Lent Day 18: Complicit sinners

"They're sleeping together," my friend said about her daughter and the boyfriend. She shrugged. "At least we know about it. I hope they're being careful."

My grandma would have marched over to her child or grandchild, pulled the two apart kicking and screaming (she and the couple, if necessary), and fallen on her face before God to fast and pray for the sinners.

My parents' generation would warn and pray, asking God to intervene. They would probably extend God's love to such a couple, and ask God to convict, knowing that all of us make our own choices with consequences.

My generation is so dulled by the adultery and bad marriages around us that we stay quiet and hope for the best. Most of us would not venture a judgment on the couple. "Well, everyone chooses their own path, even if they know better."

Our children's peers would likely shrug it off. "Well, it's their life. We don't have the right to tell anyone else what's right or wrong."

Does that make us complicit in their sins? We know we ourselves are so broken that it's hard to "cast the first stone," even before conviction strikes. Jesus said the person without sin was to begin the punishment on a woman found in adultery. I'm sinful, so I couldn't throw that first stone.

However, he never hesitated to say, "Go and sin no more." When am I willing to follow his example, and when do I look the other way, considering the price he paid to offer us new life?

Read more:

*The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble! He dwells between the cherubim; let the earth be moved! The LORD is great in Zion, and He is high above all the peoples. Let them praise Your great and awesome name — He is holy. Psalm 99:1-3 NKJV

*"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool." Isaiah I:18 NET

*Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 NIV

Lent Day 17: Birthday reflections

A bit of a ramble today, with some questions at the end.

He's 25. The little guy everyone took care of has been around for a quarter century. So why am I temped to call Jonathan our "baby" when he's all grown up? Guess it's from hearing other mothers call their adult children "my big boy/girl" (the eldest) or "the baby" (the youngest). The label of birth order seems to stick, no matter what the age.

Moms have different reactions when kids are born. My friends talked about falling in love with their newborns. I felt more cautious and curious. I was always taken aback by the thought that whatever we named our kids would follow them for life: my husband's foreign and hard-to-spell last name meant their first names would have to be simple and rhythmic. (Matt or Andy Kowalski? Sandra or Brenda Kowalski? Maybe not.)

It can take time to understand people's expectations. So it took a few hours or days for me to warm up to each stranger who came screaming into our family. We didn't know him or her; a baby's temperament and personality are well-hidden. What I wanted was that the kids would love and serve Jesus from childhood. Honestly, the other expectations were fluid. Who knew who they'd be and what they'd do?

Luckily, babies are good trainers: feed me, clean me, rock me, and let me sleep. That's what they want of their mothers. The rest comes later.

Jono was a good baby, which was a blessing. We lived in a little house (3 small bedrooms, 1 bath, 3X 3' closets and a storage wall.) Two kids shared each bedroom, including Kirsten (8) and her baby brother. He was a cuddler and heat-seeker who would pull the covers off her bed onto his own, leaving her shivering. She soothed him at night and came for us only when he wouldn't be comforted. Kirsten helped potty-train him, feed him, and became his interpreter when Jono started to talk. When I couldn't understand a word, she could tell me exactly what he was saying.

The two older boys took him everywhere. He was playing computer games by 18 months and called the boys for help. "Die Katze! Die Maus!" he's scream when the digital cat was eating the mouse. They'd come running to the rescue. "Don't worry Jono, we'll fix it."

Jono apparently had the youngest child's high pain and torture threshold. Timothy would hold him upside down and drag him down the hall. I'd step in to protect Jonathan, but he'd say, "That's ok, Mom. He's just playing. It doesn't hurt." He was happy being with family and loves being with his friends.

Today we celebrate Jonathan's birthday. He is woven into the family, from grandparents to parents, siblings, and nephew and niece. The family says, "Friends may come and go, but family is lodged in your heart forever. Look out for them." So we do. And he does.

That said, Jonathan is also webbed into a large circle of friends. (It's a privilege to be a "people person," isn't it?) We've asked our kids to "Please run your serious dates past the siblings, not us." We've said that to Jono, too. After all, the person marrying into the family becomes a brother or sister in the tribe, as well as a mate. (Gals in Jono's generation might fool us, but siblings have a closer, clearer look at dating relationships and interactions.)

Mary, Jesus' mother, must have watched with fascination as her son grew up. Jesus' brothers and sisters didn't understand God's call for him. At first, they didn't believe their oldest brother was the Messiah, so Jesus and Mary must have kept that under wraps while he was growing up. It must have been interesting for them to see how he grew into the ministry God had designed him for. And to watch him die for their sins. When did they come to understand Jesus' mission? When he preached? When he died? When he rose from the dead? Did they see him go up to heaven?

Likewise, W and I are amazed by the journey of faith in each child. "Who are they becoming?" we ask as we watch and we pray over them. They develop year by year, making choices day by day. We haven't made any predictions of career. We haven't hoped for riches or fame or position. We just don't care to pursue those things because God gives favor, and bestows authority and honor as he chooses.

Instead, our prayer for Jonathan today is, "God, let him be the man you've designed him to be - completely, whole-heartedly Yours! Let his work and play bless and build those around him, as a reflection of God among us." (Could there be anything more exciting for Christian parents?)

What are your hopes and dreams as your child grows in your womb, comes into the world, toddles toward school age, and learns to drive a car?

What are you thinking and dreaming for them as they move out, work or go to college, or marry start their own families? What would you call success?

Read more:
*Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” For even his own brothers did not believe in him. John 7:3-5 ESV

*Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 NIV

Lent Day 16: Keeping up appearances

Before: Pierre

We learn a lot from God's creatures. Now, I'm not comparing people to dogs. But even on a dog, appearances matter.

We adopted Lewis (formerly Pierre) to get me out the door and walking. He loves our mornings on the road. I wasn't sure about him when I first saw him. He had a French poodle moustache and a clipped body, very un-poodle-like.

Except for shredding his crate mattress the first few nights, he has no bad habits. (He wasn't crate-trained when we got him.) He walks on a leash, loves people and other animals, and is perfectly housebroken.

I couldn't call him Pierre. I'm reading a lot of C. S. Lewis, so that influenced his name. He became Lewis.

When his coat grew out a bit, I took him to our groomer. What a transformation! With one haircut, we brought home a cute little poodle.

I've had a name change, too. I've gone from Lost to Found, from Wretched to Rescued. I don't know that my outward appearance changed as much as Lewis', but I do know my heart has been utterly transformed by God's goodness.

After: Lewis

Lewis needs regular grooming. Likewise, I must ask Jesus to forgive and clean me up every day. Without the maintaining grace of God, I can quickly become a mess, a tangle of unforgiveness and selfish motivation.

This season is full of remembrance for me. As often as I think about God's gift, I cannot grasp the depth of his love:

• I can't imagine giving up my child to die in place of someone else. 
• I can't imagine Jesus leaving heaven't perfection to spend 33 years on earth. He experienced human birth, the love of his mother and his friends. He grew up in a village, apprenticed for work, and preached as an itinerant rabbi. 
• I certainly don't understand how he remained free from hatred and resentment when his friends betrayed and abandoned him. 
• The cross? That transforming frame where God hung between heaven and earth? Unfathomable.
• And the resurrection? I am overcome with wonder at the power of God, evident in Jesus and his followers. Against all odds, the Church endures and grows because of God's resurrection power.

Have you seen God move a person from death to life? Have you experienced it for yourself? Jesus' arms spread wide on the cross, inviting us to come and lay our burdens down. This is the perfect season to be embraced by his love.

Read more:

*Mortal, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart and hear with your ears. Ezekiel 3:10 ESV

*Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Zechariah 9:9 NIV

*Jesus said, "Blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it!" Luke 11:28 ESV

*Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. 1 Peter 2:2-3 ESV

Moravian Prayer: Lead us on to the green pastures of your blessing, great Shepherd—to serenity and peace, to fulfillment and love. We, your sheep, are wont to stray into bitter fields. Guide us with your wisdom and your Word. Amen.

Lent Day 15: Who am I, anyway?

How do you see yourself?

• As a hopeful individual? or as a person with dashed dreams?
• As a failure? or success?
• As a gifted participant in life? or as someone who "never gets it right"?
• As part of a community to which you contribute? or as an outsider?

The way we view ourselves 

influences our responses to life. 

On the negative side:

• If you see yourself as unworthy, you may become a doormat who lets others run roughshod over you (with all the resentment that entails). Or do you blame others when you don't reach your goals? Do you begin your resentments for ill treatment with, "If-only ... ?"
• If you see yourself as a disempowered minority in gender, ethnicity, education, or another qualifier, you may look for offense - often where none is intended. OR have you become an overachiever who tries to get noticed "in spite of" that quality?
• If you see yourself as entitled, you may become a bully. Do you treat others as servants for your wants and wishes?
• If you see yourself as a victim, you may take affront at any slight. Do you refuse to forgive those who deliberately (or otherwise) hurt you, gathering the sins of others into a heap of self-ruin?

On the positive side, walking in freedom, we have been forgiven and set loose from our failures.

• If you see yourself as God's child, you have a Heavenly Father who delights in you. Do you enjoy those around you as God's co-creations?
• If you see yourself as servant of God, you will happily serve others in His name. Do you gladly help others out?
• If you see yourself as worthy of God's attention, the attention of others will only be a bonus if it happens. Are you content with God's approval and surprised when others applaud you?
• If you see yourself as an overcomer, you will rise to meet every challenge with God's help. Do you look forward to new things?

So, how do we change our persistent perceptions?

Covey's Habits (Click for link)

1. Find significance in being yourself. God made you. God loves you. God gives you purpose and meaning.
2. Boost your work with your personality and gifting. If you stock shelves, work an assembly line, are a scientist or an artist, build into your work the things you love. Talk to people (or pray for them) if you're an extrovert. Build your muscles if you're doing physical routines. Learn new things if you're a scholar (wherever you are). Design better ways to do your work if you're gifted in creativity or administration.
3. Look for ways to enhance the work and profile of others. Speak well of people around you. Tell them when they do good work. Let others shine.
4. Bring your spirit as well as your mind and body everywhere you go. Be honest about what you believe without being preachy. If others share their journey of faith (or lack of it), share something about your own walk with Christ. Part of wholeness is bringing all of your self along, wherever you are.
5. Look for the best in your circumstances. Surely there's something good about your life, right where you are now! Count your blessings, name them one by one, says the old song. 
6. Share your gratitude with others. Tell other people what makes you happy and things you are thankful for.

Start today!

Read more:

*But you, O Lord, do not be far from me; O my strength, hasten to help me! Psalm 22:19 (NKJV)

*Joyful are those you discipline, LORD, those you teach with your instructions. You give them relief from troubled times until a pit is dug to capture the wicked." Psalm 94:12–13 NLT

*He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:3-5 NIV

*The Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. 2 Thessalonians 3:3 NLT

Moravian Prayer: Faithful Lord, help us to remember that when evil surrounds us and when dark thoughts bubble up within us, we can rely on your strength to set us right and see us through. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Lent Day 14: Sweet prayers

The grandeur of God's world

• webbing that ties us to the purposes of God
• those moments when creature and Creator open up fully to each other
• our exhalations of joy in God's presence
• the fragrance of conversation with the Beloved
• the ropes that anchor us in life's storms

Prayers allow us to:

• release our cares to the Father
• take up our responsibilities and obligations
• admit the beauty and the restraints of being human
• tap the unending power of a unbounded God
• put God in his place and us in ours
• tell pure truth, that God alone deserves honor and glory for his unchanging goodness

The details of God's world

What's your favorite prayer?

Mine is "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." It reminds me just where I stand - known, forgiven, and accepted by God. Amen.

Read more:
*The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Psalm 23:1-3 ESV

*By awesome deeds you answer us in righteousness, O God of our salvation. Psalm 65:5 NASB

*Amend your ways and your doings, and let me dwell with you in this place. Jeremiah 7:3 ESV

*Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Luke 6:36-37 ESV

*Jesus says, "If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it." John 14:14 ESV

Moravian Prayer: Right here, right now, we seek your vibrant presence among us. Forgive us. Help us to turn out the sins of our hearts, so that you may have a fitting place to live. Right here. Right now. 

How sweet, O Lord, to hear your answer to our prayer. It is a resolved chord, a familiar voice in a strange crowd, birdsong at sunset. Your answer beckons us to secure places, and reminds us—we are yours. Amen.

Lent Day 13: Three big questions

I'm on a 90-day reading plan through the Bible. Some use the Bible as a random guidebook, flipping through its pages to support their choices. But the Bible isn't a soothsayer's manual of, "Apply for this job" or "Don't make that investment."

Others gather wisdom like popcorn, a verse here, a chapter there. But the Bible isn't a fortune cookie collection, either.

Instead, Scripture teaches us to worship the One True God, seek his guidance, and trust that he is in control. God calls us to build our lives on the foundation of its pages. To plan for a good harvest.

I'm asking three questions as I read: what does this section say:

1. about God?
2. about people (including us today)?
3. about life and how we should live?

Finally, I've made it to the Gospels in the New Testament. The Old Testament seemed endless. Each time I read the adventures of people in the Bible, I'm amazed by God's endurance. By his unchanging nature. By his unfailing love.

I'm also discouraged by who we are. Why can't we get it right?

When the kings of Israel serve God, the nation's enemies are defeated. When they depend on their own strength or serve idols, disaster is just around the corner. The predicability of the outcome surely would lead Israel to cling to God, wouldn't it?

No, apparently not. The prophets warn that God notices the inclinations of the heart and the outcomes. God responds to obedience by blessing his people. Just like the people in Bible stories, we know what to do today. And we often choose our own way, over and over again.

Scripture doesn't promise that we become rich and healthy and life is perfect. The enemies come to the gates. People around us make bad choices that hurt us. Yet we are saved from our enemies. God brings us through illness and disappointments. We live life abundantly under God's mercy.

Today I eagerly turn to the stories of Jesus. I read what he taught his disciples and other listeners about God. I marvel how he healed the sick and cared for people. 

My takeaway for the day? We are living in the years of God's favor, invited to serve him with all our hearts. He will care for us if we do, through the ups and downs of life. He carries us from our youth into old age. Wherever he leads us, our privilege is to follow.

What are you reading today? How is God opening his heart to you through his Word?

Read more:
*I will save them from all the apostasies into which they have fallen, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be my people. Ezekiel 37:23 ESV

*May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Romans 15:13 ESV

*Jesus Christ gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds. Titus 2:14 ESV

Moravian Prayer: Equip your people, Christ, so we may serve. Purge our hearts and purify our minds, that we may undertake God's vision to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, free the prisoner, and proclaim the love of God everywhere. Amen

From C. S. Lewis, Collected Letters, Vol. III: 25 March 1954. "You ask ‘for what’ God wants you. Isn’t the primary answer that He wants you. We’re not told that the lost sheep was sought out for anything except itself [Matthew 18:12-14; Luke 15:3-7]. Of course, He may have a special job for you: and the certain job is that of becoming more and more His."

Lent Day 12: Loving - and hating - the cross

Do you ever get caught up in little things or feel annoyed when things don't go as hoped? This morning I got a "free haircut" as a model in an expensive salon. After 1:15 in the chair, I tipped the stylist. Back home, it took 20 seconds for a surprised "What on earth!," 5 minutes to recut the back to hang right, a minute to make sure it was straight, and then I cleaned up the counter in the bathroom.

The salon cut...

a sinkful of chopped hair...

= a quick fix.

It's a bit of a waste to spend the morning on a task that usually takes 15-20 minutes. But let's face it, hair is a renewable resource.

In contrast, here's something worth agonizing about. The cross has been a true horror for me for as long as I can remember. My feelings accelerated when our anatomy prof at college described the agony of flogging and crucifixion. Could a crueler punishment exist for someone undeserving of ill treatment?

I skipped Passion shows at church and avoided Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ. I could NOT watch the tearing of skin as the whips lashed Jesus or listen to nails going through human flesh. I hated the cross! the torture! Mary's tears! The disciples' loss of their dreams and hopes! It was too awful. Unbearable.

Yet I loved it, too. I've been drawn to the cross since I was a child. I've never been able to understand it. I'm overwhelmed that God chose the cross to intersect history.

How could someone endure such pain for me? Jesus carried the grief of ALL the sins of the world? He suffered the brokenness of ALL sickness. He died in anguish to win forgiveness for EVERY offense given and received.

I loathe that I pinned my Savior to the cross. I am ashamed that I continue to sin and transgress against God and others.

But since I was a little girl, I have loved the story of Jesus, winning my salvation. I'm drawn to the cross again and again.

Sometimes I get caught up in the little things of life. A bad haircut. Someone cutting me off in traffic. The failure of a project. Disappointment with people.

Then Jesus reminds me, "Here is what truly matters. I carried the cross for you." He eases the burdens of worry or unforgiveness from my backpack of grievences. He lifts the annoyance or dismay from my shoulders. He robes me in his grace, because of the cross.

What does the cross mean to you?

Read more:
*Give ear to my words, O Lord; give heed to my sighing. Listen to the sound of my cry, for to you I pray. Psalm 5:1-2 ESV

*For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:11-13 NIV

*In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to the one who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Hebrews 5:7 ESV

Moravian Prayer: In the throes of pain and suffering, we cry out to you, holy Jesus. In your own pain and suffering, you cried out to God. Comforter, you have cried our tears and you are the one to wipe our tears away. Amen.

Lent Day 11: Best friends

This repost reminds me of one of my core values: trustworthy friends. Is that important to you as well? How do you make and keep friends?
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What a happy day! Brides post their wedding pictures on FB after celebrating a princess day. Guys are usually slower to admit they had a great day; their friends also don't tag as many pictures. But you can see the expectation on the couple's faces. They have married their best friend and hope every day is as happy as their first together as wife and husband.

I have single friends who live with their good friends. When one or more of the gals (or guys) finds a mate or moves away, the person/s reconfigure their lives and living space. It's a mobile and shifting world out there for singles. But some remain best friends with former roommates, colleagues, and childhood acquaintances, through thick and thin.

Pastor Don Ross (Creekside Church, Shoreline) talked this weekend about the traits of good friends. (Well worth a listen: click here in a few days.) He said these three things - when reciprocated between friends - were good indicators of the quality of friendship:

1. Friends are consistent and dependable. 
2. They're honest and trustworthy.
3. They are willing to tell the whole truth, even if that may hurt their friendship ... because they care enough to tell the "last 10%" of difficult truth toward the maturity and wholeness of their friend.

I thought about the people I value most as friends. Even if I shock them with ideas or plans, they give me good feedback. They like me enough to be unwilling for me to move ahead without thinking things through. They bolster me because they know my gifts. They walk alongside to question me and cheer me on. I do the same for them, though it's not always easy.

The most challenging friendship-relationship may be with those closest to you. How about your spouse, the person who never leaves? S/he moves into your bedroom and becomes a neat freak so you have to clean up ... or is a total clutter-bug who messes up your space. You share the bathroom, the kitchen, and the living space with his or her expectations, hauled into your home from their past. Even after decades, s/he surprises you with good and awful truths about her/himself and you.

Sometimes we struggle emotionally when dealing with elderly friends or parents who need our care. Medication and aging may redefine their personalities and bring out the best (or the worst) in them. Are we still loving and kind? Good friends? 

How do we negotiate the variety of friendships we encounter? 

Our best friend - Jesus - is consistent, honest, and has our best interests at heart. That security helps us accept friendship, given, received, and shared.

Jesus' inner circle included those who knew who he was. And it included the man who betrayed him to his enemies. Jesus' extended circle of male and female friends benefited from his wisdom and insight. These people cried at his awful death. Rejoiced at his supernatural resurrection. He was a true friend to them all, offering grace, second chances, and his loving kindness without reservation.

I'd love to be that kind of person to my friends. Many of them are that to me. Thank you, friends!

Read more:
*The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? Psalm 27:1 ESV

*And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor will any ferocious beast get up on it; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there, and the ransomed of the Lord will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. Isaiah 35:8-10 NIV

*He guarded his people as the apple of his eye. Deuteronomy 32:10 ESV

*Christ says, "You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit.” John 15:16 ESV

Moravian Prayer: Why did you choose us, O Lord? What can we possibly do for you? Show us the place you have for us in your church, so we can together bear much good fruit to your glory. Amen.

Lent Day 10: The hope of life

We'd been friends for years. Jama and I lived in the same city and thousands of miles apart. We shared music, prayer, and conversation. She taught one of my kids piano in exchange for her own lessons. For years, she and another single student joined our family for supper between their lessons.

She moved back to Seattle a few year ago. When I visited her in the hospital, we'd been acquainted for nearly 30 years. Cancer had invaded her body several times, but her spirit and vision remained undaunted. 

Watching Jama, I was encouraged by God's work among us. Her body was frail. But she was certain about what God had spoken to her. And that gave her hope. She expected healing, but if God did not heal her, she would be taken into his presence.

Remembering Jama during Lent gives me hope. God alone can do the impossible. He alone can override natural laws for disaster prevention, restoration, or healing. Sometimes he does. 

And sometimes, when our days are over, he calls us to life in his presence. "That would be far better," sighs Paul, knowing he cannot go Home yet. Jama had the privilege of walking into eternity, strong in her faith, trusting God for every breath and beyond.

Christ-followers live with this hope of life. Life here and now. Life eternal.

Lent reminds us that we have the receipt in hand for God's intervention. Jesus "paid it all."

Do you need hope today? God's answers don't always look like our questions. He does more than we expect. Gives us more than we ask for.

So take courage. Come to your Heavenly Father with your "impossible" petition. Be willing to trust and obey as you come. And see how faith in Christ and trust in the Father will transform your discouragement to hope ... and your darkness to God's light.

Read more:
*When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. Isaiah 43:2 ESV

*If God is for us, who is against us? Romans 8:31 NLT

*I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13 NKJV

 Moravian Prayer: In dark days, Protector God, we are tempted to sink into despair. Please keep reminding us that you will never abandon us and we can always rely on your support and sustenance. Amen.

Lent Day 9: Knowing and being known

A repost of a blog I wrote in 2012, with a comment included below. Enjoy.

"Why was David a man after God's own heart?" someone asks. Perhaps because he did not run ahead? Knowing he was to be king, he spared his predecessor twice––during manhunts for his own life.

A group of us circled a beautifully appointed living room last night (thanks, Paul and Bev). Once a month we meet to study Bible characters. Each one exposes God and humanity = God's interaction with us in community and as individuals. Yesterday, David came under the magnifying glass.

We read scripture passages aloud and then discuss the nature of God, the nature of humans, and our response to God within the joys and challenges of our own humanity. On the way home, W and I talked about what we had learned.

• My personal takeaway? Creating opportunity for others to understand God's truths makes me happier than when I learn things myself. Clear as a bell, my heart rang out with the pure joy and energy of leading a group. 
• Training and teaching others feels like finding a puzzle piece or watching internal gears click into place. A sense of ease and comfort comes from facilitating the exploration and application of scripture. This is not something I struggle to learn or do but who I am. I'm surprised by sheer happiness every time I speak in public.
• What we learned about Samuel and David? Samuel, the veteran leader and intercessor of Israel, was stuck. The worst thing had happened to his successor: Saul was a dud. Yet God was ready to move on and provided Samuel with the satisfaction of anointing the next generation.
• David had tremendous self-confidence because he knew his God and himself. He was comfortable in the gifts God gave him, a love of music, the ability to strategize, the confidence to run toward a giant who was defying God's name. When given an opportunity, David seized it and did the job with gusto (unlike Saul whose lack of self-confidence never matched up to his kingly appearance.)
• David did menial jobs with enthusiasm and never pushed himself into the foreground. Knowing he would be king and having accomplished champion feats, David willingly stood in the background of the palace, playing music and lugging armor while Saul ruled. (I wonder how many of David's ideas for sound monarchy came from observation: "Wow, good plan there!" or the contrast: "Saul, what are you thinking!? This is a bad idea." 1 Samuel 16)
• As the youngest brother, he got no respect from his dad, who didn't even call him to dinner with Samuel. (Read the full story below.) His older siblings discounted him––even after they had watched Samuel anoint David for kingship (shades of Joseph?) David's feisty response of "What have I done wrong now?!" possibly exposes a pattern of family put-downs and "Go away, little brother, you don't know anything." (1 Samuel 17)
• David used his own gifts, training, and experiences rather than relying on the proven armor and battle plans of others. He laid aside the burden of Saul's armor (though he had been an armor bearer for the king and probably knew it well) for smooth stones and a stick, tools he felt comfortable with.
• David pinpointed the heart of the issue rather than looking at circumstances. He recognized Goliath as God's enemy, not as a human giant or seasoned opponent and dealt with him on that basis. The fight as well as the victory belonged to God. However, David did not let go of Goliath's severed head until he was taken to the king as proof of his accomplishment. Hmmm.
• David had many opportunities to make God's plans come true but he was unwilling to act beyond what he knew of God's character. Because of this, he and those allied with him suffered while: 1. others got credit and lived in the inner circle; 2. David was hunted like an animal and led a rabble pack of raiders; and 3. he absolutely rejected chances to seize power through "divine appointments," even when prompted by others.

Maybe David's patient humility, decidedly unusual among those in power or the ambitious, endeared him to God. Though David committed adultery, murder, and disobeyed God in many ways, God saw a heart that longed for obedience and surrender.

When Samuel came to anoint one of Jesse's sons as future king, he noted that God looked on the inner person rather than the outward appearance. David's quest to please God and his willingness to let God work out the details in God's time set him head and shoulders above seven brothers. It made the shepherd "of a few sheep" (according to a snide remark from his brother) an amazing leader of a nation.

I'm ending a season of study. I get many suggestions of what I could do and where God might be leading me. The study of David reinforced my caution against moving forward and making things happen. I'm going to wait for God's go-ahead and a clear call to action. [A year after this was written in 2012, we committed to moving to Indonesia permanently. The PhD in Intercultural Studies that I was working on will certainly come in handy, though I didn't know it at the time. It's worth waiting for God's timing. RK]

Oh God, may we seek and obey you with the humble confidence that knows you are pleased with how you made us and have a place for us. You are able to use us without our "help" in pushing others aside, propelling ourselves forward, or boasting about our accomplishments. 

Make us beautiful inside so that your Spirit can direct us in life's menial and circuitous paths as needed, whether kingship or sheep herder is our destiny. Amen.

Read more:
*The LORD said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.”

But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.”

The LORD said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’³ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.”

Samuel did what the LORD said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, “Do you come in peace?”Samuel replied, “Yes, in peace; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Consecrate yourselves and come to the sacrifice with me.”

Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice. When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed stands here before the LORD.”

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, “The LORD has not chosen this one either.” Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, “Nor has the LORD chosen this one.” Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, “The LORD has not chosen these.” So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”

“There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.”

Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.” So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.

Then the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.” So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon David. 1 Samuel 16

*Read more about David in 1 Samuel 17 through 2 Samuel 2.