Worshipping foreign gods

We would have thought they were mad. Utterly bananas.

When I was a kid, had anyone placed an idol in their living room or spent hours meditating on "nothingness" for peace of mind, we would have called them crazy. Seems everywhere I look, there's a buddha sitting on a tabletop. Decorators like to express a feeling of tranquility in a LR or bedroom by adding foreign gods as symbols. You can find out how to build a shrine or "meditation room" in the DIY section of the library. Any neighbor on my childhood street who would have checked out such a book would have been marked as an insane person.

Reading history, it's easy to see how the West abandoned their love of God, in whom souls find rest, for the frantic pace of capitalism and consumerism. We fell in love with stuff, and then found our souls empty.

"Want to be really empty?" asked priests of world religions. "We can show you how." In came the gods made by hands, subtly in music (via John Lennon and Yoko Ono, yeah we thought they were nuts when they first broadcast Eastern rites). Foreign gods came creeping in with decor (oh, it's just a pretty statue. doesn't mean anything to me.) They disguised their houses of worship as holistic wellness centers (check out the "meditation rooms" that used to be chapels in hospitals, catholic retreat centers, and airports). And slowly but surely idolatry pervaded our homes and thinking ("You know, I think this guardian angel on my keychain really makes a difference, don'tcha, Saint so-and-so?")

It's not like we were ever all Christians. But the church used to be a place of refuge, where you knew someone would listen, pray to God with you, and offer help in times of trouble. I doubt if most of my fellow Seattle-ites would turn to the church rather than a bar or social services. Few people notice church buildings: it's like we have blinders on when we drive by.

I was creeped out by this photo on the BBC news this morning. Clinton is in Myanmar (formerly Burma). When would the heads of state take Communion in a Christian church... or even attend worship services with our government leaders? Yet with a smile on her face, Mrs. C. pours a symbolic water sacrifice on the altar of a god who is no god, a representation of demonic forces and evil. Is no one thinking about the message such a ritual binds us to as a nation?

We have bowed our hearts in the high places. Israel was severely punished for such abandonment of God. Rich and poor, influencers and peasants... all were swept away by economic downturns and wars and natural disasters. What makes us better than they? (Or has God become blinder to the sins of our leaders?) We will suffer God's justice because he notices those whose hearts incline toward him and those who worship things made with hands.

Christ sacrificed himself, One for all, so that we might have access to God. "Oh, Lord, let us not turn away from the abundance, peace, and joy you promise." We no longer have to sacrifice as the Israelites did, but we must turn day by day with hearts wide open to the God who has saved us and loved us enough to die on our behalf.

What abundant life we celebrate in this Christmas season! Don't let it be lost among those you love. In this season, decorations and business, presents and feasting can consume our time for worship and meditation on the One True God, who made us and wants to call us his own. 

Lord have mercy! Christ have mercy! Lord have mercy... on us all! Let's pray together today... for our governments, neighbors, and others who do not yet worship the Creator. 

Read more:

*Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to keep the lamps burning continually. The lampstand will stand in the Tabernacle, in front of the inner curtain that shields the Ark of the Covenant. Aaron and his sons must keep the lamps burning in the LORD's presence all night. This is a permanent law for the people of Israel, and it must be observed from generation to generation. Exodus 27:20–21 NLT

*Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness;  come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100 NIV 

*While Paul was waiting in Athens, he was upset to see all the idols in the city. He went to the Jewish meeting place to speak to the Jews and to anyone who worshiped with them. Day after day he also spoke to everyone he met in the market. Some of them were Epicureans and some were Stoics, and they started arguing with him. People were asking, "What is this know-it-all trying to say?" Some even said, "Paul must be preaching about foreign gods! That's what he means when he talks about Jesus and about people rising from death."

They brought Paul before a council called the Areopagus, and said, "Tell us what your new teaching is all about. We have heard you say some strange things, and we want to know what you mean." More than anything else the people of Athens and the foreigners living there loved to hear and to talk about anything new.

So Paul stood up in front of the council and said: "People of Athens, I see that you are very religious. As I was going through your city and looking at the things you worship, I found an altar with the words, 'To an Unknown God.' You worship this God, but you don't really know him. So I want to tell you about him. This God made the world and everything in it. He is Lord of heaven and earth, and he doesn't live in temples built by human hands. He doesn't need help from anyone. He gives life, breath, and everything else to all people. From one person God made all nations who live on earth, and he decided when and where every nation would be.

"God has done all this, so that we will look for him and reach out and find him. He isn't far from any of us, and he gives us the power to live, to move, and to be who we are. 'We are his children,' just as some of your poets have said.

"Since we are God's children, we must not think that he is like an idol made out of gold or silver or stone. He isn't like anything that humans have thought up and made. In the past, God forgave all this because people did not know what they were doing. But now he says that everyone everywhere must turn to him. He has set a day when he will judge the world's people with fairness. And he has chosen the man Jesus to do the judging for him. God has given proof of this to all of us by raising Jesus from death."

As soon as the people heard Paul say that a man had been raised from death, some of them started laughing. Others said, "We will hear you talk about this some other time." When Paul left the council meeting, some of the men put their faith in the Lord and went with Paul. Acts 17:16-34 CEV

In with the Old...

In with the Old Testament, that is. I listen to the Bible on radio a few times a day. 

I find the Old Testament really depressing. It's not that God is unfaithful or uncaring. It's that we are such stupid people, generation after generation. (I'm not using the term "stupid" lightly, either.) 

From the time the first people began to reason, we think we know better than God. Adam and Eve choose "the knowledge of good and evil" over knowing God and the wonderful surprises he had planned in his relationship with them. By the time Noah is told to build the ark, humanity is so corrupt that God chooses to start over with Noah and his family. Researches note that Noah would have had to take about 3,800 species into the ark to keep diversity as we see it today; everyone and everything could have fit into his boat as long as Noah saved the lower tier for manure. Ugh stinky. But after all that work, one of his grown sons is disrespectful and consigned to serve everyone else. The writer of Genesis doesn't say if Noah had a temper, but his curse on his son sure sounds like it.

Then Moses, the murderer, impulsive caretaker, and meekest person on the planet. Gideon, who keeps making excuses why he shouldn't lead and builds an idol from the spoils of God's victory. Rehaboham, Solomon's heir, who splits the kingdom by being a tyrant. Israel, who goes "whoring after other gods" time and time again... 

It's just depressing. Some people find the OT uplifting because of God's faithfulness. I think that's the only good part of the story. People who are faithful to God get thumped by their peers. They're told they are out of step and idiots to serve God. Evildoers hunt them down and kill them when possible. Much of the Old Testament contains God's warnings of the horrible punishments his righteous judgment will inflict. Does anyone pay attention? Very few do. Very few indeed.

It gives me a heavy stomach to read the stories. I find myself stopping and losing track between all the prostitution, killing, and idolatry. Which is why I have scripture read to me on UCB Bible. I can focus on the words, the scope, the ongoing movement of God among us through history.

I don't understand most of what the Bible says about God. He is like the wind whose movement is seen and felt but cannot itself be captured. The more I know, the less wisdom and understanding I seem to have. The older I get and the deeper into a life of faith, the more trust it takes to pray, "Not my will but yours for this day." I want to shout, every time I see horrible things on the news, experience another surgery alongside my daughter who lives in pain, or hear of marriages breaking up, financial ruin, and people taking advantage of others-- "PEOPLE PAY ATTENTION! DON'T BE SUCH MORONS!!! GOD WHERE ARE YOU?!!"

But would anyone mind a warning? I'd probably be sent away to an asylum for disturbing the peace, if not for appealing to God for help.

Yet I also sin. Continually. I break the law and cut into line, looking out for myself rather than my neighbor. I look without pity on the poor and needy and walk by those who need my help, the Pharisee hastening on the other side of the road so I don't become "defiled" or waste precious time (Luke 10:25-36). 

Grrrr. After all these years of reflection and saying to God, "I'm yours. Help me to obey. Help me to love you with all my heart," I'm still a sinner, continually washed by God's grace and a once-for-all blood sacrifice.

I am comforted by reading the stories of Abraham (liar, coward, God's chosen) and David (adulterer, murderer, deceiver - pretend-madman, God's chosen). Both kept coming back to say, "Sorry! I'm actually and truly yours, in spite of what I just did. Please help! No other gods before you."

The God who had mercy on them looks on me with pity and compassion, too. "Lord have mercy! Christ have mercy! Lord have mercy!"

I'm praying with the Orthodox church today, after listening to a half hour of genealogies from 1 Chronicles. Oh please - how about some cheerful psalms? Like #150. 

Read more:
The LORD is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy. The LORD is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works. Psalm 145:8-9 NKJV 

Thanks be to God.

The weight of words

Scholars love words. Some researches prefer words to people.


But I'm finding there is a heavy weight in words. When I started my dissertation and wrote the first paper on it, I couldn't find information on early Pentecostal missionary women. Meanwhile, a friend wrote a fantastic dissertation on the rhetoric of early Pentecostal women (Joy Qualls, Regent University) and there are more papers coming down the pipeline all the time.


I'm drowning in all the information I'm supposed to know as "background" for my own findings. As I'm rewriting an article (to be defended in place of tutorial exams), I've begun rereading the print-outs, books, and pages I've assembled in my file cabinet. I feel strangled by the weight of words pressing on me. And I still have two big phases of defense and writing left, though I'm hoping to finish with them this year.

If I don't get through this year, I'm taking the summer off to breathe before tackling the beast again in the fall. My worry is that so many of us are writing at the same time: if I don't get my work approved, who knows if someone else's work will make mine moot. Argh. Even in the last five years, the topic seems to be covered better and better. Another year? I might have to toss my work out altogether.


Barbara Cavaness, who kicked off Assemblies of God research on their female missionaries with her groundbreaking dissertation on single female missionaries, gave me access to her file cabinet. She has neatly sorted articles and copies and papers on all kinds of studies done about missionaries, especially single women. And she hasn't had the time or heart to pass them on since she wrote almost a decade ago.

I'm afraid that may happen to me as well. Many scholars get so attached to all the things we've collected that it wraps itself around us. I suspect that I'm going to be happy to let everything go, though. This process has become a burden, boring me with its minucia, fiddles with editing, and the sheer volume of sameness. Though I want to focus, I'm like the little boy in the picture, lifting what doesn't feel real. After a while, it seems like I'm going backwards rather than forwards. It's like shopping in 101 malls, all of which have the same stores with slightly different displays.


Oh Lord, help! Let me not be wasting my time and yours as I bench press through the weight of scholars before me!


What's weighing you down or causing you to put life on hold?


Read more:

*Then Moses climbed the mountain to appear before God. The LORD called to him from the mountain and said, "Give these instructions to the family of Jacob; announce it to the descendants of Israel: 'You have seen what I did to the Egyptians. You know how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation.' This is the message you must give to the people of Israel." Exodus 19:3–6 NLT

*I call with all my heart; answer me, O LORD, and I will obey your decrees. I call out to you; save me and I will keep your statutes. I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word. Psalm 119:145-147 NIV

*"And don't address anyone here on earth as 'Father,' for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father. And don't let anyone call you 'Teacher,' for you have only one teacher, the Messiah. The greatest among you must be a servant. But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." Matthew 23:9–12 NLT

Thankful for ...well, everything!

I'm blessed beyond measure. When our families get together, we don't worry about drag 'em and knock 'em out fights, watching our words so no one gets offended, or second-guessing others' motives. W and I really like our kids (including those who married into the family), our aunts and uncles, and still get along with our parents. Oh yeah, we love each other, too.


Today was very special. While the kids and W went elsewhere to eat turkey, I stayed home to keep writing an article I have to defend as part of my doctoral process. At 5, I ate a can of sardines and heated up some frozen pasta. Yeah, it would have been great to have some turkey and other Thanksgiving fixings, but W and Jono brought home delicious pumpkin pie made by their hostess (thanks, Martha!) Accompanied by peppermint tea, it was a perfect finish to an indifferent repast.

If I counted my blessings and named them one by one, the list would go on into tomorrow. Instead, how about counting five or six blessings of your own, things for which you are grateful. Chalk up a few things that you deserve––as little as I deserve the wonderful blessings in my life.


I'd start my list with: a relationship with Jesus, friends, good family, health, shelter, food, love, education, the ability to read and write, paper and pen, an updated computer and working printer, vision, smell, taste, breath, hearing, touch, spiritual confidence in God's provisions, dogs who adore me. . .


and you... ?


Read more (thankful for you, Tillie!):
*Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands!
Serve the LORD with gladness;
         Come before His presence with singing.
Know that the LORD, He is God;
         It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
         We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
        
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
         And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
         For the LORD is good;
         His mercy is everlasting,
         And His truth endures to all generations.

Psalm 100   NKJV

Our house this year

On the right...

 

There's a time and place for everything, reminds my good friend Martha. Even Samuel's mother Hannah took a break from festivities until he was weaned.

I'm taking a break until this doctorate is DONE.

One deadline down, more to go

A whole life culminates from a series of days and moments.


Sometimes it seems like what we do for the next hour or two doesn't make much of a difference. I like to dawdle through books that make my heart sing, like CS Lewis' Space Trilogy - nope, never actually been able to read them cover to cover, no matter how many times I try. I keep getting lost in the descriptions of worlds of imagination, conjured by words I know in other contexts.

But that's not the point I'm thinking about today. I looked at blog stats and was stunned to find that I have written so many... and that so many people read what I write. (Stats recorded over 15,000 readers in the past year or two). Day by day, with one post at a time about whatever comes to mind, the words stack up. And I am so grateful for every comment and encouragement along the way – other readers love to read what you're thinking, so keep them coming... in public if you're willing. A very special thank you to Tillie Porter, who sends a scripture a day my way, encouraging me to stay grounded and rooted in what is true and right.


I reached one of my smaller deadlines toward a potential 2012 graduation last night, sending off the fourth of four tutorials to my advisers. I have four really big deadlines (writing and defense of writing) coming up. As I hit "send" yesterday, God reminded me that every day has its own joys and sorrows. Nothing has the power to overwhelm us when he is in the day with us.

Our task is to listen to the still small voice –whether it comes through scripture, prayer, friends, church community, or otherwise – and obey. Nothing God asks of us will be contrary to his Word, even when it completely contradicts our culture and others' expectations.


What is God asking of you today? Doing a good job to earn your salary? Cleaning house to make it sparkle for hospitality later this week? Sitting at the bedside of an ill friend or family member? Praying for missionaries who desperately need spiritual cover? Studying for a sermon that nourishes rather than amuses or entertains? Brine-ing the turkey and assembling ingredients for Thursday's feast? Resting with your feet up because God is giving you time today to think about him and be grateful for all he has done?

I'm going to tackle the article I have to write and defend. It's not the way I'd choose to spend the day if I were making up a "perfect" day. But it's the task assigned to me. 

See you. Let's get to work!!! (or rest!!!)


Read more:
*In this manner, therefore, pray:
      Our Father in heaven,
      Hallowed be Your name.
      Your kingdom come.
      Your will be done
      On earth as it is in heaven.
      Give us this day our daily bread.
      And forgive us our debts,
      As we forgive our debtors.
      And do not lead us into temptation,
      But deliver us from the evil one.
      For Yours is the kingdom and the power
      and the glory forever. Amen.
-----------------
Matthew 6:9-13   NKJV

Feeding the soul

I'm in the middle of an interior remodel. Every morning when I wake, my body is tapping out a worship tune or hymn, or I come up from dreams thinking about some aspect of God's work among us.


Seems like all that listening to scripture and reading the lives of devout missionary ladies is paying off in personal spiritual meditation, even while I'm asleep.


Something I know about the way I work has been confirmed again. When I'm focusing on a very difficult task, I need distractions that pull off energy so I can refocus. Usually I write, as long as it's not connected to my academic work. Walking helps, too. And the dogs appreciate getting outside!


I sent off the first of four tutorials in the middle of the night... and haven't read the print-out to see if it's any good. I heard from the dissertation committee that I can defend a reworked (yes, still to be rewritten) article on January 25... from home. I don't have to fly to Missouri for this one, thank God. The committee and my adviser will tell me more in coming days and week.


Meanwhile, I have about a thousand footnotes and about 200 pages to put into professional formats. Plus what I write has to be coherent. When you have 101 sources, it's hard to synthesize information into a flowing style that also makes sense. 

So... (what else)... I started writing down what I eat. I cook quickly, without much thought beyond assembling what is at hand. If you like food and need inspiration for what to cook, check out the Impulsive Foodie blog out once in a while. Hopefully it will nourish you with good photos and ideas for great food.

I admit it. I'm a totally impulsive cook and consumer. Check out: the The Impulsive Foodie @ http://impulsivefoodie.blogspot.com/

I thank God for brain food, body food, and especially for his Word, which feeds my soul. Ghoosing physical or spiritual food requires obedience to his laws of health and well-being.

What are you feasting on today?


Read more:
*Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.
            His love endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of gods.             His love endures forever.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords:             His love endures forever.

to him who alone does great wonders,             His love endures forever.  Psalm 136:1-4  NIV

*'These are the LORD's instructions: Each household should gather as much as it needs. Pick up two quarts for each person in your tent.'

So the people of Israel did as they were told. Some gathered a lot, some only a little. But when they measured it out, everyone had just enough. Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough. Each family had just what it needed.

Then Moses told them, 'Do not keep any of it until morning.' But some of them didn't listen and kept some of it until morning. But by then it was full of maggots and had a terrible smell. Moses was very angry with them. Exodus 16:16–20 NLT

We could get out the rake... or...

The neighbors are sharing their maple leaves. Big drifts of them fell down the sky, sailing on the wind Friday and Saturday. Today the courtyard and gravel driveway are covered in gold. I also had to fish some out of the pond.

I noticed a fellow raking his yard. Though his bounty had blown as far as a block away, I didn't see him leaving his own boundaries to gather the wealth into his recycling bags.

W and I walked the dogs early in the morning, and I picked up 5 leaves, a few sprigs of fir that had fallen onto the road, and some  pampas grass trimmings sticking out of a garden recycling bin. No one paid much attention to the sorry looking yellow and red mums on our deck, so I snagged a few of those, too.

I rarely have a preconceived idea of the container or arrangement as I collect things on walks. It seems best just to open a cupboard, pull out a vase from the shelf, and let the flowers find their place. People usually rake up all the leaves and toss them. I'm happy we got to rescue a few to enjoy their beauty on this lovely Sabbath.

We spent the morning enjoying worship and a talk by Jason Deuman, one of the leaders at Creekside Church (Mt. Lk. Terrace.) We saw a few friends in the foyer, among them missionaries Audrey and Rick McAninch, who serve children in crisis through Into Africa Missions.

We left refreshed, thanking God for the beauty of Word and world.

Read more:

*The one thing I ask of the LORD—
  the thing I seek most—
is to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,
  delighting in the LORD's perfections
and meditating in his Temple.
  For he will conceal me there when troubles come;
he will hide me in his sanctuary.
  He will place me out of reach on a high rock.
Then I will hold my head high
  above my enemies who surround me.
At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices with shouts of joy,
  singing and praising the LORD with music."

Psalm 27:4–6 NLT

*Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Matthew 10:29-31 NIV

Stuck in statistics

"Everyone can't be good at everything," Mom tells me. I know that's true about me!

I'm ploughing through (no, I don't mean plowing) statistics for 6 years; 1900, 1905, 1910, 1915, 1920, 1925. Yawn. Just writing the years bores me. I'm trying to chart engagement in missions within a few denominations. SO much information, so many places to find it, so little agreement between the data. For one group, I found three different "official" statistics for the same year, same value. Ugh.

Of course, it doesn't help that I get lost when counting. I can count the same info five times with five different answers (and have done so...) My mind zones out; it feels like I'm entering a fog, even when I try to keep track with the computer cursor and pencil marks on paper. In the thicket of slippery numbers, I'm envying the calculator brain of my wonderful d-in-love Rebekah (who is gifted at many things besides math, too.) 

"Not my talent," I tell myself. "Just something I have to crunch through." (ouch! eek! zzzzzzh!) I love information and am excellent at estimates. I can glance at groups of things, sort them easily, and come up with an approximate number or grouping that will be really close to a 100% accurate one -- which would take me ages to muddle toward. I'm also dreadful at making sense of clever license plates and crossword puzzles. Riddles leave me unmoved, though finding out the key to an algebra equation used to give me a thrill like stepping off a roller coaster.

Sadly, my great guess-timates didn't help me much in calculus classes. And the high school business machine teacher used to shake his head that a good typist kept mixing 3 and 9 on the adding machine. "Perfect accuracy, Rosemarie! You have to perfectly accurate or that one stroke puts you six million off!" he'd shout while scanning my papers. Oh, Mr. Williams, it was to little avail, except, "I'm trying! I'm trying!"

At a job interview, I warned a prospective boss that money was not my gift. Well, he'd asked, "What are you NOT good at?" Didn't take a new breath to answer that one!

Money. (Yup, he had an MBA.) "I'll be under budget and hand you back thousands if I can," I promised. "But keeping track? Yuck." Every year in that office, I never needed the full amount allotted to my department, though I asked to keep that amount earmarked, just in case. 

Well, of course I didn't need it all to reach my annual goals ... I am gifted at re-purposing, creating, and finding "just the right thing" to get a job done (though "the right thing" might have been manufactured for another purpose.)

This morning, on my second full day of gathering and reporting numbers on a chart, I'm comforting myself with a word break. That I can do. Thanks be to God for creating writers and artists to complement scientists and accountants in his wide, wide world. 

All he asks us to do is today's work. There is comfort and peace in making sure our tasks are God's assignments, whether we take them upon ourselves or a boss or professor requires them of us. What's on your list today?

Read more:

*When Moses' father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, 'What are you really accomplishing here? Why are you trying to do all this alone while everyone stands around you from morning till evening?

Moses replied, 'Because the people come to me to get a ruling from God.'

'This is not good!' Moses' father-in-law exclaimed. 'You're going to wear yourself out—and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself.' Exodus 18:14–15, 17–18 NLT

*LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Psalm 16:5-8 NIV

*Then, surrounded by the Pharisees, Jesus asked them a question: 'What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?' 

They replied, 'He is the son of David.'

Jesus responded, 'Then why does David, speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit, call the Messiah "my Lord"? For David said, "The LORD said to my Lord, Sit in the place of honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies beneath your feet." Since David called the Messiah "my Lord," how can the Messiah be his son?'

No one could answer him. And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions. Matthew 22:41–46 NLT

Smile and clean up that mess!

I'm a perpetual fan of Apartment Therapy, a design, decor, and home arts blog. This morning's post was hilarious.  Maxwell is in the middle of a 20 Day Home Cure. Enjoy this link, which may bring a smile to your face as it did to mine: Clean One Room!