Wildflower Thinking

Loving the Light

2009-12-25T06:11:00.007-05:00

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.” --Isaiah 9:2

Our family attended a beautiful candlelight Christmas service last night. We sang all my favorite Christmas carols and listened to all the Christmas story Scripture passages. We worshiped Jesus and thanked Him for coming as a baby to save us from our sins.

During the candlelight ceremony, though, one candle went out leaving the person holding it sitting in darkness. I thought of Isaiah 9:2. Though the person was sitting in darkness, he wasn't in darkness after all. That's the beautiful thing about light! Once it dawns, it illuminates everything.

Jesus, the Great Light, dawned in Bethlehem many years ago. People have been trying to put that Light out ever since. But they can't! Not ever. Jesus shines!

Lord, please help those still living in the land of the shadow of death to see Your Light and embrace it today. Merry Christmas! Happy birthday! Amen.

Parachute Prayer #45

2009-12-23T19:12:00.006-05:00

I just learned why we eat!

Now don't you be raising an eyebrow at me. I know we eat to stay alive. But God didn't have to make us that way. He just did. But He always has a purpose. I think that I think I'm figuring this one out.

I've been reading Eugene Peterson's book, Living the Resurrection, and what I read today combined with what I was thinking yesterday led to this simple thought:

Eating is a metaphor.

You see, every time we eat, something has to die. Whether it's a carrot or a cow, it gives its life, so we can live. (Milk would be the one exception, but the cow has to eat something that has to die in order to make the milk, so the rule still applies.)

If we attempted to live without food, we would fail. Our bodies would die. For us to live, something must sacrifice its life.

Likewise, if we attempt to live without Christ, our souls die.

He died, so we can live—kinda, sorta, just like our food. But He rose again and lives within us, and we feed on His Word daily that we can live abundantly until His return when we will live eternally.

And we'll no longer need food.

In the meantime, whenever you offer grace at a meal, thank God not only for the food, but also for His Son, our Savior. When you eat, be thankful--and remember, always.

Worship On an Empty Stomach

2009-12-22T15:49:00.005-05:00

For the past few days, I've been thinking about an obscure passage of Scripture from Exodus. I've never really looked at it before. But that's the way it is with God's Word. What slips past you in one reading, will grab your attention and wrestle you to the ground in another. God draws our attention where He wants it in His time.

Here's the passage:

“Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel went up and saw the God of Israel. Under his feet was something like a pavement made of sapphire, clear as the sky itself. But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.” --Exodus 24:9-11

God has just led His people out of Egypt, given them the Ten Commandments and other assorted instructions, and is in the process of confirming His covenant with them, establishing the Israelites as the people of God. Just before He invites Moses to meet with Him up in the clouds on Mount Sinai, He allows Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders to see Him and to share a meal in His Presence. Wow! They saw God—and He let them live to tell about it.

Four chapters later we find them worshiping a golden calf.

I didn't understand this—at first.

Now it's easy to understand how those who haven't seen God in person (so to speak) may struggle to believe He exists and be tempted to worship other things. But these men saw God! They ate with Him! I had to wonder, “After that experience, how could they even think about worshiping a golden calf?”

Then I took a step back realizing that maybe I was being a bit judgmental. What they did was absolutely wrong, no excuses. But I wanted to look more deeply, to try to understand. (If we stop with a quick judgment, we risk falling into their trap. Understanding their actions, however, can help us avoid making their mistakes.) I asked myself what might have prompted them to do this and if anything in our world might tempt us to do the same. I focused in on the thought of that meal.

God provides food. Cows are food.

Is it possible we're tempted to worship that which feeds us—whether physically, socially, spiritually, or emotionally?

God (and Moses) had disappeared on the mountain. The people began to wonder who would care for them if God and His representative didn't come back. Thinking of their stomachs, they worshiped a calf.

Some women worship their husbands, the great breadwinners. Instead of trusting God to provide for all their needs, sometimes through their husbands, they put their husbands in God's place.

Workaholics worship their jobs counting on them for money and esteem.

Some parents worship their children, seeing them as a fail safe to care for them in their old age. Others worship their bank accounts for the same reason.

Spouses, jobs, children, and bank accounts are all good things, but we must see them as part of God's provision and thank Him for them. He is the great Provider; He is the only one.

When God is silent, however, we may be tempted to worship whatever we think might be able to take His place, to meet our needs. Instead we must cling to the firm belief that God is with us, He loves us, He sees, He cares.

I wonder if this is why Jesus left us with the imagery and practice of the Last Supper:

“The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, 'This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.' In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.' For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.” --1 Corinthians 11:23b-26

God established the first covenant, then went away for a time to set things up with Moses. While the people were waiting, they forgot all God had done and promised to do. They lost their faith, yielded to temptation, and turned to a golden calf.

When Jesus established the new covenant, He knew He was going away as well. So He gave us something to do to help us remember what He has done and what He promises to do. When our stomachs start to rumble, rather than panic, we remember and we worship Him.

All my hope is in You, Lord. You are the great Provider--even when you work silently. Thank You for helping me to remember this--all You have done and all You promise to do. You alone are God in my life. I worship only You. Amen.

The Great Revolution

2009-12-20T08:01:00.009-05:00

Our chapel is chock full of babies! (Okay, now I'm going to have to look up the meaning of chock full—what does that mean?*) But, really, there are babies everywhere! We all waited in anticipation as their precious mommas carried them around through the summer and fall, and now they are here! And they are all so very sweet.

Seeing all these babies at Christmastime fills me with wonder at the thought of our great, big God, Creator of the Universe actually becoming one of these lovable, little, helpless things. Really! Our omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God laid His sweet head in a manger. Can we even begin to fathom that?!

I was chatting at one of these little guys last Sunday. He was sitting so calmly in the crook of his daddy's arm, enjoying the commotion around him. The expression on his face said to me, “I know all the secrets of the universe, lady . . . and I'm not telling you!” That child just tickles me so.

As I considered the awesome thought of Jesus the Creator, becoming Jesus the Baby, and as I socialized with this new, little one, I realized that he did indeed give me a clue about the secrets of the universe.

Jesus told us to become like little children (Matthew 18:3)—and He came to earth that we could! Jesus became a baby and allowed Himself to be raised by sinful humanity. When He grew up, He was mistreated and put to death. But He rose again and turned it all around!

Now we, who've grown up as sinful humanity, can be born again (John 3:1-21). We become like little children, resting in our Father's arms. We watch the commotion around us, but we know that all will be well. God is raising us now. Baby Jesus made it possible.

My Christian calendar readings for this week were titled: Our Revolutionary God. Turning frantic adults into trusting children must be the greatest revolution of all! No wonder we celebrate joy.

Thank You, Jesus! Amen.

*This one was complicated. Chock could come from choke or cheek, I guess to mean so full you choke or having full cheeks--like Titan, perhaps! There's also a nautical term, chock-a-block, which means cramming the blocks in together as closely as possible. Chock full would mean as full as it could possibly get. Our chapel has a lot of babies, but I would imagine we're not quite chock full after all.

Book Review: Cottonwood Whispers

2009-12-19T06:28:00.002-05:00

At first I hesitated to accept this complimentary copy of Cottonwood Whispers from Tyndale House Publishers for review. It's a sequel, and I haven't read the first book. But that wasn't a problem. Author Jennifer Erin Valent subtly refers to the previous story from time to time while keeping this story fully self-contained. I appreciated that! I wasn't confused and didn't feel I'd missed anything. I just enjoyed reading a well-written story about a 17-year-old girl who finds herself caught in the middle of a serious community crisis.

The story is set in the South in 1936. Jessilyn Lassiter lives with her parents and adopted sister/best friend Gemma Teague. She also has a crush on the “boy-next-door” who's really a man in his early 20's trying to decide if Jessilyn has grown up enough for him yet or not. When a three-year-old neighbor is hit by a car and dies, an innocent man is charged with the crime. Jessilyn and Gemma struggle to bring truth to light without bringing harm to their family.

Cottonwood Whispers is a coming of age story full of strong characters, deep emotions, and a surprising storyline. Woven carefully throughout is a message of God's faithful presence and sovereignty. If you enjoy reading novels, I recommend this one.

About "Julie & Julia"

2009-12-18T06:09:00.005-05:00

I watched the movie Julie & Julia this week. I don't know why. I think I've already told you about my challenged cooking skills. So why a movie about two cooks would intrigue me is beyond me, but I was curious.

And I really enjoyed it! It was a simple, sweet story—well, two simple, sweet stories—about women who loved to cook and longed to have their books published and enjoyed beautiful marriages with utterly devoted and incredibly supportive husbands.

In short, it was happy!

I did laugh hysterically at the beginning, though, when Julie said that the reason she loves cooking is because she knows that at the end of a challenging day when everything has gone wrong and been totally out of her control, she can come home and know that if she puts such and such together with such and such they will do what she expects them to.

Julie is naive.

I know from personal experience that cooking is not a science like physics or chemistry or mathematics where certain laws apply all the time and 2 + 2 always equals four (unless you were in my son's AP calculus class where his teacher taught that even this is not necessarily so). Heavy sigh.

No. I can testify for sure and for certain that the ingredients will only do what you expect them to do if they like you. Mine just laugh at me and say, “You want us to do what?” Really! Experience tells me it must be so. And if I had a dollar for every time my husband rolled his eyes at me after watching me scratch my head in confusion and hearing me say, “I don't understand this. I followed the recipe exactly!” I could afford to hire Julie to do my cooking for me.

And I'd never ask her to boil a lobster or bone a duck.

One of the many things I love about Jesus is that I know that at the end of a challenging day when everything has gone wrong and been totally out of my control, I can open my Bible and know that He will be there for me. Even if I don't sense His Presence on a given day, I know He's there, and that's a comfort to me.

Choosing Peace

2009-12-13T08:45:00.005-05:00

“But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” –Romans 8:25

The first week of Advent, we focus on hope. The second, we focus on peace. Today is the third week of Advent which focuses on joy, but as was the case last week, I’m just beginning my focus on that. Today I need to tell you what I’ve learned about peace.

When I was editing Sunday school curriculum for kindergartners, depending on what day of the month Christmas fell on in a given year, we usually taught the story of the nativity on this week, leaving time to teach about the shepherds, then the wise men, all in one month. The nativity portion of the story is perfect for the theme of peace because Jesus is the Prince of Peace who came to give His people peace. My readings this week showed me how.

The secret: peace is all about choosing to trust.

1. People have a lot of questions. As Christians, we can frantically run around seeking (or demanding) answers. Or we can trust that God has the answers and He is in control. In His time, we’ll know what we need to know. Until then, we trust. Peace is the result.

2. With God in control, we no longer strive to perfect ourselves. We rest in His Presence; He transforms our lives. As we get to know Him, we trust Him to do the work to make us right. Again, we are at peace.

3. We no longer have to worry about our weaknesses or our lack of resources. God is our strength, and He provides for every need. We choose to believe this, living by faith. If God can cause a virgin and a woman well past her child-bearing years to have children, He can do anything. Knowing this, we can be filled with peace regardless of what challenges we face.

Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.” The longer we walk with Jesus, the more we know this is true. We choose to trust, and then we patiently wait to see what God will do.

For further contemplation: Psalm 131:2, Romans 15:13, Luke 1:37

Parachute Prayer #44

2009-12-12T09:15:00.005-05:00

We started our Christmas baking yesterday. My new holiday favorite is Laura Bush’s Cowboy Cookies. Just dump everything in the bowl, mix it up, drop it on the cookie sheet, and bake. No more rebellious boys reshaping the camels so they’re doing aerobics instead of walking to Bethlehem. No more digging fragile angel wings out of forgotten-to-be-floured cookie cutters. No more flour all over my kitchen. No more being left alone to frost a zillion sugar cookies all by myself as my mutinous elves get bored and slink off to play Wii games.

Teenage boys have better things to do than frost sugar cookies.

Don’t get me wrong. I love baking sugar cookies! I just need a year or two or three to recover from ambitiously trying to bake too many and traumatizing the whole family with the result. I really love baking sugar cookies—but, I suppose, a batch or two is enough.

The boys emphatically agree.

This year, as we bake and cook and prepare food, as many do so often this season, let’s pray. As we add ingredients, let’s think about where they came from, thank God for them, pray for the farmers who grew them, processors who prepared and packaged them, and grocers who sold them to us. Let’s pray for self-control, that we won’t overindulge—too much! Then let’s pray for those who don’t have such luxuries as cookies and pies and Christmas hams and yams and potatoes and cranberry sauce—the jellied kind, of course. As you wipe flour off your table and frosting off the ceiling, pray for those who’ll never experience such fun! Then pray for those who did—with you—even if they did slink off to play Wii games before the job was done.

Father, thank You for our food and for those who prepared it. And please provide abundantly for those who are in need. Amen.

Learning to Obey

2009-12-11T07:20:00.008-05:00

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions.’” –Exodus 16:4

Sometimes children challenge their parents. When given an instruction, they ask, “Why?” If the child is capable of understanding, the parent may patiently explain. But sometimes the answer just has to be, “Because I said so.” Parents train their children to obey whether they understand why or not because that obedience can save their lives. If a child is headed for danger and the parent says, “Stop,” the child must stop to stay safe, not keep going until he understands, “Why.”

It’s the same with soldiers. They are trained to follow orders. This is why boot camp is notoriously difficult--all right, miserable. Physical exhaustion, discipline of action and thought, repetitive training, and emphasis on high standards are meant to train the soldiers to follow orders so their missions will be accomplished and their lives will not be lost.

Just as a parent who has taught a child to stop on command without question has saved that child’s life if the child wanders too near a quickly oncoming car and a commander who trains his soldiers to obey will likely bring more home from battle heat and in victory, God trains His children, soldiers in a spiritual battle, in order to keep them safe.

The rules for gathering manna didn’t make sense to the Israelites, yet God established those rules to test them, to see whether they would follow His instructions. Some did. Some didn’t. Those learned.

Likewise, we may not always understand God’s instructions. But He is God. We respect His authority and do things His way, knowing He’s averting disaster we may not be able to see. When the rules don’t make sense, we must remember who we are and Who God is. We are His beloved children. He is the Creator, Father Who loves us dearly. We serve as soldiers in our Lord’s army. He is the Commander Whose orders we follow for the good of all.

Thank You, Lord, for training us, for testing us, for teaching us to obey. You are the Father we love, the Commander we respect. Help us serve You well, trusting whenever we don’t understand. For You are God; that’s all we need to know. Amen.

One final thought: I wonder how different this world would be if everyone only ever gathered enough.

Celebrating God's Promises

2009-12-06T09:17:00.005-05:00

I know I’m supposed to be moving on to the second week of Advent today, but I’m still pondering the first. Last week I told you that we focus on hope during the first week of Advent, but I’ve come to realize, we also focus on God’s promises. It’s a logical connection: without the promises, there is no hope!

So we think about passages such as Isaiah’s prophecies in the Old Testament about the coming Messiah and John the Baptist’s proclamation that:

“After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie” (Mark 1:7).

Through these prophets and others, God gave His people hope. Through the angel that appeared to Mary and John the Baptist, God let His people know that hope was near.

Next we realize that because Jesus fulfilled all of the promises about His first coming, we can count on Him to fulfill all of the promises about His second coming as well! We look forward to His return and all that comes with it for His children.

But we also pray fervently for loved ones who haven’t yet come to believe. The promises and the hope are for those who’ve put their faith in Christ. Without Him, there is no promise; hope doesn’t exist—except for our hope that they will joyfully turn to Him in time!

The verses I focused on most this week were Psalm 119:49-50:

“Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope. This is my comfort in my distress, that your promise gives me life.”

God remembers His word—His promises to His children—therefore we have hope: comfort now and life in God’s Presence throughout eternity! (Doesn’t that just fill your heart with peace, and then joy?!)

Thank You, Jesus! Amen.

What promises are you celebrating today?

Our Voice-Activated Hamster

2009-12-04T07:26:00.004-05:00

My boys think it’s really funny that Titan will only take Cheerios from my hand. When they offer Cheerios, he raises his little nose in the air and turns his back on them. Or, if they startle him, he runs and hides. Zip! He’s outta there.

They’ve found a way around this, though. If I stand beside them while they offer the Cheerio and if I talk to Titan like I do when I offer him Cheerios, he’ll take Cheerios from the boys, too. The boys think they’ve fooled my hamster.

Actually, Titan knows very well what’s going on. I'm certain of that--shh! Don't tell the boys. But Titan also knows that if I’m standing right there beside those boys, no harm will come to him. He has nothing to fear. The quiet, little mother of those big, noisy boys will faithfully protect him.

Nobody messes with my hamster!

We can count on God in the same way. If something seems dangerous, we run and hide unless we hear God’s voice, sense His Presence, know He’s there, that it’s okay. And when we know He’s in whatever we’re facing, we boldly move forward to accept the adventure. He walks with us through the valley of the shadow of death, so we fear no evil. When he prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies, we eat up and enjoy. (See Psalm 23:4-5.)

Nobody will mess with us while our God is standing by!

Parachute Prayer #43

2009-12-02T07:58:00.005-05:00

Once upon a time, when my husband was deployed to Iraq over Christmas, I remember being reduced to a puddle of tears right in the middle of the baking goods aisle at WalMart by Karen Carpenter’s beloved song, Merry Christmas, Darling, playing throughout the store.

You remember the one. Merry Christmas, Darling. We’re apart, that’s true . . .

Bah. Humbug.

I didn’t fare much better with Elvis’s, Blue Christmas, or the ever-popular, I’ll Be Home for Christmas, playing at the mall.

I remember thinking at the time that it was a bit cruel. I’d like to formally request that all merchants nationwide stick to playing cheerful Christmas music in public places this year. No offense meant to Karen, Elvis, or any other Christmas crooners.

Alas, I don’t have much faith in the power of my little blog to change the playlists of shopping centers across the country. So I’d like to suggest a more positive twist:

When we hear these songs while Christmas shopping, let’s pray for military families who can’t be together for the holidays this year. Who knows? The lady one aisle over may be frantically trying to bury her tears in a bag of brown sugar. Ask God to cheer her heart, keep her husband safe, and happily reunite them soon.

Lord, it’s nice to be together at Christmas, but sometimes it just isn’t possible. Please encourage families who have to be apart. Remind them of their purpose. Assure them their sacrifice is not in vain. And help them to find creative and meaningful ways to celebrate together by heart, if not by locale. Comfort them, Lord, as only You can. Thank You, Jesus! Amen.

Wildflower Nightmare!

2009-12-01T06:41:00.009-05:00

Warning: This post is not for the faint of heart. I know I almost fainted when I first saw what I’m about to show you.

In fact, at first I thought maybe my wildflower hunting days were over—for good. Really! Evidently, evil lurks, and I wasn’t sure the flowers were worth it.

Then I realized that all I have to do is wear my reading glasses when I go flower hunting—every time, from now on. Really!

You see, this past weekend, I was transferring my Thanksgiving pictures from my camera to my computer when I discovered I’d forgotten to transfer the pictures from my last flower hunt—in September—along with pictures from a few other events. Oh, my! How fast time goes by!

But when I began looking at the flower pictures, this is what I found: (Warning—those with heart conditions or bug-a-phobias may not want to look too close!)

Mercy me! I was that close to that bug! And I didn’t even see him! If the computer hadn’t magnified him for me, I’d have never known.

Does he seem to be smiling for the camera? No. I think he’s laughing at me.

I also found this: (It’s not so scary as the first.)

See his cute, little antennae sticking out of that cantaloupe blossom? He’s sneaky, that one.

I may never leave my house again. Or at least I’ll keep my feet on pavement or concrete when I do.

I’m only kidding. I've decided the flowers are worth the risk.

I have two wildflower thoughts on this nightmare experience:

1. Sometimes when God leads us down the wildflower thinking trail, He brings things to mind that we don’t want to think about, would rather not consider too closely. When this happens, we choose to turn away in revulsion or fear or we ask God for the courage to look and learn what He’s trying to teach, to take care of the matter, to do what He’s leading us to do.

2. Many people walk through life noticing God’s work, for example, His creation, physical healing, relationship restoration, etc. Yet they fail to see God in it. There He is right in front of their noses, but all they see is what they expect to see or what they’re specifically looking for.

This is why our lives must magnify the Lord just as my reading glasses and computer magnified those wildflower bugs. We live to reveal Jesus to those who don’t see Him, right here!

Lord, You’re full of surprises. Thanks for using even a bug or two to lead me to contemplate life with and for You.

Happy New Year! Yes! Today!

2009-11-29T14:33:00.004-05:00

Did I jump the gun? No! As I mentioned last week, today is the first Sunday of the Christian year. It’s also the first Sunday of Advent.

(I did research jumping the gun, by the way. When a runner starts a race before the gun goes off, that’s jumping the gun. So—if we do something too early, we say we’re jumping the gun.)

As I understand it, the Christian year is a symbolic way of walking through the story of Jesus within a year’s time. We start with Advent, remembering Jesus’ first coming, then we concentrate on His ministry, death and resurrection, then the work of the church as it waits in anticipation of His second coming. Celebrating the Christian year is a means of experiencing Jesus’ story again and again, yet with more depth and meaning every time.

I like that!

This first Sunday of Advent focuses on Hope. When I was editing Sunday school curriculum, we taught the story of the angel appearing to Mary on this Sunday. The Jewish people had been living in anticipation of the Messiah’s coming for many years. The angel told Mary He was coming at last—and she would be His mother.

Like the Jews of that time, Christians now live in anticipation of Christ’s coming. But He won’t come as a baby; this time He’ll come as our triumphant king!

Compare, contrast, ponder, and reflect on both events with joyful hope today!

Note: If you read my posts through e-mail or feed subscriptions, I happily invite you to click through to Wildflower Thinking sometime to see my new Christmas design!

Thanksgiving Prayer Thoughts

2009-11-26T07:41:00.008-05:00

“Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.” –1 Chronicles 29:13

If ever we could think of nothing else to thank God for, we could thank Him for His Presence. He is with us always—wherever we are, whatever our circumstances.

That said, if God’s Presence is the one thing we can count on when all else fails, perhaps it’s the first thing we should thank Him for this year!

Sometime today, slip away from the chaos for a few moments and spend some time thanking God for Who He is. Make a list of every attribute and biblical name for Him you can think of. Reflect on what each means to you personally.

Next, thank Him for what He’s done. Think back over your life journey, and look for God’s fingerprints all over it. Thank Him for His work in and through your life.

Thank Him also for what He will do. This is an act of faith—anticipating His work in this world, in your life, and in the lives of your loved ones. We don’t know what this will look like when God’s finished, but we know we’ll be amazed when the work is done! Thank Him for this hope.

Finally, if the weather allows, take a walk outside. Thank God for everything you see that reminds you He is there.

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” –Psalm 19:1

Thank Him for revealing Himself to You through His creation and for drawing your attention to it this day, that you won’t take it for granted, but will hear the rocks cry out that God is here, that God is great beyond comprehension, that God is in control of everything.

“The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne.” –Psalm 11:4b

In her book, The God of All Comfort, Hannah Whitall Smith says, “It is a fact that we see what we look at, and cannot see what we look away from; and we cannot look unto Jesus while we are looking at ourselves.”

It’s good to thank God for our blessings. Let’s continue to do that, especially today. But today let’s start by thanking God for being God. Let’s take our eyes off of that which cannot last and thank God for the Presence we’ll enjoy through eternity!

Happy Thanksgiving! Bless God today!

A New Kind of New Year's Resolution

2009-11-22T09:33:00.007-05:00

Am I jumping the gun? (Ooh! There's another strange phrase for me to research!) Thanksgiving isn’t even here, and I’m talking about New Year’s? Too early?

Actually, I’m just in time!

Today is the last Sunday of the Christian year. A new year begins with the first Sunday of Advent next week!

I didn’t know this until today. Well, I knew Advent starts next week, but I didn’t realize it was the beginning of a whole, new Christian year.

My new kind of New Year’s Resolution is to learn more about this Christian year this year.

You see, I come from a not-so-liturgical denomination. Yes. We celebrate Christmas and Easter. Many of our churches set up and light Advent candles through that season. We know all about Pentecost and some about Lent. Epiphany? May need insight into that. Our ministers preach what God’s Spirit lays on their hearts each week rather than follow the Lexionary and Christian calendar, though some feel led to follow these, and that’s okay! So long as they’re preaching God’s Word, we’re happy.

The Christian calendar just isn’t something we talk about a lot. But this year, I’m feeling strangely drawn to it. I want to look into it more closely. Christian tradition is important, and there’s much I can learn from my liturgical friends. I’ll be reading through a little book called A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God by Norman Shawchuck and Rueben P. Job and exploring other resources, too. Whenever I discover something interesting, I’ll share! Not weekly. Not every Sunday. But as the Spirit leads. (I may be studying that which is liturgical, but I’m still a Nazarene!)

My study doesn’t officially begin until next week, but I read the introductory material this morning and learned that today is Reign of Christ Sunday! Wow! The introduction didn’t elaborate on that, but I’m speculating that if this is the last Sunday of the Christian year and the first starts with looking forward to Christ’s birth that today we’re looking forward to the Second Coming and Christ’s eternal reign. (Wait! Don’t tell me if I’m wrong! I don’t want to start at the end of the book! My hands are over my ears and I’m singing loudly, so I can’t hear you. Please don’t spoil the surprise!) For now I’ll just enjoy my speculation and think about our eternal Lord, Jesus Christ, today.

If the Christian calendar concept is somewhat new to you, too, please feel free to study along with me this year. And if you’ve grown up in a liturgical denomination, I’ll greatly appreciate any comments that help to enlighten me. (Just not about the significance of today's Reign of Christ Sunday. That's next-year-this-time's surprise!)

Happy New Year’s Eve—so to speak. Reflect on Christ’s eternal reign as you worship today, all day!

"The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever" --Revelation 11:15b

Hallelujah! Praise His name. Amen.

Book Review: 101 Simple & Thoughtful Ways to Give This Christmas Away

2009-11-21T08:18:00.003-05:00

Wow! Matthew West wrote a book! A good book! Usually he writes songs—really good songs. But the song he wrote for the latest Veggie Tales movie gave him the idea for a book, so he wrote that, too. It’s really good. (Did I say that already?)

101 Simple & Thoughtful Ways to Give This Christmas Away is a small hardback (6.5 x 6.5). Each page lists one idea for giving Christmas away followed by West’s explanation of the idea and a Bible verse. (I had no idea there were so many Bible verses about giving, yet they were all familiar verses. Seeing them all together in one place made me realize maybe I take them for granted sometimes.)

Throughout the book, West shares personal stories of times he was challenged to give in these ways. I especially appreciated the stories of his grandfather and father giving to others in ways that taught him. Some ideas are extremely simple, like giving a smile, others are more challenging, like giving till it hurts or giving to an enemy. But each idea is well presented, thought-provoking, and easy to understand. (I especially appreciated #16.) Some of West’s ideas draw attention to well-known charities such as Operation Christmas Child and the Salvation Army.

If you are looking for simple ideas to make Christmas giving more meaningful this year—and for giving all year round!—I highly recommend this cute, little book.

Thank you Tyndale House Publishers for sending me this complimentary copy to review.

Immeasurably More

2009-11-19T06:49:00.004-05:00

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” –Ephesians 3:20-21

Through all that Alex could remember of his nine years, he had been sharing a room with either an older or a younger brother--the curse of being in the middle, you might say. He’d had enough. If we were moving, he wanted his own room.

But we were moving to the Netherlands where, we were warned, houses and yards are small. We decided we’d better prepare Alex for the worst.

He wasn’t discouraged by the news, however. Instead, he started dreaming of all the things he wanted in a new house. “Not only should everyone have their own bedroom, but the house should have a big yard. It should be on a quiet street where kids can ride their bikes without worrying about cars.” Pretty soon we all joined in the game: our dream house would include an office, a fireplace, and a swimming pool, too.

I didn’t really expect to find all of that in our new home, but I did pray that Alex would have his own bedroom, the big yard, and the quiet street. Those things were important this time--but still they seemed too much to hope for.

Imagine my surprise when the first home we looked at had everything we’d dreamed of--except the swimming pool. But the bonus playroom and reading corner more than made up for that, especially in the windy, rainy Netherlands where a pool would have been more trouble than fun anyway! God’s wisdom beat our imaginations again--why was I surprised?

God, Your power to provide amazes me. More than all we ask or imagine, You provide all we need--and more! Future homes will be different, but we’ll trust You to know what’s best for this family and in Your ability to provide. Thank You, Lord! Amen.

Being Comfortable

2009-11-15T09:11:00.006-05:00

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.” –2 Corinthians 1:3-5

When I hear the word uncomfortable, I usually think of trying to sleep on a lumpy mattress or wearing a heavy sweater on a hot summer day. Those are uncomfortable things to do.

But when I dissect the word uncomfortable, I realize it really means un-able to be comforted. That’s an entirely different thing.

For example, when one of our sons was a newborn, he had colic. No matter how much my husband and I rocked, walked, patted, and burped him, he was uncomfortable. We weren’t able to comfort him. He could receive no comfort from us.

(Thankfully, he outgrew this. He’s a perfectly pleasant person to be around now. I offer that encouragement to comfort any of my readers who have colicky babies right now. This too shall pass. Hang in there, my poor and tired, long-suffering friends!)

So what’s my point? Christians often find themselves in uncomfortable circumstances, but they should never be uncomfortable. Do you see the difference? We serve the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles! But we must allow Him to comfort us.

Why? So that we can comfort others!

If we walk around with sad faces all the time, whining about our discomfort in our circumstances, we won’t encourage anyone! Yet when we receive God’s comfort in trying times, others see this and become hopeful that they can be comforted, too. By receiving God’s comfort for ourselves, we make it possible for others to receive His comfort as well. Our comfort in times of suffering overflows to everyone!

This is good news!

So let’s not be uncomfortable. Let’s seek encouragement and hope from the God of all comfort. Let’s let Him walk us and rock us until the tears go away, and we can go about our day in joy and peace. It may take some time—that’s okay. Taking the needed time to be comforted is important. We can’t fake it; we must allow God to truly comfort us. We just can’t refuse to be comforted, to let God do His work in our lives. That’s being uncomfortable. That’s what we must avoid.

God of all comfort, thank You for working in my life to comfort me and through my life to comfort others. May others see Your amazing work and seek it for themselves that they can be comforted, too. Amen.

Parachute Prayer #42

2009-11-12T17:34:00.004-05:00

“Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’” –Matthew 9:37-38

What a perfect verse for November! We’re surrounded by reminders of the harvest—apples, pumpkins, Thanksgiving décor! As we prepare for Thanksgiving, these remind us to give thanks for all God has provided all year long.

But though I am eternally thankful, I am also concerned about the harvest Jesus was referring to. There are people out there who have much, yet without Jesus, don’t really have anything. There are people who have little and need Jesus, too.

Jesus says there are plenty of hearts out there ready to receive all He has to give—ready to be brought into the Kingdom of God—ready to celebrate Thanksgiving completely, not only for what they have, but for salvation and a life with Jesus, too! When we see signs of harvest, let’s pray as Jesus told His disciples to! Let’s pray that He’ll send workers into His harvest field who will faithfully lead ready hearts to Him.

And while we’re at it, let’s not forget to ask Him to show us what we can do. We may be just the workers He needs to reach those near our homes for Him. We may be the very workers He's asked us to pray He'll send! (Now don't let that thought scare you off; pray for harvest workers anyway. Unsaved people waiting! Pray for workers for them.)

Lord of the harvest, please send many workers into Your field. The harvest is plentiful; call Your people to bring it in. Make each of us open to what You’re leading us to do. We know You'll help us because You love those who are waiting in the field. Thank You, Lord! May this year’s harvest be the best one yet! In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Book Review: The Sacred Meal

2009-11-10T08:22:00.002-05:00

Nora Gallagher has a unique writing style. I enjoyed reading The Sacred Meal, and it definitely made me think. I agreed with some statements from every chapter, but at the start of each, I wondered if I would. Rather than state her point at the outset, Gallagher reminisces, moving from story to thought to another story, connections not always obvious until the end when she wraps it all up and, suddenly, her point is finally clear.

Though I liked her writing style and enjoyed her stories and found some statements in each chapter to embrace wholeheartedly, there were a few issues that greatly concerned me. Throughout the book, Gallagher refers to historical, human Jesus and seems to ignore the God Who came to save. In her chapter on the history of communion, she leaves out the biblical accounts of the Last Supper, of Jesus Himself giving us this sacrament. In fact, she compares communion to the Muslim’s Ramadan and the Jewish Seder saying that since all three faiths come from Abraham, they are bound to have common rituals. All three may involve food, but that doesn’t make them similar, historically or otherwise.

Further, Gallagher seems to define communion as something that unites people, that links them together with some mystic bond. That’s true, but only if we recognize Jesus as that bond. We are united as we remember His sacrifice, as we reflect on what He did for us on the cross, as we worship Him together with gratitude. Gallagher mentions being thankful, but there doesn’t seem to be any worship or recognition of Christ involved. At the end of one chapter, she suggests it doesn’t matter what we believe, but only how we live. I get the impression she believes we save ourselves by following Christ’s example, by living good lives, that we don’t really need him; He’s just a good life model to follow. This concerns me. How we live is important, true. But living the way God wants us to is only possible if we’ve accepted Christ as our Savior, if He lives in us.

The Sacred Meal is a thought-provoking book with some good ideas, but I hesitate to recommend it. If you do choose to read it, read the biblical accounts of the Last Supper first, be clear on what your church believes about Communion, and compare and contrast with other books and articles on the topic. I don’t think Gallagher should have the only word.

Reflections on One Word

2009-11-08T05:57:00.006-05:00

“God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.” –Matthew 5:6NLT

What a difference one word makes! The New International Version of the Bible is my favorite. I spend most of my Bible study and devotional time in that translation. But every now and then, I like to read from another version to see how other scholars have interpreted God’s Word from its original Greek, Hebrew, or Aramaic. It especially catches my attention when they insert unfamiliar words into a familiar passage like the Beautitudes (Matthew 5:5-12). In the case of verse 6, they changed the NIV’s righteousness to justice and sent me down a whole new rabbit trail of thought.

When I think of hungering and thirsting for righteousness, I think of longing to be made righteous personally. I think of my own failings, sins, fallen nature and how hungering and thirsting for righteousness led me to Christ Who took my sins on Himself on the cross that He could clothe me in His righteousness. Thanks to Christ, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be satisfied!

But the word justice changes everything. When I hunger and thirst for justice, which I often do, I’m demanding that life be made fair, that those who hurt others pay for their crimes, that everybody get what’s rightfully coming to them.

This world is full of people who are hungering and thirsting for justice. But demanding justice is an impossible way to live. In their book, Finding Purpose Beyond Our Pain, Paul Meier and David Henderson offer two examples: If we treat two children with different IQ’s the same, one will excel and one will fail. Is this just? Yet if we treat them differently, offering more time and aid to the one with the lower IQ, is this fair to the one who needs less? If we set the fine for speeding at $200 per offense are we being fair to the school teacher who has so much less than the billionaire? But if we fine her less for committing the same crime is this fair to the billionaire? (p. 6)

Trying to make everything fair in this life is a frustrating exercise in futility. And when I think about demanding that everyone get what they deserve, good or bad, God gently reminds me that I really don’t want what I really deserve. Jesus died to save me from that. Thanks to Him, I live under grace, not law.

Which led me to the next Beatitude! “God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Matthew 5:7NLT) When I read this, I noticed that when we hunger and thirst for justice, God promises satisfaction. He takes care of it. We leave our perceived need in His hands. But we are to be merciful. We do something. We show something. We offer mercy to others, and receive it from God in return. Our hands are tied as far as justice is concerned, but mercy is something we can give. This passage doesn’t say God blesses those who make everything right and fair. He blesses those who long for a world that is right and fair; they will be satisfied. It’s a promise they can claim, but God will do the work. In the meantime, we offer mercy to those who’ve hurt us, knowing our God is merciful to us.

Wow!

But that’s not all. Verse 5 says, “God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth” (NLT). As I continued my devotional reading today, I came across this verse, “The one thing I ask of the Lord—the thing I seek most—is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfection and meditating in his Temple” (Psalm 27:4NLT). To me, that’s the ultimate definition of humility. We seek God. We live in His Presence. We leave justice in His capable hands. And we show mercy to the people who surround us each day.

In her book, Jesus Calling, Sarah Young says, “Instead of grasping and controlling, you are learning to release and receive” (p. 326). Instead of grasping and controlling and demanding life be fair, I release it all, dwell in God’s Presence, and thankfully receive all He gives. I can’t make everything fair. I may hunger and thirst for justice, but I must trust God to satisfy that need. Jesus promises He will. In the meantime, I show mercy. I am forgiven; I forgive.

Lord, I often long for a perfect world where everything is just and right and fair. I see so much wrong that I cannot fix. Help me to release this to You knowing You will make everything right in Your time. While I wait, I’ll walk with You, delighting in Your perfection and meditating in Your Temple, offering mercy to those who offend me that, hopefully, they will find Your grace, too. Teach me to release and receive. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Parachute Prayer #41

2009-11-06T17:09:00.003-05:00

We've all had days where everything we try to do goes wrong. Other times, we schedule baby steps toward reaching big goals: "I'll do this by this date, then this by this date, then this by this date," and so on. But brick walls appear just before each little goal, hindering our progress . . . causing much frustration.

Today's Parachute Prayer is to pray when brick walls block our way. It's hard, I know. But on a bad day when all's going wrong, dropping everything to ask God for wisdom, assistance, even blessing not only comforts us, but also often helps us to find a better way. Who knows? Maybe the brick wall is something to be thankful for. Maybe God has a different plan for our day. Maybe God is challenging our commitment or using the obstacle to strengthen our resolve. If we don't talk to Him about it, we'll never know--and we may never reach our goals. We'll just get many bruises from throwing ourselves at an unmoving wall, go to bed exhausted, and have to face it all again another day.

When obstacles confound us, it's worth our time to stop and pray.

Grace Shown Seen or Unseen

2009-11-04T05:44:00.004-05:00

“Though grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and regard not the majesty of the Lord.” –Isaiah 26:10

In yesterday’s post, I mentioned that the drunk driver involved in the accident had received a gracious wake-up call (because no one was hurt by his actions) and that I hoped he would listen and respond. That reminded me of this verse in Isaiah 26 which tells us that grace is shown to the wicked—to those who don’t live for God, to those who aren’t yet even thinking of turning to God.

I love that! Though the verse focuses on the consequences of not learning from gracious wake-up calls, I love knowing that God gives them! God loves all people, regardless of what they have done or how they respond to Him. He is constantly working behind the scenes to teach righteousness, to draw all who don’t yet know Him into His Kingdom.

That drunk driver now has a choice. He can recognize God’s majesty in the events of the accident and praise God for sparing him from a murder conviction on top of his DUI, or he can learn nothing from the experience and go on doing evil just as he was.

Sometimes those who do wrong get second chances. When they do, rather than cry, “No! That’s not fair!” as we're sometimes prone to do,* let’s pray they’ll see God’s majesty at work and respond to His gracious ways.

Lord, please show grace to the wicked, so they will learn righteousness. And please help Your children to live uprightly—in Jesus—that the unsaved will see and respond to the Your majesty!

*I'm most definitely not crying, "No fair," this time. God's grace toward the drunk driver spared two innocent lives, including the life of my loved one. Sometimes God's grace toward unsaved people helps His children, too!

Our True Moral Compass

2009-11-03T07:19:00.008-05:00

Beware. This is one of my rare soapbox posts. But I just have to share my heart. I may be preaching to the choir, but perhaps some who really need to read these words will find them, pray about them, and seek God’s Truth for themselves.

I’ve often heard people say, “If it makes me happy, it must be okay.” In other words, happiness is their moral compass. If it feels good, it is good. If it hurts, leave it alone.

I’m sure the man who drank too much alcohol probably enjoyed the experience. He believed that alcohol was making him happy, so he drank up; then he got in his car to drive. He might even have been happy right up to the moment when he slammed his car into another, sending it spinning out of control and into the car one of my loved ones was driving at the time. That drunk driver may have been happy, but what he did was wrong.

Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt—this time. I praise God for that, and I hope with all my heart that this alcohol-drinking driver will listen to the gracious wake-up call he just received. I pray he’ll learn from the experience and never drive drunk again. And if he turns to God with a repentant heart, that will be even better still. This is now my prayer for him.

But back to my soapbox, I’m sure burglars who steal from others do so because they believe stealing will make them happy. They may be pleased with themselves, but that doesn’t excuse their actions. Stealing is wrong.

The terrorists who flew planes into our World Trade Center on 9-11 may have been happy about their choices, too. They were anticipating some glorious reward, which I’m certain they didn’t receive. Murder is wrong.

My point is: wrong is always wrong, regardless of how one feels. Using emotions to determine morality is like using a compass whose needle points a different direction every time. You can’t find the right path that way; emotions will just leave you lost.

That’s why Jesus has given us another compass—one that never changes and is always accurate. His Word, the Bible, shows us the only right way.

And if the size of the Bible overwhelms some, Jesus made it all so simple in Mark 12:30-31 when he said that there is no greater commandment than, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

If our actions show sincere, unselfish, 100% genuine love to God and to the people around us, our actions are going to be right. Be warned though: the most loving actions may, in truth, make us feel unhappy sometimes. In fact, in some cases, the most loving actions may make people around us unhappy. But feelings, because they can be deceitful, are irrelevant; our goal is to do what is right.

Paul also gave us a simple indicator when he said, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23). There is no law against these because actions that come from these show love to God and His beloved creation, humankind.

Happiness is nice, but it can’t tell us the difference between right and wrong. For that, we have to listen for God’s voice by reading His Word and obeying as Jesus taught and as the Holy Spirit leads. Ironically enough, when we do this, true happiness—the kind that comes from inner peace and joy—will find us. The other kind is a counterfeit that will leave us spinning around helplessly like the drunk driver I now pray for.

Lord, when we’re in doubt or feeling confused about what to do, draw us to seek clear direction from You. Thank You for Your Word, Your Son, Your Spirit, and the determination to always choose right over wrong—for the sake of Your Name and the glory of Your Kingdom. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.