The James Gang blog has been quiet.  The James Family has not.  We are still here.

Growing.

Learning.

Smiling.

Laughing.

Working.

Loving.

Family-ing.

Had a massive tumor removed a few months back and her cancer has returned.  6 years old.

TO MEET DAISY AND FOLLOW UPDATES CLICK HERE.

We’ve been meeting for about a month on Thursdays in the James casa.  Right now, we’re digging in to a month of “Bible Study Methods”…C-Mac (my good friend Carey McPherson, far right back) is doing an awesome job.  But there’s more exciting stuff in store.  Community on mission…with and for the Gospel…with and for Jesus…

Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down,
that the mountains might quake at your presence—
as when fire kindles brushwood
and the fire causes water to boil—
to make your name known to your adversaries,
and that the nations might tremble at your presence!
When you did awesome things that we did not look for,
you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.
From of old no one has heard
or perceived by the ear,
no eye has seen a God besides you,
who acts for those who wait for him.
You meet him who joyfully works righteousness,
those who remember you in your ways.
Behold, you were angry, and we sinned;
in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?
We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
There is no one who calls upon your name,
who rouses himself to take hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us,
and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.

But now, O Lord, you are our Father;
we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the work of your hand.
Be not so terribly angry, O Lord,
and remember not iniquity forever.
Behold, please look, we are all your people.
Your holy cities have become a wilderness;
Zion has become a wilderness,
Jerusalem a desolation.
Our holy and beautiful house,
where our fathers praised you,
has been burned by fire,
and all our pleasant places have become ruins.
Will you restrain yourself at these things, O Lord?
Will you keep silent, and afflict us so terribly?

Isaiah 64

‘cataclysm‘ – Noun

1. A sudden, violent event

2. A great flood, deluge

In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.

Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and devouring fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
He bowed the heavens and came down;
thick darkness was under his feet.
He rode on a cherub and flew;
he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.
He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him,
thick clouds dark with water.
Out of the brightness before him
hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.

The Lord also thundered in the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his voice,
hailstones and coals of fire.
And he sent out his arrows and scattered them;
he flashed forth lightnings and routed them.
Then the channels of the sea were seen,
and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your rebuke, O Lord,
at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.

He sent from on high, he took me;
he drew me out of many waters.
He rescued me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too mighty for me.
They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
He brought me out into a broad place;
he rescued me, because he delighted in me.

True salvation-conversion in Scripture is a massive event.  Anyone who is saved, has been loved with cataclysmic love.

This doesn’t mean we all recognize or experience it as such right away.  For some, it’s as though the Sun rises and we don’t know exactly when it rose, but we suddenly realize “I’m awake…It’s light out…It’s daytime.”  This doesn’t diminish the sudden and violent nature of what has actually taken place.  Light conquered darkness and at some point, the Sun crested the horizon and banished the night.

What’s most important is not the exact moment when it happened, but that it has happened.

God’s initial work in our lives is inexplicable and unpredictable, that’s why it’s so often called “amazing grace.”  It is always Amazing.  Capital A.  And it is always Grace.  Capital G.  You can try and figure out why one person gets saved “this way” at “this time” and another “that way” at “that time,” but when Jesus explains it to Nicodemus, he says it like this:

“The wind blows wherever it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.  So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8)

So the question is, when did you realize you were truly saved?  Or are you not sure you have been?

Don’t settle for uncertainty.

“Make your calling and election sure.”  (2 Peter 1:10)

“I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.

The cords of death encompassed me; the torrents of destruction assailed me; the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.

In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I cried for help.

From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry to him reached his ears.

…

He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters.

He rescued me from my strong enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.

…

He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me.”

It never grows old.  I can remember it like yesterday.

I remember the days leading up to it:  the anger, the hot, hidden tears at night, the bombarding fears of being unable to change, the uncertainty of the future, the paranoia, the smell of smoke, the mind games, the racing heart, the random phone calls from my persistent Christian friends, the mix of lies & truth, the competing desires, the darkness, the light, the knowledge, the conviction…

One version of me was dying…a new version was being born—–again.

The 4/20 binge every 4:20 (AM & PM) was the last straw.  The high times became low times.  I was alone with the locked doors and monster in the mirror.

Then came Tuesday.  April 22nd.

The Delta crew was in full pursuit…Austin & Aubrey, Phil & Susan, Julie K., Lonnie, Alex, Max, Travis, Chad, Emily, Phil S., Lorriel, Julie F., Irene/Katherine…

God was in full pursuit.  Jesus became irresistible.  Psalm 18:3-19 came true, again.

Tears of repentance were met with arms of acceptance.  Moment of surrender became moment of freedom.

The Sun rose high enough overhead to send its liquid beams into the steep valley of my soul.  No shadow could hide.  I was exposed by truth and covered by grace.  Lightning struck.  Match was lit.  A dry forest became fuel for a consuming fire.

In the days that followed, I could barely sleep as black and red ink danced on the pages of my Bible, bursting with new life and meaning.  The old, old story was as swift and agile as a young panther in its prime hunt.

One whisper of repentance and faith, drew the instant gaze and power and full response of Heaven.

Cataclysmic Love.

That’s the saving passion of the Good Shepherd from Nazareth who hears the faintest whisper of one lost sheep.  He alone can calm the raging storms of sin and rescue drowning men.

Have you called on the LORD?

If you’re ever in Wenatchee, you can get a great latte at Caffe Mela.  And if you’re lucky, you can get one from the city’s “best barista”.  The World’s Top 3 all work there…1. Brian, 2. Chaz, 3. Allison…

This angel design happens to be the work of the top dog himself.

Thanks, Brian!

It’s that time of year again.

Off with the studs, on with the others.  I’m doing my bi-annual time at Les Schwab, waiting for my car.  Sometimes I have someone pick me up, sometimes I walk to the nearby diner, other times, I stay and read-journal-blog?  But for some reason it always feels so focused and productive.  I actually like it.

I’ve read a few great articles on the whole healthcare nightmare.  Ordered a few books.  Reflected on the Gospel.  Revising my to-do list, and praying like crazy for the Lord to help me prepare my Easter message.

Thanks, Mr. Schwab!