July 9, 2010 Trusting God In Someone Else's Ship

Have you ever felt frustrated when you feel the person in charge is making a serious mistake?  I have.  I've been a "voyager in someone else's ship" most of my life-- as a child dependent on parents in a troubled marriage, as a teenager in a ultra-restrictive boarding school, as a college student on scholarships trying to please a demanding professor, as a young new-Christian wife struggling to submit to her less-than-wise husband, as an employee attempting to do good work under a corrupt boss, and even as a church member trying her best to follow a confused pastor.  I'm sure there are as many tales like this as there are people.  The challenge is to stay true to our faith and keep our trust in the Lord.

Once we come of age, we often have choices about what we will do about a "captain" who is sailing off into a seemingly life-threatening storm.  I've had to make some difficult decisions, but the Lord was always with me through it all.  The Apostle Paul had a word from God to keep him staying on with a ship that was sure to sink. That takes some strong faith!  Sometimes marriage feels like a sinking ship, and if you're a wife, you may feel like jumping!  (Fortunately, we're not prisoners as Paul was, although it may feel like it sometimes.  Reminding ourselves of our desire to make the commitment can help us weather the storm.) Guys have a different problem: they are the ones who have to decide where to take that ship.  I'm glad I don't have to take the helm!  However, sometimes we have to say what we see, whether it's believed or not.  Paul did.  Then he just had to hold on to his vision and trust in God for the outcome.  I have to wonder what was going on in Dr. Luke's mind during all this, since he was on the ship too!

Prayer is always the first action we should take-- it should be automatic.  That's when we get our directions, and peace.  So often, things just seem to straighten themselves out when we pray.  Staying in the Word, too, keeps our eyes focused on the Lord:  isn't He really the Captain of our life anyway?  He knows exactly what's going on, and He's committed to our well-being.  He is the manager of our trials.  Even though being under the leadership of, or even being dependent on, another human being is probably one of the most difficult trials we undergo, we can be assured that the Lord is still watching over us for our benefit-- and for the other person's as well.

There are times we feel we must confront.  Emotional pleas just do not work!  I've tried it many times, and I simply give up.  My overwrought emotional state doesn't convince anyone of my ability to think clearly!  I will not be listened to, no matter how right I am.  Getting my focus on the Lord and seeking Him for peace is top priority.  Then, I may be heard by the "captain" if I present the information I have with calm and clarity.  It's up to him, then, to decide what to do with my intelligence (it's called intelligence for a reason-- you'd better know what you're talking about if you want to be listened to).  I must maintain in faith.

Even if you end up having to go through a shipwreck, know this: God is able to preserve you.  His ways are always redemptive, never forget.  He may be working with the "captain" of the ship you're in, to bring some level of change or repentance or growth; but even if it's mostly about them, guess what?  God's going to bring you to another level of faith, trust, backbone, maturity-- whatever it is you need to grow in.  He uses all things for our good, even shipwrecks.

June 25, 2010 Earth-Shaking Praise

Our trials and tribulations always have redemptive purposes! We can be assured of this because, when we belong to God, He uses everything for good.  We have our share of responsibility, I think, in releasing God's redemptive purpose into our sphere of influence.  From reading about Paul and Silas in prison, I realize that praising and glorifying God in the midst of trouble and persecution can be the sign that points people to Christ.

Even when our sufferings are entirely private, praising God with abandon is a key to victory.  If we're practicing this when no one is looking, we'll be prepared for action when someone actually is.  To me, having victory over my difficult circumstances is a good incentive to do what I know: praise God with my whole heart-- which is a pleasing sacrifice.  The thought that I might be practicing for the future-- that other people might be brought into the Kingdom because I glorified God while I suffered-- gives my present trials even more meaning.  I might even be able to embrace them with gusto!

April 2, 2010

“If a man has committed a sin deserving of death, and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God. Deuteronomy 22:22-23

Meditation on Good Friday

They nailed you and hung you,
Son of God, on a tree,
Cursed you,
Spat on you, reviled you,
Though you'd never sinned.
It should have been me

Hanging there for all my sins,
Rebellion, infirmities,
defects. Mine,
Not yours.  You were cursed
For me, in my place, 
So I could shine
With your forgiveness
And mighty grace.

by Karen Gladys Henry

I am so thankful to the Lord Jesus for all He endured for me, so that I could be saved.  Aren't you?  He did it all for you too.  He said, "It is finished."  On the other side of the cross is freedom!  Freedom from all that pertains to the fall of mankind.  Jesus endured it all, then left it all in the grave.  I am still struggling to comprehend what it means to pick up my cross and follow Him.  To follow Him into freedom.

March 6, 2010

We could think God contradicted Himself if we read (out of context) "Truly, no ransom avails for one's life, there is no price one can give to God for it.  For the ransom of life is costly, and can never suffice that one should live on forever and never see the grave." Psalm 49: 1-20.  But if we read on, the same psalm states: "But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me." vs 15.  What a great prophesy of Christ's ransom for us!  It truly shows that there was no way of redemption except Him, but that God, indeed, had always promised a Way. 

Obviously, the first verse speaks of a person trying to redeem himself or another, and that there is no amount of riches capable of redeeming us.  Christ's life and sacrifice was SO valuable that it sufficed to redeem any and all who would receive Him-- forever!  As an aside, these verses really shows how valuable we are to God, and should increase our own concept of worth, and change how we value ourselves and others.

Unfortunately, (pun intended), there are many people who still trust in riches to save them, and many nations who do as well.  Is ours one of them, do you think?  Do you think that false messiahs who come along-- with schemes to deceive-- might try to wield worldly wealth and power as a means of solving the world's problems?  Have you ever seen this type of deception in the Church itself?  Does it seem logical to you that any amount of wealth could help with the types of trouble that Jesus prophesied for the end times, and that we see ourselves in the midst of now?  Mark 12: 7-8

Jesus was also clear that much of the end-time trouble would be between people, with rampant betrayal and hatred, even among relatives: "because of my name."  He directed us to trust the Holy Spirit to give us the words to say, and told us to "endure until the end."  vs 9-13 

I see a flip-side to the principle that no amount of wealth can redeem us.  It seems to me that no amount of wealth (which equates to worldly power) can "buy God off" either!  Who could pay God enough to "un-redeem" us?  Who could be wealthy enough to take us to court and condemn us when we have a Righteous Advocate on our side?  Christ!  If God is for us, who can be against us?  An entire nation?  The whole world system?  None of these powers could redeem us, and none of them can destroy us either.  We are truly safe IN the Lord!  It might be unpleasant or painful for a while, but all we need is endurance to see the salvation of God, and His promise of eternal life.

"Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me, those who trust in their wealth and boast of the abundance of their riches?"  Psalm 49: 5-6

Jesus is not swayed, influenced or impressed by riches and worldly power.  This is clear in the beginning of the Mark passage.  He does not judge by outward appearance, but sees the heart.  He saw through the pomp of the religious leaders of the day, and He commended the poor widow for offering all she had because of her love for God.  He hasn't changed!

When we give ourselves totally to Him, this is a great treasure that He accepts.  In return, He gives Himself totally to us.  What, then, have we to fear?

February 17, 2010

When I read all the descriptions of sacrifices in Leviticus, which all seem quite gruesome to me, I get a feeling for how much God hates sin, and how often I miss the mark. But more than that, I am struck by the love and mercy of God. He has always been about making a way of atonement and forgiveness, and Jesus finally paid the price, making all the killing of animals unnecessary.

Jesus showed the Father's heart for forgiveness and His purpose of redemption so often, how could we miss it and become sin-worried as if we lived in the Old Testament? Jesus got criticized for eating with sinners (Mark 2:16), and for breaking the Sabbath (in the Pharisee's mind), but He was in redemptive, restoration mode at all times. "The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath." (NRSV) And what He's doing with us now is getting us ready for new wine. vs 21

January 31, 2010

God may lead us out (as the Israelites out of Egypt) or He may lead us in (as Jesus into Jerusalem). He may lead us away from the enemies or straight forward to face them. But as long as we're trusting and following Him, it's always redemptive!