Exposed!

February 12, 2018February 12, 2018Leave a comment

(By the Hair of My Chinny-Chin-Chin!)

Exposed.

Not a word we want to have used to define us. I’m thinking of the those cold sweat dreams where you believe you’ve arrived at work without your pants on – exposed! Or of politicians and power brokers – so many exposed for so much lately! Or of the word exposé – an article that gives shockingly lurid details about someone we never dreamed would’ve behaved in such a way.

But sometimes being exposed is good. Don’t believe it? How about photographs? If film was not exposed to light it would never retain the image we cherish and reminisce over so fondly. And plants. If plants were not exposed to sunlight they couldn’t feed themselves or grow or bear fruit. And our bodies. Lack of exposure to sunlight can lead to a Vitamin D deficiency. Being exposed to the light can be very beneficial.

This was proven to me in an instant one bright sunny afternoon.

Driving to Wal-Mart I got stopped by a red light. As I glanced in my review mirror at the car behind me, the sunlight struck my chin perfectly and shocked me into distraction! There on MY chin were a half-dozen hairs clearly visible in the illuminating sunlight. Now I am not that old and was not prepared for what I saw. Time seemed to stand still as I tried unsuccessfully to remove those hairs with my bare fingers. My moment ended with the car behind me honking to break me out of my distractedness. I made my way to the store and beelined it straight to the lighted, magnifying, make-up mirrors! I didn’t have the money that day, but put it on my wish list and am now the owner of a well-used lighted make-up mirror.

My point here? I was going happily along in life feeling I was doing just fine. But when my world was illuminated, I could suddenly see what all those around me were seeing each time we chatted. Light had exposed my flaw. Now I could, and do regularly, correct it. Scripture actually talks about this! Not my hairy chin, but how light exposes things and helps us.

“You were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.” Ephesians 5:8-13

We were once darkness. But we are commanded here to walk as children of Light. We’re told we’ll bear good fruit if we stay in the light just like those green plants do. We’re challenged to separate ourselves from dark deeds and to allow The Light (notice it was capitalized in scripture!) to expose the flaws within us. Yikes! That can be so painful. BTDT! But it is so necessary.

I encourage you today to take your heart and mind and attitudes and will and emotions before the Light. Allow the Lord to use Scripture to divinely illuminate those areas that need a little plucking done!

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7.

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“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

Springtime Buttercups

February 8, 2018February 7, 20182 Comments

Aunt Sis, she has another name that sounds nothing like Sis but for reasons long lost to family lore she became Sissy some sixty plus years ago and the name stuck. I grew up knowing her as Aunt Sis.

People in my family tend to earn new names from their given ones. I am Mamie, Mame for short. Only the closest to me call me by that name. My niece Ellie Grace (She is called Eggie) calls me Mamie and while it is intended to be a two syllable word, she says it with such a Southern twang and drawl that it has more like eight syllables.

My Aunt Sis can spin a yarn like nobody I’ve ever known, I used to beg her to tell me stories when I was little. She could transport me to a time when the adults I knew were children. They were wild and free, romping about thickets of pine trees. Those conifers were so densely packed they left a carpet of pine straw on the ground year round, beneath the carpet was the richest and darkest dirt. One day the conifer carpet would compost down into more beautiful black dirt, thick with nutrients and soft as biscuit dough and excellent for mud pie makin’. Shoes were rarely worn, and storm weathered saplings would serve as pretend horses for pint size riders to gallop upon. There is a legend that as a baby my Mama was “thrown” from one of those hoses. In a rodeo type fashion Mama was placed atop just such a tree by her older sister, my Mama wasn’t a very good rodeo Bronco Buster because she promptly fell straight to the ground. Sis told me that story. I’d venture to say she told me that story multiple times to halt my incessant story requests.

She told me the story of Ol’ Mrs. H and her buttercups too. There is not a spring that goes by that I do not recollect that story and the adventure that followed it.

Mrs. H was an older woman in our small church growing up, in fact I hardly remember her, by the time I made any connection to her at all she had long since moved away from her sprawling estate. Her house was ginormous, or so it seemed, filled with mystique and legend it seemed to be bursting with old stories. It sat on the left of the Highway to Home but come the first of spring it wasn’t the house you noticed but the Buttercups that engulfed the grand old home. The rest of the world refers to them as daffodils but Sis called them Buttercups and so do I. I can still smell the sweet spring air, their aroma overpowering. As far as the eye could see all around that long abandoned antebellum home with its huge columns. A sea of yellow. Hundreds, maybe thousands of Buttercups lined up in perfectly straight and neat rows after row, as far as the eye could see. Bulbs planted decades before when the old house was alive and well.

Sis told about the old lady’s brother, having been born a little different, he struggled with the day-to-day, but he liked to plant and plant he did. Perfectly straight rows of buttercups, acres and acres of them. One spring Sis got permission from the Old Lady to have some of those buttercups. We set out on an Adventure of a lifetime. We got in “MIckey’s Bus.” Her husband drove a suburban before Suburbans were cool and she had aptly named it “Mickey’s Bus.” Its seats were covered in fabric that vaguely resembled those rag rugs that used to be popular. We drove the few miles over to the Highway and dug up several clusters of those Buttercups. We howled with laughter and giggled with glee as we went about the task of procuring those plants. Sis would tell us stories of the house and legends long since dead. We traversed the rows of Buttercups and unbeknownst to me at the time memories were born that day.

Memories that still make me smile, long after that grand ol’ house was replaced by huge metal warehouses in the name of progress, I’ve often wondered if the warehouse worker people know that they are standing on what was once that magnificent sea of yellow. There have been a few survivors from those original buttercups, I know where they reside. The Highway to Home split the estate and at the time a small section became a parcel or private property. Sis pointed them out me once some thirty years ago and and told me who the Planter would of been. I point them out to my children now, as the only reminder of that Sea of yellow planted a century or so ago, a remnant that remains unassumingly on the other side of the Highway to Home.

In the moments they are being made those memories rarely seem significant. I suspect that lovely cool day as we meandered down the road in an old white suburban, laden with sweet smelling flowers, shovels and picks, if you had told me that particular day would be one of my favorites and stand out in my memory and as a precious one at that, I likely would not have recognized it as such. Memories and stories that marked me and help to shape me into who I am.

I love to tell a story myself. I find myself on the other end of the incessant pleas for a story. I often tell my very own niece Eggie the stories of Rabboni. I told her the first Rabboni story as we sat on the beach many summers ago. I wrapped her in a towel and spoke just loud enough for her to hear. I waved my hand toward the water and its particularly rough waves that day and told her of His friends afraid on the sea. As the waves rolled in and the shadows grew long I told her how Rabboni walked on the rough and tumultuous sea, one very much like the one we were sitting beside. I told her how He enjoyed the company of fisherman; we giggled when we thought of how fishy his friends probably smelled. Most of all I tell her how He loves people. She loves to hear the stories of Rabboni and I love to tell stories of Him. Hebrews 12: 2 says that He is the author and perfecter of our faith. I am so thankful that He is writing my story beautifully and included sweet smelling Buttercups to serve as reminders of His faithfulness and Creativity.

More Than Just a Name!

February 5, 2018February 1, 20182 Comments

I am one of those children that was gifted with a very uncommon unusual name. It was not a popular name. It was not a family name. It was not in a baby book of names when I was growing up. I couldn’t go find cute little items with my name on it. I had to have a company research my name for the meaning, and I still have the card I received. My name is often mispronounced, and even I could not pronounce my own name when I was little. When I was young, as the story is told by my grandparents, I would call myself BI (bee-eye) and would argue with them that they were not saying my name correctly.

I asked my mother how she came up with my first name when I was thinking about writing this blog post, and she said she came up with it one day in church. I wonder if the preacher was preaching on Berea in Acts that day? My middle name was still up for grabs. When I was growing up I came across a piece of paper where my mother was trying out middle names. On the list was Ruth – one of my favorite books of the Bible and part of my Dad’s mother’s name, Emma Ruth. The story from my Dad was that he wanted to name me Angela. Mother settled on Angelique after she heard the name in a movie. But she didn’t like the spelling. So my given name is Brea (bree-uh meaning – noble, strong, virtuous, hill), Angelic (Ahn-zhay-Leek meaning – of the angels). I am often called Bree or Baria. I finally came to the point I would answer to anything close.

The naming of a child is a very important task for parents. This name is heard by the child their entire life, unless they get it changed in court. Nowadays many parents spend hours/days/months picking out the name their child will carry. Many look in baby books for the meaning. Some chose family names. Some choose popular names. Some take names and spell them differently. Experts believe that the name of a child will play a major role in a child’s life. It will shape their future, character, success in life and personality. Jabez in the Bible went around with a name that meant affliction or pain. Naomi wanted to be called Mara which means bitter. (Ruth 1:20) Asher means happy or blessed. (Genesis 30:13) Esther means star.

In just the same way, the names of God are important. God’s names tell us about his character. This past fall, Pastor Kevin preached a 12-week sermon series on the Names of God. Some of his material came from Tony Evan’s book The Power of God’s Names. He suggested we get a copy to read if we wanted to dig deeper. So I did. And I read right along each week with the name Pastor Kevin was preaching on in the series. There were so many nuggets of insight and revelation about the character of God in the book and through the series, but Pastor Kevin couldn’t cover all the names listed in the book. So I have taken the time to go back and read the ones that he didn’t cover. The book ends with the name Immanuel (God with us).

Elizabeth (“my God is abundance”) and Zechariah (“Yahweh remembers”) and Mary (“sea of bitterness, rebelliousness, wished for child, loved or beloved”) and Joseph (“he will add”) didn’t have to wonder about what to name their new little babies. God, through an angel announcement, gave Zechariah, Mary and Joseph the names to use. When it came time for Zechariah and Elizabeth to name John (“Yahweh is gracious”), their friends and relatives had their own ideas. In Luke 1:57-63 you can read the story.

Mary was told in Luke 1:31-33 “Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end.”

Joseph was told in Matthew 1:21-23 “She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated ‘God is with us.’”

When Jesus was born that name was very common. Jesus is the equivalent of the Old Testament form of Joshua. The meaning of the name is “Yahweh saves.” The angel gave Mary and Joseph a more detailed description of who Jesus would be: Great, Son of the Most High, He would be seated on a throne, reign over the house of Jacob forever, his kingdom would never end, He will save HIS people from their sins, He would be Immanuel – GOD WITH US. In Acts 4:12 we are told by Peter “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.”

Jesus is more than just a name. He personifies all of the character of GOD in human form. Do you think that Mary and Joseph remembered the prophet Isaiah foretelling about Jesus in Isaiah 9:6?

“For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”

Tony Evans looks at these descriptive names of Jesus in the last chapter of his book. The names in Isaiah 9:6 give us “insight into His character and mission” and “puts on display everything there is to know about God.” Jesus also has other names – Redeemer, Deliverer, Good Shepherd, King of king and Lord of Lords and more. He fulfills the names of God: Elohim, Jehovah, Adonai, Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Tsaba, Jehovah Shalom, Jehovah Rohi, Jehovah Nissi, Jehovah Mekoddishekm, Jehovah Rapha, Jehovah Tsidkenu, El Elyon and El Shaddai.

• Wonderful Counselor – Jesus “perspective is infinite. His resources unlimited. His experience includes a lifetime on earth enduring the same trials and temptations we face.” Jesus is the one we should turn to when we need perspective on what we are dealing with in life. He is the counselor that has all the answers. There is nothing we will face that he can’t see us through.

• Mighty God – “Jesus never fails. He is faithful. All the power of creation stands behind His promise to provide and to care for us…Might is more than strength. Might is the ability to use strength strategically for the good of others.” Jesus is all God. He is Immanuel God with us. All the power behind the name of God can be used by Jesus.

• Everlasting Father – “Jesus is Everlasting.” In Revelations 22:13 he says “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” John 1:1 tells us “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:14 “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 17:5 “Now, Father, glorify me in your presence with that glory I had with you before the world existed.” In John 10:30 Jesus tells us “I and the Father are one.” Jesus is eternal and if we are saved and acknowledge Jesus as our Lord and Savior we will live with him for eternity.

• Prince of Peace – We “believe that peace is the absence of conflict. Yet Jesus gives us so much more. He promises peace that transcends our circumstances. It invades the inevitable conflicts that naturally arise in a sinful world. It makes perfect sense to be at peace when all is well. But Jesus, who is the Prince of Peace, promises us a peace that transcends understanding (Philippians 4:7).” We all desperately want the kind of peace Jesus offers.

One of the popular worship songs we sing in church is “What a Beautiful Name.” Listen or read the words and rejoice in what a beautiful, wonderful. and powerful name the name of Jesus truly is. It is more than just a common, popular name. It is the Name above all Names. In Philippians 2:9-11 we read we should have the same mindset and attitude as Jesus

“Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross. For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow—in heaven and on earth and under the earth—and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

There has never been nor will there ever be a name greater that the name of Jesus – our SAVIOR. His Name is above all Names and everything is under his feet. It is at the name of JESUS every knee will bow. So who do you need Jesus to be for you today: Your Peace, Your Shepherd, Your Messiah, Your Savior, Your Healer. He is waiting to be these and more for you. Just call on HIS NAME!

CD’s of Pastor Kevin Hamm’s sermon series on the Names of God can been found in the GFBC Encouraging Word Book Store.

“What a Beautiful Name” words and music by Ben Fielding and Brooke Ligertwood.

Raise the White Flag

February 1, 2018February 1, 20183 Comments

Surrender.

Not the word I wanted when I started praying and seeking God for my “word for the year.”

For the last few years our pastor has encouraged us to pray through December and January and seek a word the Lord was laying on our heart that would be our focus for that year.

My first year was Life. I was struggling with an unseen health issue and felt I was dying. Literally and truly. As I claimed the word Life for that year and sought to walk in faith, the Lord brought me to a healing answer in April, and I spent the rest of the year building strength and fully living again.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10

Then there was my word Grace. Specifically the Lord impressed upon my heart that I was to show grace to my husband! That may not sound hard, but I must confess I was more eager to show grace to strangers than to my husband. He was a Christian, he knew me, he was committed to me,… I held him to a standard no human being could meet. I was unjust, unkind, and completely lacking in grace toward him that January. But throughout that year of God working grace in my heart, and me intentionally seeking to show grace to my husband, our life has taken a sweet turn. Grace offers sweetness to those around us. In this tough world we each need all the grace we can get.

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

So here I sit this year looking at a hateful word. But it’s my word. Surrender. I know it’s my word. I knew it before 2017 struck midnight for the last time. And the Lord has reconfirmed it several times. Most unmistakably through my devotional reading for the year. As I read My Utmost for His Highest on January 1st, in the last sentence of the day, my dear friend Oswald said, “…surrender your will to Jesus absolutely and irrevocably.” Then today, once again, God spoke directly to me through Mr. Chambers on this last day of the first month. “God cannot deliver me while my interest is merely in my own character. Paul [the apostle] was not conscious of himself. He was recklessly abandoned, totally surrendered, and separated by God for one purpose – to proclaim the gospel of God.”

For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race. Romans 9:3

Am I willing? Willing to surrender? To surrender myself, surrender my will, surrender my hands-1139098_640 image, surrender my inclusion in Christ if that’s what it takes for the redemption of another? I must truthfully say, No. Not at this point. The Lord is beginning this work of surrender in me. But I’m not a completed pot of clay in His hand. I’m the lump being molded and shaped upon the Potter’s wheel, and squashed down and built up again until I reach the shape of surrender. What is the shape of surrender, I wonder? Is it flat? Prone? Facedown?

I have a feeling it will be a hard year but a good one. It is always hard for us when we have to die to self. To surrender self. To lay self on the altar to be burned up in sacrifice. I’m like the ram caught in the thicket that was sacrificed in the place of Isaac. I don’t by nature willingly or eagerly surrender; God has to catch me in the branches to prepare me to die to myself. I imagine I’m not alone. I assume this is the human, fleshly reaction. But the apostle Paul had been so transformed into the image of Christ that His reaction was not the fleshly one. His specific statement from his heart was:

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21.

That is surrender. Will I reach that point of surrender? Will you?

Find your word from the Lord for this year, be it a single word or verse. Seek the point of focus God has for you this year.

Make it your aim to allow Him to work it out in you this year and to live it out at every opportunity. Lay yourself out before the Father daily as you hear from Him in His word. Allow His shaping process in your life.

Forfeit your queen at the feet of The King!

‘Tis Better to Give

January 29, 2018January 29, 2018Leave a comment

“The internet never lies.” George Washington

“Don’t believe everything you read on the internet just because there is a picture with a quote next to it.” Abraham Lincoln

I honestly read these in the past and for a moment believed they were spoken by the two famous gentleman cited as the speaker. For a split second I had forgotten that the scenarios were impossible as neither speaker lived during the time of the internet or widespread electricity for that matter, and most certainly would not be vaguely familiar with the Information Age in which we live now.

We live in a time when our senses are bombarded from a backlit screen with initials like LCD and CRT multiple times a day. In a time when information is abundant and it seems a large portion of our information about others can be ascertained by social media. Even the term “social media” had to be defined in fairly recent history. In some ways that word seems like an oxymoron to me, yet it is how a large majority of us live, connect, and even socialize. It would only stand to reason when I recently read a quote on said social media that I felt the need to verify it. It was an Anne Frank quote, had a picture of her beside it and it read “No one has ever become poor by giving.”

When I scrolled by it I half-heartedly read it. I passed it by and carried on swiping through friends’ family Christmas celebrations, selfies with big smiling grins, joyful memories and exciting outings, an abundance of recipe and organizing videos sporadically played, and an abundance of goodwill sentiments for those days and the ones soon to follow.

I pondered on that quote, went back to it, snapped a screenshot to come back to when the busyness of the day was no longer a factor, I would also want to verify the source, as “George” and “Abe” have advised.

I decided, after a few internet sources confirmed the beautiful Jewish girl of fourteen years did indeed chronicle those words in her diary during the horrific holocaust, that regardless of the speaker, the words could not have been more valid, the fact that they were said in the midst of more than tragic and devastating circumstances makes them even more powerful but no less truthful.

Those aptly spoken, rather written, words could not have been more timely. The economy of our world would dictate otherwise, that you can not keep that which you give away, we should look out for ourselves and share only from our excess. However the Lord’s economy never works as the world’s. His word says that we are blessed to be a blessing, we are to be cheerful givers, and that we can not lose that which we give to the Lord. (Genesis 12:2, 2 Corinthians 9:7, Matthew 16:25)

Lessons From the Coffee Shop

January 25, 2018January 22, 20181 Comment

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10

It was a long day. My daughter, the barista, was supposed to get off at 2 pm, but her shift lingered until 3:30. A long line of cars meandered to the drive through and lines of folks eager for their chai teas and mocha lattes curved through the shop. The after-Christmas crowd armed with gift cards and caffeine deprivation descended on the shop like teenagers descend on the last piece of pizza. It was crowded and people were acting, well, very human.

My girl was spent. She climbed in the car and stared out the window for a while. I asked her about her day and waited as she digested the details. “Well, my day started out with a man who wanted some beans ground and I accidentally punctured the bag and most of the beans spilled on the floor. He yelled at me and angrily walked out. A lot of people yelled at us for not getting their orders done quickly. People ordering were just rude and impatient and unkind. Just as I was about to get done just now an older lady yelled at me because her drink was taking too long. Mom, it was awful.”

Her words soon stopped and the tears began to come. She cried and cried. “Mom, people are so horrible. I mean how can they be that hateful, that cruel, over something so small—a cup of coffee. Really? Is it that hard to just be kind?”

As I listened to her and held her as she sobbed, one phrase kept coming to mind over and over again, “Jesus died for them. Jesus died for THEM.” So I took a deep breath and took my 18-year-old daughter’s hand, and said, “But you know, Jesus died for them, too.”

And this young heart, one for whom the veil of the reality of living in a sin-sick world is slowly, but surely, being lifted, said, “How could He do it, mom? How could He love something so horrible, so unloveable? How could He die for that?”

My answer was honest, “I don’t know precious one, but He did. It is a love that’s beyond our comprehension.”

And it is. Romans 5:8 says “While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” He didn’t die for us because we were so good or so clean or so kind or so gentle or so giving or so selfless. Nope. He died for us in the middle of our wickedness. When we rejected him. When we were cruel. When we were dead in our sin, in our selfishness. See, we don’t clean up and come to Jesus. We come to Jesus and He makes us clean.

Until we realize how desperately ugly our sin is to God, we will never realize how beautiful, how powerful, how gracious, how merciful the love of God in Christ is. In some cultures, like our American Judeo-Christian culture, and, even worse, the Southern Bible Belt culture, we somehow equate good behavior with a good heart. I’m here to tell you, no matter how “good” the outward behavior, unless Jesus Christ has come in and radically transformed a heart, there is nothing “good” in a person. The actions may be good, but Jesus says clearly in the gospels it’s a matter of the heart. And when someone is squeezed or goes through a crisis or even has to wait for a cup of coffee, what is inside will come out, and what comes out of a heart not altered by a relationship with Christ isn’t pretty.

One of the saddest things my daughter shared with me in her now two years at the coffee shop is the people who are often the meanest and most impatient are the ones wearing the Jesus shirts. In fact, her coworkers, most of whom are not followers of Christ, look for the “Jesus shirt wearers” and use them to stereotype Christians. My daughter has had to explain more than a few times that those people don’t represent Christ. She told them Jesus came to save sinners, and we are all sinners. His love is greater than our sin and His grace is what offers us salvation. Those who claim the name of Christ won’t always be an accurate ambassador of His mercy and grace, but Christians desire to be more like him and less like us.

After that long day, my girl and I sat in the van and cried and we prayed. We prayed for forgiveness for our wicked hearts and asked the King to help us to see as He sees and love as He loves. That night I whispered a prayer asking the King to give my girl some glimpses of grace while she was at work.

After work the very next day she told me, “Mom, this lady came in today and she was so kind. She talked to me about what I was doing and encouraged me and she said ‘thank you.’” It was such a simple thing. It may have seemed so small to that precious lady. But she was a city on a hill to my girl that day. A bright light of love and kindness to a heart that needed to be reminded of God’s love and care for her. A small thing reflecting the infinite love of the Father. And it revealed an otherworldly love to my daughter’s coworkers, those who don’t know Him. It was a chance for her to say, “Did you see that? That’s how my God loves His children.”

So what have I learned from the coffee shop?

Ask the King to give me His perspective. I need to always remember that Christ died for all. I can’t expect those who don’t know Him to act like they do. I need to love the hard to love and give away the love of God without expecting anything in return—even if I’m rejected; even if someone is cruel or hateful in their response. Jesus was rejected, spit upon, falsely accused, and hung on the object of shame, a cross. If He did that out of love for me while I was rejecting Him, how can I not love others?
If I claim the name of Christ, I need to seek to be an accurate ambassador of who He is. I know I won’t get it right every time, but I do know seeking to be like Jesus could be the healing balm or encouragement someone needs. Even if I don’t say a word, but am patient and understanding in a difficult situation when my flesh wants to scream, I am practicing dying to myself and taking up my cross and following Him. It’s not about me anyway, it’s about bringing glory to Jesus.
Take time to be kind. Say thank you. Encourage someone who is working hard. Tell them they did a good job. I never realized how those seemingly insignificant things can reveal the love of God in big and small ways to those you encounter at the grocery store, at the coffee shop, at the restaurant. Your kind words may make an eternal difference in someone’s life. Love like Jesus.

I Need a Do-Over

January 22, 2018January 22, 2018Leave a comment

My oldest grandson had a habit as a pre-schooler of asking for a “do-over.” When little brother was put in the car first, but Jackson wanted to be first; he would want us to get Ryan out and let him go first. When I started down the stairs to go outside before he was ready, he wanted me to come back upstairs and let him go first. When Papa cut his sandwich in half horizontally, and Jackson wanted it cut diagonally, he would ask Papa to make another one and cut it “the right way.” When someone got the toy from the play room but he wanted to get it, once again he wanted it put back where he could go do it. As you can tell, some of these issues were easy to “fix,” while others weren’t. We didn’t always have the time or inclination to “fix” every situation. Since these situations were so common during that stage of his little life, and since our sweet preschooler needed help learning to handle these disappointments, we took to using the term “rewind.”

“I want a rewind” became a repeated refrain around this Gigi’s house! Sometimes we accommodated his requests, sometimes not. Jackson would even walk in reverse to re-set when we allowed these do-overs. As I observed him during those months of frustration, I couldn’t help but think how many times I have wished I could “rewind” a situation and do something differently as it played out the next time. Even grown-ups can use a “do-over” option. Mistakes happen. Tempers flare unintentionally. Words get misinterpreted. Possessions get lost or damaged. Hearts get wounded. Then comes the embarrassment, regret, broken relationships, and the question of how to “fix” the situation. We all long for help with these “if only” situations. The bad news: we can’t really rewind the clock.

But, I have good news! As with any part of life, scripture offers insight into handling these difficulties! So let’s take a look. Warning: You may not like what God’s word recommends, but that doesn’t make it wrong. That just makes you have to choose to do the right-hard-thing instead of the wrong-easy-thing; it makes you put your big girl pants on! Let’s take a look.

Forgive.

“Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Matthew 6:12-15

1. Our willingness to forgive shows the condition of our heart. A heart sold out to God forgives and receives forgiveness in return. A heart sold out to self reacts, acts sinfully, and chooses NOT to forgive, and therefore comes face to face with the unforgiving judgment of God. This is made clear in the story from Matthew 18 where the servant who has been forgiven much would not forgive the one who owed him little.

“Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt.When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place.Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” Matthew 18:21-35

2. As we forgive, we reflect to the world the unconditional forgiveness and mercy that God has to offer. When we act like the rest of the world Satan wins and the world never sees that glimpse of God’s forgiveness and mercy.

3. If we think we can come to God through religious rituals while carrying unforgiveness and bitterness in our hearts, we’re mistaken. We must first lay down these offenses and forgive from the heart before offering our prayers and acts of worship.

“And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” Matthew 11:25

4. It’s a command.

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.” Colossians 3:12-15

Humble yourself.

1. Once again, it’s a command.

“Humble yourselves before the Lord” James 4:10

2. It follows Jesus’ example.

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!” Philippians 2:3-8

3. Turn the other cheek. It takes mega amounts of humility to turn the other cheek when someone has wronged you. Responding appropriately, with godly behaviors when we feel wronged and mistreated will not happen if we are puffed up with pride.

“You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.” Matthew 5:38-42

Use gentle words.

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1

Don’t react to someone else’s bad behavior with bad behavior yourself. In today’s society we often have what my grandma would call a “tit for tat” mentality; we reason that since they behaved badly we are justified in responding to them with what we would otherwise consider bad behavior. Let me set the record straight, nothing justifies our bad behavior. Nothing justifies our sinful choice. We are responsible for every choice we make, including our choice of how to respond when people sin against us.

Control yourself in the first place.

Then you won’t need a rewind! Galatians chapter 5 says it all on this subject:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.” Galatians 5:22-26

I really don’t like this lesson. It reminds me NOT to live in the flesh, when that is exactly what I want to do in the moment. It gives me a higher standard than the world does, and it doesn’t offer an easy out for any of us. If these were just my words, you could ignore them. If these were just noble, wise sayings I could ignore them and get that revenge I really want to dish out. But these are Our Father’s words. Your Creator’s words. And while I grit my teeth as I bend my knee to obey sometimes, I also realize that His plan is far greater than I comprehend. Living life His way will have long-term good effects on my life that I can’t anticipate, and will make us less apt to need a do-over and more willing to walk through the after effects of those “if only” moments with forgiveness, humility, gentleness, and self-control.

Have some fruit – the fruit of the Spirit that is!

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Not Always Nothingness

January 18, 2018January 18, 20181 Comment

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We had completed our outdoor chores just as the day was coming to a close. He had been tasked with leaf raking. His sisters were in charge of distributing the leaves around the plants. I found him sitting on the ground, silent, staring out into seemingly nothingness. I’ve seen him this way multiple times before. He said nothing, never even acknowledged my presence as I approached him. His arms bare, bright red shirt with classic humorous phrase on it, he has always liked shirts that seem to speak for him, for his words are few, they always have been. As I sat down in the grass beside him, I followed his gaze. Nothingness it seemed was in fact the beginning of a beautiful sunset. The blue sky sinking into streaks of pink and orange. Bare trees silhouetted in front of the colorful display. He sat silent and motionless.

I always struggle this time of year. I have for as long as I can remember. When the days are cold and darkness comes early, I tend to give way to feelings of sadness. Maybe sadness isn’t the right word, melancholy perhaps. I have read that many of History’s creative types were prone to bouts of “melancholy”. I take a little comfort in knowing I’m in good company. I find myself struggling until the buttercups begin to show themselves. They are the first to usher in spring and with it warmer days.

As we sat there staring I became acutely aware that the bare trees made me uncomfortable. Their leaves long gone, the deciduous giants looked oddly vulnerable. As the word floated through my mind, I began to ponder. How in the world could something so seemingly strong be vulnerable? Maybe that is why I do not like to look at the trees, perhaps I think that if I am seeing them in that state of nakedness then I am invading them somehow. As we sat there thinking of such things I made a “Hmph” sound. He looked at me, he said nothing. I spoke.

“Hey Bud. What do you think of the trees with no leaves?”

The world calls him autistic. I call him awesome. Some would call us cursed. I call us blessed. Many years ago I mourned what the world calls normal, I mourned what I knew would never be. Atypical. We had answers but in the answer there were an infinite number of questions and uncertainties. I never really told anyone at the time of my grief. I hid it. My fear would exit myself in the form of anger or anxiety. Sometimes it still does. He spoke, his characteristic, loud monotone voice like music to my ears.

8f573899b768ba2512a7976e0c80e844 “OK.”

“They’re okay? They don’t bother you?”

“Nope.”

“They sort of bother me.”

“Why?” Clearly he was puzzled. How could I be bothered by something so abstract yet so finite?

“They seem sort of naked or something.”

“But won’t they be back? They always come back.” The leaves were the “they” to whom he was referring.

“Yes. In the spring, when everything starts to grow again. The trees lose their leaves in the fall, they go to the ground and compost down into the soil.”

“Well that’s good.”

“It is, I reckon.”

“If the leaves were there we couldn’t see that bird or squirrel.” I hadn’t noticed them but there they were, doing whatever it is birds and squirrels do in trees on cool days. Scurrying about being an adventuresome bird and resourceful squirrel. They had captured his attention long before I sat down.

In the vulnerability the trees had allowed a part of themselves to be seen that otherwise would have gone unnoticed. To capture the attention of one of the most unique of thinkers. In their vulnerability and loss they were life-giving and were now able to ready themselves for new life and new growth. He had seen that I had missed it entirely. As we sat there in silence watching our new-found friends against the backdrop of God’s paintbrush, I gave thanks for a new perspective, for the reminder that joy comes not from my circumstances around me, but from within. I gave thanks for a unique and amazing boy and his insight into the things that go beyond the naked eye and that in vulnerability there is healing and life renewed.

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Putting Together the Pieces

January 15, 2018January 15, 20181 Comment

My grandmother has always loved to work jigsaw puzzles. I have many fond memories of us spending hours in front of a puzzle working well into the night to finish the picture. Even today at the age of 91 with her being almost completely blind and dealing with Alzheimer’s, she still sits for hours working puzzles. The puzzles may have become fewer in pieces, but she still loves fitting the pieces together. When she completes a puzzle she is always excited to show it off, to let you see what she has accomplished of taking all the pieces and fitting them together to reveal the complete picture.

That is what we are doing when we study God’s Word. We are taking each piece of knowledge we receive from reading God’s Word and placing it in its proper place to see God’s story being revealed. We are becoming more Bible literate. Jen Wilkins in her book Women of the Word: How to STUDY the BIBLE with Both OUR HEARTS and OUR MINDS gives her definition of Bible Literacy: “Bible literacy occurs when a person has access to a Bible in a language she understands and is steadily moving toward knowledge and understanding of the text…Bible literacy stitches patchwork knowledge into a seamless garment of understanding.”

I need to be up front and say I do not have it all together and I am not perfect! It is not easy trying to be diligent and faithful in spending time in God’s Word on a daily basis. Let’s be honest, it is a struggle for me and I am sure for many of you. I get in a routine and then something comes along and messes it up. One day becomes two and before long it has been a week. One thing I do know is My God is faithful to forgive me and prompt me to spend time with him.

The other thing I struggle with is how to approach the study of God’s Word. No book, study plan, or Bible study book can replace just digging in and reading God’s Word and letting the Holy Spirit direct you. That being said, I am always interested in seeing, hearing and reading how other people approach the study of God’s Word. Are you one that reads the Bible through once a year or do you select a book at a time? Do you follow a daily devotion or reading plan? Do you write verses down and meditate on them? Or do you just let the Holy Spirit lead you in your reading. Do you use Iva May’s approach in Chronological Bible Teaching reading the Bible Chronologically? How about Jen Wilkin’s 5 P’s of Sound Study approach in her book: Women of the Word: How to STUDY the BIBLE with Both OUR HEARTS and OUR MINDS? In Angie Smith’s study Seamless she streams all of the major stories in the Bible together in one thread. There are so many ways to approach the study of God’s Word, but what are we doing with our knowledge and understanding? Are all the pieces of the puzzle fitting together?

As we start 2018, do you have a plan? Did you make a New Year’s resolution to Study God’s Word more? So how is it going? No matter what plan you use, make sure that you are seeing God’s complete picture. Don’t shy away from the things you don’t understand? I have many times written or said to God, “I don’t understand this passage.” You know, it is usually not long before I hear someone preach on the same passage or read a book where the verse I don’t understand is revealed to me with more understanding. As Women of the Word let’s be more intentional in becoming more Bible Literate this next year.

Lord, may we make a commitment to spend more time in your Word. Not just to gain head knowledge, but to gain understanding so that when the end of 2018 comes around we may be able to see each piece of your Word revealed as a beautiful picture of YOUR LOVE for us from Genesis to Revelation.

Poured Out

January 11, 2018January 4, 2018Leave a comment

Charlotte’s hearty and joyful laughter on the other end of the phone and then,

“Mama you really do wanna be Jewish don’t ya?”

My response,

“We already are Char.”

Not really, not in blood line, at least as far as I know, but we have been adopted by the very One who came as Messiah. So by way of grafting in, we are a little Jewish. The laughter was preceded by the reminder that that night at Sundown would begin the Feast of Booths and by way of observance we Martins would be making our way to the front steps to celebrate the goodness of the King. To ask His blessing for the next year in more ways than we even know to ask for.

There was a time in history when a great temple stood as the dwelling place of God and the Rabbi would make his way to the pool of Siloam (the place of healing), fill a vessel, then pour out the water out like an offering. As the water made its way down the temple steps there would be praise for blessings had come. The healing was on the way and Messiah was coming and there was the solid reminder of the water the Lord provided from a rock while the Israelites wandered in the desert.

The King once spoke of Living Water and I can’t help but think this very act was in the forefront of His mind when He said it. So some couple a thousand years later, in a crude but no less symbolic nature, in Warrior Alabama, we Martins gathered at the top of our steps, a vessel filled with water, a glass pitcher given to me by a precious friend, who in doing so reminded me to allow the King to fill me up to be poured out again. As we congregated we read some from the King’s book, we prayed and Scott Martin spoke blessings over his flock. Rudimentary and not a word spoken in Hebrew, but no less significant. There is power in speaking blessing over those who have been entrusted to us.

After the paternal blessings, the male son, Shelton, had the privilege of pouring. As I watched the water move over the mortar and stone, making its way down the steps I marveled at how beautiful the very act was. Tears blurred my vision as I pondered how the King poured Himself out willingly for me. As I tucked Shelton in that memorable night he asked about the following year and would we observe the Feast of Booths as we had that night. He asked about the Year of Jubilee and he asked how I knew about “all that Jewish stuff.” I explained that I didn’t really, but we Martins could use much in the way of blessing and it just was something I needed to do.

Like most everything the King asks of me, despite the uncomfortable nature associated with it, ultimately it is for my benefit.

Shelton was satisfied with those answers and gave me a hug and an “I love you mom.” He settled himself under his covers and I reminded him that he is dearly loved, that I love him more than he can imagine, but that Jesus loves him even more. As I reflected on that day I was once again reminded of the perfectness of the plan, how I am loved. Loved enough for One to pour Himself out for me.

Resources: https://bible.org/seriespage/13-pool-siloam-connecting-sukkot-and-messiah

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Inspiring women to realize their worth in Christ and to live a life worthy of their calling