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Consolation And Celebration At Christmas

December 15, 2012 Leave a comment

mangerAs I’ve listened to news reports from Newtown, Connecticut, where the elementary school massacre took place, I’ve heard reporters say this tragedy is made worse because it has occurred at Christmas. Several families in the community are even taking down their Christmas decorations because they just don’t see how they can celebrate Christmas now. If I were one of those parents or grandparents, I’m sure I would be tempted to do the same thing.

However, what’s the “celebration” of Christmas all about? It’s a moment we set aside to rejoice in the wonder of God becoming a man. That’s what we’re celebrating.  However, He didn’t just come to live as a man. He didn’t come to earth as the God/Man to see what it was like to live as a human being. He was born so he could die “that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.”  Hebrews 2:14-15.

When we are dealing with the sorrow of losing a loved one at Christmas, we can console ourselves and celebrate at the same time because Jesus came to do away with death. Isaiah 25:8 says, “He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.”

In the gospels, there is both rejoicing and weeping as the story of Jesus’ birth is told. Luke says the shepherds were glorifying and praising God, while Matthew says there was weeping and loud lamentation when Herod ordered all the children two years and under to be slaughtered.

Besides the sorrow of death this Christmas, there will be the sorrow of loneliness, of rejection, of disappointment, and of suffering. Yet, consolation comes through celebrating Emmanuel, God with us.

Categories: Christmas, Devotionals, Sorrow Tags: , , ,

Dental Work and The Psalms

May 5, 2012 Leave a comment

I recently had to have some dental work done, and that brought me to the Psalms.  A strange statement, maybe, but I get anxious when there’s drilling and grinding and cutting taking place in the neighborhood of my brain.  Reading a Psalm helps me with that anxiety.  Something similar occurred when we were missionaries in Venezuela, and I needed to have a wisdom tooth extracted.  The small town where we lived didn’t have a dentist that could do the job, so we traveled to the capital city of Caracas for the “procedure.”  We had to wait several weeks for the appointment, so that gave me lots of time to be anxious.

The Psalms were a great comfort to me while I waited.  I wrote out several of them on a notecard and spent time meditating on them during the day.  Psalm 121:8, “The Lord will watch over your coming and going,” and Psalm 142:3, “When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who know my way.”  These and several other verses calmed my spirit, and I was able to endure the pain and discomfort.

During my recent dental work, I was reminded of that wisdom tooth extraction and I realized that was the time when I began studying the Psalms in earnest.  Now, I make reading a Psalm every day a regular part of my morning devotional time.  I love the term David Murray uses to describe the Psalms in his blog, Therapeutic Praise. 

Here are two points to remember when reading, memorizing and meditating on the Psalms:

1.  They are extremely instructive about God.  While I’m thankful I have access to the complete Bible and revelation of God, nevertheless, if I could only have the book of Psalms, I believe I would be able to know God intimately.  Each Psalm paints colorful pictures of His mercy, His grace, His love, His wrath, His judgment, His saving power and His desire to comfort His children.

2.  They are meant to stir our emotions. These words were written as poetry, as songs.  They elicit reactions from deep within our very beings.  The writers speak of weeping, of hurting, of joy, of anguish, of shame, of loneliness.  Every human emotion is described in the pages of this book, and God is either at the focus of these deep-seated feelings or lingering in the shadows.  The Psalms teach me that our emotions are of great concern to Him.

So, “open wide” and take in some nourishment from the Psalms today.

Categories: Bible, Devotionals, Personal Tags: , , ,

A Passion For His Stripes

April 6, 2012 1 comment

of black and blue
and red
of gashes and slashes
and stripes
of hits and harm
and hurt

He bows and stumbles
and falls
He kneels and bends
and crumbles
He gasps and cries
and moans

for my healing and help
and guiding
for my blessing and loving
and keeping
for my hoping and holding
and saving

for my saving

                                                                                                                   –Luana Ehrlich
                                                                                                                    Isaiah 53:4-5

Categories: Devotionals, Poems Tags: , ,

Living In The Real World

February 17, 2012 Leave a comment

 Most of us realize the food ads we see in magazines and on television are photographed by highly skilled photographers; even the food itself has been artfully produced and posed to make it mouth-watering appealing. But one photographer decided to professionally photograph the real thing, say a taco just purchased from Taco Bell alongside an appealing ad for the same product.  The results are humorous, though not too surprising.

In God’s Word, He has presented us a “photograph” of the best, His Son.  Placed alongside Him, we fare badly, never able to fully measure up to His beauty, to His holiness, to His lovingkindness.  Just like fast food from the real world isn’t exactly like fast food from the advertising world, we live in the real world and have the scars to prove it.  However, one day, an expert photographer will appear and airbrush away all our flaws.  Then we will look our best, able to live in the best world, able to live with The Best.  You can view Fast Foods, Ads vs Reality here.

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”  1 John 3:2

Categories: Devotionals Tags: ,

Did God Make Extra-Terrestrials?

January 21, 2012 Leave a comment

There have been several amazing announcements in the last month concerning the discovery of earth-size planets orbiting a sun-like star.  These discoveries have come from NASA’s Kepler Mission, whose task is to survey the Milky Way galaxy to discover  earth-size planets.  Because of recent advances in technology, Kepler’s astronomers are speculating that our galaxy alone may have millions of planets.  

I’m excited about what earth’s telescopes find in the heavens because “the heavens declare the glory of God,” but most often when discoveries of this nature are made, they are reported under a headline like the one from commentator Charles Krauthammer who asks, “Are We Alone In The Universe?”

Krauthammer voices a hope that many people express, a hope for intelligent life, for other beings living like us but under distant stars.  He writes that the search for other planets “betrays a profound melancholy—a lonely species in a merciless universe anxiously awaits an answering voice amid utter silence.”  He believes it makes no sense that in this vast universe of countless galaxies, human beings on planet earth are unique and speculates that other alien civilizations must have destroyed themselves.  Krauthammer, a political commentator, concludes the article by urging mankind to get politics right or risk extinction.  Read his full article here.

What fascinates and yet profoundly saddens me about this article and many like it is the failure to see Earth and the descendants of Adam who live on it as, yes, unique.  Our uniqueness, our being the ONLY intelligent life in the universe God made, should make us acutely aware of how much our Creator God not only loves us but has a very unique plan for us.  This very “specialness” elicits praise and knee-bowing awe in some, while it frightens others.

It is frightening to think the focus of creation was entirely mankind on planet earth.  That carries an overwhelming measure of responsibility on us as human beings to acknowledge God, to express gratitude, to seek meaning of life in Him.  Whereas if “matter just came into existence” and intelligence just “evolved,” and other rocky planets are inhabited by alien forms, then what need is there for me to turn my face toward a Sovereign Maker? 

God’s spectacular display of His glory in the heavens was not so that man would seek others out there like himself, but that man would become God-centered, recognizing, as John wrote of those who believe in His son, “how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the children of God.” (1 John 3:1)

Did God make extra-terrestrials? No, “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27)

Categories: Bible, Devotionals, Worship Tags: , , ,

Are You Enjoying Christmas?

December 22, 2011 2 comments

I’m not a messy person.  Having things in disarray and seeing things disorganized and untidy makes me uncomfortable and uneasy.  So for my own peace of mind and happiness, I live with things organized and in order.  Okay, some people say I’m an obsessive compulsive person.  I plead guilty most of the time.  But not when it comes to making Christmas cookies with my grandkids.

After getting flour out of my hair, sweeping away the sugary sprinkles from the table and scrubbing icing off the kitchen floor, I reflected on what seems so right about the “messiness” of this activity.  I realized it was the joy of the end result—-seeing everyone savoring their favorite Christmas cookie, whether it was Pappaw’s blue snowman with white eyes or Jake’s sprinkle-laden gingerbread man with the missing arm. I don’t mind this experience because when it all comes to an end, there is a glorious conclusion,.

Christmas can seem a “messy” time of year.  As we experience the never-ending hawking of merchandise, the stress of planning, buying and finding gifts for family and friends, and the exhaustion of shopping, traveling and decorating, we may feel uneasy and disoriented.  Yet surely during that first Christmas, as Mary and Joseph awaited the birth of their little boy, their lives must have been in total disarray.  They were exhausted after an arduous journey, stranded in some dingy stable, sharing the hay with cows and sheep, while Mary labored in the uncertainty and pain of childbirth.

But did they enjoy that first Christmas?  There can be little doubt it proved to be the most enjoyable moment of their lives.  God had come to earth as Mary and Joseph’s little boy.  The messiness of that stable didn’t matter.  The glorious conclusion was The Joy Of Heaven come to earth.

That’s what makes the “messiness” of Christmas worthwhile.  It is Immanuel, “God with us.”  Enjoy Christmas.  God is with you and in you and for you.

Categories: Devotionals, Personal Tags: ,

Funny How Things Turned Out

December 2, 2011 Leave a comment

My two sisters and their families spent almost a week here with us in Norman as we celebrated the Thanksgiving holidays with each other and my dad.  It was our first Thanksgiving without my mother since she went home to be with our Lord last March.  When we were all together during previous Thanksgivings, Mother was always in charge of the Big Meal.  Even though she was confined to a wheelchair the last few years of her life, she still managed to plan the meal, issue instructions and direct the action in the kitchen.  As we did the grocery shopping for her a few days before the feasting, my sisters and I would often talk about the various dishes Mom was planning  and comment about how we had to do it “this way” because Mom was in charge, implying that if she wasn’t, we would have some different dishes on the table.

This year, we had our chance to do it differently.  But, as we cleaned up after the Big Meal, I pointed out to one of my sisters, “It’s funny how things turned out.  We did everything the way Mom always did it.  We had every dish she always insisted needed to be included in our Thanksgiving meal.”  Even though we always thought it might be fun to change things around, experiment just a little with the menu, we kept to her plan.  As I reflected on this afterwards, I realized her menu plan had served a very gracious purpose, allowing everyone in the family to have at least one favorite food on the table.

Our Heavenly Father works the same way. He plans my life with one goal in mind:  to show me His grace, “that my joy may be in you” (John 17:11). It’s funny how things turn out.  Doing things my way won’t bring me ultimate joy, but living my life according to His plans will reveal to me His incredible grace and bring me His ultimate joy.

Categories: Devotionals, Personal Tags: ,

Bits and Pieces 10/15/11

October 15, 2011 Leave a comment

Am I Boring You?  Here’s a blog that will let you know.  These 7 tell-tale signs are taken from Gretchen Rubin’s book, The Happiness Project.  Read the article here.

Paul First Describes Love As Patient:  Of all the words Paul could have chosen to begin his description of love in 1 Corinthians 13, he uses the word patient.  Jon Bloom writes, “Forget the rest of his list for a moment, my work is already cut out for me.”  Read Jon’s look at patience here.

The Only Infallible Sermon:  While I’ve heard many pastors quote large sections of Scripture from the pulpit in their sermons, I’ve never heard one preach the entire book of Hebrews from memory.  Even if you only have time to watch five minutes of this, doing so will bless you.  Watch it here.

Categories: Bits and Pieces, Devotionals Tags: , , , , ,

Packing Away Summer Clothes

October 12, 2011 1 comment

Whenever I put away my summer clothes in the fall and my winter clothes in the spring, I always tuck a little sheet of paper between the folds of the clothes.  This piece of paper contains a list of people, situations, concerns I’ve been praying about for the past several weeks.  When I unpack my clothes and retrieve the prayer list at the end of a season, usually April and October, then I’m able to see what was on my prayer list the previous six months.  Since I’ve been doing this for about 10 years, here’s what I’ve discovered.

There are some very big changes that can happen in six months:  Praying about a surgical procedure, a house purchase or a trip during April could mean by the time October arrives each of these requests has already been answered, and I am now recovered from my surgery, moved into my new house and paying the credit card bills on my trip. In April of last year, I was praying about moving my parents to Norman; and in October of last year, they had been living here for two months while six months later, my mother had passed away.  In April of this year, James and I were praying about when to retire from Bethel, and now he has been retired for two weeks. 

There are some things that don’t change in six months:  I’m sometimes amazed to realize the problems or people or relationships for which I’m currently praying have been on my list not just once but twice, maybe even more, and nothing has changed.  Six months may not be enough time to see the salvation of a friend or family member.  The resolution of an ongoing conflict can creep along at a less-than-desirable pace.  There are health issues that continue to persist.  In addition, there will always be requests for myself and family members that involve similar petitions year after year for the Lord’s blessing and guidance.

There are some things that are insignificant after six months:  The details of a seemingly overwhelming crisis in the spring can hardly be remembered by the time fall arrives. 

There are some surprising things that can occur in six months:  I can never anticipate what I will need to be praying for in the next week or the next month, so when I open up my list and realize a BIG EVENT happened, and six months ago it wasn’t even on my prayer radar, I’m amazed at how often the unexpected occurs.

So what is my incentive in reviewing this prayer list after six months?  Outside of observing the discoveries I’ve just outlined, I believe it is foremost to see how God has worked in answering these prayers.  As James and I go over the list, laughing about some things, amazed at surprising events, sorrowing over others, we just naturally start giving God glory and thanking Him for the way in which He answered our prayers.  Plus, we acknowledge our utter dependence upon Him for anything yet to be resolved. 

Prayer is for the glory of God.  Jesus said in John 14:13, “And whatever you ask in my name, that will I do that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”  As I put away the list this week, I did it with a prayer and a question, “What will you do, Father, in the next six months, to give yourself glory through these requests?”

Categories: Devotionals, Prayer Tags: , , , ,

Feeling Abnormal With Normal

October 3, 2011 3 comments

Every Sunday, for all of my life (yes, even as an infant), I have gone to church.  It’s the normal thing for me to do.  I would feel abnormal not doing so.  But yesterday, as my husband and I went to church, I felt abnormal.

It wasn’t a different kind of church.  It wasn’t a different time to go to church.  There weren’t different songs being sung.  There wasn’t a different gospel being preached.

The difference was the church we attended wasn’t the one we had been attending for 17 years.  It wasn’t the church where my husband had been the senior pastor.  Our normal Sunday worship experience felt abnormal because God had spoken, we had obeyed (a little reluctantly I admit), and we had retired from this church.

Making His children uncomfortable in the ordinary is one of the ways God works to make Himself known to us.  Moses experienced feeling abnormal with normal when he took his sheep up the mountain to graze as he normally did and encountered an ordinary bush not being consumed by the fire that enveloped it.  From that bush, Moses heard the voice of God, obeyed His commands (though not always willingly and perfectly) and came to know Him in a relationship that Scripture identified as “friends.”

For church members used to having the same pastor for 17 years, I suspect their normal seemed abnormal yesterday also.  Like me, they may have found the abnormal uncomfortable, strange and, yes, fearful.  What do we do with these feelings?

Moses told God his misgivings about these changes from his normal.  I believe that’s the pattern God intends for us.  As we lay before Him our insecurities, we can be certain of His plans for us.  “’For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.’” (Jeremiah 29:11).

The abnormal can be very good indeed.  Moses probably thought so.  What could be more abnormal than being friends with God?

Categories: Devotionals, Personal, Prayer Tags: , , , ,