If you have ever made your own juice, you know that the fruit is cut in half, placed onto the reamer and then pressed using the plunger, catching the pulp in the strainer and allowing the juice to collect in the bowl or glass. Or maybe you put garlic through a garlic press to mince it for use in your favorite recipe. You are in a group of people and find yourself doing or saying things that allow you to swim in the same direction as the crowd, not going against the flow.

What is the common denominator of the juicer, the garlic press, and moving in the same direction as the crowd? All three – the juice, the minced garlic, and going with the flow – are all imposed from the outside. The fruit rind is squeezed and the vesicles release juice. Some fruit have a middle section called a mesocarp. The garlic juice is released by pressing the clove. Peer pressure presses down on us, causing us to act or speak in certain ways.

God’s Kingdom works in the opposite way. It is not imposed from the outside, rather, it is cultivated from the inside.  The world’s kingdoms begin outwardly and work their way into our hearts. On the contrary, God’s Kingdom takes root in a person’s soul then works its way outward, hopefully eventually impacting the outward activities. Seeds planted by God in our hearts, if not smothered or ignored, will grow and bear fruit in our lives and in the lives of those around us.

The bad news is that every single human being is infected with the sin disease. In Jeremiah 17:9 we read – “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” The good news is that when we commit our lives to Jesus, God begins the process of cleaning us up. We find this good news in 2 Corinthians 5:17 – “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!” This verse tells us that God reaches down deep into a person and makes him or her new. It is not some halfway cleaning, but rather, it is a full-on scrubbing.

So today, begin to trust the Spirit within you. Start to cultivate the desires and dreams that God plants within you. Don’t allow the world to impose its plans and purposes in your life; allow the plans and purposes of God to ooze from you, both in ways you expect and ways that you never expected. The juice will be sweet and delicious.

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When I was 9 or 10 years old, I rode my bike to the neighborhood apothecary to purchase a balsa wood glider. After assembling the glider, I headed to the field behind our house. After a few successful flights, that glider ended up on the roof of a neighbor’s house. So, rather than wait until an adult could get my glider off the roof, I again rode my bike to that small corner store and picked myself up another glider; however, this time not paying for it. That evening, the owner of the store paid a visit to our house to discuss with me my decision to steal from his store. He did not raise his voice, nor did my parents, but it was clear that the adults in the room were disappointed in me. And there were consequences to be had. Their disappointment faded over time and I was eventually also forgiven, but it took time.

For the next several months, when us neighborhood boys would go into his store to buy Topps baseball cards or candy, the owner always seemed to watch my every move. He simply did not trust me, and rightfully so.

We live in a society that struggles to forgive. We either clearly state a lack of willingness to forgive or we say we forgive but still hold a grudge. Forgiveness has nothing to do with escaping the consequences of one’s actions. Even in forgiveness, there are consequences to our actions. Forgiveness is to let go of an offense, to stop feeling resentful or angry toward the offender. I am sure, if you are like me, you’ve been on both sides of that fence – needing to both forgive and to be forgiven. But be honest, forgiving and being forgiven, both usually lacking in some way.     

Unlike you and me, who struggle to genuinely and completely forgive someone, the Bible is clear that because Jesus paid the price for our sins (Ephesians 1:7), we freely and unconditionally receive God’s forgiveness. But let me be clear here as well, even in forgiveness, there are usually still consequences of our actions. Acts 3:19 tells us – “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”

God not only forgives, He also forgets, never holding our past against us. In Micah 7:19 we read these words – “Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!” And in Hebrews 8:12 – “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” 

We come to know the character of God by His many names. One such name is El Nose, the “God Who Forgives.” We see this very name in Psalm 99:8 – “LORD [Yahweh/Jehovah] our God [Elohim], you answered them; you were to Israel a forgiving God [El Nose], though you punished their misdeeds.”

The expanse of God’s great love instructs us through our wrong choices and that same pure love offers us forgiveness. How big is God’s love you ask? Picture for a minute a field of sunflowers that seems to go on endlessly. As expansive as that field appears to be, it does have boundaries. God’s love on the other hand has no boundaries. It is vast beyond measure; it extends past our capacity to understand.

So, today, I ask you – Will you repent of your sins and receive the forgiveness of El Nose? And with a grateful heart will you thank El Nose for His great love poured out in that forgiveness? 

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If you have ever had the opportunity to ride in a hot air balloon, then you know the serenity that comes with the experience. After riding in a balloon, you also know that even the most skilled balloon pilot is only partially in control of where the balloon goes and doesn’t go. About a decade ago we took a balloon ride on a beautiful morning. The quietness as we flew over the scenic Lancaster County countryside was so peaceful. And the beauty, often missed at ground level, was just spectacular. We seemed to just glide across the sky. When it was time to land, even though there were only gentle breezes, we ended up coming down in a field about two miles from our targeted landing spot, not because of the inexperience of the pilot (he was a retired Navy pilot), but rather, because the winds took us there.

It is often the same way as we journey through life. The winds take us places that we never intended, or expected, to go. Sometimes those winds are gentle breezes while other times, they are Category 4 hurricane strength. Stuff happens in life that we just cannot control. You suddenly find yourself a widow or widower, just as you were enjoying being empty nesters. Your aging parent or grown child and his family moves in with you. A major health issue drains your bank account; money you had planned for retirement years. Cancer, divorce, unemployment. Any one of those situations take us off our desired and usually well planned out course, blowing us into a field two miles away, sometimes with a loud thud.  Even life’s little inconveniences can occasionally cause us to be blown into unknown territory.       

The winds of life are often cruel. What is here today is often gone tomorrow. What was normal is no longer, and we are forced to adapt and adjust to a new normal, at least until that too is blown to a new landing spot. We are told that very thing in Scripture – The grass withers and the flower fades (see Isaiah 40:6-8 and 1 Peter 1:24-25).

While life is fickle, constantly blown to and from by ever-changing winds, we can be confident that in the midst of constant change, we have a God who is never-changing. God is consistent; always good, always faithful, always loving, always all-powerful. Both verses referenced above end like this – But the word of God stands (endures) forever. In Malachi 3:6, the Lord says this of himself, “I the LORD do not change.” And Hebrews 13:8 says this about Jesus, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

So, no matter how uncertain your life is, how changing the world can be, or how far the winds of life are blowing you from your planned destination, you can always trust in God’s unchanging character, unchanging promises, and unchanging plans.

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