Believe.

I originally shared this post in early December 2011,

and repost today for your edification as Advent 2018 begins.

'Tis the season!  Stockings are hung, halls are decked, carols are playing (everywhere you go!)  It is a season of wonder, of joy, of hope, of delight.  And according to Macy's we should Believe.

Believe what?

Yes, surely it has something to do with the fun of Santa Claus making his yearly appearance (without being seen!) in the homes of those with little ones.  But for Christians, people often referred to as "believers," that word and this season offer so much more.

These weeks leading up to Christmas are a time of wonder, joy, hope, and delight because we believe not in one we outgrow, but rather in One who is eternal, all-knowing, ever-present, and Almighty.  The One who came on that first lonely Christmas night so many years ago.

Emmanuel.  God with us.

Jesus.  The Lord saves.

Christmas is no blip on the screens of our lives, to be momentarily enjoyed and immediately forgotten.  Christmas is, rather, a major "we interrupt this program" service announcement than changed the course of human history.  God, set in motion events that would bring real justice and real peace between man and Himself.  Christmas looks toward Easter and points to eternity.

For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16

Believe.


Our culture invites us to believe in something during this magical season, but offers no real consensus on what.  And it leaves most of us disappointed on Dec. 26 when the fun ends, the decorations are down, the gifts are opened, and the parties are over.

But God invites us to  believe in Him, the only wise God who offers a living hope, a new life, the true light that is the light of men and does not fade when the bright decorations come down.

Christmas is an invitation to believe.

Thanks for the reminder, Macy's!

Do you believe?

Will you believe?

St. John does not include the Christmas story in his gospel account; he zooms out to the bigger picture, looking from eternity past into eternity future:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. 

There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John.  He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe.  He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.  The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. 

He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him.  He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.  Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. 

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. 

John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”  From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.  For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.  No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.

God has made Himself known in Jesus. (Whoa!)

All the longings of creation are met in Him.

The waiting is over;

the kingdom is near;

repent and believe the good news!

Christmas Interrupted? No, Christmas for Real.

Yesterday sadness threatened the "Christmas cheer."  We received news of miscarriages from two couples, a total of three babies gone to be with the Lord.  My heart grieves with my friends as they walk through this encounter with the shadow of death during a time when, at least the songs tell you, everyone's chugging down cups of cheer and enjoying the delightful hustle and bustle of the Christmas season.

Prayer had me reflecting on how perfect a time Christmas is to be thinking about death.  Jesus, coming into the world to save His people from their sins, with a mission to see God's plan to its end - hanging on a tree to die, despised, rejected ... that we might have life.  In times of sorrow, what blessed assurance it is to look to our Father who knows grief and to cling to our Savior who entered into this world gone wrong in sin and death, pain and sorrow.  We can pray for our friends with confidence because we know the foundation of Christmas is unshakable Truth: God the Father, Son, and Spirit working out their plan to rescue mankind and one day make all things new.  We can grieve with our friends because Christmas reminds us that God knows that "it's just not right" for little babies to go to Him before we even get to meet them, for the old to waste away in hospital beds while death slowly consumes them, for disease to ravage bodies and rob them of their strength and, ultimately, breath.

At Christmas, God, in the person of Christ, became flesh and dwelt among us, experiencing all of life from birth to death, to satisfy God's wrath and express the depth of His love for His creation.

You, too, may find that this Christmas season is not full of cheer.  Perhaps pain, sorrow, or grief is threatening to crush you and others' smiles simply drive the knife deeper into your aching soul.  Turn to the loving embrace of our gracious, understanding, and tender Father.  He offers not empty cheer, but real hope and lasting joy that won't gloss over the painful reality of life this side of heaven and will see you through to the end.

May the God of all hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13  

Sunday Meditation: He's in Charge

In Scripture, we find a wonderful concept known as the sovereignty of God - His extreme authority and power over all of time and creation.

This can seem a scary or limiting thought; that someone else is ultimately in control, can bother those who would like authority and power over their own lives. Uh, wait, isn't that all of us?  Aren't we all struggling to rule over our little domains?

I believe that in Scripture, the constant references in prose, prayer, and praise, to God's sovereignty cause God's people to both revere Him and find great comfort in Him.  Once a soul knows God as the One who quenches thirst, gives rest, and forgives sin, growing trust in this sovereign, tender, loving, heavenly Father, brings great peace and freedom as we meditate on and surrender to His sovereignty - over the world and our individual lives.  We are left wondering at the majesty of His ability to see all of history and creation at once, and being able to guide and sustain it all justly.  And we are able to rest, trust, and obey, knowing that the infinite is in the hands of the omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient God of it all.  The Holy One is awesome, yet also lets us call Him Father.  We fear and we draw near.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner, so we've been reading about Squanto and the Pilgrims.  I've learned (for the first time) a little of the history on how Squanto learned English prior to the Pilgrims' arrival in the New World.  Had Squanto not been there - unfearing of the English, able to speak their language - all of them would have perished, not just half.  Those brave men and women came to worship freely in a new land; God provided the means for them to survive.  It was not easy; wives, husbands, sons, and daughters were lost.  But I wonder how they worshiped and thanked God that in that strange land was a foreign man, who "happened" to know how to communicate with them and was equipped to teach them all they needed to survive.  In the stories, untold from a Christian perspective, I see the hand of God, merciful, all-knowing, and kind, taking care of His people.  One day we will worship with them in His very presence!

After Thanksgiving, we come to Christmas, building up to it in the advent season of waiting for the celebration of the birth of our Savior.  From the beginning, God had a plan to send His Son and save the world through Him.  In the midst of the sin and darkness here on earth, God was always moving, making promises to Abraham, Moses, David, and speaking through the mouths of the prophets, calling His people to trust and obey Him - the Great Rescuer.  Then, He came!  Jesus, who would save his people from their sins.  Immanuel, who would be God with us.  The promised One came - lived, died, and rose - as promised.  God, the sovereign, keeps His promises.  Now, Jesus sits in heaven interceding for us.

When Jesus departed from the Earth, another promise was made.  Stay put until the Spirit comes to you, Jesus told His disciples.  Shortly thereafter, the promise was fulfilled.  The Spirit of God came to live in the hearts of men who put their faith in Him, empowering them to live for Him as beloved children and bold witnesses and transforming them increasingly into Christ's likeness.

This morning in Sunday school our pastor gave a great summary of how a conviction of God's sovereignty and presence with us brings changes in our thoughts and our lives; I'll call it the Trinitarian Presence in the Life of the Believer.

God around me; Jesus for me; the Holy Spirit in me.

Oh, the blessed HOPE found in that summary, a HOPE supported by the words of Scripture and the actions of the Father!

I wonder if, looking back you can see, not only huge ways that God's will and timing have made a difference in history, but ways that His sovereignty has guided your steps.  Consider not how God's sovereignty over your life limits, but rather how much it frees from worry, despair, fear, and doubt when you rest in the secure arms of such a capable, promise-fulfilling Father, who calls YOU daughter or son.  When I look back, it's most awesome to me to see how God was guiding and protecting my life even at times when I was NOT looking to Him, living by His commands, or trusting His plan.  The echos of mercy in the sovereignty of God get louder and louder the closer we draw near to Him.

Dare to draw near.  You can make no better decision today.

Day 14: Judgmentalism

Oh, that girl should NOT be wearing those pants.

She's clearly THAT kind of homeschooling mom.

Obviously, THOSE children are not being disciplined by their parents.

Only and IDIOT puts that many bumper stickers on their car.

He really should NOT be eating that much food.

How can they call themselves Christians and engage in THAT behavior?

These are the kinds of thoughts that might flash through my mind without warning as I stroll around town, drive the streets, shop at my local stores, or (gulp) while I'm at church.  Over the years I have gotten into the habit of evaluating everything I see and making quick judgments.  Have you?  When the thought is positive, I'll share it, statements like, Look at how beautiful the flowers are in their yard!  or  Her hair cut is really  great!  When the thoughts are more like the statements above, I keep them to myself.  Most of the time.  Though perhaps a knowing glance is exchanged with someone nearby who's thinking the same thing.

Whether negative or positive, for some reason, we decide that it's our place to make judgments about the world around us.  Now, God gives us discerning minds so that we can make sound judgments about what may or may not be safe in a given situation, or to distinguish good from evil.  But it is too easy (at least for me) to take the blessing of critical thinking, and turn it into a weapon I use to criticize others and build myself up.  Are you catching the repetition of this "it's all about me" theme with sin?  I mean, seriously, we need to get over ourselves!

Enter, the Gospel.  Jesus is there, yet again to rescue us.  But not until after He drops these bombs to wake us up in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7:

Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 

   ³ Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

What makes it so easy to size up our neighbor, friends, family members, or complete strangers, raising the gavel and pronouncing judgment?  COMPLETELY ignoring our own giant sin.

It's so very easy to identify another's weakness, isn't it?  Yet so very difficult to see our own.  And often most of the time when we're judging others, it has little to do with their sin, and more with our own preferences and opinions.  That makes it even worse!

The first two verses really get at my heart.  How about yours?  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged.  I'm (in my thoughts) hard on people much of the time, not merciful.  Yet I would like to be shown mercy.  Hey pot, you call the kettle black much?!  I don't want to be judged by my measure - it expects far too much perfection from people far too incapable of achieving it - nevertheless, I apply it to my neighbor ... the neighbor I'm called to love.

Blah.

*     *     *

I'm going to assume that I am not the only one with a "judging problem" and proceed using the pronoun we.    And I'm going to let you in on a little secret: I just found the convicting verses below from Romans 2 by doing a keyword search at biblegateway.com.  How's that for profound Biblical scholarship?  I'm learning right along with you, good reader!

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. ² Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. ³ So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? ⁴ Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?

Dear Father, how often we show You contempt when we proudly judge another.  You have redeemed us by your loving-kindness and shown us mercy beyond our comprehension.  Jesus' and Paul's words cut us to the heart.  Forgive us our trespasses today, especially that of passing judgement on our neighbor.  Grow in our hearts a deeper understanding of Your love for us, so we don't need to try and steal affection from the idolatry of self by standing in judgment of others.  Help us to trust Jesus for salvation and look to His example for 

When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. (I Peter 2:23-25)

We return to you, Lord, the One who judges justly, praying these things in Jesus' name.  Amen.

This is Part 14 of a month-long series you can learn more about by starting with Day 1 here.  There are many others doing super cool series this month as well, perhaps you'd like to see the list?

Day 12: Anger Much?

Good morning!  Grab a cup of coffee, this post is a little long!

This is Part 12 of a month-long series you can learn more about by starting with Day 1 here.  There are many others doing super cool series this month as well, perhaps you'd like to see the list?

Over the last week, we've been delving into the sins in our hearts in the context of the Gospel - that God forgives our sins when we trust that Jesus' took our punishment (death) for them in our place - to the end of "becoming more ourselves than ever."  But even knowing that God loves us, His children, we still kinda squirm when we admit to ourselves just how much we continue needing Jesus' work on the cross.  We really squirm when we have to admit it to others.  Don't we want to "keep up appearances"?  I sure do.

Sadly, the keeping up of appearances harms us and those around us ... not to mention the offense against God.  However, when we talk about our sin and God's work in our hearts, we're protected from our pride, God receives the glory He deserves, and others are pointed in His direction.  I love David's words after He's cried out to God for mercy and for a clean heart in Psalm 51:13.

Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will turn back to you.

Could God use me or you to teach another?  Will we let Him by opening our lips to share all that from which He has saved us?

Think about those questions as we move on with today's topic:

ANGER!*

Anger is a biggie in my life.  Rather than being quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry (James 1:19), I'm prone to the opposite, making the next verse a real zinger:

for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

Jesus, in fact, likened getting angry with our brother to murder.  Ooooh ouch, Jesus.  Really?  Is it that bad?

*     *     *

I don't believe people throughout my life would describe me as an "angry person" - though you could weigh in in the comments if you disagree!  Grumpily lumbering about and always snapping at people has never been my style (I'm far too much of a people-pleaser for that.  ha!)  Yet, all joking aside, how quickly comes the fit of rage (Galatians 5:20) when suddenly life is not going my way?!

• someone cuts me off or tails me or goes too slowly when I'm on the road
• a child doesn't listen or obey quick enough for my liking
• my husband fails to meet my expectations
• the kids are up too early for my taste
• I am made to look foolish or misrepresented in some situation
• someone takes what was rightfully or "rightfully" mine

Speaking for myself, I've used all of the above as excuses to cling to my anger and feel justified in treating others poorly (sin begetting more sin!)  Now, a Heather-style fit of rage may not express itself in punching out another driver, physically abusing my children, or leaving my husband.  When we hear of people doing things like that, we breathe a sigh of relief that we're not that bad, don't we?  Phew, at least I have enough decency not to ... when I'm angry.

But allow me to, ever so kindly, remind you that Jesus said:

You have heard it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.  But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.  Again anyone who says to his brother, "Raca," is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.  Matthew 5:21-22

Can we agree that when we talk anger, we're not talking small potatoes?

You'll notice the bold words in the list I created above.  Most of the time our anger is all about I, me, and mine, isn't it?  I believe we talked about that root problem early in the series: we want to be our own god, we want the world to revolve around us.

I find that often I don't even make a decision to get angry, it just happens in the blink of an eye.  And before I know it, the little spark is a huge fire of rage within my heart.  I may not be an angry person, but I am a person in which anger lurks - just. under. the. surface. - waiting for the opportunity to unleash itself in all of it's hideous glory.

*     *     *

How can we extinguish these angry heart-fires?

ADMIT THE SIN:  As with all sin, we've gotta start by admitting there's a problem - our natural reaction does not honor God or our neighbor.  Oh, how we need Jesus to help us admit it!  We want to give Him our excuses about why our anger is justified in this situation; He's inviting us to repent, believe, and be changed.

MAKE A DECISION NOT TO LET THE ANGER GROW (self-control):  This is a "fruit of the Spirit" thing. The more we're talking with the Holy Spirit about our desire to change and our need for His intervention in those moments of testing, the more growth we will see - the more we will become who we were intended to be and can rejoice at the way God is at work in our lives.

An example: My kids have always been early risers.  Friends, this used to make me so mad.  I'd just be settling in to my morning quiet time, and I'd hear the little pitter-patter of feet above me.  They are coming.  Aurgh!, I would groan to myself.  Sometimes I would angrily try to get them to go back to sleep: speak harshly, ignore, or whatever I thought might guilt them into going back to bed so I could get my way.  Yep, real mature, I know.  But wow, has God been changing my heart as he's shown me the error of my anger, its extensions (rudeness, impatience, unkindness), and is helping me to choose patience, kindness, and self-control.   What a difference it makes for all of us on those mornings that I choose God's way!  (And how much easier it gets to choose His way when we've practiced doing it before.)

FORGIVE:  There are times that we're angry because of a legitimate hurt or offense, not just because life is not going our way.  In this case, too, we have the opportunity to choose.

Another example:  We were hit by another driver on Good Friday this year.  The accident was his fault, but he lied to his insurance company and they would not pay our deductible.  It just wasn't right.  Every time I drive past where the accident occurred I'm reminded of how infuriating that is to me.  We had the money to pay for it, praise God!  No one was hurt, even better!  But I had to really hash it out with God and choose to forgive that man.  Clinging to the anger accomplishes nothing but maintain rot in my heart.  Jesus said that other hard thing in the Lord's Prayer: Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.  Dear Lord, help us to forgive!

And finally,
PRAISE GOD:  Jesus' blood has covered over every little ounce of anger you've ever expressed or will express.  Amazing love, how can it be, that thou my God shouldst die for me?!

*     *     *

My apologies, this post has gotten too long, but it doesn't seem right to split it up.  If you made it this far, thank you for being a kind and loving blog-reading friend!  I pray that today God's Word would take root in your heart and that He'd allow you to see, EVEN TODAY, what He's accomplishing in YOU.

* I'll not be getting into "righteous anger" vs. unrighteous here.  I venture to guess, if you're anything like me, that most of the time the anger you deal with is primarily about you being right, justified, offended, etc. not about pursing some righteous cause.  Maybe not, but I'm functioning under that assumption.  And I'm just not familiar enough with "righteous anger" ... not sure I've ever experienced it!

Day 8: Afraid?

If you're just tuning in, click here to read the previous posts in the series.

Fear often goes hand-in-hand with worry in our hearts and minds.

We fear many things: failure, loss of control, loss of things that are precious to us, other people, etc.

Want to hear a painful truth?  Behind our fears lurks our pride.  Really, it's more like PRIDE.  There's often something at stake that we're not willing to let go of that drives us to cling to fears, rather than our Savior.  That pride is big, bad, and ugly.

The woman writing this post is really full of it.

Pride, that is.

What were you thinking?!

Bowing to fears (because I'm so dang prideful) has effected me in detrimental ways over the years:

I've long feared failure ... at pretty much anything new I might try.  So my default has been not to try new things.  Yeah, a wonderful way to live. (insert eye-roll here)

I've also long been concerned with what others think of me, fearing that I won't be accepted.  People pleasing becomes the default here - leaving me wondering who the heck I am and myself & others losing out on edifying relationships .

When I got pregnant with Elizabeth, our first, I was quite consumed by fear - embarrassed that it was a "surprise" pregnancy and having to adjust "the plan" for our lives - stealing away most of the joy of those early days of pregnancy, when we could have been celebrating the miracle! 

For years I also spent a lot of time fearing "the worst," whatever that meant at the moment, even when life was quite peachy.  This thinking just leaves you on edge all the time, wondering when calamity will strike.  (I wrote  about this a year ago in My Life is Not a Television Drama.)

I'm sure this list only scratches the surface of fear's effects on my life, but it gives you an idea to get you thinking about how fear may eek its way into your life and the sad natural consequences of fear-based living.

SoooooOOOO, what do we do once we admit there's a problem?

We never sang it often, but in Boston occasionally we'd sing a song at church based on Isaiah 43:1-3.  Maybe you know it; it always brought me to tears.  Give it a listen here.

When you pass through the water I will be with you,
And the waves they will not overtake you.
Do not fear for I have redeemed you.
You are mine. 

(Chorus)
For I am the Lord Your God.
For I am the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I am the Lord. (women: Do not fear.)
I am the Lord. (Do not fear) 3x
I am the Lord. 

When you pass through the fire you'll not be burned,
And the flames they will not consume you.
Do not fear for I have redeemed you.
I have called you by name.
You are mine.

DO NOT FEAR!

Why?  The LORD has redeemed you.  You belong to Him.  He called you by name.  He will protect you as you walk through the waters and fires of life.

BE FREE because you are no longer a slave to the law.  You know you don't control your own life ... Someone mightier and greater does!

I know it's not easy, some of our fears have been with us and owned us for so long, it will take a lot to release us from the bondage.  But God's people are transformed by the renewing of their minds to know His will.  Taking those thoughts captive and firing darts of truth at them (like the above words from Isaiah) will ultimately lead to their demise.

Christian, you no longer need to be defeated by your sin.

CONFESS your fears to the Lord; CONFESS that you don't believe He actually loves you and and cares for you; CONFESS that your pride keeps getting in the way of honoring Him properly. 

BELIEVE that He surrounds you and protects you;  BELIEVE that He wants you to share in His holiness and He will carry you through the process of rooting out these sinful fears;  BELIEVE that God loves you, beloved child, and forgives your sins.

He does.

And the Kingdom comes in our very on hearts when we repent and believe!

Because Christ has died, Christ has risen, and Christ will come again we can look at our fears, admit that they find their origins in the sinful pride within, and talk with God (and fellow believers too!) about being changed.  Oh the cross, how it makes us come alive!

Open your heart up to the Lord this weekend.  Dump all of your junk on Him; He can handle it - in fact, He knows it's there already.  

Fear not, my friends.

Let's find freedom and life at the feet of Jesus!

Day 6: Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places

If you're just tuning in, click here to read the previous posts in the series.

Often, when we first "become a Christian" there are dramatic changes that we are willing to make (and can sometimes - praise God! - make quite easily) in response to our new-found freedom from sin and love for Jesus: leaving a relationship, giving up an addiction, dropping an ugly habit, etc.  For me, my faith has been built up in stages and I don't have a day that I can say I converted.  I grew up in the church and first professed faith when I was five, but it wasn't until about eight years ago that the Truth of the gospel really started coming alive for me - freeing me to admit I'm a sinner for real, deep down to the core, and freeing me to start letting go of patterns and habits that I had, until then, held so dear.  Scales fall from our eyes, but it can take some time for things to come into focus.  God has each of us on the journey marked out for us.

But one thing is consistent for all of us, wherever we are in that journey, when we find ourselves seeking refuge in something other than God -  shopping, food, computer time, drugs, alcohol, people, a specific person, a body image, etc. - WE ARE LOOKING FOR LOVE IN ALL THE WRONG PLACES.

*     *     *

When I was a young gal, I was boy crazy.  I was not really even looking for relationship, though I was very happy to have one!  I simply want to be desired.  This led to all kinds of problems for me and my heart - and for those whose hearts I broke or at the very least bruised.  I wanted to be affirmed, told I was beautiful, desirable, smart, and so on.  It was definitely all about ME.  I wanted to be someone's whole world.

That was not my place in anyone's life.  It never could be.  And what I was looking for, no poor, unsuspecting boy could ever provide for me.  God bless 'em.

Honestly, I still want to be desired, told I'm beautiful, smart, fun to be with, etc.  Who doesn't, right?! But once we encounter Jesus, know our Creator, and lay our life in His hands, we've got somewhere to go with it when it begins to consume us - when my husband, friends, family, etc. are not filling the void I'm demanding they fill for me ... that one I mentioned above is not theirs to fill.

Because I belong to Jesus, I can turn around.  You can turn around.  Confess to God who is slow to anger and abounding in love that you're sorry.  He forgives sins, even those of people who should "know better."  I can even go so far as to confess to the person I've offended (whether they know I've been offending them or not) because the Good News frees us, securing us by the anchor of God's love as a member of His family, purchased by the precious blood of Jesus.  Just a short time meditating on that reality can make our hearts sing.

*     *     *

Friends, it is the Gospel* that frees us to look in the face any sin in our hearts, and the Holy Spirit who helps us to stare it down, weakening its power in our lives, taking us to new levels of joy and freedom in Christ - "becoming more ourselves than ever."  There are "big sins" we can think of that require a major external behavioral change: an impure relationship, an addiction to a substance, etc.  Some of these are addressed when we first come to faith, leading to rapid and dramatic changes in our lives.  But, more challenging as we walk with Christ, are the sins of the heart that tend to be more subtle and God opens our eyes to them little by little: greed, worry, discontent, impatience, anger, fear, doubt, judging others, envy, unforgiveness, pride, etc.

And you better believe that that's what we'll be getting into this month!

Because Christ has died, Christ is risen, and Christ will come again we can move forward boldly, look into the tangled mess of sin in our hearts, and declare that it has no place there because we are children of the King!

*The Gospel is simply this: Man didn't deserve it, but God loved us so much that He sent His son to die in our place, taking the punishment we deserved, so that we could again be in relationship with Him and spend eternity with Him.  We're set free from bondage, a desperate situation, by a God of mercy who was pleased to glorified to rescue us.  Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me, is how John Newton put it.

Don't Answer the Enemies

I love new beginnings.  Wrapping up the school year and entering summer, setting some goals and making plans to be more prepared for the fall, tickles my fancy.  But even as God guides us in our planning and dreaming, how quickly the plan can become the idol, fears of failure to meet deadlines (even personal ones) and make progress screaming loudly through the contentment and peace God has brought as we've sought him to direct our paths.

It's a battle isn't it?  This walk of faith.

As I awoke this morning, I knew I needed to meet with the Lord.  Not just show up for my quiet time, say some  "proper" words of thanksgiving and un-heartfelt confessions and praise, and then read my "assigned" passages.  I needed to commune with my God.  Often I find it difficult to wake myself up enough to even know what's going on in my heart in the morning.  He prepared me last night by making me a little too uncomfortable with my own self focus, instilling a craving for some forgiveness and restoration, and woke me a little earlier than usual so I could meet with Him.

And how God wove His word together this morning!  I'm at the point in the Old Testament where Assyria comes to take over Israel (II Kings 17) and sends them into exile, all according to God's plan.  His people have not been worshiping Him rightly for a LONG time.  The nasty King of Assyria takes care of Israel and moves on to challenge the King of Judah, Hezekiah, who actually trusts God, has torn down the high places and Asherah poles - false, idolatrous places of worship.  Hezekiah is leading Judah toward God.  It's really a point of hope after reading about so many kings who "did evil in the eyes of the Lord."

The King of Assyria sends a messenger to challenge Judah with these words, II Kings 18:28-36:

Then the commander stood and called out in Hebrew: "Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria!  This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you from my hand.   Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the LORD when he says, 'The LORD will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.' 

"Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and fig-tree and drink water from his own cistern, until I come and take you to a land like your own, a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey. Choose life and not death! 

"Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is misleading you when he says, 'The LORD will deliver us.'  Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?  Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim, Hena and Ivvah? Have they rescued Samaria from my hand?  Who of all the gods of these countries has been able to save his land from me? How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from my hand?"

But the people remained silent and said nothing in reply, because the king had commanded, "Do not answer him."

Is this not exactly how the evil one tempts us to despair, to doubt, to fear, to unbelief?  How reminiscent of Satan's temptation to Eve in the garden?  How often my own heart asks, 'Can God really get me out of this mess?'

After a little pondering of these lies my heart too often believes, my readings took me to Psalm 139: God knows when we sit and when we rise, our going and coming; He hems us in before and behind; He knit us together and knows the number of days ordained for us.  Oh, our God knows what's going on with His people!  The taunts of too-proud kings of pagan lands or Satan from his den of folly are real, yes, but how silly they seem when we stop and remember our Lord.

The one who knows us, knit us, keeps us.

I don't know the fears, doubts, and trials that are threatening to undo you today.  But as Hezekiah directed his people, do not answer them.  Rather, lift your eyes and your heart up to the Lord.  Pray as David:

Search me and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me;

and lead me in the way everlasting.

Psalm 139:23-24

God will meet you.  He will hem you in.

Wrestling

A lot has been going on in my heart and mind this week.  I'm struggling to integrate things I'm learning into my thinking and, in the process, seeing new depths of my sin.  Surely it's no irony all of this is challenging me at a time when I'm preparing to speak about the Gospel - a Gospel I struggle daily to believe myself.  What is that Gospel?  That God loved me and sent a Savior before I even knew I needed one and that I receive His grace through faith alone (not effort, not good works, not striving.)

Martin Luther spoke of the "old clinging dirt" of wanting to try to prove himself to God, offer Him something.  So, this is no new experience for the Christian.  And it reminds me of Jerry Bridges advice to "preach the Gospel to yourself every day."

The Gospel tells us several things:

1. It tells us what God is like, the extent to which He has to and would go to to rescue his lost people. He is holy; He is love.  See Luke 15 for great stories about that.
2. It tells us what we're like before God enters in: dead in sin, self-gratifiers, deserving of wrath (Ephesians 2:1-3)  We were in BAD shape, nothing we could have gotten ourselves out of.
3. It tells us what we're like after God enters in: the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17) If Christ is or Savior and Lord, He's taken or sin and given us His righteousness.
4. It tells us what we will be like when God makes all things new: we will be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is (I John 3:2)  We will share in Christ's glory!

For me, the thing I most need to remember is that I'm not a good person, but I am redeemed and God has good works He prepared in advance for me to do.  I can easily get too stuck on myself.  Perhaps you can relate?  The Gospel reminds me it's not about me, it's about the God who rescued me.  Life works better when I submit myself to God's wisdom and not my own foolishness.

Thank you for the cross!

Today, friends, remember your salvation is a gift of God.  Go into your churches, confess your sins, and worship with gladness for the Lord has been GOOD to you!

Yet I am always with you; 

   you hold me by my right hand. 

You guide me with your counsel, 

   and afterward you will take me into glory. 

Whom have I in heaven but you? 

   And earth has nothing I desire besides you. 

My flesh and my heart may fail, 

   but God is the strength of my heart 

   and my portion forever.

Psalm 73:23-26

Pray, God Hears

Two more verses from the Proverbs this morning!

The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked,

but he prayer of the upright pleases him.

The Lord is far from the wicked,

but he hears the prayer of the righteous.

Proverbs 15:8, 29

What's the difference between the wicked and the righteous?  Within the context of the Bible, the main difference is that the wicked refuse to acknowledge God as Lord, the only one in charge, relinquishing their right to be god of their own lives.  The righteous/upright have surrendered to Him.  That's what enables them to cry out in prayer.

In prayer we are saying, "This life thing is beyond me; be God, God, because I'm not and I can't be!"

It's this surrender that so pleases the Lord!  Blessed are those who cry out to the Father - sins are forgiven, life is given, hope is born.  He hears your prayers.

May today be prayer-full for you, in the smallest and greatest of tasks!

God, My Strength

O my Strength, I sing praise to You;

You, O God, are my fortress, my loving God.

Psalm 59:9 &17

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness."  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power my rest on me.  That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.        ~ 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Where have you been feeling your weakness?  Have you seen Christ's power made perfect in your weakness?  How might you ask God to help you see how Christ's power might be made perfect in your weakness?

God, our Strength, our Fortress, our Refuge, let us know and abide in You today, forsaking self-reliance and trusting in You alone.

Prayer

Just read a great chapter about the Lord's Prayer in John Stott's commentary on the Sermon on the Mount.  I want to pass along a few of his throughts and a book recommendation.

Most of you know the Lord's Prayer:

Our Father, who art in heaven

hallowed by Thy name,

Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread,

and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Stott makes these points (among others):

• We are praying for not only God's kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, but also His name to be hallowed as it is in heaven.
• The prayer addresses our three major needs and reminds us of our dependence on God to meet them, in all of His person.
• physical - our daily bread (God the Father in creation and providence)
• spiritual - forgiveness (God the Son - Jesus - dying for our sin)
• moral - deliverance from the evil one (God the Spirit delivering us by His power)
• Throughout, he also points out how the God we pray to will influence how we pray.  Hypocrites were praying to be heard by others and pagans repeated themselves hoping their god(s) would hear them. The Christian needn't do either; Stott closes the chapter with these words:
• We need to remember that he loves his children with most tender affection, that he sees his children even in the secret place, that he knows his children and all their needs before they ask him, and that he acts on behalf of his children by his heavenly and kingly power. If we thus allow Scripture to fashion our image of God, if we recall his character and practise his presence, we shall never pray with hypocrisy but always with integrity, never mechanically but always thoughtfully, like the chilren of God that we are.  p. 152

If prayer is or has always been a struggle for you, check out this post - a recommendation of Paul E. Miller's book, A Praying Life.

Today, may you know that God is closer than your heart wants to believe, and loves you more than you can imagine - with a Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love. (to borrow from the Jesus Storybook Bible)  Cry out to Him; He hears our prayers and He never sleeps - the Bible tells us so.

Dry Hands, Dry Hearts: God's Word in the Winter

My sandpapery knuckles and splitting cuticles painfully remind me that it's winter.  They also remind me that I need to regularly (read: 1,000 times a day) lotion up my hands if I want less pain and my skin to survive the season.

This got me to thinking about how a little daily maintenance can make a great long-term difference.  Here are some other life examples:

• putting our clothes into the hamper and drawers each day, rather than having a HUGE job come laundry day;
• picking up or putting away toys as you're done using them, rather than having to clean up everything at the end;
• getting the dishes done after each meal, rather than waiting until the end of the day;
• regular dental or medical check-ups, so we catch things earlier rather than later.

In all of these things, I often can't be bothered.  My excuses abound, then I have to endure the consequences of a little laziness here and a little sloth there.  It's painful - like dry, cracked hands that remind you that you could have done something to avoid it.

As I lathered up with lotion this morning, I got to thinking about how this applies to our spiritual lives.  Daily time in the Word and prayer with the Father is like balm for our souls.  Life may have us in the dead of winter: dry, dark, and cold.  But we can be filled with hope and joy: drinking form the fountain of life, letting God's light shine in, warming our self at the fires of His love.  The consequences of not doing this can leave our hearts looking a lot like dry hands or messy rooms.

This week, let's turn to God's Word when our cuticles crack and the temperatures outside make us groan with a longing for spring.  A little heart maintenance WILL go a long way! 

Cast your cares on the Lord,

and He will sustain you;

he will never let

the righteous be shaken.

Psalm 55:22

Malachi 3:6a

This week's catechism question (in a cool, new devotional book we've recently begun reading at breakfast) is What is God?

The answer: God is a spirit, Whose being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth are infinite, eternal, and unchangeable.

Monday's reading included lots of scripture passages. But the one that stuck with me was the last one they cited, Malachi 3:6a.

I the LORD do not change.

I contemplated making that verse alone the body of this post. Perhaps I should have, but I wanted to let you know where it came from and why I shared it.

For me, this verse is comforting and stretching: Comforting, because in this world where the winds of change and circumstances whip us about, sometimes relentlessly, I'm thankful to be anchored in the Lord Who is not capricious, unchanging, steadfast, secure. Stretching, because that means that the God of the Old Testament and the New Testament is the same God and His actions, commands, and ways don't always make sense to me.

Abiding in this unchanging God will surely change us!

How precious to me are your thoughts, God!

How vast is the sum of them!

Psalm 139:17

How about you, what's your response to Malachi 3:6?

Really, God?

As I was praising God in prayer this morning, (I do this in a journal, because otherwise I don't know if I'd ever stay focused in prayer!), the phrase as far as the east is from the west, so far have you removed our transgressions came to mind.

Given the depth of my Biblical scholarship, I had to find the word 'east' in the concordance and find the Psalm that had that verse. Hey, at least I knew it was in the Psalms! Thank God for concordances, eh?

Anyway, it's in Psalm 103. Please grab a Bible and read it today for encouragement and to be reminded of how much we have for which to praise God.

Verses 11 and 12 read as follows:

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

Really, God? That much love and that much forgiveness?!

Yes. Really.

And bear in mind that David wrote this in Old Testament times, before Jesus. Our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, slow to anger and abounding in love.

That is the God of the Bible, the whole Bible. Fear Him, i.e. honor Him and entrust your life to Him, and you will know love and forgiveness that you never thought possible.

I'm sure that no matter how long I walk with God, I will always need to come back to verses like this. My heart will always tempt me to say, No, it's too good to be true. Really, God?

'Yes, really,' He will say.

Oh how His word keeps us grounded and gives us hope!

Let Us Not Become Weary!

⁷Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. ⁸The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. ⁹Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ¹⁰Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Galatians 6:7-10

I'm meditating on these verses today. I have been tempted to give up, to give in to sin, to indulge myself instead of pressing on, to justify my nastiness rather than choose to do good.

And the Spirit brings these verses to mind.

How about you today?

May God strengthen us to persevere in doing good for His sake. May we remember Jesus who suffered unto death for our sakes. May the Spirit remind us of God's loving-kindness and His awesome holiness. And may we, in due time, see the harvest He promises as we persevere in faith.

A Reflection of Myself

Remember that little boy in the previous post with Gramma's foundation all over his face, who's written in pen on my in-law's leather ottoman and on their wall with dry-erase marker in the last couple of weeks, and who will squirt out any tubes of toothpaste or lotion he can get his hands on from the bathroom?

Yep, that's the one. My son.

Well, this morning while Elizabeth was reading to me I sneezed several times.

From across the room comes, "Bess you, mommy." And that little man hurried into the kitchen, as fast as his squishy little toddler legs would take him, and got me tissues. Now, mind you, it was a wad of tissues he'd found earlier on an arm chair, blown his nose in, and already put in the trash. But I blew my nose with those tissues, got the tickle out of my nose, and pondered that precious moment in my heart.

Aren't we all capable of so much mischief (the Bible calls it sin) but then God gives us little glimpses of how He's teaching and maturing us?

As parents, aren't these moments with our children gifts from the same God, who reassures us that it's worth it to "keep on keepin' on" in the training and instruction?

My prayer is that I would be even a tiny fraction as compassionate and merciful with my children as my Heavenly Father has been with me. It's a learning curve, folks, and I'm still low on the slope; but I can press on with hope because God - Father, Son, and Spirit - is at work and finishes what He starts ... in my life and in those of my kids!

On Gentleness

If I were interviewing for a job and was asked to use three words to describe myself or my strengths, gentleness would not make the list ... probably not even in the top 50.

• I am quick to speak & slow to listen.
• I go from calm to crazy in -5 seconds, when the right buttons are pushed.
• I hastily judge people, without giving them a chance.

Do you still want to be friends?!

Don't answer that.

So, my quiet time a few days ago led me into a word search on gentleness. I confessed to God how harsh I am with Elizabeth if (when?) she comes out of her room after bedtime - not to mention other times. Having been forgiven, the world gentleness came to mind.

Gentleness.

I know, as perhaps do you, that it's part of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). I wanted to know more, checking my concordance for some other verses that include the word gentle or gentleness. Here's what I found. (I've linked to the verses, to shorten the post.)

Prov 15:1 - gentle answer leads to good - harsh word leads to bad

Zec 9:9 & Matt 21:5 - Our Lord came gentle and riding a donkey when he entered Jerusalem a week before his crucifixion.

Matt 11: 28-30 - Jesus calls himself gentle and humble in heart and tells his hearers rest is found in Him.

I Pet 3:4 - The internal, unfading beauty, of a gentle and quiet spirit, is of great worth in God's sight.

Col 3:12 - God's people, chosen and loved, should clothe themselves in gentleness, among other things.

I Tim 6:11 - Paul exhorts Timothy to pursue gentleness in addition to big holy things like righteousness, godliness, faith, etc.

I Pet 3:15 - Believers must be ready to give an answer for their hope, but in gentleness and with respect.

Here are a few of my conclusions:

1. Followers of Christ should grow in gentleness as they mature in faith; our Savior is gentle and we have His spirit in us to cultivate the fruit of gentleness.
2. Gentleness is good for relationships. Others are blessed as we give gentle answers: our kids, our husbands, our neighbors, our enemies.
3. Since a gentle and quiet spirit is of great worth in God's sight, I want to pursue gentleness. I love that it is an unfading beauty (see the I Peter 3:4 link). We're going to get older, saggier, and wrinklier, but we can invest ourselves in unfading, inner beauty that pleases God. Cool, huh?

I don't know exactly how I'm going to grow more in this gentleness thing, but since God brought it to mind, I have a *funny feeling* He'll provide me with plenty of opportunities to practice.

It will likely involve a lot of repentance.

Praise God, His grace never runs dry. Phew!

Any thoughts on gentleness you'd like to share with a fellow sojourner?

Answered Prayer

We pray.

Sometimes we wait

for an answer

forever.

Other times, we see God work quickly.

Yesterday was one of the latter here.

Two days ago, Elizabeth told me she wanted to "pack her bags and go back to Boston." I prayed for her little heart, that she would be encouraged. We already had a playdate scheduled with for the next morning. And God in his goodness put on her new friend's heart to invite Elizabeth to her birthday party.

In October!

Thank you, Lord.

Jesus loves the little children, doesn't He?

Really?

Hi, blog friends! Seriously, I've got to figure out how to arrange for blogging time in my new life here. As I type there are mountains of papers I should go through, books I should read, phone calls I should make, etc. I'm sure you're familiar with the normal adult experiences, so I need not go on. But it's rest time, both kids are busy, and I want to "talk" with you!

Naturally in the rhythm of caring for kids, changing addresses with organizations and insurance companies, spending time with my husband, getting to know a new area, and shuttling E to and from Vacation Bible School, my mind has been racing with several future blog post. Currently, I can't post pictures because our webservice isn't that good. Some of those photo-based ones will come in the future. But here's one of the things that I've been thinking about.

The Good Lord has been ministering to my soul in this time of transition, despite Brian's early wake-ups and having trouble getting time to myself during the day. (Yes, God can grow you even if you don't have hours a day to set aside to study and pray. Particularly for you moms of tots out there: read a few verses, write and encouraging or challenging one down and hang it above your sink, meditate on it, memorize it. You'll see God begin to use Scripture to change your heart. I don't know about you, but I'm keenly aware of many ways my heart needs to be changed these days!)

A couple of months ago I came across this verse about Jesus at the beginning of Hebews:

The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.

And sometime last week I was reading the story, recorded in John 13, about Jesus washing the disciples feet the night before he was crucified. It says this in verses 3-5:

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

Jesus, the radiance of Gods glory and exact representation of his being, knowing that God had put all things under his power, KNELT DOWN AND WASHED HIS STUDENTS' FEET!

I don't know about you, but this runs contrary to what I would do naturally, if I knew someone had put all things under my power. But Jesus came, as Hebrews points out, to show us what God is like. Jesus even washed the feet of the one who, moments later, would leave to betray him for some money. What kind of a god is this?

John 13:1 says that in this action, Jesus was showing his disciples the full extent of His love - the very love of God the Father, to whom He was returning.

I don't have any profound exposition for you. But I wanted to invite you to marvel with me.

If you follow Christ, this is the kind of love that is yours.

Every moment of every day.