The Time of Fulfillment: Part One

Early morning, two days before Christmas, I rose and went into my prayer room, opened my Narrated Bible and began to read the account of Jesus’ birth. It’s a tradition of sorts that began when I was a child and remains with me to this day. Reading the biblical account helps to put all things related to this time of the year in proper perspective.

This time as I read the familiar passage from Luke’s account, one verse seemed to lift from the page and from that verse one word seemed to flash like a neon sign in the midnight sky.

“Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord." Luke 1:45 NASB

I could sense the Holy Spirit telling me this is a word for His faithful (those filled with faith) ones for the coming year: There will be a fulfillment of the things I have told you!”

Fulfillment -- accomplishment, completion, achievement, attainment, carrying out, carrying through, consummation, contentedness, contentment, crowning, discharge, effecting, end, gratification, implementation, perfection, realization, you got it

There will be a fulfillment of those things I have told you because you have and continue to believe!

Tears splashed like mini raindrops on the pages of my bible as I thought about all the promises, all the prophetic words, all the dreams and desires that I have hidden in the coffers of my heart. Many of those promises have yet to come to realization; many buried like hidden treasures. This is the time of fulfillment!

I thought about the various let downs and disappointments, the promises broken and the hopes dashed. All the “not-quite’s”; all the “almosts”; even the “fat chances.” All the challenges in their many forms and the fight to hold to just an inkling of hope – like Abraham “who without reason for hope, in faith went on hoping” (Romans 4:18 The Bible in Basic English).

I looked at the path my life had taken with all the seeming detours that might suggest that I just needed to let go of some of those hopes and dreams with quiet acquiescence, face reality, and surrender to what is.

The Holy Spirit reminded me of the number of times we read these words in Scripture:

“So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord. . .” Matt 1:22

“But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written. . .” John 15:25

All this was done! All what?

All the events of my life. All the circumstances surrounding my life! All this has happened that God’s word concerning me might be fulfilled. None of it is wasted or inconsequential! None of it!

All this!All the successes and all the disappointments. All the clear paths and all the obstacles. All the open doors and all the closed doors, even those slammed in my face. All the yeses that should have been no’s and all the no’s I thought should have been yeses. All the moments of acceptance and all the times of rejection. All the times I’ve been understood and all the times I have been grossly misunderstood. All the moments of truth mingled with the lies intended to halt me in my track. All the wonderful choices and all the bad decisions. All the positioning; all the displacements.

All this! All the victories, all the triumphs; all the losses, all the failures. All relationships.

All this!

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who live God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 NASB

All this was done and all things are working in symphony to achieve God’s will for our lives!

It was so with Jesus; it is so with us!

All things are preparing us to receive the promise! All things are working to align those who are a part of that fulfillment because neither the promise nor its fulfillment are simply about you or me. There are a host of others that God desires to use, desires to benefit in some way from what He has promised us.

As we look back over the year and reflect on the things that happened, rejoice in knowing that all this happened that the word to you might be fulfilled, and now is the Time of Fulfillment!

One last point, notice the indefinite article that is used. It says a fulfillment; not the fulfillment. I find that interesting. A fulfillment suggests one of many. That gives me an even greater expectation. I may see a fulfillment, an unfolding of what God has purposed for me in this season, but it is not the end. There is more to come!

For anyone who has placed some hopes, dreams and desires on the shelf or even buried them and moved on, God wants you to know now is the time of Fulfillment!

Everything has been working for good and the manifestation of “all this” is at hand!

Believe it and rejoice!!

Live Wisely; Live Well

I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of. John 10:10b The Message

Oh! Teach us to live well! Teach us to live wisely and well!
Psalm 90:12 The Message

It was a quiet Sunday evening. The big brown “chair” in my living room embraced me like two loving arms and cradled me as I sat relaxing in front of the television when the phone rang. I was elated as I checked the caller ID to see that the call was from my friend in Cleveland. We had not spoken with each other in a few weeks and I eagerly answered the phone.

The voice on the other end was not my friend’s. Immediately I knew – “My father passed away yesterday morning. . .” My heart sank and tears began to well up in my eyes. My dear friend of nearly twelve years was gone.

“He always spoke of you; of how much you encouraged and inspired him. Your friendship meant a lot to him. You inspired him to fight.”

I was stunned. Yes, I knew he was sick. He had been battling a rare form of cancer for well over two years now. The last time I had talked with him, he sounded better than he had sounded in a while. He was home. He was in a place of peace and filled with hope and faith that made my heart swell. I prayed often with him and for him; we both expected to see God do the miraculous.

“He was a good man and a good friend. I will miss him and I will definitely be praying for you and the rest of your family,” I managed to say. I hung up the phone and cried. I rest in the fact that my friend knew Jesus Christ. I had watched him over the years grow in his relationship with God. We often spoke of that process of growing in grace and coming to know the Lord in a more intimate way. We prayed together and encouraged one another to press into that place in God where nothing else matters. I believe that in his sickness he found that place. I heard in him a deeper faith and deeper intimacy with the Lord in the months that followed his diagnosis.

I rest in the fact that he is not in pain. I am reminded of the words I heard years ago: “Death is the final healing.”

But I am saddened. I am saddened at the loss of my good friend. Though he lived nearly five hours away and we didn’t see each other often, we talked frequently. He made me laugh. He made me think. He challenged me. He inspired me. And while we had the testing times that all friendships face, we emerged from them knowing that this was a friendship forged by God in love.

I am saddened by the awareness that there are many things we will not experience together. I’ll never taste the award-winning white chili he bragged on; he’ll never taste the dressing I boasted of. We’ll never play that game of air hockey. I’ll never see him dance – one of those things he so loved to do. He won’t hear me sing again. He’ll never travel with me to the missions field as we had once talked about.

Winston’s death has stirred something deep in me that I can’t shake and that pray I never shake. It is a defining moment of sorts. The older I get the more keenly aware I am of the tenuousness and preciousness of life. And while we must always continue to believe and expect the miraculous, while we continue to stand in the finished work of Jesus Christ, we really don’t know the number of our days. There are things we cannot, should not, must not put off until tomorrow. Winston’s life and death serve to remind me – to remind us all – to live fearlessly, to take deep breaths inhaling and then exhaling love, laughter, joy, grace.

No dreams put on hold! No words left unsaid! No love withheld!

What a magnificent gift God has given us in Christ Jesus – Abundant Life!! There is no rewind button! There are no do-overs! This is it! And it is grand and filled with wonder and promise. Despite the challenges, the mountains, the tests, it is so worth the living! I am determined to lay down each night knowing I unwrapped the gift of life for that day and explored all the wonderful possibilities, tasted the beauty of it, made a difference, and honored God simply by living wise and living well and having no regrets!

What if you had no more excuses?

Living in the Now!

Drawn By Love

"Draw me after you and let us run together!

The king has brought me into his chambers."

     Song of Solomon 1:4 NASB

         “Draw me!!” cries the Shulamite maiden. “Draw me after you!” There is a deep yearning within her spirit that desires more. She can no longer be content with what she has experienced of him up to this point. The desire to be drawn closer still springs from a place deep within her that recognizes there are depths of love that have yet to be reached; there is a place in his heart that she has yet to touch; there are places in her that have yet to be fully touched by him. And she cries, “Draw me!”

         The truth is the Lord is always drawing us; always calling us unto Himself; always wooing us to come closer to be with Him, to hear what He desires to speak, to hear His song of love.  We so often dismiss the drawing;  we put it off until a more convenient time.  His desire is toward us.  He wants to be with us.  He yearns for us. He continually draws; we don't always run. 

      Draw me, Lord! This has become the cry of my heart. I have seen Your love; I have tasted of Your goodness. I desire now that You, Lord, draw me after You. There are so many things, so many others that call to me, seeking to draw me  – not necessarily evil or sinful things, but not necessarily the “needful” thing either. So many other things vie for my attention in the course of a day, but my cry is 'Lord, draw me after You.' I turn aside, I turn away from all the others. I will run after You and You alone. You, Lord, are not only the One I need but You are the One my heart truly desires. Draw me after You and I will come. I will run with haste; with all that I am I will come.

       Draw me! Your word has declared that no man comes to the Father except the Spirit draws him. Your Spirit has drawn my spirit to You and I have experienced Your saving grace.  Now draw all that I am –my  soul, my heart, my thoughts that are so often scattered and turned toward things other than You. Draw my passions and desires that too often lust after the things that only give temporal satisfaction. Draw my affections, my ambitions and all that makes me who I am.  Draw my body and its appetites. Draw me unto You.

        Draw me to You – not to the things that You can give me but to You. Not merely to the promise of prosperity or of healing or of ministry or of needs met, not even the promise of heaven. I recognize that those are all a reality of life in You; if I have You and I have all that You are and all that You give. I don't want to be drawn to the "stuff;"  I want to be drawn to You.  Draw me to Your face; draw me to Your heart.  May I ever be life Moses who chose Your presence over Your promise; for what good is the promise without Your presence? Draw me after You.

        You  continue to draw me with bands of love (Hosea 11:4). You have drawn me with loving-kindness. Deep continually calls to deep. I respond. I run after you.

        I have in my lifetime pursued many things (and people) that I thought would bring me joy and satisfaction. And some did, but the joy was momentary; the satisfaction fleeting. I have found that only You can satisfy the deepest longings of my soul. True pleasure, true joy, true peace come from You. And it is not some temporary thing. You love with an everlasting love. Your love never wanes, never fades, never changes.

         I am still learning how to release some of those desires and allow Him to truly be my all! Still learning to truly walk in the reality that He is more than enough. I am ever in pursuit of Him – desiring to run after Him, to explore His love that has no limits, to know its length,its width, its depth, its height. My cry remains, "Draw me into the deeper places in You to know the love that surpasses knowledge."

        May we  ever run after Him!

The Fragrance of Love

". . .your name is ointment poured forth"   Song of Solomon 1:3b

         I remember some years ago coming home from an exhausting day of work. As I opened the door to my bedroom I was greeted –- or more accurately, accosted -- by a strong smell. The fragrance so permeated every molecule of the room, it literally overwhelmed me. I looked on the dresser and ,noticed that the bottle of extremely expensive perfume I had recently purchased was half emptied. My mother, who I was caring for at the time, had decided to use my cologne as air freshener. The scent lingered for days.

        That memory came to mind as I reread Song of Songs 1:3. Our young maiden compares the name of her beloved to perfume that has been poured out. Something about his very name had the same effect on her as that perfume my mother had “poured forth” in my room had had on me; it was powerful enough to truly overwhelm her.

        In the Shakespearean play Romeo and Juliet, Juliet asks “What’s in a name?” She goes on to say that it really doesn’t matter what you call a thing; its very nature or essence remains the same. But the Bible tells us that a name is more than a word by which we call something or someone. Within the name lies the very essence of the person. Know the name; know the person; for the name reveals the person’s character, destiny and purpose.

        That is why as we read through scripture each time the LORD reveals His Name to the children of Israel,  He is saying to them (and to us) "This is My character; this is Who I AM! My Name is not just a title by which you may call Me; it reveals My essence,My power,  My heart!”  All that He is is wrapped up in His Name: Provider, Healer, Peace, Captain of the Host, Shepherd, Righteousness, Holy, Savior and so much more. And in all of these revelations rest the greatest revelation of all --- God is Love!

        All that Yahweh is, all He revealed Himself to be, is manifested in One person, One Name, the Name above all names,  Jesus. The greatest revelation of the Father's  love for us is found in Jesus!

        Your Name is perfume poured forth!!

        Many of the ingredients used in the making of perfumes in the Israel had to be imported, making the oils and perfumes very costly. (we read that the ol Mary used to anoint Jesus was worth a year's salary). These expensive oils were often kept in boxes or vials, and in order for the oil to be poured forth, the seal of the box or vial had to be broken. Breaking open the box to pour forth the oil  represents true and total commitment. It was all or nothing.

        The  Lord Jesus, the King of kings has broken  open the alabaster box of His life for me and for you. In love He willingly poured forth all that He is in order to bring us back to the Father’s heart; in order to bring us into relationship with Him.  I love Him so much  and I thank Him  for loving me with a self-sacrificing love. His  name, Jesus, is ointment poured forth, and it is a sweet-smelling savor in my nostrils.

        I believe the only response to such a love is for us to pour out our  lives to Him, recognizing that it is all or nothing. Today  let us break open the alabaster box of  our very lives. May our  lives be a sweet-smelling savor unto Him. Amen.

First Love

Pleasing is the fragrance of your perfumes;

your name is like perfume poured out.

No wonder the maidens love you!

Song  of Solomon 1:3 (NIV)

       Each time  I read the opening passage of the Song of Songs, I envision the Shulamite maiden sitting lost in thought, longing for her king. Perhaps she is daydreaming about him. You know how it was when you first fell in love. As I pore over these words, I am astounded as I sense the great delight the maiden experiences in the presence of the king. All of her senses are awakened to Love. Thoughts of him seem fill her mind. She seems so attuned to every thing about him; his very scent brings pleasure to her.

       While meditating on this verse, I had to ask myself: Is it so with me and the Lover of my soul? Am I  so in love withmy Lord that He consumes every part of my life,  my very  being? Have I kept that same passion I had in the beginning? Is my love for Him still fervent, fresh and new? Have I remained so sensitive to Him that I sense His presence by His fragrance?

       Remember how it was when you first fell in love with Jesus? I do. All I wanted to do was spend time alone with Him, time in His Word, time in worship, time in prayer. Hours would pass and seem like only minutes. I was overwhelmed by His love, His voice, His beauty, His presence. Every part of me – spirit, soul and body -- was awakened to Love. It engulfed all that I was and all that I did, and always called me back to that secret place – alone with Him.

      There is something about budding love. The newness of it brings newness to everything. All of life becomes animated. We are in love and that love consumes us! But if we are not careful, over time the freshness may wane. We may not be as excited by the presence of the one we love. We may even begin to take that presence for granted.

      The cry of my heart is that my love for Jesus never loses that freshness, that it never wanes, that I never take Love for granted. May I ever be sensitive to His presence, to His sweet fragrance. May I ever be alive to Love Himself with all that I am. May every day with Him be filled with excitement and anticipation – not just of the things He will do for me but at the very thought of Him and the knowledge that He is ever present with me.

     May it be so with all of us!