Passionate for the Glory of God

The Spirit, the Water and the Blood

2010-12-01T15:05:00.000-06:00

Our attention, this time of year, turns to gifts. We make lists of people, ideas, and budgets. We try to meet everyone's expectations. I'm sure you will agree with me that meeting all those expectations is difficult. For a few minutes, take time to look at the Gift we celebrate at Christmas and think about the way salvation through Jesus Christ exceeds all our expectations.

The gift of salvation. So often we take it for granted. Yet this elegant, priceless gift is worthy of our constant consideration.

The Bible tells us that we were born with sinful natures. God judged us guilty of rebellion against Him. We stood under the sentence of death. Since the shedding of blood fulfills the death sentence, Jesus gave His life in our place – shed His blood in our place – so that we might be released from the sentence of death. No one else could make this sacrifice. No other person was born without a sinful nature. Jesus bought our freedom with His blood.

It was necessary to free us from the penalty of death, but Jesus accomplished much more than that. At the moment we asked for His forgiveness and accepted Jesus' death for our punishment, the Holy Spirit breathed new life into us. Until that moment, we were dead, spiritually. Jesus told Nicodemus that he had to be born of the Spirit before he could enter the kingdom of God. Jesus' death was a requirement for our freedom. His resurrection from the grave is the picture of our new life. He arose and returned to Heaven, sending the Holy Spirit to earth to bring new life to those who trust in Him. This new life is life by God's definition: eternal union with Him, always in His presence, ever praising Him.

We are free from sin's control – but not its existence. We live in God's presence – but experience it only dimly. We continue to exist in this sinful world. Sometimes the muck and mire sticks to us. Jesus' sacrifice provided for that as well. Remember when Jesus washed the disciples' feet at The Last Supper? Jesus told Peter that He had to wash his feet because they got dirty from walking, even though the rest of him was clean. John 19:34 relates that the piercing of Jesus' side while He was hanging on the cross, caused blood and water to come out. This water is for cleansing – Jesus faithfully cleanses us from all unrighteousness when we confess our sins to Him.

Only the cleansing from unrighteousness has a natural ending. As long as we live on earth, we will need Jesus to keep the spots of filth removed from our souls. However, when He returns to carry us away from this sin-filled earth, He will clothe us in garments of sparkling white, never to be soiled again.

Salvation always has a definite day of beginning, but it has no end. Today we are free to resist sin's desires. Today we live in the presence of God. Today we can be clean and spotless before Him. Salvation truly is the gift that keeps on giving – for all eternity.

Death Shall Be Their Shepherd

2010-11-04T15:56:00.002-05:00

"All we like sheep have gone astray" (Isaiah 53:6) is a familiar verse to most of us. Isaiah compares people to an animal that has hardly enough sense to care for itself. Not a flattering comparison.

The rest of that verse says that we have scattered in every direction away from God. Because of His mercy, He calls us to Himself and sends the Chief Shepherd - Jesus Christ - to care for His flocks. Sometimes the under-shepherds act more like hired hands so that wolves get among the flocks. In the face of such a crisis, we bring Psalm 23 to our minds: "The Lord is my shepherd…" The Good Shepherd protects us from our enemies and God loses none of His sheep.

That accounts for the sheep that come back to God, for those who accept salvation through Jesus. What happens to the rest of these two-legged sheep? Who is their shepherd? According to the book of Matthew (9:36), Jesus recognized a harassed and hopeless crowd to be like sheep without a shepherd.

Many people wander aimlessly through much of their lives. They follow wherever their eyes lead them to the juiciest grass, never seeing the edge of the cliff beneath their feet. They fail to heed the grasp of the thorns as they push to reach the next tender morsel. According to the English Standard Version (ESV) of Psalm 49, "This is the path of those who have foolish confidence…"

When the land falls away from their feet, no watchful shepherd will pull them back at the last minute. As the brambles hold them so tightly that they can find neither food nor water, no kind shepherd – heedless of his own scratches – will pull the sheep to safety. These sheep with foolish confidence will find a different kind of shepherd comes for them. They discover that death will be their shepherd.

Death cares nothing about the comfort of the sheep. He will leave them alone. They may wander as they wish. In their foolishness, they think they are free. Yet when they fall off the cliff, death comes for them, pulling them with his staff to destruction. The sheep starving in the brambles finds death gleefully gathering them to devastation.

Death will not gently gather them to his chest for comfort. Instead, he gives them what they claimed they always wanted – eternal separation from God. This shepherd gives them what they always feared the most – eternal punishment and pain. In the end, death will be thrown in the lake of fire, a just punishment for one who destroys the sheep.

By the mercy of God, we may choose our shepherd. Remember:
"All we like sheep have gone astray."
"Death shall be their shepherd."
"The Lord is my shepherd."
Who is your shepherd?

The Second Death

2010-10-22T16:17:00.001-05:00

Four times in the book of Revelations, John the Apostle writes of the "second death:" Revelations 2:11; 20:6,14; & 21:8. To the post-modern, western-trained mind, the idea of a second death makes no sense. The reason it makes no sense is the automatic definition that comes to our mind when we use the word death: extinction. We are trained to equate "permanent cessation of all the vital functions of an organism" (a dictionary definition of death) with extinction, when, by the Bible's definition, that is simply not the case.

God introduced the concept of death to Adam in the Garden of Eden. When He told Adam that his diet would be fruit and green things, He excluded one tree: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. According to Genesis 2:17 (ESV), God said to Adam, "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." (emphasis added).

Genesis chapter three gives us an account of the effect on Adam, Eve, and the serpent when Adam and Eve disobeyed that rule, but not one verse speaks of their extinction. On the day they ate the fruit, God separated them from Himself, from the Garden of Eden and from harmony with each other and the world. Even the serpent was punished, not destroyed. From the first instance of death, we see that death means separation, not extinction.

"OK," you say, "how does that apply when a person dies? Adam and Eve died physically, too."

That's a good question, but the Bible's answer might surprise you. When a person dies, the body "ceases all vital functions" and decays. However, Jesus told us in John 5:26-29 that the decay is a temporary condition. He said, "For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment."

Regardless of your spiritual condition, your body and soul reunites when Jesus calls you. That means that the death of a person is the temporary cessation of all the vital functions (of the body) and the temporary separation of the body and the soul. Extinction does not apply.

Let's go back to the second death, now. The second death of Revelations is a place – a lake of fire. This lake of fire eternally separates the unrepentant sinner from Holy God with no hope of relief. Eternal separation from God. That is a horror too unspeakable to comprehend.

In the Bible Exposition Commentary, Warren Wiersbe expresses the situation clearly: "If you have been born only once, you can die twice; but if you have been born twice - born again through faith in Christ - you can die only once."

Mortal death = separation of the body and soul in time; second death = eternal separation from God. Do not delay being born again. It's not worth the risk.

Impulse or Temptation?

2010-09-20T11:05:00.000-05:00

     The smell of Godiva chocolate lured Beth toward the doorway of the store. The shelves glittered with brightly colored packages of sweet chocolate truffles. The glass front of the refrigerated counter separated her from a bounty of chocolate choices. She immediately decided to enter the store and buy some of the melt-in-her-mouth chocolate extravaganzas. Is this an impulse or a temptation?
     Katie dropped by her brother's house and discovered that his wife has taken their family's turkey platter from their Mom's house and displayed it with her antique plate collection. Katie's surprise turned to shock when she saw the smirk on her sister-in-law's lips and the triumphant light in her eyes. "We'll have Thanksgiving dinner at our house from now on," she said. Katie's face turned red and her hands became fists. "That's what you think!" wanted to spring from the tip of her tongue. Impulse or temptation?
     In the small home group, Steve confessed that he didn't understand what the pastor meant in his sermon on Sunday. He was a new Christian who grew up in a family that didn't attend church. Mark on the other hand, understood what the pastor said and had a few of his own thoughts to add. As Steve expressed his confusion for a second time, Mark tired of waiting for the leader to stop Steve and begin answering his questions. He opened his mouth to interrupt Steve. Impulse or temptation?
     Each of the three scenes can trigger an impulse or expose a temptation. For each person, the set of circumstances can be either an impulse OR a temptation at different times.
     Making an unplanned purchase of chocolate candy is often only an impulse buy with no spiritual impact. It can be a temptation for the person who is fasting for a time. It can tempt a person to spend money unwisely or make a poor choice that harms their health.
     Family discord can exert an impulsive pressure on us to protect ourselves and to vent our anger. It can also be a temptation to hurt the other person the way they hurt us.
     Sometimes the impulse to fix a situation or to solve another person's problem comes from a servant's heart. The same situation can be a temptation to become impatient, to display our own abilities or to control.
     The correct decisions for these scenes cannot be decided on a specific rule for each instance. Oswald Chambers stated the issue clearly: "A person's inner nature, what he possesses in the inner, spiritual part of his being, determines what he is tempted by on the outside. The temptation fits the true nature of the person being tempted…" (My Utmost for His Highest, September 17)
     I have a challenge for you.
For 24 hours, write down everything that you believe tempts you to sin.
Ask the Holy Spirit to keep you sensitive to the motivation of your heart.
Discover the condition of your spirit.
Then ask the Lord to give you the ability to resist the temptations until those things no longer temp you.

(P.S.: When you overcome that set of temptations, the Holy Spirit will show you a new set to resist.)

He Failed the Stress Test

2010-09-13T10:28:00.001-05:00

In his mid-60s, Larry was the picture of health. Then, last Tuesday, he failed his stress test in the cardiologist's office.

"Come back in the morning so that we can do a heart cath and maybe put in a couple of stents," the doctor told him.

The next day, less than half an hour after they took Larry back to do the heart cath, the doctor came out to talk to my sister. "We can't put in stents," he told her. "One of Larry's blood vessels is 98% blocked and has a kink in it. Tomorrow, we'll do by-pass surgery."

Larry entered the operating room at noon. After six hours, the surgeon came out to tell our family that he replaced four blood vessels. "The plaque," he said, "blocked all of them at least 90%. They were no longer pliable, but as hard as concrete."

Less than a week after this whole thing started, Larry's recovery exceeds the doctors' expectations. They prepare to discharge him from the hospital, today.

This sequence of events stunned our family. Before we could get our minds to accept that Larry needed medical intervention, the surgery was over. At the same time, the 48 hours between stress test failure and the end of the operation stretched out so that each hour seemed to be a day.

My sister set the standard for us as she responded to these events with faith. She had no assurance that God would allow Larry to stay with her. Within, she had a terror of being left behind, bereft of her partner, lover, and best friend. Tension knotted her stomach and roiled her thoughts as she waited to see whether God would take Larry to heaven or leave him here. She knows the truth in Lamentations 3:37-38: "Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?" God held Larry's life in His hands.

Yet the uncertainty of the results did not rob her of her trust in God. Before the surgery, she told one of my nephews, "We will not allow the events of this week to steal from us the peace that God has given us." By an act of her will, she remained focused on God and His goodness.

In The Disciple of Grace, Jerry Bridges reminds us that Hebrews 12:20 states: "God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness."

He further states, "This is the design of God in all of the adversity and heartache we experience in this life. There is no such thing as random or chance events in our lives. All pain we experience is intended to move us closer to the goal of being holy as He is holy."

Sometimes our response to adversities causes us to move away from holiness rather than toward it. The next time heartache comes in my life – and I know it will – my thoughts will turn to my sister. Like her, I will acknowledge the pain I feel. Like her, I will take my pain to God and trust in Him.

Storm Warnings

2010-09-09T13:47:00.003-05:00

What do The Boy Who Changed the World by Andy Andrews, Storm Warning by Billy Graham, and my pastor's sermon on Noah have in common? Maybe you can see the connections.

The Boy Who Changed the World introduces children to the "Butterfly Effect." In this delightful narrative, one boy's decision to change the world is traced back through the lives of three other people in previous generations to see the way their decisions affected him. I shared it with my 10-year-old granddaughter who enjoyed the stunning artwork by Philip Hurst and who was fascinated by the connectivity in the lives of the four men. If you have a child or grandchild between the ages of 6 and 11, this is an excellent book to share with them.

Storm Warning, on the other hand, reaches into the future. Billy Graham used the book of Revelations as a backdrop for this up-dated version of his book first published in 1992. While based on Revelations, the book contains more material on our responsibilities to prepare for the coming storm than it does about the prophecy in Revelations. Billy Graham skillfully weaves in personal memories of fulfilling his destiny as God's voice to the lost world. He presents his vision on what we need to do to meet the needs of our generation against the background of the approaching storm. If you buy just one book by Billy Graham, I suggest that this would be the one to add to your library.

The sermon about Noah emphasized the faithfulness of God to protect Noah from the destructive storm He would pour out on a society in absolute rebellion against Him. That Noah's ancestors - from the fall until the flood - remained faithful to Yahweh was a miracle. Noah's commitment and witness in building the ark is equally miraculous. What was it about Noah and the generations in his family before him that made such a difference? First, it was the initial decision to follow God and not society's example that each person made. Next, that decision was followed – every day – by choices that reinforced it.

I'm sure that you can see the connection between these three very different messages. Each one spotlights a unique part of a single concept: Today Matters; Make Good Choices. Storm Warning calls us to prepare for the battle ahead. The thunderheads of chaos loom over us. Lest we become discouraged, we have the example of Noah to show us that steadfast obedience in the face of resistance finds its reward in shelter beneath God's protective wings. Lest we feel hopeless and think that nothing we do can make a difference, the message near the end of The Boy Who Changed the World will call us back to reality: "…every little thing you do matters: what you did yesterday, what you do today, and what you do tomorrow. God made your life so important that every move you make, every action you take, matters…"

Remember:

Today Matters. Make Good Choices.

(Thank you, BookSneeze, for free copies of The Boy Who Changed the World and Storm Warning to review.)

Is God’s Love Unconditional?

2010-07-29T10:40:00.001-05:00

Is God's love unconditional? Our pastor asked that question in his sermon. When he later implied that God's love is conditional, I became indignant.

As a little girl, one of the first Bible verses (I John 4:8) I learned was "God is love." When I was older, I memorized another verse (John 3:16): "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son; so that whosoever believes in him might not perish but have everlasting life." As an adult, I read a passage (Matt. 5:45) where Jesus told His disciples, "God sends the rain on the just and on the unjust." While our pastor preached, I remembered part of a letter in the New Testament where the Apostle Paul wrote, "But God showed His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) That all sounds unconditional to me.

Then what was I to do with this huge condition to God's love that I know - but ignore - when I talk about God's love? In the two verses following John 3:16, Jesus said, "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God." The Psalmist says in Psalm 103:11, "For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him…" (Emphasis is mine.) Not all of God's love is unconditional.

I sometimes wish that the English language were less ambiguous. Maybe then, I could find a word to describe God's love for the time before we confront our sinful condition and another word for our experience of God's love after we repent of our sin.

Pre-confrontation
Everyone arrives in this world a sinner from birth. Each person experiences God's love in what is often called the "common graces" of God. To varying degrees, we all have ability to "eat, drink, and (sometimes) be merry." If God placed any conditions to this love, we could not function. Even though most of us take these common graces for granted, every single one of them is an expression of God's unconditional love.

Confrontation
God's highest expression of His unconditional love is Jesus' death on the cross. Jesus bore the death penalty for all of everyone's sin. By the Spirit of God, we confront our rebellion and either accept or reject His sacrifice. How we experience God's love after this confrontation depends on whether we accept this wondrous gift or not.

Post-confrontation
For those who refuse and reject the offer of forgiveness and peace with God, "common grace" love is all they ever know. For those who repent and accept this perfect gift, an explosion of love occurs. Ephesians 3:17-19 says, "… that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge …"

Imagine that you are a fish swimming in the shallow waters of a tropical bay. Sometimes life is beautiful, sometimes stormy. One day you and another fish discover the outlet between the two arms of coral reef. You decide to leave the bay and launch out into the deep. The other fish stays in the bay. Eventually he washes up on the shore, dead. You grow to match the possibilities in the boundless ocean.

This is an analogy for humanity and God's love. His "common grace" love is unconditional, but it doesn't last forever. For those who refuse Jesus Christ, it ends at death. For those who repent of their sins and accept Christ's sacrifice, we experience God's love translated into dimensions that surpass our knowledge. I find it impossible to express the magnitude of the difference between God's unconditional love to those who continue in rebellion against Him and the unconditional, boundless, eternal love He pours out on His children. I can only join the Apostle Paul when he says, "… to him be glory … throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

The Halfway Point – Part 3

2010-07-23T16:12:00.000-05:00

If you've ever built or remodeled a house, you know by experience that it always takes longer than you thought it would. That's what happened with this article on building our spiritual house. I thought I could complete it in two posts, but that just didn't happened. Today, I want to explore two more types of building material, grace and faith.

GRACE
Grace is an incredible gift. My favorite explanation of grace comes from the Amplified Bible: "The unmerited favor and merciful kindness by which God, exerting His holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, and keeps, strengthens, and increases them in Christian virtues." (From 2 Corinthians 1:12)

As I showed in part 2, God's grace is an integral part of the foundation. He pours out His grace on us at the cross. In that outpouring, we can never receive any additional grace that will affect our salvation. However, God's grace has more than one purpose. He intends for us to use grace to build our house.

If God's love is represented by the house's framework, then grace could be considered all the wiring, plumbing and air conditioning systems. We never see any of these systems, but without them, our homes would be less valuable. Like them, grace affects the way we act, something that may not be noticed. Consider some of the statements in the Bible concerning grace:

God commands us to grow in grace. 2Peter 3:18
We are to ask for grace in time of need. Hebrews 4:16
According to the grace God gives us, we receive different gifts. Romans 12:6
We are to be good stewards of God's varied grace. 1Peter 4:10
God will give us more grace to resist temptation. James 4:6

All of these scripture verses suggest that grace should affect the way we respond to the events in our lives – the way we act every day.

FAITH
If love is the framework and grace is the hidden systems of the house, then faith is everything else: the doors, window, walls, roof, and furnishings. Faith represents the parts of the house that everyone sees. Faith is the raw material that we use to make our house beautiful.

In both the foundation and house, faith holds a unique position. Love is the essence of God and one of His attributes. Grace is also one of God's attributes. Faith is neither part of God's essence nor one of His attributes. It is a special gift from God to humanity (Ephesians 2:8). Faith allows us to believe that everything God says is true. It instills in us a conviction based on that belief so that we can respond to God in ways that are pleasing to Him.

In salvation, the gift of faith alone is part of the foundation. For the building of the house, however, what we do with the faith determines the quality and beauty of the house. James chapter two explains in detail that faith is useless unless we show it in our works. In Hebrews chapter eleven, the record of the great heroes of the faith, their actions show their faith.

Even though God assigns different measures of faith (Romans 12:3), we are to pursue faith (2Timothy 2:22) and build ourselves up in faith (Jude 20) so that it grows abundantly (2Thessalonians 1:3). Just to make sure that we are not deluding ourselves, God will test the genuineness of our faith (1Peter 1:7). The beauty of our house shows the richness of our faith.

There you have it. Half the year is gone, but the challenge is even more important than we knew. Unless our goals are focused on building a house that pleases God, our other goals have limited value. Let's both make a new list that includes using the building material God supplies for our lives.

The Halfway Point - Part 2

2010-07-14T08:38:00.000-05:00

Last time, I challenged you to look at the plans you made for 2010. If your plans fell apart the way mine did, then that was probably something of a shock. How shaken we become when the storms and trials of life hit us depends on our foundation and upon our building material. The foundation must be Jesus Christ, our salvation, given as a gift of God through His sacrifice. (Scroll down to the previous article to read the scripture passages for these comments.)

For building our house, we would be wise to use the building materials God makes available: love, grace, and faith. It should not surprise us that God provides these materials to build our house. If you'll look closely at the foundation you can see these three materials interlock in such an intricate, self-supporting structure that nothing in creation can destroy it. John 3:16 and Ephesians 2:8 explain the way God gives us love, grace, and faith in the gift of salvation.

In Paul's first letter to Timothy, he ties not only his salvation to love, grace, and faith, but also his commission for service. First Timothy 1:12-14 says, "I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service, though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus." ESV

Just as God appointed Paul to His service, He has also appointed you and me to His service. That service includes everything about us: who we are, the way we act, and the work we do. This service is the blueprint for our house. Using the material and blueprint He provides, we are to build a house that enhances the foundation on which it stands.

LOVE
Love is not only one of God's attributes; it is also an essential part of His nature. "God is love," the Bible declares in 1 John 4:8 & 16. We experience the love of God in two ways. First is the love of God for us. That love was poured out for us in Christ on the cross.

The second way we experience God's love is in us. Jesus says in John 13:34, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." In the Apostle John's first letter, he states, "And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. … but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. (1 John 2:3, 5 ESV) In these verses, we see both the building material and the use to which we are to make of it. In obeying God's command to love one another, we build up and bring to maturity God's love in us. His love changes who we are so that we become more like Jesus.

Next time, we will look more closely to the roles that grace and faith play in building our house.

The Halfway Point – Part 1

2010-06-30T17:16:00.002-05:00

Remember where you were six months ago? The year 2009 was ending. The weather was cold and nasty. You indulged in too many holiday treats. You considered the things you wanted to accomplish in 2010. Did you make a list? Have you looked at it since you wrote it?

Now, at the halfway point in 2010, review the recent past. So many unlikely events occurred: the New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl, an earthquake struck Haiti, and Senator Edward Kennedy died. That was just a few of the things that happened in January.

We have our own list of unexpected personal experiences, too. I published Changing Me, Change the World, four people whom we love died, and I sprained my knee – twice! Only one of these was included on my list of goals for the year.

All the things that have happened so far this year affect our goals for the remaining six months. How can we best adjust our lives to allow for the ebb and flow of these events that affect our lives? We find the answer by building our lives on the right foundation.

The Foundation
Let me remind you of Jesus' words in Matthew 7:24 – 25: "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock."(ESV)

Jesus is the Rock, the Foundation, the one place we can securely stand when the events of life swirl around our walls, seeking to pull us out to sea. We prepare for the inevitable changes in our lives by loving our Lord with all our hearts because even if the house we build on the foundation has cracks and squeaky doors or broken windows, The Foundation will not fail.

The House
Remember The Three Little Pigs? The big, bad wolf never attacked the foundations; he always went for the weakest point. Even with Jesus as our foundation, the structure we build on the foundation can be weak or strong. The Apostle Paul told the church at Corinth, "Take particular care in picking out your building materials. Eventually there is going to be an inspection. If you use cheap or inferior materials, you'll be found out. The inspection will be thorough and rigorous. You won't get by with a thing. If your work passes inspection, fine; if it doesn't, your part of the building will be torn out and started over. But you won't be torn out; you'll survive — but just barely." (1 Corinthians 3:12-15, THE MESSAGE^©)

What building materials will survive the event-storms that want to destroy us? Only those materials provided by the Master Builder. Jesus told His disciples, "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness…" (Matthew 6:33, ESV) Next time we'll examine a few of the building materials available to us when we seek His kingdom first.

Jealousy: Monster or Guardian?

2010-06-18T10:20:00.000-05:00

Jealousy. We all know the power of never being satisfied with what we have. We know the seductive temptation of seeking to possess something exclusively. Jealousy tears apart families when siblings indulge in it. It is so common that Dr. Deborah Tannen wrote You Were Always Mom's Favorite, where many of the conversations between sisters revolve around jealousy. Worse, yet, jealousy destroys marriages when one partner attempts to control every thought and every action of the other one. As a part of the jealousy, this partner simultaneously withholds true intimacy, creating double jeopardy for the marriage. Jealousy destroys contentment and sabotages peace, because it promotes selfishness and suffocates generosity.

When we read in the Old Testament, "…I the Lord your God am a jealous God…" what are we to think? (Deuteronomy 5:9) From Exodus to Zachariah, the Bible says that God is "jealous" fourteen times. Five of those times, God describes himself that way. Are we to think of God in a jealous rage, zapping everyone and everything in His path? If that is the first thought that comes to mind, maybe we should give the idea more consideration.

What is the object of God's jealousy? Under the New Covenant, Jesus bought us with His blood. We belong to Him. That means that we are the object of His jealousy.

God displays an extreme, holy possessiveness toward us. He longs for us to experience Him to our absolutely highest capability. When we spend time with Him, honor Him by our obedience, and display His glory in our lives, He rejoices at these first steps of our experiencing Him. When we live selfishly, disconnect from His presence and dishonor His Name by our actions, He does not leave us in our sin. Instead, a different expression of His jealousy kicks in. He orchestrates circumstances – sometimes-painful ones – that call us back to the closest relationship we can experience with Him. Both His rejoicing over us and His discipline of us are evidences of His jealousy.

We are the objects of God's jealousy in another way. When Satan or any person through whom he works attempts to destroy us, God's jealousy protects us. Just as with Job in his pain-filled misery and Peter when he denied Jesus, God sets boundaries around His people. He limits the damage to His children to that which will promote growth in their faith. Suffering will come to us all, but we can trust God in His jealousy to protect us from destruction.

This drives us to a new question: since God's jealousy is a reason for us to rejoice and to trust even more in Him, why is human jealousy so destructive in our lives? I believe the answer lies in the facts that we are trying - in our jealousy - to be God and that when we become so obsessed with the object of our desire, it becomes a "god" to us. The capability to possess something or someone exclusively and entirely is an attribute of God that becomes, in the hearts of humanity, a twisted weapon.

So, yes, jealousy is both a monster and a guardian. It all depends on who holds the power.

Revealing Hypocrisy

2010-06-01T17:01:00.000-05:00

Not everyone who says one thing but does another is a hypocrite. A woman, who gossips but fights against that sin even when she participates, is not a hypocrite. An honest man, who steals money from his partner to feed his family, is not a hypocrite. The subtle distinction is the reality of the person's belief. If a woman pretends to hate gossip in order to trick someone else into sharing a confidence and then gossips about it, she is a hypocrite. If a man pretends he is honest so that he can gain access to his partner's money in order to steal it, he is a hypocrite.

"Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops." (Luke 12:1-3, ESV)

Hypocrisy was the problem with the Pharisees. They pretended to love God when they loved only themselves. They pretended to teach the people about God when they taught their own set of rules and regulations. They were not servants of their people before God, even though they pretended to be. All of this hypocrisy existed for one purpose: in order for the Pharisees to be important, powerful, rich leaders in their culture.

This pharisaical hypocrisy continues, today. Some men become ministers in order to have a cover for their sin, not because they are called by God. We see the results of this proclaimed in the headlines: priests abuse alter boys, ministers betray parishioners' trust, preachers steal the church's money. The shock of revelation can be almost as destructive as the sinful act.

Some ministers perform another type of hypocrisy. They abuse their wives and children. From the outside, the family looks perfect, but that is all part of the lie. This form of hypocrisy is often the most difficult to break open. No church member wants to believe that his or her pastor is capable of hurting his own family.

Mary DeMuth wrote a fictional account of a small Texas town, a child's murder, and a family's secret life of abuse at the hands of their preacher/father. The story is well written in three books that follow from the murder in Daisy Chain to catching the killer in Life in Defiance.

Woven throughout these two books as well as the middle one, A Slow Burn, is a vivid portrait of a family in extreme distress and pain. As the life for this family unfolded, I found myself comparing Mary's descriptions of their actions and emotions to the twenty or so preachers' families that I have known through the years. I could recognize two families that had many similarities. One of the preachers went to prison for abuse. The other one left town with his family to escape facing the truth.

I recommend all three of these books for the well-written stories. More than that, I ask that, after you read the books, you consider whether you know someone who may need your help. Revealing the hypocrisy of an abuser may save someone's life.

We Must Work

2010-05-25T16:50:00.003-05:00

A beggar sitting by the side of the road caught the disciples' attention. (John 9:1-7) From his appearance, it must have been obvious that he was blind from birth. Did this cause the disciples to take pity on him? Did they ask Jesus to heal him? Not quite. They took off on a tangent based on their curiosity: "Who sinned so that the beggar was punished with blindness?"

In my imagination, I can see the astonished look on Jesus' face. The "Lynnda Ell translation" of Jesus' response: "Get real, guys. The issue is not about the sin that caused the blind man's condition. You asked the wrong question. Instead, ask how we can display God's works, here."

Then Jesus made another one of those statements that surges down the river of time: "We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work." (John 9:4 ESV)

"We must work…" This is an unexpected beginning. For the remainder of the incident, Jesus says "I," not "we." He is the one who works to bring sight to the blind man, so who is "we?"

That becomes a little clearer when Jesus states, "the works of him who sent me." God the Father sent Jesus to do "rescue and relief" work – to rescue humanity from the power of sin and to relieve humanity from the effects of sin. Later in the book of John (20:21), Jesus tells His disciples that He sends them out just as His Father sent Him out. The "we" in Jesus' statement is all of us whom Jesus rescues from the power of sin by His death and resurrection. Jesus sends us out to rescue others by leading them to Him and to relieve others from the effects of sin through prayer, love, and giving of our time, skills and money.

Next Jesus sets out the deadline for the work's completion. As a part-time procrastinator, I recognize that a deadline is critical to getting the work done. Jesus knew that many of his followers would be lazy, slothful, or distracted in completing the work without it. Jesus gives us the sense of urgency because He experienced that same sense of urgency while He was on earth.

Jesus had a limited time to work the works of the Father. For Him, the "day" was the period between this statement and His crucifixion. In the 40 days following His resurrection that He remained on earth before He ascended to Heaven, the Bible records no new disciples recruited by Jesus and no miracles performed by Him.

Instead, Jesus assigned to us the rescue and relief work which previously occupied Him. What is "the day" for us? How urgent is our deadline? The Bible tells us in Job 14:5 that God limits our life span. We have a finite number of days. Like Jesus, we are in the rescue and relief business only as long as we live in a place where people need rescuing.

The "day" also means the time of God's favor. (Check out Isaiah 49:8 and 2 Corinthians 6:2.) You may have experienced, as I have, one of those extraordinary days when an opportunity opened up to be the answer to a person's prayer that you didn't know they prayed. That is an example of the "day" of God's favor.

Finally, sometimes the "day" is most urgent – TODAY is the "day." The Bible emphasizes the urgency in Psalms 95:7 and in Hebrews 3:7-13. Death is usually an unexpected event. We have no promise of another breath, much less another day. This statement is literal for me because I can breathe while I sleep at night only with the aid of a machine. Any time God indicates to us that something should be done TODAY, then that knowledge should fuel us to action.

Like a fire fighter or a police officer, we may not always be on duty, but we are always on call. We must be ready to do the work of God.

Bearing the Image

2010-05-14T17:14:00.003-05:00

It was such a simple sentence: "Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." (Luke 20:25, ESV)

The Jewish religious leaders set a trap for Jesus and that was His answer. They asked Him if it were lawful to pay taxes to Caesar. On one hand, if He said yes, then He might lose some of His popularity with the average Isralite, for they held Him in high esteem. However, Rome taxed Israel heavily and unceasingly, so most Israelites might find a positive answer reason enough to reject Jesus.

If Jesus said no, then the Jewish religious leaders could charge Him with treason against the Roman Empire before Pilate. That answer would suit these leaders even better. Crucifixion was the penalty for treason. Death would absolutely resolve the possibility that Jesus would take their power and wealth away from them.

Jesus, however, was smarter then these crafty men. He asked them to bring Him a Roman coin, a denarius. In my imagination, I can see Him taking the coin and turning it over in His hand as He looked down at it. Then holding it up for His questioners to see He said, "Whose image is on it?" Caesar's, they replied. "Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."

For these Jewish religious leaders, who were also knowledgeable about the Jewish Torah – their version of the Old Testament – they recognized what Jesus was saying. The Romans stamped their denarius with the image of Caesar. The religious rulers knew that Genesis 1:27 (ESV) says, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him..." While Jesus acknowledged Caesar's right to levy taxes, He also threw down God's claim for the hearts and souls for humanity; God made us in His image. The religious leaders did not want to hear that answer. They were more interested in political power and gathering wealth than in responding to God's constraints.

Do we respond to God's declaration of this fact as the Jewish religious leaders did? We also, must recognize that we, who were created in His image, belong to Him. When Jesus told the Jews "to render," He was saying to return or to yield the taxes to Caesar and likewise to return or to yield ourselves to God.

The apostle Paul expanded on this idea when he said (in Romans 12:1, ESV), "…present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship" and (in Ephesians 4:24, ESV) "…put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." What was true for these Jewish religious leaders is even truer for us.

The next time you see me trying to get my own way, would you remind me of this? And the next time you don't want to obey God, pull out a quarter and look at it. Remember that God has a much higher, prior claim to our lives than anything else in this world, because He made us in His image.

A Promise He Kept and Will Keep

2010-05-11T17:00:00.004-05:00

Jesus was talking to His disciples when He said (in Matthew 16:28, ESV), "Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom

That literally took place on several occasions following His statement: (1) when Jesus stood in His glory on the mountain - before Peter, James and John, (2) after His resurrection - to numerous disciples, (3) when Jesus was taken up into Heaven, and finally, (4) to the Apostle John when Jesus appeared to him on the island of Patmos.

However, I believe Jesus' prophetic statement applies to more than the people who were physically standing with Him before His death. (See Escher and Prophecy Fulfillment to read the basic premise.) The statement seems likely to be appropriate for other generations.

Jesus' words reverberate down the strand of time as His kingdom becomes more visible.

» The apostle Paul identifies one generation in 1Corinthians 15:23 when he talks about Jesus returning to raise the dead in Christ and to change His followers who still live.

» Jesus speaks of an occasion when everyone alive will see Him in Matthew chapter 24. There, He and His disciples discuss the signs of the end of the age. Jesus tells them that His coming will be not in secret, but similar to a lightning strike where all can see it.

» Philippians 2:9-11 (ESV) tells us of a powerful event fulfilling His statement: "Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." In a future age, even the mention of His Name provides evidence that He has come into His kingdom.

As Christians living in a fallen world, we long to see Jesus honored in every way. Now, we see His kingdom come one lost sinner at a time as they find new life in Him. Nevertheless, a day is coming when "some standing here will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom." Jesus says in Revelations 22:20, "Surely I am coming soon."

So be it. Come, Lord Jesus.

Choosing the Way of Life

2010-04-28T17:47:00.001-05:00

The opportunity to make choices fills our culture and society. Some decisions – like whether to choose strawberry or chocolate ice cream – have few consequences. However, others will change the whole future for you. Psalm 1:1 & 2 says, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night." (ESV)

This prayer, from my new book, Changing Me, Change the World, freely admits the temptation and chooses God instead. Can you make it your prayer?

Lord, I greatly desire this blessing; the blessing You give for not listening to the counsel of the ungodly.

"Follow us!" shout the commercials. "Buy this! Watch that! We know how you should live. Listen to us!" Everywhere I turn, advertisements demand my attention.

God, I am tempted. Many times the life they show sounds easy and fun. Sometimes I would like to "go there" and "buy that" and live a "carefree" life, especially when I am tired and my life seems more than I can handle.

Truly Lord, I want to follow only Your plans and purposes. Your Word shows me the eternal end of the ones who follow the counsel of the ungodly. I see the twisted lives of those who walk with sinners. I know the dark and empty thoughts of those who live as scornful mockers. No matter how beguiling the temptations of those who give ungodly counsel, You have shown me the truth behind the lies. I reject the counsel of the ungodly, the path of sinners and the seat of the scornful.

Lord, my delight is in You and my desire is in following Your law. I want to think about You and meditate on Your law night and day. Plant me firmly by Your streams of living water, so that I will bring forth fruit in Your seasons. Let me not wither, but prosper according to Your Word.Father, let those who are wicked see that their lives are worthless without You. Show them that the end of their lives will be judgment and ruin. Let them seek a righteous life in You that lasts for eternity.

What are you choosing, today?

Escher and Prophecy Fulfillment

2010-04-23T08:19:00.001-05:00

Artist M.C. Escher created the drawing on the left. He titled this woodcut Regular Division of the Plane III. A close study reveals that Escher simultaneously shows (1) white horses and riders moving from left to right, (2) black horses and riders moving from right to left, (3) white background at the top, (4) black background at the bottom, and (5) horses and riders interlocking like jigsaw puzzle pieces. His drawings leave me amazed at his creative ability.

The Bible contains passages that amaze me in the same way. They reveal more than one truth at the same time. Malachi 4:5-6 is one of those passages. “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers…" (ESV) Through the years, the Jewish rabbis debated the meaning of this prophecy without reaching consensus.

The first fulfillment shows up in Luke 1:13-17: “The angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children…" (ESV)

The angel announced the birth of John the Baptist as fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy. However, that fulfillment did not look the way the Jewish rabbis expected it to look. When they asked John the Baptist if he were Elijah, he told them that he was not. (John 1:19-21, ESV)

Jesus clarified the way John the Baptist fulfilled the prophecy and pointed to an additional, more complete fulfillment in Matthew 17:10-13. “And the disciples asked him, "Then why do the scribes say that first Elijah must come?" He answered, "Elijah does come, and he will restore all things. But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they pleased. So also the Son of Man will certainly suffer at their hands." Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist.” (ESV)

John the Baptist fulfilled Malachi’s prophecy in a way that the most highly trained religious scholars could not recognize. It appears that even John the Baptist did not see his own part in fulfilling it. It took Jesus to reveal that the prophecy had more than one fulfillment and that the first one included John the Baptist.

What did you see when you first looked at the Escher drawing: white horses on a black background or black horses on a white background? Did it take you some time to see for yourself that it was both?

People who can only see black horses sometimes argue with those who see only white horses about what they see. The Jewish scholars argued over the fulfillment of Malachi's prophecy. We sometimes fall into that same mind set when we read a passage in the Bible. Before we find ourselves convinced that a passage in the Bible can have only one interpretation, we might think about this drawing.

If a man is intelligent and creative enough to produce a picture that shows so many things at the same time, then we can well believe that God can do the same thing. By exploring just two verses in Malachi we see that God may surprise us in the way He chooses to fulfill His words, similar to the way Escher surprises us by his art. After all, the Bible is God’s Living Word.

Can You Answer These Trick Questions?

2010-04-08T15:14:00.004-05:00

Periodically, one of those messages makes its way into my in-box. "My score is 67%" the subject line reads. I open it and discover a brainteaser quiz (a.k.a. trick questions). A typical question says, "You only have a match when you enter a dark and cold room. You come across an oil lamp, an oil heater, and a candle. Which do you light first?" I find those quizzes irresistible, even though I seldom do well.

My score discourages me because I think I know the (obvious) answer when the right answer is something unexpected. That same "are you sure that's the right answer" reaction happened to me not long ago when I was asked this question: "In the New Testament, how many apostles are identified by name?" (I will tell you now my answer was not even close.)

The obvious answer – the first answer I got wrong - was "twelve." Jesus commissioned twelve men to send out as His special representatives, to be His apostles (Matt. 10:2-4):
1. Simon (Peter)
2. Andrew (Peter's brother)
3. James, the son of Zebedee
4. John, the son of Zebedee
5. Philip
6. Bartholomew (Nathanael)
7. Thomas
8. Matthew (Levi)
9. James, the son of Alphaeus
10. Thaddaeus (Judas, the son of James)
11. Simon the Zealot
12. Judas Iscariot.

However, the answer of "twelve" leaves out Matthias. He took the place of Judas Iscariot (Acts 1:26) after Judas committed suicide. Unfortunately, "thirteen" is not the right answer, either. The book of Acts also identifies both Paul and Barnabas as apostles (Acts 14:14). The count is up to fifteen, but we have yet to complete the list. Several places in the New Testament record James, the brother of Jesus, as an apostle, including the passage of I Corinthians 15:7.

As trick questions go, this one ranks right up with the trickiest. Even "sixteen" is not the right answer and I never got that close. As far as I know, the correct answer is "seventeen." The name of the last apostle to put on the list is Jesus.

I know. I didn't believe it either. When I heard the answer and the scripture reference, I wasted no time in reading it for myself. Hebrews 3:1 (ESV) states, "Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession." Yet, when we hold the definition of an apostle up to Jesus, we see that the title easily applies to Him. An apostle is defined as one sent out as a special representative. In John 6:57 (ESV), Jesus said, "As the living Father sent me…" Everyone else on the list was an apostle of Jesus. Jesus is The Apostle of the Living God.

While you and I are not named as apostles in the Bible, that definition can also apply to us. Jesus sends us out as special representatives to people in our spheres of influence. You've probably heard that our lives are the only Bible that some people will ever read. Well, you may also be the only apostle some people ever meet. We may never have the opportunity to speak a word of kindness to anyone but a neighbor's child or to comfort anyone other than a coworker, but the Holy Spirit can use the smallest act to reach into eternity. For those times, and for those people, we can be God's special representatives that turn their hearts toward Him. And, when God asks, "Will you go for me?" it's not a trick question.

(The answer to the first trick question: Everyone would light the match first. Did you get it right?)

Happy Easter!

2010-04-02T10:39:00.002-05:00

This weekend we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Looking back at the event on which hangs the destiny of every person who will ever live causes us to look forward to a time when Jesus will reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Nevertheless, right now we live in the "abide 'til He comes" time. The story below dramatizes the way in which some early Christians chose to spend their "abiding time." I hope you enjoy it.

The Interruption
as retold by Lynnda Ell

Rhoda sighed. Maybe now she could sit down for longer than two minutes. The Seder meal had been long over and preparations for breaking the morning fast completed. This time of year, during the Passover celebrations, everyone had more work than usual. However, this year, the execution of James bar Zebedee and the arrest of Peter also had everyone on edge. She slid down the wall by the door at the back of the dimly lit room. Rhoda hoped that she would not fall asleep as she closed her eyes and joined the group in prayer.

Rhoda's whole body jerked when the pounding on the outer door began. She staggered to her feet and scooped up the nearest oil lamp. Stumbling across the courtyard, her heart skittered in her chest as she wondered who would come to Mary and John Mark's house in the middle of the night.

"Who's there?" Rhoda called out through the stout door.

"Open up, girl."

Rhoda stepped back at the sound of the voice she recognized as the apostle Peter's. Without unbarring the door, she whirled around and ran back to the prayer meeting.

"Peter's at the door!" she exclaimed over the sound of several people praying aloud.

"Sshh!"

"Quiet."

"You're out of your mind," hissed one young man, shaking his head.

His friend nudged him with his elbow. "It must be his angel."

Rhoda ignored them as she gingerly stepped through the crush of people, making her way to Mary and John Mark.

"Please come. I know it's Peter."

Motioning with her hands for Rhoda to speak softly, Mary said, "Yes, yes, we will come."

Once clear of the room, they could hear the pounding on the door. John Mark quickly removed the bar and opened the latch.

"Peter!" Mary exclaimed. "Come in, come in."

"Not so loud," Peter whispered. "I want to hide before sunrise, so I won't stay."

Quickly Peter told them how an angel had come to his cell, awakened him, removed his chains, told him to dress and then escorted him out of the prison, down the street and finally disappeared.

Peter grabbed the locks of hair on both sides of his head. "I thought I was dreaming. The angel lit up the night as brightly as day, but the guards didn't see us walking right passed them. They even ignored the iron gate that opened itself."

Peter glanced over his shoulder and then turned around. "Tell James bar Joseph and the rest of the brothers what happened." He disappeared into the night.

Rhoda followed Mary and John Mark back into the prayer meeting. She no longer felt the least bit sleepy. She knew that they would pray the rest of the night for Peter's safety and she was ready to do her part. Tomorrow, the soldiers would tear the town apart looking for him. Rhoda trusted that the God who got Peter out of prison would hide him as well. Nevertheless, right now, it was time to pray.

Fire Drills and Famine

2010-03-30T10:34:00.004-05:00

As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?" And Jesus answered them, "See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.
(Matt 24:3-8 ESV)

Don't the disciples of Jesus sound just like us? We want to know what will happen in the future, especially the future time when Jesus will return. The best-selling success of the Left Behind series of books and the fascination with Nostradamus give evidence that many people seek to know the future.

However, Jesus responds, not with the time of His return, but with events leading up to it. He mentions four specific signs: false messiahs, wars/rumors of wars, earthquakes, and famines. He calls them the beginning of birth pangs and a look at history demonstrates that every generation since Christ's ascension to heaven experienced these events. Watching the evening news for a few minutes demonstrates that our generation is no exception.

More importantly, Jesus' response contains two commands about the ways we are to respond to these events. First command: listen to godly advisors. Bad advice can lead us out of God's purpose for our lives. Not everyone who says, "The sky is falling! Follow me, I can save you," knows what they are talking about. Without comparing what we hear to what God says in the Bible, praying about the issue, and talking to other godly people, we can be led astray.

Spending too much time watching the TV news networks makes the second command almost impossible to obey; Jesus tells us not to be frightened. Rather than "Don't worry. Be happy," advice, the command gives us an opportunity to prepare as God directs. (Fear and worry can drown out God's voice.)

When we know the possibility exists for an event to occur, we can prepare. Fire is one of the most common catastrophic events. For that reason, people hold fire drills in schools, offices, and homes. Knowing how to respond in case of fire reduces both the risk and the fear.

Famine is also a common catastrophe. We see pictures of the effects of famine in foreign countries often. Even in the United States where food is plentiful, Feeding America estimates that one in four children struggle with hunger.

A grass-roots opinion seems to be growing that the United States may face a famine in the near future. A military officer recommends to an executive that he store food for his family. A financial advisor emails a similar suggestion to his clients. A neighbor receives a large order from Emergency Essentials. A relative begins gardening and storing the harvest.

Should you be alarmed? No, go back to the first command and listen to God. Determine what preparations – if any – God wants you to take. Then obey God. (That takes the risk out of anything!) Relieve your fear by taking to heart the prophet Habakkuk's words when he saw a famine looming over Israel. He said, "Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation." (Habakkuk 3:17-18, ESV) Deciding to trust God before a catastrophe occurs is the best antidote for any fear.

Whether we are faced with war, earthquake or famine, we can trust God and rejoice in His love. After all, nothing can separate us from God's love.

The Necklace Treasure

2010-03-21T19:28:00.002-05:00

As I've tried to explain in The Treasures series, I have strong opinions on the matter of God's emotions. I think that it is impossible to overstate how intensely God expresses His love for His people.

As I complete this series, I want to draw your attention to the ESV translation of Zephaniah 3:17: "The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing." (I added the italics.) Part of the note in the ESV Study Bible on Zephaniah 3:17 contains these thoughts: "This verse remarkably adds that God himself will rejoice over you with gladness, indicating that when God's people seek him and follow him, and rejoice in him and trust him, then God personally delights in them. This is not an aloof, emotionless contentment, but it bursts forth in joyful divine celebration: he will exult over you with loud singing."

I can hardly imagine it. God wants to sing His love song over me. Just the thought of it leaves me breathless with amazement.

No wonder we have an empty hole in our hearts before we find Jesus as our Lord and Savior. He created us to experience His pure, intense love expressed as His delight in our actions as we seek and follow Him and as love songs from His ravished heart as we rejoice in Him and trust in Him – and Him alone – to lead us. We can know nothing of that until we have repented of our sins and accepted His sacrifice on our behalf.

If you are like me, the first question that pops up in your mind is, "Why don't Christians experience these all the time?"

In order to give some of the answer to this question, I want to look at Song of Solomon 4:9 again. It says, "You have ravished my heart, My sister, My spouse; you have ravished My heart with one look of your eyes, with one link of your necklace." (NKJV) (I added the italics.)

The Bible is full of symbols. For me, this necklace symbolizes my obedience to God. Let me show you how I got there.

The neck can represent a person's will. The term "stiff necked" speaks of a resistant will, someone who will not submit. Isaiah 48:4 speaks of this: "…I know that you are obstinate, and your neck is an iron sinew…" (ESV) When someone bows in submission to a king, the most vulnerable part of the body is exposed – the back of the neck.

So, for me, this necklace represents the activity of my will. When I willingly, eagerly, and lovingly obey God's guidance, I add a link to this spiritual necklace. Sometimes the link is fashioned in the heat of heartache, other times in the sparkle of joy, but always in the absolute trust that my Master knows best. In order to experience the reality of God's love and delight, we must know God's ways and obey His will.

In my jewelry box, I have a necklace made of small oval links. In the center of each link is a tiny precious or semi-precious stone: sapphire, ruby, topaz, emerald, citrine and others. When I waver in my willingness to obey God in all things, I look at that necklace and remind myself that God and I are creating a spiritual necklace much more beautiful than the one I have now. Each link of that necklace is a remembrance of a time when I ravished the heart of God with my loving obedience. I hope to wear that priceless necklace on my wedding day, at the wedding feast of The Lamb of God. I want it to be a sparkling witness to the glory of my Lord.

Now you know the treasures of my heart and the way I experience them: God's powerfully passionate love for me, His delight in me as I turn away from sinful ways, my desire to ravish God's heart as I keep my life focused on Him, the protection I have from the Holy Spirit, and the necklace I'm designing with my joyful, loving obedience. My prayer is that you will find these treasures as valuable as I have. I pray that God would always fill your heart with the joy and peace that comes from loving Him, the source of all treasure.

Treasure #4: Secure in His Love

2010-03-13T17:05:00.004-06:00

Have you tired of gazing at my treasures: God's pure, encompassing love, His delight in my fumbling attempts to be like Him, His ravished heart when I look only to Him? These treasures make my dark days brighter and my bright days indescribably lovely. You have undoubtedly turned them into your treasures, too, so let me share another one with you.

My fourth treasure: The Holy Spirit is jealously guarding me.

Fear and insecurity can deprive me of sleep at night and of joy in the morning, but God desires me to live my life secure in His love. He has gone to extremes to see that I am secure. James 4:5 says, "Or do you think it's without reason the Scripture says that the Spirit He has caused to live in us yearns jealously?" (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

Normally, jealousy would be considered a negative emotion. It usually indicates a lack of trust one person has of another person. However, in one relationship, jealousy can be appropriate: marriage. Suppose a man discovers that his wife is being romantically pursued by another man. This husband truly loves his wife and is committed to the relationship, so he does not ignore the situation and let this thief steal his wife's heart. He does everything in his power to keep his wife's love and to eliminate this thief permanently.

The New Testament speaks often of the church being the bride of Christ.

The best way to understand this relationship is to look at the Jewish practice of betrothal and marriage. The betrothal lasted for about a year, but was much more than our engagement is, today. The betrothal was as binding as the marriage. A betrothed woman could be executed for adultery if she became pregnant, because the marriage was not consummated during the betrothal. (This almost happened to Jesus' mother.) Traditionally, the woman received a gift from her husband at the betrothal.

From the perspective of betrothal and marriage, I have been betrothed to Jesus Christ and am now waiting for Him to come and claim me as His own bride. I have received the Holy Spirit as a type of betrothal gift. He is a seal that guarantees that I am Christ's, but He is also here to defend me from temptation and to rescue me from the world.

According to Rick Renner in Sparkling Gems for the Greek, one scholar expands James 4:5 to it's full meaning this way: "The Spirit takes it very personally when we share our lives with the world. He wants us so entirely for Himself that if the world tries to take us away, it infuriates Him. You need to know that in these cases, the Holy Spirit will not sit idly by and watch it happen. He'll do something to change the situation."

With the Holy Spirit completely committed to protecting me and to holding me safely in my betrothal to Jesus Christ, I have nothing to fear. I am secure in His love. Absolutely.

Treasure #3: Ravishing God’s Heart

2010-03-05T16:27:00.003-06:00

I trust that, by now, you have meditated on how God's love for you is His infinite, all encompassing, enveloping love that can never be destroyed. I hope you have experienced the feeling of God delighting in you as you work in the power of the Holy Spirit to remove sinful actions and attitudes from your life. Now I want to share with you another special treasure.

My third treasure: I have the ability to ravish God's heart.

"What!" you say, "Does the Bible say that?"

Yes. In the beautiful love song called the Song of Solomon, chapter 4 verse 9 says, "You have ravished my heart, My sister, My spouse; you have ravished My heart with one look of your eyes, with one link of your necklace." (NKJV)

Ravish is not often used in today's vocabulary. In the few times that modern translations of the Bible include the word, it has the general sense of doing violence, humiliating, and oppressing another. Most often, it refers to a man forcing a woman to have intercourse.

In the eloquent declaration of His bride's affect on Him, the Bridegroom (Jesus) twice says that she "ravishes my heart." This is violence, all right, but not violence committed against another. It is the expression of such an overwhelmingly intensely loving emotion that all other emotions seem colorless by comparison.

A strongly intense emotion of the heart is seldom described in the Bible. Proverbs 5:19 gives one example. It states that a husband should be intoxicated with the love of his wife. A second example can be found in Luke 24:32, where the two disciples stated that their hearts burned within them while Jesus walked with them.

Two other examples include God in text. Genesis 6:5-6 show God looking at the continuous evil of man's life and the end of verse six states, "…and it grieved him to his heart." How the sinfulness of man pierced the heart of God!

The last example comes from Ephesians 5:25, where Paul commands husbands to love their wives. This love is not just the insipid love we associate with modern-day romance. Paul told the husbands to love their lives as much as Jesus loves the church.

How much does Jesus love the church? This overwhelmingly intense emotion caused Jesus to give up equality with God, to become a human being, to take on all the sins of the world and to die a shameful death on the cross. Here is a Heart that is waiting to be ravished.

I, who have never ravished anyone's heart, am able to fill God's heart with overwhelming love. That is so amazing to me.

God tells us what causes His heart to be ravished. The verse says that I ravish His heart when I look at Him with my eyes. As the old hymn says,

            "Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
             Look full in His wonderful face,
             And the things of earth
              Will grow strangely dim,
             In the light of His glory and grace."

When I turn my eyes toward Jesus, He is already looking towards me, wanting me to see the love in His eyes. With one look from my eye, God's heart is filled with an overwhelmingly intensely loving emotion, His heart is ravished. How awesome is that?

Treasure #2: God’s Delight

2010-02-23T15:53:00.002-06:00

Before you read about the next treasure, would you please review the first treasure? Has the knowledge that God sets your value in the amazing measure of His love penetrated your heart? Unless you are anchored in the richness of God's unsurpassed love, the rest of the treasures in my box will be as meaningless as the toy in a child's fast-food meal.

So, here is my second treasure: God delights in me, even though I am not perfect.

When I accepted Jesus as the One who redeemed me from my slavery to sin, I became a member of His family and nothing – nothing! – will ever separate me from His powerfully passionate love. However, receiving God's love and knowing His delight are two different experiences.

Think about how you experience love and delight in your family. You love your family because they are family, but you delight in them for what they do. I have wonderful daughters and adorable grandchildren whom I will always love, but when they do things that display the values by which I live, I delight in them. The same is true with God. He loves me because I am in His family, but He delights in me when I obey Him.

Consider a time when He alerts me to something that I have been doing – say exaggerating the truth. When He shows me that exaggerating the truth is lying, I delight Him as I begin the process of removing that sin. Proverbs 12:22 states, "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight."

Now here is the most precious part of this treasure: God does not wait until I am completely free of this sin to delight in me. As soon as He sees the sincere change in my heart, He delights in me. I may battle that sinful habit for years, but God is delighting in me all the way, because He sees my heart. He knows that even if my sincere repentance, obedience and love for Him are flawed, they are real and He delights in them.

The Bible has two beautiful examples of this truth. The first example is from the Old Testament: In 2Chronicles 12, God sent word to the kingdom of Judah that He was abandoning them to the Egyptian army. King Rehoboam and the leaders, however, humbled themselves before God and God changed His mind. The Pulpit Commentary describes God's reaction this way: "So God delights to meet the first advances of returning penitents with such foretastes of mercy as will lure them on to desire its full fruition."

You are probably more familiar with the example from the New Testament. In Luke 15, the prodigal son repents of deserting his father and returns home. Here is what Luke 15:20 says about his return, "And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him." The son had done or said nothing – just shown up – and the father delighted in him.

I love the idea of delighting God. When I feel discouraged or too weak to resist the sinful habit I am removing from my life, I take out this treasure and let God's delight give me the confidence to resist the temptation and to draw nearer to God so that I might experience more of His love and delight.

Now what do you think, treasure or trinket?

Treasure #1: God's Love

2010-02-16T15:12:00.003-06:00

Most people welcome a special day to celebrate love in the middle of the coldest and most depressing part of winter, but not everyone. For some people, last Sunday, Valentine's Day, was another holiday that makes them feel alone and depressed.

I know just how true this is because I often felt that way when I was married. (If you want to learn why I say that, read my essay on Kim Hess' blog: Divorce Guru.) By the grace of God, I no longer battle those feelings. Now, I have a treasure box I open when I am tempted to believe nobody loves me and I am alone. I want to share my treasures with you. I want to show you why I have the confidence of a well-loved woman.

My first treasure: God the Father loves me just as He loves Jesus.
Jesus loves me just as He loves God the Father.

That statement does not say God the Father loves me just as much as He loves Jesus. It does not say Jesus loves me just as much as He loves God the Father. This same
love that God the Father and Jesus give each other, they also each give to me!

Jesus explained this to the disciples in John 15:9, "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you…" Jesus also prayed about this in John chapter 17. In verse 23 He said, "That the world may know that You… have loved them as You have loved Me." In verse 26, Jesus said that one of the reasons He declared God's name was so that "the love with which You loved Me may be in them." Think about that: God's love for me, in me.

Not "pie-in-the-sky" love, this love is for here, for now. The apostle Paul asks us this question in Romans chapter 8: "Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble or hardship or persecution or hunger or nakedness or danger or sword?"

He answers the question by saying, "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future nor any power, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord." Can any love be more powerful than that? That love is for me, for you!

For years, I wrestled with the concept that God loves me. Forget that He loves me with this all surpassing, all encompassing love. I just could not see how God could love me with even the weakest kind of love, something like a lukewarm affection. Who was I for God to love me?

I felt that way because I misunderstood God. I saw Him as emotionally cold, frozen in eternity, wearing a happy face when seen from one perspective and a disapproving face from another. If I thought of God as having emotions, I thought they were more distant, like what we experience when we hear about a stranger dying in a car accident instead of the powerful emotions that would be magnified had our child died in an accident.

With the help of the Holy Spirit, I realized eventually that what the Bible said was true. God's love for me is the same as the powerfully passionate love the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit have for each other. Fully accepting God's love for me helped me to understand why Jesus dedicated Himself to die for me and why He continues to intercede for me in Heaven; I could see why the Holy Spirit is willing to live in my far-from-perfect heart. It is all because God loves me!

What a priceless treasure it is to know His love. If I begin to feel rejected or lonely, I take out this treasure and remember that God set my value in this amazing measure of His love and I cherish the knowledge that I am a well-loved woman.

God the Creator Continues to Create

2010-02-09T17:06:00.004-06:00

Last time, I told you how God used two blogs to confirm the topic for the article I posted. The Holy Spirit has continued to supply my "writing prompts." The latest came from a book that good friends, Steve and Charlotte, gave me several years ago: Sparkling Gems from the Greek by Rick Renner. The devotion for January 15 uses Ephesians 2:10, which states, "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus…"

According to Rick Renner, the Greek wording in Ephesians 2:10 expresses that God uses His most creative powers to fashion us in Christ Jesus. That activity didn't take place when the world was created. We ought to know, we were there when God did this work.

We can compare that to 2 Corinthians 5:17: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." One of God's latest creations is you – and me! We were in the presence of God while he was creating and we didn't even know it. Therefore, every time we pray for someone to be saved, we are asking God to create. When someone accepts Jesus as their Savior because we shared the message of God's love, we are midwives at a new birth. God is joyously creating new sons and daughters every day.

The creation of new sons and daughters is an on-going process, but God created something else after Genesis, according to Ephesians 2:14-16. It says, "For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross…"

Here, Apostle Paul tells us that Jesus took the Jews, (who had been separated out from the other people groups by God beginning with Abraham) and the Gentiles – that is everyone else - and created one new man. He did this in order to bring peace to all humanity when they are reconciled to God through His sacrifice on the cross. This is the marvelous story of the way we Gentiles were grafted into God's family.

Finally, God continues to create into the future. We have these glorious words in Revelations 21:1-5, "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new.""

God who created the universe as recounted in Genesis, continues to create, today, tomorrow, and as far into the future as He allows us to see. My prayer is that He will continue to create in me the desire to love Him with all that I am and to obey Him in all I do. That is definitely not too much to ask of God, the Creator.

The Post-Creation Creation

2010-01-12T16:45:00.003-06:00

Yesterday, I had one of my favorite "God-at-work" experiences. I follow several blogs and two of my favorites are Lynn Mosher's Heading Home and Nicole O'Dell's blog. They were to play key roles in my experience.

In my daily Bible study, I've been considering the middle chapters of Isaiah. Yesterday I read this section: Isaiah 48:6b&7, "From this time forth I announce to you new things, hidden things that you have not known. They are created now, not long ago; before today you have never heard of them, lest you should say, 'Behold, I knew them.' " (ESV)

Verse 7 gave me a shock. "They are created now, not long ago." I thought that God did all of His creating on six days in the beginning. Genesis 2:1&2 states: "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done." (ESV)

I wanted to write about this idea that God had created something after the six days of creation, but I wanted confirmation first. With the help of Nicole and Lynn, I got it. Nicole used Ecclesiastes 1:9, "What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun." (ESV) and Lynn used Isaiah 43:19 "Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?" (ESV). (I'll let you link to these ladies' excellent articles to see their contexts for the scripture verses they quoted.) The scriptures used in their blogs set brackets around my topic; I had my confirmation.

Now came the interesting part. How could I reconcile the verses in Genesis and Ecclesiastes with the verses in Isaiah? What did God create? Does He continue to create today?

Right here, I want to stop and confess a terrible habit. I sometimes read a passage in the Bible and assume a meaning without thinking about what it's really trying to say. Take Genesis 2:1&2, for instance. When I re-read that, I recognized that God wasn't necessarily saying what I thought He was. I thought He was saying, "Well, that looks good. I'm through creating forever." He was probably saying, "There, that job's done. It looks good, so I'll take a break."

What about the verse that says "there is nothing new under the sun?" Ecclesiastes was written in the time of King Solomon's reign; in fact, King Solomon may have written it. He may have come to this conclusion from his study of history and his personal experience. Without God's intervention, this passage is always true, humanity repeats the same sinful lives.

Isaiah wrote his prophecies about 300 years after the words in Ecclesiastes. In that time, God created a process to free the Israelites from captivity in Babylon and farther in the future, to free them from slavery to sin through Jesus. Isaiah proclaimed both these newsworthy items about God's creation of new things sometimes around 700 B.C.

This leads to my final question: in the 2700 years since Isaiah spoke of God creating new things has God continue to create new things? According to the New Testament, the answer is a resounding "Yes!" Next time, we'll look at some of the things He is creating now.

Faith and Healing

2010-01-04T18:34:00.002-06:00

Doctors diagnosed my friend Mike with hepatitis B and pancreatic cancer last year. As people prayed for his healing, he had pneumonia, several hospital stays, and many setbacks. While going through this experience, Mike learned lessons about faith and healing that I want to pass along. I edited part of a newsletter that Mike sent out, but the general content is his.

We know the Bible is the Word of God. In that context the original word is "Logos," the general revealed will of God. It spells out the parameters of God's plans and purposes for His children. It speaks of His promises, the things that are possible for us: some conditional, some not.

The Bible is the general revealed Word of God because there is no guarantee that every time we have a need, that we will receive exactly what we expect from the way God worked as shown in the Bible. We cannot locate verses in Scripture that promise something, assume that the promise is meant for our circumstances, "stand" on it, and repeatedly, mechanically confess it, and hope that eventually we will get what we want.

The Bible contains a general provision of what is possible. Based on what we read in the Bible, we can go to the Lord and ask Him if it applies to us. However, one more process must take place before we can express true faith and confidence that what God says in general applies to our specific circumstances.

The partner word that goes along with Logos is "Rhema." The original meaning of this word is the specific will, plan and purpose of God. In other words, the Rhema is God's specific purpose and plan for the specific need that you have. It is the personal Word of God about the nature of your needs and His plans to meet them.

We go through a process from understanding the general will of God to the specific plan of God for us. When a need arises, we go to the Bible (Logos) to determine what God says about that need in general. Once we determine it's in God's plan to provide for that need, we then go to the Lord and begin to seek His specific direction (Rhema). We wait on Him to show us His specific plan so that we can walk in faith and confidence because we heard from God specifically. We're not trying to force something to happen just because God did it once that way in the Bible.

Let me illustrate this principle with my circumstances. (A disclaimer here, do not use what I experienced, or anyone else has experienced, as a pattern for yourself. Every situation is different; each person must walk with the Lord, following his own specific, Bible-based, God-given plan.)

When I was diagnosed with hepatitis B and pancreatic cancer, we had no panic or fear even though we knew that both were extremely serious, and that pancreatic cancer is often terminal. God gave my wife and me a certain level of confidence in our spirits that we could trust Him to take care of us. That special gift of grace that God gave us carried us for a period of time. We knew from the Logos that God could heal me, but we did not know that He would because we had not received a Rhema to that effect.

From the beginning, we pursued medical treatment while we waited on the Lord for a specific word as to what He was doing. Over time, the diagnosis changed from pancreatic cancer to lymphoma, which is easier to treat successfully. We knew that God was answering prayers.

Our prayers were not aggressive all the time. We had this Peace of God in our spirits; many times we were in a neutral, waiting mode - just waiting on the Lord. "Terminal" was still on the table, but not a pre-occupation.

After a while, I noticed something had changed in my spirit. I no longer had just a general level of grace and confidence in God. God had imparted into my spirit a "Gift of Faith." Suddenly something would start welling up within me that I knew that I knew that I knew I was going to be totally healed and restored. I didn't know when or how, but "terminal" was now off the table, and my focus was on divine healing. NOW, I could boldly confess and declare that God was healing me, and I would eventually experience the finished product. Since that time, my liver specialist reported that he could find little or no trace of hepatitis in my system. One down and one to go; I am trusting God for the rest of my healing.

Remember, saying you have an illness or need is not wrong. How can you ask God to meet your needs if you don't confess that you have them? The enemy has convinced many believers that they must not make negative confessions. Other believers are confessing the Logos and their desire, but they have not received a Rhema from God, and their confession is based on a general principle and not the specific purpose of God. Many believers are disappointed that their expectations are not met because of this.

If you have a need, spend as much time as possible reading the Bible, waiting on the Lord to show you His will, and obeying what you already know is His will. God has a specific plan and purpose for every circumstance in your life. He wants you to know His will so that you can cooperate with Him by walking in faith. For that to happen, you need to stay close to Him.

Why was Jesus Baptized?

2009-12-01T15:39:00.002-06:00

Have you ever wondered why Jesus was baptized? I have. Just last month, when we began studying the gospel of Mark, I realized – again - that I really didn't have a good answer to the question "Why was Jesus baptized?"

In class we reviewed the facts about His baptism:
1. His cousin John baptized Him in the Jordan River.
2. John was reluctant to baptize Him.
3. Jesus insisted, "To fulfill all righteousness."
4. As soon as He was baptized, He left the river.
5. The heavens opened and the Spirit of God descended on Him.
6. A voice from heaven was heard saying, "This is my Son whom I love; with Him I am well please."
7. His baptism appears to be the formal beginning of His ministry.

Knowing the facts didn't get me any closer to understanding the reason He was baptized. As is my custom when I fail to understand something in the Bible, I asked God for help in understanding what was going on. Nothing happened at that time, but several days later, while I was reading the ESV Study Bible, the Holy Spirit light went on in my head.

For this story to make sense, I need to tell you what I was learning as I read my way through Psalms and Proverbs with the ESV study notes. The Hebrew authors used a rich set of literary devices in writing the Bible. They used ones we would recognize like similes and metaphors and some we would not recognize like inclusio.

Let me give you a word picture of inclusio. Picture several Bible verses as paperback books placed on an open shelf. To keep them from falling over, a couple of "books" are laid on their side and placed at either end. The "books" holding all the other "books" on the shelf are the inclusio.

Hebrew writers really liked using this literary device. The Hebrew Old Testament contains an abundance of them. Many instances of its use are lost in translation, but some of them made it into the English translations. Let me give you two examples. Psalm 8 has nine verses. Verses 1 & 9 are the inclusio for the Psalm. They both say, "Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!" (NIV)

The whole book of Ecclesiastes is held together by an inclusio. Ecclesiastes 1:2 states, " Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless." (NIV) Twelve chapters later, Ecclesiastes 12:8 proclaims, "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Everything is meaningless!" (NIV)

I'm sure that you can see where I'm going with this. If we look for bookends in Jesus ministry, we have the picture of His death, burial and resurrection at the beginning of His ministry and His actual death, burial, and resurrection at the end of His ministry.

That day, without preaching one word, Jesus proclaimed His dedication to fulfilling the purpose for which He had come to earth. He said in effect, "I know what You have planned for me, God, and I am willing to obey." By His actions that day, He proclaimed the same prayer He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane before He was arrested, "May Your will be done." To which God responded, "This is my Son whom I love; with Him I am well please."

When I saw this beautiful harmony in the testimony of Jesus, I was amazed. Even the most obvious events in His life have depths of meaning we cannot understand without divine illumination. May we have a hunger to see His beauty in every Word.

Loved Too Much to Leave

2009-11-24T10:45:00.002-06:00

Last time I wrote about the horrible spiritual condition of condemnation. Based on what I see around me, it is an epidemic. The cure for this painful malady requires more extensive treatment than I have space for here, which is why I pointed you to the excellent resource that Elyse Fitzpatrick has written.

Today, I want to write about another condition that may exhibit somewhat similar symptoms, but has a completely different outcome. We call this condition CONVICTION. Conviction produces guilt when we become conscious of our sin. The only thing that conviction has in common with condemnation is this feeling of guilt. Unlike condemnation, conviction is not contagious, and Satan stays as far away from it as he can.

Before I write anything more about conviction, I want to talk about something that happened when you accepted Christ as the one who died in your place. In Romans chapter 5 verse 9, the Bible says, "Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!" The word "justified" is bolded because that is the concept I want to emphasize.

While theologians have long discussions on the concept of being "justified," in English the definition is easy to learn and to remember. Think of "justified" as a coin. On one side we find the words, "Just as if I'd never sinned." Turn the coin over and the other side says, "Just as if I'd always obeyed." That's it. That's the definition. That's what happens to us when we are saved. God sees us "just as if I'd never sinned" and "just as if I'd always obeyed." God forgets our sins because the punishment for them was poured out on Jesus on the cross – all of them from your birth to your death.

Did this question just pop into your mind: "If God sees me "just as if I'd never sinned and always obeyed," then why do I feel guilty when I sin?" That's where conviction comes in.

As long as we are on earth, we will have sin in our lives. However, God loves us too much to leave us in our sinful habits. He wants – as much as possible on this sinful earth – for our experience to match His reality. His Spirit tells us when we sin, not because He is angry with us or because He wants to punish us. Just the opposite is true. He speaks to us about our sin so that He can relieve us from it and from its effect on our lives. When His light shows us the sin, that same light will show us the way out of it. Rather than condemn us to frustrating repetitions of the same sin, He gives us His power to overcome it.

That's what conviction will do when we trust in God and His love for us. Turning toward Him when we sin instead of turning away from Him and agreeing with Him that the issue causing our guilty feeling is sin, frees us to stop sinning. Remember that God is NOT waiting for us to mess up so that He can condemn us. He is on our side, by our side - living in us - shining the light of His mercy on our sinful ways that will cause us pain if we continue in them. He loves us too much to leave us where He finds us.

Crushed or Loved?

2009-11-16T14:47:00.002-06:00

I want to ask you a question, today. Do you think that God is angry with you or disappointed in you? Do you avoid reading your Bible, praying or going to church because you feel guilty enough already? OK, so it was more than one question, but does this describe you?

If these symptoms do sound like you, then let me tell you the name of your condition: you are suffering from CONDEMNATION. Condemnation is contagious. People in your life can infect you with it when they judge the way you act as unacceptable. Satan, your enemy, uses condemnation as part of his germ warfare arsenal to fight against you. You can even infect yourself when you fail to meet your own expectations.

If you attempt to self-medicate to recover from this malady, the cure adds to the burden of the condition. The most common self-medication used for condemnation is "I'll do better tomorrow. I failed, today, but I can start over." This OTC medication may work for changing bad habits. For this spiritual disease, however, while it may appear to be effective, what it is really doing is changing the symptoms. If you "do better" the next day, you get relief from the weight of condemnation, but you break out in a rash of pride and self-righteousness. If you "fail" the next day, the weight of condemnation becomes the crushing burden of despair.

Only one cure exists for the condition of condemnation – John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

Once you saw the reference to that Bible verse, did you just skim over the verse because you have already accepted Jesus' sacrifice in your place and acknowledged Him as your Savior? If you did, then join the crowd. Most of us know the significance of Jesus to our eternal salvation, but we end right there.

Let me introduce you to Elyse Fitzpatrick, who has made the trip past the point of Jesus being only the source of our salvation. She wrote Because He Loves Me to share what she learned on her own journey to cure the condemnation disease. Listen to what she says in her introduction:

"If I asked you, "Where did the ongoing incarnation of Jesus Christ intersect with your life yesterday?" would you have an answer? We all know the crucifixion is important for our initial salvation, but what did it mean to you this morning? Does Calvary inform and warm your heart when you're waiting in line at the grocery store or hearing bad news from the doctor? Does his sinless life comfort you when you realize that you've just sinned in that same way again? In other words, is he significantly relevant to you in your daily walk with him?"

Only when the love of God in Jesus Christ is significantly relevant in our daily walk are we immune to the condition of condemnation. Begin your journey to a cure with Elyse Fitzpatrick as your guide in Because He Loves Me.

Why Does God Test Me?

2009-10-30T11:29:00.003-05:00

Last week, I posted the account of my friend Ve's trials. Scroll down a few inches if you want to read the full story. When she asked God why she was having such a hard time with her back, He gave her four reasons for her trials that can apply to all of us.
1. Trials and tests bring us back to God when we stray.
2. They prepare us for greater trials in the future by teaching us to trust Him.
3. They show others that trusting in Him and having His peace in our hearts does not depend on our circumstances.
4. God gives us trials and tests to prove His faithfulness to us.

God had not finished teaching me lessons on trials and testing, though. My blogger friend, Lynn Mosher, posted a piece on her blog Heading Home about building faith. She made the point that tests and trials cause our faith to grow.

Lynn said, "When a heart receives eternal salvation by accepting the sacrifice of Christ's blood, righteousness is imparted into each heart, along with the seedling of faith. In order for that seedling to blossom and grow, it needs watering and, well, er, fertilizer (emphasis added).

"What does the Bible say about the process through which faith grows?

"James said, "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." (James 1:2-4 NLT)" (You can read Lynn's complete post here.)

From Lynn's blog, I see another reason for trials and tests.
5. Trials and tests cause our faith to grow, developing endurance as it does.

I had to think about the difference between trust – of which Ve spoke – and faith – Lynn's point. I think there is a clear distinction between the two. Trust is confidence based on experience. People learn to trust me when I keep my promises and meet their expectations. Faith, on the other hand, lacks proof and works from belief. From previous experience, I trust that elevators will take me safely to the floor I want, but each time I get on an elevator I use faith because I believe that this elevator will work safely this time.

My final lesson for the week, I learned from my Mother. In her daily devotions, she read Luke 13: 6-9 (NLT) which says, "Then Jesus told this story: "A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed. Finally, he said to his gardener, 'I've waited three years, and there hasn't been a single fig! Cut it down. It's just taking up space in the garden.'

"The gardener answered, 'Sir, give it one more chance. Leave it another year, and I'll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer (emphasis added). If we get figs next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it down.'""

In another place, (John 15:16 NLT) Jesus said, "You didn't choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit…" Therefore, if your life is not producing any "lasting fruit," you might prepare yourself for some extra fertilizer – in the form of more trials and tests!

Mother's insight provided another reason why God may put trials and tests in my life.
6. They provide what is missing in our lives to make us fruitful.

God is the ultimate multitasker. He usually does more than one thing with the same set of circumstances. Look at your own set of trials and tests to see which purpose(s) God may be addressing. As you do, remember the promise He gave to encourage us not to give up (Isaiah 43: 1b -2 NIV): "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze."

God will give you strength for today.

Not Another Trial!

2009-10-23T10:42:00.002-05:00

My friend Ve is suffering, again. She has a weakness in her back so that when she turns just a little bit wrong or over extends herself she has terrible pain for several weeks.

I called her that day because I knew that she was having another bout with her back. She was crying so hard when she answered the phone that I could hardly understand her.

"Lynnda, if I could get off this bed, I would crawl into my closet and shut the door," she said between sobs.

This was more than back pain. Ve was just this side of hysterical.

She proceeded to tell me that someone from the company's home office in Chicago was coming to New Orleans to see her husband. Everybody in the company was cut to a four-day workweek several months prior to this. Now she was afraid that he would be laid off. It was one of her worse nightmares. The more she thought about it, the more panic took control.

Ve has spent her whole life battling the fear and panic that set in when she would think things like what if this or that happens, I need to have my eyes checked -am I losing my vision or has this mole become cancer? Her overactive imagination fed every fear she had until it became a monster in her life.

In years past, she would literally shut herself off from everyone - including her husband - and live paralyzed by her fears. This time was different. Panicked though she was, she reached out.

First, she reached out to her husband and asked him what he thought the visit meant. He told her he didn't know. Then she reached out to me. Together, we looked at the worst possible outcome. Suppose her husband lost his job; what was the worst thing that could happen?

QUESTION: "Would they still have each other, their home, their health, resources to keep food on the table and the bills paid?"
RESPONSE: "Yes, all of that was true."

QUESTION: "In the forty-one years they had been married, had her husband ever failed to take care of her and their family?"
RESPONSE: "No, he is a prince among husbands."

QUESTION: "What about God, had He failed her when the Katrina floods hit them or the following year when her Mother died unexpectedly?"
RESPONSE: "No, God had never failed her."

"So," I asked her, "what does your fear and panic say about how much you trust God and your husband to care for you?"

In the silence, I could sense her thinking about the answers to that question.

RESPONSE: "I think I need to hang up, find my husband, and apologize. Then I'll ask God to forgive me for not trusting Him."

Ve took action on her words. While a little apprehension about the unknown remained, the overwhelming fear and panic were gone, which was good because the worst happened. Her husband lost his job.

By the time Ve learned about it, she had already spent much time alone with God and the news didn't shake her. Her back was slowly getting better, but the marvelous miracle was the healing of her emotions.

A day or two later, she was in her quiet time with God when she asked Him why she had the painful times with her back. I will let Ve tell you in her own words what she learned.

"During prayer time with the Lord, I asked, after having been basically bedridden with a bad back for several weeks, "Lord, just tell me why you put me through this? Why over and over do you put me through this?" Just as fast as the words were out of my mouth the Lord replied, "I will give you four reasons why I keep placing you under these trials. The first is this. I do it to drive you to your knees because when everything is going along comfortably, inevitably, you stray from me and I have to bring you back to My side. The second is this: I give you these trials as a training ground to prepare you for the greater trials to come. The third is this: I do it so that in the trials in which you find yourself, you may be a witness to others by the attitude you carry in those trials. The fourth is this: I do it to create for Myself yet another opportunity to prove myself Faithful!" Awesome, huh? I just sat there a moment and let it sink in."

Ve's example, her courage to change and the insights she gained from her trials, may be just what you need. If not, I still challenge you to ask yourself the questions I asked Ve. Then ask God to teach you to trust Him more.

Food for Thought

2009-10-15T16:46:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite activities is "God-at-work" watching. Some people like to go bird watching; I like to keep my eyes open for "God-at-work" signs.

Take last week, for instance. The Holy Spirit began setting me up for a "WOW! Did you see that?" experience.

Pam, one of my "adopted daughters" came to visit. When I asked her what God was teaching her, she was open enough to tell me that she was in a dry spell where reading the Bible did nothing for her. We went on to speak of other things and I promised to pray for her.

Fast forward to our Bible study group meeting, on Wednesday. Ms. Verla, (see this post Grand opportunity Take Two to get better acquainted with her) shared her frustration about reading the Bible one minute and not remembering what she read the next minute.

Any of us who have been Christians for very long know just how they feel. Sometimes we, like Pam, get nothing from what we read in the Bible. At other times, we, like Ms. Verla, remember nothing of what we just read. As the group discussed Ms. Verla's situation, shared their own similar experiences, and offered possible solutions that had been helpful to them, the Holy Spirit gave me an insight entirely new to me: even when our minds gets no benefit from reading the Bible, it nourishes our spirits.

Both Pam and Verla thought they were wasting their time when they read the Bible but saw no lasting benefit. If it were only our minds that needed the truth found in God's Word, then they would be correct. However, Psalm 143:4a says, "So my spirit grows faint within me." The food that nourishes our spirits is God's Word.

When I encouraged Ms. Verla to read her Bible - even if she remembered nothing – to nourish her spirit, Anna, our Bible study leader took up the thought with a great analogy. I want to personalize this analogy as I share it with you.

My daughter, Melana, was involved in an automobile accident several years ago. As a result, she was in a coma for 17 days. She was unable to eat or even be aware of her need to eat. With her mind out of the loop, the doctors fed her through a feeding tube. That kept her body strong enough to heal the trauma to her brain. Without the intervention of the doctors, she would probably have died from starvation before she could recover enough to eat on her own.

That is what happens to us when we go through a dry spell, spiritually. We can stop reading our Bibles, praying, and attending church simply because they feel like dry duties, of no benefit to us. That is the point where we must intervene on behalf of our spirits. We must keep our spirits strong while our minds are out of sync with God.

Like Pam and Ms. Verla, we can ask others to pray for us; we can ask others for suggestions for relief, but most of all we can carry on. We can feed our spirits until showers of blessings overcome the drought in our minds and we experience the touch of God in our lives that will certainly come again.

Now for the WOW moment, Pam called this morning to wish me happy birthday. I reminded her of our conversation from her last visit and told her about our time in Bible study, my insight and the analogy God gave Anna. I could almost see the light bulb go on over her head. A sense of wonder filled her voice as she thought about feeding her spirit even when her mind failed to cooperate. Two weeks, five people, and "God-at-work" closed the circle of need and understanding, bringing forth wisdom that we can all use in the future. Isn't God good?

In the Eye of the Storm

2009-10-06T15:47:00.004-05:00

Living in New Orleans as I do, hurricane season is never far from my mind. I feel as if I am either preparing to start the six-month-long season or enduring it. The season begins in June and ends in November. For me, Thanksgiving has an added dimension of thankfulness when we make it through a storm season with no big hurricane.

My Mother and I – along with Chloe' – leave town when the big ones come around. We stay at home if the hurricane is only a class 1 storm. I have been through several hurricanes in my life and I want to attempt to describe it for you.

Preparation and prayer are the keys to safely surviving a hurricane. Adrenaline keeps my mind working at top speed: I make a list for all the outside chores and another one for inside work. We move all the potted plants indoors. The furniture on the veranda is moved inside or is turned to face the wind. Our neighbors board up our windows. Everything that is loose is put away so that it does not become a guided missile. Inside, we fill the bathtub with water; we collect bottled drinking water, canned prepared food, medicines, flashlights, and a hand-cranked radio.

We watch the weather channel on TV as long as we can get a signal. The storm seems to creep up the Gulf of Mexico, but one look outside shows us low clouds flying by at a tremendous speed. At ground level, we feel only a light breeze, but where the clouds are, a fierce wind blows. The sky darkens and the first drops of rain touch earth. Coming from the southeast, we see a curtain of rain so dense that we cannot see the house beyond it. The streetlights come on in front of the rain. The sky is very dark and threatening.

Soon, the rainsquall is gone. The sky is a lighter gray; the streetlights go off. This pattern repeats itself several times, each squall lasting longer, with higher winds and darker skies until the streetlights never turn off. The tension increases inside the house, too: the sound of the high winds and the rain pounding down, the sight of the tree limbs breaking off the trees and whipping through the air; water flooding the street, lights flickering off and then on again – or going off completely - ratchet up the stress level.

Suddenly, everything is quiet. The wind stops blowing. Instead of sheets of rain, single drops of water drip from the eaves of the house. A few rays of sunlight peek through a light film of high clouds. A bird or two flutters out of their hiding place. A weight feels as if it has lifted from my chest. My battered nervous system relaxes as we step out on the veranda to see if our neighbors have any damage.

This is the eye of the storm. Every hurricane has one. While violent weather is going on all around it in every direction, the eye is a place of peace and tranquility. The fiercer the storm, the smaller the eye, but the eye lasts as long as the power of the winds. If you were able to travel in the eye of the storm, keeping pace with the storm as it moves, you would never experience the harsh conditions that surround the eye.

I see a wonderful analogy in this. We are in a time of extreme storms in our nation, our culture, our world. Everywhere we turn, we see violence – physical, mental and spiritual. Unlike my experience with hurricanes, we can choose to live either in the fierce winds or in the calm of the storm's eye. In Isaiah 26:3 we read, "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you." In John 14:1 Jesus says, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me." (NIV) Living those Words, taking them into our hearts and our experience, will keep us in that place of calm and quiet even in the harshest storm.

So many times, the way to find peace is to press into the center of the trial instead of running away. When God covers us with his feathers and we find refuge under His wings, the winds and waves cannot reach us no matter how hard they try. The internal peace and stability we achieve in that place allows us to see the reality of the problems that face us while it gives us the courage to trust God and to fight to stay as close to Him as possible.

The next time a storm comes your way. Be prepared by praying and spending time studying the Bible when no storm is on the horizon. Run to God at the first sign of a small cloud on the horizon; then stay there. From that position, you will be able to stand against your enemies, keeping your peace and sense of well-being, no matter what class hurricane comes your way.

Learning How to Love

2009-09-21T17:12:00.004-05:00

Have you ever heard of the term "divine appointment?" No, it is NOT the day God decides if you can go to heaven, but that was a good guess. Usually God connects you with a stranger or puts you in an unusual situation. Without your prior knowledge, He has plans for you to meet that person's needs or to change the situation by your actions. It is a little like having a small part in a movie. Your scene is shot and then you go about your business, making no other contribution to the story line. I wrote about a divine appointment I had with a Muslim taxi driver on the way to an airport in the last post.

I enjoy my divine appointments. Being able to bless someone else gives me a high that no alcohol or drug could match. I show up, get to be the hero, and just know they wonder if I am an angel as I leave. Promise not to tell anyone, but taking part in a divine appointment always leaves me feeling a little giddy. God has usually prepared me in advance – without me knowing it, of course, so most divine appointments are fun.

God has another way for me to make a difference in someone else's life that is much more difficult and demanding: loving a person the way Jesus loves me. Just to make this clear, the person God wants me to love is not especially lovable and has been in my life for some time. This person can be rude or tactless, push my buttons, or take advantage of me. When I talk to them, my frustration level often gets very high because the things I say or do offends them. Sometimes their image of me bewilders me. Am I as horrible as they describe? How can I love them when the ways they act cause me such pain?

Mary DeMuth wrote a novel, A Slow Burn, which tells the story of a woman - a mother - whose life was so broken that she sliced to ribbons everyone who loved her with her razor-sharp self-hatred. This is one of those books where the story is fiction, but it carries the truth. The plot has a divine appointment or two, but God reaches out to her, most often, through people who continue to love her even if it costs them everything.

Just like Hixon in Mary DeMuth's novel, loving someone with the same love that put Jesus on the cross can be very costly to us. We have a choice; we can love them in spite of our pain or we can bring relief to ourselves and leave them unloved.

As for the unlovable person God put in my life, I have more than a small part in that person's story; we are in this for the long haul. God is using this person to teach me how to love someone the same way He loves me. He lets me see how He feels when I act unloving toward Him. The process is painful, but I am stubborn. I guess I AM getting a little more like my Heavenly Father. After all, He refuses to give up on me, too!

A Seemingly Impossible Task

2009-09-16T13:49:00.002-05:00

Have you ever wondered why some Muslims react violently when rumors are circulated that the Qur'an has been desecrated? The riots in Pakistan, reported last month in Charisma NEWS Online, caused me to ask that question. (Muslim Pakistanis attacked Christian Pakistanis, killing at least seven people and burning many homes. See the article: http://www.charismamag.com/index.php/news/22823-christians-burned-to-death-in-islamist-attacks-in-pakistan.) As God often does with me, He set up the question a short time before He provided the answer.

Last Sunday, we began a series by John Piper called "Why We Believe the Bible." In the introduction, he compared what Christians teach about the Bible with what Muslims teach about the Qur'an. Mr. Piper made the statement that "It would be truer to say that the Qur'an is for Muslims what Christ is for Christians." (The implication being that most people would compare the Bible to the Qur'an, not compare Christ to the Qur'an.)

After a couple of hours of online research, I discovered that Mr. Piper's statement is valid. I found the following information in Wikipedia (as cited from the Encyclopaedia of Islam Online): "The word Qur'an means "recitation". When Muslims speak in the abstract about "the Qur'an", they usually mean the scripture as recited in Arabic rather than the printed work or any translation of it. To Muslims, the Qur'an is perfect only as revealed in the original Arabic; translations are necessarily deficient because of language differences, the fallibility of translators, and the impossibility of preserving the original's inspired style. Translations are therefore regarded only as commentaries on the Qur'an, or "interpretations of its meaning", not as the Qur'an itself."

In my research, I also found that some Muslims teach that the Qur'an is uncreated; God come to earth in spoken Arabic words, although controversy about this belief does exist in the Muslim world. When Muslims riot, destroy, burn and kill they are expressing their pious respect for the Qur'an.

In light of all of this, as Christians called to share the truth of Jesus' death and resurrection to people who hold these beliefs about the Qur'an, we face a seemingly impossible task. We are asking Muslims to lay down the beliefs that define them. In their eyes, the Christian life is a blasphemy against their god. The biblical description of heaven does not fit what they are taught about paradise. When they hear us talk about the gospel, it is an offense to their whole way of living. Christ's gospel calls them to reject the religion they love, to repent of rejecting God who died for them on the cross. It asks them to accept something foreign to them: that their own personal goodness cannot earn them eternal life. If they live in a predominately-Muslim world, accepting Christ's sacrifice in their place means dying to any involvement in the community and could easily lead to physical death.

Such a gospel is a threat to everything Muslims value in this life and the next. When we speak to Muslims about accepting Jesus as their Savior and Lord, prepare to be ridiculed or despised. If the Holy Spirit has not gone before us and done His work inside the person to whom we are witnessing, the words will probably be futile.

Twice in my life, I have witnessed to Muslims. The first time I talked about Jesus to a Muslim was in college. This Muslim classmate was busy trying to convert me to Islam at the same time, so I think my words had little, if any, affect on him. Only God knows the result of that experience. The second time I witnessed was to a cab driver on the way to an airport. He had seen the Passion of the Christ and had a hunger to know more. God brought him into His kingdom before I left the cab. We both left that experience rejoicing.

I learned something new about Muslim beliefs, today. It helps to understand where people outside of God find their values in life before we share the love of God with them. Whether we are witnessing to Muslims or to any other people lost in sin and unrepentant before God, we should stay alert for the leading of the Holy Spirit; He will give us an opportunity to share our faith. With Him going before us, that seemingly impossible task transforms into God's power at work advancing His kingdom. There is nothing impossible about that.

Another Awesome Miracle

2009-09-08T12:58:00.002-05:00

In order for you to understand the significance of the latest miracle that God has performed on my behalf, I need to tell you some personal history. Sit back and relax, some of this is (almost) ancient history…

In 1952, the summer I was five years old, a polio epidemic swept the United States. Almost every family had someone who contracted the disease. In my family, I was the only one who caught it.

Polio affects both the nerves and the muscles. Some cases are mild and a person never recognizes that they are a polio survivor. Not everyone was – a survivor, I mean. Some people died from the onset of polio and others died from complications after the acute phase was over. Those who survived were left with varying degrees of nerve damage and muscle atrophy.

My case was a serious one; I was completely paralyzed from the neck down. I could move my head from side to side, move my tongue, and swallow. Fortunately, my diaphragm still moved air in and out of my lungs. (Patients whose diaphragm was paralyzed lived in an iron lung, which acted as a mechanical diaphragm.)

During the acute phase of the disease, the doctors told my parents to be prepared for my death. My parents are people of great faith with large Christian families on both sides who know how to pray in faith and who believed that God could heal me. So, despite the doctors' fears, I survived that phase of the disease. That was my first polio miracle.

My second miracle came with hard work on my part and dedication on the parts of my physical therapist and my Mother. The doctors, pessimists that they can be, told my parents that it was highly likely that I would never be able to leave my bed. Their caution was well founded. The acute phase of polio left me with less than half the muscles to do the work of all the ones that had died. Nevertheless, after almost a year of therapy, I walked into the doctor's office without the benefit of braces or cane.

The third miracle took place after I was an adult and without me being aware of it until it was over. My parents had kept a secret from me for almost 15 years. It was the doctors, again. Before I was released from the hospital, they told my parents that I had lost too many muscles in my pelvic area to be able to carry a baby full term. I would never be able to have children. My Mother told me about this the morning after I delivered my first daughter.

About ten years later, I learned of post-polio syndrome for the first time. Before I heard about it, God's healing touch had affected me during a time of prayer on the 700 Club. I knew He had healed me with respect to the impact that polio had on me, but I didn't know why. Shortly after that, my sister told me about a report she had heard concerning post-polio syndrome. The Holy Spirit confirmed to me that I had been healed of that.

Post-polio syndrome, as well as the doctors can determine, occurs when the regenerated nerves and the over-used muscles reach a point where they can no longer function as well as previously. The onset of post-polio syndrome is so gradual that it takes the polio survivor by surprise. Usually, it starts twenty years or more after polio leaves.

Post-polio syndrome complicates the normal ageing process. Everyone's muscles weaken as they get older. Polio survivors can experience this in complicated ways. Less than ten years after God healed me of post-polio syndrome, I began to notice deterioration in some of my motor skills. This time, I knew what I was facing. Yet again, God healed me.

Fast forward to 2005, thirty years after the last time God had healed me. Post-polio syndrome hit me with a vengeance. For the first time in my life, I discovered that my diaphragm had been damaged by polio. I would quit breathing when in the deepest part of the sleep cycle. This time, God did not heal me. Instead, His miracle was one of technology, a VPAP breathing machine to assist my breathing at night and a power wheelchair to take the place of my legs.

All this brings me up Sunday, September 7, 2009. For several months, I had been getting less and less oxygen at night. Both my physical strength and my mental acuity were affected. Many of my family and friends were praying for me. Last Sunday morning, our church had a special prayer service before our regular worship time. My pastor prayed for me; my God healed me. Before the prayer was completed, I could breathe normally, filling my lungs completely with air. Also, over the period of about an hour, God washed out all the poisons that had accumulated in my brain from lack of oxygen.

No, all effects of post-polio syndrome are not gone. I still use all the mechanical aids to get through my days. But God has again extended my life for His purpose – that I might be able to fulfill the plan He has for me and bring glory to His Name.

All praise to our sovereign God!

Journey’s End

2009-08-31T16:26:00.002-05:00

If you follow the news from around the nation, you may have read two news items that captured my attention. The first item was the story about a homeless millionaire. (Go here to learn about Richard Leroy Walters: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=111091624.) The other story was about a man who kidnapped an eleven year old girl. (Go here to learn about Phillip Garrido: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112301498.)

At first glance, they do not seem to have much in common. But from my perspective, they are exactly alike; they were both hypocrites. According to the reports, Mr. Walters was a stand-offish man who slept outside, ate in a hospital, and used a library as his office. Mr. Garrido was a family man who was taking care of his elderly mother and willingly helped his neighbors when they needed it. Neither of these men showed who they really were to the people in their communities. Mr. Walters was making trades on the stock exchange and amassed $4,000,000. Mr. Garrido kept Jaycee Dugard hostage for 18 years and fathered her two children.

The examples of these two men are shocking in the extremes of their hypocrisy, but they are not alone. We have to look no further than our own reflection in the mirror to find the nearest hypocrite. The Bible says that none of us are without sin. That sin disconnects our inward selves and our outward lives. Unlike Mr. Walters though, most of us want our neighbors to have a higher opinion of us than we deserve.

Since Mr. Walters is dead – which is relevant to my blog, I would like to pretend that Mr. Walters was on the grand Queen Elizabeth on our trip from New York to London. Even though he had enough money to purchase a first-class ticket, he chose to make the trip in third-class. He depended on the kindness of the crew and the staff for company, since he made the trip alone. He had no invitation to dine with the captain; Mr. Walters was one of the passengers who believed that neither the Owner nor the Captain existed.

Finally, the journey ended, as all journeys do. When the Queen Elizabeth docked at port, all the passengers - first-class, second-class or third - were directed to one of two lines. Those with British passports were directed to the line on the right; non-citizens all went to the line on the left. The citizens were quickly processed through and allowed to return home. The non-citizens were processed more slowly. Those passengers with the proper papers were allowed into the country; the rest were refused entry and held.

If Mr. Walters had made the trip on the Queen Elizabeth, he most probably would have been allowed entry into England. After all, he would have appeared to be one of the harmless masses of third-class passengers. His hypocrisy would have made no difference to the authorities. Unfortunately, his own land-fall into eternity was not like that at all.

Using the analogy of the passenger ship, Mr. Walters disembarked at the terminal. All the passengers were in the same line, here. As Mr. Walters neared the front of the line he saw an official take the person's passport and he heard this question: "Did you accept the Captain's invitation?" Those who answered "Yes!" had their passports stamped "FORGIVEN" and they were allowed to proceed.

When Mr. Walters was standing before the official, he answered, "I never received an invitation from the captain." The official looked at Mr. Walters, "Would you have accepted it if you had?" At this place, no one is a hypocrite. Mr. Walters looked into his own heart. He saw that no matter how many invitations he might have received, he would have refused. "No." The official stamped his passport: "REJECTED."

Even though the scene itself is not real, it contains truth. When we stand before God at the end of our journey the only deciding factor for our eternal destination will be whether we are FORGIVEN or REJECTED.

God said in the Bible that He loved the world enough to give His Son to die for everyone's sins. He knew that only some people would accept Jesus' death in place of their own well-deserved punishment. The ones who accepted would be forgiven. Jesus died for all of us, however - even those whose hearts are unreachable for one reason or another. Some people reject Jesus when given an invitation. Some reject Him without an invitation. Our Sovereign God, who searches our hearts, knows the answer to that most important question.

Have you accepted His invitation? If not and if you want to know more, go here: http://www.allaboutgod.com/plan-of-salvation.htm.

Cruise to Eternity, Part Three

2009-08-27T13:21:00.003-05:00

"I will not become a Christian because God might make me become a foreign missionary."

You may have never heard those words – or said them, but do you fear what God might ask you to do? Many people do. Some folks are afraid that God will ask them to give up everything and do something unpleasant. This fear is one of the devil's most powerful tools. Why? Because, as in almost every lie he uses, this one has a grain of truth. God may require you to give up a comfortable life. He may even require you to die for Him. God is the One who controls everything; that is part of what sovereignty means, after all.

So how does this fit in with our cruise to eternity? We examined the passengers on the ship; they are diverse in their spiritual condition as well as in every other way. We looked at the owner and the captain; God as creator owns the universe and Jesus Christ is His appointed King of all creation.

However, the owner and the captain were not the only ones dedicated to getting the Queen Elizabeth from New York to London. The journey required both a crew and a staff. The crew operated and maintained the equipment that moved the ship across the ocean. The staff served both the passengers and the crew in everything from food preparation, education, cleaning service, entertainment, medical services, and more. They took the same trip as everyone else, but the crew and the staff had those additional responsibilities.

From where did the crew and staff come? The captain (or his representative) chose them. The company would have advertised a position for a person with a particular set of skills and abilities. A person would have responded, an interview would have been held, and a contract signed between the company and the successful candidate. This process would have been repeated until every position was filled. Two things were required in this process, the company had to find the candidate acceptable for the position and the candidate had to be willing to commit to fulfilling the duties required. How well those two requirements were met had a large part in determining how smoothly the trip went. If the crew and staff did their jobs well, guess who got the credit for it. The captain!

As you can probably already see, the spiritual reality is close to this analogy. Jesus chooses us to accept His sacrifice for forgiveness from our sins, just like a captain chooses those who will dine with him. Those people are chosen, but in our analogy, they remain passengers on the ship; they do not become crew or staff.

You have probably heard the saying "Bloom where you are planted." Those words are not found in the Bible, but the principle is appropriate for those who find themselves "passengers" on this trip. No extra choosing by God is needed for God to require us to love Him, to love each other and to obey His commands in the Bible. However, God does choose some people to serve Him in special ways. The Bible says that He gives gifts to the church of apostles, prophets, pastors, evangelists, and teachers. In my analogy, these people would be the crew. They operate the church "machinery" to the benefit of all of us. He also chooses staff – in the church, deacons, business mangers and accountants; outside the church, operators of soup kitchens, managers of great wealth, organizers of orphanages, and founders and employees of Christian organizations like Youth with a Mission, or Focus on the Family. These people serve everyone according to the skills and abilities that God has provided. Who gets the credit if they do a good job? Jesus!

Those jobs would not be too uncomfortable for some of us. We might be willing to do some of those things. But what if God asked us to die for Him? Yes, for some people that is a reality, not a possibility. In the Bible, Stephen and Paul were both killed because of their service to God. For more recent examples, read Safely Home, a novel about the persecuted church in China by Randy Alcorn or watch End of the Spear, a movie about five missionaries who died in Ecuador. Those of whom this has been required have been prepared by God to face it.

Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (NIV) Those of us who have accepted Christ as our Savior have good works to do now that God prepared in advance. He also gives us the skills, abilities and training to do the work AND puts the desire to do it in our hearts. So, just as with our freedom from sin, God does everything except commit to doing the work. After we commit, we must put all that we are into performing it. A productive, satisfying Christian life lived in obedience to God also takes all of Him and all of us.

God is in complete control all the time and we can trust Him.

Cruise to Eternity, Part Two

2009-08-18T15:40:00.003-05:00

Did Warren Wiersbe's comment from The Bible Exposition Commentary in my last post make you feel a little uncomfortable? He said, "So wise and powerful is our God that He can permit men and women to make personal choices and still accomplish His purposes in this world. When He isn't permitted to rule, He will overrule, but His will shall ultimately be done and His name glorified." If you are a control freak, as I was for most of my life, I know it made you uncomfortable. When we are uncomfortable, it usually helps to know what to expect.

Well, then, what can we expect from God? If we read Ephesians 1:3-6 again it says that we can expect Him to bless us with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus and to adopt us as His sons through Christ Jesus, because He chose us and predestined us. (The New International Version says, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.")

The point is that He chose us first; we did not choose Him, which is a very good thing since we had no desire to come to Him until He put the desire in our hearts. OK, so who is the "us" that gets chosen?

That is a very good question. To get a better grasp of the "how and who" of being chosen by God works with our freedom to choose, think about our cruise on the grand Queen Elizabeth. The ship has a diverse load of passengers who are all traveling to the same destination regardless of their interest in doing so. The owner decided the location of the destination, the time to leave, and the route of the ship.

Fortunately for the passengers, the owner did even more. The owner hired the most trustworthy and the most professional captain to guide the ship to its destination. The captain is always responsible to the owner, but once the ship leaves the port, the captain has absolute authority and responsibility for everyone on the ship. He can perform weddings, throw someone in the brig, or interrupt a meal for an "abandon ship" drill. As long as the ship is at sea, all persons aboard must remain under the command and authority of the captain.

A custom on many ships was that a few passengers were invited to dine with the captain each evening. Notice that they were invited to dine with the captain. Most people considered this an honor, but I am sure that someone may have declined for one reason or another. In all likelihood, the reason given most often for declining the invitation was illness, even if that were not the true reason the guest chose not to attend. Perhaps the passenger did not have the proper clothes or was afraid of the captain or was too busy drinking in the bar or was too proud. The passenger was free to accept or decline the invitation.

The captain of our ship is Jesus. God has given Him absolute authority over everything He created. We may ignore Jesus' presence on the ship, or even deny that He is controlling it, but our opinion changes nothing. If He invites you to come to Him – and not everyone gets an invitation – you must still choose to accept the invitation. God puts in your heart the desire to abandon your rebellion and join Him. When Jesus died on the cross, He broke down the barriers between God's love and our rebellion by accepting the punishment we deserve. God does absolutely everything to call you to Himself except force you to accept.

My pastor has a saying I really like; he says, "Salvation is all of God and all of me." It is "all of God" because none of us can do one thing to save ourselves. God must do all the work so that salvation is possible and then invite us to participate, change our hearts to desire Him, and open our minds to understand His way. It is "all of me" because the one thing He will not do is take over my soul so that I must say "yes." I must surrender my will, my rebellion, and my insistence on having my own way; that part is totally up to me.

If you have received an invitation and answered "Yes," then you are adopted through Christ and have every spiritual blessing in Him.

If you received an invitation and responded with "No," then reconsider your answer. The invitation is still open.

If you have been "playing" church, but insist on having your own way, then do a reality check. Being a member of a church is not enough.

If you have never received an invitation, RUN - do not walk - to God and ask Him to open your blind eyes and to show you the way to salvation. In an unexplainable way, your desire to go to God is the invitation from God.

Here is one last question for today: How is your cruise going?

Cruise to Eternity, Part 1

2009-08-15T14:46:00.004-05:00

We Americans are an independent bunch. In becoming a nation, one of our first documents was The Declaration of Independence. The Fourth of July is called Independence Day. A "self-made man" is much admired. One of Frank Sinatra's most popular songs was "I Did It My Way." A common line in any play about hostile relationships is "I don't need you or anybody else!" Our culture is saturated with the idea of personal independence.

Our culture of independence is one reason why many American Christians are uncomfortable with the concept that God is sovereign. We tend to ignore parts of Bible passages such as Ephesians 1:3-6 when we read it. (The phrases we tend to ignore are italicized.) The New International Version says, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves."

God chose us and predestined us, according to His will and pleasure, even before the creation of the world! Definitely, many American Christians are uncomfortable with God deciding those issues without consulting us. We would rather focus on the God-given ability to choose that is also much in evidence in the Bible.

Here are two examples where the ability to choose is part of the action: Proverbs 1:28-29, "Then they will call me, but I won't answer; they will search for me, but won't find me. Because they hated knowledge, didn't choose to fear the Lord…" Psalm 25:12, "Who is the person who fears the Lord? He will show him the way he should choose." (Holman Christian Standard Bible^®)

We are much more comfortable with the idea that we are free to choose; that we are independent with a will unbound by another's requirements. If we make wrong choices, we may find someone else to blame, but at least it was our choice to make. Check your thinking and see if you share this cultural bias.

So how do we understand the link between the ideas that God is sovereign and that humanity has free will? Both are absolutely true, but trying to connect them in our minds can be like trying to hold fire and ice in your hand at the same time – you may be more comfortable holding the ice than the fire, but neither one of them will be there for long!

The best way I have been able to understand the two ideas' relationship and my position between them is by the analogy of a passenger ship.

If you watch TV at all, you have probably seen the advertisements for luxury vacation cruises. Most vacation cruises pick up a load of passengers at one location, take them to visit other ports, and then return them to their port of origin.

From the time of sailing ships until the 1960's, passenger ships had a much different purpose. (Large commercial passenger airplanes began service to distant countries in the 1960's.) Until large airplanes came on the scene, travel between distant countries relied on passenger ships. Especially in the 20^th century, these ships had first class service similar to the ones found on cruise ships today. They also had second and third class service that were in stark contrast to the luxury of first class staterooms. If you saw the movie Titanic then you might have some idea of the difference.

One of the most popular voyages for many decades was the transatlantic crossings between New York and London. The grand Queen Elizabeth ran continuous service between the two cities for many years.

So for our analogy, we have the Queen Elizabeth loaded with passengers for the trip to London. Rich or poor, young or old, first class or third, the passengers are all on the same ship. None of the passengers have any control over it. They must adjust their plans to the specified departure time. The route they travel over the sea is also out of their control. All details concerning the ship are controlled by the owner. The passengers control some of their circumstances on the ship and their attitudes about the trip. The choices they make in those two areas can go far in determining whether they have an easy voyage or a trip full of trouble.

You probably already see the analogy: the owner of the ship represents God. He owns the universe and determines what will happen. The passengers represent humanity, making the choices that are within our grasp according to our circumstances and our attitudes. Both God's will and humanity's choices are operational at the same time. (In case you are wondering how close this analogy is to reality, consider this: the earth, and the galaxy of which it is a part, is traveling at 1.35 million miles per hour! Did you ask to make this trip?)

All Christians – not just American Christians – do have a choice; we can ignore the sovereignty of God and lose many opportunities to praise Him or we can proclaim with Warren Wiersbe, (as he says in The Bible Exposition Commentary: Old Testament) "So wise and powerful is our God that He can permit men and women to make personal choices and still accomplish His purposes in this world. When He isn't permitted to rule, He will overrule, but His will shall ultimately be done and His name glorified."

A Puddle of Butter

2009-08-04T13:54:00.003-05:00

When I was a little girl, one of my favorite stories was about an African boy named Little Black Sambo. The story begins with Little Black Sambo returning to his home from the market. What made this day special was that Little Black Sambo had bought new clothes. He was going home with a new shirt, a nice pair of pants, and a fabulous umbrella to keep the sun off his head.

Now to get home he had to travel a path through the jungle. On his way, he met a tiger who wanted to eat him, but Little Black Sambo, who was very smart and quite persuasive, talked the tiger into taking his shirt, instead. The tiger thought he was now the best dressed tiger in the jungle. Little Black Sambo met two other tigers along the way with the results that they also left him thinking they were the best dressed tigers in the jungle, one wearing his pants and the other carrying his umbrella with a curl of his tail. Poor Little Black Sambo was left with no new clothes at all.

Before he could get home, Little Black Sambo heard the three tigers arguing over which tiger was dressed the best. He quickly climbed a tree to get away from them. That was a good thing because the three tigers came out of the jungle at the foot of the tree, took off Little Black Sambo's clothes, and began chasing each other around the tree. They ran so hard and got so hot that they melted into a puddle of sweet yellow butter.

Little Black Sambo climbed down from the tree, dressed in his new clothes, scooped up the butter in a pot, and went merrily home.

At my age in that distant past, it seemed perfectly reasonable to me that the tigers should melt into a puddle of butter as they raced around the tree. I know many times I have felt hot and sticky enough to melt into my own puddle of butter!

Only in recent times have I come to understand what holds our bodies together so that we do not become such a puddle. Thanks to a molecular biologist and to an evangelist named Lou Giglio, I know the reason that we do not melt into our own puddle of butter; the cells of our body are held together by a molecule called laminin. This molecule has the shape of a cross. Yes, a cross like the one on which Jesus died. (If you have not seen anything about laminin, follow this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ejj51hNIL3E&feature=related to see a video of Lou Giglio discussing it.)

I get excited about laminin because I love the symbolism of the natural world that gives me insight to the spiritual world. The structure of laminin and its purpose gives us several symbols.

The first symbol is one we made; the cross itself is a symbol. It represents all of Jesus' redemptive work that leads to salvation. When we see a cross, we automatically think of the Christian religion.

The second symbol is seen in the purpose of laminin and relates to creation. In the first chapter of the book of Colossians, it says that Jesus Christ created everything and that He holds all things together. So it is highly fitting that our cells are held together by a molecule shaped like a cross, symbolizing the truth that Jesus holds together each of us.

The third symbol is applied on the spiritual plane. The first chapter in Colossians also states that Jesus Christ is the head of His body, the church. The analogy of the church being the body of Christ appears many times in the New Testament and just as a cross-shaped molecule holds the cells of a physical body together; the work of Jesus Christ on the cross holds the members of His church – the cells of His body – together.

In the past twenty years, many people who thought it was their communion or denomination that was holding them together with other members have been shocked to discover that glue was not strong enough. When the organization of which they were a part decided to follow a path that was clearly not one established in the Bible, they left the organization. They discovered that they had more in common with others who were not part of their denomination or communion; the common denominator, the glue that truly holds us together, is always the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. In an organization claiming to be a part of Jesus' body, any glue based on humanity's rules or opinions will always fail to hold and leave a puddle of bitter rancid butter in the end.

90 Years of God’s Faithfulness

2009-07-28T16:16:00.006-05:00

My blog is late this week for a very good reason; we were out of town celebrating my Mother's 90^th birthday.

My sister, Jeanita, and I love Mother and cherish our time here on earth with her, so we wanted to give her a really nice gift for her 90^th birthday. The only thing she asked was to be with her family to celebrate it. So we decided to make it a very special occasion.

We are blessed that Mother is physically and mentally healthy, which makes traveling possible even at age 90. Since Mother's home for many years was the town where my sister still lives, we decided to give the party in DeKalb, Texas instead of New Orleans where she now lives.

Once we began planning, we had volunteers and ideas coming from everywhere. My daughter Julie found a memory tree and suggested that we give one to Mother for the family gift. You can see the tree holding miniature photo frames in the picture. My daughter Melana took care of the cake and the publicity. She also suggested that we make bookmarks for mementos to give our guests. Since my good friend Ve is awesome at making cards and bookmarks, she made them for us. She also came up with the theme for the party: Celebrating 90 Years of God's Faithfulness.

Jeanita and my brother-in-law, Larry, rented the hall and designed the layout and decorating scheme. Another friend and adopted sister, Judy, traveled with Mother and me. She also suggested some of the final decorations and helped with the clean-up. I designed ten posters, one for each decade of Mother's life (plus an extra one). Mother and I found photos from every decade to put on the posters. I also included newsworthy highlights for each decade to bring context to the pictures. Mother and Jeanita made almost 400 cookies.

At the party, friends and family members took videos and snapped photos. Several grandchildren kept the cake, cookies, and punch flowing. Four of Mother's great grandchildren also worked to make our guests feel welcome. Over 50 people celebrated with us.

Before Larry blessed the festivities with prayer, he read a tribute to Mother that another friend and our Bible study leader, Anna, had written. Anna captured Mother's life so beautifully that we wanted to start the celebration by sharing it with our guests. Her tribute is written here.

"Dearest Muriel,
Happy 90^th birthday!!! What a blessing it has been to me to get to know you. I admire your steadfast devotion to our Lord and God and I admire that even though you have lived 90 years, you are still willing to be obedient to what God calls you to do and to continue to change under His loving hand. You have laid down your life over and over again and the result has been that you are such a wonderful example of a woman of God and you are still bearing fruit.

"This scripture has your name written next to it: Psalm 92:12–15: "The righteous will flourish like a palm tree and they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age; they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming 'The Lord is upright. He is my Rock and there is no wickedness in Him.'

"I love you, Muriel, and I appreciate your witness. Anna"

No matter how long I live, I desire to have that testimony, too. May God grant a green and fruit bearing old age to us all.

Once in a Thousand Years

2009-07-19T18:30:00.003-05:00

Earlier this month, something unusual took place. In fact, it was a once every thousand year occurrence. At five minutes and six seconds after 4 a.m. on the 8^th day of July, this year, the time and date was 04:05:06 07/08/09. This will occur again in 3009, assuming the culture that exists then writes time and date the same way most Americans write it now.

This information came to me through one of the e-mails that populate the Internet. Since I am an engineer, just seeing this set of numbers started me thinking about other combinations. It turns out that this is the last set in a sequence of five. The first one is 00:01:02 03/04/05. This set has the rule that every first digit of every pair is a zero. If the rule is changed to another one that allows the first digit to be a zero or a one, then five more sets can be added in a longer sequence. It begins with 00:01:02 03/04/05 and ends with 09:10:11 12/13/14. (Engineers like to play with numbers this way.)

One sequence caught my eye: 07:08:09 10/11/12. That is the birthday of one of my relatives. She will be 44 years old on that date. That probably is of no importance to you, but it did cause me to look more closely at this particular number combination. Since I know that coincidence and luck do not have any part in my life, I decided to see if the combination might have a spiritual significance.

(Note to anyone who has not accepted Christ's death as their release from slavery to sin: you may have coincidence and luck all over your life. The Bible tells me, however, that those who have accepted Christ as their savior have nothing in their lives that He has not given permission to be there.)

One of the things I have been studying is the Bible's use of symbols. Since God does multiple things simultaneously, factual events recorded in the Bible can also have prophetic meaning and contain symbolic meaning at the same time. The Israelites' Tabernacle described in Exodus is a great example of this.

Anyway, numbers in the Bible can be symbols for certain ideas. If we look at the numbers in 07:08:09 10/11/12 the ideas that correspond with the numbers can be the following:
7 – Completion or fullness
8 – New life or new beginning
9 – Fruit of the Holy Spirit
10 – The Law of Moses
11 – Unknown (If anyone can provide insight and scripture references to support the symbolism, please leave a comment.)
12 – Divine order

One way to interpret these numbers is that on the morning of October 11, 2012, some work of God will be completed and a new beginning involving both the New and Old Covenants will occur, somehow involving God's divine order.

My relative's age, 44, also plays a part in the symbolism. The number 4 represents the whole earth. When something is repeated – "4" – "4" – the certainty of it happening is emphasized.

I am NOT PREDICTING that the world is coming to an end.

All throughout the Bible, God shows us times when He starts and ends different works. So far all this exercise has done is heighten my awareness that God is at work in the world. I will pay special attention to the morning of October 11, 2012, if I am still around to appreciate it. Maybe you can join me…

Shock and Awe

2009-07-12T13:39:00.026-05:00

This week, I Googled some presenters to a writers' conference I want to attend. Afterwards, on impulse, I Googled my own name. I had not done that in two or three years, so I was surprised by the number of hits that came back. Most of the ones were from my engineering days; no surprise there.

However I did find more recent postings as well: my entry in The Writer's Edge, a comment on Rachelle Gardner's blog, product reviews for Amazon and Christian Book Distributers and, right in the middle of the second page, a Spanish text entry.

Now my Spanish language skills are limited to "Si" and "caliente." Thanks to the "translate this" tool on Bing, I was able to turn the text into English. The translation was not perfect, but it was clear enough for me to recognize the article.

That is when I went into shock. A New Year's Day letter that I had sent to a few family members and friends in 2004 had made its way to this Spanish language site. You can see the article at http://www.renuevodeplenitud.com/el-arco-iris.html.

The letter was posted in 2006, correctly attributed, with only a few changes. I can say that, after my shock wore off, I was delighted that those responsible for the web site thought the letter was interesting enough to post. I am still in awe that God arranged for me to have a tiny presence on the web that glorified Him before I even knew what blogging was all about. I have posted the letter (slightly edited) below so that you can read it in the original language.

Dear friends,

The last day of 2004…how can that be? It seems like yesterday that we began the year. God has blessed me in so many ways, this year. I want to share with you one of those ways. He gave me a gift of beauty so incredible that it’s difficult to put into words.

On a trip to Texarkana, Arkansas to see my daughter and her family, my Mother and I were driving through some thunderstorms. The direction we were driving and the angle of the sun gave us the most complete double rainbow set that I have ever seen. We were crossing over the Mississippi River Bridge in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which rises in a high arc over the river, so we could see completely to the ends of both rainbows on the opposite bank.

As we left the bridge, it appeared as if we would drive right under the highest part of the arc of the closest rainbow. Instead, both rainbows appeared to jump away from us as we approached them. The road curved and we began driving towards the end of the rainbow nearest to us. I expected the rainbow to jump back again. It did not!

As we approached the end of the rainbow, the bands of colors began to change. The red, orange, green, violet and blue bands began to fade and thin until they were completely gone. However, the yellow band of color didn’t fade away. Instead, as we came closer to the end, the band of yellow became wider and the color deepened to a rich, beautiful gold.

The band of gold was now directly in front of us, the end anchored firmly in the traffic lane in which we were driving. The golden light was several feet wide at our closest approach. Then wonder of wonders, we drove right through it, the golden light flowing like a thin sheet of water - first over the hood of the car, then over the windshield!

I cannot explain how Mother and I felt at that moment except to say that it was a holy time. We were humbled by the graciousness of God to give us such a unique experience. We felt lifted right to the gates of heaven! It was difficult for me to keep both my hands on the steering wheel because what I wanted to do was to raise them in praise to God!

As I’ve thought over our experience, I think I can guess the origins of the legend about the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I believe that it may have begun as someone else having had an experience similar to ours. I assume that they told others of this amazing occurrence. As the story spread, it would be easy to have “band of gold” changed to “pot of gold”.

A verse in the eighth chapter of the book of Romans tells us that God will “graciously give us all things.” It is out of His boundless storehouse of surprises that we are given the most unexpected gifts. This year, 2004, will always be “The Year of the Rainbow” for me. Happy New Year!

Q4U: Have you had either an unusual web site experience or a notable experience with a rainbow? If so, how did you react?

A Grand Opportunity, Take Two

2009-07-04T10:33:00.021-05:00

Three weeks ago, I wrote about an opportunity - literally - to stand up for God. It was, for most Christians attending the event, a missed opportunity. (Read this post: A Grand Opportunity.)

Every day we have not-so-grand opportunities to stand up for what we believe. Sometimes we wonder if the ways we honor God in the small things make any difference. Today I want to share a true story told to me by one of my dear friends.

Ms. Verla was married for 43 years. For 37 of those years she prayed for her unsaved husband. He was a difficult man to love and for whom to pray. He was mean and verbally abusive. He attempted to sabotage her every attempt to live a Christian life in their home.

He did have one upbeat habit, however, he liked to tell jokes. Unfortunately, the jokes he enjoyed telling were rude, vulgar, and obscene. To Ms. Verla, they were another cross to bear.

By the grace of God, Ms. Verla's husband got saved. To her delight, he begin attending church with her. One Sunday, a few weeks after her husband's salvation, they were a little later than usual leaving the auditorium. Since most people had already left the building, they had a few extra minutes to talk to the preacher who was waiting at the door. As Ms. Verla and her husband stopped to shake hands with him, Ms. Verla's husband decided to tell the preacher a joke. Ms. Verla was extremely embarrassed because the joke he told was vulgar and totally inappropriate.

The preacher listened to the joke, but he neither smiled nor laughed when Ms. Verla's husband finished telling it.

Her husband said, "What's the matter, Preacher, don't you think it's funny?"

To which the preacher replied, "I cannot listen to, participate in or laugh at that kind of joke."

"Why, because you're a preacher?"

"No, because I'm a Christian."

And so they left.

The next Sunday, Ms. Verla's husband decided to try again.

"So, Preacher, have you heard the joke about..."

The preacher held up his hand to stop him.

"Wait. Is this another joke like the one you told me last week?"

"Yes."

"Then I cannot listen to, participate in, or laugh at that kind of joke."

"Why? Because you're a preacher?"

"No, because I'm a Christian."

This time they left with the joke untold.

The next Sunday, Ms. Verla's husband could hardly wait for the sermon to end. As soon as he got to the preacher he said, "Preacher, I've got a joke for you."

"Is this a joke..."

"No, Preacher, it's not."

So Ms. Verla's husband told a joke he had memorized from The Reader's Digest. The preacher enjoyed it and they both laughed together.

According to Ms. Verla, her husband never told another vulgar joke to the preacher or to anyone else. That was one of the first indications she saw that God was changing his heart.

Do we take a stand the way the preacher did? How many of us refuse to listen to vulgar jokes or gossip or criticism of others? The small choices that we make are important. We can choose to take a stand for what is right in God's sight, telling others why we do it without being disrespectful or judgmental. It takes practice, but the rewards are worthwhile. We can turn an uncomfortable situation into a grand opportunity to bring light into darkness.

Heat Wave

2009-06-29T08:26:00.008-05:00

I live in New Orleans where we had two hot topics last week. The Times-Picayune, our city newspaper, had both subjects on its front page on Thursday morning.

The main headline was Louisiana State University's scorching victory over its arch rival, the University of Texas, in the College World Series of baseball. This is LSU's sixth win since 1991 and the source of much enthusiastic celebration here, despite the heat wave.

And that, the heat wave, was the other hot topic last week. Sharing the front page with LSU's victory was the headline telling that New Orleans experienced the hottest day in recorded history. An official temperature of 104 degrees Fahrenheit was recorded in Audubon Park. Our outside thermometer showed 106 degrees of truly oppressive heat.

This dangerous heat was the cause of a very uncomfortable experience for my Mother and I on Wednesday afternoon. No, we did not have heat stroke. When I renovated the house after hurricane Katrina, I had the whole house thoroughly insulated, so we were cool in spite of the outside temperature.

In the same renovation, I also brought the fire alarm system up to code so that every room has a smoke alarm. Also, in the hall, a unit was installed to monitor for carbon dioxide, as well as smoke. In the laundry room and in the attic, the units test for high temperatures. All of the units are tied into the same electrical circuit and all of them have battery back-up. When one unit senses a problem, all of them go off.

That is what happened Wednesday afternoon. Mother and I were peacefully resting and reading when a piercing wail filled the house - in stereo! - and the hall unit began shouting, "Fire! Fire!" every fifteen seconds. The sound level was enough to destroy the ability to hear and to drive us out of the house.

From a previous experience, we knew that turning off the circuit breaker would not stop the noise because they all had batteries. From that same experience, we knew that as soon as the unit that had been triggered was removed from the circuit, the wailing would stop. In that instance, our neighbor, Mark, had come to our rescue, since our ten-foot ceilings keep us from reaching them.

Fortunately, Mark was available again; so bringing his ear plugs, he came over and removed the seven units that are in the living space in the house. However, even after he removed the others, we could still hear the alarm in the attic. That unit was the one which had triggered. Based on the design specifications, this meant that the temperature in our attic was at least 135 degrees which is the trigger point for the alarm unit. Mark gamely went into that hot attic and removed the source of the problem, bringing peace and quiet back to our household.

The whole episode caused me to consider the way I look at my life. For me, this is a time of peace, joy, and contentment. That does not mean my life is perfect. In 2005 I lost my health and a career that I loved. My home city is subject to hurricanes six months of the year. However, an old hymn we sang when I was a child sums up the reasons my circumstances do not rob me of peace and joy.

"My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ the solid rock I stand,
all other ground is sinking sand,
all other ground is sinking sand."

Most of the headlines in our newspapers tell about negative circumstances. Unlike the headlines in last Thursday's paper, there is seldom anything on the front page to celebrate. In fact, the world's media usually sound alarms so loudly that they attempt to drive me off the foundation of my life, try to get me to stop trusting and to start worrying.

If they sound an alarm, it does not necessarily signify a dangerous condition. Just as I did when our fire alarm went off, I check the validity of the media's alarms with my actual condition. If the media is saying"Disaster! Disaster!" I read Psalms 91, "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty... No disaster will come near your tent." If I hear shouts of "Trouble! Trouble!" God tells me in Psalm 91, "I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him."

I can turn off the TV, throw away the newspaper, change the radio station, click off the Internet; I can silence the alarms. I do not ignore the possibility or the reality of difficult circumstances, but I choose not to be forced off my foundation and lose my peace and joy to worry and fret. I choose instead to trust God and like the writer of Psalm 91 "Find refuge under His wings." Thus, just like last Wednesday when Mark removed that last alarm, the alarms no longer disturb me and peace and joy are restored.

The Elephant in the Room

2009-06-22T08:02:00.004-05:00

According to an article in the June 2009 issue of Christianity Today, N.T. Wright and John Piper recently published books on their views of the doctrine of justification. The article contains a table that summarizes some of their differences. I have not read the books, but I want to comment on both on the tone of the article and the summaries in the table.

From the content of the summaries, I can find biblical passages that would support each man’s positions. I do not find their positions to be an “either/or” situation. The tone of the article, however, implies that justification can be one thing or the other, but not both. Which reminds me of the story of blind men describing an elephant. Let me tell you my version of it.

In my story we have a very large – and very patient – elephant. The elephant’s name is Justification. Four small, blind men who have never seen an elephant are given the task of describing it. (These men represent all the saints, from Apostle Paul to John Piper and N.T. Wright, who have wrestled with understanding justification and have tried to describe it.)

One man is led to the front of the elephant. Another is guided half-way up a very tall step ladder that is positioned at the elephant’s shoulder. The third man is left standing near a hind leg. The fourth man is lifted to a platform behind the elephant.

The man standing in front of the elephant begins groping for the elephant. His hands are met by the elephant reaching out his trunk. He quickly catches the trunk with both hands and calls out, “The elephant is a thick muscular snake with warm, rough skin and a musky scent.”

The man on the step ladder feels an ear go by and grabs onto it in mid flap. “Oh, no,” he shouts, “an elephant is the largest, leatheriest leaf I’ve ever felt. It does have a musky smell, however.”

Meanwhile, the man near the back leg had been rubbing the leg and trying to reach around it with his arms. “Well, I can agree with you about the smell, but you are both wrong about everything else. An elephant is a very large, very stout tree trunk with bark as rough as sandpaper.”

The man at the elephant’s back end had been busy, too. He had caught hold of the elephant’s tail as it swished past him and examined it very thoroughly. He called to the others, “I think the smell is too strong to be called musk, but it is definitely a thick rope with a frayed end.”

Since we know how an elephant looks, we find this story amusing. Yet it is so easy for us to do the same thing among our denominations, or our communions, and in our theological discussions. We think that what we are observing is the only work that God is accomplishing by that effort, when God usually does multiple things simultaneously.

Wrestling with our understanding of justification and other aspects of our salvation is an important part of our spiritual growth. Discussing our thoughts in the public forum can lead to rigorous consideration of the differences and the similarities of other Christians’ positions. It can lead to all parties getting a fuller understanding of the issues.

The classic definition of justification (from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia) is this: “On the basis of Christ's atoning work, God pronounces righteous those who believe in Him even though they are unquestionably sinful and guilty in themselves.” So while we are discussing our differences let us remember something that C.S. Lewis wrote in his introduction to Mere Christianity: “…(the core of Christianity is) divided from all non-Christian beliefs by a chasm to which the worst divisions inside Christendom are not really comparable at all.”

Rather than expressing false doctrines, these authors are presenting different views of something we all share, if we have accepted Christ as our savior. We are all justified in Christ, even if we do not fully understand the total package. It is a good thing to remember we are brothers in Christ as we listen to each other.

So let us return to my version of the story…

The small, blind men were not only small and blind, but they were also very wise. After they told each other what they understood an elephant to be, each one explored further away from his starting point. At first, none of them discovered anything that would change his description of an elephant. Each man told the others that he held to his original opinion. As each man worked his way higher and higher, however, he fell silent. The more each one learned about the elephant, the less certain he became about the completeness of his original description. Eventually, the four men bumped into each other as they felt their way along the elephant’s broad back.

“What? Are you here, too!” they asked each other. Then they sat down on the elephant’s back, everyone agreeing that a complete and truly accurate description of an elephant was beyond their comprehension and greater than their imaginations.

As we all sit on the elephant called Justification, we struggle to understand the divine extravagance of it, all the while knowing that we, like the four blind men, may not have a complete picture of it. This brings me to a paraphrase of my favorite quote from Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan. (My apology if this offends you, Mr. Pollan.)

When we mistake what we can know for all there is to know, a healthy appreciation of one’s ignorance in the face of a mystery like justification gives way to an arrogance in which we think we can treat God’s magnificent gift of justification as our own private property.

When our public discourse lacks humility, when we make more of our “correctness” than the other person’s “correctness”, that arrogance becomes a different elephant entirely. It becomes the elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about and everyone wishes would leave.

A Grand Opportunity

2009-06-15T08:27:00.004-05:00

Several years ago my Mother and I went to Washington D.C. on vacation. While we were there, a dear friend entertained us by taking us to see a performance of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, a renowned bagpipes and drum corps who performs worldwide.

When we arrived at the domed stadium, I was amazed at the number of people who attended the performance. The stadium was over half filled with several thousand people of all ages. It was obviously a family affair, for many children and senior adults were among the audience. Making up an astonishing proportion of the audience were United States service members in their uniforms, Army green, Air Force and Marine blues, and Navy white.

I remember how thrilling it was to see the Guards perform precision marching while playing wonderful music. However, the intervening years have faded my memories of the almost two hour performance. I do have, in spite of the passage of time, vivid memories of one section of it, however.

Near the middle of the Guards’ performance, they played a series of songs honoring United States military organizations. When the stirring strains of “The Army Goes Rolling Along” began to play, all across the audience, soldiers began to stand at attention. From young recruits to retirees, enlisted and officers, men and women, in uniform and out, a host of people stood at attention to honor the organization and to show their pride in being part of the United States Army. When the song ended, a mighty cheer went up as the soldiers sat down.

Next, the Guards played the sweeping notes of “The Wild Blue Yonder” and again, all across the audience, members of the United States Air Force began to stand at attention. From young recruits to retirees, enlisted and officers, men and women, in uniform and out, a swarm of people stood at attention to honor the organization and to show their pride in being part of the United States Air Force. When the song ended, a mighty cheer went up as they sat down.

By now, I was anticipating what the next song would be, and I was not disappointed. The Guards began to play the surging music of “Anchors Aweigh” and all across the audience, Navy personnel began to stand at attention. From young recruits to retirees, enlisted and officers, men and women, in uniform and out, a sea of people stood at attention to honor the organization and to show their pride in being part of the United States Navy. When the song ended, a mighty cheer went up as the members of the Navy sat down.

As I now expected, the Guards began playing the forceful phrases of “The Marines’ Hymn” and all across the audience, Marines began to stand at attention. From young recruits to retirees, enlisted and officers, men and women, in uniform and out, a throng of people stood at attention to honor the organization and to show their pride in being part of the United States Marine Corps. When the song ended, a mighty cheer went up as they sat down.

I was surprised by what came next. The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards began playing another hymn. As the last song of that set, they started playing the familiar music of “Amazing Grace” and all across the audience, people began to stand at attention to honor the Lord. Both young and old, military and civilian, men and women, a throng of people stood at attention to show… STOP! Halt! Back up.

That is what I wished had happened. What really happened was this:

I was surprised by what came next. The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards began playing another hymn. As the last song of that set, they started playing the familiar music of “Amazing Grace.” At first, no one stood to honor the Lord and to say that they had need of His amazing grace. Finally, three people stood, with their hands over their hearts, not in pride but in humility, showing that they had needed and found God’s grace. When the hymn ended, they quietly sat down and the set ended.

I remember the experience so vividly because I was sad that most of us who identified ourselves as Christians had let a grand opportunity slip past to acknowledge God’s grace. What grand opportunities to proclaim your allegiance to God have you taken or have you missed?

Passionate for the Glory of God

2009-06-05T14:06:00.005-05:00

I have a wonderful sister. We love many of the same things. We both love God and obey Him to the best of our abilities. We both love our families. We both love to worship and to serve in our local churches. We both love to laugh and sing and cook.

While we love many of the same things, our passions are different. My sister is passionate about spending time with her grandchildren. She and my brother-in-law have 5 children and 12 grandchildren. All of their children live in different cities that are within a few hours drive of my sister's home. They travel to watch ball games, drill team performances, plays, concerts, award ceremonies, baptisms, and graduations.

They host the grandchildren in their home over the summer, rotating through the whole clan to spend special time with each child. They plan special holiday celebrations, cook their favorite meals, and remember birthdays with meaningful gifts.

My sister passionately shares her love, her time, her energy and her money with her family. She and my brother-in-law made a conscious decision to give as much of themselves as they could to their grandchildren while they are still children.

My passion does not center around my family, though I love them dearly and rejoice in the time I am able to share with them. My passion is learning the truth in the Bible and writing about what I learn from its pages. I read the Bible, memorize chapters, meditate on passages, talk to God about things I do not understand, think about it - absorb it in every way I can. I spend hours some days digging deeply into one or two verses and sometimes just one or two words. I bought an extensive biblical library, so I compare commentaries, study the meaning of the words in the original languages, look at different Bible translations, pull out maps of biblical lands and read the books of great men and women of God.

At some point the topic that I am studying becomes overwhelming in its beauty and its power. I am compelled by my joy and amazement to share what I have learned with others. For me, that means sitting down at my computer and writing. Because I want what I write to be the best representation of God's truth that I can show, I pray over it, rewrite it, pray some more, edit it, share it with my Bible study partner, edit it again, and finally, when I am satisfied that I can do nothing else, I send it out.

As different as our passions are in activity and focus, both my sister and I have an underlying foundation that is the same; we both want our passions to glorify God. By living their lives of faith and trust in God, modeling that to their grandchildren around them, my sister and brother-in-law nourish them on God's love. They reinforce what the children are learning in their own homes, paving the way for them to find forgiveness and new life in Christ at the proper time.

While my passion seems more straightforward about glorifying God, it is not. If my Bible study was for me to have all knowledge, to make a great name in church circles, to be known as a great teacher, all my knowledge and writing would be strident bells and clanging cymbols to God. Instead, my objective is to make God and His ways known, to clear the path before His children, to honor His Name.

God has made each of us unique. He has created us to be passionate about something. Are you passionate about anything? If you are, does the way you express your passion glorify God? I look forward to reading your comments.