I Wonder as I Wander

Today's passage:  Genesis 37
     Somehow, I have never paid attention, or never noticed this small detail in the story of Joseph.  I've read the passage many times, I've taught the Sunday School lesson, I've even seen Joseph:  King of Dreams.  But there are a few verses here to which I have never paid particular attention.  That gets my attention, because though it may seem like a small detail, if God put it there, it must have some significance.
     Jacob's other sons are in the field in Shechem, tending sheep.  He sends Joseph to go to them, to see how they are doing.  Or does he have another motive?  I ask this question, because I'm wondering if Jacob is a little suspicious of their behavior.  He tells Joseph to come back to him and let him know what they are doing.  I'm intrigued by this because of what I learn a few verses later.
     Joseph goes to Shechem which is a good jaunt from their home in Hebron, about 55 miles.  The fields there must be good for grazing.  But Joseph's brothers aren't in Shechem.  In fact, Joseph is wandering around Shechem, probably checking every field for some sign of them, when some gentleman (these are the verses I'd never really given much attention to) comes to him and asks what he needs.  If it weren't for this gentleman, Joseph would never have learned that his brothers were actually in Dothan, another 20 miles north of Shechem.  Who knows how long Joseph would have wandered about searching for his brothers?  Now what is significant about this?  Well, I read a little about Dothan.  I mean, if the brothers went there without sending word to Dad, that seems a little suspicious.  What I learned was that Dothan was not agricultural, it was a commercial town.  So what are the brothers doing up in Dothan with sheep if there is little, if any, pastureland?  That I don't have an answer for, but it wouldn't surprise me if Jacob's sons were involved in some wheeling and dealing, acquiring fortunes in the northland.  I can't be certain of this, but it does seem a bit peculiar.  So when Joseph arrives on the scene, they know they are in big trouble.  Perhaps they have had business in Dothan for a while now, maybe they have set up some sweet deals with the merchants that come through, and the last thing they need is for kid brother to tattle to Dad about their business ventures, when they should have been taking care of the sheep.  This would only fuel their desire to be rid of Joseph, so they could conduct business as usual.

Joseph, search for his brothers, is told they had gone to Dothan
Taken from Standard Bible Story Readers, Book Two
Illustrated by O.A. Stemler and Bess Bruce Cleaveland
The Standard Publishing Company, 1925

     And has Jacob been suspicious of where the brothers have been?  Did they get home later than usual?  Were the flocks looking skinnier than before?  Did it seem the boys had a little extra income, or did a few sheep mysteriously go missing every time they returned from Shechem, maybe part of a deal?  I don't know, but I do know that though Jacob may be old, he knows a little about scheming, and although he may not be completely wise to their plans, something tells me he knows everything is not on the up and up.  Loyal Joseph would of course report back to Dad, but this time, his brothers will prevent him.  And by securing Joseph's silence, they can continue their Dothan excursions.  Since Dothan was along a prominent trade route, it also was convenient for them to be able to sell Joseph, even if not the original plan.  Though jealousy and hate were the primary factors that led to Joseph's enslavement, the inducement of money may have been a motivation as well, because the Bible tells us that "the love of money is the root of all evil." (I Timothy 6:10)  Twenty silver pieces may have seemed like a small price to pay to rid themselves of a brother who would blow their cover.
     It's all pure speculation, I know, but I don't know why God would have included the verses about Joseph's aimless wandering in Shechem, and a man there, who happened to overhear the brothers' plans redirecting him, if there had not been something amiss.  Every verse in the Bible has a purpose, and maybe I miss it the first, second, or third time (sometimes the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth time as well), but when I keep reading and searching, I'm bound to find something new.  Thank you, Lord, for such a marvelous Book.

Helping Hands

Today's passage:  I Corinthians 3:9
     "For we are labourers together with God..."
     Yesterday, as I was sweeping my kitchen, Youngest (now three) decided he wanted to help.  He grabbed his kid-sized broom and eagerly whisked the crumb piles I had already accumulated.  Needless to say (but I will say it anyway) he mostly succeeded to make a bigger mess than was already there.  Then he grabbed the dustpan and hand-held broom to sweep up the now scattered crumbs.  This was an amusing sight as he circled over and over, backing up the dustpan while sweeping, always missing some particles which made it necessary to back up the dustpan again.  Let's just say his hand-eye coordination could have been a little better.  He sure got one area of the kitchen floor clean, but not much else.
     I could have done this chore faster without his help.  I could have gotten the floor cleaner without it also.  But he would have missed out on some training, and I would have missed out on watching him learn something.  I guided him and praised him throughout, but I knew without a doubt that it might have been easier had I done it all

The Sunday Wood
From "Out to Old Aunt Mary's" by James Whitcomb Riley
USA, 1904
Courtesy of www.fromoldbooks.org

     If God ever feels that way about me, I would never know it.  He praises me for a job well done, even though He could do it better, faster, grander.  He chooses to let me help.  Why?  Because it gives me much needed training, and it gives Him the pleasure of watching His child accomplish something for His glory.  He gives me guidance and praise, but He could have easily done the job without me.  As I gain more experience, I gain a little more confidence, and I get a little better at the job He's given me to do.  As my littlest practices these chores, with age and knowledge, he will get a little better at them. He may not even need my guidance anymore.  I can't say that about the work God gives me.  I will always need His guidance and reassurance that I am doing what He wants me to do.  He will always let me depend on Him for the things He wants me to accomplish for His glory, and He will never say to me, "Just give me that, I'll get it done faster."  I will never hear him say, "Can't you do anything right?"  Because He knows I can't.  And if I do get it right, it can only be with His help.
     Thank you, Lord for allowing me to participate in work that you can accomplish without me.  Thank you for giving me the chance to learn through my mistakes (all mine) and successes (all Yours).  I can be sure that  You are glorified because You never had to let me help in the first place.  May I always look to You for guidance and help.

Creature Feature

Today's passage:  Genesis 1:20-26
     I think that some of the people who work for Disney Pixar are among the most clever people on the planet.  As a writer, I am always fascinated at the way they build a climax, how they create and then resolve a conflict.  Just when we think the character is about to achieve his goal, something causes it to be put just out of reach for him to grasp it, creating that tension that makes for a great story. They also create interesting and memorable characters, even in the ones that are just on the sidelines.
     One of my favorite moments in one of their films (let's see who can guess which one) is when several gulls are sitting in a very famous harbor watching as fish spring upwards from the ocean while echoing "Mine, mine" in a gullish squawk.  Their beady eyes are shining, elbowing each other out to catch their own dinner.
     It is the fifth day of Creation, and had I been a spectator, feet planted on the newly made earth, I would have seen the ocean brimming with life.  Schools swimming, whales leaping, sea horses dancing.  What a sight that would have been!  I would have seen flamingos posing, eagles swooping, swans gliding across ponds, rippling the surface without disturbing the minnows one bit.  The perch and herring wouldn't be bothered at all by the blue heron flying parallel to their pond home, because he would only be admiring his reflection.  He certainly would not be looking for a bite to eat.  The oceans teeming with angelfish and puffers would not know they couldn't wander from their reef homes.  They would not see the danger in the pelican hovering so close, even with his trunk bill open wide.  He would only be yawning, not ready to swallow them up.  Extinct passenger pigeons would have flocked to the trees (since building ledges would not have existed yet), pods of endangered snail-moving right whales would spout peacefully, never aware of a threatened future.

God created the animals
Taken from Standard Bible Story Reader, Book Three
By Lillie A. Faris
Illustrated by O.A. Stemler and Bess Bruce Cleaveland
The Standard Publishing Company, 1926

     On day six, the grizzly bear would lumber near the stream, only to get a drink, never noticing the streaky pink salmon attempting a herkie, in perfect position for a day's catch.  The barn owl whose dominating shadow would normally send field mice scurrying would only be interested in the wind ruffling his downy feathers.  Gazelles would burst into speed races with cheetahs, not to run for their lives, just for the exercise.
     What a different life it would have been for all of God's creatures.  Whistles, hoots, roars; flashes of color, thunderous hooves surrounding me.  Shy deer eating out of my hand, not really that shy at all.  A crocodile brushing against me (yikes!) wondering if I might drop a morsel for him.  Rainbow macaws perching on my shoulder as if I were Blackbeard. To reference another Disney film, (want to guess again?) it was a "world-class menagerie".  Lincoln Park Zoo (or any zoo, wildlife preserve, animal exhibit) could never replicate those first few days on earth.  Sure, they can gather numerous species of animals together but they could never allow them to wander freely, uncaged, without complications or boundaries.  It is an awesome thing to think how all those instincts cooperated rather than clashed.  And even more exciting is the thought that the earth will one day be like that again.  So maybe I missed it the first time, and can only let my imagination wander for a while, but one day soon, I will see it as it must have been.

Isaiah 11:6-8

6  The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.

7  And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together:  and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

8  And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.

9  They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain:  for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. 

Indeed, what a day that will be.  My imagination will have to suffice for now, but I know I can't paint a word picture big enough to capture the majesty of that sight.  "Amen.  Even so, come, Lord Jesus. (Revelation 22:20b)

   

Underfoot

Today's passage:  Romans 16:18-27
     "And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.  The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen."
     I recognized the first part of the verse from Genesis 3.  God tells the serpent that he "will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."  Of course, God was referring to the Son He would send into the world someday.  Paul is writing this after Jesus has already been crucified and risen, so Genesis 3 has actually been fulfilled, but the Roman church will have the opportunity to bruise Satan in a different way.  I'm sure this is partly referring (and maybe wholly referring) to the verses I mentioned yesterday (See:  Marked).  A church who marks and avoids heretics will be successful, they will be victorious against Satan.  But part of me wondered about something else.
     I decided to do a little checking.  It is widely agreed that the book of Romans was written about 55-56 AD probably from Corinth.  He makes it clear in this epistle that he plans to visit the Roman church at some point in the future.  He does eventually make this trip, and as far as anyone can tell, he was martyred there around 60-61 AD.  A year or two after the book of Romans is written, one of the most antagonistic emperors of the Roman empire assumes the throne.  It is Emperor Nero.  Paul, and many of the apostles (including Peter) were believed to be killed under his rule.  I would imagine the Roman Coliseum would serve as Nero's arena but I also learned this was about 15 years too early.  Though that arena was not the location of Nero's persecution, his gardens were often lit with Christian believers as torches.
     With this information, I wonder if God directed Paul to write these words with an even wider scope in mind.  Would Satan's head be bruised by the suffering of the saints?  Would the persecution of God's church further crush Satan?  We know that because of the death of believers, the Gospel was spread even farther. And really, what could bruise Satan more than another soul lost to him?   Paul often mentions the peace and grace of God in the beginnings and ending of his epistles, but it seems particularly important in this passage, because when they were being persecuted they would need both grace and peace.  I'm not saying that is why God directed these words, but God could see the future and Paul could not.  Perhaps He meant more in the statement than even Paul could know.
     When Paul writes "shortly", it could mean anytime in the near future.  I just wonder if that near future might be in the following years when many would be put to death in His Name.  Given that possibility, we should not be filled with dread at the prospect of dying for our Lord.  If this is indeed a way that God allows believers to bruise Satan's head underfoot, then I should be like the brave soldiers who defend us and volunteer for that position.  I can't say I've gained that kind of courage yet, but if there ever is a day, I might think about the privilege I get to grind Satan's head into the pavement.  That seems like a job any Christian would be happy to take.

Marked

Today's passage:  Romans 16:1-18
     There was a movement in education several years back (seems like there is always some kind of movement) regarding grading student work.  Studies showed that negative red marks on student work lowered their self esteem. I'm not sure what the solution to this "dilemma" was, because I had pretty well tuned out after that, but I would not be surprised if the recommendation had been never to point out wrong answers on schoolwork.  I guess that explaining to the kindergartner that two plus two is indeed four and not five would shatter his self image too much, and well, we wouldn't want that.
     I just thought to myself, wouldn't it be more harmful to his self esteem if they were allowed to believe that their wrong answers were alright even into adulthood?  Isn't someone along the way going to make him feel ignorant for his well, ignorance and maybe in a much less kind way than a red mark on a paper?  I can understand that a student might be discouraged at seeing a failing test with red x's all over it, but am I doing that child a favor by not pointing it out so he can learn from his mistake and get it right in the future?  And what about his classmates?  When they see each other's work (which they always do somehow), aren't they going to point out to me or to him that he got two plus two equals five wrong too?
     This brings me to the passage today.  In verses 17-18, Paul writes:

17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.

18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple." 

Demetrius the Silversmith Stirs up a Riot
Taken from Treasures of the Bible
By Henry Davenport Northrop, D.D.
International Publishing Company, 1894

     When I saw that word "mark", I immediately thought of taking a big red marker and drawing an "x" across something. Must be the teacher in me.  This is a hard truth.  And what is harder is that Paul points out the exact method a person uses to do this.  A person who is trying to divide a congregation doesn't go about it like a cyclone, although he has that exact effect.  How?  "By good words and fair speeches".  That would probably mean this is somebody who is very well liked.  I have seen this happen in churches before.  The pastor usually has to call out these particular people because it is what the Bible commands. Half the congregation feels this is extreme, because after all,  Mr. Division was such a helpful person.  He would see a need and be the first person there to assist (all the while planting heresy in the listener's ear).  Or Ms. Offence was always so efficient (especially at explaining why the pastor was wrong about the resurrection).

      The pastor has to expose this kind of behavior.  Why?  The end of verse 18 explains why, so that these deceivers can not lead hearts away.  The Bible calls them "simple", which I think would mean naive or trusting.  And who would be the most trusting in our congregations?  New converts and children.  I don't care how kind or helpful or efficient somebody is, if they are filling my children's ears with wrong doctrine, I don't want them teaching my children.  I don't want them around my children at all.  I would be justified in that because Paul doesn't only say "mark them", but he also says, "avoid them".  When a Mr. Division or Ms. Offence is asked to leave, he and she will more than likely take some followers with them, which is exactly why they have to be asked to leave in the first place.  If that kind of behavior is allowed to continue in a church, the whole congregation could be destroyed. I have never seen a  pastor enjoy exposing this kind of thing, but he is commanded to do it.  People may leave, but losing a few (although it would be preferable not to lose any) has to be risked than losing the whole church to heresy.  Church members who only saw the smiling, jovial, everybody's friend, Mr. Division or Ms. Offence may have been too wise for these people to expose their true selves.  Or true motives.  And this is the hardest part because it would be easier to believe that they are just deceived as well and they just need to grow more in the Lord.  And that may be true, but when they are trying to win others over to their point of view, especially in an already established church with a clear doctrinal statement, Paul says they are only doing it for one reason.  They are trying to serve their own belly.  Serve their own belly?  I've heard of filling a person's belly?  But I would guess it means about the same.  Serving one's belly would mean to have a full one.  And how would he be full?  When he has enough money to fill it.  So I'm guessing these deceivers have only one thing in mind.  Money.  I would like to assign purer motives to people most of the time, as I've said before, I like to think the best about people, but Paul is clear that these people are not trustworthy, and their motives are impure.
     If a pastor were to avoid pointing out these people because he was afraid of crushing someone's self esteem, he would be just as guilty as the teacher who fails to grade a paper properly.  Someone along the way is going to catch on, and the damage then might be far worse.

Missionary Grocery List

Today's passage:  Romans 15:8-32
     "Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me;
      That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints;
     That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed."
     I pray for our missionaries.  Our Wednesday night prayer sheet lists all of the missionaries we support in 6 of the 7 continents.  Usually, I pray for the family in that country and put a little mark by the name.  I try to cycle through all the missionaries before starting over again.  Here is what I am guilty of (sentence ending with a preposition on purpose).  "Lord, bless so-and-so in such-and-such country." Mark by the name, move on to someone else tomorrow, like I would cross off an item I bought at the store.  Now, God will certainly honor and bless the fact that I prayed for so-and-so in such-and-such country and I'm sure that the missionary is appreciative of any mention, because on the foreign field, it may many times feel like they have been forgotten.  But I'm not sure God is entirely pleased with such a prayer.  Paul asks the Roman church to strive together for him in prayer.  Strive?  That sounds like it is going to take some work.  That sounds like maybe the church needs to know what is going on in Paul's life and they might even need to spend more than a minute in prayer for him.  It also sounds like, maybe some of them ought to get together to pray for him.  Ouch.  My toes are hurting right now.

Reading Paul's Letter
Taken from Treasures of the Bible
By Henry Davenport Northrop, D.D.
International Publishing Company, 1894

     The Lord has convicted me on more than one occasion about how I should pray for our missionaries.  I do pray for them, I just can't say I strive at it as I ought.  There are particular families I probably strive for more often than others, like our friends the Luluquisins in the Philippines.  They are particularly dear to my heart, so I can say I strive in prayer for them.  But I don't think I try hard enough for some of our other missionaries.  In the past, I have tried to get back to the bulletin board in the church foyer to read the missionary letters, but not as often as I should.  And even then, it would be hard to remember all the names of those needing salvation in those churches, all the countries that are antagonistic towards the Gospel and the churches bearing the brunt of that persecution, all the family members who are struggling with some kind of health issue.  I started a notebook once, to try and write these things down, but I never kept it up.
     How disappointing for the missionary to return home to have to introduce himself to each church member as the missionary in such-and-such country.  Of course, there are always new people in a church who will not know the missionary (although if they have been praying I would hope they would at least know the name and which country).  At the end of this set of verses, Paul asks the church to pray that he will be refreshed when he joins them.  I know I never pray that for our missionaries.  Furlough is exhausting.  When the missionary comes from the field, they are required (as Scripture says) to give a report to their supporting churches.  In some cases, they have to raise new support.  The economy has been so unstable, I'm sure that many missionaries have had to add to their already full furlough schedule to beseech new churches for support.  Where is the time of refreshing?  Not only do I need to let my missionaries know (especially when they walk through the church door) that I know who they are and am praying for them, but try to be an encouragement to them.  So many times the missionary is an encouragement to me.  Their spirit and perseverance in the Lord's work is inspiring.  Yet, I am instructed to pray that I can refresh them, and I am convicted that I have not done that.
     I need to be conscious of the needs of our missionaries.  I need to make it a priority to read the letters.  They take time to write them and let us know what is going on, but too many members (me) do not make the effort to read them.  Too many times, the missionary is surprised when a church member actually knows who they are.  That shouldn't be.  They shouldn't be amazed when a church member asks about certain situations that they read in their last mission letter.  And it shouldn't be assumed that the only ones to know these things are the missionary treasurer and the pastors.  I should know these things.  Every church member should know these things.  I realize there is no possible way I can remember every detail of sixty plus missionaries.  But by the time they come to visit again, I sure should know a lot more than I did the last time they came.  It is to my shame and their disappointment if I don't.  Grocery lists are written to be used and thrown away, but  that is not how I want to treat our missionaries and I am going to strive more when I pray for them.

Statutes of Liberty

Today's passage:  Romans 15:1-6
     "For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me."
     Paul starts this chapter, reminding mature Christians to be careful with their Christian liberty.  The whole chapter before this dealt mostly with this subject, about not being a stumbling block, about abstaining from certain things (in this case meat offered to idols) if it would be a problem for a fellow Christian, particularly a Christian younger in the Lord.  Now, it would be easy to grumble and complain about this. I know many Christians grumble and complain about it, myself included, and I have a pretty sure guess that the Christians in the early church grumbled and complained as well.  If they hadn't, there would have been little need to address it.   Then Paul drops the anvil.  It is pretty hard to complain about giving up certain liberties until I realize that Christ gave everything up for me.

Picture is courtesy of http://breadsite.org

      If Jesus could have done it another way, I'm guessing He probably would have brought His riches from Heaven with Him. He would have been excellent help in Joseph's carpenter shop when He could speak a piece of furniture into existence rather than using the hammer, nails and wood.  Using his supernatural powers, He could have silenced the Pharisees by making them dumb.  He could transport from town to town to preach rather than walking those great distances and he would never have to borrow another man's home for a night's sleep.  If Jesus could have done it another way, He would probably never have come to earth at all.  He gave up His comforts, His powers, His life.  Anything I might have to give up seems awfully petty by comparison, doesn't it?  Now, I don't know why God chose to have Jesus come the way He did, but something tells me, that He had to live like us, to be an example for us.  None of us will have all the power of the universe, but I might have to change my way of doing things to reach someone else or help them grow.  I never had to give up golden streets or ivory palaces, but I might have to hold my tongue if someone says something unpleasant to me.  I never had to give up my life (prayerfully, never will) but I might have to steer away from certain topics of conversation if it might be offensive to a younger Christian.  Do I have the freedom to watch, go, listen to, say, whatever I want?  Of course I do.  Are there people who will take advantage of the Christian liberty issue, claiming they are offended by this thing or that thing?  Yes.  We will encounter that too, and then we have to decide if it is a matter of causing a Christian to genuinely stumble or whether they just have a critical spirit (which even if that is the case, doesn't necessarily mean I still shouldn't be accomodating).  Jesus could have barred the Pharisees from ever coming to listen to Him.  They were always critical, trying to entrap rather than enjoy.   They never came because they wanted to believe (although Nicodemus eventually did).  Jesus was not too concerned about offending them, because they never intended to receive Him.  But He is all-knowing, and He could make that judgement.  I am not.  So when my Christian liberty is in question, I would be better to let the thing go rather than examine all angles of the case to see if it is something I should continue to pursue.  Is my comfort or right to something really worth offending a fellow brother or sister in Christ, or worse yet, causing an  unsaved person to stay unsaved?  Every person has to decide that for herself, but as for me, I don't feel at liberty to risk it.

The Walking Alive

Today's passage:  Romans 14

7  For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.

8  For whether we live, we live unto the Lord, and whether we die, we die unto the Lord:  whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.

9  For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.

     I'm always curious about certain words in passages.  I've read these particular verses numerous times.  I've even used them in lessons to illustrate that we all have an influence on each other.  Our testimony is important.  How we live affects other people.  I understand the statement some sports figures make when they say they are not role models, because children should be looking to their parents, but like it or not guys or gals, ya are. The no man liveth unto himself part is not what I'm curious about.  What about the dying part?  No man dieth to himself.  What exactly does that mean?  And then in verse 9, it says that Christ died to be Lord both to the living and the dead.  And the most interesting word to me is in these verses is "revived".  A dead body did not rise from the tomb, it was a revived one.  As in, came back to life.  As in, was dead, but now alive.
     Zombies seem to be all the rage nowadays, and although I have never seen any of those movies or shows, let me assure you, Christ's resurrection was not a case of The Walking Dead.  Christ's exit from the Garden Tomb was not dead weight wandering around, using a human body as some kind of transport.  He was living and breathing as well, if not better, than before he was crucified Gethsemane, because He pretty well would have had a hard time breathing from the scourgings on through to giving up the Ghost.

Mary Magdalene Sees Jesus Risen
Taken from Treasures of the Bible
By Henry Davenport Northrop, D.D.
International Publishing Company, 1894

     He did this because my soul also will be revived after this earthly body sees death.  And my body and soul belong to God.  He claimed me.  He is not just Lord over my earthly body.  He is Lord over my other-earthly body as well, which will one day be turned into a heavenly body.  I don't have any idea what form it will be, but it is exciting to know that whatever it will be like, it will belong to the Lord.  It will be a revived body.  It will not be a mindless, apathetic, floating around the clouds existence.  It will be living.  Wow!  That is exciting, powerful stuff! He already breathed new life into this earthly, sinful body of mine, and I can look forward to a God-breathed heavenly body as well.
     It is not a new realization that Christ was really alive when He was resurrected, but it sure is wonderful to be reminded that what He does for me, He will do to me someday.
  "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain."  Philippians 1:21

   

A Mary Heart

Today's passage:  Luke 2:16-17
     We were given an advent calendar a couple of years ago.  In years past, I have filled it with sweets and treats.  This year I decided to do something a little different.  Behind each door I put in a slip of paper that  I've typed up a verse of the Christmas story.  And then I have included a task or a treat that would connect to that part of the story.  For example, for the verses about Mary and Joseph having to go to Bethlehem to be taxed, I gave them each a dollar explaining that whatever they bought with it, they would need to consider the tax that would be included. If they chose to use it on a vending machine, they would have to pay Mommy and Daddy the tax amount on the item.  When I typed up the verse about the shepherds telling everyone they knew, I put a gospel tract inside the doors and asked them to hand it to somebody that needed to hear about Jesus this week.  Of course there has been a little bit of grumbling that there has not been a treat behind each door, but I have explained to them that Christmas is about Christ.  All this other stuff is fun and exciting, but Christ's birth is the reason for the celebration.

Mary Kept These Things in Her Heart--Taken from Standard Bible Story Readers, Book One
By Lillie A. Faris, Illustrated by O. A. Stemler and Bess Bruce Cleaveland
The Standard Publishing Company, 1925

     As I have been reading and typing up the passage in Luke 2, something occurred to me.  After the shepherds went and told everyone they could find about the Christ child, it stands to reason that at least a few of those people might want to check out their story.  Either they didn't believe when they were told this news and continued on with their business, or they said, "I've got to go see what these guys are talking about."  This could mean only one thing.  Mary and Joseph would not have gotten any sleep that night.  They had journeyed all that day, Mary had just given birth, and from that moment on they had visitors all the night.  They didn't need a room in the inn, because they weren't going to enjoy a cozy bed anyhow.  Now, if I were Mary I would have grumbled and complained about this.  At some point in the night I would have pleaded with Joseph to turn any other visitors away because I was exhausted.  If I had been Mary, I would have been thinking, if we hadn't been stuck in this barn, I could be sleeping right now.  Instead, I have to make small talk with strangers when all I really want to do is sleep.  Maybe Mary had those thoughts, but was too gracious to utter them.  Maybe every visitor that came by, she secretly wished was the last so she could get some rest.  Somehow, I don't think so because she "pondered them in her heart".  Mary understood what it was really all about.  This was not any ordinary baby.  This was not any ordinary birth.  This was the arrival of God Himself. If Mary had any of those selfish thoughts, she was able to fling them aside because it was far more important to allow the world to see who had just made His debut on this earth.
     Physically, she would have been completely depleted.  Of course, it was God coming into the world, maybe she had the easiest labor on record.  If it was, she would be in for a real surprise when she gave birth to her future children.  Just another way for those brothers and sisters to be compared to their perfect big brother.  God knew Mary's heart.  He knew how she would handle the pressure of being ridiculed through the whole pregnancy.  He knew that she would not be thinking about herself when the time came for the baby to be born.  He knew that she had a servant's heart, that she was willing to do what was necessary to see God's plan carried out.  Many faiths give too much credence to Mary.  Some faiths don't give her enough.  This was a remarkable woman.  She really exemplifies selflessness.  The trials of scorn and scoffing when people first learned she was pregnant.  The fear of losing the man she loved, because how was he supposed to understand this?  Traveling on a donkey while probably having contractions, but being willing to finish the journey because God had a particular place in mind when His Son would be born.  She had no idea that particular place would be in a stable.  And now a sleepless night, smiling and chatting with countless people.  Maybe she yawned here and there, it could hardly be helped, but sharing her Child with the world, remembering that this was the One so many had been waiting for their entire lives.  Mary's story started long before an angel's visit.  God was working in this young lady for years before that, and she must have displayed a surrendered heart time and time again for God to select her for this special privilege.  She had no idea the full extent of what she was surrendering to, when she agreed to God's plan.  But she bore it all with such grace and example.  If we could have a smidgen of the fortitude and willingness that was in that young lady's heart, we would get so much more accomplished for the Kingdom.
     It's hard to give ourselves to everything God wants us to do.  It is emotionally and physically exhausting sometimes.  Just yesterday, our pastor reiterated that the ministry is not about us.  Mary really got that.  Was it inconvenient to give birth in a stable?  Absolutely.  Was it a nuisance to have people coming by throughout the night?  I think it must have been.  But the whole reason she said yes to God was for this moment.  And maybe this moment wasn't exactly what she had envisioned, but she knew it was not about her.  It was about this new life she had just brought into the world.  Could God have selected me if I were living during that time?  Highly unlikely.  Mary did not have any supernatural powers that allowed her to have a more willing heart than mine.  She just understood that some of the most important things in life, are the hardest.  And she was willing to put up with some inconvenience to see God's plan through.  If I gripe about not getting a good night's rest, I obviously still don't get it.  And when I see Mary's attitude, I see I still have a lot of work to do on my own.

Unbelievable

Today's passage:  Hebrews 4:12
     I will admit it.  I believed in Santa until I was twelve years old.  Well, let's say for a couple years I started to have doubts, but since I never came out and asked the question, my parents allowed me to continue to defend Mr. Claus.  I was certain that my parents did not have the money to put all those gifts under the tree, especially for five kids.  By sixth grade, I was seriously getting made fun of (sorry, Mom, if you didn't realize all this).  But loyal person that I am, I was insistent that he was real.  Of course, this meant I had to lay down a case for Easter Bunny and my personal tooth fairy, Angelique.  My tooth fairy even wrote me a letter in beautiful handwriting that was not my parents, so I knew she was real.  The day came when I discovered it was Mom and Dad.  My Dad came into the room to switch out a coin for a tooth, and pretending to be asleep, I spotted him.  I continued to pretend to be asleep not wanting to startle him with a "Gotcha!"  Confronted the next morning with my discovery, my Dad insisted that I was asleep because he checked.  It's called pretending, Dad, something I have always done very well, thus my penchant for theater.  Yes, I still debate this point with him even though he has been in Heaven these seven years now.  I'm sure he is refusing to cede this point.  Well,   this was a very difficult idea to let go of.  I had believed in these imaginary figures for about ten years.  That is a long time to believe in something and find out it is not true.  I wasn't thrilled that I looked pretty foolish among the other sixth graders who had long ago given up the notion.  I know my parents weren't trying to be cruel or subject me to undue ridicule, they wanted me to be a kid for as long as possible.  Keeping Santa alive, was one way for them to do that.
     Before we had kids, my husband and I discussed the Santa Claus/Easter Bunny/Rudolph/Tooth Fairy conundrum.  Do we let them believe, or do we tell them the truth.  Now, I am not trying to persuade anyone to do what they have already decided to do.  I am not going to think you are a horrible person if you do the Santa Claus thing.  I believe that is a decision every family has to make on their own.  But my husband and I decided that if we were to allow them to believe in these fictional characters, when they finally discovered that they were not real, how much would they think it was pretend, and how much of it would they think was Mommy and Daddy lying to them.  It is possible that they would understand it is like a joke you tell, and be fine when they discovered the punchline.  But we felt that there was a real distinct possibility that they might look at it as being deceitful and lose trust.  If Mommy and Daddy lied about that, maybe they lied about Jesus, maybe they lied about the Bible.  Again, I'm not trying to convince anyone to do anything differently, I'm just revealing our thought processes on the matter.  My husband and I came to the conclusion that it was a chance we were not willing to take, not when our sons' souls might be at stake in the future.  So we choose not to include Santa in our Christmas festivities.

     Here is the real reason for this post, and I hope you have been able to tune in long enough to hear it.  We have repeatedly explained to our boys that Santa is not real.  My eight year old gets it.  My four year old is less certain.  After all, St. Nick is everywhere.  On the radio, in the stores, in the sales papers.  The other day, as I was finishing up my food prep for Thanksgiving Day, my four year old calls to me, "Mom, come here quick!"  I rush into the living room and see a snippet of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on the TV.  On the float is none other than the jolly old fellow himself bellowing out "Ho, ho, ho!"  My four year old, eyes all innocence, looks up at me and says, "Well, Mom, I guess we were wrong."  Seeing that real, live man dressed in a Santa Claus suit completely changed his mind about the legitimacy of Santa Claus.  Needless to say, I had to explain the man was just pretending to be Santa Claus.  I know he really wants to believe in him.
     Thinking about that, we have God's Word that tells us exactly who Jesus Christ is.  How is it we are more willing to believe what is on a TV set than what is in our own Bible?  Why do we have people who will believe anything they hear on the radio or in the newspaper, but not from God's own Word?  People believe what they want to believe.We have a Book that gives us all the truth we need.  Why do we have to be more convinced that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, than we need to be of aliens or vampires?  God's Word is more real than Santa Claus.  It is more tangible than the Easter Bunny.  It is more faithful than the Tooth Fairy.  Believe in those things if you want, but make sure you believe in the real thing.
     Back to II Samuel on Monday.  Enjoy the rest of your Thanksgiving weekend!

Standing Fast

Today's passage:  I Corinthians 16
     Paul says farewell to the Corinth church in this chapter.  He addresses some individually and the church as a whole.  He gives them a few last words of encouragement and advice.  Some of this encouragement is found in verse 13:  "Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong."
     Standing fast.  In this verse, that probably means, be firm, don't give up, defend what you believe.  Can I make a parenting analogy?  As a parent, when I think of standing fast with my kids, I always have to stay a step ahead of them.  This means I have to think through each stage in their life, and prepare myself for the challenges they present.  I need to have ready answers and planned reactions.  When Paul says to stand fast, I'm sure he means all the definitions I already mentioned, but what if he also means to be quick?  Shouldn't we, as Christians, be a step ahead of Satan and his attacks?  Shouldn't we be watching for what the world will hurl at us, to knock us off balance? 
     How can I stand fast, when standing indicates not moving, but fast indicates movement?  It seems a little contradictory.  Going back to parenting, I have certain values and principles I want my children to learn.  They will test these and question these things in various phases of their lives.  I never relinquish them, I never abandon them, but I rush ahead and plant my feet again, so they understand that when they needed to obey Mommy and Daddy as a toddler, they still need to heed Mom and Dad as a teenager.  So how do I do that with God's Word?  I think the other phrases in the verse help me to see what I need to do.  First, I need to watch.  I know many people are not keen on current events.  Personally, I only watch the news because my husband is a news hound.  It forces me to pay better attention.  I think it is important that we watch worldly trends, not so we can participate, but so we can defend against them.  When we see something, we ought to gauge it by the Bible, and see what His Word has to say about particular activities.  A few years ago, I kept hearing teenagers talking about a particular celebrity who had burst onto the music scene.  I wondered why the sudden hoopla.  I decided to check it out and oh my!  Did I get an eye and earful!  This particular singer was so ungodly in her lyrics and videos, I was just stunned.  That is what is influencing our teenagers!  I was seriously appalled.  Now, I don't recommend turning on MTV on a regular basis.  But I think sometimes to stay a step ahead, we need to be aware of what is out there.  We need to watch and pay attention to the trends, because those are the snares Satan has set for our kids.

Courtesy of http://breadsite.org

     This verse also says to "quit you like men".  Quitting doesn't seem like it belongs in this verse, since he is talking about standing firm and being watchful.  The definition by Webster I particularly like is "To carry through; to do or perform something to the end, so that nothing remains; to discharge or perform completely."  When I think of doing this like men, I think of the military.  Soldiers follow through with an order given by their commander.  It is what they are trained to do.  Sometimes they have to quit a station to move ahead of the enemy and not allow them to advance further.  Sometimes they are engaged in combat.  As a woman, that does not appeal to me.  At all.  I am generally a peacemaker and do not like to engage in conflict.  There are those occasions when my husband hands me the phone when a political party calls for donations.  He chuckles when I won't back down from my conservative views and advise them that if they want my money they better get on the right track.  He lets me answer the door when religious organizations preaching heresy try to give us their literature.  When it comes to defending God's Word, I can be tenacious.  Now, I don't try to engage in debate, I never find that works.  But I am determined to let them know my resolve will not weaken on these issues.  If I am going to stand fast, I need to be studying God's Word, and praying that God will give me the words to say when I am engaged in battle.
     The last phrase in this verse says to "be strong".  Physically, I am not all that strong.  I know women with more muscle and are stronger.  Emotionally, I am often a weakling.  My heart is easily touched and I get all feminine and woman-like, crying at weddings, at sappy songs, at chick flicks, at people in need.  How strong am I spiritually?  I hope in that area, I have the strength to fight the good fight.  I could do a much better job memorizing Scripture.  I know a lot of parts of verses, but don't ask me where to find them.  I'm horrible at references.  Yet, if I want to stay a step ahead of my attacker, if I want to stand fast, I better be able to point out where I can support my position.  Satan will challenge me on this.  Just as he tempted Jesus in the wilderness by presenting Scripture, he will try to twist and distort God's Words so that I am convinced they say what he wants me to believe.  Its also important to know the context of verses.  Anybody can take a verse out of a passage and make it say what they want it to say.  I try so very carefully here, not to do that.  Sometimes I will do that by way of application, but hopefully never by way of interpretation or doctrine.  How many cults have been founded on a verse taken out of a passage that did not mean anything that they were trying to make it say?  Satan is a master at this.  If I want to stand fast, and stay that step ahead of him, I need to know what all of my Bible says.  Reading the whole passage is a really good way to defend against this.
     As a parent, as a soldier, as a Christian, God wants me to stand fast.  He wants me to watch the signs of the times, He wants me to defend His Word, He wants to give me spiritual strength to fight the Wicked One.  He wants me to stay a step ahead of the devil so I can defend against him properly.  God says His Word is quick and powerful.  Using it can make me the same.

Just Around the Corner

Today's passage:  I Corinthians 15:51-58
     My son's favorite game on the Wii is Mario Karts.  I have to admit, I really enjoy it too.  The first couple times I played, I was a very bad driver.  The graphics of the game are so incredible, but because the game is only 2D, it was sometimes hard for my undiscerning eyes to separate the background from the actual course.  I drove off every bridge, crashed into every wall, fell into every body of water.  And then there are those blind curves.  You know, those curves that you can't see what is around the corner and smack into whatever ends up being around the bend.  Yeah, did that numerous times.  It would be easy to get frustrated and give up on the game.  Fortunately, I do have a bit of a competitive side, and it rises up and won't allow me to do that.  So although, I rarely ever finish in first place in these races, I don't always finish in last either.
    "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."  We often quote this verse to emphasize the importance of being faithful to a task.  But it is really important to read the verses beforehand.  There is a reason we can be steadfast, unmoving, and abounding.  It is because Christ will return.  Christ may come within the next few seconds, as I'm typing these words, and I want Him to find me hard at work, going about the Father's business.  He's coming very soon.  That is why every Bible verse I review with my kids, every prayer I offer for a loved one's salvation, every tract I give to the grocery store cashier, is urgent.  It is not in vain.  It may be the last time I get to do those things.  Christ's coming is like the blind curves.  I can't see around the corner, so I don't know when it will be, but everyday is a little closer to the time Jesus will come back for us.  It would be easy to get frustrated and give up.  I mean, really, there is a lot in the Christian life that is discouraging.  There are days, when I wonder, what's the point?  This morning I was feeling a bit like this.  I have felt like giving up this blog, on more than one occasion.  But I am not a quitter.  I'm amazed sometimes to see that someone in a different country has read something here.  I mean, that is astounding.  Now how much was read, I don't know.  How often they read I don't know.  For me, I have always benefitted from reading the Bible and then writing about what I've read.  I just get more from my devotions that way.  In the past, I have written them in a notebook, now in the electronic age, when I learned about blogging, I decided this might be the outlet for me.  I could give it up.  I could go back to spiral-bound pages.  But Christ's coming is just around the corner, and who knows if someone might happen upon these pages and find the Lord?  I'm not saying that has or ever will happen, but shouldn't we use every avenue possible to see people saved?  I think so.  It may be that someone puts a word in a search engine, and somehow this blog shows up.  So maybe someone just takes a peek.  Maybe they will peek at a page explaining how they can know Christ.  Isn't that why God leaves us here?  To be that witness?  I need to stay faithful to the things Christ has given me. Like a Mario Kart driver, I need to follow the course to the best of my capabilities, even though I may drive into a wall, fall off a bridge, submerge my vehicle in the CG lake.  Satan will put many pitfalls in our path.  We must do our best to avoid them, because Christ's coming may be just over the hill, and if I stop my work a little early, I may neglect to point someone to Him.  If today is my last day on this earth, this minute, this hour, what words can I leave behind to direct others to Him?  That is my whole life's purpose, and I want to be faithful to it until the trumpet sounds.

Star Light, Star Bright

Today's passage:  I Corinthians 15:30-50
     Red giants.  Blue dwarfs.  Black holes.  Supernovas.  I learned about these in my ninth grade earth science class.  With the naked eye, they would be hard to detect, but with a telescope, I might be able to make out the different types of stars.  When I was younger, summers at my grandparents meant my uncle and I using a star guidebook to identify the constellations in the sky.  I can still pick out the dippers, Orion and the summer triangle. 

See How Lofty the Stars
Taken from Standard Bible Story Readers, Book One
By Lillie A. Faris
Illustrated by O.A. Stemler and Bess Bruce Cleaveland
The Standard Publishing Company, 1925

     "There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars:  for one star differeth from another star in glory."  It amazes me how God placed each star in the sky.  He arranged them.  How many millions of them are there in the universe?  Scientists would try to tell us, but I know only God knows that answer.  If He took such care to order these celestial bodies, how much more thought did He put into mine?  How much more did He decide to whom I would be born and how my life's path would go?  Has anything in my life been a mistake?  Some of my own making, but none of God's.  Just as God uniquely designed and arranged each star, He has done the same with me.

 I've done art projects taking black paper and either a hole punch or a sewing needle to repeat holes in the paper to replicate the night sky.  The only problem with that is that a hole punch or needle will achieve a uniform look to the stars, and God designed each of them differently.  God gave me a story He has given to nobody else.  He has given me a way to use my talents for Him, in a way nobody else can.  Not that nobody else has my gifts, but He has put me in a situation that make them unique to me, and a viewpoint that is my own.  We can all say this.  When we view our lives as a series of "happy accidents", we neglect to see the special value we have to our Creator.  Maybe I wasn't the first person to be born, and maybe I wasn't the seven billionth (a milestone birth approaching our earth sometime soon) but being the four billionth six hundredth forty third person (like I really know) was just as important to Him.  And He made me to glorify Him.  I pray I can do that.  I pray that my star, whether shooting, sparking or fading will point light towards Him.  I pray that my glory will be His glory.  I pray that even though I can't see when a star has become a black hole, because there are millions of stars up there, and I can't keep track, God knows when I have done something for Him.  To others I may blend in with the crowd, my place unnoticeable, but He put me exactly where I need to be, and He would notice if I am missing. 
     Thank you, Lord, for loving me in a special way.  You love all of us uniquely as only You can, because You created us uniquely.  Thank you for reminding me today, how special I am to You.  I can never understand that, but I know how special my children are to me, and You love me as Your child.  Help me to shine my light for You.

Centered on Praying

Today's passage:  I Corinthians 15:1-11
     For the past two years, our pastor has challenged our church to pray for the countries of the world.  At the front of the church, during missions conference week, flags of every country are displayed.  This year he asked us to close our eyes and pick one.  That flag is a reminder to pray every day for the souls of that nation.  Even our young children have gotten involved, and listening to them pray for the people of other countries is stirring.  My prayer is that this exercise will burden their hearts about missions and maybe they will feel a calling to do a work in one of the countries for which they grew up praying.
     I have prayed for the countries of Bahrain and Qatar.  This year I am praying for the Central African Republic, a country I didn't know.  Sure, I knew what continent it was on, since the name of the country kind of helped me with that.  I looked up some information on it.  It is located almost directly in the center of Africa (thus the appropriate name).  The landlocked country is located between Cameroon to the west, Chad to the north, the Congos to the South and the Sudans to the northeast/southeast.



African continent with Central African Republic highlighted in green.

      What most troubled me was that the average life expectancy is 50 years old.  With over fifty percent of the population between the age bracket of 15-65, that means about half of the population has reached old age.  With only 25% considering themselves Protestant (and that is a mixed kettle) and a 48% literacy rate, that's three quarters of a country who are unfamiliar with the gospel, and half of a country that would not be able to read a Bible if given one. Those statistics are given by the CIA World Factbook.  Operation World listed the top religion for this country as being Christian, with 32% out of 76% considering themselves evangelical.  With Muslim nations surrounding them, if this is true, that is encouraging news.  Still the need for growth, and a lot of that comes from being able to read the Bible, would be considerable.
      They rank 7 among countries for infant mortality rate, with almost 100 infant deaths out of 1000.  AIDS is still a serious problem here.  As in most African countries, sanitation conditions and disease are prevalent.  It is also considered a Tier 3 country for human trafficking, which means that it has not complied with UN standards for eliminating it and may suffer sanctions as a result.
     Paul says at the beginning of this chapter, "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;"  It is my desire that every person in the Central African Republic will receive Christ, and stand on the truth they have been given.  Maybe in Heaven, I will find out there were some souls saved because of my prayers.  Maybe I will meet Christian brothers and sisters from Bahrain and Qatar as well.  Wouldn't it be something if God let me have some small part in a country thousands of miles away?  God will let you do the same.  Pick a country, any country, and make it your goal to pray for it for an entire year.  We pray for our countries at every meal time, and then again during devotion time.  That is four times a day (most days) that prayers are being offered up for a country of the world.  If you decide to participate, would you comment below, and tell me for which country you will be praying?  I'd love to hear how God has burdened your heart. 
    




Hold Your Tongues

Today's passage:  I Corinthians 14

The Apostles Baptized with the Holy Spirit
Taken from the Treasures of the Bible
By Henry Davenport Northrop, D.D.
International Publishing Company, 1894

     Let me get this out up front.  I honestly have no clue how many people read this, and I surely don't know from what denominations readers herald.  But I'm guessing that there may be some who affiliate with a particular denomination who are about to become highly offended by this post.  I don't apologize for this, because I have to write what God shows me from His Word.  Here it is.  I don't see any need for the gift of tongues in our current dispensation.  It looks to me as if this particular spiritual gift was solely a sign for the early church.  As the gospels had not yet been written, how else was God supposed to get out the Good News?  He could have elected to send all of the disciples to language school.  But that might have taken too much time.  It was important to get out the word about Christ's death, burial and resurrection, especially while so many people from different nations of the Roman Empire were in Jerusalem.  So on the day of Pentecost, God chose to do something supernaturally.  He allowed the disciples to speak in a language that was not native to them, that they had not learned.  This was not just to be impressive.  In the audience were people who actually understood them.  Many of these people from these language groups were saved, and were able to return to their countries proclaiming God's salvation plan through His Son Jesus Christ.

     I can't say I know a lot about the modern-day tongues movement.  I have never been to a service or in a church where this takes place.  I've heard stories.  I've met people who claimed they have this gift.  I've never seen or heard it happen.  That being said, what is the point?  Now in inner-city Chicago, you might be able to make a case for it, since it is very possible you could actually have a person who spoke that language in a church service. But a church that does not have the diversity of people we have here, a church in a more rural area would not seem to need access to a plurality of languages.
     Even if I am completely wrong, and tongues are a gift for today, I still don't see how the churches that claim they have this gift use it properly.  Paul is very plain that if this gift is used, an interpreter should be present.  I never hear of that in these churches.  Paul says that those that have this gift, if there is nobody to interpret for them, than they ought to keep it in.  Why?  Verse 23 explains.  "If therefore the whole church be come together into one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not say that ye are mad?"  I don't know how the charismatic groups explain away this chapter, but it seems to me that there must be a lot of misinterpretation going on.  Here is my question also.  Maybe the claim is that they don't know what language they are speaking, but someone in their service might understand.  Okay.  Let's take that scenario for a second.  Perhaps I speak German.  If I heard my language in a service, wouldn't I go to the speaker and tell them I understood everything they said?  If nobody ever comes to a person with the gift of tongues and says, "Hey, I understood that!"  What is the point?  Furthermore, if those with this gift is unable to identify the tongue they are speaking, doesn't that seem a little convenient?  I mean, if you discovered you could speak Swahili, wouldn't your gift be better used in Africa, rather than an American city where the likelihood you will meet someone who speaks that language is slim?  I'm not trying to sound snarky or belittling.  Really, I am not.  I know that those who still believe this gift for today, also believe in the same plan of salvation I do, and are my brothers and sisters in Christ.  I know that we will worship in Heaven together.  And maybe then, we will actually sing and speak in different tongues.

Unfailing Love

Today's passage:  I Corinthians 13:8
     "Charity never faileth..."  I've seen a lot of movies recently about older people losing their spouses.  We have had a few members of our church who have been going through this stage in life.  I remember when my Grandma had reached a point where dementia forced her sons to make a decision about her care.  We knew Grandpa couldn't care for her on his own anymore.  He protested and insisted he could do it.  Convincing him was not easy.  Had we lived closer, we could have helped more, but an hour and a half is even a great distance when someone's health is failing.  If it had only been her mind, Grandpa would probably never allowed it, but she was having other health issues too which required around-the-clock care.  He went to the nursing home every day.  He sat with her, played cards with her, talked to her.  She was not the woman he had married.  This Grandma I visited in the nursing home was not the sharp-eyed pragmatist I had known all my life.  She barely knew me.  Her memory was dull, and my Grandma's memory had never been dull.  In her younger years, she had worked for the Civil Service, and if you know anything about that occupation, not just anybody tests well enough to obtain that line of work.  I don't know how difficult the exam may be today, but when she took it, you had to have some smarts about you and she had them.  Yet, this woman who did not laugh as often as Grandpa's jokes, who didn't seem to know her own grandchildren had her husband at her side every day.  He went early in the morning and stayed until visiting hours were over.  I know it was hard for him to go home to that empty house.  His life was a few miles away.  I think of their love, and I think of God's.  It never fails.
     Grandma didn't live long after she was put in the nursing home.  I don't know what else we could have done, and I'm not saying that being put there ended her life early.  I know that she had been a busy, active person all her life, and hours sitting would have been foreign to her, even if it was sitting with Grandpa.   After her three boys had grown, she kept busy.  She turned their basement into a ceramics shop.  She made beautiful ceramics.  She gardened, canning green beans and jellies.  I've yet to taste anything like her raspberry jelly.  She crocheted.  I still have one of her afghans. 

Snuggle by the Fire

Artist: Mary Stewart Cutting (1858-1932)

Image Appears In: The Wayfarers

Date Image Published: 1908

Courtesy of www.reusableart.com

     I don't remember whether she went into the home in the spring or the summer, but I remember that around Christmas time that same year, we were attending her funeral.  The hardest thing was knowing how alone Grandpa would be.  At least he could be by her side when she was in the nursing home.  At least he could bring her treats, or play dominoes with her.  He could hear her voice, he could hold her hand.  Now, he had to find other ways to occupy his time.  He did that for about two more years, and then he went to Glory to be with his wife.  His passing was sudden.  We didn't know he had any health problems and God took him unexpectedly.  Some couples say they love each other, but other couples show it.  My grandparents loved each other.  My Grandpa told my Grandma that if she married him, he would do the dishes every night.  And he did.  It wasn't just a promise he made to get her to wear his ring, he followed through with his commitment.  I got the feeling he enjoyed doing the dishes, because he always sang while washing.  Maybe in his Navy days he had a lot of KP duty and knew the most efficient way to get the job done.  In any case, after every meal, Grandpa filled the sink with suds and washed all the dishes, even when Grandma had a house full of company.  He let us help of course, on occasion.

     As loving and strong as any human relationship we see on this earth, none of them exceed God's love for us.  None of them last longer than God's love.  His love never fails us.  There is nothing I can do, no way I can act, no thing I can say that will cause God to withdraw His love from me.  If like my Grandma, I became a person completely different than who I am, God would not suddenly stop caring for me. While any of us still have life, He will never take back His plan of salvation.  He will never say, "No, I didn't plan for that person to be saved."  When Jesus died on the cross, it was for all eternity.  The love He showed for me on Calvary is a lasting work.  It was and is enough.  As our Advocate, Jesus never goes to the Father and says, "I didn't die for that one."  His love is everlasting, it will never cease.  What about the Holy Spirit?  How is His love unfailing?  He never gives up on seeing people come to Christ.  It is true that He will eventually stop knocking on an individual's heart's door.  If that individual continues to push Him away, He will eventually stop knocking.  But not because He no longer loves that person.  And when one person rejects Him, it doesn't cause Him to give up on the whole human race.  There are other hearts still inviting Him in. 
     As sweet and endearing it is to see older couples still in love with each other, still wanting to be together, their love is not as powerful as my God's love.  Although, watching these dear older saints is potent, magnify that enduring love by the greatest strength, and then you will have my God's love.  My love may fail Him.  My love may fail my husband and children.  But I can never say that about Him.  I will still be praising Him for His love when I arrive in Heaven.  I wish He could praise me about my love for Him.

Bearing and Believing, Hoping and Enduring

Today's passage:  I Corinthians 13:7
     Charity..."Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."
I remember a preacher in my Bible college chapel preaching on this passage and saying that this verse was a progression.  In us, it probably is.  It would be hard to endure if I didn't hope, believe, or bear first.  But with God, who has perfect charity, it can not be.  He doesn't ever need improvement, His love doesn't have to build.  Here is what I have learned from these four characteristics about the Trinity.
     Beareth all things...God is strong enough to bear all of our problems.  He doesn't whine or complain about the weight. For Him, the lifting is easy.  Jesus bore the weight of the cross, the weight of rejection, the weight of our sin.  Bearing these things not because He was forced, but because of His love for us.  The Holy Spirit bears with being pushed away, with being grieved, with being ignored.  He puts up with a lot.
     Believeth all things...God believes me to be righteous and holy when I am not.  He believes it because of the debt His Son paid to make me righteous and holy.  Jesus believed in my worth and value by dying for me.  The Holy Spirit believes in His ability to transform me.  He believes in the power God has given Him to make me a different person from what I am naturally.
   Hopeth all things...God hopes every sinner will come to repentance.  He hopes all of His Creation will realize He is the Creator and He deserves our worship.  He hopes that if He allows this earth to remain one more day, then one more soul will be saved.  The Lord Jesus hopes people will recognize that His sacrifice is enough.  Nothing more needs to be done, nothing added.  His substitutionary death on the Cross of Calvary paid it all, and He hopes that every person trying to work their way to Heaven will someday realize that.  The Holy Spirit hopes that the tapping on the heart will open wide to Him.  He hopes the call to the mission field will be answered.  He hopes the nudge to talk to the person in the grocery store about Christ will prompt action.

Jesus stands at the door knocking
Taken from Standard Bible Story Readers, Book Six
By Lillie A. Faris
Illustrated by O.A. Stemler and Bess Bruce Cleaveland
The Standard Publishing Company, 1929

     Endureth all things...God endures His name being used in vain.  He endures people who claim He doesn't exist.  He endures us transgressing His laws and explaining why they shouldn't be there.  He endures people tossing His Words in the trash or burning them. He endures His Words being twisted, simplified, changed.  Jesus endured over thirty years in a human body.  He endured limiting His power.  He endured questioning, ridicule, unbelief, semi-belief in the form of being made a mere historical figure and not the Son of God.  He endured betrayal, beatings, crucifixion, burial.  He endured separation from His Father.  The Holy Spirit endures living in a Christian heart that is cold, indifferent, unresponsive.  He endures getting too much glory for the work in our lives, and sometimes, not enough glory for the work in our lives.  He endures having His gifts squandered or exaggerated. 
     When I see these traits of love, and I think of how marriages are entered into so quickly, thrown away so lightly, exited so frequently, it is clear that we don't understand God's love.  If we did, we would put up with a lot more to make marriage work.  If we understood God's love better, we would never walk past a person without asking about their eternal destination.  We would sacrifice and tolerate more if it would make a difference in a person's eternal soul.  If I loved God like He loves me, I would spend more time with Him, listen to Him better, do more for Him.  He has given so much for me.  He has given so much to me. I am amazed that anyone's love for me could be so perfect.  I can never get into an argument with Him about not loving me enough, about not understanding me, about not doing enough for me.  I might think those things about my family and friends at times, but God can never be accused of it.  Can I ever love like He loves?  I can only attempt.  And even though my attempts will fall short, it is better than not trying at all.

Charitable

Today's passage:  I Corinthians 13:1-4
     This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible.  I would venture that it is a favorite of many people.  A majority of the verses are dedicated to telling us what Godly love is supposed to look like.  We often interchange the words charity and love but they are not the same.  One of the best definitions I have seen for the word charity is "Godly love in action".  We have experienced Godly love through our Lord.  It is hard to explain it without showing what it is.  There is so much in these verses that I think I will take only a few at a time.  I want to have a real understanding about how God loves me, and how He wants me to love other people.
     "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up."  This morning as I was having my prayer time, I was really meditating on these verses.  I was praising God for being these verses.  He is the definition of godly love, since He is God.  I was thanking Him for being a longsuffering God.  He is not only waiting for unbelievers to accept His Son, He waits for me to continue to grow and mature into the Christian He wants for me to be.  I'm really thankful He is so patient with me.  I thanked Him for being kind.  Oh, how kind He is.  How can I even begin to explain how good He has been to me.  He shows me kindnesses every day.  He has given me a wonderful family.  He has provided all my needs.  He protects me. 
     I praised Him for being a God without envy.  Jealous, yes, but not envious.  They are two completely different things.  I asked Him to help me to be a person who does not wish for the things of others, who does not wish to be others.  I praised Him for being a God who does not promote Himself.  I was really struck by this, because if there is any One who deserves to be promoted it is Him.  The Bible is full of verses talking about exalting, praising, reverencing, worshipping God, and they all come from people who at the time recognize how great He is and how much He deserves all of it.  God doesn't boom His voice down to us, reminding us that it is praise time again.  He doesn't arrange the clouds to say, "Hey, down there, I'm up here and I want you to worship me."  He could.  He has all the power in the world to do that.  He has all the right in the world to expect it.  His beautiful Creation points to it.  But He doesn't ever ask us.  He isn't "puffed up".  Nor could He ever be, since any recognition He gets He rightly deserves. 
     He does not have to exalt Himself, because when I recognize the characteristics of charity that have just been described, when I think about His longsuffering, His kindnesses, being devoid of envy, it automatically brings me to a place where I will promote Him, I will boast and brag about what a wonderful God He is. 
     I can't articulate appropriately just how much God impressed this on my heart this morning.  I can't because He is beyond my faltering words.  I pray that God will make me a person who is longsuffering (although I will never be as longsuffering as He is), a person who is kind (even though His kindnesses exceed any I even attempt), a person who is devoid of envy, but especially a person who does not seek her own glory.  I pray that if I am able to achieve even a sliver of charity's traits, I will understand that I do not deserve any recognition for those things, because God is the only One who can enable them in me.  If I represent charity in any fashion, then I know it can only be God, because never can I have that kind of love on my own.  He doesn't demand our praise, but when any of us shows His love in our lives, He is the source of it.  When we do something that seems completely contradictory to how a person would react, we are pointing to Him.  We make people wonder how we possibly could respond the way we do, then He is getting that credit He deserves, because it acknowledges a "higher power" to act that way.  When I accept praise for a particular kindness or unexplained patience, then it must not be charity at all, because if I can achieve it on my own, it must not be from God.  True charity has no feigned action.  It has no disguised humility.  It is not doing what ought to be done with an underlying sense of obligation.  If I loved others the way God loves me, I would never do anything out of duty.  I would do it with the love I have for my own children.  And even that, as selfless as it usually is, doesn't quite compare.  Because God loved me enough to give up His only child, and I'm pretty certain I will never be as selfless as that.
    

The Domino Effect

Today's passage:  I Corinthians 12
     "But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body as it hath pleased him."
     Have you ever set up dominoes in a long line, gauging how best to space them so that when the first one is tipped, the rest tip over too?  When I think about God setting the members of the body (not just our physical ones, but the church as a spiritual body), I think about how God puts us all where He desires, so that we can work together to accomplish His purpose.  Everybody probably would want to be that first domino.  After all, it has the closest contact with the tipper, it is the most noticeable.  Everybody would probably want to be the last domino, because it is the indicator of success or failure.  Few want to be the dominoes in between.  But if it weren't for the dominoes in between, the first domino and the last domino would have no significance.
     It is kind of like that in our churches.  God gives some people talents, abilities, spiritual gifts that naturally lend to that person being noticed.  People with creative talents are especially prone to this, and if they are anything like me, constantly wrestle with making sure God gets the glory.  But not everyone can have those creative gifts.  If they did, also like me, they would be scatterbrained, messy, critical, sometimes arrogant.  With all the positive, there is plenty of negative.  And although some people might think gifts of singing and teaching are "it", I can tell you, the pats on the back create a prideful being with which God is displeased.  I would never call them a curse, but the more I'm noticed, the less God is, and that troubles me.  I am forever battling whether to use certain gifts because I want to use what God has given me, but I also want Him to be glorified, not me.  I am not trying to theorize that I am the lead domino, I just want people to understand that the gifts I have, although maybe sometimes more noticeable, aren't always the most glorifying to God.  Instead, I believe the people with the least noticeable gifts, those middle dominoes, are the ones God has the most pleasure in.  Think about the person with the spiritual gift of helps.  This is the man in the church who will fix anything for anybody.  She is the woman who brings meals to the elderly widows or visits with the church member residing in the nursing home.  We don't see their actions, but sometimes have benefitted from them.  How about the person with the gift of administration?  How I wish I had that gift!  I wish I could plan an event and every time it would go smoothly.  What usually happens, is as much as I have thought through something, trying to account for every detail, I miss something.  Every time I miss something, and I am not quick enough on my feet to change plans.  The person with the gift for administration knows how to recover from these snafus and is able to keep the event going without a hitch.  Sometimes we know the names of these people, but often we do not.  And the person in charge will tell you, that they can not have been successful without delegating to many others.
     What if some people do not use their gifts?  It is kind of like when the line of dominoes are falling nicely but suddenly stop because the one domino is sitting just a bit out of reach.  For some reason, it wasn't spaced properly causing the previous domino to miss hitting it, and therefore, the rest of the line of dominoes continues to stand.  God sets us where He wants us.  But if we move, if we shift forward, backward, left or right, even a tiny bit, it can throw off the whole operation.  This does not frazzle God.  He doesn't wring His hands wondering what is going to happen if we don't each play our part.  Sometimes God shifts the line, sometimes he removes a domino completely.  How sad would that be if I were the domino stubbornly refusing to fall down because I wasn't content with where God had placed me in the line.  He puts us where He will get the most glory.  Even though I wish I had certain gifts, I'm not going to withhold the ones I have been given because they aren't necessarily the ones I wanted.  I can't speak for the weaknesses of other people's gifts, because I don't have those, but the person with the gift of helps or administration could tell you what they are.  Usually you will not find those two gifts in the same person because the helps person is very person oriented, and the administrator is very task oriented.  And we need them both!  God knows how best to get a job done, and has given us the gifts that will accomplish that.  If we recognize the spiritual gifts God has put in us, and accept the position we have been placed, when that domino line falls, nobody will look at the lead, and nobody will look at the end, they will look at the One who set up the line.  That is what God has intended all along.