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Archive for the ‘Faith’ Category

No one is an Island

Posted in Faith, tagged #ancestralmathematics, #nomanisandisland, #nooneisanisland, #weareallpartofsomethingbigger on July 7, 2021| Leave a Comment »

No one is an island, so says … someone.

Though it is easy to think of ourselves as independent of anyone else, our human race is diversely interconnected. Our lives are the products of those who have gone before us, of those who we do not even know.

I recently read something titled Ancestral Mathematics :

In order to be born, you needed:

2 parents
4 grandparents
8 great-grandparents
16 second great-grandparents
32 third great-grandparents
64 fourth great-grandparents
128 fifth great-grandparents
256 sixth great-grandparents
512 seventh great-grandparents
1,024 eighth great-grandparents
2,048 ninth great-grandparents

For you to be born today from 12 previous generations, you needed a total sum of 4,094 ancestors over the last 400 years.

— Lyrical Zen

Obviously this is just simply the mathematics, the biological numbers that our physical existence is dependent upon. This list says nothing of those who stepped up, or stepped in, who had no familial DNA. Thus increasing the numbers not just to be born, but to survive and even thrive.

What is fascinating about these numbers, to me, is that we are all part of something bigger than ourselves … read that again …

we are all part of something bigger than ourselves

Think of your own ancestral mathematics … how many can you name? As I asked the same of myself, I could only name thirteen!

In Hebrews 11 we read of the heros of the Bible. It is the hall of fame of faithful to God.

The chapter opens with a definition of faith :

“Now faith is the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen.”

Then, an explanation of what faith does for us in our lives:

“By faith
we understand that the world has been created
by the word of God
so that what is seen
has not been made out of things that are visible.” (v. 3)

We are what is seen. Those who came before us are the unseen, the invisible. Though they no longer walk this Earth, their contribution, if nothing else, is our very existence. We are what comes after the equal sign. And, we will contribute to the existence to others, eventually becoming the unseen.

Think for a moment – How many struggles? How many battles? How many difficulties? How much sadness? How much happiness? How many love stories? How many expressions of hope for the future? – did your ancestors have to undergo for you to exist in this present moment…

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Waiting

Posted in Faith, tagged #activevspassive, #trustinhim, #waiting, #waitongod on June 27, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Waiting … it’s the bane of my existence.

It’s not that I can’t wait, just that it often seems as though I am often waiting for others.

I have learned, though, that there are two types of waiting that are not conditional on the one I am waiting for so much as conditional on me.

The first is waiting and doing nothing but tapping my toe, twiddling my fingers all the while volcanic activity is growing in my mind. This type of waiting is what heart attacks, ulcers and relational breakdown are all about.

The second … shall we say, the better way … is to find something to do while in the waiting. Grab a book, write a story, play with your pet, water your flowers. Just do something, while you wait.

“But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

This verse (above) is one of my favorite verses. It became personal to me while pregnant with our son. Pregnancies, for me, did not always have a happy ending. They were times of fear, times when hope was hard to hold on to, times of endless waiting.

It wasn’t until recently (while in a mood, twiddling my fingers, while waiting for someone else) that I really remembered that this verse begins talking about waiting for the Lord.

Numerous times in the Bible the phrase wait on the Lord is written. Of course, the passages may have different meanings for wait. It can be a passive wait (such as my moody twiddling fingers), or the active wait (do something in the waiting).

In this passage there is quite a bit of activity in the verse … renew, mount up, run, walk. This would lead me to think that, in this verse, we are to wait on or for the Lord (ie. wait for an answer to prayer, wait for peace to fill our hearts), but not just sit there … we need to still be doing things to contribute to the kingdom … in the waiting.

while we wait for his answers, his provisions, his return,

we are to pray, to love others, to feed the hungry, to do the work of healing and reconciliation.

Ellicott’s Commentary says that :
“The waiting implies, of course, the expectant attitude of faith.”

Barnes’ Notes on the Bible says :
“But they that wait upon the Lord – The word rendered ‘wait upon’ here (from קוה qâvâh), denotes properly to wait, in the sense of expecting. The phrase, ‘to wait on Yahweh,’ means to wait for his help; that is, to trust in him, to put our hope or confidence in him.”

Then (my favorite commentary) Matthew Henry tells us :
Let us watch against unbelief, pride, and self-confidence. If we go forth in our own strength, we shall faint, and utterly fall; but having our hearts and our hopes in heaven, we shall be carried above all difficulties, and be enabled to lay hold of the prize of our high calling in Christ Jesus.

As we all, wait on the Lord, may we keep doing the tasks God has given us, as our hope grows out of trust in him.

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Rest

Posted in Faith, life, tagged #createdforrest, #createdtorest, #faithisaconditiontorest, #givingintorest, #rest, #restingod, #restisapromise, #restisthebenefitofredemption, #restofgod on June 13, 2021| Leave a Comment »

As I stood in the kitchen a thought passed through my mind,

I need to sit.

So I walked to my sofa and I sat.

It was a simple, yet odd occasion.

I had a thought. A thought that originated in my body and mind. A thought communicated from my body to my mind. And, without pause, I responded immediately and physically. I gave in to what my body needed.

How is it that such a basic human need was met and yet, it is unique, worth reflecting on, worth writing about?

Our bodies deliver messages to us since our first days. As newborns we cry out our need of food, of discomfort. As children we fall asleep almost in motion, while sitting in our high chairs, car seats, in the sandbox. As teens we pass out while doing homework, we ravage the fridge when hungry. As adults we tend to ignore our needs. We ‘tune out’ the voice within, opting for the voices of could and should. We begin to fit a mold, as opposed to work as body and mind are designed.

Rest is a requirement of our bodies, minds and souls. It is a requirement for our lives. We attain rest not just in sleeping, but in coming away from our work, our mission even, to rest as God himself modelled on day seven of creation. When we seek rest, that rest needs to be rest that we find in God … for resting in Him is where we find complete refreshment.

Walter Kaiser quoted Gerhard Von Rad, in his observation of human rest :

“Among the many benefits of redemption offered to man by Holy Scripture, that of ‘rest’ has been almost overlooked in biblical theology….”

We can see the truth of this in Hebrews 4:1-13. Here’s a few excerpts :

Although God’s promise still stands—his promise that all may enter his place of rest—we ought to tremble with fear because some of you may be on the verge of failing to get there after all. (his rest is a promise … but with a condtion)

For this wonderful news—the message that God wants to save us—has been given to us just as it was to those who lived in the time of Moses. But it didn’t do them any good because they didn’t believe it. They didn’t mix it with faith (faith is the condition).

For only we who believe God can enter into his place of rest. He has said, “I have sworn in my anger that those who don’t believe me will never get in,” even though he has been ready and waiting for them since the world began (belief is a choice we are freely given) …

“Today when you hear him calling, do not harden your hearts against him” (listen … and rest) …

there is a full complete rest still waiting for the people of God. Christ has already entered there. He is resting from his work, just as God did after the creation. Let us do our best to go into that place of rest (to go into is to make the choice, the choice to listen to that still small voice …).

To rest in God is always a choice. It is ours to make. Life does not get easier or better, the realities of life (good and bad, pleasant and horrible) still happen. But, in choosing to rest in God we choose what our bodies, minds and souls most need … are created for.

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Tell It

Posted in Faith, tagged #speakyourtruth, #tellit, #tellyourredemptionstory, #testimony, #whatdidjesusdoforyou, #whywebelieve, #yourstorymatters on June 11, 2021| Leave a Comment »

There are areas in my understanding of biblical doctrine, or the teachings in the Bible, that I confess to not fully understand. There are parts that seem confusing, or grey, or I simply don’t like. Yet, I trust that the word of God I hold is the truth (in the form of directives, stories, poems, history, songs and letters) that God has, himself, provided.

Today, the healthy concept of deconstruction (or reading the Bible through the lens of, not only the writer, but the culture and time it was written) can become less about digging deeper and more about how its message makes us feel.

We, as Christ-followers sometimes (ok, often) fall into the deep, dark, dank hole of what we believe, over why we believe it. In doing so, we have lost the greatest of opportunities … that of sharing the difference that Jesus (who is the Word … the message and the messenger) has made in our lives.

In the Bible, there are many times when people spoke of Jesus to others. Certainly they shared with others what he said, what he did and who he said he was. But, they also spoke of what he did in their lives. If this were not so, we would not have the accounts of the healings he performed, the women he interacted with, the tax collector he dined with, the disciple who he gave care of his mother to, the man who he promised heaven to who was beside him on another cross.

In the Old Testament, the best example of this is after the test of Abraham. He had followed the direction of God, preparing to sacrifice his son, when a ram appeared, providing another sacrifice. It is said that Abraham called that very place, “The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided” (Genesis 22:14).

So, Christian, do you tell others what Jesus has done in your life? Do you tell the story of how Jesus redeemed you? Do you tell of when he met your need in the most unexpected and intimate way? Do you tell of his presence in times of loneliness? Do you speak your Truth?

Tell it.

“People can argue doctrine
but they can’t argue
what Jesus has done for you.
Tell it.”

-Mariela Rosario of She Speaks Fire Ministries

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O Jesus, Rise in Me

Posted in Faith, WONDER, tagged #abetterresurrection, #butbymyspiritsaysthelord, #christinarossetti, #hope, #lookintherightdirectionforhope, #norbypower, #notbymight, #ojesusriseinme, #whosaves on May 2, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Who saves us?

Who redeems us?

That ‘ol Sunday School answer, of Jesus, is, of course the answer. Yet … in all practicality, we often do not live as if that were true. We strive, and move and posture in such ways as to show far more reliance on self than on the Savior.

We often put our faith in us … in our prayers, our giving, our acts of kindness or hours spent doing the work of the church … but our actions offer little if they are what we are counting on to save us. They are little more than rituals, outward adornments to show the world the state of our souls.

Of course that summation is rather dismal, rather over-simplified.

A friend recently introduced me to a poem by Christina Rossetti that I had not remembered reading before, called A Better Resurrection :

I have no wit, no words, no tears;
My heart within me like a stone
Is numb’d too much for hopes or fears;
Look right, look left, I dwell alone;
I lift mine eyes, but dimm’d with grief
No everlasting hills I see;
My life is in the falling leaf:
O Jesus, quicken me.

My life is like a faded leaf,
My harvest dwindled to a husk:
Truly my life is void and brief
And tedious in the barren dusk;
My life is like a frozen thing,
No bud nor greenness can I see:
Yet rise it shall—the sap of Spring;
O Jesus, rise in me.

My life is like a broken bowl,
A broken bowl that cannot hold
One drop of water for my soul
Or cordial in the searching cold;
Cast in the fire the perish’d thing;
Melt and remould it, till it be
A royal cup for Him, my King:
O Jesus, drink of me.

In reading this, one might read the mood of Rossetti to be terrible sad, even depressed. It is a lonely, meaningless, hopeless reading … at first glance. But, there is very much life as well and Rossetti is looking in the right direction for that life, that meaning, that purpose.

O Jesus, quicken me

O Jesus, rise in me

O Jesus, drink of me

There is constant acknowledgement of the human condition, of our helpless state … yet each verse returns to petition for life, meaning and hope from the only one who can provide. The resurrected one, who can resurrect you and me.

It it toward the end of the second verse, where I think true hope is expressed for our lives :

My life is like a frozen thing,
No bud nor greenness can I see:
Yet rise it shall—the sap of Spring;
O Jesus, rise in me.

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Who do you say I Am?

Posted in Easter, Faith, tagged #jesusasksusall, #noonecomestothefather, #popejohnpaul2, #themostimportantquestion, #thewaythetruthandthelife, #weareaneasterpeople, #whodoyousayiam on April 13, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Who do you say I am?

The words of question to Simon Peter, to the disciples … to us all, encapsulate the most important question ever asked.

Who we say Jesus is determines our relationship with him, our eternity.

If we call Jesus a great teacher (which is true) that simply means that we relate to him on an intellectual level.

If we call him a great healer (which is true) then we relate to him as one who can fix our physical bodies.

If we call him a great counsellor (which is tru) then our relation to him is just as one who we can tell our troubles and to whom we can hand over our anxieties.

If we call him Creator (which he is) then we relate to him as a cosmic genie or chess player, moving his creation to a fro in an effort to win with the most players standing.

But …

if we call his father, then he is one who gave us life.

if we call him Lord, then he has a plan and we are part of it.

and if we call him Saviour, Redeemer … then he is the only one who could open heaven’s gates to us both here on Earth and in heaven … and he did so at a cost that was ours to pay, not his.

Jesus, on his last night with the disciples said (John 14:6),

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

But, he didn’t stop there, he continues (v.7),

“If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

Jesus is reminding his disciples (and everyone who has read these words, including you and I) that Jesus and God are one and that he has access to the power of heaven. Actually, Jesus goes on (v. 12) :

“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these …”

What?!

We, who believe in Jesus as our Redeemer, can do even greater things than him?!? People, we cannot forget who Jesus is … what he has done for us … how that impacts our lives.

Just a few years after his life was threatened by a bullet intended to kill him, Pope John Paul 2 said,

“We are an Easter People and Alleluia is our song!”

It is the death and resurrection of Jesus that gives us life, through which we share in his power and victory.

People we may have very real struggles, we may have very real fears and sorrows … but we serve the one who has beaten death. It doesn’t matter if this Pandemic continues for years, or if is all a conspiracy … if we call Jesus our Saviour, “Allelujah is our song.”

“Who do you say that I am?”
Jesus

“We do not pretend that life is all beauty. We are aware of darkness and sin, of poverty and pain. But we know Jesus has conquered sin and passed through his own pain to the glory of the Resurrection. And we live in the light of his Paschal Mystery – the mystery of his Death and Resurrection. “We are an Easter People and Alleluia is our song!” We are not looking for a shallow joy but rather a joy that comes from faith …” Pope John Paul 2

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Who Does God Bless and Curse?

Posted in Faith, life, WONDER, tagged #badthingshappentogoodpeople, #blessingsandcurses, #job, #jobandhisfriends, #justlove, #whodoesgodblessandcurse on February 23, 2021| Leave a Comment »

I love the image of the sign (left). The more I look at it, the more I nod in agreement with what it is communicating,

It makes me think of the story of Job, his friends and God.

Job’s love and commitment to God was exemplary. As a matter of fact, the text says he was blameless. God offered him up to Satan himself, as one whose inner love for his God would not be swayed by outer devastation.

gotta say, this premise always make me feel such angst

So, Job lost everything … children, livestock, crops, health. All he was left with was his wife, his friends and God (who seemed to be silent).

As Job sat on his dung pile, scraping the sores of his skin with clay shards, weeping, agonizing, listening for the voice of God … the only sound was that of his wife (who suggested he curse God and die) and his friends.

Now his friends had probably been with him all of his life. It was in Uz (possibly in the area of modern day Syria or Jordan) where they had probably played as boys. These friends had watched Job grow up. They knew that he was a good man, who treated people respectfully, who had conducted business fairly, who was truly blameless. They knew him.

This background may have built the foundation for false assumptions. Assumptions such as God blessed Job because Job was blameless. They undoubtedly had developed the misconception that God blesses the good, and therefore, curses the bad.

And that was their point of attack. Rather than lament with Job, they blame him.

The three accused Job of some type of sin that he needed to admit and repent of so that he would again receive God’s blessing. They believed (as so many of us do at times in our lives) that there is a formula for success and if Job was in the midst of curses, there must be something in his life that is wrong/sinful.

Once they have spoken their encouragement to Job, then God speaks to Job … and I am pretty sure that God is wagging his finger at him, but then he addresses Job’s friends and their judging of how God decides who is blessed and who is cursed:

“After the Lord had finished speaking to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken accurately about me” (Job 42:7)

Our job, as was Job’s, is to be faithful with what God has given to us, be it people, possessions, passions or power. Our job is to love God, to love others. God will look after judgements, blessings and curses.

He will sort’em out later.

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Don’t Follow Me

Posted in Faith, WONDER, tagged #christianscandals, #dontfollowme, #followchristalone, #humancondition, #humanfrality, #Iamlosttoo, #iamnottheleader, #notworthy, #savedbygrace on February 12, 2021| Leave a Comment »

I am a Christian, a Christ-follower, a disciple of Jesus, a child of the King of Creation … but …

I am not the one to follow

Though I have never killed anyone, I have the capacity to destroy another … with my actions, my words. I am human, in every good, bad and ugly way.

I have blown my top, been insensitive, laughed at jokes that I shouldn’t have, spoken of someone rudely in their absence, practised pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, and sloth … and these are just the things I am willing to admit publicly!

I have disappointed my share of people, from strangers to ones I say I love. I have broken hearts, been deceptive and vile, embarrassed myself and those I care about. I have misrepresented Christ …

so. many. times.

That is why you should not follow me on a good day … because I am far too fallible to follow.

I will disappoint you … because I have done that to others.

I will seem to be a hypocrite … because I done that too.

So if, on a good day, you think, wow! Now she is a good person, woman, Christian to follow …

DON’T DO IT!

Don’t follow me! For I am so lost too.

Often we hear of someone who has claimed the name of Christ(ian) but has lived a life that would seem to be contrary to what they say, how Jesus lived, what the Bible teaches. Or they might be quick to speak the name of Christ in public, while their private (real) life would indicate a den of lies. Or, perhaps they are a public or religious leader whose human sinning in the dark has had light shone on it, proving them to be a hypocrite.

We have all heard of such imposters. We have all heard, or said, in response, how could they? They should have known better. They are phoney, deceitful, hypocrites.

Such falls from grace can leave people running away from them, but also away from God.

I know that my heart, and soul, and intent, and tongue, and habits, and tendencies are so naturally sinful, ill-intended and imperfect. So we have to be careful when condemning they for …

there but for the grace of God go I.

Let me suggest who to follow?

All the nasty, disillusioning, mean-spirited, hypocritical, black-as-sin characteristics that are part of who I am … are as if they never happened … in the eyes of the God who I follow.

He has redeemed me, made me whole, clean. God sees me only through the sacrifice of his Son over me. My sin was absorbed in this sacrifice, granting me the availability of grace, mercy and forgiveness. Not because I deserve it, but because that was His gift of hope to us.

” … we have an advocate before the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”
1 John 1-2

I desire to love my God, to imitate His life, to live my life as his follower, but I am frail, weak and so easily swayed.

I am not the one to follow

for I am lost too.

But I know who to follow!

“Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.”
Romans 12:3

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I Know the Plans I have for you

Posted in Faith, Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #duringandafterthestorm, #godisincontrol, #godisthere, #iknowtheplansihaveforyou, #inthestorm on February 5, 2021| Leave a Comment »

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

Every follower of Christ has a story with with this verse from the Prophet Jeremiah. For most there is a love-hate relationship with this verse, because it can come across as Pollyanna fluff. When someone is in the midst of a terrible situation, the receiving of this verse can feel emotionally similar to pouring salt into open wounds.

When we are in the midst of suffering, when we cannot see light in the midst of the dark … when the diagnosis is cancer, when the phone call announces the end of life of a loved one, when the child is struggling, when the job has ended, when the letter from the university is a rejection, when your child is being bullied … then people don’t want to hear that God has a plan for our future. That’s because this verse hints that maybe these tough times are also part of His plans and that is hard to comprehend.

It is when one has come through the tough situation, when one is on the other side, this is when the truth and the beauty of this verse is understood and appreciated. This is when the hand of God is evident, because, as we look back it is His peace, His provision, His plan that is so clear.

It is then that we realize that in the midst of the most dark and dangerous valley, when we felt completely alone, He was there, the scaffolding beneath us.

When she arrived at the cliff in the valley, 
there was no room in her soul for fear,
for she knew God had brought her this far
and He would still be with her here.
And though she was waiting to see
what miraculous thing He would do, 
she never let go of His highwind whispers:
"I know the plans I have for you."
-Morgan Harper Nichols

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Twelfth Night … The Wise Still Seek Him

Posted in christmas, Faith, WONDER, tagged #almostbutnotquite, #alwayswinterbutneverchristmas, #epiphany, #evenwhentheraincloudscome, #thewisestillseekhim, #twelthnight on January 5, 2021| Leave a Comment »

It is mid day, just days after the the celebrations of the holidays (I won’t say how many or few … for fear I may be befriended by my Christmas-all-year-adoring friends) and the sky is darkening already. The day began with the most spectacular sunrise, filling the sky with pinks, oranges, corals, even almost reds … and in my heart I heard my father’s voice red sky in morning, sailors take warning.

As I sat in my living room, amid boxes of Christmas decor, carefully packed away for next year, I felt as if that beautiful sunrise was a foreboding … but that could also be due to my recent check of the weather forecast … ten days of rain are coming.

January is not my favorite month of the year, whether clinical or psychosomatic, I seem to struggle with a seasonal downturn in my mind and spirit. Rain does not help this reality.

Though I am not one who listens to Christmas tunes in July, hangs the lights just after Halloween or keeps the tree up until epiphany, I long for Christmas to last all year.

It is in January when my annual heart’s cry is similar to what we might find in the pages of Lewis’ book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,

“It is winter in Narnia,” said Mr. Tumnus, “and has been for ever so long…. always winter, but never Christmas.”

The season of hope and peace and joy and love has been replaced by rain and dark and flu season and reminders of the pandemic. It is the season of …

almost, but not quite.

That is where we are … almost, but not quite. Christ has come as the babe in the manger who grew up to die on a sinner’s cross so that we might live with the Spirit. But … he has not come back yet and that is what our souls are reminded of when the Christmas season ends … for it should never end.

We have sung our carols of hope … now we have have to put their lyrics into practise, to live the hope we sang even when the morning skies are red with warning. This is the hard work of Christmas, living it day in and day out, even when there are no festive advent chocolates to sweeten the walk.

January is not where I expect life or Christmas to be found. And that is my personal challenge … to look for, to be the vessel through which the hope of Christmas can, unexpectedly, be found.

Today is known as Tweleth Night, or the eve of Ephiphany, when many Christians celebrate the Magi’s arrival and confirmation that the new babe was the reincarnation of God. It marks the end of the Christmas season … yet,

maybe

if we have experienced the hope, peace, love and joy of Christmas,

if we, like the Magi,

still seek Him …

Maybe we can have Christmas every day of the year … even when the rain clouds come.

When the song of the angels is stilled,
when the star in the sky is gone,
when the kings and princes are home,
when the shepherds are back with their flocks,
the work of Christmas begins:
to find the lost,
to heal the broken,
to feed the hungry,
to release the prisoner,
to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among the people,
to make music in the heart.

Howard Thurman from his poem, “The Work of Christmas”

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