Casandra Martin

“I sit here freezing and wet in this pitch-black room as the rain beats on the roof, and God is so close I feel I can touch Him. My deepest prayer is that I could know the Lord as well as the first grader next to me. All my senses are full of His greatness. God’s glory has fallen down into this place and is soaking us even deeper than the rain. I never ever want to be dry.” – Katie Davis

Katie’s words speak a deep truth. God longs for us to live drenched, soaked, overflowing lives. Hearts saturated with His presence. Souls caught in the torrent of His grace. Eyes inundated by His glory. Minds captivated by the cascade of love that surrounds us, embraces us, and lifts us higher.

Too many times all I want to do is stick my toe in the water. I am content to sit by the shore, rather than risk getting in over my head. Sitting by the ocean’s edge, I can pretend that I am in control. Things look neat, orderly, and well- managed. I walk by my own strength. I build boats that take me on excursions. I sing, think, talk, and pray about being blessed to have this view of the ocean. And I stay dry.

There is a difference between seeing and swimming, between standing on the shore and being swept away by the current. God doesn’t want us to take vacations at the beach. His deepest desire is for us to plunge into the ocean depths of His love and live drenched, saturated, soaked, never-dry lives.

My Jesus Resolution today is dive in. God wants more than my big toe. He wants all of me – even my failures, my fears, and my too-little faith. On the shore, those things are heavy weights that shackle my soul. When I determine to live drenched, His love becomes the buoy that lifts me up. Earth’s oceans are just puddles compared to immenseness of God’s glory and grace. I never ever want to be dry.

“During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel – and God knew.” – Exodus 2:23-25

Sometimes it seems like there is no way out. Stress mounts and presses in on our hearts. Debts pile up. Obstacles block our way. Worry eats at our souls. Deadlines, dilemmas, and disappointments fill our hearts. We try to tell others about the way anxiety is pushing us down, making us feel small and helpless. They listen for a minute, but are drowning in their own seas of stress and pressure. We stand alone and groan under the weight of worry.

That is why these verses in Exodus are so precious. Even as we stand in Israel’s shoes, they point us to the heart of God. God hears. God remembers. God sees. And God knows. Those four God-verbs are the antidote to our anxiety.

God hears. Cry out to the Lord. Ask for His help. Call on His name. He hears you. He is listening with the heart of a Father toward His beloved child.

God remembers. Don’t underestimate God’s faithfulness. He remembers His promises. He won’t neglect His purpose in your life. He remembers how fragile and precious you are and is ready to unleash His power into you.

God sees. This seeing is more than casual observation. God’s seeing always leads to God moving.

God knows. No one else may understand. No one else may care, stop, or notice. But God knows, and it is in being known that we are set free.

My Jesus Resolution today is to know that He knows. I can be certain that He hears my cries, listens to my weariness, and wipes away my tears. I want to remember that I am remembered. I want to open my eyes to the truth that God sees me. Not as a faceless number in a crowd, but as the daughter of His delight. God knows my situation, my struggles, my sin, and my sorrows because God intimately knows me. Today, I am going to find strength in knowing that my God knows.

The orange traffic cones were everywhere. Construction signs warned us about lane changes, closed roads, and detours. I groaned as my friend steered the car into the opposite lane than the one we wanted to be in. The long way around.

I could see my destination, but now the path was blocked. We would have to take a different route, drive in unexpected places, go an unfamiliar way, and take extra time getting there. I looked at my watch and growled. I was tired and in a hurry. This was not my plan.

I glanced over at my friend expecting to see my frustration mirrored on her face. Instead, I saw a smile. “I’ve never been this way before,” she said. That is when I understood. I viewed the detour as a burden. She saw blessings lined up in those orange cones.

We are all going to face detours. The path we have mapped out becomes blocked, broken, or bungled.  Family struggles, health problems, job concerns, faith questions, or money worries become big orange signs that demand that we change direction, alter our path, adjust our plan, or just move out of the way. Sometimes the detour comes from God Himself. He opens a door of opportunity, closes a door we had been counting on, or just points us in a way we hadn’t expected to walk. Either way, how we choose to see those detour signs has a dramatic impact on our level of joy.

My Jesus Resolution today is to count the blessings in my detours. Detours are not dead ends. They may not be the path I expected, but they are roads on which I can experience the presence of God. In the detour, I have the chance to see new things, learn new lessons, experience new joys, and trust in new ways. God has already been down the path I am walking. He already knows and is prepared for what lies around the corner. I can grumble about the detour or determine to see Jesus in every orange cone. I am going to travel down this road one way or the other. Am I going to do it with grumbling or grace?

We are surrounded by everyday miracles. Every day, God moves in our world. He answers prayers, lights the stars, spins this planet, and touches our souls. His presence is found in the wind. His light is seen in the sun. His mercy is felt in the rain. His love saturates our world like the unseen air that fills our lungs.

I have come to take miracles for granted. Sunsets, flowers, butterflies, and smiles grace my days. Too often, I don’t see. Friends walk out of hospitals, and I forget to stand in wonder. Peace comes in odd shapes and packages in the middle of dark nights, and I breathe again without stopping to worship. Blessings pile up at my door, and I walk around them to get on my busy, distracted way.

There is nothing ordinary about the miraculous. There isn’t anything ho-hum about the movement of God in our lives. Grace is a gift to be celebrated – every day. The cross stands as a reminder that the ordinary, everyday stuff of life is being transformed by the supernatural presence of God With Us. I am being changed into the likeness of Jesus, and that is a miracle all its own.

My Jesus Resolution today is to count my everyday miracles. I don’t want to live a distracted life. I want to have my eyes and heart open to all the ways God is at work around me and within me. I want to celebrate His nearness, exalt in His goodness, rest in His love, and satisfy myself with His grace. I want awe and wonder and worship to come as easily as breathing. I want every heartbeat to remind me that I am surrounded by everyday miracles. If I can count those beats, I will just begin to count the ways that God is at work around me.

I overheard the conversation and smiled. A young woman was thanking an older woman for helping her step out and serve. “I was so nervous. I didn’t think I could do it. You helped me find the courage to try something outside of my comfort zone. Thank you!”

Hugging the young woman, the older woman encouraged her and thanked her for being an example. When the moment was over, she turned to me and said, “The only real barrier to being a servant is having the courage to try.”

She is so right.

It is hard to stretch beyond the familiar. We get nervous about walking in new places. We are afraid that we will make a mistake, mess it all up, or fall on our faces. And maybe we will. But being a servant isn’t about being perfect, having all the right answers, or never failing. It is about following Jesus. It is about taking a step of faith, opening a door of surrender, and allowing God to define the moment.

When we take a deep breath and are courageous about walking where Jesus walks, God can and will do amazing things.

My Jesus Resolution today is to be brave. God is calling me to step outside of my comfort zone and look like Jesus. It may mean making a phone call, sending a card, teaching a class, meeting a friend, speaking up, or saying ‘yes.’ I may get it right. I may not. But in trying, there is transformation.

You would think I would learn. Temptation doesn’t come with a big neon sign announcing that sin is just around the corner. It sneaks in, catching us when we are vulnerable and wounding without warning.

I watch other people flirt with temptation and can see exactly where it is going to lead. I want to shout that destruction is in front them. I shake my head at how blind they seem to the chasm of darkness that is only steps away. When I try to warn them, they nod their heads, but somehow think that their story will turn out differently.

But I am the same way. I think that I can play with fire and not get burned. I convince myself that I can dabble in darkness and it won’t cast a shadow over my soul. Temptation strikes, and I let my desires, my desperation, or my defining sense of entitlement set my path. And I end up getting scorched.

Proverbs 6:27 says, “Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned?”

Playing with fire always has consequences. When I try to carry even a little bit of evil next to my heart, it will sear its mark into my being. I will never be an exception to this rule, no matter what justifications or rationalizations I come up with. I can’t outsmart sin.

My Jesus Resolution today is to fight fire with fire. Temptation promises that I can control the fires of sin. Use it. Make it your own. No one will know. You can handle it. The truth of God’s Word reveals temptations’ lies. My only hope is found within the character of God Himself. “For our God is a consuming fire.” – Hebrews 12:29. The light of His presence can push back the darkness. The fire of His holiness can consume my impurity. The radiance of His glory can transform my heart. Holy fire provides my best defense when the flicker of sin tempts me to play with fire.

He is two-years-old and as cute as a button. Dark, curly hair top curious eyes and a giant smile. His head barely reaches the top of the pew, but he loves going to church, and on this night, he preached a sermon.

My son was leading singing. He is young, and this is new ground for him. He is learning what it means to be a leader. The Sunday night crowd was encouraging as he stood amidst the pews and led songs that pointed them toward Jesus. But it was what was happening in the background that caught my attention.

Just a few feet away from my son, this little boy had planted himself in his shadow. I just happened to be at the right angle to catch the moment. As my son directed the song, this little guy lifted his arm and began copying his movements. He made big, sweeping arcs as he mimicked the way my son was singing. When my son straightened his shoulders, so did the little boy. When he put his arm down, so did his little shadow.

The little boy didn’t say a word, but he taught me a powerful lesson. People are watching the way I look like Jesus. Our words, actions, steps, and attitudes become concrete markers of what it means to live the Christian life. Every move I make has a ripple effect. It touches someone else. If they stand in my shadow and do what I do, will they be imitating Jesus?

My Jesus Resolution today is to write 1 Corinthians 11:1 on my heart and in my actions – “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” My neighbors are watching as I come and go today. Will they see Jesus in my movements? My family is touched by my priorities. Do they point them to Christ? My friends listen to more than my words. Do they hear the Lord? We all have a shadow. I want mine to be shaped like a cross.

Today is the International Day of Peace. It is a day meant to remind the world of the terrible cost of war and the commitment to peace that must be made by each citizen of the planet.

The reality of our world is that there is only one way to peace. It will not come through human diplomacy, cease fires, good will, or resolutions. Jesus is the only way to peace.

This is not a politically correct statement. We live in a world that wants tolerance and compromise to be our anthems. It promotes the idea that peace will only flow from a “live and let live” mindset. There is a place, of course, for respect and open-mindedness. We need to honor the free will God placed inside each man and see each person as special and unique. But peace will never be the result of our efforts or attitudes. It will never flow from learning to be comfortable with darkness. Peace will only come to the world when it embraces Jesus.

Christianity holds up one standard and revolves around one truth. The cross frames the greatest move ever made toward peace. It is the instrument upon which Jesus brought reconciliation between us and God. That is the war that must be our focus. As long as people are fighting God, they will continue to fight each other.

The move toward peace must be a move toward Christ. The good news is that peace doesn’t depend on Washington or the United Nations. It is a movement that can begin in our hearts and homes. The spread of peace across the globe is directly related to the spread of Christ in people’s lives. Jesus already paid the terrible cost for the war of our souls. The task He gives to you and me is to be peace ambassadors, carrying the good news of peace to the people still fighting and dying in darkness.

“Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” – 2 Corinthians 5:20

My Jesus Resolution today is to be an ambassador of peace. I am thankful for the peace Jesus has brought to my life. I wouldn’t want to face a day without the reality of His peace guarding my heart and mind. Today I commit to sharing that peace with others. Peace isn’t an international dream. It is God’s dream, and He is willing to share it with you and me.

We were sitting together in church. The sermon was in full swing, and my little friend was working hard on a Bible activity sheet designed for kids his age. Pencil in hand, he searched the pictures looking for Jesus. Each one illustrated a different scene from the hours surrounding Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion, and his job was to find Jesus among the faces in the picture.

He carefully searched each frame, looking at the faces and examining the action. Easily finding Jesus, he leaned over and asked me who the other men in the picture were. I explained that they were soldiers who arrested Jesus. He looked at me with deep concern. Why did they arrest Jesus? A harder question. How do you explain hardheartedness and rejection of grace to a five year old? “They didn’t like what He was teaching about God.” I told him. “So they’re bad guys,” he declared.

The next picture brought a similar set of questions. Who were the people standing together in a mob shouting around Jesus? “Those were the people who shouted, ‘Crucify Him! Crucify Him!’” I said. “Why would they do that?” he asked. “They didn’t like what He was teaching about God either.” I told him. “So they’re bad guys too.”

On it went through the pictures of the friends that ran away, the priests that handed Jesus to Pilate, the soldiers nailing Jesus to a cross, and a crowd mocking Him as He hung dying. My little friend’s tender heart could barely take the rejection, shame, and scorn being poured on Jesus. With each picture, he looked at the faces and said, “So they’re bad guys too.” With each frame, my heart got a little heavier because every time I nodded yes, I caught my own reflection in the mirror. I’m a bad guy too.

My Jesus Resolution today is to remember that the crucifixion is personal. He died for me. My sin demanded His blood. My selfishness required His sacrifice. The cross isn’t about sin in general. It is about my sin, and a Savior’s great love. The forgiveness that flows from the cross is personal too. His grace meets my guilt at its darkest place and washes me clean. It is changing me from ‘bad guy’ into the image of this amazing Savior.