middle of your day and inviting you to come sit with Him?

Prayerfully, with my Bible on my lap, I imagine the scene and I look at Jesus.  He looks at me!  I see Him seeing me and hold my breath.  THEN, He gives me a smile and a nod and I run to Him!  I realize as I make my way over  that I didn’t think there would be room for me and I wasn’t sure I’d be welcome.  But, looking up at Jesus face I find a big welcome and looking down at His feet, I find a place prepared just for me!

“Jesus, thank you that always see me. I give you permission to nudge me out of my busyness! Thank you that I will always see a “welcome” in your eyes and find a place in your presence prepared just for me. Help me today to bring that same welcome to others. Amen.”

How about you?

Where do you find yourself in this Bible story? Are you in the kitchen, busy with preparations? Or, are you sitting at Jesus feet?

Does the pace of your life leave room for noticing Jesus beckoning you to come to Him?

Do you define yourself by the “many things” or by the “only One”?

What do you need from Jesus today? As you sit at His feet and have His full attention, how can He help you today?

Worship

By Judy Villanueva

And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.  For the law was given through Moses;  grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:16-17)

Grace takes its rise far back in the heart of God, in the awful and incomprehensible abyss of His holy being; but the channel through which it flows out to men is Jesus Christ, crucified and risen.(AW Tozer)

Staring down at my plate, I exhaled in defeat.  The pile of peas had won again!  I knew that unless I ate every one of them, I’d be stuck at the dining room table indefinitely.  The sun would go down and I would miss out on all the playtime left in the day.  I hate peas.  I find all other vegetables edible and some, even delicious, but peas make me gag.  Regardless, the rule in our family was to finish everything on our plate or die.  Well, that’s how it felt to a seven year old!  On one occasion, however, my dad sat down next to me and watched as I plugged my nose and attempted to swallow these horrible green little balls.  He gave me the most curious look and finally said, “Judy, if you finish this last pile of peas you will never have to eat another pea in your life.”  I couldn’t believe my ears!  I gave my dad a fierce hug, swallowed the last few bites of peas, and haven’t eaten one since!

This may seem too silly a story to use to talk about grace, something so massively beautiful.  And, I would agree except that I have a sense God’s grace, while grand and glorious, also offers healing through the sweet and small things of life, like when a dad sets his little girl free from the law of sin and peas.  Rules are generally designed to help us live within good boundaries for our physical, emotional, relational and spiritual health.  We count on Biblical statutes, in particular, to guide us toward a lifestyle and choices informed by wisdom and love.  Don’t lie.  Don’t steal.  Be nice.  But, we fail.   We fall short and suddenly find ourselves at the dining room table facing our plate of peas and our inability to keep the rules.  We all need grace, both big and small, from the cross on calvary to the daily graces we give and receive from one another.

Grace is a precious and powerful thing.  Every time we open ourselves to the grace of God we are changed by it. 

And, each time we offer a gift of grace to another, whether through forgiveness, generosity, or a kindness —  a little bit of Heaven spills out of us! 

Its beauty heals.  Grace is always free and undeserved.  The fact that it is “unmerited favor” can be difficult to accept and even more difficult to offer.  We’d rather earn our favor and extend grace only after it has been merited.  This, of course, is not grace at all and points to the fact that grace is conspicuously bigger than we are.  It requires that we turn to its author for the power to give and receive grace—

to the beautiful, generous, gigantic heart of God the Father.  

Here is the dad who sees us in our peaful predicaments and has compassion on us.  Here is our kind and loving Father who sets us free and fills us with grace for others.  He is full of grace.  Grace is who He is!  

“Thank you, Father, for your grace.  I want to be a grace giver and understand that first, I must be a grace receiver.  Open my eyes, Lord. Let grace spill out from heaven and change me.  Amen.”

What about you?

Have you felt the power of grace touch your life?

Have you received the gift of grace offered  to you at the cross?

Is the power and beauty of grace changing you?

Do you like peas?  (Sorry, just had to ask!)

Worship

By Judy Villanueva

I stand at the door and knock. Whoever hears my voice and opens the door I will come in to him and will dine with Him and he with me. (Rev. 3:20)

A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, “Do you wish to get well?” The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.” (John 5:5-8)

I hate surprises. I read the end of books first and fast forward movies to relieve the pressure of not knowing what will happen next.  I have a picture of me standing at the threshold of a patio full of friends who had gathered to surprise me on my 30^th birthday.  As I approached the doorway I could hear excited whispers and immediately clued in to what was coming. If I’d had time to think about it I might have turned around but momentum pushed me forward and through the threshold!   There, I was welcomed by the joy of people who loved me. I remember lots of doorways over the years, some happy and some sad, — some I ran through and others I felt dragged through.  Each one invited me to enter, even though I never knew quite what would happen next. “Come live life with Me!” Jesus keeps saying. “I am knocking. Open the door.”

Thresholds.  They are doorways of invitation or at least, that is the way I have come to view them.  We relate most readily to the ones that physically, emotionally or relationally initiate change in our lives like getting married, having a baby, starting a new job, losing a loved one, or becoming ill.  But, are you also aware of the spiritual thresholds that exist all throughout our lives?

These relate to the work of the Spirit in us and, if we learn to listen to the inner urgings of our souls, we discover brilliant and beautiful invitations to be formed by the hand of God.

All of life holds the potential to form us.  Jesus stands at the doorways of our lives and knocks.   We become aware of the knocking when and as we clue in to our own internal life. Curiosities, yearnings, distinct observations while reading the Word or worshipping — a lack of peace, a sense of being awakened to a Voice that says, “Come!”  Listen and follow His voice.  It’s not necessary that we know what will happen next, only that we will find Jesus waiting for us with a table prepared, mud for our eyes, and fish for our tummies!

Something in me identifies this morning with the man by the pool who feels helpless to get into the healing water. Tears burn in my eyes as I read that “Jesus saw him lying there and knew his condition”.  My heart aches as I listen to the man tell Jesus that no one will help him get into the pool and suddenly, I hear knocking!  I become aware of my own soul wound that relates to feeling invisible sometimes and find myself standing at a threshold.  I have a sense of what’s beyond because I have read the end of this story!  So, I lean forward to peek in and see Jesus seeing me and asking, “Do you wish to get well?”

It is an invitation to wholeness that is irresistible and while I cannot know what exactly will happen next, I know by now that Jesus always calls me toward life!

So, I open the door to Jesus and hear the words “Get up!” There is power in His voice and healing in His eyes and before I know it, I am upright, embraced and walking — welcomed with joy by Jesus who is ever faithful to form holiness in me and heal my life with love .

“What a gift it is that you always see me and know me, Jesus. Thank you for the thresholds in life that invite me to Your heart, heal my wounds, and form my soul. Please help me to hear you knocking. Amen.”

What about you?

Are you aware when you are standing at a threshold, a doorway of invitation to healing and new life?

Can you hear when Jesus knocks?

Can you sense your inner life?   Your desires curiosities and angst?

Do you want to be well?

Let the love of Christ meet you right where you are today.  He welcomes you with joy.

Worship 

By Judy Villanueva

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.  (Romans 12:1)

A few weeks ago, I decided to start my days by asking God to show me my purpose for each day.  I imagined it would be something extraordinary, you know, something that could be measured as worthwhile and good!  I  guess it’s not a big surprise that instead, ordinary encounters and simple daily chores became my purpose.  To be honest, the “ordinary” felt a little disappointing so I googled the word and found these descriptives:  usual, normal,  regular, typical.  Not exactly what our culture invites us to aspire to, right?  Then, I bumped into Romans 12:1 in The Message and felt splashed with the coolest most refreshing  perspective!  I found myself inspired and relieved and called to bring my everyday, ordinary, “walking-around life” to God — as an offering!  What a mind and heart shift!

It will never be the profound and amazing me that pleases God and always instead, the me offered to God in my walking-around life.  

Do you ever wake up with an ache in your gut to have your life matter?  I do.  Some seasons are so full of people and tasks that there is little room to worry about such things.  But, other seasons are quieter, lonelier where questions of meaning surface along with the steady conviction that God made us ON purpose and FOR His purposes.  These can be tricky ruminations because we are naturally inclined to compare ourselves with others, supposing everyone else’s purpose to be shinier than ours and more important.

But, the astounding truth is that our lives, when offered to God, are placed in Divine hands — the same hands that made Heaven and earth!

So, how do we place our lives before God as an offering?  Paul helps us understand the need for a shift in focus away from an “all about me” way of living to an “all about Him” life of worship.

“Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves…The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.” (Romans 12:3)

What a relief and what a way to approach the day!  By calling to mind the wonders of God, Who He is and what He does for us, we can start the day focused on God and stirred up with gratitude.  We can trust Him to use us as He wills AND, we can pray for His help to stay alert so that we will notice His presence in the this and that of the day — and obey as He leads us into His purposes.  We can even relax when we feel ordinary because, offered to God, we are held in extraordinary hands!

“I place my life before you, God, as an offering today.  Fill my mind with thoughts of You!  Turn my focus to Your face and help me to trust that you have made me and know just how to use me.  Amen.”

What about you?

Have you considered that God made you ON purpose and FOR His purposes?

What might your day look like if you were to place your life before God as an offering?  What would be on your mind?  How would that feel?

Like me, do you need God’s help to shift focus from an “all about me” way of living to an “all about Him life of worship?”

Worship