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Intimacy via Humility

Posted in Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #confessionofsin, #forgiven, #intimacyviahumility, #intimacywithgod on September 10, 2019| Leave a Comment »

When one wants to speak at an Alcohol Anonymous meeting they must state their name and that they are an alcoholic. It is the first step in the twelve step program to recovery.

When I think of 12 Step programs, I often think of the necessity of that first step (admitting that I have a problem) to experiencing the intimacy that is offered to us, through Christ. The humility of admitting wrong, admitting sin with our words helps us to accept responsibility, but it also helps us to accept the grace that is offered to us.

Come close to God, and God will come close to you.
Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts,
for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.
James 4:8

Matthew Henry’s Commentary, on the above passage tells us:

“All sin must be wept over; here, in godly sorrow, or, hereafter, in eternal misery. And the Lord will not refuse to comfort one who really mourns for sin, or to exalt one who humbles himself before him.”

I remember the day we were told, by the principal, that our son had hit another (younger) student and that he had apologized. When he got home, I assured him that I was so proud that he had apologized to the boy, but that I wanted him to call the mother of the boy, because I knew that she too was hurt by his actions. He agreed. I made the call and explained to the mom why we were calling, then I passed the phone to my son, who sincerely apologized for hurting her son, that he knew that his own mom would be so sad if it was he who had been hit (previous bullying toward our son, by an older boy helped his understanding of this) and that he was so sorry for his actions. She told him that she was, indeed, sad that it had happened, but that she was thankful that he had called and apologized to her, and that she forgave him.

Since that day, whenever they see each other, this lady and our son have a different relationship. It is as though there is a bond, an intimacy between them, refined through humble admittance of sin and forgiveness of one hurt.

So is our relationship with God, our savior.

We need to come humbly to our God and confess that we are sinners.

It is through this humble act of contrition that we gain, not just eternity with our saviour, but also an intimate relationship with him.

“How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” (Hebrews 9:14).

“We Your children pray Lord
Humbly seek Your face
We turn from our sin Lord
You hear us as we pray”
(King of the Broken by Darlene Zschech)

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Precious to Him

Posted in Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #godgrieves, #nearertothee, #precioustohim on September 8, 2019| Leave a Comment »

My heart was saddened to hear a colleague speak of a relative’s grim cancer diagnosis. When I expressed my sorrow, he responded by telling me that the family were encouraged by Psalm 116:15 (Living Bible):

“His loved ones are very precious to him,
and he does not lightly let them die.”

Those words sunk into my soul, as I grasped the message within.

I guess I had always presumed that, because God is eternal, he does not look at the end of our earthly lives as significant. Yet, if we look at this verse, from the Psalms, in light of Jesus’ weeping when arrived to the home of the dead Lazarus, we get a glimpse of the significance human death is for our God.

This verse … this week …

The news of the unbelievable damage of Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas, this week has been humanly heart-rending. Watching the news of those who are missing loved ones is painful. One cannot observe such fear and loss and grief without feeling it within oneself.

This verse from the Psalms reminds me that God feels similar empathy for these people and their heartache … that “he is close to the brokenhearted” (Psalm 34:18).

Death was never in the plan of God for our lives. It is the result of sin entering our world … a constant reminder to him and us that this is not how it was supposed to be, that we were created for more.

For today, for now, God is mourning along with all of us who mourn … whether from the devastation of a hurricane or a cancer diagnosis.

“Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer to thee!
E’en though it be a cross
That raiseth me.
At the moment of death
My strength is from heaven
God helps, nothing should be feared
For ever”

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Don’t Follow the Followers

Posted in Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #dontfollowme, #dontfollowthefollowers, #followchrist, #followtheword on September 5, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Follow the leader is only fun (and safe) if the leader is good.

I can remember, as a child, leaders who took us through mud puddles, had us climb the monkey bars with our eyes closed, or who told us to tell a secret out loud. They may have been popular, confident and eager to lead, but their focus was on that very moment and their own experience, rather than an authentically good experience for all.

Sometimes it seems as though that has been the case within the Christian community.

Leaders rise who are popular, confident and eager to lead, but their focus is on that very moment and their own experience.

And we follow them.

We follow the leaders who are pleasing to our eyes, whose messages in song, in word, in written form are pleasing to our ears. We follow the leaders who have ‘friends’, ‘followers’, ‘likes’ and ❤ . We follow those who speak their truth, opening up their every skeleton’ed closet to do a show-and-tell for us.

We follow those who dress like us, speak like us, think like us … sin like us.

We follow those who have music contracts, book contracts, speaking contracts … those whose podcasts we listen to, books we buy, videos we watch, blogs we read (ouch … but true), churches we ‘visit’ like amusement parks.

Isaiah 53:6 reminds us who we are:
“We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost.
We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way.”

This verse is true of we who follow, but it is also true of those who we are following. If we have a heartbeat and a soul, we are all followers … and we tend to follow whoever smells good at the moment, whoever shines bright, whoever offers us sustenance for the moment (not necessarily long lasting nutrition).

But what, who are we following?

If we are following anyone and anything with more of our time and energy than what we put into following Christ … what the Word of God says of him … we are following the wrong one.

We need to acknowledge that “we have abandoned our first love” (Rev. 2:4) and return to that love for our God, which we learn and understand in his word, which has been here since the beginning of our world.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1)

Let me say, if you are following me as a theological or faith expert … run … run fast and far. I am no expert. I do hope that if you read my words you are encouraged, you are reminded of how much God loves you,

I hope I push you toward God’s word … to read it, search it for THE TRUTH … MY truth is redundant.

We need to follow the leader who will lead us, safely, into the most authentic of life experiences.

God is the leader.

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

“Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32

“Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4

“He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” Luke 11:28

“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.” Psalm 119:105

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” Matthew 24:35

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A New Thing

Posted in life, tagged #anewthing, #firstdayofschool, #iamdoinganewthing, #letgodlead on September 3, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Today is the start of the school year, in my neck of the woods.

The slate of last year is wiped clean and the opportunity for a fresh start is available to all … the students, parents, guardians, school staff.

I love this fresh start aspect of working in a school. I love it for me, but I also love it for the students who need a fresh opportunity to show who they really are and what they are capable of accomplishing.

Isaiah 42:18 is a great verse for the start of a new school year:

“ … do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!”

Ah, the past. There can be tough stuff in our pasts. Stuff like failures, bad attitudes, not doing our best … and those are just some of the things in my past school year, as a staff member.

But, this verse encourages to not dwell on the past.

This is a new school year and God is doing a new thing. It is fresh, like that new lined notebook page … just like our friend Anne of Green Gables says, “it’s a new day, with no mistakes in it” (yet … but let’s not focus on the ‘yet’).

Don’t you wonder what that new thing that God might be doing? Doesn’t it encourage us to have a sense of anticipation, of waiting? It is as though we need to pause before moving ahead, because God is doing a new thing, and we need to allow him lead the way into this new year.

May this school year be blessed with an focus on new things. May we take our first steps into it, following the one who is leading the way into this new thing.

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Withering and Fading

Posted in life, WONDER, tagged #changes, #godswordremains, #witheringandfading on September 1, 2019| 4 Comments »

As summer break comes to a close for students in our area I have been noticing the withering and fading of growing things.

“The grass withers,
the flower fades;
but the word of our God
stands forever.”
Isaiah 40:8

Seasons are one of many changes that are part and parcel of life and living. Other changes that we encounter might be a move to a new home, a new hometown, a new school, a new spouse, or child, or new family members, or job, or a new nest … one that is decidedly less full.

“Change is good” said that wise monkey in the Lion King, followed by Simba’s reply, “ya, but it’s not easy.”

Change is revitalizing, renewing and redirecting, yet … the stretching, the newness, the unfamiliarity can be anything but easy.

But we are reminded, in Isaiah, that even when the things we love and are accustomed to die and fade, there is still one thing that remains … God’s word.

Not only does his word remain, but it stands … forever.

God’s word remains …

It is the anchor for our lives, the constant during times of upheaval and distress, the firm foundation to build anew on … yesterday, today and forever.

His word does not grow old, does not fade, does not become redundant or out of style … it stands … strong and straight, forever.

God’s word remains … on that we can go to bed at night, certain of it’s presence in the morning when we rise … if we rise, for it will continue to exist even after our bodies fail.

It will be here for our children and their children …

His word remains …

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Be Strong and Courageous

Posted in life, WONDER, tagged #dohardthings, #pushthroughthehardstuff on August 29, 2019| Leave a Comment »

I am inspired by those who do the things that many of us would shrink away from.

The other day I wrote about doing the hard things here. After it published the emails and pm’s and dm’s started to roll in with the same message :

“I think you wrote that for me because …”

I am thrilled that my wordy hobby might be used for a greater purpose, in other’s lives.

These communications I received … they were from people who shared such inspiring stories of doing the hard things … and so, I just couldn’t end the topic there.

The person going back to school, part time, knows this will open opportunities … even though it is going to be hard.

The one who is struggling with moving beyond a weight loss plateau knows that they will enjoy more energy … even though it is going to be hard.

The one who is struggling with anxiety knows that going out with friends will be fun … even though it is going to be hard.

The one who is returning to work after many years, knows that they will benefit from earning money and learning on the job … even though it is going to be hard.

The one who is sending her first born off to university, knows that the education and experiences for her child will be amazing … even though it is going to be hard.

The ones who are struggling in their marriage, know that counselling will help them figure their way through their struggles … even though it is going to be hard.

In my years working in special education, I have seen so many who do hard things. For those with special needs, doing hard things is an everyday exercise. Learning to sit quietly in a classroom or to not eat except during breaks are common hard things for these students. Then there are those who have to do the hard things like not give in to their obsessions or compulsions.

This summer I began volunteering, weekly, for an organization that I have admired. I knew that I would have to be the one to make efforts to get to know people. I knew it was going to be hard … and it was. My first day, I knew no one nor their ways of doing things. After each week I would say, “it was hard … but it’ll get better” … and it has. It would have been SO easy to quit after the first day … but I had to persevere, because I need to do what is hard.

We all need to do what is hard in our lives. There is mutual understanding in that reality. But we never set out to do such things on our own. God goes with us, wherever we go, whatever we do.

“Be strong and courageous;
do not be frightened or dismayed,
for the Lord your God is with you
wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9

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Do the Hard Things

Posted in life, WONDER, tagged #donotfear, #dothehardthings, #strengthandcourage on August 27, 2019| Leave a Comment »

The fiftieth anniversary of the lunar landing was just last month. Before it happened, it was viewed by many as impossible, too risky, too costly, too hard.

On June 6 of this year was the seventy-fifth anniversary of the D-Day landings, a sacrifice that is still known as the beginning of the end of WW2.

This November will mark the thirtieth anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, a tumbling by ordinary citizens of the Cold War and communism.

These are examples of efforts that were hard, risky or costly that resulted in a “giant leap for mankind.”

Doing the hard things is … hard. It takes perseverance, determination, time, risk, and effort. It makes us uncomfortable, nervous, sweat and our hearts race.

It is easier to just stay where it is safe, easy and predictable.

“An individual develops courage by doing courageous acts” — Aristotle

Many of us have prayed for patience, only to learn that there is only one way to attain patience … by being in situations where we must be patient.

It is the same for developing our strength or courage … to attain such we must be in situations that require us to do what is uncomfortable, even fearful, or hard.

The more often we do the things in life that are hard, the stronger we become.

“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” Eleanor Roosevelt

Some of us will say, I cannot do those hard things, because they make me anxious, and I struggle with anxiety. And sometimes, we need to take a break and fill our cup before we can dip our toes in the water.

But, to attempt to do something hard, even in a small way, can create an amazing sense of encouragement and strength, to the one who is anxious.

According to neuroscientist, Philippe Goldin, “Exposure is hands down the most successful way to deal with phobias, anxiety disorders, and everyday fears of any sort. Simply repeatedly exposing ourselves to the thing we’re afraid of — ideally in a positive way — gradually brings down the physiologic fear response until it’s gone, or at least manageable.”

Baby steps are still moving away from where we are to a new location.

We all face opportunities in our lives to do hard things. For some of us it is a new job or career, for others it is returning to study, for others it is saying no, or getting on a plane, or picking up the phone, or telling someone you love them, or … walking out your door.

Let’s do the hard things, at least one hard thing each day … one small step for man.

“For I am the LORD, your God,
who takes hold of your right hand
and says to you,
Do not fear; I will help you.”
Isaiah 41:13

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The Dimming Light

Posted in life, Nature/Creation, WONDER, tagged #lettherebelight, #thedimminglight on August 25, 2019| Leave a Comment »

I saw it, knew it was happening for real, just last week as I was driving home in the early evening.

Summer is fading.

Of course it has been fading since it’s first day in June, but now it is not just the lessening of evening light, but also how the leaves on the trees are looking tired, spent of their life … the sky looks like it’s deep summer blue is fading in the sun … the summer flowers slowing in their budding.

My heart feels heavy as I see these annual changes, heralding the end of summer, the beginning of autumn. I do so love autumn, with it’s cool nights and warm days, it’s colored trees and harvest moon. I love the celebrations in our family of birthdays and anniversaries. I love the renewal of schedules, the opportunities of re-starts and the new experiences to come for those I love.

Yet … my heart feels heavy …

It’s the light, the reduction of light that makes me feel the seasons change … just like I feel them (in a more positive ‘light’) when winter is being traded for spring and the light is increasing, winning the hearts of all who it touches. This is the reality when one is solar powered … and aren’t we all solar powered?

“Let there be light”

The first words of God that are recorded, give us insight into the importance of light, as it was also the first thing God created.

This light is not just the light of the skies, but also the light of the Holy Spirit, living within us. When we say yes to Christ, God gives the command to “let there be light” in our sin-darkened souls, and we illuminate his light to the world.

That is not a light that dims … no matter the season.

“May it be a light to you in dark places,
when all other lights go out.”
J.R.R. Tolkien

“The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness has not overcome it.”
John 1:5

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Crushed and Pressed

Posted in Walking with God, tagged #crushedandpressed, #freedomandpower, #newthings, #newwine on August 22, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Ever feel crushed? Like the breath of life is being snuffed right out of you?

Haven’t we all?

This summer I have been aware of new things ripening. Not really new things, so much as renovated, renewed and strength that comes afresh from ones once stripped, pressed and crushed.

The other day I was watching a clip from I Love Lucy. Lucy had gotten a job stomping on grapes. As is common in her sketches, it was hilarious. Later that day my son introduced me to a worship song that had been sung throughout the summer at camp, called New Wine (video clip, below).

Wine is stalking me with deeper meaning.

As I listened to the lyrics, I smiled.

The making of wine has many stages. One cannot awake one morning and simply say, I am going to produce wine and have a glass by evening.

It is said that there are five main parts of the wine making process including: harvesting, crushing and pressing, fermentation, clarification, and aging and bottling … these don’t even include the processes involved in growing the grapes. The total amount of time from planting a new plant to uncorking the bottle can take five years (or more if aging is desired).

The grapes represented in a bottle of wine have been often been grown on hills, in the hot sun, cut off the branches with sharp blades, then crushed and pressed. It is what has developed inside of them, what has been pressed out of them, that is their finest fruit.

I look back at those times on the hot, parched slopes … when I thirsted for a fertile valley.

Those times that seemed to be death by a thousand deep cuts, draining my soul of it’s life source.

Those times when I was crushed, pressed … the times that dropped me to my knees.

Those times when I felt like a prisoner in a glass house … visible from the outside, but locked in tightly, with no one to pop the cork …

Then, the day came, the cork was released, and I was poured out … the new wine, made from crushing and pressing.

It is a new season. The strength, power and freedom of today is due to the crushing and pressing of many yesterdays. The new wine, made in … “your careful hand. When I trust You, I don’t need to understand”

It means we’re getting back on the altar
Let’s sing this to render everything, Lord
New wine out of me
Jesus, Jesus, bring new wine out of me

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Eyes Straight Ahead

Posted in Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #eyesstraightahead, #keepyoureyesonhim, #turnyoureyesuponjesus on August 20, 2019| 2 Comments »

While on our vacation, on the Oregon Coast, we love to walk the beach. Usually we walk one way on the beach and one through the town.

I love this image (left) that I took one day that we walked through the town, then through a hotel to the beach. We had to walk through this dark corridor to get to the beach. We have walked this corridor numerous times over the years, but I have no recollection of what that corridor looks like. I didn’t even realized there were windows there until I looked at the photo. You see …

when the place I am headed is so beautiful
I just keep my eyes straight ahead.

I don’t worry about what is to my left or right, or who or what might be behind me. My eyes are focused on where I am going … not where I have been, or other places I could go.

I think this is what Proverbs 4:25 might be telling us:

Focus your eyes straight ahead;
keep your gaze on what is in front of you.

It is so easy to do this on my walk to the beach, because I have memories of what awaits me there. But, in our lives, we have similar memories, for we catch glimpses of the glory (holiness) of God, his perfection, his unfading love and pursuit for us, our souls.

Isaiah 4:2 reminds us “in that day the Branch of the LORD (that is Jesus) will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel.”

He, Jesus, is always straight ahead of us. It is on him, straight ahead of us, where our gaze should be, with no need to glance to the left or right, or behind us. All we need is in him, straight ahead.