Wow! The enemy is really doing a number on me right now (I am ashamed to say that I am cooperating) and I am probably the worst person for you to call if you need a bright spot in your day! I would be the hurricane in your parade or the one to burst all your bubbles! Am I the only one who has these days and truly hates them? I really even hate being in my own skin on days like this. It makes you want to go to bed and start all over again!
I am speculating that it has something to do with our long awaited Ladies' Retreat being over and all of the excitement that comes with that leading to a let down. I also am in a definite season of responsibility and being overwhelmed with everything. I have the distinct feeling that the other shoe is going to drop pretty soon and I am needing to make some spiritual progress upon my high places of responsibility right now while I still have one shoe left! So, I have been sitting here with my schizophrenic self volleying back and forth between a good cry and a good scream. I cry for a bit and then I get mad that I'm crying, then I cry because I'm mad and so on...you get the picture - and it's not a pretty one.
One thing I know for sure, this too shall pass. I am learning the true meaning of how little I control in life. Which leads me to ask God, "Why?", and to ask it often. I truly don't have a clue what He is doing in my life and this is one of those times when I am not okay with that - but does it matter? Not really. He is God and I am not and He will have His way, no matter what I say (that could be a poem: roses are red, violets are blue, He will have His way, No matter what I say!) You can see that the gift of poetry does not rest here! I guess I am looking for something clever, something wise, some spiritual truth to tie it all up in a nice bow but alas, nothing! Which brings to mind this: "In this world we will have tribulation...
God never promised a cake walk, in fact, He teaches time and again through His word that we will suffer. In the sermon on Sunday the point was brought out that suffering is a reference to "external pressures". All people suffer in their bodies, whether believers or unbelievers because of the curse of sin, but believers suffer externally as well. In the lesson on Saturday night I taught on suffering with JOY - uh oh, the revelation - don't exhort others to embrace what you can't do yourself - for it will truly come back and bite you in the proverbial butt!
Suffering with joy accomplishes many things but specifically these two: it increases the faith of other believers and it makes unbelievers take notice. It is natural to suffer with grumblings but it is supernatural (of God) to suffer with joy. This is what a dying world is looking to place their faith in - a hope, something supernatural, something outside of themselves and this dying world. A lost world is looking for JESUS! But, they will never find Him in us if we look just like them. Lesson to self!
To conclude, I do control one thing for sure, my attitude and my time in the word. God will equip me with joy if I ask, trust to receive it and renew my mind with scripture - looking to Jesus. The end to the scripture in John 16:33...Take hope, I have overcome the world. Do I choose to TAKE hope today or sit and watch it pass by? I'm trading my sorrows...for the joy of the Lord!
P.S. It's okay to call now ;)
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Do You Swanee?
I had to laugh at myself just now and I had to share - I "swaneed" today, do you swanee? You know, when you say, "I swanee if ....then...." If you are from the South or you have a Momma or a Granny then they have probably said in moments of pure frustration, "I swanee!" I don't know where it comes from, somewhere between "a hill of beans" and "playin' possum" but in some woman's world many years ago the "swanee" came to be and since then yall, we have been "swanee-in'" ever since!
So, I am in my closet today looking at the same winter clothes that I have been looking at forever and I am trying to find something that will be merciful to my "winter 10" (this is slang for my extra weight that I put on to keep warm in the winter - you know, like an animal needs extra fur - well I need extra fat - my sister says that it's because you burn more calories in the winter trying to stay warm - I'm all for that explanation! It's better than saying I just lack the will-power or self-discipline to shut my mouth and go for a run!) Anyway, I am in my closet and I think to myself, "I swanee, if summer doesn't get here soon I am not going to have any clothes that I actually fit into - and not look like they were painted on!
I just had to share - I hope it gave you a laugh because it sure made me giggle - I swanee! Happy Valentine's Day!
So, I am in my closet today looking at the same winter clothes that I have been looking at forever and I am trying to find something that will be merciful to my "winter 10" (this is slang for my extra weight that I put on to keep warm in the winter - you know, like an animal needs extra fur - well I need extra fat - my sister says that it's because you burn more calories in the winter trying to stay warm - I'm all for that explanation! It's better than saying I just lack the will-power or self-discipline to shut my mouth and go for a run!) Anyway, I am in my closet and I think to myself, "I swanee, if summer doesn't get here soon I am not going to have any clothes that I actually fit into - and not look like they were painted on!
I just had to share - I hope it gave you a laugh because it sure made me giggle - I swanee! Happy Valentine's Day!
Whatever You Ask
I keep singing the lyrics of the Dave Matthews song "So Much to Say" in my head as I try to hone in on what it is that I am getting at in this post - I have two or three things working on my mind right now and they don't seem to intertwine but as I write it out it could all come together...or not. So, if you are reading this and it doesn't come together for you in the end then I'm sorry!
The first thing that I got stumped over this morning was a quote from Timothy Keller's book, "Prodigal God". I just finished the last few pages today and he said that he had a lady in his congregation who was taught a message of "merited" salvation growing up - that she could earn God's favor through her actions and so the concept of "unmerited" salvation by sheer grace was new to her.
In her words: "That is a scary idea! Oh, it's good scary, but still scary. If I was saved by my good works then there would be a limit to what God could ask of me or put me through. But if it is really true that I am a sinner saved by sheer grace - at God's infinite cost - then there's nothing He cannot ask of me!"
I had to read that several times through and really think about the meaning of her statement. What I came to was this: In our lives when we earn something then we control the boundaries of what we have earned. But when something is a free gift then we are not in control of the boundaries of the gift - the giver is. For example, if you pay for your own wedding then you are in control of all of the decisions. When someone else pays for it they may allow you to make all of the decisions but at their choosing they could make all of the decisions and you would not be able to say anything to the contrary. There is an indebtedness that we feel to someone that gives to us, there is a certain control that that person can have over you depending on the size of the gift. As believers, that gift is LIFE. So, there is no limit over what God can ask of us!
Scary? Yes, at first glance but not with God. Why? Because our God is love and all that He would ever ask of us would be for His glory and our good. "God is not a man that He should lie or a son of man that He should change His mind. Has He said and will he not do it? Or has He spoken and will He not make it good?" (Numbers 23:19) And again in Isaiah 45:5, "I am the Lord and there is no other." God is "other" not "same". He is not like the human masters that we serve, He is not like us, He is other than us which means that we cannot comprehend what He is apart from His word. When we are faced with the idea of entrusting our lives and being subject to someone we can see how our lives would be affected as "slaves" by the kind of master that we serve. If you have a harsh or cruel master then your life would be negatively affected. On the other hand, if you have a loving and kind master then your life would be positively affected.
In modern times we don't use these words, we say "employee" and "employer" or we say "child" and "parent" or we say "student" and "teacher". I use the terms "slave or servant" and "master" to get us thinking about the terminology of being "bond-servants" or "bond-slaves" of Christ. Paul refers to himself as the "bond-servant" of Christ. So, why associate ourselves with slavery when God died to set us free? A bond-servant was one who had been set free but willingly chose to continue to serve his master. As a slave, to stay and serve after you have been given your freedom has to say something about the kind of master that you have. Who willingly chooses to be a servant to a cruel, harsh master? However, if your life as a servant was better than a life lived on your own, wouldn't you stay?
So, that brings us full circle to being able to understand what it means that it is "good" scary that God can ask anything of us without limits. We serve a God who will only ask if it is for His glory and our good. He wouldn't ask unnecessarily, He wouldn't ask to try and humiliate you, He wouldn't ask to pass the buck because He doesn't want to get His hands dirty - He isn't like the human masters that we serve - He is altogether lovely, altogether worthy and altogether wonderful!
I have to pause and think, what does that mean for me? How does this affect how I live for my Master? I cannot define the limits of my own salvation because it was not my gift to give. I cannot say, "Okay God, only this far and that's enough." (Although, in the last few months I have definitely tried!) From human terms that is VERY scary! What if He asks me to bear a burden or do something that hurts for His glory? What if He asks me to suffer loss and give up some comforts I have grown accustomed to for His glory? What if He asks me to die? Do I get to say, "No?" The question that is more important - would I want to? I don't want to say no, I want to be faithful and trusting and say "Yes, Lord, here I am, send me!" But truthfully, that brave woman is only in my mind, she is not in my heart. Oh Lord, only You can make me brave, only You can make me trust, only You can make me strong. Grant me by your Holy Spirit the ability to say, "Yes, Lord, whatever you ask, yes!"
The first thing that I got stumped over this morning was a quote from Timothy Keller's book, "Prodigal God". I just finished the last few pages today and he said that he had a lady in his congregation who was taught a message of "merited" salvation growing up - that she could earn God's favor through her actions and so the concept of "unmerited" salvation by sheer grace was new to her.
In her words: "That is a scary idea! Oh, it's good scary, but still scary. If I was saved by my good works then there would be a limit to what God could ask of me or put me through. But if it is really true that I am a sinner saved by sheer grace - at God's infinite cost - then there's nothing He cannot ask of me!"
I had to read that several times through and really think about the meaning of her statement. What I came to was this: In our lives when we earn something then we control the boundaries of what we have earned. But when something is a free gift then we are not in control of the boundaries of the gift - the giver is. For example, if you pay for your own wedding then you are in control of all of the decisions. When someone else pays for it they may allow you to make all of the decisions but at their choosing they could make all of the decisions and you would not be able to say anything to the contrary. There is an indebtedness that we feel to someone that gives to us, there is a certain control that that person can have over you depending on the size of the gift. As believers, that gift is LIFE. So, there is no limit over what God can ask of us!
Scary? Yes, at first glance but not with God. Why? Because our God is love and all that He would ever ask of us would be for His glory and our good. "God is not a man that He should lie or a son of man that He should change His mind. Has He said and will he not do it? Or has He spoken and will He not make it good?" (Numbers 23:19) And again in Isaiah 45:5, "I am the Lord and there is no other." God is "other" not "same". He is not like the human masters that we serve, He is not like us, He is other than us which means that we cannot comprehend what He is apart from His word. When we are faced with the idea of entrusting our lives and being subject to someone we can see how our lives would be affected as "slaves" by the kind of master that we serve. If you have a harsh or cruel master then your life would be negatively affected. On the other hand, if you have a loving and kind master then your life would be positively affected.
In modern times we don't use these words, we say "employee" and "employer" or we say "child" and "parent" or we say "student" and "teacher". I use the terms "slave or servant" and "master" to get us thinking about the terminology of being "bond-servants" or "bond-slaves" of Christ. Paul refers to himself as the "bond-servant" of Christ. So, why associate ourselves with slavery when God died to set us free? A bond-servant was one who had been set free but willingly chose to continue to serve his master. As a slave, to stay and serve after you have been given your freedom has to say something about the kind of master that you have. Who willingly chooses to be a servant to a cruel, harsh master? However, if your life as a servant was better than a life lived on your own, wouldn't you stay?
So, that brings us full circle to being able to understand what it means that it is "good" scary that God can ask anything of us without limits. We serve a God who will only ask if it is for His glory and our good. He wouldn't ask unnecessarily, He wouldn't ask to try and humiliate you, He wouldn't ask to pass the buck because He doesn't want to get His hands dirty - He isn't like the human masters that we serve - He is altogether lovely, altogether worthy and altogether wonderful!
I have to pause and think, what does that mean for me? How does this affect how I live for my Master? I cannot define the limits of my own salvation because it was not my gift to give. I cannot say, "Okay God, only this far and that's enough." (Although, in the last few months I have definitely tried!) From human terms that is VERY scary! What if He asks me to bear a burden or do something that hurts for His glory? What if He asks me to suffer loss and give up some comforts I have grown accustomed to for His glory? What if He asks me to die? Do I get to say, "No?" The question that is more important - would I want to? I don't want to say no, I want to be faithful and trusting and say "Yes, Lord, here I am, send me!" But truthfully, that brave woman is only in my mind, she is not in my heart. Oh Lord, only You can make me brave, only You can make me trust, only You can make me strong. Grant me by your Holy Spirit the ability to say, "Yes, Lord, whatever you ask, yes!"
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Suffering and the Goodness of God
I have decided that the whole purpose of this blog is to teach to myself. I have lessons that I teach to myself but I have a tendency to forget those lessons and then I have to re-teach myself. (I guess that says something about the kind of teacher AND the kind of learner that I am!) Really, they are the lessons that the Holy Spirit is teaching me but I have a short memory and therefore, I end up having to learn again the things that I thought I had down! Sound familiar? However, there are some lessons over time that should stick and that I just want to learn and get on with it! (I think that is what we affectionately refer to as "sanctification" but hard-headed seems like a more appropriate term!) Toiling on....
I am certain that even though I aspire to write about suffering and the goodness of God, I will not even scratch the surface in this one blog post. Truly, I could not scratch the surface in a thousand blog posts but I am so captivated by the paradox of suffering and the goodness of God that I had to spend a little time teaching it to myself.
Yesterday I finished a brief book by John Piper on the book of Ruth. He talked about Naomi and her suffering and bitterness toward God for her circumstances after the death of her husband and two sons. When she returns to her hometown of Bethlehem she is openly resentful of the Lord and what calamity has come upon her. What Piper points out is that all of this is working for Naomi's good and God's glory even before she can see it. How? First, Naomi would not have gone home to Bethlehem had a famine not occurred in Moab. Second, Ruth would not have married Boaz had her first husband not died. Third, Naomi would not have been included in the lineage of Jesus Christ without the move to Bethlehem and the death of her husband and children. All of these three things tragic but all necessary for the good to come! Of course, like most of us, when we cannot see what God is doing in the midst of our suffering we assume that He is far from us or that He is punishing us or that He does not love us. On the contrary, He is moving, as Piper says,"In a thousand different ways that we cannot know or see." God had Naomi's good planned out all the way into eternity future even before she lost her husband or her sons. Indeed even before she was born.
For us, we cannot see past the minute that we are in right now, we lack the ability to be able to see into the future and how God is moving on our behalf. Take for instance Job. In the first chapter of Job when he has just lost everything, Job has no way of knowing how the book will end. He doesn't know that God will restore to him all that he has lost and then some. The bible tells us that "in spite of all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God." Job 1:22 So, what does this call for in us as children of God?
First, to believe, regardless of circumstances (which is believing in FAITH) that God is good! His word tells us repeatedly that He is and His word is truth so we start here. Second, we look behind us to see how God has been good to us in the past. History plays a part in our future. Call out and praise the blessings, the mercies and the graciousness of our God to us from eternity past. His word says that "He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world that we would be holy and blameless before Him." Ephesians 1:4 Literally, that means before He created the world He knew you and chose you for His purpose, to be the recipient of His lavish love. What a God!
Lastly, we seek to understand what is the "goodness of God". This is the stumbling block! God's goodness is not a human goodness, a "Western-society" version of goodness although at times His goodness is material it is not the only way that He shows His goodness. God's goodness is ultimately wrapped up in the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is His overwhelming goodness to us. Although He can and does show goodness to us in other ways, which is part of the overflow of His abundant love, His greatest expression of goodness was to redeem us from sin. Something we cannot do for ourselves. Something that all of the material possessions or "other goodnesses" could not do for us. Even if God is good to us in a thousand other ways, if He doesn't give us His Son then we will perish along with all of the other "goodnesses" that we so desire. Yet, more often than not we want the others above the ultimate.
Let's call those other "goodnesses" blessings. We so often associate God's love with material possessions, good health and success in life, to name a few. When those things are taken away we assume that God is no longer pleased with us and we cry out "Why me God, why me?" We are so ingrained in our culture to believe that love is pampering but James MacDonald has said,"God's love is not a pampering love, it is a perfecting love." He doesn't love like us, think like us or act like us even though we keep expecting Him to. He is FAR ABOVE us. God says in Isaiah 55:9, "My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts." We think that if we suffer that God is punishing us or angry with us even though we don't abide under His wrath as His children (Romans 5:9). This is an oppressive tactic from the enemy - making us question God's goodness and ultimately His love. The point? God's goodness is wrapped up in our suffering! God's goodness is wrapped up in the whole of our lives, in the good AND the bad. If God only controlled the good then He wouldn't be God. He controls it all and in the end we can say, "He has worked ALL things to the GOOD of those who LOVE HIM and are called according to HIS purpose." Romans 8:28
I pray for us, namely myself, that we would be patient and wait to see the goodness of God in the land of the living. That we would know and understand what is the goodness of God toward us, first in Jesus Christ and then in a thousand other ways that we can't fathom. And that we would seek to exalt His goodness for what it really is in the way that we display our lives to a lost and dying world looking for the "goodness of God".
I am certain that even though I aspire to write about suffering and the goodness of God, I will not even scratch the surface in this one blog post. Truly, I could not scratch the surface in a thousand blog posts but I am so captivated by the paradox of suffering and the goodness of God that I had to spend a little time teaching it to myself.
Yesterday I finished a brief book by John Piper on the book of Ruth. He talked about Naomi and her suffering and bitterness toward God for her circumstances after the death of her husband and two sons. When she returns to her hometown of Bethlehem she is openly resentful of the Lord and what calamity has come upon her. What Piper points out is that all of this is working for Naomi's good and God's glory even before she can see it. How? First, Naomi would not have gone home to Bethlehem had a famine not occurred in Moab. Second, Ruth would not have married Boaz had her first husband not died. Third, Naomi would not have been included in the lineage of Jesus Christ without the move to Bethlehem and the death of her husband and children. All of these three things tragic but all necessary for the good to come! Of course, like most of us, when we cannot see what God is doing in the midst of our suffering we assume that He is far from us or that He is punishing us or that He does not love us. On the contrary, He is moving, as Piper says,"In a thousand different ways that we cannot know or see." God had Naomi's good planned out all the way into eternity future even before she lost her husband or her sons. Indeed even before she was born.
For us, we cannot see past the minute that we are in right now, we lack the ability to be able to see into the future and how God is moving on our behalf. Take for instance Job. In the first chapter of Job when he has just lost everything, Job has no way of knowing how the book will end. He doesn't know that God will restore to him all that he has lost and then some. The bible tells us that "in spite of all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God." Job 1:22 So, what does this call for in us as children of God?
First, to believe, regardless of circumstances (which is believing in FAITH) that God is good! His word tells us repeatedly that He is and His word is truth so we start here. Second, we look behind us to see how God has been good to us in the past. History plays a part in our future. Call out and praise the blessings, the mercies and the graciousness of our God to us from eternity past. His word says that "He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world that we would be holy and blameless before Him." Ephesians 1:4 Literally, that means before He created the world He knew you and chose you for His purpose, to be the recipient of His lavish love. What a God!
Lastly, we seek to understand what is the "goodness of God". This is the stumbling block! God's goodness is not a human goodness, a "Western-society" version of goodness although at times His goodness is material it is not the only way that He shows His goodness. God's goodness is ultimately wrapped up in the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is His overwhelming goodness to us. Although He can and does show goodness to us in other ways, which is part of the overflow of His abundant love, His greatest expression of goodness was to redeem us from sin. Something we cannot do for ourselves. Something that all of the material possessions or "other goodnesses" could not do for us. Even if God is good to us in a thousand other ways, if He doesn't give us His Son then we will perish along with all of the other "goodnesses" that we so desire. Yet, more often than not we want the others above the ultimate.
Let's call those other "goodnesses" blessings. We so often associate God's love with material possessions, good health and success in life, to name a few. When those things are taken away we assume that God is no longer pleased with us and we cry out "Why me God, why me?" We are so ingrained in our culture to believe that love is pampering but James MacDonald has said,"God's love is not a pampering love, it is a perfecting love." He doesn't love like us, think like us or act like us even though we keep expecting Him to. He is FAR ABOVE us. God says in Isaiah 55:9, "My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts." We think that if we suffer that God is punishing us or angry with us even though we don't abide under His wrath as His children (Romans 5:9). This is an oppressive tactic from the enemy - making us question God's goodness and ultimately His love. The point? God's goodness is wrapped up in our suffering! God's goodness is wrapped up in the whole of our lives, in the good AND the bad. If God only controlled the good then He wouldn't be God. He controls it all and in the end we can say, "He has worked ALL things to the GOOD of those who LOVE HIM and are called according to HIS purpose." Romans 8:28
I pray for us, namely myself, that we would be patient and wait to see the goodness of God in the land of the living. That we would know and understand what is the goodness of God toward us, first in Jesus Christ and then in a thousand other ways that we can't fathom. And that we would seek to exalt His goodness for what it really is in the way that we display our lives to a lost and dying world looking for the "goodness of God".
Sunday, February 7, 2010
A Day of Rest
Even though my blog is officially 5 days old, I feel weird missing a day between postings. You know that feeling you get when you forget to brush your teeth (I never do that) or you forgot your earrings or your lunch for the day? Okay, seriously, I might forget to brush my teeth one day every six months but it happens, especially on a Saturday when I get started with coffee and then that feeds into lunch and then before I know it its dinner time... Maybe no one out there is relating to me or would admit it but sometimes we forget. Sorry Mom! It's not because you didn't teach me to brush twice a day...it wasn't something you did so don't blame yourself!
Moving on...I love the Lord's Day! It is my favorite day of the week! I love being at church with my church family. It hits me quite often how these are the people I will be spending eternity with. There are family members that I share a blood bond with that sadly I will not spend eternity with if God does not intervene. But my brothers and sisters in Christ will be my family for all of eternity. So often we come and go on Sundays with a few passing niceties and then we go on with our week until the next Sunday without so much as a phone call or an email. It just shouldn't be! It makes me realize how important it is to pour into one another now, to help bear burdens, to petition the throne of grace and invest time with our heavenly family while we are here on earth so that we will have some great memories when "we all get to heaven".
We have missed quite a few Sundays because of the frozen tundra we have been experiencing in Central Virginia and I have missed being in the Lord's house. Sometimes I wonder if we weren't ever able to "miss" church if we would ever "miss" church. Would we be so grateful for the privilege of the fellowship and worship that we are able to have with Him in His house? I thought about the freedoms of this country we live in and how there are people in other countries that long to be in the house of God but for one reason or another cannot. I thought about the people who are shut-ins and elderly that maybe once experienced the fellowship of being among God's people every week but now they can't be. Today, the hymns seemed sweeter, the words more poignant, the Spirit more precious. I didn't want it to end. Praise Jesus Christ that one day, because of His sacrifice, it won't have to!
We are preaching through the book of Luke and today we looked at the first 6 verses of chapter 6 dealing with Jesus being Lord of the Sabbath. It struck me that even though we had church at 2pm and things have been off because of the snow that Jesus is still Lord of the Sabbath even when the Sabbath doesn't look like it's supposed to. We get hung up on times and plans but God changes those according to His plans and His time. All the control that we have is a complete illusion. He can open the treasuries of snow anytime He chooses and scatter our plans. Indeed, even the heart of the king and the decision of the lot is in His hand. So, it brings to light the fact that we serve the Lord of All! And that can be comforting or it can be a source of anxiety. The thing is, what we think doesn't change the truth - He is Lord of All. So, on this day of rest that the Lord of All created for our rest, how appropriate that we should "rest" in the knowledge that we can leave it all at His feet, today and every day. "My times are in Your hand!" Psalm 31:5
Moving on...I love the Lord's Day! It is my favorite day of the week! I love being at church with my church family. It hits me quite often how these are the people I will be spending eternity with. There are family members that I share a blood bond with that sadly I will not spend eternity with if God does not intervene. But my brothers and sisters in Christ will be my family for all of eternity. So often we come and go on Sundays with a few passing niceties and then we go on with our week until the next Sunday without so much as a phone call or an email. It just shouldn't be! It makes me realize how important it is to pour into one another now, to help bear burdens, to petition the throne of grace and invest time with our heavenly family while we are here on earth so that we will have some great memories when "we all get to heaven".
We have missed quite a few Sundays because of the frozen tundra we have been experiencing in Central Virginia and I have missed being in the Lord's house. Sometimes I wonder if we weren't ever able to "miss" church if we would ever "miss" church. Would we be so grateful for the privilege of the fellowship and worship that we are able to have with Him in His house? I thought about the freedoms of this country we live in and how there are people in other countries that long to be in the house of God but for one reason or another cannot. I thought about the people who are shut-ins and elderly that maybe once experienced the fellowship of being among God's people every week but now they can't be. Today, the hymns seemed sweeter, the words more poignant, the Spirit more precious. I didn't want it to end. Praise Jesus Christ that one day, because of His sacrifice, it won't have to!
We are preaching through the book of Luke and today we looked at the first 6 verses of chapter 6 dealing with Jesus being Lord of the Sabbath. It struck me that even though we had church at 2pm and things have been off because of the snow that Jesus is still Lord of the Sabbath even when the Sabbath doesn't look like it's supposed to. We get hung up on times and plans but God changes those according to His plans and His time. All the control that we have is a complete illusion. He can open the treasuries of snow anytime He chooses and scatter our plans. Indeed, even the heart of the king and the decision of the lot is in His hand. So, it brings to light the fact that we serve the Lord of All! And that can be comforting or it can be a source of anxiety. The thing is, what we think doesn't change the truth - He is Lord of All. So, on this day of rest that the Lord of All created for our rest, how appropriate that we should "rest" in the knowledge that we can leave it all at His feet, today and every day. "My times are in Your hand!" Psalm 31:5
Friday, February 5, 2010
A story about a Perfectionist
I have continued on in my list for cultivating humility and today I came upon an interesting point that can stifle humility: perfectionism. On the surface it seems that this doesn't relate with being humble but looking deeper it becomes apparent how it can and surely does.
Perfectionism - Ah, the fondness of having things just the way you want them! I am guilty as charged! I love a clean house, clean children, a clean desk, a neat blog, perfectly manicured nails, a low-calorie diet (still striving for perfection here :) and living an overall "Norman Rockwell" picturesque kind of life. I have little tolerance for less than perfect in myself and often in other people which can admittedly make me hard to live with. I am reminded of the scripture in Proverbs that says, "It is better to dwell on the corner of a roof than in the house with a contentious woman!" I have been reminded by the Holy Spirit and my husband about this word many times in eleven years! I have to take this opportunity to publicly apologize to my family, "I am sorry and yes, I do realize this about myself. However, I hope that I have made some progress." Again, the plank in my own eye is truly a LOG! It's amazing when you actually have to write stuff out how horrible it sounds! The perfectionist in me wants to hit the delete button. What a testimony to the pervasiveness of the sinful,prideful heart. What a reason to praise the Lord for the SINLESS,HUMBLE sacrifice of Jesus that "cleanses us from all unrighteousness!" I am struck by how Jesus is constantly the direct opposite to our flesh which makes Him the only One who in the flesh could condemn sin and satisfy the wrath of God. We can't do that for ourselves no matter how much of a perfectionist we are. Now, do you see the connection to a lack of humility? Fortunately, the longer I live the more I realize that God will not allow me to always have it my way, rarely do we get to have it our way. Why? Because this isn't Burger King, JESUS is Lord, not me, and if I do "have it my way" then I think I'm in control and not Him. I think I know what's best for me more than my Creator and then the clay begins to say to the Potter, "Why did you make me this way?" I take matters into my own hands instead of leaving them with Him, where they should be. The point? I don't think I'll ever not love a clean house or all of the other things listed above but there is freedom in knowing that the world will not come to an end if they aren't that way, there is freedom in knowing that God is in PERFECT control and if it means that I spend more time investing in someone other than me, Praise the Lord, seriously!
My beautiful mother-in-law is a great example of this. She is constantly wanting to be organized but she will readily admit it isn't one of her gifts! But that's not what people see in her. What they SEE is a woman who always has a kind word or a gentle hug or an ear to listen. A woman who remembers all the details of your illness or the name of your ailing sister or your often overlooked anniversary (I'm not speaking from experience!) There have been many days when I have gone to the mailbox in need of a word of encouragement only to find a card from her. I keep a card in my bible that she sent to my Grandfather just days before he went to be with the Lord that are full of scriptures that would strengthen him in his last days as a pilgrim, cheering him on to the hope that is to come! I praise the Lord for the godly example she has been to me over the last 11 years. She is one of the few people that I know that I would say is self-less. A true rarity in today's world! Thank you, Charlotte for the beauty of Christ rests upon you.
Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “ God resists the proud,But gives grace to the humble.” 1 Peter 5:4-6
Perfectionism - Ah, the fondness of having things just the way you want them! I am guilty as charged! I love a clean house, clean children, a clean desk, a neat blog, perfectly manicured nails, a low-calorie diet (still striving for perfection here :) and living an overall "Norman Rockwell" picturesque kind of life. I have little tolerance for less than perfect in myself and often in other people which can admittedly make me hard to live with. I am reminded of the scripture in Proverbs that says, "It is better to dwell on the corner of a roof than in the house with a contentious woman!" I have been reminded by the Holy Spirit and my husband about this word many times in eleven years! I have to take this opportunity to publicly apologize to my family, "I am sorry and yes, I do realize this about myself. However, I hope that I have made some progress." Again, the plank in my own eye is truly a LOG! It's amazing when you actually have to write stuff out how horrible it sounds! The perfectionist in me wants to hit the delete button. What a testimony to the pervasiveness of the sinful,prideful heart. What a reason to praise the Lord for the SINLESS,HUMBLE sacrifice of Jesus that "cleanses us from all unrighteousness!" I am struck by how Jesus is constantly the direct opposite to our flesh which makes Him the only One who in the flesh could condemn sin and satisfy the wrath of God. We can't do that for ourselves no matter how much of a perfectionist we are. Now, do you see the connection to a lack of humility? Fortunately, the longer I live the more I realize that God will not allow me to always have it my way, rarely do we get to have it our way. Why? Because this isn't Burger King, JESUS is Lord, not me, and if I do "have it my way" then I think I'm in control and not Him. I think I know what's best for me more than my Creator and then the clay begins to say to the Potter, "Why did you make me this way?" I take matters into my own hands instead of leaving them with Him, where they should be. The point? I don't think I'll ever not love a clean house or all of the other things listed above but there is freedom in knowing that the world will not come to an end if they aren't that way, there is freedom in knowing that God is in PERFECT control and if it means that I spend more time investing in someone other than me, Praise the Lord, seriously!
My beautiful mother-in-law is a great example of this. She is constantly wanting to be organized but she will readily admit it isn't one of her gifts! But that's not what people see in her. What they SEE is a woman who always has a kind word or a gentle hug or an ear to listen. A woman who remembers all the details of your illness or the name of your ailing sister or your often overlooked anniversary (I'm not speaking from experience!) There have been many days when I have gone to the mailbox in need of a word of encouragement only to find a card from her. I keep a card in my bible that she sent to my Grandfather just days before he went to be with the Lord that are full of scriptures that would strengthen him in his last days as a pilgrim, cheering him on to the hope that is to come! I praise the Lord for the godly example she has been to me over the last 11 years. She is one of the few people that I know that I would say is self-less. A true rarity in today's world! Thank you, Charlotte for the beauty of Christ rests upon you.
Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “ God resists the proud,But gives grace to the humble.” 1 Peter 5:4-6
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Woe is me, I am undone
In my study over the last few months I have been drawn to several parables that have made me focus in on the sin of pride in my life. Truly, I don't know if there is a harder sin to gain dominion over because all of sin begins in the root of pride. Back in the fall we began studying the parable of the Prodigal Son in Sunday School. I felt that I knew this parable front to back and that there wasn't any hidden meaning for me to gain. Then suddenly this parable was everywhere - in my daily devotions, in messages I would listen to, in books I was reading. I realized that I needed to confess my arrogance and take note that God was trying to get my attention. It was about that time that my dear friend Jessica gave me a copy of the book "The Prodigal God" by Tim Keller. I promised her I would read it but I set it aside for the present time thinking again that I didn't have much I could glean from another interpretation of this well known parable. I cannot tell you how very wrong I was!
If you are familiar with the parable, found in Luke 15:11-32, you know that there are two sons, the younger who is often known as the Prodigal Son and the elder who is most often considered the faithful son. Upon further investigation this parable has as much or more to do with the wicked heart of the elder son then the redemption of the younger son. After reading the first few chapters of Tim Keller's book I was immediately convicted of an elder brother spirit! I cannot even begin to tell you how disturbing this was to me, the fact that I had related all these years with the bitterness and anger of the elder son toward his father for welcoming the younger son back with no penalty! Even to write this out pains me because I can still identify with those feelings.
I give that much background to bring the story full circle to today's post. I have been asking the Lord to convict me and grant me a spirit of humility. I am aware that this can be a dangerous prayer, as my Momma says, "Be careful what you pray for!" But I had finally gotten to the point where the fear of being arrogant and prideful was greater than the fear of God renewing a right spirit within me - no matter how he may do it, I think :) - ask me in few years I'll let you know! Anyway, I was reading from one of my favorite blogs last night, 9marks, and I was looking over some of the older posts and I came upon two concurrent posts titled "Cultivate Humility". I immediately said to myself, "Self, this sounds like a post for you!" These posts contain two lists, one that identifies prideful behaviors and attitudes and the other which identifies and cultivates humble behaviors. What a treasure!
I began this morning with the first three: 1)complaining against God or passing judgement on God, 2)a lack of gratitude and 3)anger. I spent a while on the parable of The Landowner in Matthew 20:1-16. The same attitude from the elder brother permeates the hearts of the servants who were hired first. Again, I am struck to the heart. "What shall we say then? There is NO injustice with God, is there? May it never be!" Romans 9:14
Wow, I have such a long way to go! My prayer and petition is that as fellow believers we would diligently seek to be humble that God would not resist us but give grace to us, starting with me. Let us come boldly before the throne and ask that we might receive humility directly from the source!
If you are familiar with the parable, found in Luke 15:11-32, you know that there are two sons, the younger who is often known as the Prodigal Son and the elder who is most often considered the faithful son. Upon further investigation this parable has as much or more to do with the wicked heart of the elder son then the redemption of the younger son. After reading the first few chapters of Tim Keller's book I was immediately convicted of an elder brother spirit! I cannot even begin to tell you how disturbing this was to me, the fact that I had related all these years with the bitterness and anger of the elder son toward his father for welcoming the younger son back with no penalty! Even to write this out pains me because I can still identify with those feelings.
I give that much background to bring the story full circle to today's post. I have been asking the Lord to convict me and grant me a spirit of humility. I am aware that this can be a dangerous prayer, as my Momma says, "Be careful what you pray for!" But I had finally gotten to the point where the fear of being arrogant and prideful was greater than the fear of God renewing a right spirit within me - no matter how he may do it, I think :) - ask me in few years I'll let you know! Anyway, I was reading from one of my favorite blogs last night, 9marks, and I was looking over some of the older posts and I came upon two concurrent posts titled "Cultivate Humility". I immediately said to myself, "Self, this sounds like a post for you!" These posts contain two lists, one that identifies prideful behaviors and attitudes and the other which identifies and cultivates humble behaviors. What a treasure!
I began this morning with the first three: 1)complaining against God or passing judgement on God, 2)a lack of gratitude and 3)anger. I spent a while on the parable of The Landowner in Matthew 20:1-16. The same attitude from the elder brother permeates the hearts of the servants who were hired first. Again, I am struck to the heart. "What shall we say then? There is NO injustice with God, is there? May it never be!" Romans 9:14
Wow, I have such a long way to go! My prayer and petition is that as fellow believers we would diligently seek to be humble that God would not resist us but give grace to us, starting with me. Let us come boldly before the throne and ask that we might receive humility directly from the source!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Let it snow and snow and snow...
It can really wear on a girl to be stuck inside for days and days on end, especially one who enjoys going as much as .....others. I haven't stepped foot out of these four walls for anything other than to get the mail and walk to the top of the road and back. I haven't put my face on or placed one ounce of styling product on this head since Friday. (It's Tuesday in case you didn't know and I almost didn't!) I keep walking past the mirror and I've just quit looking because it is starting to depress me. Yesterday, on my daily trek to the top of the road, the mailman turned down the street. I was mortified! I was a total sight - ball cap, yoga pants tucked into my "faux Ugg" boots, chetah print gloves and a black ski jacket. He waved as he passed by with a grin on his face. Probably because he was mortified at my get up too!
So it goes without saying that I have self-diagnosed myself with a serious case of cabin fever! I even started to think today that I was a little, dare I say it, BORED? It hasn't been often in 10 years that I have said that I was bored. I know as soon as I get back to work that all of the things I should have been doing will come to mind but for now, I'm bored. (Sorry Dad, I'm pretty sure there was something in your sermon about that!) Anyway, I can't cook anything else because I will just eat it, I've finished the latest biography I had been reading and if I do one more thing to this blog design it will surely blow up the site so, here I sit.
I believe that in times like this God intends for us to be still and quiet. How often in life is it just still and quiet? In fact, just the other day I was wishing for some true "quiet time" to have a few minutes alone with the Lord. Isn't that just the way we are as humans, even more so as women? We long for the quiet and then when we get it we want to be doing something else. I am reminded of the verse in 1 Timothy 6:6 that states, "Godliness with CONTENTMENT is great gain!" I won't lie, I still have a ways to go when it comes to being content in all things. Maybe that is my lesson for today, contentment is gain and not just any kinda gain but GREAT gain. Isn't that the way God works? He doesn't just give us a little gain or even some gain but He gives us GREAT gain. When we seek to be like Him and be content in Him then it is great gain to us no matter what the circumstances of life...even when it snows and snows and snows!
So it goes without saying that I have self-diagnosed myself with a serious case of cabin fever! I even started to think today that I was a little, dare I say it, BORED? It hasn't been often in 10 years that I have said that I was bored. I know as soon as I get back to work that all of the things I should have been doing will come to mind but for now, I'm bored. (Sorry Dad, I'm pretty sure there was something in your sermon about that!) Anyway, I can't cook anything else because I will just eat it, I've finished the latest biography I had been reading and if I do one more thing to this blog design it will surely blow up the site so, here I sit.
I believe that in times like this God intends for us to be still and quiet. How often in life is it just still and quiet? In fact, just the other day I was wishing for some true "quiet time" to have a few minutes alone with the Lord. Isn't that just the way we are as humans, even more so as women? We long for the quiet and then when we get it we want to be doing something else. I am reminded of the verse in 1 Timothy 6:6 that states, "Godliness with CONTENTMENT is great gain!" I won't lie, I still have a ways to go when it comes to being content in all things. Maybe that is my lesson for today, contentment is gain and not just any kinda gain but GREAT gain. Isn't that the way God works? He doesn't just give us a little gain or even some gain but He gives us GREAT gain. When we seek to be like Him and be content in Him then it is great gain to us no matter what the circumstances of life...even when it snows and snows and snows!
Monday, February 1, 2010
The beginning of a blog....
I am not sure the exact reason that I chose to start a blog - well, as a matter of fact, yes I am, I was looking at the really cute backgrounds from other blogs and my creative side took over and I had the strong urge to create one for myself! Not to mention the fact that today is a "snow day" and so I have time to kill, which is highly unusual!
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this could be my own personal journal. I often find myself wanting to put down on paper the things that run through my head, things that the Lord is teaching me, memories from my kids that I may not remember but by the time I get in bed at night I don't have the energy to put pen to paper. Besides, I am NOT computer saavy - the fact that I have gotten this far is AMAZING to say the least! (Although, I think I have locked up our internet connection twice this afternoon trying to add a picture.) Kraig is working from home today and he keeps getting kicked off too so I said, "Honey, you don't think it's because both of us are on the computer?" His reply, "No, that shouldn't have anything to do with it." So, I'll take his word for it but I'm going to wait until after working hours to try again!
I will try to be as faithful as I can in blogging a few times a week, that is until wedding season hits,after that it may be once a week or so. Thanks for taking the time!
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that this could be my own personal journal. I often find myself wanting to put down on paper the things that run through my head, things that the Lord is teaching me, memories from my kids that I may not remember but by the time I get in bed at night I don't have the energy to put pen to paper. Besides, I am NOT computer saavy - the fact that I have gotten this far is AMAZING to say the least! (Although, I think I have locked up our internet connection twice this afternoon trying to add a picture.) Kraig is working from home today and he keeps getting kicked off too so I said, "Honey, you don't think it's because both of us are on the computer?" His reply, "No, that shouldn't have anything to do with it." So, I'll take his word for it but I'm going to wait until after working hours to try again!
I will try to be as faithful as I can in blogging a few times a week, that is until wedding season hits,after that it may be once a week or so. Thanks for taking the time!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)