Soul Food to Go

“O, Taste and see the Lord is good.”  Psalm 34:8a

Years ago, I loved the song “Soul Food to Go” by the group Manhattan Transfer and I can even still sing the chorus though the rest of the lyrics escape me.  My idea of edible soul food is what I would deem Southern comfort food like mac and cheese, cornbread and mashed potatoes (sans gravy; everybody says there must be some Yankee in me!) But my idea of real soul food is much broader.

While there’s no substitute for the bread of life found in God’s Word, I often feel God feeds my spirit through the beauty of nature. Thanks to some precious friends I recently received both kinds of soul food when I stayed with them at their home in the mountains of north Georgia. This couple has the true gift of hospitality which afforded me time in a remote, peaceful town where all you heard at night were birds and the only lights you saw were from the fireflies flitting around the yard.

Their perch nearly 3,000 feet in the air afforded spectacular views of the Blue Ridge Mountains in all their moods which were affected by the mists, the clouds and the sunlight. The only thing that really drew my attention away from the tree-covered giants were the cardinals, blue jays and hummingbirds flitting to nearby trees and bird feeders.

After more than a year of tremendous challenges and just two months after Daddy’s homegoing, this trip was exactly what I needed to restore my spirit. But then God always knows how to set a table and thankfully, He allows “to-go” boxes so I didn’t have to leave my peace and joy in the mountains. After my trip, He sent me home with a hefty doggy bag filled with His goodness.

A Rainbow of Promises

“My heart leaps up when I behold a rainbow in the sky…” William Wordsworth

Last week I noticed a vibrant rainbow reflected in a dark, turned-off t.v. screen. I couldn’t figure out what source had refracted the light but I didn’t really care as I was transfixed by the radiant spectrum of color. You see, I have always loved rainbows. As a child, whenever I opened a new box of 64 Crayola crayons, I would organize them according to Roy G. Biv (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet). Within each hue, I would create a mini-spectrum of shades so they blended as seamlessly as possible (after all, what do you do with the metallics?)

I can remember seeing a rainbow in my children’s picture Bible where it first makes an appearance in Genesis as an emblem of God’s promise to Noah and mankind that He will never again destroy the earth through a worldwide flood. The only other time I know the Bible refers to a rainbow is in Revelation when John describes the throne of God as being encircled by one. The scene is a beautiful picture that reminds us that all of God’s promises flow from His throne of mercy. 

There have been pivotal times in my life where God has drawn my attention to the sky to focus on one of His rainbows and one of His promises. Like the beautiful spectrum of colors, God’s promises are vibrant, glowing with His light. But unlike the transient rainbow that fades before our eyes, God’s promises are everlasting.

2 Corinthians 1:20: “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God.”

1 Kings 8:56b:  "Not one word has failed of all the good promises He gave through His servant Moses."

Desperate for Grace

The pseudo-Spanish word desperado means “desperate” and the English connotation is of a reckless bandit, particularly in the Old West. While very few folks fall into the category of desperadoes, everyone is desperate for something. Some are desperate to find the love of their lives. Others are desperate to get ahead in their jobs. As Christians we should be different and you might think we should be desperate for nothing.

But those who are truly desperate for God—for His presence, not just His blessings—are rewarded with more of Him. When Moses, the man God chose to lead His people out of bondage, cried out, “Show me Your glory,” God answered by revealing more of Himself to Moses. The experience was one few people ever have.  David cried out again and again to enter into God’s presence and God pronounced him a man after His own heart. And Peter when pressed by Jesus to know if he wanted to stop following Him, responded, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68)

God does not need our talents, our intellect, or our good intentions. What He needs are people who are so desperate for Him they go to the cross and empty themselves that they might be filled with Christ’s love and grace and mercy.

“You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11

He Makes Me Sing

I remember after Momma died wondering how long it would be before I felt like laughing or singing again. I felt the same way two weeks ago when Daddy died. That may seem a strange thought, but both singing and laughing were huge parts of my relationships with my parents.  I remember hearing Momma’s beautiful soprano filling the house with music when I would come in from school in the afternoons.  And I always loved hearing Daddy’s rich bass singing in church every Sunday.

In His infinite goodness, God gave me some things to laugh about fairly quickly after He called Daddy home and much to my surprise, I felt like singing almost immediately.  Of course it is easier to do both knowing my parents are safe and whole with the Lord.  But today as we sang the old hymn “Fairest Lord Jesus,” the line “who makes the woeful heart to sing” leapt off the page at me. I realized what a gift God has given me to be able to sing so soon after Daddy’s death.  Because of His great love and mercy to us, we can sing His praises even when our hearts are broken. And for me, singing brings great healing.

Like the psalmist, I declare:  “I will sing the LORD's praise, for he has been good to me.” (Psalm 13:6)

Resurrection Power

Friday, April 19, the Lord welcomed Daddy to heaven. One week before I had been to a concert where Matt Maher played his song “Christ Is Risen.” I meditated on it all week and while we knew Daddy was sick we didn’t realize he would be leaving us so soon. But our God did and He used that song to prepare me. The song is based on 1 Corinthians 15:55-57: “Where, o death, is your sting? Where o death, is your victory? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Maher’s song says: “Christ is risen from the dead…trampling over death by death.” Only Jesus could use Satan’s greatest weapon to defeat him for all eternity.

That weekend after the concert, I began this blog and I knew deep down it would be for Daddy. We held Daddy’s funeral last Sunday which seems fitting since our Lord died on a Friday and rose again on a Sunday morning. While Daddy hasn’t risen again yet, we know his spirit is with our Lord simply awaiting the day of Resurrection.  Daddy didn’t fear death because like all Christians, Christ’s death and resurrection took away the sting and the fear of Satan’s greatest weapon.  Jesus showed only He has the true power of life and death. After the death of his friend Lazarus, Jesus comforted Lazarus’ sister Martha with these words: Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:24-25)

All of us who loved Daddy grieve that we can no longer see his smile, hear his laughter or go to him for advice. But we do not grieve as those without hope. We grieve knowing that thanks to Jesus’ love and sacrifice, we will see Daddy again. And he will be whole and well and ready to receive us with one of his big bear hugs.  I pray now the God of all comfort will be with us in the coming days.

King of Kings

Each Easter I pull out an old Sandi Patty CD with the song “Who Will Call Him of Kings?” on it. This year as I listened to the song, I thought how Pilate ordered the words “King of the Jews” to be inscribed on a plaque and hung above Jesus’ head on the cross.  It was not only a derisive title but also an indictment as there was only one acknowledged king in the Roman Empire: Caesar. To say otherwise meant certain death.

To call Jesus king means to accept His absolute authority and to completely surrender to Him which often puts Christians at odds with the world. For first-century Christians, calling Jesus king meant the possibility of facing a death penalty. But to do otherwise meant denying and devaluing the truth of Jesus’ identity. Through the centuries, Jesus followers have been and continue to be executed for following Him. That fact makes the declaration, “We will call Him King of Kings” in the Sandi Patty song all the more poignant.

The song not only tells of the early disciples’ faithfulness, but issues a call to action to us today. My favorite line tells of the disciples’ response at the empty tomb: “They ran as fast as feet could fly, ‘The Lord is risen’ was their cry!” That should be our response to Easter Sunday, too. We should run to tell everyone we meet of the good news of Jesus’ resurrection, for it is only His death and resurrection which atones for our sins and assures us of an eternal hope of life with Him.

1 Timothy 6:14-15: “…until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ...”

Surely

“Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.” (Isaiah 53:4 ESV)

We sang a Lenten anthem this season entitled “Surely He Has Borne Our Griefs"  which is based on this Isaiah passage.  The opening word surely brings me a lot of comfort as it emphasizes the veracity and very certainty of Christ’s actions while making them both personal and universal: He did this for me and for us.   We can be confident in the completeness and perfection of Christ’s sacrifice that it is all we need to gain salvation.

Hebrews 10:14 says,“But when this priest (Jesus) had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time He waits for His enemies to be made His footstool because  by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.”

Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection are the only atonement we need to be reconciled to God and to share eternal life with Him. Without accepting His sacrifice, though, we are lost forever. “Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.” (John 3:18)

As you reflect on Jesus’ sacrifice this week, remember another surely statement from the Bible, the words of the centurion and Roman soldiers who were eyewitnesses to Jesus’ crucifixion:  “Surely He was the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:54)