In Tune With God

Wednesday, 23 Oct 2002

His fingers were long and thin. He loved to play Billy Joel songs on the piano. They were complicated pieces of music that went on for pages, but he would work through them and eventually learn them to his satisfaction, and then we would hear them over and over. I loved hearing him play. It was a favorite time in my day. Frequently, I would request a song or two and he would play them for me. He already knew what they would be. One of them was "Misty".
It flowed so beautifully from his fingers.

The piano is quiet now. Phil spent many hours at those keys, taking lessons, practicing, or simply enjoying the songs he already knew. I miss hearing him play. I miss hearing the songs that were his favorites, and mine. I miss the way he would kid with me when he played a song. He would stop right before the final note and wait....and wait...and wait...and laugh, knowing that it made me crazy to have that last note missing, and then finally he would strike the note and we would laugh together with his teasing.

God knows how I miss that music and the fun we had. How do I know? Because on Sunday as I sat at the dining room table looking at the piano, I grew tearful thinking about him sitting there playing for me. I didn't pray about it, I just thought about it and my heart cried out silently as I thought about Phil. Shortly after that, Jim had put in an old video of an "Eric Clapton Unplugged" concert. We had not watched it for a very long time, and we both used to enjoy it so much. I heard the music and went in to sit and enjoy it with him. There was a piano solo during one part, and I thought about the young man who was playing and about Phil. Then later that same evening we were watching Charles Stanley, as we normally do on Sunday night. Sometimes he will have music, or singing from the choir or a quartet, perhaps a soloist will sing before he preaches, but not always. On Sunday night as we tuned in, there was a young man playing a piano. No singing, just this young man, alone. They showed the close-ups of the keyboard as his fingers moved beautifully along the keys, and I thought of Phil. It made my heart ache, but it also gave me joy because about ½ way through his song I realized the gift that had come from God. He had heard my heart cries earlier, even though I had not asked Him for a thing in prayer. He had heard the missings of a mother who simply would love to hear her son play a song, so God played it for me...through these young men. My heart was filled with joy knowing that God loves us so much that He cares for our every need. That He is listening when we are not even speaking, but He is listening to our hearts and He answers our cries.

Acts 1:24a
Then they all prayed for the right man to be chosen.
"O Lord," they said, "You know every heart."
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This verse is about the disciples asking God to help them pick a new member to serve with them since Judas had betrayed Christ. But, it reminds me that God does know every heart. We can hide nothing from Him, the good and the bad, the joy and the sorrow. God knows our hearts. I like that. I like that He heard my heart cry out on Sunday and He came and gave me a wonderful gift of music.
What is there not to like about a God who loves us that much?
Why do we refuse the easy way that He has made for us to love Him?
Why do we refuse the gift of the Holy Spirit when He gives us such comfort?
Is it because we must admit that we are wrong first?
Is it because we don't believe we are sinners?
That we have never committed a sin of any sort?
Who are we fooling?

Acts 2:37-38
Peter's words convicted them deeply, and they said to him and to the other apostles,
"Brothers, what should we do?"
Peter replied, "Each of you must turn from your sins and turn to God,
and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.
Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
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Who doesn't want to be forgiven? When we wrong someone, that's exactly what we want. Some are not willing to forgive, because we are human, but God is always willing to forgive. You may think, it wasn't that bad. I don't need to ask for forgiveness. Wrong! God is perfect. His Son is perfect and to get into heaven, we must be made perfect. We must be washed clean before we can enter in. The ONLY way to do that is to accept the sacrifice of the Son of God, who was the spotless Lamb, and let His blood wash us clean. It may sound crazy but:

Acts 4:12
"There is salvation in no one else! There is no other name in all of
heaven for people to call on to save them"
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Are you watching the World Series? I am, even though the A's are out of it! I like sports, and this is a big event, so I'm tuned in. While watching the game I noticed there is a player named Eckstein. Now, don't ask me which team he plays for, I don't really know, but I will probably pay closer attention to that after writing this e-mail! Do you know what Eckstein means? It means Cornerstone. Having lived in Germany and picked up some of the language, I've noticed his name.
Eck is corner, stein is stone.

Acts 4:11
For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says,
"The stone that you builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone."
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This young man playing in the World Series carries one of the names of Christ on his back, Eckstein. Jesus, the Cornerstone of the Church. We are His church, the people, and:

Ephesians 2:21
We who believe are carefully joined together, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.
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It reminds me of that simple game we played as children where we linked our fingers together saying, "Here is the church, here is the steeple, open the doors and see all the people!"

In my reading this morning in Ephesians it talked so much about the Jews and the Gentiles being joined together as one body.

Ephesians 2:15-16
By his death he ended the whole system of Jewish law that excluded the Gentiles. His purpose was to make peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new person from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.

3:10b
They will see this when Jews and Gentiles are joined together in his church.

4:4-6
We are all one body, we have the same Spirit,
and we have all been called to the same glorious future.
There is only one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and there is
only one God and Father, who is over us all and in us all and living through us all.
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In that childish game, I saw something new this morning. I saw two sides of a church full of people, joined together as finger became intertwined with finger. No longer two sides of a church divided by an aisle down the center. No longer the groom's family and the bride's family, the "Jones" and the "Greens", but all as one, united in our love for the same God.

Have you seen the movie, "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"? It is very funny! Just a simple story with warm characters about the love between a man and a woman who come from completely different backgrounds. As I read in Ephesians how two become one, I thought about this movie.
The young man would do anything to marry his love. To become one. He joined the Greek Orthodox Church, was baptized, tried to speak her language, spent time with her family, whatever it took. He loved her that much.

Ephesians 4:2-3
Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other,
making allowance for each other's faults because of your love.
Always keep yourselves united in the Holy Spirt,
and bind yourselves together with peace.
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He was very peaceful, not stressed because her family was planning the entire wedding and he had nothing to say about it. He would go to any length to marry her. He loved her unconditionally, as we are called to do.

Ephesians 5:1-2
Follow God's example in everything you do, because you are his dear children.
Live a life filled with love for others, following the example of Christ,
who loved you and gave himself as a sacrifice to take away your sins.
And God was pleased,
because that sacrifice was like sweet perfume to him.
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I think love was in the air like a sweet perfume!

Epehesians 4:16
Under his direction, the whole body is fitted together perfectly.
As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow,
so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
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And it all starts with the Cornerstone, with the Eckstein. Jesus holds it all together. Otherwise, there is no firm foundation for the church to stand on.

Acts 2:22-23
"People of Israel, listen!
God publicly endorsed Jesus of Nazareth by doing wonderful miracles,
wonders and signs through him, as you well know. But you followed
God's prearranged plan. With the help of lawless Gentiles,
you nailed him to the cross and murdered him.
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God is still doing wonderful miracles today, He is still doing wonders and signs through Jesus. I know when God "played" the piano for me, He was giving me a sign. He was telling me that He cares and He hears and He is with me. I just have to listen, to watch and to be aware, to be able to "see" Him. So many are blinded to all that God does for them. To all that God has for them. He has planned each and every day of our lives, just as Jesus' death was prearranged. We may think it is a mistake, but God already knows what each day holds from the moment we are born until the day we die. And we worry? Like that will change something? And we fret? Like that will help? Please!! Let's stop, and trust God! And watch for God and His goodness, even in the hard times. He is still there. He never leaves! If it seems He is far away, think about who turned...and turn back. He is right there waiting for you!

He has never left me one day of this entire journey. Not even on the night Phil died. He was there with us. At times I have been blinded by the pain, but that does not mean God is not with me. I just may lose sight of Him for awhile. When I re-focus, I find Him right there, waiting to help me take the next step in the journey.

Acts 2:25
"I know the Lord is always with me.
I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me."
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My Cornerstone, my Rock is dependable and sure!!

Epehesians 1:18
I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the
wonderful future he has promised to those he called.
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Has He called you? Have you answered that call or are you still thinking about it? If you have answered His call, are you enjoying all the benefits that come with it? Don't miss out on them because of the lies that are deceiving.

Epehesians 1:14
The Spirit is God's guarantee that he will give us everything he promised and that
he has purchased us to be his own people. This is just one more reason
for us to praise our glorious God.
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Do you know how much I praise God for the day He gave to Jim and me on Phil's first birthday in heaven? Do you know how I will remember that day as a day of such peace and beauty? Is that not a wonder?
God has given us His guarantee, His Holy Spirit. When our hearts are broken, when our lives are broken, when we think there is no way to fix the situation we are in, we can go to God with the guarantee He has given us. We can take our guarantee to the Maker, and ask for His help. We can claim it! And we can sit there in His "office", in His presence, until His peace floods into every part of our being, and the world and all its trouble fade far into the background.

There have been many times in the grief journey when I have needed to do just that. When I will come home and go to my room and stay there until God meets me there and restores the peace that I have lost, and I can re-emerge an hour or so later renewed and refreshed because God has made good on His guarantee. I was broken, and He "fixed" me.
I still need to go often for adjustments and refilling, but that is fine. That only develops a closer more intimate relationship with the Maker and as time goes on, I know more and more what to expect on these "visits" with the Maker. I am always a satisfied customer!!

Ephesians 3:16-17
I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love.
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My roots have had to go down deep into God's soil, so that I will not topple over when the strong winds blow. When the gale force winds set in, I hunker down in the Word and find my peace in God's guarantee. And when the days come, like Phil's first birthday in heaven, and I begin to wonder if this one mighty blow might be the one that will do me in, I dig in deeper and wait.....until God rescues me from the battle. If there are no atheists in fox holes, there should be no atheists among parents who have had to say good-bye to their children. We are as much in the midst of the battle as any soldier on the front line. Our very lives depend on where our faith lies.

Ephesians 3:18-19
And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should,
how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is.
May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it.
Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
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If I am to have the fullness of life, I need to understand death. I need to know that Jesus has conquered the grip of death for us all, when God raised Him from the dead. I need to know that He now sits on the throne of highest honor in heaven, at God's right hand. (Acts 2:32-33)

If I don't know that, I have no hope.
I would live in this world without God and without eternal hope. (Eph. 2:12)
That is not good enough for me. I want more than that. As much as possible, I want to see the full, clear picture of what we are doing here. I want to have a purpose for being here. A reason to walk through each day when I would rather run away. I want the fullness of life that has been promised to me!

God has granted us a favor. In Ephesians it says:

2:5
It is only by God's special favor that you have been saved!

2:7
And so God can always point to us as examples of the
incredible wealth of his favor and kindness toward us,
as shown in all he has done for us through Christ Jesus.
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I love favors! Jim did a favor for me yesterday when he edged the grass for me. He had mowed, and I was to edge but he went ahead and did it for me. Would I refuse a favor such as this? No. That would be crazy!
Would I refuse a favor that God wants to give to me? To say "No" to His gift. What do I have to lose? My very soul by saying "No".
That would be more insane.

Ephesians 3:20
Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us,
he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope.
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On Phil's birthday I dared to ask for something. I dared to ask God if He would carry me through the day. I took my "guarantee" up to the counter and I asked to see the Owner. I sat down with the Owner and I discussed my written guarantee down to the fine print. I pointed out where it said peace and joy and healing, and the Owner shook His head in agreement. It surely did say that, and if I would just "wait a moment", He would see what He could do for me. So, I waited on the Lord, and He granted me a favor. He saved me, and He will continue to save me each and every time I enter his "office", step up to His "counter" and read the "words" He has written there.
His guarantee.

Ephesians 1:2
May grace and peace be yours, sent to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.
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There is no other name to call on that will save us. There is no other god that will touch the heart of my own husband to pop in an old video, or the heart of someone thousands of miles away to schedule a program on TV with a piano soloist on the very day it is needed by a hurting mother, and soften the heart of the producers to include this solo in their TV programming that day before the Preacher speaks, because no one else on heaven and earth can know all things like our God can and does. No one else knows each intricate detail of our lives, of our hearts, to such an extent, and cares to such a degree that they will provide exactly what we are needing right when we are needing it. There is no other...

Ephesians 3:14
When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan,
I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,
the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.
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I am so grateful for His plan, for His wisdom and for His scope. I am so grateful that when I would like to say "Play Misty for me", to my son who is no longer here, God moves in the hearts of others and plays a gentle tune through them to help mend a broken heart.

Ephesians 3:7
By God's special FAVOR and mighty power,
I have been given the wonderful privilege of
serving him by spreading this Good News.

Living in His peace,
Diane