Anyone who has traveled has felt it. Many of us have said it and heard it said: “That place has a piece of my heart.”

I felt that way a few days ago when a friend sent me a link to a video about a Bible dedication in Papua New Guinea. It shows a man praying as his village is about to receive God’s word in their own language for the first time. My husband and I had the privilege of attending two Bible dedications while we lived in PNG and both were experiences I’ll never forget. Seeing the emotions and heart-felt response of the people to the scriptures was inspiring.

When I received the video and saw it streaming with no sound for the first few moments, I was immediately taken back to that place – the sights, the smells, the sounds. I remembered the chanting of the men who surrounded our plane as we landed in the village, singing a song of welcome both to us and to their new Bible. I remembered the old woman carrying the first box of Bibles in her bilum (string bag) and being told she had been given the privilege because she had prayed for this moment for many years. I remembered the look on a young man’s face as he clasped his Bible to his breast and said thank you.  

I was a little surprised at the intensity of these memories as I watched the video. It’s been twenty years since we lived there. But yes, a piece of my heart is still there and there are times when I long to go back.

I’ve felt a yearning like that at other times too, a yearning for heaven. It has hit at odd times, at a funeral once, in the middle of a magnificent forest another time, as I stared at an incredibly beautiful sunset not long ago. That longing surprises me because, unlike Papua New Guinea, I’ve never been to heaven. But a piece of it has been placed in my heart, because One who lives there has put His Spirit in my heart. And I long to be where He is.

Some day I hope to go back to PNG. Friends are working on a translation of the New Testament that will be done soon and it’s one of the things on my bucket list to get there when they dedicate it to God. I hope that happens, but there is no guarantee.

Some day I hope to get to heaven, and thanks be to God, I do have a guarantee that day will come. Jesus Himself has promised to meet me there. The said: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world” (John 6:51). 

Yes, there’s a piece of my heart in heaven and one day my heart will be made whole again.

 

 

 

 

We used to sing an old hymn in the small church where I became a believer. It had some great truths in it, truths about what happens at the moment you decided to ask Jesus to be your Saviour and Lord. The hymn itself was written by Isaac Watts way back in the 18th century. But the chorus was added later, by a man named Ralph Hudson, in the late 19th century. It’s the chorus I had trouble with.

It reads: At the cross, at the cross, where I first saw the light, and the burden of my heart rolled away – it was there by faith I received my sight, and now I am happy all the day.

That last phrase always made me stop singing because it just wasn’t true. I’m not often “happy all the day.”

But there are times when Jesus sure does make me smile.

Like the other day in our tiny church when a woman struggling to pay her mortgage told us about talking to a bank representative who said, in a lovely French accent, “You just have to trust God, Madame.” My friend just about dropped the phone. She had been thinking a lot about that very thing. How could a bank representative in Montreal know what a woman in central Alberta had been thinking? She couldn’t. But Jesus could and does.

Or the time I wasn’t able to get up off the couch in my living room because of the chemo treatment I’d been given. It was a long grey week until a beam of light slipped in and touched a tiny spider plant, making it’s small white blossoms glow and flooding my heart with hope. I knew it was Jesus, just letting me know He was there.

Or the time we were about to advertise a washing machine for sale. My husband felt God telling him to give it away, so he called a neighbour and asked if she might be able to use it. She choked up on the phone. Her washing machine hadn’t been working for over a week and she had no money to replace it. “How did you know?” she asked.

And the “coincidental” fact that several people became part of our congregation just as we were able to purchase a building – people with certain skills, like a realtor, a builder, an electrician, a cabinet maker, just to name a few.

And then there are those emails that come from all over the country and beyond, telling me that something I wrote was “just what I needed to hear today.” And that question, again, “How did you know?”

And then there are those many answers to prayers that are only between me and Him.

No, I’m not “happy all the day.” But Jesus sure does know how to make me smile now and then.

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, … to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations…” (Ephesians 3:20).

 

It was a small cast of characters, but it was enough.

There was an ordinary man, a carpenter, forced to take his very pregnant young wife on a long journey just when she was about to give birth. The imposed census had made refugees out of everyone in their country so the small town was overflowing with weary travelers. Their accommodations that night were rough but the heat from the animals would keep them warm and it would be enough.

There were the shepherds, hunkered down in the fields with the bleating of their sheep around them. Perhaps they had a small fire going – enough to keep the chill of the night at bay. And then there was that angel. Just one, but it was enough to make those shepherds shake with fear until he told them why he was there – to tell them “tidings of great joy.” And then, just to emphasize the point, a “great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God …” (Luke 2:13). That was enough to make those shepherds want to find out if what the angel had told them was really true. It was easy to find the place – the light of that unusually bright star was enough.

It was enough too, for those strangers who came, later. Rich men, they were, with enough resources to give expensive gifts to a small baby found in very humble circumstances. Perhaps they wondered if they really should, but seeing that star stop in that specific place was enough of a sign for them. They laid the gifts by the manger and worshiped the tiny king wrapped in swaddling cloths. The expensive gifts would be enough to carry him and his family to safety in Egypt.

Yes, it was a small cast of ordinary characters playing out the greatest drama ever known to mankind that clear night in Bethlehem. Did they know He would be enough? Did they know that His birth would become so renowned it would be enough for men to make it the pivot of history? Did they know that when he had grown into a man just a touch from his hands would be enough to make blind men see? Did they know that the words from His mouth would be enough to calm a raging sea and raise the dead? Did they understand that He was the One whose death would be enough to wipe their sins away, enough to cause the gates of heaven to be opened and the curtain to the holy of holies ripped in two?

Perhaps they did not completely understand, but the light of the world had come and yes, those men would learn, as millions more beyond them through the centuries, that Jesus is enough.

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given and the government wil be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of this government and peace there will be no end” (Isaiah 9:6).

Have you ever wondered, “Why me?” It’s usually something we think when things aren’t going well, when we feel like we’ve been singled out for some misfortune. It’s a rare thing to think of this question in terms of being chosen for a special honor, being singled out for some blessing.

I wonder if Mary asked herself, “Why me?” After the angel Gabriel was gone, after the startling moment when he announced her destiny, I wonder if she went home and wondered why she of all women was chosen for such an honor? I imagine the glow from that angel lasted for some time. I imagine it was a long time before Mary was concerned about the negative side of things. Perhaps she never was. Perhaps that’s why she was chosen.

Mary was ready to receive whatever God had for her. She didn’t try to get out of it, as Moses did when he pleaded with God to choose someone else for the job (Exodus 3:11- 4:13). She didn’t ask for another sign, as Gideon did when God called him to fight against a mighty army (Judges 8:36-40). She put no conditions on her obedience, as Barak did when God told him He was going to give him victory over his enemy (Judges 4:8). Mary didn’t doubt, as Zehariah did when Gabriel appeared to him and told him he would soon have a son (Luke 1:18). She simply agreed to do what God wanted her to do, no matter how impossible or difficult it seemed. “I am the Lord’s servant,” she said (Luke 1:38)

The angel Garbriel addressed Mary as “you who are highly favored” (Luke 1:28). The Greek word used for highly favored, “charitoo,” is used only one other time in the New Testament. It is used in reference to the body of believers, in Ephesians 1:6. The word literally means filled with grace, freely bestowed with all the richness of God – His love, His mercy, His grace and His power. We, like Mary, are God’s perfect choice for the job at hand. How do we respond to such a name? Are we pleading to God to accomplish His will through someone else, like Moses, or asking for more, like Gideon, or putting conditions on our service, like Barak?

God became one of us, to show us how to respond. He became a man to help us understand that we are highly favored, full of grace. This astounding fact is hard to live with. We are much more inclined to react with fear and doubt. But if we, like Mary, see ourselves in the right perspective, as servants standing in the glow of angels, as men and women not only bowing before the cradle of Christ but in the shadow of the cross, we can and will fulfill our destiny.

And then, like Mary, we will say, “My soul praises the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior” (Luke 1: 46-47).

 

A young woman stands at the head of a long runway, a wooden baton in her hand. At her side sits an eager German Shepherd, quivering. The woman swings the baton in front of the dog’s nose, then pitches it to the far end of the runway. The dog shoots down the runway, ignoring the bowls of food and snacks laid out along its sides, grabs the baton and races back to his mistress. He drops the baton at her feet and sits down. He looks very pleased with himself. Really. He does.

Another young woman takes her place at the head of the runway. The bowls of food and treats are still in place. A Golden Retriever sits at her side. He looks around and wags his tail. The baton is waved and tossed. The Retriever heads off, but spots a bowl of food and grabs a bite. He gets a bit further but that bowl of treats is just too tempting. A few more steps but oh, there’s another bowl of fragrant food just made for him. At the half way point the dog is so distracted he ends up turned around and heading the wrong way.

I laughed out loud the first time I saw this video. We own two golden retrievers and I know that’s exactly how they would perform if given the chance.

And it’s a lot like how I perform at times. Distractions abound and sometimes I just can’t resist. There’s that internet expert promising a six figure income if I just follow his plan. There’s that renovation show on T.V. that makes me drool – oh if only I could have a kitchen like that! There’s that car I keep seeing in my neighbourhood that makes me imagine driving through the countryside of southern France. And then there’s Facebook and all those games you can play on an ipad. And on and on and on.

The days can fly by with little if anything getting done for the Kingdom of God because I’m chasing after the bowls filled with dreams and promises. And sometimes, like that golden retriever, I end up going the wrong way altogether.

It’s then I have to stop and ask myself, okay, what is the right way? How can I get down that runway to the goal God has assigned me? It’s then I have to remember what my calling is all about – the calling to glorify Him in everything I do – and connect again with the One who designed it for me. I want to be like that German Shepherd, eager to please my Master and running with all I have, to do what He wants me to do. I want to focus on the true prize, not a reward, not a treat that will be devoured in seconds, but a life-giving relationship that is eternal.

So, “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).

May we all “run in such a way as to get the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24).

****

The row of tiny ducklings waddles across a busy street, guarded by the flashing lights of a police cruiser. A young boy hangs upside down, his ankles held by a friend as he scoops a kitten out of a dangerous spot. The rescuers hoot with glee as a stranded baby whale swims off to join its pod. We’ve all seen these kinds of videos of animal rescues, and we all cheer. We may even shed a tear or two.

Have you ever wondered why? Why are there scores of these animal rescue videos out there and why do they touch us so deeply? No doubt it’s because the animals are so helpless. We know that without human intervention they would surely die. But I wonder if there isn’t another, deeper reason. Could it be we are gripped by rescue of any kind because we know we are all in need of it? Could it be that at the core of our being we know we are as vulnerable and as helpless at that tiny kitten?

I believe so. I believe that all of us recognize our mortality. We don’t want it to happen. No one wants to die. We all would choose to live for just one more day. But we all know our time on this earth is limited. Perhaps we cheer at those rescue videos because they say, “Not today.”

Fear of death is a common malady. We all own it. No doubt it stems from the fact that death is the only true unknown. We can’t research it. Google “the afterlife” and all you get is speculation. We just don’t know for sure what lies beyond.

But there is good news. And there is a way for us to cheat death, not just for the moment, not just for one day, but for eternity. We can’t do it on our own. We are as helpless in this as that beached whale. But there is One who will rescue us, One who came to this earth for that very purpose. His name is Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us that it is possible to live forever in His presence.

The writer of 1 Corinthians said: “The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law.” (1Cor.15:56). There is no escaping it by our own devices. Sin is a reality, it is part of us, and it will, some day, result in our death. But that writer also said, “Where O death is your victory? Where O death is your sting? … thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1Cor.15:55,57).

Jesus gives us the victory because He removes the sin, “as far as the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12). Jesus gives us His righteousness and takes on our sin and our punishment for it, in the moment we say yes to Him; in the moment we agree that sin is in us; in the moment we agree that we need rescue.

With His cloak of righteousness around us there is no need to fear death. We can know what lies beyond – an eternity lived in His presence.

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“You won!” The email from my friend arrived just after they’d made the announcement at the Gala Awards Ceremony in Toronto Canada.

I read the words again, not quite sure I comprehended them. I won? But … I knew my competition and that other writer was good. The excerpt I’d read of her book was very good. But I won? Wow!

I was not able to be at the awards ceremony this year – an annual event held to honour all Canadian writers who have been published in the past year. I look forward to attending the Gala each year, and Write Canada, the conference that coincides with it, eager to connect again with old friends and meet new ones. But circumstances did not allow me to fly to the other side of the country to attend this time so my friend had agreed to accept the award in my stead. Another friend delivered it to me a couple of weeks later – a check along with a crystal plaque engraved with my name, the date and category of the book, and that wonderful word, “Winner!” I admit my smile was wide as I held it in my hands.

We’ve all heard that expression, ‘winning isn’t everything’ but we all love to win, whether it’s an award from your peers as this was, an Olympic event witnessed by the world, or a simple game of cards. Some people just can’t bear to lose. We’ve seen some evidence of that from professional athletes who don’t act very professional when things don’t go their way. To them, winning the game, the prize, the glory, the money – that’s all that matters.

The apostle Paul addresses this in 1 Corinthians 9:24 when he says – “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” Paul goes on to warn us that we must be careful to focus on the real prize – the one that will give us everything we could ever want and more. Unlike the prize awarded for winning a game or a race or a literary competition, this prize is beyond price.

The good news is that the prize of which Paul speaks is available to all of us. That prize is a gift from the hand of God, a gift, indeed, a prize, like no other. It is a prize that cleanses us from all unrighteousness and leads us to a life lived with Jesus, as his sibling, enjoying the inheritance of eternal life. The prize is called forgiveness.

So Paul says – “One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13)

Yes, we all love to win. But do we have our eyes on the real prize?

I love the Old Testament. The history of the Hebrew people is fascinating. The history of how God provided for them, sustained them and brought them to the place where He wanted them, is awe inspiring. The book of 2 Samuel, verses 17-20 is a perfect example. David has just taken the city of Jerusalem. The Philistines are massing for attack. Picture them as a formidable wall of enemies spread out across the valley. In the face of this, I would have been tempted to just attack. The enemy was obvious, David knew He was the anointed King and had God’s blessing. But he did not rush off to the attack. First, he prayed and asked God what he should do.

God answered and the enemy was defeated.

David said, “as waters break out, the Lord has broken out against my enemies before me.” (2Sam.5:20).

The word used for break out means to breach like water in flood. If you have ever experienced a flood you will know the power that David witnessed. I remember clearly the day I witnessed that force of nature.

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