My Crown!

Something amazing happened this week. I became a grandmother! 

 And it’s doubly amazing because it happened twice! My son and his lovely wife gave birth to Peter David, 8 pounds, 13 ounces and 21 and a half inches long. Perfect in every way. My daughter and her soon-to-be husband (pictured here) became the parents of 20-month-old Sophia, bright and sweet and full of sass, also perfect in every way.

Grandchildren are the crown of the old. Prov. 17:6

Ok, it actually says they are the crown of old men, but I gender- neutraled it because they are my crown too. The point the scripture is making is that grandchildren are awesome, and an honor to their grandparents. Many of you have been grandparents for a long time and already know the joy that is mine today, but to me this is a new thing. I hope you will bear with me.

I love that I am a Nana. I love these little people with an intensity that took me a little by surprise. I love their smell, even after Peter urped on me and my hands smelled like sour baby for the afternoon. I love that Sophia took video with my phone that I didn’t find until the next day. I love their books and songs and little clothes. I love their giggle and coos and the funny noises they make when they sleep. I especially love the sense of purpose that I have as an influence in their little lives.

My job as a grandmother is different than that of a parent. I am not responsible for them, so my input is strictly out of love and a desire for their best. I can love them unconditionally, and influence their values through love. Paul commended Timothy for the sincere faith he saw in him, noting that he knew that it had lived in Timothy’s Grandmother first (2 Tim. 1:5). My life will speak into Peter and Sophia’s, simply through my interaction with them and my example to them. We will walk together and play and talk together, and they will know my heart.

How many times have you heard someone give testimony that the only reason he or she thinks he is alive and not in prison and in relationship with God is because of a praying Grandmother? I consider it a great privilege to pray for my grandchildren (my children, too). I began as soon as I knew of their existence. I will continue for the rest of their lives.

Mothers and fathers brought their children to Jesus to be blessed by him. The disciples shooed them away. They felt that Jesus was too important to be bothered by children.  Jesus didn’t feel that way!

But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it at all." And he took them in his arms and began blessing them, laying his hands upon them. Mark 10:13-16

I have long believed that we in the church should be involved in the lives of whatever children God places in our lives. Whether we are parents or grandparents or aunts or friends, we have much to learn. I have much to learn from my grandchildren. I pray for an open heart to receive. I am excited to learn who these little people are, their likes and gifts and talents and personalities. I am so grateful for the opportunity!

Being Good Listeners

How do you hear God? Do you hear his voice in your head, maybe in your own voice? Do you hear him speak in the thunder? Or in the wind? Perhaps you hear his voice in the words of a friend, or your pastor, or you mother.

…The sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, ad his sheep follow him because they know his voice. John 10:3-4

When I was younger I was always fairly certain what to do. I had trained myself to listen for the voice of God, and when I was uncertain I just asked. God always pointed the way. He lived in me, and there was no doubt in me which voice was his.

Then I hit a dark period in life, and God became strangely silent. I prayed. I prayed some more. I cried. I screamed and hollered and yelled my frustration at God, and still he seemed silent. Finally I quit. I waited for the still small voice that we hear so much about. It never came. Instead of waiting to hear, I moved forward, acting on what I knew from scripture. If there were no clear direction I would do what I wanted to. I discovered that God talks to us in a variety of ways.

When my children were very young, I communicated with them in a close and intimate way. I did things with them, guiding them moment-by-moment. As they grew older my direction became less hands on and more directional. I left them lists. I reminded them to think about what they had already been taught. When they became adults they knew they could call me, but they had to rely more on the training they had received, on the knowledge they had been given and on what they knew I would say or direct them to do. If they lacked wisdom, all they had to do was ask.

I have come to believe that God communicates with us like we do with our children. Every child is different, and so every form of communication is different. My relationship with God is different than it was when I was younger, but he has never stopped communicating with me. Sometimes it’s a word from my pastor. Sometimes its clear direction; I just know what I’m supposed to do. Sometimes it’s a word from you, encouraging me or saying exactly what I know he wants me to hear. Sometimes he gives me the desires he wants me to have.

Most of the time it is through his word. As I read and meditate and study I get to know him and his nature better. As I know his nature, I can understand what he would have me do and how he would have me live. I take on the mind of Christ, becoming more like him.

God speaks to all of us. His word is abundantly available, especially here in the United States. The trick is to learn to listen, to apply his word to our lives and to be obedient.

Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion…See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sins deceitfulness. 

Hebrews 3:17-18, 12-13

We help each other hear the voice of God. We help each other obey. A young friend of mine worries because she doesn’t feel like she hears God. She belongs to him. He lives in her. It takes time and training to distinguish his voice from the multitude of others that shout into our lives. It is up to her to study to know him. It is up to me to help her.

Witnesses of Life

A common theme among several of my friends lately has been how to share the gospel of Jesus to others. We all know that we are supposed to be ready to share, but we struggle with how exactly we are supposed to do that. Here are a few guidelines that I have found helpful:

But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. I Peter 3:15

1. Set Christ as Lord. If you want others to embrace the good news of life in Jesus, they need to see that you have fully embraced it. Live. Be fully alive in him.

2. Be prepared. Read your Bible. Get to know the Jesus you are hoping to introduce others to. Just remember that you will never be completely prepared. God will use you to love others, right where you are.

3. Life in Christ is hope. Because of Jesus, our lives are better. We may not have money and ease, and our physical lives may be difficult, but we have the promise of never going through anything alone. We have access to the peace that passes understanding. Jesus came that we might have joy. Joy is good! A certain future is great! Knowing that we are loved, no matter what, is better yet.

4. Treat others with gentleness and respect. We need to see others as individuals, people about whom God cares deeply, and not notches on our belts. We reach to others for their benefit, not for ours. We are reconcilers, bringing people together in relationship with their God.

You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.  

Acts 1:8

Jesus told his disciples that they would be his witnesses. Not that they needed to do anything to become witnesses, but that they would simply be witnesses. Witnesses are people who testify about what they know. That’s all. They don’t say anything that they don’t know; just tell about what God is doing in their lives. God will give them whatever words they need.

Often I complicate the matter. How can I convince others to accept the love that Jesus has for them? How can I save people? These are questions asked out of my own fear, not out of love or faith. I don’t want to look foolish, or fail. What if someone else’s salvation depends on me? What a silly question! I can’t save anyone. I can’t convince anyone or coerce anyone into heaven. The Holy Spirit is the agent of salvation, not me.

My job is to abide, to live immersed in the love of Jesus, and to live that love for others. I am alive! Life is good. No fear. Just love. Witnessing to others the love that Jesus is living out in my life. Radiating joy. God will do the rest.

Touched by Generosity

I was touched by the kindness of strangers this week. My daughter and son-in-law are adopting his almost two-year-old daughter, and as part of that process they have moved into a bigger apartment. They are young and still finding their way in the world. They are changing their lifestyle, and need everything. On top of that, money is tight.

We have been scouring garage sales and have found some of what we need, but are down to the wire. They get their first overnight visit with this sweet little girl this week. I posted the last of the key items they needed on a couple of Facebook pages. I was overwhelmed by the kindness of people who knew nothing about me and nothing about my daughter. They just knew we had a need. They offered generously, and gave many of the items we needed for free.

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this very way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. I Timothy 6:17-19

The women who gave so generously of what they have aren’t wealthy in this world, but they are rich in good deeds. They are willing to share. They understand the key to a life that is truly life. They know that the only hope that is dependable is hope in God. They have learned to hold tightly to God and loosely to things.

What they didn’t know was that they were being watched. My son-in-law is not a believer. He has no experience with church or with the family of God. All he knows about Christians are what he has seen on TV and in the media. He is learning more as he interacts in my home, and he learned a lot today. He was touched by the kindness of strangers. He witnessed the love of a community of people such as he had never seen before. He witnessed the love of the people of God.

Freely you have received; freely give.

Matthew 10:8

I am grateful for each of you who gave so generously. I am praying for you today, praying that you are blessed in both small and large ways. I am praying that you would find rest and peace, and know that the way you live your lives is a witness and a sacrifice that God will honor. Can you feel him smiling at you?

Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man. Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice. Surely he will never be shaken. Psalm 112:4-6

A Light in Darkness

Have you ever been in darkness so deep that you could not even imagine what light would look like? Or been so far underwater your lungs burned and still you could not see the surface? Have you ever been in fire so hot that you could not remember a cool drink of water? Or sadness so intense you could not believe in happiness?

Hear my prayer, O Lord, listen to my cry for help; don’t be deaf to my weeping. For I dwell with you as an alien, a stranger…

Psalm 39:12

We live in a fallen world. Not just that I am fallen, that I have sinned. We are fallen. All of us. Even nature was cursed at the fall. Because of that, illness exists. Cancer. Ebola. Depression. Mental Illness. The common cold. Uncommon super bacteria.

You are God, my stronghold. Why have you rejected me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy? Psalm 43:2

David understood. He knew oppression and depression. He understood the dark night of the soul. He knew what despair felt like, and to our benefit, he wrote about. We don’t ever need to feel alone. I think that he and Robin Williams would have been good friends. They would have a shared experience.

So, why does the church turn a blind eye to mental illness? We take dinner to those recovering from surgeries and do what we can to support those fighting cancer. We turn our heads and pretend the schizophrenic doesn’t exist. Depression is seen as a spiritual deficiency. Not all of us, of course, but as a church we’re okay with the fighting of addictions but rarely mention mental illness.

The church needs to reach out to those who are broken, regardless of how we are broken. There is no shame in admitting we are wounded and need healing.

It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means, “I desire compassion and not sacrifice,” for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners. Matt. 9:12-13

The church, the body of the Great Physician, is called to compassion. We are to follow the example of the Good Samaritan and reach down to heal the wounded. Just as it was not the fault of the man who had been robbed that he was wounded, so the dark is not the fault of the one who is lost in it. We need to reach out and help the sick rejoice because there is a Doctor in the house.

We were all shocked by the death of Robin Williams this week. The thought of a man who brought so many so much laughter being unable to find any reason to keep living is incredibly sad. There is hope in Jesus. There is hope in Jesus alone. As the arms of Jesus, we need to reach out. We need to stop condemning the sick, and help them find healing. We need to share hope.

For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 2 Cor. 4:6

Sharing in Suffering

Last week I talked about suffering, and how we are chosen to share in the suffering of Jesus, and how God uses our suffering to develop us and make us more like Jesus. I think that there is a flip side to this coin of suffering. Not only do we share in the suffering of Jesus, we share in each other’s suffering as well.

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. I Corinthians 12:27

We are one body, connected to each other through the head, which is Christ, and through the uniting of the Holy Spirit. When you suffer, I feel it. When I suffer, I can count on you to help alleviate my suffering.

One worldview was stated on Facebook as, “Everybody is going to hurt you. The trick is to find the ones worth suffering for.” I understand this. We’re human. We hurt each other. But I don’t want to suffer for just anybody. I want to make sure you are worth it. I am so glad Jesus didn’t feel that way.

Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:7-8

Jesus thought we were worth suffering for, even though we weren’t worthy. We are part of the body, and so we suffer, whether the other is worth it or not. Still we try to avoid suffering, and so we relegate it to a few and tell them they are called. Henri Nouwen says, “Our society suggests that caring and living are quite separate and that caring belongs primarily to professionals who have received special training. Although training IS important . . . caring is the privilege of every person and is at the heart of being human." (Henri Nouwen, Our Greatest Gift) Rather than shuffling each other off to the Pastor or the counselor or the doctor, we are called to do more. We are called to compassion, to feeling deeply and to going through life together. We are instead called to suffer together, to use our own suffering to help others and to participate in each other’s suffering through prayer.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. 2 Corinthians 1:3-5

To participate in the sufferings of another means that we open ourselves up to their pain. When we pray for each other we open ourselves up to the pain that only the Holy Spirit knows fully, and we share in that pain because we share in the same Spirit. When one member suffers, we all suffer.

Sometimes when I say I will pray for you, I do it quickly, trying not to understand what you are going through. I have told you, I don’t like suffering! God is slowing me down, reminding me that sharing in the fellowship of prayer is to allow myself to feel what you feel, to experience the depth of what you are going through. If not for the fact that we are all sharing this together, I’m not sure I could stand it. I would be overwhelmed. Instead I can take your suffering and lay it at before the throne of Jesus, knowing that he understands and will provide the strength we need.

We suffer together knowing that God has made us one. It’s a blessing with a kick. Relationship is worth it. It’s a reflection of the very nature of God. It draws us further up and deeper in. It binds us together. We are one body, and in suffering we begin to live like it.  

Participants in Suffering

I’ve been doing a lot of reading about suffering lately. Not on purpose, mind you. It just seems to come up in my Bible study and in my reading. That’s exactly what has me a little concerned. I’m not a big fan of suffering. Five degrees too hot and I’m whining. Five degrees too cold and I’m pulling out the wool socks. I’ll do most anything to alleviate my suffering.

My suffering is nothing compared to what some people live with. I have one friend on dialysis. She knows suffering. Another friend has cancer. Seven hundred people have died from the Ebola virus. They know suffering. Christians in Syria and Iran and Libya are being put to death for living their faith. They know suffering. Children die from lack of clean water. Girls are stolen from their families for the desire of an education. Children are abused and misused. Young boys are sold into slavery as expendable soldiers.

We all suffer, some more than others. I think its safe to say that nobody likes it. Suffering makes us uncomfortable. It makes us doubt God’s love for us, or our own competency.

Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials… James 1:2

God seems to view suffering differently than we do. He doesn’t seem to see suffering as a bad thing, but instead of a tool for our development. He seems to see it as a temporary thing, keeping in mind the future he has in store for us. That future can help us endure anything, just as it helped Jesus.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:2-3

Jesus knows suffering. When he asks us to endure, he knows what he’s asking. When he allows suffering in our lives, he walks beside us, helping us endure. When we think we can’t, he reminds us that he has already overcome, and that he will use it for our good. Our suffering will never be wasted.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed but not despairing; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

2 Cor. 4:7-10

God allows suffering so that he will be glorified, so that others will witness and be drawn to him, and so that we will mature and become more like him. We have been chosen to share in his suffering in order that we may also share in his glory. It is an honor to suffer, and in suffering for him we share in his death. It is an act of gratitude and worship.

How do you suffer? People are watching. What do they see? Do they hear my whining and complaints? Or do they see someone who is bowed down in submission before her Savior? Will I allow God to work in my life, even if it involves suffering? Will I offer my suffering as a sacrifice of praise?

They Mystery of God

He walked into the temple, the smell of wood smoke and incense wafting around him and flooding him with memory and wonder. There was the smell of blood and sweat and people everywhere. There were people from all over the world speaking in a multitude of languages, calls of the money changers, prayers of the priests and people, the bleating of animals about to be sacrificed. The walls were a riot of the color of white marble and blue on the priests robes and gold and red. He was a priest, a keeper of the mystery of a God who desired a relationship with his people, and yet whose holiness kept him apart.

The idea that God wanted a relationship with us, and that he would do whatever it took to make a way for that relationship, was a huge mystery to even the angels. They didn’t get it. They didn’t understand what was so special about us that God would go to such great lengths to save us. That’s what we call the gospel. The mystery of the ancient tabernacle and then the temple became the work of Jesus, and it is good news indeed!

Because of the work of God on our behalf, Jesus came and spoke the ancient words of mystery to those whose hearts would respond to him. He told them,

To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. Matthew 13:11

The people of Jesus’ day had grown deaf to the ancient words, and their hearts were hard and cold. There was no wonder or mystery for them. Jesus gave his words to his disciples, men and women whose hearts were soft and responsive. Out of them he achieved God’s desire, to have a relationship with them. Out of them he built his church.

Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. I Corinthians 4:1

The mystery of salvation, of the wonder of a relationship between God and man, between Creator and his creation, between Savior and sinner, has now been given to us. We are stewards of this mystery, the keepers of grace who hold it out for our generation.

There is danger in losing the wonder and mystery of our salvation. We take it for granted, forgetting the lengths to which God went in order to be with us in relationship. We become flip, forgetting whom it is we worship. We begin to see Jesus as a buddy instead of a Savior, and forget that we need saving. We should never utter light and frivolous words to the Creator of the Universe.

Worthy are you, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for you did create all things, and because of your will they existed, and were created. Revelation 4:11

He was, and is, and is to come, and his word is true and remains. There is great mystery, mystery of salvation and relationship, that is for us. When the mystery is gone we need to get back in touch with the Holy Spirit. We need to dip deeply into the words of God that remind us who he is, that we struggle to understand and yet accept with gratitude.

We are reminded of the mystery in worship. Bowing low before the God who loves us, who fought Satan and won, and who bought our salvation reminds us of how small we are, and of how amazing are the actions of God on our behalf. We are so insignificant to be given so much. God is so big and we are not. We are so resistant to him, never understanding how lost we are without him. We cannot begin to fathom the bigness of our God. We don’t have the words.

For the testimony of God is the spirit of prophesy. And I saw heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and he who sat upon it is called Faithful and True; and in righteousness He judges and wages war. And his eyes are a flame of fire, and upon his head are many diadems; and he has a name written upon him which no one knows except himself. And he is clothed with a robe dipped in blood; and his name is called the Word of God. Revelation 19:10b-13