"Will You Cross the Bridge?"

On Sunday we looked at the first of six vantage points the Bible gives us of the cross: The cross is like a relationship being reconciled. Jesus on the cross provided a bridge that makes possible reconciliation between us and God, others and ourselves.

On Monday, someone from the church called me. She gave me permission to share her story. She said:

"Sunday after the service I was with my husband and grown children in the teen room having the burrito lunch. As we were eating we were talking about the service. I shared with my family that when we were praying at the end of the service, God showed me that I needed to let Christ's cross bring reconciliation between me and my mom. My family then began to talk about how they too felt hurt and alienated by my mom. We all began to talk about how we knew God was telling us we needed to trust him to do something about this broken relationship, but we all agreed we did not know what to do.

It was at that point that I realized that I had unknowingly called someone on my cell phone. I noticed my phone was on and so I picked it. I then realized someone was listening. "Hello," I said. I then heard my mom's voice say, "This is your mom and I have heard everything you've said." And then she hung up.

I went home, but mom was not there (her mother lives with them). Later that night my mom came home.

I said, "Mom, can we talk?"

"No," She said, "I have been so upset that my blood pressure has sky-rocketed and I can't deal with this right now."

I said, "Mom, we are going to deal with it now because if we don't do it now we never will."

I went on to share every question and every hurt I have had standing between me and my mom since I was a little girl. I then explained to my mom how much I loved her and how I was not blaming her, but how if we did not talk about our past that I feared my heart would grow colder and colder toward her.

Then, my mom did what I never dreamed would have been possible. She heard me. She really heard me. Then she shared her hurt and what had been done to her as a child and how she then passed that on to me. She apologized. I had never heard my mom apologize.

I then apologized for her for holding on to hurt and bitterness.

I know it sounds like some movie, but it was real. For the first time since I was a little girl, my mom and I came back together. We cried. We hugged. We finally understood each other. Just that quick, God brought reconciliation to what I thought could never be reconciled."

I want to thank this sister in Christ for letting me share her story. I know God used her story to speak to me and show me a bridge I need to cross so that he can bring reconciliation.

Friends, our Sister's story is the kind of story Jesus died to make possible. The only question is, will you and I cross the bridge and let him reconcile us to God, others and ourselves.

"The Cross is Like a Relationship being Reconciled"

"Nothing But Dust"

Ash Wednesday reminds us that from dust we came and to dust we shall return. Until we honestly confront that in and of ourselves we are nothing but dust we cannot embrace the gift of the cross or the hope of the resurrection.

Will you admit that you are nothing but dust? Here are some scriptures to meditate on today to help us confront that without Christ we are nothing but dust.

Genesis 2:7, "And the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being."

Psalm 51:5, "Surely I have been a sinner from birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me."

Isaiah 53:6, "We all like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way..."

Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

How does it make you feel to confront your dust? What do these verses stir up in you?

It may not be comfortable, but it is very healthy to take an honest inventory of our falleness as humanity. This is the purpose of Ash Wednesday. It is a time to make me think about what I do not want to think about; that left to myself I am nothing but selfish, greedy, bitter, controlling, angry, hurting, fearful, hopeless dust. This acknowledgement is what will allow us to see the power of Christ's cross and empty grave. But for now, we must resist the temptation to run to Christ's symbols of hope and we must force ourselves to stare into our dust.

I hope you will join us tonight at 7 PM for our Ash Wednesday service in which we dare to confront our dust.

"Destany's Birthday"

Today, Melissa Moorman (a member of Living Hope), emailed me with something I had missed. As I shared on Sunday, one of the teenagers rescued from Human Trafficking through your efforts with the SOAP campaign during the Super Bowl was a 17 year old named Destany. Melissa emailed me to ask if I had noticed that today is Destany's birthday?

Nope. I had completely missed that. I dug out the paper work and sure enough, today is Destany's 18Th birthday. Think about that...today she can celebrate her birthday in freedom.

Jorie Hanson (another member of Living Hope) sent a prayer chain request asking us to remember to pray for the victims of human trafficking and the Ukraine Orphans (By the way, orphan and foster care ministries are a huge preventive measure for Human Trafficking). Thank you, Jorie!

Yes, please, Living Hope Church, let's pray hard! Pray for the children who found the soap in hotel rooms this past weekend. Pray that they have the courage and the opportunity to call the hot line. Pray for their freedom. Pray for God's healing grace to begin to mend their hearts and minds with his truth even before they are rescued. Pray!

Jorie also shared a scripture that I found to come alive in light of girls like Destany. "Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked." Psalm 82:3-4. This verse reminds us that our prayers do not end with an "Amen." They end with action. God has called us, his Church, to "Defend", "Maintain", "Rescue" and "deliver." All of those are the action word "Amens" of prayer.

Sunday, March 11, Theresa Flores will bring her SOAP (Saving Our Adolescents from Prostitution) campaign to Dayton for the NCAA basketball tournament. Let's pray for this and say "Amen" by registering for FREE at http://soapfinalfourdayton-eorg.eventbrite.com I urge all men, women and teens to register. (Parents of teens, the training Theresa offers may very well be the best protection you could offer your child).

So, let's pray hard and let our amen be our action! Then, by Jesus' love and power answering prayer and working through us many more Destany's will celebrate their next birthday realizing that their destiny is not slavery.