Casandra Martin

It was the neatest sound. Last Sunday, I was sitting in worship services soaking in the words of God during the sermon. The preacher asked us to turn to a particular passage, and that is when I heard it. Pages turned all over the room. The sound so caught my attention that I turned around and looked. It sounded like angel’s wings as fingers moved, Bibles opened, and eyes searched the scriptures.

It might not seem like much, but that was a God moment for me. The sound of those pages turning indicates more than just the rustle of some sheets of paper. There is a readiness in that sound that makes my eyes open wider. There is a surrender in that sound that challenges me to bow more deeply. There is an anticipation in that sound that makes my heart beat faster. There is a hope in that sound that cracks open the barriers of despair and invites me into the presence of God.

The Bible is a page turner. We usually only reserve that term for the latest works of fiction, but the truth is that God’s Word is captivating. In its pages, God reveals His heart, shows us His plan, uncovers His delight, and invites us into intimacy with Him. Every time we open His Word, we have a chance to meet Jesus, see His face, experience His power, and be changed by His glory. He has promised that when we seek Him, we will find Him. That is never more true than when we turn the pages of our Bibles, and meet Him there.

My Jesus Resolution today is to be a page turner. It doesn’t matter whether I open my Bible in a book or on a screen. What matters is my heart. Do I anticipate meeting Him in the words? Is my heart ready to be examined and transformed? Is my soul prepared to surrender to His voice? Do I expect to be amazed by His holiness and humbled by His grace? I don’t want to take the gift of turning those pages for granted. After all, every time I do, I stand on holy ground.

I love church signs. You can tell so much about a church by what they choose to put on their sign. The one that just caught my eye read, “If you want to see God, focus on Jesus.”

I love it. In nine words, this sign sums up the message of the Bible. Jesus came to reveal the Father to the world. He came to show us His heart, give us a glimpse of His glory, and embrace us with His love. His words resonate with the Father’s truth and purpose. His actions reveal the Father’s power and compassion. His movement uncovers the Father’s deep desire to make you His own.

The Hebrew writer put it this way – “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.” (Hebrews 1:3). When we focus on Jesus, we are ushered into the radiance of the glory of God.

When we listen to Jesus, we hear the voice of God. When we believe Jesus, we respond to the truth of God. When we follow Jesus, we walk in the will of God. When we surrender to Jesus, we live in the purpose of God. When we focus on Jesus, Jesus tells us that we are able to see the Father.

My Jesus Resolution today is to focus on Jesus. Seeing God is the desire of my heart. I can’t wait to behold His glory, bow before His majesty, and live fully in His presence. Through Jesus, I can do all of those things today. Christ’s character reveals the heart of God. His commands provide a pathway into His presence. His call invites my heart to live in His abundance. Setting my sights on Jesus has the power to open my eyes in ways beyond what I can imagine.

My college kids have been home for Spring Break. It is always such a joy to have them home. We look forward to their coming, counting the days and hours until we can laugh and love in person. It is always a time of smiles, silliness, and satisfaction.

We have a little friend who is a part of our family. He is five now, and loves his “big” friends. He plays at our house each week, and part of his routine is to call his big friends at college. He tells them about his day, who is chasing whom on the playground, and how fast he can run around the bases. For the past couple of weeks, he has been expectant. “How many more night-nights until you come home?” They count the bedtimes, looking forward to the fun.

My kids finally arrived, and our little friend tackled my son with a giant hug. He held on with fierce determination, whispering in my son’s ear, “You can’t go back to college for one hundred weeks. I miss you too much.”

Hellos are awesome. Goodbyes stink.

One of the neatest things about heaven will be saying goodbye to goodbyes. No more loss. No more separation. No more heartache, tears, or loneliness. An eternity of joyous welcomes without the shadow of having to say goodbye.

My Jesus Resolution today is to remember that goodbye is temporary. Even now there are no goodbyes with Jesus. God has promised never to leave us, but people can’t make that promise. Today we have to deal with the reality of goodbyes – whether the brief “see you in a minute” kind or the aching emptiness that comes with standing in the cemetery. Jesus nailed goodbyes to the cross, declaring them finished. When He returns, it will be with a glorious hello and not a single goodbye in sight.

We are in the midst of a countdown. Exciting things are happening in our family in the next couple of months, and we are counting the days until the big “day.” Every time we mention how much time is left, big smiles spread across expectant faces. Anticipation is a powerful gift.

When we look forward to tomorrow, it changes our perspective about today. Our priorities are different. The weight of today’s burdens is measured against the joy we are expecting in the future. Anticipation shapes how we spend our time today, how we invest our resources, and how we value our relationships. It gives us a little burst of energy, propelling us forward through the sometimes sticky business of the present.

A Christian’s life should be clearly defined by anticipation. We should be an edge-of-our-seat, standing-on-our-tip-toes kind of people. We, of all people, have the most to look forward to. We have blessings to count, grace to embrace, and joy to enjoy. God is here, and everyday our eyes can eagerly expect to encounter His presence. We can wake up every morning confident that this will be a day in which we meet Jesus.

We are also counting down to heaven. We don’t know the exact day He is coming back, but we know that the promise is sure and the clock is ticking. Each day we get a little closer. Every moment draws us a little nearer to the day when we will bow before His throne. Peter gives us this reminder as we countdown. “Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.” (II Peter 3:14)

My Jesus Resolution today is to find joy in the countdown. Someday the day will be here. I will see His face, hear His voice, and be held by His love. Today, I am going to wait with joy. I am going to let the expectation of His nearness propel me to open my heart to His presence. I want to let His coming shape my priorities, realign my attitudes, and control the rhythm of my time.Today I am going to let the anticipation pull my eyes and my heart a little more fervently toward home.

Traveling through the airport inevitably leads to the security area. Standing in the line, you can watch as travelers of different levels of experience approach the scanner. The people who travel often appear a little bored. They wait their turn, know what to take off, set out, and walk through. Others are a little nervous. They move through the queue watching the people in front of them take off their shoes, pull out electronics, and respond to the beeps with wide eyes.

Eventually, it is my turn. I take off my shoes, put my liquids in the bin, and step into the scanner. For three seconds, I am asked to stand still while the scanner sweeps over me looking for explosives or other dangers. Once the scan is finished, I wait for the green light so that I can move toward my flight. I never get a green light.

For some reason, my left shoulder gets flagged every time I go through the scanner. I don’t know why. It doesn’t matter what shirt I am wearing, whether I have a sweater on, or how high I raise my arms. The scanner tells the security people to check my left shoulder for a problem.

If the scanner could look into my heart, it would find a reoccurring flag there as well. We all struggle with different kinds of sin, but everyone has one type of sin that keeps coming up over and over. It is a sin that eats away at our peace, faces us in the morning when we get up, and is still there when we brush our teeth at night. These sins dog our confidence, cause us to question our faith, and just seem to grow stronger the more we search for a way around them.  

God’s grace is the answer to even those most stubborn sins. Surrender opens the door and invites God to dig the deep root of sin out of our hearts. Jesus’ presence helps us see just how intertwined these sins are in our habits and attitudes. His love invites us to live in a different reality.

My Jesus Resolution is to undergo God’s scan. I am going to let His Word be a mirror for my heart. I want to pay attention to the flags that it raises about places that hold the potential for danger. I want to empty myself of pride, selfishness, and control and let God’s scan reveal the spots that need His gracious touch. When I walk through the scanner, my deepest desire is for the likeness of Jesus to be what is most clearly seen.

Last Friday, tornadoes ripped through towns throughout the Midwest. Sirens pierced the air, warning residents to seek shelter. The ominous clouds held the gaze of anxious eyes. In little more than a heartbeat, lives were rocked to the core. Dozens died as the wind unleashed its fury. Farms, schools, homes and businesses were destroyed as the twisters gathered speed, racing along the ground and dancing their deadly dances.

Our hearts and our prayers go out to everyone whose lives were touched by these devastating storms.

The physical storms that played against the farmlands and towns of the Midwest last week resemble the other kinds of storms that sometimes race through our lives. Without warning, the sky turns from blue to black, and we hold our breath. The doctor calls, the papers are served, the report is released, or the doorbell rings and our worlds shift. Our foundations are rocked to the core. Our lives are defined by a before and after marker. Our hearts scramble to find safe haven from the devastation.

Isaiah 4:2-6 holds a beautiful promise about the coming of Jesus. It talks about the impact His arrival will have in the land, the way He will wash away the filth of sin, and how He will make those who dwell where He reigns holy. His presence will serve as a canopy, covering His people, providing guidance, and inspiring wonder. It is the final part of the promise that speaks most insistently to those of us caught in the storms. “There will be a booth for shade by day from the heat, and for a refuge and a shelter from the storm and the rain.” (Isaiah 4:6)

My Jesus Resolution today is to make God my storm shelter. God doesn’t promise that storms won’t come. They will and they do. Instead, He promises that His presence will be my shelter as those storms rage around me. He will be the safe haven for my heart. He will be my peace amidst the unrelenting fury of life’s storms. When the sky darkens and the wind picks up, I want to run into the safety of His arms, knowing He will hold me closely even as the winds howl all around me.

The text message simply read, “Sitting in jail.” Rolling my eyes, I glanced at the message from my daughter. This wasn’t the first time she had made a trip to the police station for a task for school. I smiled, and sent back an answer teasing her about her current living situation.

She didn’t respond. A shadow passed through my mind like a cloud drifting past the sun. Was she okay? I tried to call. No answer. Her phone went straight to voice mail. I received a message from my husband, who had also gotten her text message, asking if I had talked to her. I hadn’t. His concern was contagious. Minutes passed by with no word. A wiggle of doubt started to crawl through my stomach. The miles between us suddenly seemed very long.

Finally, she called. She was fine. She had been at the jail on an errand. I took a deep breath, thankful to hear her laugh. Space and time resumed their normal parameters.

Those few minutes, however, turned my mind to the heart of God. There is never a moment when God doesn’t know exactly where you are. His eyes are on you. His presence is with you. His love surrounds you. His grace invites you. His power awaits you.

No matter where you find yourself, you can be sure that God is with you. It doesn’t matter how dark the day, how desperate the moment, or how shameful the circumstances are – God knows where you are. No matter what you have done, where you find yourself, who you are with, or why you are there, God wants you to know that His presence is personal and real.

My Jesus Resolution today is to read Psalm 139. David’s words are a beautiful reminder of the reality of God’s nearness to my heart. I want to remember that God notices the details of my life. His eyes are on me. His voice is calling me. His love pursues me. I want to pause today and catch my reflection in His gaze. I am never just another face in the crowd. I am never invisible, unnoticed, or unseen. No matter where I am.

I saw it on a church sign – “Protest sin. Occupy our pews.” Playing off of the media focus on the Occupy Wall Street and other protests meant to spotlight the inequity of corporate wealth, fiscal irresponsibility, and the need for greater social justice, this sign reminds us that there is a bigger battle to fight and more at stake than the size of a CEO’s bank account.

The idea of protesting sin is intriguing. The Christian life, by its very nature, should be a protest against sin. When we walk with Jesus, we reject the way of the world, turn our back on its values, and shut our ears to its voice. Light shines in the darkness revealing the sordid character of selfishness and the twisted tricks of temptation. The aroma of Christ penetrates the stench of sin, offering an invitation while also laying out an indictment. Salt cuts through the rancidness of rebellion, revealing the distastefulness of doing what is right in our own eyes.

On a personal level, I need to protest sin in my own heart. Too many times I am content to shrug my shoulders and let sin coexist with the seed of God’s Word. I need to be offended by its presence, commit myself to cutting it out of my life, and be willing to take whatever steps are necessary to change the landscape of my thinking, attitudes, motives, and desires.

The best protest against sin is to occupy the kingdom of God. We need to live in His presence, rest in His mercy, position ourselves in His faithfulness, and set up camp around the cross. We need to move under the canopy of His grace, and let our knees bend before His sovereignty. When we occupy the kingdom, we let the King occupy us.

My Jesus Resolution today is to become a protester and an occupier. I don’t often think of myself as a radical or a rebel, but following Jesus means doing things differently than the ninety-nine percent. Today I am going to protest the sin that fills up too many places in my heart. I am going to set my stake at the foot of the cross, determined to camp there until the borders of the kingdom fully encompass my life. The best way to change the world is to let Jesus change me.

It was a snapshot moment. I drove past a lush green field. Wooly sheep covered the landscape. Playing near its mother, a young lamb took tentative steps. It was like something out of a storybook. The lamb was perfect –fresh, snowy white, and innocent.

Lambs hold a special place in the story of God. From the earliest days, lambs were the animals sacrificed for sin. Their blood was spilled in the place of the life of the sinner. Shed on altars meant to direct hearts in worship and dedication, the lamb became the substitute. God’s mercy flowed like a river as the lamb’s blood covered the altar.

Sheep also hold a special picture of our relationship with God. We are the sheep of His pasture. He cares for us, protects us, nurtures us, loves us, and guides us to the places where we will flourish and grow. We live under the Shepherd’s tender care, watchful eye, and protective heart. We learn to listen to His voice, answer His call, and live in the shadow of His presence.

The most amazing portrait comes together when these two pictures merge. The Shepherd became a sheep in order to be our substitute. Jesus wrapped Himself in the skin of a man in order to live among the sheep. He slept where we slept, walked where we walked, ate what we ate, and experienced life as we live it. He showed us how to extend grace, walk in mercy, love without reservation, and live fully in the kingdom of God.

John the Baptizer looked at Jesus and proclaimed, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). The cross was never far from Jesus’ mind. He came to be your substitute. He came to take your place on the altar of sacrifice. He came to pay for your sin. He came to shed His blood so that you might have life.

My Jesus Resolution today is to bow before the Lamb. That is what those in heaven are doing right now. Worship, honor, glory, and praise belong to Him because of who He is and what He has done for me. But I want to remember the picture in the field. The perfect lamb, white, fresh, and innocent taking steps on wobbly legs so that He can say, “I understand. I have been there. Live in my shadow. Walk with me.”