Enemy Friend

                                                          
                              
    Betrayed.  What an ugly word.  There are many forms of betrayal.  There is the type that turns a friend over to an enemy; the kind that reveals a confidence or secret; the kind that is unfaithful in upholding a trust; and the one that we are probably most familiar with...to be disloyal, or disappoint the hopes and expectations of.
     Some of my friends are going through a betrayal of one kind or another right now.  It is such a sad and difficult thing to watch.  There is nothing you can really do, but give as much support as you can.
     It's much more difficult when you are the one that is being betrayed.  All of us have experienced a deception at one time or another.  It cuts you right to the core...your heart actually hurts.  Perhaps it is where the term "a broken heart" comes from.  You wonder why someone would do such a thing to you.  Usually a betrayal comes from out of nowhere...a complete surprise.  You look back and wonder if it is your fault.  Did you do something to deserve it?  In most cases, the answer is no.  Usually, the treachery is the decision of the betrayer.
     What would cause someone to do such a thing?  What is in their head?  I'm sure they feel justified in their decision, yet that doesn't negate the fact that they have hurt someone in the process.  Many times, after they see the aftereffects of their decision, they feel remorse.  Some apologize...many do not.  Pride restricts them from admitting they have done anything wrong.  What do we do when we have been deceived?
     Jesus experienced this betrayal in the most extreme way possible.  As He began His ministry, he chose 12 men to follow Him and be His closest companions.  Twelve men out of the thousands He could have chosen.  Twelve men that He shared His closest secrets and feelings with.  They were His friends...His brothers by choice.
     Judas was one of the men that was chosen.  He was not perfect, by any means.  He loved money.  Loved money so much, that he offered to be the one to hold the purse for the group.  He was aware of the cost of items, and could be useful in such matters.  Plus, if he held the purse, then he could easily help himself when the need arose.  It was the perfect set up.
     After three years of hanging out with Jesus, Judas began to become disillusioned.  He expected Jesus to start building this Kingdom he always talked about.  Judas couldn't wait to have some power.  Surely Jesus would let him have a position of authority...since he was one of his closest companions.  Then Jesus started talking about a Kingdom of Heaven...what?  Turn the other cheek? Huh??  This isn't what he signed up for.  Jesus was crazy...maybe the rumors he'd heard in the town square were true.  Maybe he was a heretic.  He'd also heard about a possible reward for information....
     The possibilities whirled around Judas' head.  How could he let the leaders know which man was Jesus?  A kiss...that would be the perfect signal!  It's a normal greeting, and Jesus wouldn't suspect a thing.... 
     Jesus experienced the ultimate betrayal.  Unlike us, who usually have no idea what is about to happen, He knew what Judas would do...and He didn't stop it.  He knew it beforehand, and He allowed it to go on, because He loved us.
     So many times when we feel betrayed, we feel alone.  We are not.  Jesus knows what it's like to have someone disappoint you.  He knows how it feels to be abandoned and lied to.  Turn to Him.  He wants to give you the comfort you crave and need.
     Do you feel betrayed?  Turn to Jesus.  He knows how you feel.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."  Matthew 11:28

The Piece of the Puzzle

Romans 8:28    And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

                                                             

                                                                     

     Yesterday I was watching my two granddaughters, ages 3 and 1.  We were putting together puzzles....over and over and over again!  AR was fascinated at how the puzzle pieces fit together and made a picture.  JM was just fascinated with the puzzle pieces.  She kept grabbing them and running away....I guess she thought they were pretty!  I had to distract her in order for her to relinquish the piece, but she finally let go.  
     Since AR is only 3, she tended to get a bit tense if some of the pieces didn't fit together.  She tried to make them fit, but willingly took them apart when I pointed out that they didn't go together.  A couple of times, she got frustrated and let the pieces drop to the floor, as if she wanted to quit.  Then I quietly picked up two coinciding pieces and put them together in front of her.  Her confidence was boosted, and she began to put more segments together.  When her attention faltered, I continued working on the puzzle until it was done, and then when she was interested, she began all over again as if she'd never seen it!
     Life is like a big puzzle.  A puzzle that comes with two complications.  The first is: the puzzle at unexpected times will be turned face down.  We can't see how the pieces coincide, but we have to keep trying.  The other difficulty: many times, we are only given the pieces one or two at a time.  These hindrances can cause us to panic and not know how to go on.
     Don't you hate putting a puzzle together to find in the end, that a piece was missing?  Just to let you know ahead of time, there is one missing from your life.  Everyone's puzzle is complete except for one piece.  The only thing that will fit in that spot is God.  Some people may try to make other pieces fit in that area, but nothing will match.  Money will not fit, drinking or drugs will not fit, other people cannot fit in there...it is made for God and God alone.
     Sometimes we can be like JM and grab onto a piece and hold tight, not wanting to let go.  We don't understand how to put the pieces together, and we're afraid to loosen our grip.  In order for things to move along, we must surrender our grasp, and give it to God.  There are times when we, like AR want to let the pieces drop, because we get discouraged and can't figure out how things could possibly correspond.  But God is right there, slowly assembling the pieces.   He helps us enough to renew our confidence.  We get a second wind, and begin again.
     There are times when we decide to leave the puzzle altogether, being distracted by other things.  God is still there working, even if we have forsaken Him.  He patiently puts our pieces together, waiting for us to join Him in His Work.  He will never leave us to work on our life alone.  He is always there.

                                                       

     Sometimes we need others to help us put our pieces together.  Occasionally, they can see the combinations  better than we can.  God provides helpers when we need them, to help encourage us and give us strength when we falter.
     Part of the fun of assembling puzzles is the constant unkinown.  We try to put pieces together, sometimes they fit...sometimes they don't.  If they don't fit, it would be foolish to get angry and vent and fume.  We simply pick up another piece and go on.    
          At the end of our lives, God turns the whole puzzle over to reveal a beautiful scene.   Everyone has their own draft.  No two are alike.  Our picture is made for us, and us alone.  It is one more glorious than we could have imagined.  Some of the dark pieces that were so ugly to us in life, were needed to bring out the bright and beautiul parts of our picture.  God has used the difficult and traumatic parts of our life to work with the beautiful parts, for our good.  They have helped create the unique individual that God intended for us to be. 

When Life Throws You A Curve Ball

                                              
     Springtime...it is such a beautiful time of year!  New blooms are sprouting, the weather is perfect, and there is excitement in the air.  It is BASEBALL season!  Folks around town are talking about the Rays, and you can't drive down 9th Street in Bradenton, because the Pirates are playing spring ball.  The thrill of the game.  You never know what is going to happen next.  Will the pitcher throw a fastball, a changeup...or a curveball?? 
     Life is like baseball.  You never know what is going to happen next.  We can go along with one fast pitch after another, it can almost seem routine...and then we are thrown the unexpected curveball.  Something happens out of left field, and it changes the game.  It changes our lives.  What was the Pitcher thinking?  Why would this happen to me?  What am I going to do? 
     Sometimes the game is changed because of a poor decision that we have made.  We have perhaps gotten into a slump, and decided that we didn't need the Playbook anymore; we can play the game of life however we want to.  That usually causes problems, and can alter the sport not only for us, but for other people on our 'team'.
     What do we do, when life throws us a curveball?  First...take a 'time out'.  Breathe...regroup.  Then pay attention to the Coach...God.  He will guide you in the direction that you should go.  Pick up the Playbook...the Bible.  It has solutions for anything that may come flying at you.  Whether the curveball has been thrown because of something you have done, or someone else, or maybe no one's fault at all, God is there for you.  He wants you to turn to Him for the answers.  He has promised in His Word that He will help you with all of your burdens.  And God cannot lie.  Matthew 11:28
     In the Playbook, there are chapters and verses for all of life's situations:
                    When you are in sorrow:                      John 14
                    When someone fails you:                      Psalm 27
                    When you have sinned:                         Psalm 51
                    When you are worried:                         Matthew 6: 19-34
                    When God seems far away:                   Psalm 139
                    When your faith is weak                        Hebrews 11
                    When you are lonely and afraid:            Psalm 23
                    When you feel down and out:                Romans 8:31
                    When people are unkind:                       John 15
                    When your purse is empty:                     Psalm 37
                    When you lose confidence in people:    1 Corinthians 13
                    When you are depressed:                       Psalm 27
                    When you are afraid:                             Psalm 34:7
                    When you need assurance:                     Mark 8:35
                    When you are insecure:                          Psalm 121:3
     Many times after being thrown a curveball, we can become fearful.  The world can be a scary place. We need not be frightened.  I have heard that it tells us 365 times in the Bible to "do not fear".  It's as if God knew we would have to be reminded every day not to be afraid.  He is with us.
     So take the fast pitches of life as they come.  Anticipate the curve balls, but know that with God, we can learn to knock them out of the park and produce a home run!