For reasons unknown to us, the local animal shelter had become her place of residence.
It could have been because she was no longer affordable, so she was dropped off as the humane option.
Possibly, she ran away from home because she had overbearing owners and wanted more freedom.
It’s part of her story we will never know.
All we knew at the time was that she needed us.
The first time we saw her, we were hundreds of miles away from home.
Our family had just enjoyed a few days at the beach and was making the long drive home when an unnamed passenger (closest to me in age) began showing us pictures of one cute canine after another.
It’s likely that sleep deprivation was the leading cause of her decision, but that wasn’t taken into consideration by the other five passengers. We saw an opening and united to persuade Mommy that another dog was exactly what we needed.
Not just any dog, though.
We needed the yellow lab mix who communicated to us through her eyes, “I need you.”
It had been almost a year since we had put down our beloved yellow lab, Bailey (Pooter), and it just hadn’t been the same around our house.
Something had been missing, and when we saw this yellow lab mix, we found what had been missing.
She needed us, but just as important, we needed her.
The rest of the trip home was spent reminding the kids of their responsibility to help take care of the dog and deciding on a name.
The shelter was calling her “Tammy,” but that wasn’t a name that would fit in our fur family tree.
Our previous Labrador Retrievers all had names that began with the letter B.
I wanted the name “Baptist,” but it was voted down. The irony in that wasn’t lost on me.
The favored name was Birdie, so we now had a name for the face in the photo.
When we got back into town, we went straight to the veterinarian’s office, where she was being housed for the shelter. We filled out the paperwork, paid the fee, and took Birdie home as the newest member of our family.
That was five years ago.
Today, we took her back to the same veterinarian’s office.
This time, it wasn’t to say hello but to say goodbye.
Last week, we found out she had a tumor in her stomach,which explained why she hadn’t been eating. We were told it wasn’t likely she would get any better, so we decided not to prolong the inevitable.
She needed us to make this decision.
Five years ago, we drove in a hurry to the veterinarian’s office.
Today, we drove slowly to the veterinarian’s office.
We filled out the paperwork, paid the fee, and then took Birdie home to lay beside Bailey.
Take a good look at those three crosses. If you are familiar with the story of the crucifixion then you know that two criminals hung on the two outer crosses and you know that Jesus hung on the middle cross. Did you know, however, that the middle cross wasn’t originally built by the Romans for Jesus?
The middle cross was built for a man named Barabbas. Who was this man named Barabbas? We don’t know much about him, but we do know enough to know that he was deserving of death. Barabbas was an insurrectionist. In other words, he was a man who participated in a violent uprising against the Roman government. There is a good chance that he was one of the key leaders of the insurrection. The Bible tells us that in the process of rebelling against the Roman government Barabbas, along with other insurrectionists, had committed murder. Mark 15:7 says: The man named Barabbas had been imprisoned with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the insurrection. Barabbas was a rebel, and a murderer. As a result of what he had done, he was not only deserving of death but was under the sentence of death. Unless something happened, Barabbas was going to be crucified on a cross alongside two of his partners in crime.
Something did happen.
We discover that one of the customs of Pilate, the Romans Governor, was to release for the Jews any prisoner they requested during the feast of the Passover. Mark 15:6 says: Now at the feast he used to release for them any one prisoner whom they requested. Verse 8 we read: The crowd went up and began asking him to do as he had been accustomed to do for them. So, Pilate asks them: Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews? We can only imagine his surprise when the crowd responded by saying they wanted him to release Barabbas.
Barabbas?
A man guilty of rebellion and murder?
You want me to release a man deserving of death?
After hearing that they wanted him to release Barabbas we find Pilate asking the crowd this question in verse 12:Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?” If Pilate was surprised to hear that they wanted Barabbas released he must have been shocked when he heard what they wanted him to do to Jesus. In verse 13 we read: They shouted [a]back, “Crucify Him!”
Pilate knew Jesus was innocent.
Pilate knew that Jesus didn’t deserve to die.
So, he says back to the crowd in verse 14:“Why, what evil has He done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify Him!” Then we read words that will change the course of history for not only Barabbas but for the entire world. Wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.
The Bible tells us in Romans 3:23:for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We all have missed the mark of righteousness God has set. We are rebels, lawbreakers, and deserving of death. We deserved to be on the middle cross as much as Barabbas deserved to be on it. The Bible tells us in Romans 6:23: the wages of sin is death. The verse doesn’t end there though. It tells us “the wages of sin is death” and then continues, “but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
We deserve to die because of our sin but God offers us the gift of eternal life. It’s a gift received through Jesus Christ. On that Friday over 2,000 years ago Jesus wasn’t just nailed to that middle cross in place of Barabbas; Jesus was nailed to that middle cross in place of all of us reading this post. 1 Peter 3:18 says: For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God. The reason Jesus died for Barabbas and for us was to bring us to God. Sin separated us from God, so Jesus laid down His life to become our way back to God. In John 14:6 Jesus said: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
When Jesus shed His blood on that middle cross it symbolized Jesus standing in the middle between God and man making a way for them to be reunited. Ephesians 1:7 says: In [a]Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses. Jesus made a way for us to be forgiven of our sin when He took our place on that middle cross and shed His blood.
Jesus made a way for Barabbas to be forgiven of his sin, but the Bible gives us no record that ever happened. Instead of turning to Jesus in repentance and recognizing Jesus was taking his place on that middle cross; Barabbas turns away from Jesus and continues in his sin. Barabbas received the pardon of man, but he never received the pardon of God.
Let me ask you: are you living like Barabbas?
Has there ever been a time in your life when you have confessed that Jesus Christ took your place on the middle cross and died for your sin?
Would you like to receive the gift of salvation, the forgiveness of your sin, offered to you by God through Jesus Christ? John 3:16 says: For God so loved the world, that He gave His [a]only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. Then in Romans 10:13 it says: Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved. If the answer is yes I invite you to pray the following words with all your heart:
Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior.
If you just prayed that prayer the words “paid in full” have been written across the sin debt of your life with the blood of Jesus Christ. That’s something to celebrate. If you received news that a huge financial debt you owed had been forgiven you would shout about it and tell others about it. Something better than that has happened to those of us who have trusted in Jesus Christ for our salvation. A debt we could never pay Jesus paid for us.
I close with the words of the hymn “Jesus Paid It All” written by Elvina Hall. As you read the words I want to encourage you to shout about it and then tell others about.
“Jesus paid it all All to Him I owe Sin had left a crimson stain He washed it white as snow.”
Long before you knew there was a problem God already had a miracle in mind.
In John 6 we find a large crowd coming to Jesus. Large as in five thousand men plus women and children. Seeing the crowd Jesus asks one of his disciples, Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat?”
Jesus didn’t ask the question because he was in need of Philip’s help. The question was asked so that Philip could see he needed Jesus’ help.
Philip looks at the crowd then looks at the bank account and bread inventory and basically says to Jesus: “impossible.”
Long before Philip knew there was a problem Jesus already had a miracle in mind.
Before Jesus asked Philip about the bread situation He already knew the limitations that would be identified by Philip. More importantly Jesus already knew how He was going to turn the limitations into a miracle of maximization.
John 6:6 says: “Jesus already knew what he was going to do.”
In other words, Jesus had a miracle in mind.
One boy. Two fish. Five loaves of bread.
This was the miracle Jesus had in mind to turn twenty-thousand empty stomachs into twenty-thousand full stomachs.
John writes in verse 11: “Jesus then took the loaves, and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted.”
I don’t know if you are a Dr. Seuss fan but the older I get the more I get Dr. Seuss. I’m not saying that I’m eating more green eggs and ham these days but I am saying that I’m finding Dr. Seuss’ stories have application to the greater story of life.
One Dr. Seuss story that is popular this time of year is “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”. The story begins with these words “Every Who down in Who-ville liked Christmas a lot…but the Grinch, who lived just north of Who-ville, did not”. So the Grinch comes up with a “wonderful, awful idea. He’ll disguise himself as Santa and while all the Who’s are sleeping he’ll go down to Who-Ville and stop Christmas from coming by stealing all the symbols of Christmas. So off the Grinch goes to Who-ville. Once there he steals the stockings, the presents, the pudding, the roast beast, and of course the tree. With his sled all packed up the Grinch heads back up to Mt. Crumpit.
He rode with his load to the tiptop to dump it! Pooh-Pooh to the Whos! he was Grinch-ish–ly humming. They’re finding out now that no Christmas is coming! They’re just waking up! I know just what they’ll do! Their mouths will hang open a minute or two; Then the Whos down in Who-ville will all cry BOO-HOO. That’s a noise, grinned the Grinch, That I simply must hear! So he paused. And the Grinch put his hand to his ear. And he did hear a sound rising over the snow. It started in low. Then it started to grow…But the sound wasn’t sad! Why, this sound sounded merry! It couldn’t be so! But it was merry! Very! He stared down at Who-ville! The Grinch popped his eyes! Then he shook! What he saw was a shocking surprise! Every Who down in Who-ville, the tall and the small, Was singing! Without any presents at all! He hadn’t stopped Christmas from coming! It CAME! Somehow or other, it came just the same! And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow, Stood puzzling and puzzling: How could it be so? It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes, or bags! Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! Maybe Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas….perhaps…means a little bit more.
As we journey through the Christmas Season I’m aware of another Grinch that would like to steal Christmas from many people and that is the Grinch of Grief. All around us the symbols of Christmas have appeared: trees, stockings, gifts, and lights. It’s a sight that seems to say that “we like Christmas a lot”. Lurking in the shadows of the souls of some, however, is the Grinch of Grief who does not. It does not like anything that resembles Christmas. This Grinch has come to try to take Christmas and metaphorically dump it over the edge of a cliff.
To those whom the Grinch of Grief has led to the edge of this cliff I would offer this word of encouragement before dumping Christmas over the edge. Look past the symbols of Christmas and see the heart of Christmas. The symbols of Christmas are nothing more than signs that point us to the true meaning of Christmas. The heart of Christmas is about a Savior, named Jesus Christ who came to this earth and clothed Himself in human likeness to bear our sin and grief and to carry our sorrows. Isaiah 53:4 says: Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.
Christmas is the celebration of Jesus Christ coming to this sinful, grief-stricken world to identify with us so that He could give us the help we so desperately need. Jesus understands all of our pain, sorrow, and grief. Jesus came to take our pain and give us His peace. Jesus Christ came to take our sorrow and give us His joy. Jesus Christ came to carry our grief and give us His hope.
To those who might have been ready to dump Christmas over the edge of the cliff I pray that you have had a change of heart now that you’ve seen the heart of Christmas. There’s really no need to allow the Grinch of Grief your Christmas to steal for Jesus came to this earth and knows how you feel. There is no maybe about it. Christmas means a whole lot more; such as Jesus Christ came and our sins and griefs He bore.
I have been asked that question a lot recently by my wife. The reason she has to keep asking is because I really don’t know what I want for Christmas.
Socks (√)
Underwear (√)
A wife and kids who love me (√)
Is there really anything more to be added to that list? Okay, maybe a gift card to Barnes and Noble could be added to that list, and a Starbucks gift card, and a iTunes gift card, and a…anyway where was I? Oh yes, what do I want for Christmas?
I really don’t know how to answer to that question but I do appreciate the heart of that question. The heart of that question is love. My wife doesn’t just want to give me a gift; she wants to give me a gift I want. The desire of her heart isn’t to give me just anything but to give me something that will fulfill my heart’s desire. There are countless number of things she could give me but she wants to give something that counts to me. Therefore, she keeps asking:
What do you want for Christmas?
Christmas really isn’t about me though and it really isn’t about you either. Christmas is about Christ. It’s the day set aside to celebrate his life changing birth. The angel of the Lord told the shepherds:
“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11 NIV).
Christmas is about Christ. It is a celebration of the birth of the One who would “save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21 NIV).
Since Christmas is about Christ I got to thinking that maybe it would be nice if we asked Him the question my wife has been asking me: What do you want for Christmas?
When Christ was born the angels gave Him praise (Luke 2:13), the shepherds gave Him glory (Luke 2:20), and the Magi gave Him gold, incense, and myrrh (Matthew 2:11). I wonder what Christ would want us to give Him this Christmas?
There are so many things we could give Him but it would be so much better to actually give Him something He wants. You could wait until you’re finished reading this entire post before you ask but I would rather you stop reading (briefly) and starting asking. Let me hear you now in 3, 2, 1…
What do you want for Christmas?
I think I heard you but more importantly I know Christ heard you. I am certain He appreciates the heart of what He heard; the desire of your heart to give Him the desire of His heart.
Now that you’ve asked, what’s next?
What’s next is waiting to hear back from Christ and you will hear back from Him. Unlike me, Christ knows what He wants for Christmas; after all, He is all-knowing.
Once you hear back from Christ the only thing left to do is give Him what He wants. That’s what Christmas is really all about.
As I bring this to a conclusion I do so by answering my wife’s question:
What do you want for Christmas?
I want her to know how much it means to me that she loves me enough to give me what I want.
It has been said that every person is either going into a storm, in the middle of a storm, or coming out of a storm.
It’s kind of hard to argue against that statement, isn’t it?
As much as we really don’t like storms they are an inevitable part of life for everyone.
The last word of the last sentence is extremely important so please read it again.
Everyone, including those who follow Christ, experience storms. Just because we are going the direction Christ would have us to go does not mean we will never find ourselves in the eye of a storm.
In fact, Jesus very candidly told us to expect troubled seas in this life. In John 16:33 Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble”. Not exactly the promise we wanted Jesus to make. We would much rather Jesus had made us this promise, “In this world you might have trouble” or “in this world you will only have trouble if you don’t follow me”.
That’s not the promise Jesus made to us though. Jesus promised us problems, without exception. No one, including those walking closest to Jesus, are storm exempt.
We find an example of this in Matthew 8:23-24: “Then Jesus got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat”.
The disciples weren’t expecting a storm to follow them when they were following Jesus and neither do we.
We might expect to encounter high winds and waves when we run from Jesus but not when we remain with Him.
Yet there is no escaping the fact that the disciples encountered the storm while they were with Jesus which means we won’t be escaping all the storms of life either.
There will be days when we follow Jesus out of our house and without warning will find ourselves in the middle of a storm. When that happens we need to remember that while Jesus may not cause the storm in our life He will always use it in our life to develop us into mature disciples of faith. James 1:2-4 says: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything”.
James says, “the testing of our faith develops perseverance” which eventually leads to mature faith.
None of us want to experience the storms of life but the reality is that our faith can never grow stronger unless it is tested and the storms of life test our faith.
I don’t believe that Jesus caused this storm in the disciples life but I do believe He used it in their life to test their faith because He wanted them to develop persevering faith that would grow into mature faith.
Matthew tells us that when the disciples found themselves in the middle of the storm they went and found Jesus who was sleeping in the boat. They wake Jesus up and say to Him, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown! Jesus replies, You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” (vv.25-26)
When the disciples faith was tested it was found to be lacking and not complete. Perseverance had not finished its work within them. They still had a few more storms to go through to get them to the faithful shore. As long as they kept following Jesus, though, it would be a journey they would for sure complete.
Storms are not the classroom we would choose to enter to have our faith tested but we need to recognize that Jesus uses storms as part of His discipleship training. Therefore, the next time we find ourselves in a storm we need to become a student of the storm and discover the area of life our faith needs to be further developed.
Put simply: When we find ourselves in a storm we need to keep rowing in faith so that we can keep growing in faith.
What storm is Jesus using in your life right now to develop your spiritual maturity?
It wasn’t because the equipment isn’t great; it is.
The reason I almost didn’t go to the gym today was because of the hypocrites that go there.
Let me explain.
While I was driving in town the other day I saw a guy that goes to the same gym as I do walking into a donut shop. I thought maybe he had mistakenly gone into the wrong place and was ready to give him the benefit of the doubt until I saw him walk out with a box of donuts. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Here is a guy that puts on his work out clothes and is pumping iron with his “gym friends” in the early morning hours and dunking donuts with his wife just a few moments later. “What a pretender”, I thought to myself as I drove on my way. “He acts all healthy at the gym and acts totally different outside the gym. If that’s the kind of people who go to the gym, I reasoned, there was really no point in going to such a place”.
Hypocrite.
Then I remembered something important that I had almost forgotten. I remembered the reason I got up nearly every morning and went to the gym myself was not because I was in perfect health but rather because I wanted to be.
Although I have been going to the gym for six months myself I am still not in perfect shape. In fact, I think it would be more fitting (pun intended) to say that I’m a work in progress and always will be. The same can be said of the guy that was working on his 12 pack abs earlier in the morning and who is now working on his dozen of donuts. It’s not so much that he is pretending to be something he’s not but rather that he is striving to be something that he wants to be but has yet to become. In my mind that makes him less of a hypocrite and more of a hero.
Let me transition for just a moment.
I often hear many people say the reason they don’t want to go to church is because of all the hypocrites there. I won’t argue the fact that hypocrites can be found at church. There are those that go to church only to play the part but once they leave the church building the mask comes off and the real person is made visible. These are people who have no desire to change only a desire to have a “form of godliness while denying its power” (2 Timothy 3:5 NIV).
Hypocrites can be found at church.
I would suggest, however, that maybe they are not as many in number as we think. I would contend that some that are labeled as hypocrites are really imperfect people that are still in the process of being perfected in their faith.
Week after week they come to church not because they think they are in perfect spiritual health but rather because they want to be. They come to build their spiritual muscles and they leave with the expectation that they will exercise their faith at work, at school, and in their neighborhood. They desire to live for God and most of the time they do but sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they leave the church building and minutes later walk into an argument.
An argument over heard by someone else; an argument that draws this conclusion: hypocrite.
Here’s a person that put on their church clothes and was talking Jesus in the morning and is talking down to his neighbor in the afternoon. “If that is the kind of people who go to church”, they reason, “there is really no point in going to such a place”.
On the contrary.
The kind of people that go to church is the whole point of going to such a place.
The kind of people that go to church are, by and large, those who recognize their imperfections.
Imperfect people go to church to worship the One who is perfect, Jesus Christ, and to call upon Him to do a work of grace in their heart that purifies their imperfections.
They go not because they are pretending to be something they’re not but rather because they are striving to be something that they want to be but have yet to become. In my mind that makes the person that goes to church less of a hypocrite and more of a hero.
So tomorrow I will go to the gym and Sunday I will go to church. I will go not expecting to find people in perfect physical health or spiritual health at either place but rather people on a journey toward that end.
