Lent Day 21: A day of surprises

Over 900 lbs. Who knew fish got
this big? The surprise news item of my day.

Here's what surprised me today:

• I zoned in on my first surprise during morning devotions. I'd never noticed that Jesus ate the Last Supper and washed his disciples' feet before Judas left to betray him. I wonder, have I ever willingly eaten with or "washed the feet" of someone who was about to double-cross me, knowing their intentions? (John 13)
• I love love love speaking in front of a group. (Yeah, I like it that much, which surprises me every time.) Getting up in public makes my heart sing. I feel energized and happy, not nervous. How could it be such fun when I hardly spoke for decades? (My spouse is a gifted communicator so I've heard a lot of great talks. But that's rarely opened the door to speaking opportunities. For an event, you'd book a seasoned pro rather than an unknown part-timer, wouldn't you? Makes sense to me.)
• Speaking makes one a better speaker or "practice makes perfect." This year, W and I preached together most Sundays. It was a new skill for us, started by accident last September: I included him in my first-ever "6-minute-window-before-he-preaches" and he asked me back to the platform during Q&A, after his talk. We've never looked back. Our relaxation while co-speaking comes from confidence in God, trusting our partner, and sharing our voices. Speaking together has made solo talks easier, too.
• People thrive in a healthy team setting. Once again, I've been delighted by the sheer pleasure of a high-functioning team. Kim Martinez (Get Unstuck Bootcamp) facilitated our speech-coaching session today. She rocked as our team leader. Four women presented their talk. The following critique and the discussion were as much fun for me as speaking.
• Our two-year-old granddaughter is pretty good at singing "Happy Birthday." Apparently she's had a lot of peers to practice on lately. I was impressed.
• I laughed aloud with delight at W's bday card. He couldn't find an English one he liked, so it was Spanish - a precursor for guessing meaning in another language (we don't speak Spanish). Funny. And sweet.
• My Indonesian word-of-the-day is kelici (pronounced "cullinchee"). Guess what it means?

My first-ever Spanish birthday card
from my decidedly not Spanish husband

Thank you all for your birthday wishes and the kind words throughout the day. Friends are a true treasure, the best gift I can imagine.

Read more:
*[God says] My hand laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand spread out the heavens; when I summon them, they stand at attention. Isaiah 48:13 ESV

*For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God's promise to Abraham belongs to you. Galatians 3:26-29 NLT

*For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. 1 Timothy 2:5-6 NLT

*Worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water. Revelation 14:7 ESV

Moravian Prayer: Magnificent Creator, maker of everything—arbiter of distant galaxies, weaver of the very air we breathe—help us to take our proper place in this world you have created and praise your name forever. Amen.

What a month!

What a month it's been. We've put a lot of miles on the car, driving on weekends and between.

The best thing? Meeting people who are interested in following God. We've seen how God repurposes many of us who think we're going in one direction - but then God sends us in another.

Think about three Bible examples:
Abraham: 75 years old and content in Harran. But God called him to become the father of many nations in a foreign land. He put a few miles on his sneakers before he was through.(Genesis 12:1-4)

Moses: 80 years old and sidelined after 40 years of education and influence in the royal palace. God asked him to lead a nation from slavery into the Promised Land. Moses had all kinds of excuses, but he went - and became a great leader. (Exodus 3)

Saul / Paul: an influential and upcoming Jew in the political and religious system of Jerusalem. God yanked him from his religious misdirection, pointing Paul's zeal and desire to please God in a new direction. (Acts 9:1-22)

W and I head to Indonesia in a few months. We are astonished. We never expected life to take this turn. God has used everything from the past to secure the present and design the future. Our days are full of wonder and mystery.

Where have you been? What have you seen? And where are you headed? Be prepared for surprises along the way!

Read more:
*I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life. Deuteronomy 30:19 ESV

*Oh, praise the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, you who serve at night in the house of the Lord. Lift up holy hands in prayer, and praise the Lord. May the Lord, who made heaven and earth, bless you from Jerusalem. Psalm 134 NLT

*Don't just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.

Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God's people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. Romans 12:9-13 NLT

*Be reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:20 ESV

*God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. Ephesians 1:20-21 ESV

Moravian Prayer: Lamb of God, we adore life because we may live and love you. May we listen for your voice, be reconciled to you, and grow in righteousness. Although we sin daily, we know that if we come to you, you do not count our sins against us. Thank you for loving us so freely. 

Almighty God, you have loved us so much. We thank you that you made your Son the head of the church, the body of Christ. Make us faithful servants. As part of the body of Christ may we offer our talents in love and service to your people. Amen.

God's surprises

Reading through the Old Testament is spirit-changing. Many of our assumptions are shattered as we study humanity from its origins through the interaction of God among us. 


So often Christians read the stories of Jesus and the writings of Paul, John, Peter and other apostles as though the New Testament sprang up without a precedent. However, in the OT, human nature parades all its ambitions, vanities, and pretensions. We have situational ethics at their best and worst... and it seems like not much has changed from then until now. Technology advances. Human nature remains unchanged.


Take for instance the story in 2 Kings 11-12 of Joash, one of the kings of Judah who served God and transformed his culture. When he was little, his mom went crazy and killed all her sons. Joash's nurse kidnapped him and hid him until he was seven years old and crowned king of Judah. Joash came under the mentorship of a priest named Jehoiada, who taught him the ancient paths and reminded him of God's laws. "Joash did what was right in the eyes of the LORD all the years Jehoiada the priest instructed him." (2 K.12:2)


When his adviser died, Joash went off the rails and sold off the treasures from God's house as a bribe to an invading king. His son provoked a war with Israel that killed many of his own people. Judah still sacrificed on the high places, though God's warnings in the Law were clear. In secret, sacrifice to idols and violence to appease gods of other nations continued, with resulting lawlessness and corruption.

The BBC reports today that 40 children and 74 lamas have been excavated at a temple in Peru, where human sacrifices similar to Aztec rituals were discovered. The children's hearts had been cut out, and supposedly the lamas, buried on top of the youngsters' bodies, helped transport them to the afterlife. My heart broke to think of the mothers crying for their children, the family beds lying empty after the kids were killed. And such a heinously high cost brought no peace or satisfaction to the people.


Our hearts are ever wandering, says the hymnist. And so it is. In every civilization, humanity seeks our own way to fulfillment and justification from sin. The more sophisticated the society, the more brutal its payment required to appease the gods it worships, whether spirits or self. We can't pretend we are exempt in the West: those of us who serve Capitalism often suffer ill health, ulcers, and estranged relationships as we serve our master Mamon (money and power) with overtime, uber-competitiveness, disregard for the environment, and our fierce determination to succeed at any price.


The NT, which many of us know better than the old, affirms our the need for redemption and freedom from sin (the condition of broken relationships with God and others,) and sins (acts of punishment resulting from our broken relationships).


My meditation today was on the God who constantly seeks wholeness and fully-realized humanity, in relationship with himself. I felt like weeping, considering my own penchant to leave the God I love. Inside we are ruined, undone, turning our backs on the joy and friendship God offers, seeking it in desperate futility elsewhere.


In contrast to God's beautiful and righteous paths, we keep trying to figure out life so we don't have to obey and follow God's ways. The exercise instructor kept telling us this morning, "How good you are, to do this exercise for yourselves. Just think, you are taking time to heal your own bodies," etc. Yeah, yeah, fine. Good for us for stretching and working out. But what profit is there to bodily exercise, if we are deluding ourselves into thinking any finite efforts can buy us grace and peace?


Even in the most trying circumstances, God introduces hope and glorious freedom into our frailty and bondage. Touches of genius remind us that our own efforts are not all there is. Another BBC video spotlighted a blind, autistic young man (32) who can play anything on the piano that he hears once. Art, life, and songs of praise erupting... perhaps because Derek is broken enough that he cannot help but worship with his body through the songs God has implanted in him.


As leaves turn color and we enjoy again the splendors of autumn, let us remember that dying produces great beauty for all to enjoy. Leaving self behind to live for God brings love and harmony into our relationships, releasing us from self-consciousness and self-aggrandizement, and setting us free to be fully human.


I thought this morning how surprising and MARVELOUS it would be to live even one day in full alignment with God's purposes for me. Oh Lord, let it be so... today. Amen.


Read more:

*"The blessing of the LORD makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow with it." Proverbs 10:22 NLT

* Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.


But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. James 1:21-25 NIV