Summoned And Commanded

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It is certainly not the letter you want to receive in the midst of the arriving holiday season. But there it was in black and white.

"TWO WEEK JURY SUMMONS"

"You are hereby SUMMONED and COMMANDED to lay all business aside and personally appear at the Fayette County Justice Center on a December 04, 2017 at 8:30 AM as a Juror."

What are they thinking? The first two weeks of December? Does anyone not know what time of year it is and all that must be done?

And yet, I am SUMMONED AND COMMANDED. So here I sit with forty-nine other co-summoned citizens awaiting and praying we are not one of the twelve. The jurors will be questioned and chosen according to those who will best benefit the side the attorneys are hoping to win. My answers to the questions will either qualify me for one side or disqualify me for the other.

This is my assignment for the moment, so I spend some waiting time by re-reading Ann Voscamp’s book, “A Thousand Gifts” and searching to find as many things as possible to thank Him for in the jury selection holding tank. If I truly believe that God is sovereign over all things, then I can thank Him for this. Even though my back screams to me that I desperately need to be in my chiropractor’s waiting room, I sense I am to be silent and let God have His way. He controls if I am chosen or released and I need not attempt to tamper with the system.

My mind turns to another choosing of twelve. Jesus spent an entire night praying and seeking the Father before choosing His twelve. They were not summoned because of what they could bring to a particular case, but simple ordinary men who would be entrusted with the teachings of Jesus that would change the entire world. It was not necessary for them to answer qualifying questions leaning in the right direction. The only requirement was to follow when summoned.

“Come follow me!”

We find ourselves in the continuation of that first twelve choosing as He likewise summons us to “Come”. We are all summoned but not commanded. I bring nothing to the table. I have nothing to offer, but a simple ordinary woman willing to be filled and used by Almighty God.

Life can be hard. The struggle can be real. Many circumstances demand us to be where we do not really want to be, but we can find Him in the midst of it all. Add holiday stress to our normal daily load and most would agree, we need a pause. We need to hear His summon this December morning.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30

I don’t know the outcome of this jury duty, but I do know the outcome of being summoned as a follower of Jesus Christ. Within Him I can find rest, peace, and gratitude in any setting or circumstance. I can trust Him in the simple and in the most complex of situations.

Are you struggling? Are you weary from all the requirements of life? You are invited to rest in Him. He is sovereign over all things and you can trust in Him.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not lean on your own understanding. In all of your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.”

Proverbs 3:5-6

Stuck On Thanksgiving

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But thanks be to God, who hath given us the victory

through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:57)

But thanks be to God, who always leads us triumphantly as captives in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. (2 Corinthians 2:14)

The Wilson family piano is over a hundred years old. It traveled from Ohio to Georgia in the 1800’s as a love of my husband’s grandmother. It has many stories to tell as family and friends have gathered around, playing and singing, filling the room with joy and laughter. The keys are yellowed and some are broken and unusable. A few are just stuck in place and have to be lifted up to strike the cord and play the sound.

There is a key I want to continue to strike and that is “thanksgiving”. Like an old stuck piano key, I want to press it and hold it in place that my life song is one of thanks to God. Sometimes it takes great intent to lift it and play it again and again. The song of thanksgiving played over and over in our hearts will fill the atmosphere with joy.

Thanksgiving lifts a heavy burden. It turns despair into hope. It sees God’s touch in the smallest of things. It delights in the simple and recognizes the goodness of the Lord.

Our hearts are often in need of a tune up. I find that mine needs it every day; preferably early morning before I press the sour notes. Life can hit us hard over and over until a key here and there is knocked out of tune. Some are broken, but never beyond repair in the Master’s hand because He restores our souls.

What is your song sounding like these days? It might be in need of a tune up before you jump into the holiday frenzy. All around you will hear your song.

Let’s press the note of thanksgiving and get our hearts stuck on Him by giving thanks in all things. Pack up the pumpkins and haul out the holly, but keep thanksgiving prominent in your heart. Strategically place it on the mantel of your heart declaring to all that you have chosen the song of thanksgiving no matter what your life looks like.

The beauty and fragrance of Christ will flow through you like a beautiful sonnet or a fun waltz. Perhaps today it is a crazy, happy song causing others to look away from their problems; tomorrow a soft melody bringing peace to all who can hear.

Tune your instrument and join me as we make music together proclaiming:

Jesus is Lord.

He is King.

He is worthy of all praise and thanksgiving.

Give Thanks

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George Washington, one man of position, power and authority, in his first year of Presidency declared this day as National Thanksgiving. Much has been lost through the years, but as of yet, the day of Thanksgiving to our God has not been stripped away.

Prayer has been removed from public arenas, but what the removers have no understanding of is that prayer can never truly be removed. It rises in our hearts and is declared with even a whisper. A whispered prayer to our God is no less powerful than spoken publicly.

The Ten Commandments are no longer allowed to be posted on our walls, but what they don’t know is we live with His commandment etched on the wall of our hearts. That greatest commandment that Jesus Christ nailed to the walls of our hearts cannot be removed by a mere court decision.

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it. Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40

What God set in motion through George Washington continues to be a powerful truth we need to re-embrace. It is a blessing within itself that we still have a national holiday to give thanks to Almighty God.

Enjoy an excerpt from George Washington’s declaration in 1789:

“Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection, and favors…. Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the Beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks for his kind care and protection of the People of this country…and for all the great and various favors which he has been pleased to confer upon us.”

Did you hear it?

Go ahead and break out into thanksgiving. The eternal God who is, was and will be deserves our highest praise and thanksgiving of all the good that was, that is, or that will be. You don’t have to wait for the guests to arrive or for the timer to pop out of Tom Turkey. Begin your counting now. One by one name them.

“Bless the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.” Psalm 103:1-2

And yes even the hard things that have come our way. Will we be so bold to give thanks for the hard, breaking, shocking and disappointing things?

“Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who

belong to Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28

Will we thank Him for what went wrong, trusting that He is faithful?

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering,

for he who promised is faithful?” Hebrews 10:23

Will we thank Him who calls things that are not as though they were? Instead of being sorrowful over what is not, what if we make it a day to turn it all around in our hearts and call it blessed, healed, delivered, set free, forgiven, reconciled?

“…the God who gives life to the dead and calls things

that are not as though they were.” Romans 4:17

How about thanking Him for the simple and ordinary things that we miss every day?

As I turn my heart to thanksgiving, a miracle takes place within! I have to say that I agree with Ann Voscamp, author of “One Thousand Gifts”. The miracle does precede the thanksgiving. The bad attitude softens. The frustrating task becomes a blessing. The irritating sound reminds me of hearing ears. I begin to see people’s faces as His creation. I feel the breeze, hear the crunch of leaves, smell the smoke, sense His presence and cherish the tear. All things are changed through thanksgiving.

May you have a miracle in your heart this Thanksgiving as you give thanks to our great God.