twins...

I'm not going to lie. I feel his pain. Being the second-born twin ain't easy. It's an unstated competition every. single. day. Jacob and Esau wrestled in the womb and warred before entering earth. Jas and I wrestled on living room floors, in academic settings, and on athletic fields. It comes with the territory of being a twin. But through the years we've been partners in crime, change agents for good, and hustlers of the gospel of Jesus Christ. She does it with a camera. I do it with my voice.

Several references in Genesis describe the different giftings Jacob and Esau possessed. One worked in the field. The other worked domestically. One worked closer to their father. One worked closer to their mother. One was hairy and smelled funny. One was smooth-skinned and smelled like Tide and hints of Downey. The dichotomy between them could've made a dynamic combination of biblical proportions. Instead the journey included pain, death, bitterness, and a limp.

Though not everyone is a twin, I'm sure we all struggled with a competitive spirit or jealousy or flat-out Hater Syndrome. (Don't lie, you know it's true.) Sometimes we're put in situations which cause us to focus on what we are NOT rather than what we ARE. I work in a faith-based sector, I'm close to my mom, and I'm not hairy like Jasmine.* If I focus on what God has called me to do, I don't have time to look at what I'm not good at or what I don't have. It's just that simple.

God puts people into our lives for specific purposes. Think of that one person who you're at odds with... now focus on how different you are... now try to imagine partnering with them on something, anything. How can you come together and be change agents for good?

The cool thing about Jacob and Esau is we know how the story ends. Yes, there is restitution, but it came at a cost. If both brothers were to partner in God's individual blessings, imagine what the biblical annals might have looked like! Instead of waring with our brothers and sisters in Christ, how can we partner with them? Here's a tip: start with looking at your faults before analyzing others. Thought? Comments? Stones to throw?

*I can only say this because she is on another continent at the moment and can't kick my butt. Yes, she still kicks my butt. But she's my bestest friend and I love with more than bootcamp workouts, Mama's arroz con gandules, and reading in bed.

crying out...

Proverbs 2:3 ...if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding...

I was moved yesterday by a conversation with a friend that caused me such ache and pain. My friend had been falsely accused, draped in lies, and a victim of libel. This morning I was on my knees crying that Truth triumph over lies, honestly over vindictive slander. I read the conditional promise in Proverbs 2, but focused on verse 3, if you cry out. . . . The Bible makes a clear distinction between “prayer” and “crying out to God.” Have there been times in life that seem so hopeless, that even crying seems pointless? This is the exact setting God wants to move in to demonstrate His loving care and powerful hand of protection.

Crying out is a humble reminder of our total inability to accomplish anything significant for God. God’s promise to the prophet Jeremiah years ago is true even for us today. Call unto Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know (Jeremiah 33:3). The creator of the universe wants intimate, loving fellowship with the people He created. But a vital component to fellowship is an actual voicing aloud to Him our need for Him.

There are several Hebrew words that describe calling out, but there is one specific verb which generally connotes the action of calling out or crying out loud with great volume.The Hebrew verb is qara and it is the verb used in Jeremiah 33:3. King David used this verb often as we see in Psalms 50:15, Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me, and Psalms 145:18, The Lord is near to all those who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.

But what inhibits us? If crying out is a natural impulse, why is it so hard? Many of us find it humiliating and difficult to cry out for help in times of trouble. We prefer to be self-sufficient. We would rather endure tenaciously in the face of insurmountable odds and conclude with pride, I did it! But God works opposite to our lines of reasoning. He wants us to come to the conclusion, God did it! He asks that we recognize our weakness in order to experience His strength, so we can say with Paul, When I am weak, then I am strong. It takes a lot of humility to cry out to the Lord in our distress. But humility before the living God is what we precisely need!

Are you in a in desperate moment? Have you lost your job, persecuted by a professor, in bondage to sin, falsely accused? When Peter walked out to the Lord in Matthew 14:30-31 he was in desperate need for a miracle! If we need God to help in a desperate moment, I pray you call out like Peter: he cried out, ‘Lord save me!’ Immediately the Lord stretched out his hand and caught him.

Whatever your station in life, God wants to hear you cry out unto Him. He will show Himself faithful! “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”