Her Name is Diane

Last Thursday I was in my church's reception area, asking about vacation Bible school forms and making small talk with the receptionist. Suddenly, the door swung open and a woman I will not soon forget struggled in through the door. She looked to be near fifty, with her short brown curls pushed out of her face with a plastic headband.  She had a leg brace on and an obviously swollen leg and foot. She walked slowly and painfully across the room and eased herself into a chair.  The receptionist asked if there was something she could help her with.  The lady, clearly exhausted from the short walk from the car to the chair, exhaled and said, "I don't know. But I hope so.  I'm having a real hard time lately, and with my leg hurt I can't work right now. I've been living in my car. I wondered if maybe you could help me out with some groceries or gas? Maybe a gift card?"  The receptionist explained she didn't have any gift cards to give away. The woman sat for another moment and then heaved herself up and said, "Well, thank you anyways", and began to make her way to the door.

It was as clear as day as I watched this exchange unfold.  God might as well have tapped me on the shoulder and said, "This one's for you."  I tossed a quick wave to the receptionist as I scooted out the door behind the lady.  "Ma'am!"  I called as I followed her down the walkway.  As she neared her car, she turned toward me.  She truly looked desperate and hopeless.  "Tell me what's going on,"  I asked her.

She started to reiterate some of what she had stated a moment ago in the office.  She told me about living in her car, and how a friend of hers, who worked at a nearby 7-11, let her take a shower recently. She nodded over her shoulder at a frozen dinner someone had given her, which she had sitting on her dashboard heating up in the sun. As I looked behind her at her beat up maroon Explorer, it was clear she truly was sleeping in her car. In the back seat were some pillows and blankets, and in the front seat were an assortment of books, bags and personal effects. The car was crammed with what appeared to be all of her possessions. My heart ached as I listened to her story. What would I do in her position? Hurt, alone, unable to provide for my most basic needs?  Where was God for this woman?  Did she even know about Him?

I'll tell you where God was for this woman. He was busy being Jehovah-Jireh, the God who provides.  He divinely placed me there in that office, at that particular moment in time. All I had to do was say yes to the opportunity He was placing before me.

As I looked over her shoulder in the parking lot, I could see the grocery store across the street behind her.  She had not asked for money, but gift cards.  That I could do. And I would go on faith that she would indeed use what I planned to give for noble purposes.  In other words, I was already praying that God would not allow her to go in and blow it all on cigarettes and booze. I wanted to believe this woman's needs were as authentic as they appeared. As if to allay my concerns over legitimacy, the Holy Spirit poured out a peace over me. I knew that this was for real.

I told her to follow me over to the store across the street and I would get her what she needed. She was in tears, overwhelmed with gratitude.  "Bless you!" she said, her voice choked with emotion.

As I got out of my car in the grocery store parking lot, I saw her struggling to get out of hers.  I went over and told her to just stay in the car, to not worry about trying to walk in. As I rushed into the store, a whirlwind was racing through my mind:  How much to spend? What else does she need? Oh man, my tae kwon do class starts in 2 minutes! I shook off the thoughts about being late (helping a homeless woman was a little more important than perfecting roundhouse kicks) and launched into some desperate praying: God, show me what she needs! Instantly, He put into my head "sandwich, water, pain medication".  He also gave me specific guidance on the gift cards and how much to purchase for each.  I added to the bag a devotional book I had in my car. I walked the bag of items over to her car and told her what all was there. She was truly grateful. I then asked her if she believed in God. She said she did, and she reached behind her and pulled out a very worn and well-loved paperback Bible. AWomen of Faith devotional Bible that was literally held together with the label from a Suave shampoo bottle. Then I asked if I could pray with her. She very much welcomed it, so I embraced this tender stranger to whom I feel eternally connected. As I prayed over her, asking the God who provides to meet her needs, to keep her safe, to make a way for her and bless her richly - I felt overcome with love for this woman I did not even know. God put a love in my heart for her in that moment that gave me a glimpse of how He loves her. We then went our separate ways, both in tears and overwhelmed by God's incredible love.

In His indescribable grace, He chose me that day to be love to this woman. He chose me to hug her as only He could. He chose me to give her something to eat, something to drink. To care for her. Who am I to accept such a privilege?

Yes, Lord, surely it is more blessed to give than receive. I opened my hands, and you, dear Lord, opened my heart.

I still think of her often...Her name is Diane.

What were they waiting for?

The day following Christ's crucifixion was divinely appointed to be a Sabbath day. In ancient Israel this meant a complete cessation of all work and most activities. This also meant that on this fateful Saturday morning, the women who had been following Jesus felt the tug of responsibility competing with their faithful observance of the Sabbath. What their hearts really yearned to do was do the last form of service they could for their Master-- prepare his broken body tenderly and carefully for burial. The night before, a rich man and follower of Jesus, Joseph of Arimathea, took Jesus' body to his own tomb for burial, where he was hastily anointed before sundown. But the body still required more formal burial preparations.

Imagine the frustration of wanting and needing to attend to something important, only to be forced to do absolutely nothing all day. What filled their hours that fateful Sabbath?

On top of that gnawing urge to "do" was an undercurrent of utter grief. The Lord they loved and served was dead. The One they called Messiah, the One they believed would save them, had died, just like any mere mortal. The miracles, the impassioned teachings... were they all for nothing now? All they had believed in seemed lost. How, now, would salvation come? 

What were they waiting for, now?

We today have the privilege of knowing how all of this turns out. But those ladies then did not know that the next morning their Lord would rise again and conquer death forever. I imagine, mingled with their grief, were doubts aplenty. Had Jesus really been the Messiah they all thought Him to be? If so, how could he have died?

What were they waiting for?

I wonder if some of us are in that same confusing grief-and-doubted-filled darkness that those women experienced that Sabbath. Life just doesn't make sense any more. We see no way out. Hope has been lost. Our hearts are completely broken. There simply is no light at the end of this tunnel. What, we wonder, is God doing?

And as we wait today for the Lord to rise tomorrow, what are we waiting for? What fills our hours as we pass this dark time? Will we hope beyond all hope that a miracle could still come?

When the coming of Jesus the Messiah was foretold, he was called Immanuel, "God with us". We should remember that he never stopped being "God with us", even in his death, and later (after his resurrection) when he ascended into heaven. For immediately upon his resurrection, he promised his disciples, and all who would follow, "Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:20). When the Holy Spirit fell on believers 40 days later at Pentecost, this sealed the promise. And it seals us who believe today.

For me, I wait for the triumphant stomp over death that will come in the morning. The stomp that caused an earthquake and rolled the stone back from the tomb. And what came forth? God with us! Amen!

The Curtain is Torn!

Today is Good Friday. The day in Christian history that opened up the new covenant to believers. But not as a gift is opened, with bows and celebration (although the new covenant is worthy of that). No, it started with a walk into death, with flesh ripped and blood shed. It ended with a curtain torn. A day of horror. Yet in these painful and gruesome reminders of what Christ endured today, we find the promise of hope as well.

The day of Christ's crucifixtion marked the end of the relentless sacrifices that the Laws given to Moses and the Israelites required. These sacrifices were supposed to redeem the people of their sins against God. But could the blood of a goat given year after year really cleanse a guilty heart? Hebrews 9:9 tells us "the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper." Indeed, the blood and ashes that were sprinkled on the ceremonially unclean only sanctified them so they were outwardly clean (Hebrews 9:13). So, if the blood of animals and purification rituals were not enough to cleanse us inwardly, we needed more. God, in His mercy, had more in mind for us that just appearing "clean". He wanted our hearts, and He wanted them devoted to Him alone. God's plan of redemption kicks into high gear here, and this is where the new covenant comes in.

Jesus, the unblemished sacrifice, gave himself, once, for all:

"...it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore when Christ came into the world he said, 'Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me...Then I said, "Here I am...I have come to do your will". Hebrews 10:4-7

"We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body once for all." Hebrews 10:10

Why the big deal about sacrifice anyway? In God's economy, there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood (Hebrews 9:22). Simple as that. So how much more will the blood of Christ be able to cleanse our consciences - Christ, who was empowered by the Holy Spirit and blameless before God!

The new covenant made intimacy with God possible for everyone. Previously this was unheard of. God was only able to be approached by His elect- His priests. In the temple, there were courtyards (one for men and one for women) where the people could congregate, present their offerings and sacrifices, hear the lessons from the preists and worship. This was as far as they could go. Beyond the courtyard was the Holy Place, where priests would burn incense and place the consecrated bread before God. Beyond that, separated by a thick, heavy curtain, was The Most Holy Place. The Most Holy Place housed the Ark of the Covenant, the golden chest which held the stone tablets given to Moses, among some other sacred items. The very presence of God hovered above the ark. This place was so sacred that the priests themselves only entered it once per year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and the people. No one else was allowed into The Most Holy Place. Ever.

What does The Most Holy Place have to do with Christ on the cross and intimacy with God? Stay with me here while we tie this together. In three of the four gospels, we find a similar account. I like Matthew's version best as we can better picture the climactic moment of Jesus' death:

"And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split." Matthew 27:50-51

Can you imagine the priests in the temple when they looked up after the shaking of the ground beneath their feet and noticed the curtain ripped in two, revealing The Most Holy Place for all eyes to see? I wonder if a holy fear came over them? Now, any old body could go in!

Exactly. Any old body could go in. Glory to God!

Hebrews reveals to us the amazing truth of what happened that Good Friday when the curtain was torn:

"Since we have confidence to enter The Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body....". (Hebrews 10:19-20)

Stop. Do you see it? Jesus not only made a way, through the sacrifice of his body, but He IS the Way. "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) It is through him, our High Preist, that we are able to pass through the curtain and come into the very presence of God the Father. Wow! And this, my friends, is the very essence of the new covenant -- that intimacy with God and forgiveness of our sins is an everlasting reality.

What is the promise of hope that the torn curtain of Jesus' body offered us? God tells us himself - he doesn't want us to miss it: He will make himself known to us, he will put his laws in our hearts, we will share intimacy with him, and he will forgive our sins and remember our sins no more. (Jeremiah 31:33-34; Hebrews 8:10-13) How's that to make a Friday 'good'?

Lord Jesus, how can we ever thank you for the price you paid to open a way for us to your Father? Your blood, which you offered up freely, paid the price of our sins, forever. Father God, we thank you for your love, which knows no bounds, and your faithful mercy. You are our Redeemer and King! May we live a life worthy of what we have received from You. Amen!