Jesus

Missing Out

Barbara Kain Parker Biblical Insights, Devotional , , , , , , , ,

It was a few days before Halloween and the McKinleyville High School Panthers football team was facing off with our rivals in Fortuna.  I debated whether to go to the game or to a costume party at church, finally settling on the party.  After all,  in the four years the school had existed we had yet to win a game, and it was always such a let-down after all the excitement of the pep rallies to ride home in a bus full of disappointed kids.

The party had not been so great and the next day I was already wishing I’d gone to the game when I ran into a friend.  I casually asked, “So, how bad was the score this time?”  But no, our team had finally won, and the celebration was—well, quite a celebration; and I’d missed it.

As I read the story of the ten virgins recently I recalled that weekend and realized that I had been like one of the five who were unprepared.  I had gotten tired of waiting and had stopped watching for the promised win that would surely come eventually; settling for something else because I didn’t have enough faith in my team.  But my disappointment was nothing compared to that of those who do not remain alert for the coming of the Lord—they will pay a much higher price than just missing out on the celebration of a winning game.

Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish.  Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.  But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.  And at midnight a cry was heard: “Behold, the bridegroom is coming;go out to meet him!”  Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.  And the foolish said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.”   But the wise answered, saying, “No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.”  And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.  Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, “Lord, Lord, open to us!”  But he answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.”  Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.
(Matthew 25:1-13)

Too Big To Describe

Barbara Kain Parker Devotional, Inspirational , , , , , , , , ,

The Ben Franklin Five and Dime at the Arcata Plaza was doing a booming business—it was 1958 and hula hoops were a nationwide craze.  Kids, myself included, were all over the plaza, whirling and twirling those brand new hoops around our waists and from every appendage.

Fifty-some years later, the Plaza that I remember so well was still there; the surrounding businesses now a more eclectic mix of shops and restaurants, and the Ben Franklin building housing a furniture store.  But that was OK because I wasn’t shopping for hula hoops this time—I was browsing bookstores, hoping to find unique-to-the-area publications featuring the redwoods.  I did make a few good discoveries, but there wasn’t much that couldn’t be picked up at any local tourist trap.  Perhaps these ancient trees are just too big to describe adequately via the written word; only in their presence can their majesty be experienced.

A few days ago, reading through the gospels, I was struck anew by the fact that there’s really not a lot written about Jesus’ life on earth either—just four short books, with many of the events of His life duplicated in two or more places.  And yet, in those few pages, lies the greatest biography ever recorded.  How can so few words hold so much truth?  How can the brief accounts of His teachings convey everything we need to know in order to have a relationship with God?  How can each passage be so simple that a little child can understand, yet so complex that every time you read it you may see something new?  I think it’s because the words were inspired by the best communicator ever—the Holy Spirit; and He knew exactly what we needed.

The Apostle John said it well as he concluded his account with, “And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.” (John 21:25)

The majesty of the redwoods forests is nothing compared to the majesty of Jesus; and only though relationship as we sit in His presence can we even begin to comprehend the fullness of Christ.

Standing Firm

Barbara Kain Parker Inspirational , , , , , , , , ,

The Word of God not only encourages us repeatedly to stand firm in our faith but also provides us with role models.  Faced with what appeared to be certain destruction by the Egyptians, Moses told the Israelites to not be afraid for if they would stand firm the LORD would deliver them and they’d never see their pursuers again.  Isaiah prophesied to King Ahaz of Judah that if he didn’t stand firm in his faith he wouldn’t stand at all.  Paul wrote over and over to the Corinthian church, advising them to stand firm in their faith—to be careful, to be on guard, to be strong, to have courage.  Jesus taught his followers that even though they would be hated because of him, the result of standing firm would be salvation and life.

We hold fast to the truth that God has gone before us—that he’s not asking us to do anything that he has not already modeled for us.  Throughout the Psalms we are comforted by the knowledge that his plans, his word, his purposes, his law and his love stand firm—they are eternal and unchanging and we can count on them.

We are also encouraged by modern-day believers whose faith has brought them through incredible trials.  But, most of all, we look to Jesus, the very source of our faith; the perfect example who, for the joy that was set before him, went to the cross and endured all of the suffering that the enemy could heap upon him.  He never lost sight of the goal, and in finishing his race he provided everything we need to finish ours.