Our CoVid Christmas - with excerpts from a Cup of Hope by Emilie Barnes

Well, that's definitely what I needed today, a Cup of Hope, because as I gave away all the goodies I'd been preparing all month to the prison ministry of our church, I felt pretty hopeless about my attitude.  Bah humbug -  yep, we have Covid in our house and will be quarantined through the first of the year. 

My husband is working through the insurance to cancel the beach house we had planned for a big extended family Christmas as we speak.  I've finally packaged up all the gooey butter cookies, Oreo cookie balls, almond bark candy, peppermint almond bark, to name a few of the Christmas confections that were destined for NC.   We'll probably be eating the Italian Vegetable soup I had frozen for the big crew til April!!  But the worst thing is...this is the second Christmas we won't get to be with grandkids.  

As I began to veg and spiral down into purposeless and pouting, I had that still small voice pop into my mind to remind  me of my lack of thankfulness.  After all, my husband only has had 2 days of Covid where he slept most of the day with a runny nose, and seems better already.  We really thought it was a cold, but decided to get tested just to be safe before we started our trip - which was supposed to have been today.  He's not fighting for his life, like my cousin in Colorado right now who is at the point of being intubated in a Colorado hospital.  And we aren't mourning, like my friends who lost their 60 year old full-of-life brother, and we aren't fighting pancreatic cancer like my sister-in-law. We are sitting here in a warm house with ordered groceries on the way and plenty of soup in the freezer!   Disappointed - yes - but how dare I forget to be thankful?  What I have is not the thankfulness that we're called on to have in all circumstances - what I have is a case of attitude and a quarantinitis.  

Like children waiting for Christmas to come, it's so easy to become irritable when we aren't getting our way.  Emilie Barnes talked about the discouragement that came upon her even as she wrote her book A Cup of Hope as she was fighting cancer with the fatigue, the baldness, the chemo.  But she didn't stay there - she wrote a book about how to hope in the face of horrible circumstances  - talk about something good being made from the bad!

It's normal at times like this that we forget who the Parent is as we tend to spiral down into wanting to throw a temper tantrum and stamp our foot that we aren't getting our way!!  However, if we can let the adult that calls herself a Christian take over, we may remember that we weren't promised a trouble free world; John 16:33 tells us:  In this world there will be trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world.  

How bad does it have to get before we go to our Father to help us when we fall into bad circumstances?  Whether it's a skinned knee (my Christmas plight) or a terrible diagnosis, His words remind us:  All things work together for good to those who love the Lord. (Romans 8:28)  God reminded Job that He is God and operates on His own timing and plans.   And if we stop and go to His word we will be reminded what  Emilie Barnes tells us:  He has a bigger plan in mind that just giving us what we want.  (For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, plans to give you a hope and a future.  Jeremiah 29:11. ) And yes, sometimes that future may be in heaven, but we don't get to pick when and how that trip will be.  Emilie also reminds us:  God does His best work when we run out of options. 

Emilie goes on to say that when circumstances come that try us, when we have to call upon Him for Hope, is the place where  He shapes us, teaches us (if we will learn), tests, and refines us.  He knows we're His children and He's always working to grow us up.  

And, unfortunately, we don't only forget to go to Him for an attitude adjustment.  We  often forget to go to Him until we're completely helpless.  I'm always amazed at the irony of  how newscasters talk about sending thoughts and prayers when catastrophes happen - but God is never mentioned in ordinary newscasts. I repeat:  How bad does it have to get before we go to Him?

Emilie ends one of her devotions with simple but profound advice when feelings of despair and discouragement cloud over our feelings of thankfulness and eat away at our hope.  She says, "As you wait on God's answers - (and yes, sometimes they will not be the answer we want), take care of yourself physically, stay in the Word, and maintain your important relationships."  

And so, maybe this Covid Christmas is giving me the best gift I can get - EVEN above getting to see the grandkids.  Maybe He knew I needed a time to sit and reflect instead of crazily packing the car with presents and stuff.   Maybe this time of reflecting on God's purposes is a gift to remind me of how to rely on Him when really big circumstances come my way.  What a gift to know that the peace that passes understanding is available to us.  How easy it is to forget the promise of Philippians 4:  The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, WITH THANKSGIVING, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding , will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  

I'm also reminded...the second best present I have to be thankful for is FACETIME, that will allow us to share in Christmas morning even though my loved ones are far away.  I'm actually having feelings of excitement to replace my doldrums as I type that!! 

 And so...I share an old poem that is time for me to revisit from Cream for My Coffee (which is still available if you'd like a copy, just let me know) - the book that I wrote in other times where I had some remembering to do...

Rejoice You Say?

"Rejoice always" (Phil. 4:4)

Is that what you say? 

You expect this?  Lord, how can you?

How can I face,

Live in this place

I find myself muddling through?

You say, don't look down

At the problems I've found.

Look past them to just see You.

But I'm not restored;

Help me now, Lord. 

I'm floundering in all that I do.

All I see looks so dark.

How do I embark

Upon this path before me?

I can't see Your face,

I can't feel Your grace;

I see through this mirror dimly.

Yet it's here in the valley 

Where my faith learn to rally,

And I begin to hear Your voice.

Though the way is steep,

My path You'll keep.

How I walk though, is my choice.

If I just spend an hour, 

Stop to smell Your flowers,

The way seems not quite so long.

For finding Your treasure 

Is not always through pleasure,

Though if I listen You'll give me a song.

Help me not to complain

When I'm cold in the rain,

Without which the flowers won't grow.

I must look beyond

That of which I'm not fond.

I know that to reap I must sow.

So while I find myself here

In this place that I fear,

Lord, help me to see Your face.

Help me comprehend

The blessings You send,

And to go slow and walk in Your peace.

For there's much that I miss 

When I get down like this,

So many ways You love me so.

Help me embrace

Any hardships I face -

And trust, and because of them, grow. 

 

Excerpts from Aging With Grace by Sharon W. Better & Susan Hunt

                                                             

Today I sit and wait.  Yesterday it was a sinus headache day.  I did what needed to be done and then I vegged like a useless potato.  As I age, I'm seeing that I don't push back against lagging energy like I used to.   Today is better - so far - I exercised - I got some soup going.  I don't have anything pressing today (although my calendar shows this is not going to be the case next week where it will pick up dramatically.)   But the  uselessness of yesterday began to  morph into today so that instead of thankfulness that I have a day of rest - a day I would have given my right arm for in the past years of full time work - I'm feeling kind of useless.   Too much work, not enough purpose - good grief - can I never be content?

So the next thing I did was turn to the Lord, asking - What do I do with this day?  Next, I listlessly read a devotional on my phone,  and then, wham, I get the impression to write.  Now if that's not the Holy Spirit, I don't know what is! I am not always blessed with such quick answers.  Maybe this is something that needs to be shared - so I will - but maybe it's just for me - to record the simple power of lifting my eyes to the heavens. 

The devotional I just read was about how Satan attacks women in unique ways. For those in the throes of motherhood, the endless tedium of being in 24-7 servanthood weighs heavily.  Hormonal changes and other physical weaknesses, emotional or relationship issues can often become the guage of our spiritual state.  Although I am now in the "easy" years of retirement - the lack of energy that comes and goes can be demoralizing.  

And yet from my recent study on Aging With Grace by Sharon W. Betters and Susan Hunt, I am reminded again to sit and wait whether it is overwhelm from too much busyness I am fighting or the feeling of purposeless that attacks on a low energy day.  The attacks can come from any state!  But in this book, Jeremiah 6:16 is quoted:  "Stand by the roads, and look.  Ask for the ancient paths where the good way is: and walk in it, and find rest for your souls." 

Wait - not just in a vacumn of withdrawing - but wait on the Lord.  James 4:8 tells us:  "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." Aging with Grace offers this bit of wisdom:  "God's grace is specific.  When it's time to suffer He gives suffering grace.  When it's timeto age, He gives aging grace.  When it's time to die, He gives dying grace."  I follow that wisdom inferring that when it's time to work, He gives working grace.  And when it's time to rest, He gives resting grace.  

So whether we are fighting the battles of motherhood, are in the throes of juggling a career and homelife, struggling physically, or just facing the diminishing physical abilities and energy of aging, the answer is the same:  find time to wait on the Lord.  Even for just a moment, find time to lift your eyes to Him. 

 One of the authors of the book was writing it when she encountered a physical setback where she fought days of fear and fatigue.  But as she continued to lift her eyes to the Lord on her unproductive days she was given the thought:  "This is not wasted time.  It is growing time, because my physical weakness and pain push me to trust Jesus more."  After all, Jesus gave these words both to Paul and to us:  "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."  (2 Cor. 12:9)

She then asks this question:  "How often do we miss God's treasures because we don't recognize the little things as the big things?"  You might think that urge to write this morning was just a random thought.  I can't explain how I am absolutely assured that it was the Spirit that popped that surprising, not-remotely-on-my-radar thought into my mind. But the waiting that precipitated it caused me to recognize the truth of this quote from Elizabeth Elliot shared in the book:  "The place in which you find yourself is the very place where God is giving you the opportunity to look only to Him."  

Aging With Grace further shares this wisdom:  "As long as we live in this world , we are prone to look down.  But the rhythm of rest and daily worship (looking up)  recalibrates our minds and hearts in the present moment to remember our destiny and destination while "waiting for our blessed hope." (Titus 2:13)  Isaiah 40:31 echoes this thought:  "They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength..."  The authors then remind us that waiting is an action word, and that "when we cling to Him (as we wait), a supernatural exchange slowly but surely happens, His strength becomes ours."  

One of the wise women who participated in the study on this book shared that she clung to this definition of hope that she was given along the way based on Habukkuk 3:19:  Hope is getting up, getting dressed and letting the Lord guide your steps that day - that the Lord will be your strength; He will give you hinds feet for high places.

The authors end with this thought on making the most of every day, even the hard ones:  "Flourishing at this time in my life is resting in Him, sitting with Him, and hearing Him speak to me from His Word, lifting others up in prayer, smiling at others for Him, giving a word of encouragement when He prompts and being still in Him."  

So I share this simple thought for the day that I needed - because it made my day.  I share it with the hope that it might make yours.  

Aging with Grace

The afternoon of life

Begins to take its toll

Slowing down is warranted

But we begin to feel less whole.

We're thankful we don't have to

Fight the daily race.

We appreciate the ability

To finally ease our pace.

And yet we begin to feel invisible

As if we no longer flourish.

Although we can turn to Him 

That's where we'll be nourished.

We can still abide in Him

Though our bodies age

We must guard against brittleness

As we reach this inevitable stage.

Gray hair is a crown of glory (Prov. 16:31)

A reward for righteous living.

Til the very end, we can find 

Reasons for thanksgiving.

Nowhere in the Word

Do we find the word retire

We do not lose heart

Though our bodies easily tire.

And so we travel heavenward

Day by sometimes painful day.

Knowing that always

By our side He'll stay.

If we but raise our eyes to Him

In Him we can abide

Though wasting away outwardly, (2 Cor. 4)

Every day He'll be our guide.

From Beast to Beauty

Last month I would not have seen the beauty of the mums that were newly planted at the entrance to our subdivision, but today, I was awed and transfixed by their gorgeous colors as I drove in.  I know that sounds "slightly overly" waxing poetic (if that's a thing), but you know what I mean:  when suddenly a sunset or a tree, or a morning full of birdsong stops you in your tracks and for me, my heart immediately turns to the Creator.  

Last month, I had a thyroid imbalance that turned my world to grey.  I wouldn't wish that on anyone. I can't even imagine what misery people with full grown lasting depression go through.  Mine I would describe as brain fog: couldn't make decisions, nothing tasted good, everything seemed too hard, I didn't feel like going places I usually love, I wanted to come home when I was anywhere.  My head was full of grumpy thoughts that I recognized as unnecessary and untrue but they kept popping into my brain nevertheless.  When I finally figured out what was going on, it only took two days to get me on-kilter but I told one friend that it scares me to be 25 miligrams of thyroid medication away from mental illness!!!  

A term popped out to me from the book I'm studying at church right now, Aging with Grace by Sharon W. Betters and Susan Grace.  In it they defined "aging with grace" as becoming an older woman that was life-giving instead of life-taking - in other words, not like the way I felt for the last month. But it was this sentence that stopped me short:  "The hope of glory is future, but there are very real implications right here and right now.  Our union with Christ results in a radical change from beast to beauty."

The challenge of this book is to not give up on ourselves as "too old to change" - that we can continue to grow in reflecting God's glory - in showing to others His mercy, graciousness, slowness to anger, steadfast love, faithfulness and forgiveness.  (Ex 34:6-7).  Our character, attitudes, and actions throughout our life may have been "beastly" at times along the way, but that doesn't mean we can't be still growing in inner beauty.  As 2 Cor 4 tells us:  Therefore we do not lost heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed day by day... So we look to what is unseen, for the seen is only temporary." 

The authors aptly described the gladness we feel soley from temporal things - yes, even mums - as the beauty that the beast (the humanness within) us looks for from people, things and circumstances.  And as our bodies change as we age, so can our spirits if we just look to what we see.  After all, winter comes, the mums fade, and so do we. It seemly totally poetic a few weeks ago when at my 50th!!! class reunion I looked at the scrolling monitor of all the classmates that have passed on, then picked up a yearbook displayed nearby... the black and white pictures were actually fading.  "Just like us," I said half-joking at this truth!!!  The authors speak to this: "We must guard against our hearts becoming brittle and bitter as the disappointments of life (and aging) continue to come, by praying for grace to abide in Christ and bear the fruit of steadfast love and faithfulness to others."

Elizabeth  Elliot who lost two husbands after getting married later in life says this about those hard places that can make us life-takers instead of givers:  "This hard place you find yourself in is the very place where God is giving you the opportunity to look only to Him; to spend time in prayer and to learn the depths of (His) love..." 

And so, today, I see the beauty of the fall splendor, but I don't just appreciate it in itself.   I use the moment of beauty to tame the beast inside by not just looking down at what this earth has to offer, but by looking up and praising.

Beauty Tames the Beast

Tale as old as time

True as it can be

We all get to an end

But something always bends

Unexpectedly.

Just a little change

Small, to say the least.

We all get a little scared

Never seem prepared

We lose beauty to the beast.

 Ever just the same

Ever a surprise

Ever as before

And ever just as sure

The sun will rise.  It’s pure…

 Truth that you were wrong

Though fear sometimes lasts long.

Certain as the sun

Rising in the east

We can fight the beast...

That rises deep within

And steals all of our joy.

But He always comes.

His light warm as the sun

His comfort will employ.

 Though the wait is long

And darkness fills our day

He will restore the light

No matter what the plight

If we but watch and pray.

The beast within screams loud

All seems gone to grey 

Beauty is all lost

Our heart a holocaust

It seems it's gone to stay. 

But His song  old as rhyme

Rises deep within

And beauty tames the beast,

Wait upon the feast

We’re promised every time.

Tale as old as time

Song as old as rhyme

We must fight the dark within

With Him we conquer sin

Beauty tames the beast.

 

 

Images of Iceland

Now that is a title I never thought I'd write.  A trip to Iceland wasn't on my bucket list but it sure was on my Earth Science/Geology major husband 's. Seeing geothermal bubbly mudholes, geyers, waterfalls on a background that looked like we were on the moon was quite an experience.  But getting away to see more of God's creation is always beyond awe for me, and always causes me to want to capture my thoughts on paper.  Why is it I'm always moved to write when I'm on vacation?  Could it be I have a chance to empty my mind from the busyness of life - of appointments, laundry, email and cooking that even in retired life seem to overwhelm my thoughts?  Could it be on vacation I actually get still enough to look beyond the mundane to the beauty of the world around me?  That I actually have some thoughts worth capturing? 

This morning, on a misty day in Iceland where weather did not permit excursions, I am blessed with an empty day on a cruise ship.  Life could be worse! 

We started the day with a visual presentation of auroras in the ship's domed planetartium.  The accompanying narration included words of the photographer that made me take pause: " I'm awestruck gazing at  a celestial dome of kaliedoscopic color floating across the sky, with the red light becoming visible that is always there but the naked eye does not see."

                          

My mind went immediately to THE LIGHT, the Light that is always there but that we don't always see.  We do not take time to wait for it and seek it, as this photographer did over months of late night journeys in frigid temperatures to dark areas on the remotest places of the earth.  Do we take anything like that effort to see THE LIGHT?  I watch for it during Sunday morning services and during quiet times that I steal away for in the mornings. But do I take the time that it takes to really see?

Do we take thse measures to study, seek, wait and steal away to find the God we profess to believe in - the God who has promised to be with us always?  

And, do we really believe He will come again in glory?  He has said He will come in the clouds bringing down the New Earth. His coming will be arrayed therefore in the colors described in Revelations 21.  Those verses are clear, non-debatable promises, describing the colors of the auroras that may be giving us but a glimpse of the glory to come:  the gold of the streets shining like transparent glass, colors I don't even recognize - chalcedony, sardonyx, chrystite, jacinth, oprase - along with pearl, sapphire, emerald, camelion.  Could it be that the new city will come down in an aurora of light such as we've never seen before?  Revelation goes on to describe this city as "one that does not need the sun or moon to shine on it for the glory of God gives it light and the Lamb is its lamp." And it is a coincidence that the foundation of the city made of jasper, described separately as clear as crystal, is the predominant color of the auroras?  Are these but a glimpse of heaven?

We all may not get to see an aurora - we didn't, even on a trip to Iceland.  But do we see the other mysteries of the skies and earth, that cause us awe - the stars, the mighty pulse of the ocean, the majesty of waterfalls, the heights of unreachable mountain peaks, the amazing arrays of the dawn and sunsets as glimpses of heaven - gifts from the Creator of them all? The God we sing of on Sundays - is He really the God of all life?   Of our life?  Do we study, seek,  and wait and steal away to find the One we profess to believe in?

Do you?

Do We Believe?

Do we believe?

Or do we sit in a pew

And go through the motions 

As if we do?

Do we seek

The One who we sing of,

The One who guides us,

Who we profess to love?

Do we wait,

Knowing He works all to good

When suffering doesn't end

As we think it should?

Do we steal away 

To guard our heart, (Proverbs 4:23)

To be still and know (Psalm 46:10)

To come apart...

As He sought His Father?

He stole away

As recorded often

At the beginning of day.

Do we really believe

As we say we do?

Will we really be among

The chosen few?

He said He'll separate 

The chaff from wheat.

Will we earn a place

To sit at His feet?

Will He say He knew us?

Or did we just know OF Him

Without opening our hearts

To let Him in...

The place where the fruit of the spirit 

Can  grow.

Where patience and gentleness

Come from the flow.

Or are our hearts, those He spoke of

As the rocky ground (Mark 4)

Where anger and selfishness 

Are more often found?

Do we believe?

Do we live as we do?

Do we have ears to hear

What He wants us do?

Do we?

      

Reflections on a Me Culture - a glimpse of the NY Times Bestseller Untamed by Glennon Doyle

 

Most would agree that it's been a long winter - this winter of the pandemic.  BUT it's finally springtime!!  It's seems like everyone has burst forth outside like the blooms on the trees.  There just seems to be a new exhuberance with restaurants opening and people out and about after such a long darkness of being inside. 

Life seems so pure in the springtime - washed clean.  Romance and weddings are in the air.  Maybe that why the song Your Love is Like the Springtime really spoke to me this Sunday at church.  I invite you to paste this into your browser and listen to it.  

                                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8wRprU4988

Some of the lyrics are (instead of a poem by me this time):

We will sing a new song,                                                                                                                               'Cause death is dead and gone with the winter.                                                                                             We will sing a new song,                                                                                                                               Let "hallelujahs" flow like a river.

We're coming back to life                                                                                                                              Reaching toward the light.     

You're the living water                                                                                                                                   God, we thirst for You.                                                                                                                                  The dry and barren                                                                                                                                        Will bloom and grow                                                                                                                     

Come tend the soil of my soul                                                                                                                      And like a garden I will grow.                                                                                                                        And like a garden I will grow.  

And yet...as I drove to early morning exercise later this week,  revelling in the soft breeze with the windows open in the car, and the sun shining, I was reminded by the preacher Colin Smith on the radio that we are both saints and sinners.  The resurrection has come!  We are forgiven!  BUT, I am reminded that sin is a problem to which there is no human solution. 

He reminded us of Ps. 55 where the Psalmist laments the darkness, oppression, violence, strife, malice, abuse and wickedness that still abounds - even amidst the glimpses we get of heaven on earth - and that we are promised will come again.  It is only in the glory of the new earth where there will be the beauty of the Gal. 5 fruits of the spirit in every season!  Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control will be blooming everywhere.  

But not yet...There will never be a government that will bring real truth and justice to the world until King Jesus comes again.  Even His churches here on earth will be tainted by self-righteousness perversity.  We all have the blood lines of sin, absorbed by self in our very nature.  It hasn't changed for 3,000 years since that that pslam was  written  - and will not come again until the new earth according to the bible.

This echoed the sermon this week, (listen to it on TheCrossingChurch. com under the title:Shouldn't I be true to my Own Myth?)  that came directly after this song in which, listening to it, for a moment the world seemed right - I had a glimpse of the hope to which we are called.  

But then...the sermon was a summary of a Ten Minute Bible Talk blog (which you can access at TheCrossingChurch.com under blogs.  It was titled Why You Don't Want Friends to Read Glennon Doyle - on the second page of podcasts.) In the book, Untamed by Glennon Doyle, the current cultural standard seems to hold true to what this book purports :  that we should live according to our own truth; that true freedom is living according to our own inner nature. It sounds right that we should break away from external influences and decide for ourselves what is truth in order to have a self-determining freedom.  This seems to be the therapeutic self-talk of today.

Tim Keller comments on this as a recent approach to identity - not allowing anyone else to determine our truth or to make us feel guilty by their standards, so that anyone coming against that is an oppressor. (Listen also to Ten Minute Bible Talks on Critical Race Theory).

Paul actually comments in 1 Corinthians 4:3 on this modern subject well before it's inception:  I care little if I am judged ...by any human court; indeed I do not even judge myself.  My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent.  It is the Lord who judges me...He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness amd will expose the motives of the heart." 

Paul is pointing out that we have a flaw in our human GPS system, and following it will not always bring us to a flourishing life.  He is telling us that being true to yourself, is saying that your best conscience is within you. It is not!!  Paul is saying that his own conscience is not reliable! This is reiterated in Jeremiah 17:9  The heart is deceitful above all things, and beyond cure.  Who can understand it?  The Lord will search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, to what their deeds deserve.  

Do we not rationalize our own selfishness?  We all at some point lie or cheat or slander, get filled with resentment, bitterness, envy.  We have pride and arrogance that causes strife in relationships.  Why? Because we naturally follow our inner desires amd THINK we're the good guys.  (Just like the German people did in blindly following Mother Germany during the time of the Holocaust.)  Don't think so?  We were challenged to look at our own broken relationships  left in our paths as evidence - we all have them.  

In Confronting Christianity Rebecca McLauflin writes: "It has been said that no friendship would last a day if we could see each other's thoughts... If I let them see a transcript of my thoughts... my marriage would die.  My children would be crushed.  My friends would leave. My thoughts are not all bad; many are good and kind and true. But like a bag of flour infested by maggots, no part of me is pure."

True freedom comes only one way - what may be seen by some as a very intolerant statement in the bible:  John 14:6 - I am the way, the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me.  In John 8:31 -  Jesus says:  If you hold to my teaching then you will know if you are my disciple.  The truth will set you free.  Over and over He says:  Truly, truly, I say to you... as He teaches us the real, one and only truth.  

That's why Jesus as the Good Shepherd uses sheep to describe us - just like wandering sheep who won't stay in the safety of the flock, trapped in their own self-destructive desire to what they see as freedom.  

These words in the sermon struck me:  "If the loudest voice in our head is our own, it might be wise to pause before we speak."  It's a reason to meditate on the scriptures rather than the news.  Romans 1:18-32 tells us why there is such disorder in our lives and in our world:  We exchanged truth for a LIE!  

So, as we were challenged to decide:  If you really believe that God created the universe, do you think that your own distorted desires named sin is what will make your life flourish?  Gal. 5 tells us that the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh, so that you are NOT to do whatever you want...The acts of the flesh are obvious:  sexual immorality (but isn't it ok to live together without being married?), impurity, debauchery (they all do it in Washington - it's the way they play the game), idolatry (only my party is going to change the world), hatred (well, if they're wrong...), discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissentions, factions, envy, drunkennes, etc...!!!!

Do you really believe what Gal. 5:24 plainly says?  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Do you believe what it says further up in verse 13?  You, my brothers and sisters were called to be free.  But do not use your freedom to indulge in the flesh.

So I say at the end of reflecting on this sermon and this best-selling book:  As for me and my house, I will serve the Lord - well, at least to the best of my ability.  Being one of those sheep, I trust I will be led back to the fold when those natural desires call me to seek freedom elsewhere.  But as for me, it is not my own thoughts that I will try to follow the lead on but Galatians 5:16 - So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  

                                                                                                            

Thoughts on A Gentle Answer by Scott Sauls

                        

              Thoughts on A Gentle Answer:  In a World of Us Against Them

                                                   by Scott Sauls

Ok,  it's official.  It's brain damage.  Thankfully not dementia or Alzheimers - just "white spots". Those of  you who know me well, know I've always been a bit squirrely.  But this time with my chronic malady of sinus infections that this time is causing strange symptoms like dizziness (ok, friends, I mean, worse than usual - to the point of not being able to walk straight without assistance), "white spots" showed up on my MRI.   Some of those come naturally as we age, but people with chronic issues get them sooner - chronic  issues like my thorn of  sinus infections - (wonder if that was Paul's thorn, too?) -  even high cholesterol can cause them.  I've always known that the first sign of a sinus infection is that I begin to do crazy forgetful things - but at least now I know why.  Will be going to a neurologist to see if it is signaling MS or something else.  In the meantime, I'm thankful that I can go on with life, as my relatively normal, abnormal self.  

As I begin this health journey to check these new findings out, I am more committed to blog, not just to share my thoughts with others, but to help me remember thoughts that touch my heart.  I always consider those "thought bubbles from God" that make me take pause and want to lock them in my mind.  But, at least these findings on the MRI validate that there is a reason I need to write them down.  

So, I decided there are plenty of bloggers out there.  Therefore,  I've decided to spend time writing down thoughts from others that touch me, perhaps summarizing some books for people that might want a Cliff Note version of some books they haven't had time to read.

I'm starting with a book that I just studied at church with other ladies eager to know how to navigate the difficulty of the polarized world we live in as Christians.  How do we stand up for the truth of the Bible when it's looked on as being intolerant?  How do we handle the dissention of the times and decide what we are to do as Christians politically when even asking questions that we're wondering about causes outrage from those who have decided what their opinion is, and become incensed when others might not agree, or even are trying to decide their position on an issue?  How do we tear down the dividing walls of hostility? How do we express righteous anger against wrong without taking offense, shaming and slandering?  How do we be like Jesus, who rather than shaming and scolding sinners, welcomed them and ate with them? Whether conservative or progressive, how do we avoid, in our passionate zeal against the unloving Pharisee, that we do not become unloving Phaisees ourselves, becoming a hate group who is harsh, judgemental and condemning against anyone who disagrees with us - whether it is along ideological, doctrinal, or cultural issues?  

The book, A Gentle Answer - Our Secret Weapon in an Age of Us Against Them by Scott Sauls, is a stable boat in the stream of navigating such difficult questions.  There is no way I can cover even the main points of a book when I wanted to underline something on almost each page!!!  But, if you've read any of my blogs, you'll see that one way I can make sense out of a large amount of material is with ....a poem!!  I wish I could summarize each chapter under the topic of How His Gentleness Changes Us such as We Grow Thicker Skin, We Do Anger Well, We Allow Him to Disarm the Cynic in Us, We Bless Our Own Betrayers.  But today I'll start with a poem that summarizes some of the underlines in the book that I marked with 3 Stars because they shouted out to me.  And hopefully you may want to read this masterpiece by a true, gentle Jesus follower.  And writing about it will help me remember the wisdom on each page of this beautiful book.

A Gentle Answer in a World of Us Against Them

It's a broken world we live in, 

Polarized beyond a doubt.

You see white, I see black.

No compromise can be worked out.

You see things your way,

I see them mine.

And soon it turns to hatefulness

Way too much of the time.

There is a time for anger.

Yet we're told to be angry and do not sin.

Be like Jesus, but stand for righteousness.

That's where the difficulty comes in.

Jesus overthrew the money changers.

But he never told us to. 

The message He made most prevalent

Is the one that's hardest to do.

He embraced humbleness.

He was gentle and lowly of heart.

To know how to navigate this world - 

That's precisely where we must start.

Jesus didn't take on Rome.

But He changed the world one heart at a time.

He helped us recognize the Pharisees for what they were,

But that's where He drew the line.

He let the rich young ruler go too. 
He built relationships to teach what's right.

He told us to shake the dust from our sandals,

Not to pursue those who want to fight.

He befriended and embraced.

He always gave a gentle answer.

He forgave and loved and taught,

Didn't get into arguments that can grow like a cancer.

His message was not for us to preach 

    what we think is the best way to make the world right.

His message was to preach the gospel,

To keep the kingdom of heaven always in sight.

For His kingdom is not of this world.

His Spirit is not in the form of confrontation.

Rather it's about earning the right to speak to hearts

Which is the only hope for the nations.

Peace, equality, justice and hope.

Can only come from His lead.

Love, patience, kindness and self-control

Bring the gentle answers we need. 

 

Whether anyone reads this or not, I write for myself because when something touches my heart, I firmly believe it's one of the ways God speaks.  I wish I would write those touches down more often because God tells us to remember what He's done for us.  And without writing things down I don't remember much these days of sliding down the other side of the proverbial hill!!

This quote spoke to me this morning.  As I look at it again this Easter week, I think of the absolute suffering Jesus endured for us.  It's unfathomable.

And yet, I look at so many suffering in this world - my friend in a wheelchair who has been in the hospital for almost 5 months who is finally going home to two children as a single parent.  I think of another friend who has been out of town at another hospital over 6 months,having experimental bone marrow tests to try and save both of her children who have a disease that most children die of by the age of 10. And to watch their sufferering from the grueling rounds of chemo and other meds they are also using.   I think of yet another friend who just celebrated her son's 23rd birthday, even though he's been gone for 2 years, having had a AVM rupture in his brain at age 10 - AND she's celebrating that, even while caring for her severely autistic 16 year old.  Another is a grandmother to 3 beautiful children who lost their mother a year ago to cancer, watching her son go through this loss with grace and thankfulness for having had his wife for the time he had her.

But they have what Jesus didn't - they have HIM in their hearts.  Jesus was entirely separated from the sweetness He was used to in complete oneness with His Father as He bore our sins on the cross, SO THAT my friends - and I - can have His Spirit to walk through any crosses we are called to bear.

We all have crosses in this life. We can all think of our own sufferings along the way in this broken world.  Jesus said clearly,"In this world there will be trouble."  Paul had a thorn which God didn't take away, even though He asked repeatedly for it to be gone, but accepted  in order to keep himself humble.  Jesus also said, "Take up your cross and follow Me."

These friends are ones I have been so blessed to watch navigate their own Golgothic hills, their own Via Deloroses.  These friends are the ones I watch walk their tragic roads with dignity and grace, and FAITH - dependent on the Holy Spirit.  They don't hide their grief that must be expressed.  But they always REMEMBER that God is with them.  Jesus has rescued us from complete separation from the Father, and gives us our own promise of Easter whether on this earth or the next.  Walking those roads ahead are unfathomable - but walking those roads with His Spirit are doable, even if still grueling.

It gives me an amazing peace even as I contemplate the road ahead of me - not borrowing trouble - but wondering what I will find out from the neurologist I've been sent to with orders to see him STAT because of an "abnormal" MRI.  It showed a severe sinus infection which may be all it is.  But the inablity to be steady on my feet, trouble with my eyesight lately, a tremor that has changed my handwriting to be not recognizable as mine,  joint stiffening to the point where I was recently on crutches for a week, having torn my miniscus in my knee...all point to the distinct possibility of something more.  

And yet... I feel an amazing peace that I've LEARNED over the years of God whispering things to me from His Word, from my friends, and from my experiences in the past that I sought for peace but didn't always find it.  I used to look at the verse where Paul said he had LEARNED to be content in plenty and in want - and thought to myself how impossible that is.  But now I get to see that impossible MIRACLE, yes MIRACLE of the peace that passes understanding.  I've seen it in those who suffered for the sake of the gospel in the Bible, I see it in my friends who are walking very, very difficult roads, and I see it in myself as I ready myself to possibly walk a hard road also.  BUT now I have LEARNED from many other roads with bumps along the way, that I can if I have to becaue of who I walk with.

As the old hymn says,  Because He lives I can face tomorrow.

 Because He Lives

Bill & Gloria Gaither

How sweet to hold a newborn baby
And feel the pride and the joy that he gives
Oh but greater still, the calm assurance
We can face uncertain days because He lives

And because He lives, I can face tomorrow
Because He lives, all fear is gone
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth a living just because He lives

And then one day, I'll cross that river
I'll fight life's final war with pain
And then as death gives way to victory
I'll see the lights of…