Ellen Chauvin | Soaked & Sprouting

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It’s True! It’s ALL True!

April 18, 2019 by Ellen 8 Comments

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.” Revelation 1:17 (NIV)

My Bible study question asked: Why did John fall down as if dead?
Oh, there are all the usual reasons:

  • Like Isaiah and Peter, John could have realized his utter insignificance and worthlessness before a pure and holy God (Isaiah 6:5, Luke 5:8)
  • Perhaps he remembered Moses’ conversation with God: ‘No man can see Me and live!’ (Exodus 33:20).

These are both plausible and possible reasons. But here’s my theory. Walk with me for a moment in the sandals of the apostle John. Perhaps these were the thoughts that ran through his mind:

They call me the disciple Jesus loves, His beloved disciple. That seems so odd, since I’m just an ordinary fisherman. But Jesus chose me, and I became a part of His inner circle. Following Jesus from village to village, along dry, dusty roads, I learned so much from Him. I believed all He said, all His teachings. I watched Him perform miracles! And yet…

I was there when they arrested Him in the garden. I watched them drag Him away. I was there when they nailed Him to the cross and I saw Him breathe His last. What now?

He’s gone…He’s gone…They’ve crucified Him. Deep in the pit of my soul, I was afraid. Scared that He was indeed dead, that I would never see Him again. But three days later, Mary Magdalene ran up to Peter and me.

“He’s gone! They’ve taken His body!”

We ran back to the tomb. It was EMPTY! My heart skipped a beat. A shiver of excitement ran through me. And relief, oh the relief that flooded my soul. Jesus was alive! The belief in my mind had moved to my heart. I believed – without even seeing His body – that some how, some way, Jesus was alive!

 “So the other disciple (John) who had first come to the tomb entered then also, and he saw (the empty tomb) and believed.” John 20:8

But, where is He? On the cross He said something about paradise. Where is that?

A few days later, we were camped out in the upper room. Our sorrow had overwhelmed us. We were scared. We couldn’t go out, because the people hated us. Suddenly, Jesus was there, among us. He spoke with us, and ate with us. He showed us His nail scarred hands. He HAD died, and risen again! Just like He said. Seeing Him resurrected, my faith was confirmed.

After a few days, He left again, to go to His Father…our Father.

I began to spread the word of the resurrected Christ, and how He saves us from our sins. How He loved us enough to die on that cross for us, even while we are still sinners.  I told people He would come again!

I preached it, I taught it as best I could. But how was it all supposed to work? Where is heaven? How will we live with Him forever? What will our bodies be like? I had so much hope, and yet so many questions.

Beloved, we are [even here and] now children of God, and it is not yet made clear what we will be [after His coming]. We know that when He comes and is revealed, we will [as His children] be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is [in all His glory]. 1 John 3:2 (AMP)

And now, here I am, exiled on Patmos because of my beliefs. I was in the Spirit, and I heard a voice talking to me. I looked around to see who could be here. And that’s when I saw Him!

It’s Him! It’s Jesus! I fell at His feet, like a dead man.

Oh, my Lord and my God! It’s all true. Everything. Your death, burial, and resurrection. Everything. Even this place that You’re giving me a glimpse of, this new home. Yes, I believed You! But I also had doubts about how it would work! But it’s true. Oh, my Jesus, I bow before You. You have fulfilled all my hopes and dreams. You are the Way, the Truth and the Light. I’m home now. I’m really home.

It's True

Possibly, just possibly, John was overwhelmed – not at the sight of his glorified Savior, but that it’s all true. Everything Jesus had told him. It’s ALL TRUE! John realized in that instant, without a shadow of a doubt, that he would have eternal life, he would have a glorified body, and he would live forever with Jesus. He knew without a doubt, because he DID see. John knew that his faith was not in vain and all his hopes were fulfilled.

We have faith and believe now. But on that glorious day, when we get to heaven, we will SEE without a doubt that eternal life IS the truth of the Gospel. That Jesus not only died and rose again, but that He will be living among us (Revelation 21:3).

Grace be with you,

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Cows on the Ceiling: Remembering Mom

May 10, 2018 by Ellen 2 Comments

This will be our first Mother’s Day without my sweet mother-in-law. It’s been almost a year since Jesus called her home.

The last months of her life were spent in the nursing home. The stroke paralyzed her, and she needed constant care. It was so very hard seeing fiercely independent Mom, stuck in the bed, unable to move freely.

That last year also brought great memories. The stroke not only affected Mom physically, but her personality changed too. For the better, I would say! Before, she was always worried about her appearance and what people would think. After the stroke, she learned to laugh at herself. 

In the middle of a conversation with her one day, we were surprised to see her eyes closed tight, shoulders shaking. Thinking she was in great pain, we asked what was hurting. Turns out, she was laughing at something so hard, her whole body was shaking, and tears were almost spilling out of her squinting eyes. She asked us “When did I get so funny?!”

One Sunday we all received a text:

“Come to the nursing home now. Mom wants to see everyone and say goodbye.”

We rushed over. Mom looked frail in her bed. We visited a bit, prayed over her and sang around her. She would nod off from time to time.

Her pastor arrived, and asked Mom if he could pray with us. Noticing she would occasionally fall asleep, he told her, 

“Mrs. Betty, it’s ok if you fall asleep while I’m praying. It won’t be the first time someone’s done that to me.”

In a voice barely above a whisper, from her “deathbed,” Mom piped up:

“It won’t be the last time, either!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One thing Mom always wanted me to do was write a book with all the stories of her life. I would always ask her “Mom, what are we writing about today?” 

I hoped this would wake her up, and get her talking. Toward the end of her life, she had no interest in her book. Except for one day. Out of the blue she said,

“The ending of the book will be the story about the cows on the ceiling. Who would ever imagine that we had cows on our ceiling?”

Indeed, who could imagine that?

It’s a beautiful picture of our life in Christ.

“Glory belongs to God, whose power is at work in us. By this power He can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine” Ephesians 3:20 (God’s Word translation)

No one can imagine the abundant life Christ has prepared for us here on earth. It’s more than I ever thought possible!  Who would imagine that I would be doing the things I do today? I would never have imagined that I would be writing a blog, or teaching a Sunday School class. Only by His grace and power at work in me.

And the grace He pours over us all, especially during those oh, so hard times of losing a loved one, enabling us to make it through. To wake up that next day, and not have our Mom or Mama to talk to or hug. Who can imagine that? But we make it through, one step at a time, one day at a time, and only with His grace and power.

This is the hope we have been given, through faith in Jesus: Eternal life. This earthly life is not the end. Try as I might, every picture I paint in my mind of the eternal life to come, falls short. I try to envision what it will be like to see our loved ones again. What will it be like to sit at the feet of Jesus? 

It will be oh, so much more that we could ask or imagine.

Grace be with you,

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