LEGALISM

…for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.  II Corinthians 3:6  (NIV)

 

 

I have a friend who’s been struggling.  She had the good sense to enlist the help of a Christian counselor and poured her heart out.  In one of the sessions, the counselor asked her to describe her devotional life, the practices she follows to feed her spirit and to connect with the Lord.  My friend talked about the little religious routine she observes:  Read the Bible passages recommended in her Prayer Book; read a popular devotional book; and pray.  The counselor then asked how that helped, and my friend responded that it was just a custom that she followed.  It was another task of the day that had to be checked off before dressing for work.  What had started as a time of spiritual refreshing had gotten to be a habit so that there was no life in the practice.  The counselor told her to stop that deadly list-checking and instead get out and walk and talk with God.

I remember times when my children were small that I would sometimes get annoyed if they demanded attention while I was “having my Quiet Time.”  That sacred Time that no one was to interrupt.  Instead, I, too, found that my devotional time had evolved into what Oswald Chambers called “my time with my habit.”

Of course, this is not to discredit a secret time each day that we set aside to be with the Lord.  The whole point of devotional time is relationship.  We put ourselves in a place of sitting and being with our Father and listening to him, talking with him, and waiting on him.  The Psalmist tells us that “in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Psalm 16:11).

None of this checking off the list.  Having my Quiet Time.  We are speaking of a refreshing, life-giving, intimate meeting with our precious Father.  It becomes as necessary as breathing and eating, and it is not burdensome.  It’s not dead time, and we wouldn’t miss it.

If your Quiet Time has gotten “lame” (as my children might say) and dry, put away your books and begin to seek God with all your heart, asking him to give you a hunger and thirst for him and his righteousness.  And stay with it until he appears.  He will not disappoint—but please put away those habits that masquerade as fellowship with him.

 

Father, sometimes we get caught up with our religious practices and mistake them for reality.  Move us back into your presence so that we rediscover our joy.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

REFLECTIONS

…if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself.  II Timothy 2:13

 

 

In speaking with my son recently about estate matters, he said, “Mom, I don’t want anything from you except some of your books and your journals.”

That gave me pause.  I have forty-two years of journals, and, although I have general memories, I certainly don’t recall everything I’ve said (or done) throughout those years.  I thought it would probably be a good idea to begin a review.  What I read left me awed.

The first journal was initiated during a particular year with lots of breakings and disappointments.  There were records of occurrences and then reflections on God’s presence.  Over and over I saw God’s presence through the darkest of times.  And they were times I would never wish on anyone…

When unexpected expenses arose, God had unanticipated resources.  Friends seemed to rally from nowhere, and my family encouraged me in the Lord.  Even with a limited budget, the children had invitations to camps, to parties and recreational events, and we were even treated to a family vacation that year.  Needs that had never arisen before were addressed in seemingly supernatural ways.  A job opening I’d not anticipated was perfect for my skills and schedule; a scholarship provided access to further education; and renters brought in needed income.

Things I had forgotten through the years stood out sharply from this present vantage point.  Of course, there were frequent references to the grief we were experiencing, but God’s grace brought comfort and assurance that he did have good plans for us, plans for a future and a hope.  He was always pointing me forward.

God’s provision was and has been remarkable.  But that was not what struck me so forcefully.  In those numerous journal pages, over and over I saw the faithfulness of God.  Through many painful days, it seemed almost impossible to go on.  So many nights seemed to have no horizons to anticipate.  And yet, even when I was faithless, he remained faithful. 

He didn’t get tired of my sorrow, my frustration, my finger-pointing, my “what-ifs,” my impatience, my weakness, and my self-orientation.  In fact, he was a friend who stuck closer than a brother and never left or forsook me.  He didn’t toss me out—he just kept working in me.

And that’s only in the first of the journals.  I don’t really remember, as I’ve already said, what’s between all the following pages, but I am confident of the ending.  And I think it will be okay for the children to read the journals.

 

Father, there is no way any of us can detail all your goodness toward us, your children.  Thank you for giving us eternity to express our gratitude.  AMEN.

DELAYS

For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.  Habakkuk 2:3  (ESV)

 

 

I’m the kind of gardener who plants bulbs and then checks daily for the first tiny shoots of green.  I want to see progress, and I want it soon.  Waiting is difficult for me.  When I plant my crop or do my work or pray my prayers, I want results.

And yet God is working all the time.  Underground that bulb is receiving the moisture and nutrients it needs and stores the surplus so that the shoots can reach up to the sun in the spring time.  That waiting time is not lost time.

Children lose teeth and anxiously wait for that new growth to appear just above the gum line.  (Of course, if they believe in the Tooth Fairy, they’re not at all distressed about the loss of teeth.)

There are all sorts of waiting times that come to us as we grow:  for word of the new job, for the doctor’s diagnosis, for the teacher’s grade, for corporate decisions, for answers to prayer.  But all the while, God is working.  Everything has an appointed time just as in nature:  springtime and harvest, life and death, sunrise and sunset.  God is working.

While we wait, delays offer opportunities to trust God and to rely on him rather than our own plans and ingenuity.  We can watch for his creative resolutions to our tangled problems.  We can allow God to build our character as we discover his ways far above our own.  We can be still and know that he is God.

Delays are not dead ends.  They are God’s ways of reassuring us that he is in control—we are not—and that what he is accomplishing will be beyond what we can think or imagine.  Let us be at peace with our delays.  God is working.

 

Father, impatience seems to dog our steps.  Help us to wait on you, trusting your love and wisdom in all things.  In Jesus our Lord.  AMEN.

ANGELS AMONGST US

For he will command his angels concerning you…  Psalm 91:11

 

 

Have you taken notice of the angels who walk and live among us?  Those wonderful beings who remind us that the Kingdom of God is here and now and all around?

My young friend Blynne met an angel just when she needed her.  Blynne is a single parent who lives with a life-threatening illness that frequently puts her in the hospital and that causes her young son great concern.

After one of these extended episodes, Blynne and her mother were walking Sonny to his classroom at the start of the school week.  When they reached the door, little Sonny started crying hysterically and fastened himself around his mother’s legs, refusing to let her leave.

Blynne and her mother had kept the school apprised of the medical updates with each event, and, apparently, the school had assigned an angel to watch over young Sonny.  His teacher walked up quietly to Sonny and gently began to peel his small fingers and arms from his mother and then bent over him as the two ladies exited.

Before he could protest, the teacher told Sonny that she needed his help.  Would Sonny be willing to work for her?  At that, his attention was diverted and he warily asked what she needed.  The teacher explained that she needed someone to welcome parents to the room as they dropped off their children and to ensure they had signed in their student.  Did Sonny think he could do that?  Well, yes…he would help.

That started Sonny’s new job and new purpose which continued throughout the school year.  Every morning when Sonny began his day, he reminded his mother that they had to hurry so that he wouldn’t be late for work.  And if the teacher were otherwise occupied when Sonny arrived, she would excuse herself to go over to greet her assistant.

We all want to do big things that make a mark in the world while we sometimes miss the small things that could significantly change someone else’s universe.   Why not be open to the little things?   Little acts that God can powerfully use if only we make ourselves available?  Opportunities for ministry abound, and there are ample openings for angels.

 

 

Father, make us faithful in the little things that we may receive great joy in serving you through serving others.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

THE SOUND OF SILENCE

Be still and know that I am God.  Psalm 46:10.

 

At the last school assembly of the year with all the visiting parents and grandparents in attendance, our headmaster loved to say, “Allow your children to be bored.  Let them go outside and lie on the grass and look up at the sky and listen to the birds and the insects.  Don’t plan every moment of their summer.”  I’ve been thinking of that recently as I’ve looked at all the ways I keep myself from being bored.

Like everyone else, I spend a lot of my time waiting.  Waiting in line; waiting in doctor’s offices; waiting to get my oil changed.  Just waiting.  It used to be that I would look around at other people and imagine their circumstances and sometimes pray for them.  There was always something interesting happening around me because I entered into the present and became engaged.

I suddenly realized over the weekend that when everything stops, I pull out my IPhone to see if I have any messages.  I check FaceBook for new entries.  Has someone posted on Instagram?  Is there an update on the News bureaus?  Does Marco Polo have something?  And if I’ve already done that, there are games I can play.  I like Spider Solitaire and plain old Solitaire.  My IPhone does not allow me to be bored.  Or to be quiet.

There are so many messages in my head in response to what’s been sent to me or news items that disturb me.  I’m frustrated that I’m having a losing streak with Spider Solitaire.  I’m reflecting on work challenges that were revealed in weekend emails.  I don’t have time to be bored.  And how can I possibly be quiet?

How can I hear what God wants to say to me when I am able—all by myself—to be stimulated or frustrated or entertained with that little electronic rectangle I keep in my pocket?  I’ve come up with a brilliant solution, and so far, it’s working:  FAST.  Yes, fasting from all electronics that are not mandatory for family relationships and work.  I’m trying it cold turkey, and it’s rather nice.

Obviously, I’m speaking in hyperbole, but I’ve been observing how electronics can bless or curse us.  I don’t want the Voice I most need to hear and observe to be obscured because I’ve forgotten how to be still.  So for now, I’ve called a fast.

 

Father, above all things we need to hear you.  Show us what to do to ensure that we never miss a word from you.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.