Look UP!

I have plans this morning to wash windows and prepare for a party. The Lord has other plans for my life. This morning, I feel like a Martha, so concerned about outward appearances. He wants me to be a Mary, and be still and learn from him.

When I was a little girl, I used to sneak into my mom's bedroom and remove her old leather Bible from her night stand. I don't know why, but I didn't want anyone to see me. I would flip through the pages, looking at all of the beautiful pictures. The most amazing picture to me, was the image of Jesus coming in the clouds. I would just stare at it and envision it REALLY happening. At times, I would look up in the clouds, and wonder if it was ever going to happen or if it was just another picture in a storybook.

When I was about nine years old, I had a friend tell me that Jesus was coming back. And that we should all be afraid because it was going to be horrible! No one would know when it was going to happen, but that it would happen suddenly. My glorious picture turned to fear. What I had thought was a beautiful scene had now become something I dreaded. I was afraid of God for many years.

When I trusted Jesus and he became the center of my life, I no longer feared him or his return. The morning after I asked Jesus to come into my life, the sky was the most beautiful blue - a blue I had never seen. The grass was greener and my world "looked" amazingly different. It's as if I had a new set of eyes - literally! I knew that I was loved in a way I had never known! Twenty two years later, and I still stand in awe of his creation. And I am still in awe of his love for me and for...YOU!

I have my cloud picture on the desktop of my laptop. I look at it several times a day. I feel the Lord is pressing another message into my heart concerning the vision he gave me. If you look at the cloud picture again, you will notice a LION. There is a lion beneath the crown and to the right. It is a profile of a lion and it is rising from the clouds. You will see its front legs, head, mane, back and tail. Everytime I look at the picture I see the lion and the crown. This morning, several scriptures came to mind.

Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him... Rev. 1:7

See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. Rev. 5:5

Now there is in store for me the crown of righteiousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day - and not only to me, but also to ALL who have longed for his appearing. 2 Tim. 4:8

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father - to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. Rev. 1:5,6

Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. Rev. 1:17

The world is in a crisis. We hear it everywhere we go whether in a store, at church, on the radio, TV or on the internet. The WORLD is in crisis, not just the United States. People are full of questions...where do we turn? when will it end? who do we trust? when will things get better?

I'm not a Bible scholar or a financial analyst. But, I do know who we can trust and I do know where to turn. I turn my eyes on Jesus. One of the first hymns I learned as a new believer has the words: Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of his glory and grace. I find myself humming it often.

If you are like me, I quickly realize, that this world crisis is TOO big for me. No amount of stressing, talking or waiting is going to change anything. What I have found is that when I am in God's presence, sitting quietly, listening for his voice, looking to him...the problems get much smaller compared to his greatness. He is the God of the universe and of my little world. He has it all under control and as I put my trust in him, the problems of this world and my own little world, grow strangely dim.

Like me, you have probably been warned at some time in your life that Jesus is coming! I'm not afraid of his coming, I am looking for it. It may not be now, it may not be for another thousand years. The bible says, no one knows. But, I'm going to keep looking up!

I encourage you to fix your eyes on him, trust him and keeping looking up! He may have a message just for you! He loves us so much! Be blessed today!