We're All Saved by Grace

I just read a blog post called "Top 10 People Christians are Better Than."

Spoiler alert: The list was (1) Nobody (2) Nobody (3) Nobody (4) Nobody (5) Nobody (6) Nobody (7) Nobody (8) Nobody (9) Nobody (10) Nobody

Pretty clever, right?

In it the author (see his cool picture on the left) points out that, basically, no one is "better" than anyone else. As Paul tells us in Romans, all are saved by grace, and not entitled to boast.

Still though, we tend to do a lot of boasting, don't we? Christians like to feel superior to non-Christians.

This is because... surprise!... Christians are human beings. Sometimes human beings are jerks. (What? You disagree? Have you been out on the road recently? Or on the internet even? We're JERKS!)

And the fact that we remain our own jerk-like selves all our lives, to one degree or another, may be God's own way of keeping us humble.

One of the comments I saw on facebook about this was from a friend who said she'd always had trouble with idea that your good deeds don't count with God unless you're a Christian.

Well, here's a shocker, my friend: Your good deeds don't "count" either way!

There's no giant scoreboard in heaven where God tallies up the points we've earned in life.

The Bible says our righteousness, our "good works," are filthy rags. The truth is, we can't earn God's approval.

God gives grace freely, or not at all. He chooses whom He chooses.

This is a difficult concept. I myself try very hard to be a "nice person," and find it very frustrating to be forever falling short, struggling with my own Inner Jerk. It is hard for me to accept that I, with my good deeds, am no better than that crazy homeless man who refused to wear his new boots in the New York snow. (Read that news story here if you want.)

So why should I do good works at all?

That's a good question. And I'll be the first to admit that I don't know the answer.

I guess I know why I shouldn't do good deeds. Not to earn points with God, not to get into heaven, not to impress people or to feel like I'm better than others.

Then what motivates me to do good?

All I can say is, Because God is good. It should be His goodness that I reflect.

Set a Guard Over My Lips

Last weekend I went to a ladies' tea at a local church with the theme "Silver Boxes."

The idea was based on a poem by Michael Bright, which includes this stanza:

"Lord, help my words be silver boxes,
Neatly wrapped up with a bow;
That I give to all so freely,
As through each day I gladly go."

(image from http://www.freedigitalphotos.net)

They gave us each a lovely little silver box with the following verse in it:

"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." Ephesians 4:29 TNIV

Of course all the ladies at the tea, dressed in their best clothes and happily munching little hors d'oeuvres and salads, agreed that this was very true. We should always speak with kindness to others. Yes indeed.

A few minutes later I saw one of the women at my table fighting back tears over something another woman had said to her.

What a shame, I thought, shaking my head. That lady should have remembered about the Bible verse in the silver box in front of her and known not to speak so harshly.

Then the speaker came up and told us about how she had learned to use words of forgiveness and love after her ex-husband had left her for an old girlfriend.

Her story broke my heart, especially when she said he'd told her after over twenty years of marriage, "I never loved you like I love her." Those were words that had to have cut deeply.

Again I thought of how powerful words can be, and the fact that we should use them carefully.

As the speaker finished her talk, I found myself still thinking about her ex-husband, forgiven by his saint of a wife and traipsing off happily into the sunset with his old girlfriend. "That dog," I muttered angrily to my friend. "I hope he feels guilty. I hope the old girlfriend turns out to be an awful harpy and he regrets leaving his wife. I hope he's sorry now that he's made his bed and has to lie in it." My friend nodded in agreement.

Then I looked down and caught sight of my own silver box, sitting placidly in front of me. "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth," it reminded me. Oh yeah, I thought. Why can't I remember to do that? It seemed none of us could go five minutes without saying something we regret.

I thought of James 3:7-10:

^"7 People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, ⁸ but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹ Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. ¹⁰ And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! "

This is the truth, folks. We all sin with the things we say. And we keep doing it!

Forgive us, Lord.

My prayer is that the Lord will help me remember to think before I speak.

Let us all pray with King David in Psalm 141:3:

"Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;
Keep watch over the door of my lips."

(image from http://www.quoteswave.com)

Praying Persistently

Do you ever feel like you're nagging God?

I mean, we're commanded to pray without ceasing, but sometimes I think I'm just begging without stopping, you know?

There are times when I feel like I've asked the Lord for something, and He just isn't responding. So what do I do?

Matthew 7:7-8

⁷ “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for.

Keep on seeking, and you will find.

Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.

⁸ For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds.

And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

Okay. So instead of giving up, I should keep on praying. But this can be difficult.

Luke 18:1-8

One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show

that they should always pray and never give up.

² “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said,

“who neither feared God nor cared about people.

 ³ A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying,

‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’

⁴ The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself,

‘I don’t fear God or care about people,

⁵ but this woman is driving me crazy.

 I’m going to see that she gets justice,

because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’”

⁶ Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge.

⁷ Even he rendered a just decision in the end.

So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people

who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?

⁸ I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly!

But when the Son of Man returns,

how many will he find on the earth who have faith?”

It seems the message is pretty clear: DO NOT give up. KEEP ON praying.

So I'm not nagging God. If He hasn't answered the way I want him to, then there are several possible reasons:

1. He wants me to wait. (Psalm 27:13-14)

¹³ Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s goodness

while I am here in the land of the living.

¹⁴ Wait patiently for the Lord.
Be brave and courageous.
Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

 

2. He has another idea in mind. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

⁸ “My thoughts are nothing like your

thoughts,” says the Lord.
“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
⁹ For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so my ways are higher than your ways
and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. 

3. His answer is no.

I don't like that last one at ALL. I'm not even looking for a Scripture reference to support it either.

But I can't deny that it's a possiblity.

So I wondered, in that situation, should I still keep praying? Would that be "nagging" God?

Well, according to Jesus, I should ALWAYS keep praying. No matter what.

One more Scripture promise:

Psalm 37:4

Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.

Hmmm.... Now this can mean, "The Lord will give you what you want."

But it can also mean, "The Lord will change your heart, so that you want what He wants."

So either way, keep praying. Even if it's hard.

And I'll do my best to follow my own advice.

("Nagging" cartoon from http://www.everydaypeoplecartoons.com)

("Denied " image from http://htmlgiant.com)

A Cartoon

http://www.journella.com

Ha Ha HA!

Moth-proof/ Rust-proof?

Have you ever had a posession you were particularly proud of? I remember the first new car my husband and I ever bought.

This photo is in our album, captioned: "A NEW CAR!!" That's me posing next to the car with the Vanna White hand gesture.

I was 23 years old and had never had a new car. I was excited.

But if I think about it, where is that car now? We got rid of it. I guess it's possible it's still on the road somewhere, but I doubt a 1995 Chevy Cavalier is worth much of anything these days. Probably it's in a junkyard somewhere.

Also I loved our first house.

We spent a lot of time and money on that house: painting it and fixing things, et cetera. We put an addition on the back. My husband and my father-in-law installed wood flooring throughout the upstairs. I still have those floors in my head as a model of what flooring should look like.

But where is that house now?

Well, it's not in a junkyard. It's still there on that suburban lot. Someone lives in it, walking on my beautiful floors and opening and closing my special double-paned easy-clean windows in the sunroom addition. But it's not ours anymore.

There's nothing better to remind you of the temporal nature of possessions than to look back in your photo album and remember things that you once loved. Even clothing:

My prom dress in 1989. My mother and I made this dress. I was super-proud of it.

But I just saw a dress very similar to this at a costume party. A friend had bought it at the thrift store for 99 cents. That dress was lucky to still be around. Most likely, my dress has been in a landfill for a long time.

My point here is not to be maudlin and sentimental about my 80's prom dress and dyed-to-match shoes.

My point is, these things that I spent so much time and energy, pride and, yes, even love on, are gone. Even if they still exist in the world somewhere, they are no longer mine. These things were temporary.

So why did I think they were important? As Jesus tells us:

¹⁹ “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth,

where moth and rust destroy

and where thieves break in and steal;

²⁰ but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,

where neither moth nor rust destroys and

where thieves do not break in and steal.

²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:19-21

 

So what should I be investing my time and energy in instead?

What has eternal value?

PEOPLE.

That's a short answer, but it's much easier said than done, of course.

Lord, help me to remember today what really matters in life.

(Partially inspired by the devotion "The Moth and Rust Reality" by Claire Cloninger
and the sermon of 16 September by Rev. Nobuko Miyake-Stoner at Harris UMC)

Martha and Mary, Jesus' friends in Bethany

"Christ in the House of Martha and Mary" by Vermeer

http://en.wikipedia.org

Has this subject been done to death?

In case it hasn't, here's the Scripture:

³⁸ Now it happened as they went that He entered

a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha
welcomed Him into her house.

³⁹ And she had a sister called Mary, who also

sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.

⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted with much serving,

and she approached Him and said,

“Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?

Therefore tell her to help me.”

 ⁴¹ And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha,

you are worried and troubled about many things. 

 ⁴² But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part,

which will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:38-42

I think we've all heard the story of these sisters and we know which one is supposed to be the "good" sister. But honestly, something about this has always bothered me a bit.

Maybe it's the number of sermons I've heard on this subject from (male) preachers who still expect the ladies of the church to have the coffee and doughnuts ready in the fellowship hall after service.

I mean, it's all very well to sit at the Lord's feet and listen, but when Jesus and the disciples had gotten hungry, they probably would have been annoyed if Martha had said, "Oh, I'm sorry. Did y'all want food? I was too busy listening to the teaching."

Let's be realistic here. Martha had a job to do, and she was doing it. There were (at least) thirteen men in the house who needed supper and beds for the night. Not to mention breakfast the next day. No wonder she was distracted!

So I don't think Jesus was chastising her for being "too busy." In fact, I'll go out on a limb and say I don't think He was chastising her at all. He wanted His dinner, same as everyone else.

I think He was reminding her to adjust her attitude a little, and remember Whom she was serving.

Anytime people came to Jesus and asked Him to resolve some dispute between them and another person, or tried to get him to "take sides" on something, He refused to do so. He always brought it back to the person who asked the question, telling them to take a look at themselves first.

Luke 12:13-15

¹³ Then one from the crowd said to Him,

“Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

¹⁴ But He said to him, “Man, who made

Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” 

¹⁵ And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness,

for one’s life does not consist

in the abundance of the things he possesses.”

In this example, He could have asked the guy and the brother to come up and each give their side of the story. After all, there was a code in the Hebrew Law about inheritances. Jesus could have pointed out who was right and who was wrong and who owed money to whom.

But that was not what Jesus was about. He loved all of God's people and did not take the side of one over another.

So I think Jesus' reply to Martha's accusation of her sister was this: He simply wasn't taking sides, either Martha OR Mary's. He wanted to remind them that love for each other was the most important thing.

And, it may be pointed out, He knew that His time with this little family, and their time with each other, was limited. The next time He came to visit, their brother Lazarus would be dead, albeit temporarily. After that it wouldn't be too long before Jesus Himself would be condemned to die.

Jesus was reminding Martha that relationships were the most important thing, that being embittered with her sister would only hurt her, Martha, in the long run.

Not a bad lesson. And one you can still have a doughnut after hearing.

Love Mercy

Micah 6:8

He has shown you, O man, what is good;

And what does the Lord require of you

But to do justly, to love mercy,

And to walk humbly with your God?

I was thinking about what it means to DO justice but to LOVE mercy.

Because justice means people get what they deserve, right? And mercy means the opposite.

It's a bit of a conundrum. (Yes, I had to spell-check that word.)

So we come back to WDJD. By which I mean, What DID Jesus Do?

"He That is Without Sin" by Liz Lemon Swindle

(image from evangelicalinthewilderness.blogspot.com)

He forgave. He loved. He never compromised about what was right, but He cared above all for people's hearts.

He was without sin, yet had compassion for the sinner.

So loving mercy means we don't want people to "get what they deserve."
 

1 Thessalonians 5:15

See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone,

but always pursue what is good

both for yourselves and for all.

You get what you get and you don't get upset

What do God and Forrest Gump have in common?

They both have a pithy way of telling us to be content with our circumstances.

"Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you're gonna get." Forrest Gump

Ezekiel 2: 8 “But you son of man, hear what I say to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house (of Israel); OPEN YOUR MOUTH AND EAT WHAT I GIVE YOU.”

That's all I have to say about that.
(image from wikipedia.org)

The Fullness of God

In Ephesians 3:19,

Paul prays for the church "that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."

But...

What is the fullness of God?


(image from http://www.ignitecampusmin.com)

As a mother, I spend a lot of time filling things up: clean cups and plates, empty hands and bellies, flat balloons and floaties. All kinds of things are waiting to be filled: with food, with love, and with my very breath.

Somehow, though, all these things seemd to get empty again rather quickly.

I can't tell you how many meals I've fixed, sippy cups I've filled, and inflatables I've blown up.What I can tell you is, as soon as I turn around, the kid feels hungry again, the milk is spilled, and the balloon has popped.

Is the fullness of God like this? Is it a temporary thing that we lose and refill over and over?

It certainly feels that way sometimes. How often do we come to God, empty and dry, spilled out and deflated, begging for Him to fill us up again? I think maybe there's a hole somewhere that His fullness keeps leaking out of.


My neighbor has a cool bouncy house that the kids like to play on. We had a cheap one a long time ago, but it popped almost immediately and lost all its air, so it was no longer fun to jump in.

But my neighbor has the industrial-grade one, with the electric air pump to keep it filled with air for hours of jumping fun.

(image from http://www.karismagicparties.com)

Do you see the idea? With my cheap inflatable, one hole rendered it useless and in need of repair. But with a real bouncy house, a few little holes make no difference, because of the continuous infilling of air coming from the power source.

I'm sure you get the spiritual application here. We need a continuous infilling of the Holy Spirit to keep us filled with the fullness of God. So where does this come from?

Ephesians 5:18b-21
"Be filled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,²¹ submitting to one another in the fear of God."

We stay filled with the fullness of God by (1) giving praise to God, (2) giving thanks for ALL things, and (3) giving to one another.

I was feeling pretty good about this until we got to number three there. Give to one another?! After all, isn't it giving to others that leaves me feeling drained and depleted?

But it's in giving to others that Jesus promises us the most filling experience.

Luke 6:38
^"Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

What does Jesus say about tomorrow?

From Jesus Calling by Sarah Young:

(Jesus says:)

"DO NOT WORRY ABOUT TOMORROW!

This is not a suggestion, but a command.

I divided time into days and nights, so that you would

have manageable portions of life to handle.

My Grace is sufficient for you,

but its sufficiency is for only one day at a time.

When you worry about the future,

you heap day upon day of troubles onto your flimsy frame.

You stagger under the heavy load

which I never intended for you to carry.

Throw off this oppressive burden with one quick thrust of trust.

Anxious thought meander about and crisscross in your brain,

but trusting brings you directly into My Prescence.

As you thus affirm your faith, shackles of worry

fall off instantly. Enjoy My Prescence

by continually trusting Me at all times."

 

This was an extremely timely message for me. I seem to need to be reminded of this directive from Jesus every day.

How often do I waste time worrying about tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that?

And it IS a giant waste of time. "Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?" (Matt 6:27 NLT) The answer, or course, is a big fat NO!

(image from http://switchgaming.blogspot.com)

In fact, worrying takes AWAY time, by wasting it on useless anxiety.

Knowing this, of course, doesn't stop me from doing it.

Hence today's little reminder......

Jesus Loves the Little Children... But Why?

"The Kingdom of God" by Greg Olson

(image from http://www.dst-corp.com)

Luke 18:16

"But Jesus called the children to Him and said,

'Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid

them, for of such is the Kingdom of God.'"

Jesus was tired. He had been teaching all day, telling parables and answering questions; it's no wonder the disciples tried to send the children away.

After all, they figured, the last thing the Rabbi needed was a bunch of snotty-nosed babies in His lap, wiping their sticky hands on His robe and crying into His beard. "Get these kids out of here!" the disciples said to the mothers. "The Teacher doesn't have time for this kind of nonsense."

The disciples wanted to keep those annoying children away so that Jesus could concentrate on more important things: preaching, teaching, and instructing the many who had come to Him for wisdom.

But the disciples were misunderstanding what the important things really were. The important things were the human hearts Jesus had come to touch, the souls He had come to redeem. This was His primary mission: not preaching clever sermons, but rescuing lost souls.

Although Jesus did instruct people in the ways of God, He also knew that no amount of intellectual knowledge would bring them into the Kingdom of God. The adults in His audience were religious Jews, people who had grown up with plenty of (head) knowledge about God's Kingdom. However, they were still ignorant of the (heart) knowledge of God's Kingdom.

Only the little children were able to receive His blessing wholeheartedly, without judgemnet or question, able to believe in Him completey and to be of the Kingdom of God.

The disciples had it all upside down and backwards. The many great minds in the group surrounding Jesus, those ready to debate with him and discuss important religious matters, were not of he Kingdom of God. Only the hearts who were open and ready to receive Him were of the Kingdom.

The hearts of the children and the hearts of the adults were all precious in His sight. These all were the souls He had come to save.

Can you miss the exit on the road to Emmaus?

Duccio di Buoninsegna, "Road to Emmaus" from www.chinaoilpaintinggallery.com
You have probably heard the story of the road to Emmaus.

After the Ressurection of Jesus, these events are recorded in Luke 24:

¹³ Now that same day two of them were going to a village

called Emmaus, about seven miles  from Jerusalem.

¹⁴ They were talking with each other about everything that had happened.

¹⁵ As they talked and discussed these things with each other,

Jesus Himself came up and walked along with them;  

¹⁶ but they were kept from recognizing Him.

¹⁷ He asked them, “What are you discussing together

as you walk along?”They stood still, their faces downcast. ¹⁸ One of them,

named Cleopas, asked Him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem

who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

¹⁹ “What things?” he asked.

“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “

He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people.

²⁰ The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death,

and they crucified Him; ²¹ but we had hoped that He was the one

who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more,

it is the third day since all this took place. ²² In addition,

some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning

²³ but didn’t find His body. They came and told us that they had seen

a vision of angels, who said He was alive.

²⁴ Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it

just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”

²⁵ He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe

all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Did not the Messiah have to suffer

these things and then enter his glory?” ²⁷ And beginning with Moses

and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was said

in all the Scriptures concerning Himself.

²⁸ As they approached the village to which they were going,

Jesus continued on as if He were going farther. ²⁹ But they urged Him strongly,

“Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.”

So He went in to stay with them.

³⁰ When He was at the table with them, He took bread, gave thanks,

broke it  and began to give it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened

and they recognized Him,  and He disappeared from their sight.

³² They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us  

while He talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures  to us?”

This passage is pretty familiar to most Christians. But something new struck me as I read it today.

Jesus was about to keep on going when they reached the village, (after all, His destination was Heaven and not Emmaus, right?) but stayed when they strongly urged Him to. If Cleopas and his friend had not asked Him to stay, He would have gone on.

What would have happend then?

The men would never have known Jesus had been there.

Everything else would have been the same: Jesus had been there; He had explained the Scriptues to them; their hearts had been burning withing them.

They would have simply eaten their dinner, remarked on what a nice talk they'd had with the stranger on the road, and said too bad how the man had inisted on going on with out them, etc., never knowing Jesus had been among them all day.

They would have missed the miracle of being aware of His presence.

So how did they avoid missing out on the miracle of the Emmaus road? They urged Him strongly to stay with them.

This reminds me of Jacob wrestling with the angel, refusing to let go until he received a blessing.

Or the words of Jesus, in Matthew 7:

⁷ “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for.

Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking,

and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks, receives.

Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.

⁹ “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread,

do you give them a stone instead? ¹⁰ Or if they ask for a fish,

do you give them a snake? Of course not!

¹¹ So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children,

how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask Him?

So the lesson for us is, Don't miss out on the miracle! Keep on asking for it!

Don't miss the exit!

Be Bartimaeus

"Jesus Healing the Blind of Jericho" by Nicholas Poussin

Image from allposters.com

A short devotional for today:



Mark 10: 46-52

⁴⁶ Now they came to Jericho. As He went out of Jericho

with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus,

the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging.

 ⁴⁷ And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth,

he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁸ Then many warned him to be quiet; but he cried out all the more,

“Son of David, have mercy on me!”

⁴⁹ So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be called.

Then they called the blind man, saying to him,

“Be of good cheer. Rise, He is calling you.”

⁵⁰ And throwing aside his garment, he rose and came to Jesus.

⁵¹ So Jesus answered and said to him, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

The blind man said to Him, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.”

⁵² Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.”

And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.

Jesus told Bartimaeus to go his way. But he chose to go Jesus' way.

May we do the same!

Heaven on Earth?

"Heaven's Garden" by Marina Petro marinapetro.blogspot.com

I have heard some Christians say that they don’t need to wait for heavenly glory, that with Jesus, earthly life is sweet enough.

Well, to be honest, I’m not there yet.

Maybe it’s because I’m not the best Christian in the world (I freely admit that I’m not) but I don’t find earthly life to be sweet. With Jesus I’d say it’s just bearable. Without Him, I can’t imagine.

Sometimes this life is just so incredibly wearying I can’t stand it.

Now before you call the Crisis Center on me, let me just say I am not slashing my wrists or anything. I’m just saying that this world is not heaven.

Whatever Belinda Carlisle might have sung back in the 80’s, heaven is NOT a place on earth.

(image from wikia.com)

My devotional from “Jesus Calling” by Sarah Young for today read as follows:

“Do not long for the absence of problems in your life.

That is an unrealistic goal, since in this world you

will have trouble. You have an eternity of problem-free

living reserved for you in heaven. Rejoice in that

inheritance, which no one can take away from you,

but do not seek your heaven on earth.”

I found this encouraging, because the truth is, I really have been longing for a problem-free life.

I mean, aren’t we all?

(image from clipartof.com)
Isn’t that the basis for every advertisement and infomercial there is, a promise to eliminate our problems?


It‘s a cheerful smiling voice saying, “Do you suffer from blank? Well try new blank and all your troubles are over!”

But that’s not what Jesus promised us.


He said, “In this world you will have trouble.” (John 16:33)

But the verse doesn’t stop there.

“But take heart!” He adds. “I have overcome the world.”

So when we’re looking for Jesus to take away all our problems, we’re looking for the wrong thing.

We're looking for heaven on earth, when we should be looking for Jesus Himself instead.

Guess What? I Don't Know Everything!

 

Did you get that? I do NOT, in fact, know everything.

I am very embarrassed to admit this.

Okay. Okay. You can stop laughing now.

I know you're probably saying, "Duh, Christie. Obviously you don't know everything. NO ONE does."

But here's the thing: I like to think I know everything. Or at least most things.

I mean, don't you?

(image from http://darleneanitascott.wordpress.com/)

I prefer to think I'm smart and know the answers.

Yes, I was that kid in school. The one with her hand up when the teacher asked a question, jumping and going, "Oooh! Oooh! Pick Me! ME! I  know!"

But I just had a little rude awakening. Yesterday I read Luke 5:1-11. This is the story of the calling of Peter, James, John and Andrew.

"Calling of the Fisherman" Harry Anderson http://www.dst-corp.com

This lesson just showed up last week at the kids' class I teach at the chapel. I've done it before: you make a fish craft; you sing "Fishers of Men," et cetera.

So when I saw that this was the Bible readng,I said to myself, "I know this one. Like I told the kids: The disciples weren't catching anything so Jesus told them to let down their nets on the other side and then they had lots of fish. Then they all left their nets and followed Him."

Then I read it:

¹ One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around Him and listening to the word of God, ² He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. ³ He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then He sat down and taught the people from the boat.
⁴ When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”
⁵ Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
⁶ When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. ⁷ So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
⁸ When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” ⁹ For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, ¹⁰ and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” ¹¹ So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed Him.

Okay. Whoops.

I realized  I had taught the kids the wrong story! The "Let down your nets on the other side" thing didn't happen until after the Resurrection! This story wasn't the same at all!

Now, maybe you think that's a ridiculous distinction; after all, it was still about the disciples catching a bunch of fish after following Jesus' instructions.

But I thought I knew what I was talking about. And it turns out I didn't.

It's like when that kid waves and waves his hand at the teacher until she finally calls on him and then he gets the answer wrong.

Ouch.

This is just another example of God showing me I don't have all the answers.

The disciples weren't able to catch any fish until they had listened to Jesus' teaching and then  followed His instructions.

Just like I should be doing.

Right after I apologize to all those kids.....

Theological Thoughts at a Three-D Film?

Last night my husband and I went to see the movie Wrath of the Titans.

It wasn't bad, I guess. The special effects were very cool. No expense spared there, obviously.

In fact, I guess they spent so much on the special effects that they didn't have any money left over for a decent script. (cue the laugh track)

(images from wikipedia.org)
This was a sequel to Clash of the Titans (2010), which was a remake of Clash of the Titans (1981).

Are you confused yet?

But seriously, folks...

What really struck me during this movie was the portrayal of the god Zeus.

Zeus was played by Liam Neeson and looked extremely godlike through the whole movie.

He looked exactly like what I would expect the real God to look like, if people were going to cast Him in, say, a remake of The Bible, or something.


image from http://rezirb.com

But truthfully, I don't think the REAL God loks anything like this.

What do I think He looks like? Here's a surprise: I DON'T KNOW!

(I John 4:12a "No one has ever seen God." Duh!)

But I do know that whenever we, as humans, try to make an image of God, we mess it up. Badly.

Like the Israelites did in Exodus 32, with that ridiculous golden calf.

Or, in fact, through the ENTIRE Old Testament, when they kept making idols of wood, and stone, and gold, and silver. When NONE of them were real!

And of course, we still do this today, in different ways. Mostly by trying to make our own image of God in the way WE want Him to be.

We want Him to do what we want, and when He doesn't we get mad. We don't like to think that it's actually about His plan, and not our agenda.

Okay. Back to Perseus, Zeus and the Titans.

In the movie, Zeus sadly tells Perseus that since people have stopped believing in the gods and stopped praying to them, it has robbed the gods of their power. Perseus steadfastly refuses to pray anyways, tries to stop the Titans and save everyone by himself, and ends up having to save Zeus from Hades, because poor Zeus is so depressed and drained by everyone's lack of faith in him.

(I know; it's a complicated plot. I had trouble following it myself.)

This struck me as incredibly sad, because I think this is the actual image we have of God sometimes: When we pray, we wake God up and get him to do stuff. For us.

Like He's sitting around waiting for us to imbue Him with power.

Say WHAT?!

That's absolutely ludicrous, isn't it?

Here's a news flash: GOD DOESN'T NEED US! We need Him!

We don't make Him; HE made us!

It's not about our plans; it's about His plan!

Not that we don't pray, of course. We're commanded to pray; that's a whole other subject.

But we don't pray because God NEEDS us to. We do it because WE need to.

And we trust that He hears, and He is always working, remembering Isaiah 55: 8-9:

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD.
“As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts."

God is SO much bigger than Liam Neeson.

He is so much more our image of Him.

And He is the one in control!

Why I Shouldn't Get Complacent

(image from wikipedia)

Last week in Sunday School, we were talking about the Ten Commandments, and how we sometimes break them.

(Yes this was an adult class. And no, we didn't give specific examples.)

I said that I thought I was doing pretty well on the "Thou shalt not murder" one.

Obviously I said this to get a laugh, but my classmate answered seriously. She said to remember that just not killing anyone is not enough.

Matthew 5: 21-22 says:

²¹ “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ ²² But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sisterwill be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

Wow. That's convicting.

I guess I'm not doing as well as I thought.

The Call of Jeremiah

http://www.crown.org/godprovides/pub/JeremiahsCall.aspx

When Jeremiah is called by God to bring His words to the people, unsurprisingly, Jeremiah tries to get out of it.

(As did Moses. And Gideon. Et cetera. I mean, don't we ALL?)

But I think God's response here is interesting. And also applicable to those of us called to speak for Him today.

Reading from Jeremiah chapter 1, verses 4-8:

Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

⁵ “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
Before you were born I sanctified you;
I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

⁶ Then said I:

“Ah, Lord God!
Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.”

⁷ But the Lord said to me:

“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’
For you shall go to all to whom I send you,
And whatever I command you, you shall speak.
⁸ Do not be afraid of their faces,
For I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.

Why does God say, "Do not be afraid of their faces?" And why would Jeremiah be afraid of their FACES rather than, say, their fists? Or swords even? After all, he lives in kind of a warrior culture. Seems like he ought to worry more about something worse than folks making faces at him!
(image from http://mychinaconnection.com)

But I think God is talking about something more relevant to us today even than it was in Jeremiah's time.

I think He is talking about being afraid of the OPINIONS of others.

Sometimes we are way more afraid of people's bad opinions than any physical harm that might befall us.

We're worried more by the idea of being made fun of than of actually getting hurt.

We are more concerned about looking foolish in front of our peers than any real injury they could inflict on us.

We're more afraid of losing face than getting punched in the face.
But God says, DON'T be!

He says, Don't be afraid of their FACES!

(image from http://www.gmgdesign.com)

Continuing with verses 9 and 10:

⁹ Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me:

“Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.
¹⁰ See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms,
To root out and to pull down,
To destroy and to throw down,
To build and to plant.”

So we don't have to worry about saying the wrong thing, or looking stupid in the eyes of others.

Because if we are allowing God to speak His words through us, the opinions of people don't even MATTER.

In other words, they can make all the faces at us they want, but it won't hurt.

It's only His word that has the power to actually DO anything.

But I admit, this is way easier said than done. I'm still afraid of their faces.

Lord, help me to remember that it is only Your opinion that matters.

Seeing Him in the Sky

This is a photo my niece Jennifer took last summer. Can you see God in the sky?

This is a cool picture, but the truth is, we can see Him in the sky EVERY day!

As Psalm 19 says:

¹ The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
² Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
³ They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
⁴ Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.

Every time we see the beautiful sky God has made, it is telling us of His glory!
Isn't that amazing?

Thanks for the inspiration to: missionary Ralph McIntosh at http://www.actsfoundation.org/

Trash Theology

So I was thinking about Jesus at the recycling center.

I know. It's strange. But stay with me here.

(image from wikipedia.com)

Here in Hawaii we have to put a five-cent deposit on plastic bottles and aluminum cans, which we can get back when we recycle them. I think a few other states do this too.

(Oh and they also tack on a little one-cent tax that you don't get back, but that's another post.)

So a lot of people go to the recycling center. It's not just for the homeless anymore.

Anyways, I was thinking about the theology of recycling.

Does anyone remember a long time ago when they had returnable glass bottles? I know, we're talking a LONG time ago.

I'm dating myself a bit here, but when I had my first job at a grocery store there were still a few people using the old glass Coke bottles.

Here's how that worked: People would pay the bottle deposit when they bought the Coke and then bring back the empty glass bottle to the store and get the deposit back. Then the store would send the bottles back to the plant to be sterilized and refilled with Coke.

(Image from dnkvariety.com)

Okay, all you young people are shocked. "The SAME bottles?" you say. "To be USED again?!"

Yep. Back in the day, we used to WASH things.

But nowadays, when you bring back your used bottles and cans, they melt them down and make them into new bottles and cans.

Are you seeing the link to Jesus yet?

Here's a hint: 2nd Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Get it?

Did you ever see that bumper sticker? You know the one that says, "Jesus saves; Buddha recycles."

Now that's clever. But actually it should be THE OTHER WAY AROUND.

Because Jesus doesn't just wash us out and stick us back out there in the world.

He actually REMAKES us into a NEW creation.

And that's why the recycling center is called....

The Redemption Center!