WALKING THE TALK

And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. Ephesians 5:2 (KJV)

We’ve just finished our annual church council meeting where our theme was “Walk in Love.” We looked at the many ways we can actually demonstrate love in our daily Christian walks so that we go beyond just talking love to doing love. It’s so easy to talk the talk but much harder to walk the walk.

When my brother and I were growing up, my mother used a rather effective punishment to ensure that actions spoke louder than words. If either of us were mean or spoke harshly to each other, Momo intervened, and justice was swift. Jack and I had to face each other and recite, “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Eph. 4:32). What followed afterward was even more stringent: we had to hug and kiss each other. Of course, we always wound up in gales of laughter. Momo was determined that we understand love as a verb.

We could probably all make extensive lists of how to demonstrate love. When I think of how God loved and gave for us, it’s so much easier for me to put self-love on the cross and ask for his love to fill and flow through me. Now it’s time to take action.

Father, may I daily become more like you in loving, in giving and forgiving just as you loved me. In Jesus’ name. AMEN.

HUMBUG

 

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.      John 15:11

 

This Christmas season, I’ve seen something I’ve never before witnessed. Doesn’t mean it hasn’t been there before, but it’s the first time I’ve seen it: People not enjoying Christmas. I’m not speaking of people who’ve suffered loss of some sort; I’m thinking of people who just don’t seem to be able to access the joy that’s come to the world.

 

I’m part of at least two different communities. In one I’ve learned that a handful of people have withdrawn from times of sharing and prefer to carry on as if this is not a wonderful time of celebration and remembrance. With the assistance of some Christmas elves, we’ve made certain that everyone knows that he or she in that community is loved and cared for. Lest you think there are Scrooges amongst them, none of these folks is financially stressed. Something else precludes their celebration.

 

The other group of which I’m a part does have a Grinch (or maybe two). Will that temper my reaching out in love? Why should it, as long as I’m gentle, sensitive, and thoughtful? We can give without loving, but we can’t love without giving. And that doesn’t just mean material items.

 

Just look at Jesus’ gift catalog:

 

• At a wedding where he was a guest, his mother pointed out the need for wine. To avoid shaming the family, Jesus provided a sommelier’s dream, the best wine anyone had ever tasted. Jesus gave happiness and honor to the family.
• In an encounter with an outcast woman at an obscure well, Jesus probed deep enough to find her heart’s longing. He gave her forgiveness and respect.
• At Bethesda Pool Jesus touched a lame man and gave him healing and a new life.
• In other instances, Jesus brought a son back to life and returned him to his mother; he gave an adulteress a second chance and offered her forgiveness; he caused a blind man to see and gave him a Savior; he fed people who had no access to food, meeting their physical and spiritual needs; he forgave his fearful and faithless disciples and gave them eternity. And he gave us himself.
• Jesus gave because of love, and he continues to give us everything we need “for life and godliness.” And have you noticed that all of his gifts have come from his heart?

 

There are gifts that each of us has that don’t cost a penny. They may require time and creativity, but they are vehicles for us to express Christ’s love and the true “reason for the season.” No need for humbugs—if we know Jesus. He gave us the greatest gift and brought joy to the world.

 

Father, cause us to initiate an explosion of love and joy this year as we celebrate your Son’s glorious Advent. AMEN.

THE MEETING

Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven–as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”  Luke 7:47

 

I had an encounter with Jesus. It was some time ago when he was in town, and I’m almost ashamed to talk about it—but it changed my life.

I’ve not always been a good person. You could say I’ve made a number of mistakes, and my decisions haven’t always been the best. But I’ve done what I had to do. My husband had always taken us regularly to temple. He was a good provider, and he’d always paid his tithe and his offerings at all the set occasions. But after years of faithfulness, when he got sick, and when we had no food for the baby, the elders and the priests were nowhere to be found. And when my husband and baby slowly declined and when everything that was precious to me was buried in the grave, where were those religious leaders?

So I did what I had to do. There was no one there for me, and the elders, when they did notice, just pointed their fingers. I did what I had to do. And then, one day they found me with a man who wasn’t my husband, and they grabbed me. They said they were taking me to the temple. (What about that man? Why didn’t they bring him?) They dragged me over the cobbled streets scraping my legs and cutting my feet, jeering at me. I tried not to cry, but as their torment increased, angry tears mixed with the dust from the street.

And they brought me to the temple. These men who had visited me night after night. They brought me to the strange, young rabbi who was teaching in the porchway. They brought me to the man who said he was the Son of God. They brought me to Jesus. And they threw me at his feet. “Teacher, this woman was caught red-handed in the act of adultery. Moses gives orders to stone such persons. What do you say?”

Tears of hatred and anger coursed down my cheeks as I waited.

Silence thick as death filled the porch and held me to the marble floor. No one spoke. The Son of God didn’t say a word. I raised my head and saw that the Teacher was writing in the dust. There were words I couldn’t make out, but he just kept writing. They kept badgering him. Finally, he straightened up and said, “The sinless one among you, cast the first stone.” And then he went back to writing.

I was frozen to the floor as I readied myself for the pain that was to come. I waited. And I waited. Softly, I began to hear shuffling of sandals, one pair and then another, as feet were moving across the pavement. And then he spoke to me, “Ma’am, where are your accusers?” My eyes had been fixed on him, but I turned and looked around.

“Sir, there’s no one.”

“Neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin.”

That was my encounter with Jesus, the Son of God. I went back home; I took a few coins from my clay vessel and bought seeds for a garden. It’s been two harvests since I met Jesus, and I’ve heard that he’s returned to Jerusalem and is dining tonight with Nicodemus, a ruler of the synagogue. I am taking all the coins I’ve saved and will buy a jar of fragrant ointment to pour over his head in thanksgiving. I know it’s not much, but it’s all I have. I want him to know how he’s changed my life, how I’m a different person than the one he saved in the temple. I want him to know I love him.

I wonder if he will remember me?

 

Sweet Jesus, each of us has a story to tell of your redemption. Give us time in heaven to share the miracles you have done in our lives. And provide us opportunities here on earth to demonstrate our great love for you. AMEN.

VERIFY

 

My dear friends, don’t believe everything you hear. Carefully weigh and examine what people tell you. I John 4:1 (MSG)

 

Recently, a friend received an angry email purporting to know defamatory things about a mutual friend. I was copied and troubled because the communication was totally based on hearsay. I talked with my friend about a response—how does one deal with someone who is totally convinced of his own opinion and not open to discussion? I said I’d be praying.
To my immense admiration, my friend wrote a grace-filled letter acknowledging the anger of the writer while thanking him for taking time to write. He went on to explain the truth as he had personally experienced it. I think that we both thought that would be the end of the matter. But it wasn’t.
A few days letter, my friend got a response and again copied me. In the response, the antagonist stated that there were things about this person that he hadn’t previously known. He went on to say that he probably needed to find out the truth for himself, and to my surprise, presented himself at the next gathering where the man being criticized would be speaking.
I introduced the two men, and I watched carefully through the evening for any reaction from the letter writer. Sure enough, there was applause at certain times, nodding of the head, and smiles. And he came back the next day with the same reaction. He even participated later during the Q&A session. Because his initial angry query was greeted with understanding, grace, and love, he came to see for himself. And because he was a truth-seeker, he didn’t just take the word of a detractor, he came to see, and he came to listen.
We live in a time of great division, confusion, anger, and frustration. Proverbs 18:17 says, “He who pleads his cause first seems right; until another comes and questions him.” We seem unable to converse with someone who disagrees with us or someone who may hold another opinion. How will we ever come together if we can’t speak with open hearts and open minds? If we can’t listen? If we don’t try to understand? What happens when we dare not question one another?
It’s time we returned to God’s mandate: loving him and loving our neighbors. And that includes the way we speak to and treat each other. And when we disagree, we learn the truth for ourselves, and we continue to relate in love. We don’t buy into second- and third-hand stories. We verify, and then we live out the truth with grace and love.

 

Father, your royal law of love never changes. Help us to reach out to those with whom we have differences; help us to listen; and help us to love. In Jesus’ name. AMEN.

THE OPTIMISM CHALLENGE

Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. Matthew 7:12

My bank has done something brilliant – besides lending money, giving good financial advice, and providing mortgages. This past week it launched a 30-Day Optimism Challenge. This is the pledge that participants are asked to take: I hereby pledge to be more generous with those in need, more connected with my community and more open to changing my perspectives. I will approach this challenge with an open mind in pursuit of discovering the powers of optimism. I will do my best to not skip a day, make up my own daily act if I cannot complete the one provided… That sounds rather Christian to me, but I shouldn’t be surprised since the bank’s owner is a faithful member of our church.

So far, I’ve completed five of the thirty days. This is what we’ve been asked to do: list ten things for which we are thankful (easy to do); introduce ourselves to a neighbor we haven’t met (a little harder); delete unused apps from our phones (finally); do a favor for someone without being asked (loved that); put an encouraging note on the windshield of a random car (really fun).

We each have a check list to mark as we complete the daily challenges with space for a personal takeaway. I find that as I intentionally practice “optimism” or Christ’s love or kindness or hope (fill in the blank), in return I am filled with joy. I loved meeting my interesting new neighbor, something I should have done long ago, and I wish I could have seen the person’s face when he/she saw my note on his/her windshield.

Actually, hasn’t Jesus asked us to share his Spirit and his gifts indiscriminately with our world? God is consistently reminding us to reach out, to get out of ourselves to bless some other life. I really wish I’d thought of this, but I’m glad the bank did.

Thanks, Tom.

Father, this challenge is a good jump start for reaching out. Help me to make this a daily habit so that when this little exercise is done, I just keep going from one happy outreach to another. In Jesus’ name. AMEN.

A THOUGHT

Since everything here today might well be gone tomorrow, do you see how essential it is to live a holy life? II Peter 3:11 (The Message)

I woke up the other morning with a thought running through my head: Live in the light of eternity. I’ve been pondering that phrase over and over. What does it mean to free ourselves of the parameters of this temporal life and live as if eternity were already with us, for, in truth, it is. What would it be like to live with abandonment under the reign of Jesus Christ? What alterations would we make?
For starters, I thought of Paul’s determination to “[forget] those things which are behind, and [to reach] forth unto those things which are before” (Phil 3:13). The failures and the successes are all behind. They belong to another time. I am to learn from them; cast them on the stream of time; and let them go. Look forward to the things God has ahead.
I will forgive just as my Father has forgiven me. Eternity doesn’t permit unforgiveness. There’s no place for grudges, bitterness, or demonstrations of pettiness. Instead, I can shower love and pray blessings on friends and foes alike.
God is our Father. I must become even more aware of my brothers and sisters throughout the world who are part of the Family and Body of Christ. God is not exclusive. All are welcome in his Family. Eternity is an opportunity to practice oneness in Christ. I can help to bear someone else’s burdens; weep and rejoice with others; and build others up. And I can find ways to encourage his love to flow through me.
Living in eternity’s light will find me walking in the Spirit and abiding in Christ. I will listen for his every word and watch for his appearances. I will be sensitive to his direction. I will fellowship in his presence and look forward to my times with him.
I will be kind to others, preferring them before myself. I will practice compassion; become a healer; pour myself out for others; and be broken bread for a hurting world. I will intentionally make time and room in my heart for others.
“All things come from [the Lord]”(I Chron. 29:14), and everything I receive comes from his hands. In eternity’s light I will enjoy his blessings and embrace afflictions confident that when he plows, he purposes a crop.
I will crucify everything prefixed with “self-“, e.g. self-conscious, self-made, self-image, self-esteem. The list goes on. I give myself far too much credit and attention while at the same time accept far too much guilt. In eternity’s light I will welcome opportunities to deny the flesh and die to self (Galatians 2:20).
I will live praising, rejoicing, and worshiping. My joy is in the Lord. He is worthy of and inhabits the praises of his children. We rejoice in hope and trust of him and his Word, knowing he does not fail, and his Word is true.
In eternity’s light I will rest in Christ. I trust him. I root out all anxiety. Jesus is peace and speaks peace into our trust and obedience. Trusting his faithfulness dispels fear, suppositions, and anxiety.
I will submit to his discipline. A good father loves and wants only the best for his children. A wise father does what is needed to train and teach his children for maturity. I will welcome his discipline.
I will wait on him trusting that he is always working and that he will “present me faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 24).
I will see Jesus everywhere and in everything. The God of the universe is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent.
In awe, I will live with thanksgiving for unmerited blessings, goodness, and mercy that have followed me and brought me to live in the light of eternity.
Now it’s your turn. This is just an introductory list. How would you begin to live in the light of eternity?

Father, we know that once we are born, we have eternal life. Open our understanding of how, then, we should live. In Jesus’ name. AMEN.

LOVE ONE ANOTHER

…God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.  Romans 5:5  (NIV)

 

 

Who doesn’t want to love and be loved?  But sometimes we find ourselves working with people we don’t even like.  They’re unpleasant or disagreeable or—worst of all—don’t do things our way.  We know that God has called us to love and has, in fact, made provision for those times when we can’t find in ourselves the ability to love.  That’s when we discover that we truly are “poor in spirit” and desperately need God in us to love the way we know we should.

We’re tempted to think that this time he’s really given us more than we can bear.  He’s asked us to do something we can’t do.  And yet, he stretches us so that he will be glorified, and we can be changed.  We must acknowledge our spiritual poverty and cry out to him for what he’s already deposited in us through the person of his Son.  God isn’t looking for just a lovely character.  He’s looking for the image of Jesus in his children.

God has already given us everything we need to manifest Jesus in every circumstance.  Our task is to abandon our commitment to self-sufficiency and receive his grace to be manifested in and through us. His love has already been poured into our hearts.  We must choose to ignore the attitude that causes us to shut out the one with whom we have no affinity or who may even cause us grief.  Instead, we access God’s love and by faith live out his supernatural love.  What a perfect opportunity to die to the selfish nature that seeks to control and impoverish us.

In loving the unlovable (Aren’t we sometimes in that category?), we glorify God and recognize his sovereignty:  He put me here; He is in control; He has a good plan; all things [eventually] work together for good.  A loving God will never abandon us to environments where he can’t be glorified and where we can’t manifest him.  In all things, we trust to his love and his perfect will.  God does all things well.

God is bringing many sons (and daughters) to glory, but we occasionally find ourselves kicking against the vehicle he has chosen to get us there.  If we embrace the people and circumstances he has brought into our lives, we find the love, the grace, and every single attribute of the life of Christ available for us.  And often we discover that he sent the very person or thing that we most needed.

 

Father, we are your children.  Live and love through us that we may glorify you and that we may learn more of your ways.  In Jesus’ name I pray.  AMEN.

MOTHERING

As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you.  Isaiah 66:13

 

Can you imagine anything better than a mother’s love?  I admit, I could never have competed with either my daughter or daughter-in-law in discerning the unique gifts and personalities they nurture on a daily basis.  And then there’s the topic of energy…

Today marked the mid-point of Camp Curry.  I’ve often remarked that the miracle of Sarah and Abraham was not their producing Isaac, but it was their ability to keep up with him.  Or perhaps that’s what their household staff did.

Today’s parents, and especially the mothers who nurture the children while running the household and managing a career, are amazing.  They are routinely dealing with higher expectations than my generation experienced, and their children have greater temptations, information, and challenges than ours ever did.

As the crust of the earth was cooling, I remember my grandmother talking about doing the laundry one day, ironing another, baking took another whole day (Does anyone do that anymore?), mending was part of the schedule, and then there were grocery shopping and cleaning.  Between my daughter and daughter-in-law, each week they do most of the above PLUS gardening, chauffeuring children to school and extracurricular events, running a successful home business besides a full-time job, and participating in a lively social calendar.  They are not unlike other mothers today.

So what’s my point?  Having been with my precious grandchildren this week and getting ready to let them go back home, I am more strongly reminded of the need for prayer for our young family members and particularly the young mothers:  that the joy of the Lord will be their strength (Neh. 8:10); that they will look to him for encouragement (Isa. 41:10); that they will always experience God’s presence (Deut. 31:6); that they will know they are greatly loved by God (Romans 8:37-39); and that he will supply every need they have (Phil. 4:19).  AND that they will delight in being stewards of the precious treasures with which God has entrusted them.

I will miss the sweet grands, but they will be returning to the place where they belong and where they will be loved and shaped into the image God planned from the beginning of time.  And I will be here praying for them all, loving them, and waiting for the next visit.

 

Father, thank you for the special times I have with all my sweet grandbabies.  Be with my friends who spend long seasons apart from their families and give them opportunities to bless those other children you’ve brought into their lives.  Make us your hands and feet as we love and touch those you’ve entrusted to us.  Keep their parents in you, and help us never to cease praying for them.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

REAL LIFE

 

Whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord:  whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.  Romans 14:8

 

I’ve just returned from northern Kenya and a Marriage and Ministry conference that we were asked to conduct for pastors and their wives.  Having worked with this group of believers in the past, I looked forward to renewing acquaintances.

Sure enough, Moses was there.  I first met him years ago just as he was coming in from an evangelistic outreach.  I had heard about the persecution coming from animists and other religious groups.  To my astonishment, Moses and his friends were laughing and actually rejoicing that they had been counted worthy to be shot at and to suffer for Jesus, just as the early Church rejoiced in their hardships.  This trip, I asked Moses if he’d ever had the bullets removed from his leg.  With a big smile, he said they were too close to some nerves to risk removal.

And then I met Matthew, one of the praise musicians who comes from another African country.  As a security officer, he was ordered to shoot peaceful protesters and refused.  Government officers shot Matthew in the head, and he was taken to the hospital.  He lost sight in one eye but was on the way to recovery when he was warned that some men were en route to the hospital to finish him off.  Meanwhile, the military went to Matthew’s house and killed his wife.  Matthew escaped and took three of his children with him to Kenya.  Since coming to Kenya, two of Matthew’s children have been kidnapped by his country’s government, but Matthew continues to praise and trust God.

My friend Toch, director of the ministry, has been stoned and ambushed numbers of times—three times the pistol placed to his head didn’t fire.  Toch lives to talk about Jesus and to witness to his saving grace.  He and his band of merry disciples work throughout the north of Kenya bringing hope where there is despair and demonstrating Christ’s love and life through their words and deeds.

I see the Church as Christ meant it to be when I am with these Christian brothers and sisters—joyous and counting each day precious.  They understand the Kingdom of God and life in the Kingdom.  I watch members of warring tribes embrace and support one another when they share the same Father.  I follow these disciples into slum areas to share food and Bible stories with prostitutes as they walk together bringing new life.

I stand humbly listening to their stories and cannot help comparing them with my own privileged, secure, comfortable life.  And I am overwhelmed that they find something in me that they ask me to share with them.  You see, our circumstances may be different, but we are children of the same Father having different mothers.

I always return knowing that real life is Christ, and real living is in him.

 

Father, be with my Kenyan friends who count their lives as nothing for the sake of the Gospel.  Keep them safe as they go.  Keep me faithful in my circumstances knowing always that I, too, bear your name.  In Jesus’ name.  AMEN.

TODAY

This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.  Psalm 118:24

 

We’ve awakened today with a gift from God—this very day.  There will be so many choices and opportunities.  What will we do with the gift?

We will enter his gates with thanksgiving in our hearts (Psa. 100:4) reflecting on the benefits we derive by being his child.  Thank you Lord for your abiding peace no matter what may come this day.  Thank you for grace to address every situation.  Thank you for wisdom to deal with complex issues today.  Thank you for strength to handle all my responsibilities.  Thank you for guidance with all the different options in this day.  Thank you that you never leave me even when my senses don’t perceive you.

We enter his courts with praise, confidently abiding in the presence of the Lord.  …in him  we live and move and have our being.  (Acts 17:28)  Today if something should try to shake my rest in him, I will redirect my attention and climb back into his arms.  After all, Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  (Romans 8:35, 37-39)

What a great day.

 

Father, keep us steadfast in your love today, rejoicing in you and not allowing circumstances to determine our attitudes or behavior.  We are your children; we rejoice in you.  AMEN.