31 Days in December #7: Not fainting

For years, this verse hung beside my bathroom sink. I saw it every time I washed my face and hands or brushed my teeth. It still encourages me, sitting on the counter next to a pot of wintergreen berries.

Do you have a favorite passage of Scripture that gives you hope? That reminds you that God is with us?

In this Advent season, we look forward to the celebration with families, the reading of Bible stories, and the prayers together. God whispers, "Don't faint. Persevere, and you will be rewarded" ... in God's time.

Lent Day 35: Thankful for endings

You probably have deadlines looming. Something that you can't wait to finish. I'm there too.

Jesus walked into Holy Week determined to stay on task. He did not abandon his followers, knowing the hardest obstacle was on the horizon.

Imagine knowing that by week's end you will have been killed in a horrible way, disgraced by the manner of death, and deserted by those in whom you've invested your life. Would you have the stamina to give your best teaching, show love most deeply, and graciously give your betrayer an opportunity to repent before exposing your knowledge of his intentions?

This Tuesday, thinking of Good Friday  and the wonderful Easter celebrations ahead, I can hardly fathom God's love for us. His determination to offer us––as his betrayers and antagonists––the chance for reconciliation staggers me to my knees in worship.

What hard thing has God called you to, for which you need his patience, self-control, and perseverance today?

Read more:
*Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for. Isaiah 40:2 (NIV)

*I call upon God, and the Lord will save me. Psalm 55:16

*Your eternal word, O LORD, stands firm in heaven. Your regulations remain true to this day, for everything serves your plans. Psalm 119:89, 91

*On God we have set our hope that he will rescue us again. 2 Corinthians 1:10

*Christ himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness. 1 Peter 2:24

Moravian Prayer: God of the ages, you have been faithful. We confess our faithlessness. As we call upon you today, we know that you have rescued us. You are our hope. Thank you for your grace and love today and every day.

We are so grateful that our debts have been released through the grace of your son, Jesus Chr-ist. May we strive to pay forward the grace and love you have given us. In his name. Amen.

Lent Day 5: Thankful for new beginnings

"Yikes!" I just picked up the dissertation sent in last week. The editors and I missed a few things. How can there still be dozens of improvements after dozens of readings and hundred of dollars spent for edits?

Laying aside the copy (at p.35 of 350 already zoning out with all the qualifiers - get to the story, get to the story!), I'm reflecting on the grace of God at the cusp of another week. Some of you are hunched over your keyboards at work. Some are unloading tools for manual labor. Some stretch in their beds after a long weekend or a night shift.

God is extending his favor to each of us. Lent, the time for thanksgiving and meditation on Jesus as Savior, reminds us that God's mercy is new every morning. We do not have a Father in heaven who looks for the smallest infraction so he can thump us and cow us with power and anger. Our Father calls us into relationship, allowed us to kill his Son to ransom us from eternal banishment, and then--and then--lets us choose for or against his provisions. No other world religion or folk traditions can dream up a God so tender, so lovingly sacrificial, or so merciful!

This morning, I'm asking God for wisdom and understanding. I want to recognize him when he speaks. To obey him better. To follow more closely. To swim in his sea of new beginnings and surf his waves of grace. How about you?

Read more:

*Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way. Psalm 25:8

*My child, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and people. Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine. 

My child, do not despise the LORD’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke because the LORD disciplines those he loves as a father the child he delights in. 

Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies. Nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed. By wisdom the LORD laid the earth’s foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place; by his knowledge the watery depths were divided and the clouds let drop the dew. 

My child, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight. Preserve sound judgment and discretion; they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck. Then you will go on your way in safety and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked for the LORD will be at your side and will keep your foot from being snared.

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, “Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you”— when you already have it with you.

*I will set my eyes upon them for good. I will build them up, and not tear them down; I will plant them, and not pluck them up. Jeremiah 24:6

*So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 1 Corinthians 3:7

Moravian Prayer: God of heaven and earth, as we worship, let us praise you as Lord who is able to shape us as a people of one mind. You are the one who also provides for us the life-giving water needed to sustain our growth. Amen.

*But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2:9-10 NIV

Bumper car ride

I feel like a kiddie car with worn bumper pads. Bam, against this wall. Crash, by someone on the run. Smack, didn't see that coming.

I'm writing the final chapters of the dissertation, assembling findings and implications from my study. It should be straight-ahead. I know what I'd like to communicate. But when I read what I've written, it's gibberish.

I'm not close to finished. The hard work of editing lies ahead, and sometimes that takes longer than assembling information. How I wish this were done. Bump. Smash. Zoom, here we go again.

What's whirling you around and around this year?

Read more:

*Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come. Psalm 71:17-18 NIV

Psalm 10:1-11; Genesis 16,17; Matthew 6:5-18

May his glory fill the whole earth. Psalm 72:19

Christ says, "Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation." Mark 16:15

Moravian Prayer: Thank you, Holy Spirit, for instilling in us passion and joy for the tasks of going and proclaiming. You've sent us because you love us and we go because we love you. Guide us in this mission today. Amen. 

The terror of a call

Many people aspire to teach or preach or stand on a platform of importance. "Be careful," Paul warned. "If you have a position, God holds you accountable in added measure."

Jeremiah's call was more awful than that. About to embark on a lifetime of telling people God's thoughts and judgments, God buttressed him up with words we use to pacify people who are feeling troubled. Our salve for the weary began as God's iron backbone for difficult ministry. Unlike many of us, Jeremiah had no confidence in his ability or maturity for the task ahead:

The word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” 

“Ah, Sovereign LORD,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.” 

But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 1:4-8 NIV)

When Jeremiah agreed to go in God's name, he did not know the risks, the life-threatening obstacles, and the sheer meanness of his people. We would say he followed his call in faith, trusting God to take care of him. 

Reading Jeremiah a few times the past year, I want to shout a caution to him as he embarks: "It's a worse ministry than you know. Are you sure you want to do this? No one will believe you. You will suffer! You'll doubt yourself and God. Are you very, very sure about your call?" 

We quote many verses from Jeremiah as platitudes. For example, the prophet said, "When you pass through the waters, you will not drown." But he didn't say it to people about to undergo surgery or looking for a new house. His nation wasn't merely experiencing financial set-backs or a bad year of harvest. No - they were about to be dragged into captivity by a vicious conqueror. Many would die, starve, and be raped or tortured. Yet God said he would keep a remnant for himself.

It's probably correct to apply those verses to our difficulties. However, we must recognize that the greater context of most promises is God's ability to do as he pleases. He carries out his purposes and does what he intends, no matter how devastating the circumstances to humanity. He will be in control when our country loses its identity to war, when famine claims the few survivors, and families are torn apart in death and displacement. 

The promises seem greatest when the hardships are overwhelming. When saying yes to God's call, we need to remember that the prophet is rarely welcomed with a message of bad news. It doesn't matter how many reassurances he or she offers alongside the truth.

Twins named Peace and Humility

"I want to get ahead and I'm trying to be noticed!" and "I am the BOSS around here and don't you forget it!" I've heard both at work. The speakers were anxious and controlling of their work and their authority. Not so much fun to be around.

Those ambitions reverberated as unpleasant memories when I read the morning's scriptural passage: "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."

I've never thought of humility and peace as twins. Yet, another verse came to mind: "Great peace have they that love your law, and nothing can make them stumble" (Psalm 119:165). The law of Jesus says that we must treat others the way we want to be treated, and our obligation is to love God first, then others the same way we love ourselves. Hate being bullied? Dislike the "I'm more important than you" in others? Don't do it yourself!

Who do you think of (maybe yourself) when you read this? How can God's care and peace envelop us, no matter what our -- or others' -- plans and goals...and prevent us from being eaten alive by human power struggles? (Read the verses below.)

Read more:

*Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 5:6-11  NIV

Laugh and carry on

"To truly laugh, you must be able to take your pain, and play with it!" ~ Charlie Chaplin

Today was a day when I could have laughed for 12 hours straight. W wakes at 3am and sets off downstairs not to disturb my sleep. I am still awake when he comes back at 4, showers, and leaves for the airport. I fall asleep just before my alarm goes off at 5.30.

"Off switch! Quick" Swipe across the IPhone. Sweet silence. "No way am I going to exercise class. I'll walk the dogs later."


I fall asleep for a half hour just before 7, when our son Jono takes a shower in the bathroom next door. "Might as well get up!" Let the dogs out, except...

"What's the matter with your eye, pup?" Spike's eye is swollen shut, light sensitive, and leaking puss. He sticks right by my side as we walk to the office. He lies down and doesn't move when I leave the room. I call my husband, who okays a vet visit. Our vet can't take us until 4.30pm, and the eye is scabbing over. I call the vet at the bottom of the hill. She can see us at 10.30. Withe 3/4 hour to go, I quickly trace and sew two little dog fleece coats, patterned on one that's a good fit. It's 33oF here this morning.

Time to strap them into the car. My keys are gone. I call W, who tells me where the spare key is, but it takes 10 minutes to find it. We're a minute late to the vet. Spike's scratched his cornea. While we're there, they vaccinate Bella for rabies, distemper, and kennel cough. I haul out the checkbook. Ouch.

We do a couple of walking loops around a nearby park. A nice 88-year-old woman is taking her pug for a walk, so we stop and chat. "Honey, I'm trying to stay on my feet. That's why I am out here." Good for her!

When we get back to the car, I check email. A Craigslist post-er has gotten back to me: she has the dryer model (with enough poodle power!) that I sold last week. Hers is $20 less than I sold it. Since my "human" blow-dryer overheated and shut down several times while drying Bella last night, I might as well drive 20 miles to Marysville to get it. At the counter, ready to pay, it's apparent that I have used my last check at the vet's. 

"The bank is just down the street, love," says the German lady who runs the pet recycle store. Off we go, then it's back to the store with cash.

It's a 25-minute drive home, by which time the dogs and I are ready for a 2pm breakfast. I put them in their crates with food. I heat the 16-bean soup left from yesterday's supper for myself and head upstairs with a big pot of tea.

All we can do is laugh, shrug, and carry on during wacky days like this one. It's time to crawl under a warm blanket to read another theology book. (So much for my plans of studying the whole day.)

"Days like this happen because you're getting older," says my wise friend. 

"Thanks for that :-)," I think. "Maybe."

Read more: 

*I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; before the "gods" I will sing your praise. I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted. Psalm 138:1-3 NIV

*Everything is wearisome beyond description. No matter how much we see, we are never satisfied. No matter how much we hear, we are not content. Ecclesiastes 1:8 NEV

*Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV

105, almost 106!

W's Aunt Erna lived to within a few days of her 106th birthday. Yesterday I drove up to Canada to attend her graveside service. Eleven of us, three children, already in their 60s and 70s, a nephew and niece, spouses, a great-granddaughter, my mother-in-law and I. Standing at a little patch of earth to commit the ashes of a retired saint to the ground.

When her children moved her to Ontario 30 years ago, she agreed to go on one condition - she would be buried beside her husband in Chilliwack, BC. Her children honored her wishes. "Mom wanted to go home for a long time. She was looking forward to seeing Dad and her friends in heaven. She wondered why God would leave her and take younger ones with more living and ministry to do."

"She never had a bad thing to say about anyone, in all her years of ministry," said someone. "She was always positive, and that's probably one of the reasons she lived so long."

"She was interested in people and loved to stay in touch," said another. She wrote me letters until she could no longer hold a pen, into her 100s. She rarely forgot a name or person, and her mind was clear and sharp even as her body failed. Auntie Erna kept reading and learning until the end.

"She kept your Christmas cards on the dresser all year," her daughter told me. "You missed one year, and she made us call your mother-in-law to make sure you were ok. She worried that something had happened to you!" (I'd lost her new address when she moved into assisted living.)

I'll miss this lady a lot. She partnered with her husband to plant over a dozen churches for German immigrants to Canada, and was an amazing pastor's wife and mentor to many women in ministry. She also was the last placeholder of her generation in my husband's family, a constant prayer warrior, and faithful Christian. 

From across the miles and through family legend, she set a standard of faith and obedience that calls me into a closer walk with Christ. "Thanks, Auntie Erna. We're happy you got your wish to go home, but we'll miss you!" 

Read more:

*"But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last. And after my body has decayed, yet in my body I will see God! I will see him for myself. Yes, I will see him with my own eyes. I am overwhelmed at the thought!" Job 19:25–27 NEV

*For the LORD will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage; for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it. Psalm 94:14-15 NEV

*May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 NIV

Lent 1: Long haul

Day One of Lent. Having blogged previously as a Lent discipline, I know it's going to be a long haul. Somewhere in the middle, or maybe two thirds of the way through, I'll wonder why I bother writing.

There's something about perseverance that produces fruit. Not every day in the cycle of an apple tree is filled with sunshine. Not every day of our spiritual journey is uplifting or exciting, either. However, it will be a privilege to write reflections in the weeks leading to the celebration of Christ's resurrection.

We don't know how much the human Christ could see in advance. Steadily, with great courage and perseverance, he strode toward the cross. We take heart from his example.

--
God's peace to you today!
In times of trouble, may the LORD answer your cry. May the name of the God of Jacob keep you safe from all harm. May he send you help from his sanctuary and strengthen you from Jerusalem. May he remember all your gifts and look favorably on your burnt offerings.

May he grant your heart's desires and make all your plans succeed. May we shout for joy when we hear of your victory and raise a victory banner in the name of our God. May the LORD answer all your prayers. Psalm 20:1–4 NLT

"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. …Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won't he also give us everything else?" Romans 8:28, 32 NLT