Get a grip on Hope

I have so many favorite Bible passages. But I come back to Lamentations 3: 19-30 repeatedly. I'm especially fond of the way Peterson paraphrases it in The Message:

19-21 I'll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness, the taste of ashes, the poison I've swallowed.I remember it all—oh, how well I remember— the feeling of hitting the bottom. But there's one other thing I remember, and remembering, I keep a grip on hope:

22-24 God's loyal love couldn't have run out, his merciful love couldn't have dried up.They're created new every morning. How great your faithfulness!I'm sticking with God (I say it over and over). He's all I've got left.

25-27 God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits, to the woman who diligently seeks. It's a good thing to quietly hope, quietly hope for help from God. It's a good thing when you're young to stick it out through the hard times.

28-30 When life is heavy and hard to take, go off by yourself. Enter the silence. Bow in prayer. Don't ask questions: Wait for hope to appear. Don't run from trouble. Take it full-face. The "worst" is never the worst.

We may experience different problems, but one thing is for certain, we all have experienced troubles of one kind or another. Some of my toughest troubles have been going through the devastation that schizophrenis brings with my sister, the failure of marriage and shame of divorce, and loss of a career. When I've gone through these and other hard situations, these words have pointed me in the right direction. I think to say more would be rudundant - the verses say it all, and so eloquently!

Besides troublesome situations, I've been troublesome at times. I've failed. I've just plain sinned on purpose. I'm extremely partial to the KJV of verse 22 from above:

It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

I know in the depths of my heart that what I deserve would have been to be consumed, to be destroyed, yet God chooses again and again to extend forgiveness to me as I come to Him. Heck, He even keeps after me until I do come to Him.


What about you, is there anything from these verses in Lamentations that grab you?

He Knew

It will be interesting to see the favorite verses we have as we share this week.  I realize that probably there is no one who picks much out of Leviticus as their favorite verse.  Although I do particularly like Leviticus chapter 19 which is the center of the Holiness Code.  I translated it from the Hebrew in class and did a word study on Holiness.  I still don't think I understand Holiness.  It is so rich with meaning and interpretation.  I grew up in a "holiness" tradition that was interpreted to mean how you dressed, whether you played cards or went to the movies.  It's so much more.

If I really understood holiness and its application, I'd share it today. But in spite of all my study, I still don't fully understand it.

I thought about verses in the New Testament.  One could camp on John 3:16 for a long time.  How wonderful it is that God loved the world and gave His son.  How wonderful that we have eternal life because of it.  How seriously we need to take John 3:16 implications.  We need to love as God loved and give.

However, as I thought and prayed over this blog I remembered an obscure verse at the end of Exodus chapter 2.  If you even read Exodus it's easy to gloss over.  In fact its never fully translated.  Exodus 2:25 in the NIV reads: So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.  The Message ends with God understood.  The Amplified:  concerned Himself about them [knowing all, understanding, remembering all].  In the Hebrew the verse ends rather abruptly, it simply says, Yada' - to know.  God knew.

That gives me great comfort.  While it is easy to wonder where God was during the years of oppression and slavery, still He knew.  There came a time when He remembered.  There came a time when He brought deliverance for His people.  He knew.

I have a story that is all too familiar.  I experienced the trauma of childhood sexual molestation.  If you want to read more about this horrific experience, I did blog about it on Sounds of Hope and you can read it here.  It wasn't until I was well into the healing process that I wondered where God was when I was 8.  I wondered did He know? I asked the question we all ask at times, where is God when horribly things happen, or where is He when people are oppressed and misused?  As I asked Jesus where were you when I was 8? He answered me.  He said I was there and I was weeping.  I was weeping and praying for you and your healing. He said, I knew.

That was enough for me.  Theologians much better than I don't really have perfect answers to these questions.    But God knew.  God heard the cries of oppression from His people.  He always hears them.  He always knows.  And in His time, He brings healing and deliverance.  He sees and knows you too!

Paul Said it All

It is easy to regurgitate a teaching that we may have heard over the years. However; finding a verse that is so personal, so life-changing and so very powerful is actually not easy. Of course, there were the verses that convinced me of salvation, the passages that showed me part of God's plan and will for my life. I love the Bible words, phrases and passages that caused me to have faith. There were the verses that comforted me in tragedy, and the ones that paraphrased my feelings about my Savior, Jesus Christ. Oh yes, and even those ones that pertained to trial and character.

As a teacher and student of the Word of God, I embrace the verses that allow me to see the church as Jesus does, with her flaws and errors - knowing my calling is to change that one relationship at a time.

This week the motley crew, better known as the Kingdom Bloggers is going to share a verse and its personal application.

Here is my favorite Bible verse. It is not because I understand it with with my mind; in fact I always thought I did. I was told many times from the pulpit that I was a new man, a new creation in Christ. And you probably were too.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.


It is easy to talk about the Greek, or the Hebrew understanding of being regenerated by faith. And we are! Of course we then talk about he struggle between flesh and Spirit: the thorns in our side, the Spirit and the carnal being at war, and the sin nature. It is all a very intellectual understanding, some with biblical basis, and some without. In America, we've become accustom to trying to fix ourselves: counseling, medication, self-help groups, mediation, yoga, accountability groups, there is a long list. We here dozens of sermons, have Christian media at our fingertips, and still, the message is fix ourselves. Yes, I am well aware of the preaching that says let Christ transform you. Truthfully, do you believe it? Do you believe that Christ will transform you desire to do things that are contrary to God's word?

If that is the case, then how can we possibly be a new man (or woman)? How can the old have passed away if it is still here? How can we be sick with the cancer of sin, and completely healed by the blood of Jesus?

It is much more simple than theologians make it. The new and perfect man does live within us (the old and sinful man). The problem is that the old man is carnal, is sinful and subject to death. The new man, that Spirit man is not.

Until we learn to live by the Spirit, (hear God's voice and do it.) than we will constantly be controlled by the old man.

The problem is that we have this body that is in control, and unless we yield it to Jesus, we cannot let the new man out. Paul said that old man MUST die. Or that we must die to self. Our body was never meant to be in control, it was meant to be a temple for the Spirit man, the Jesus regenerated soul!

If you remember how simple it was to get born again, then you can yield to the new man just as easily , and let him out.

John understood the miracles of Jesus would never end...

I've really enjoyed reading the post of my fellow Kingdom Bloggers this week and seeing the book from God's word each chose to write about. Genesis, Ephesians or Philippians could have easily been my choice also because each book has had a profound impact on my life at some point.

When I helped pick this topic several weeks ago, I spent several moments reflecting on the Bible as a whole then began to think about the individual 66 books. I just finished a series on James in my Sunday School class which has been a blessing. Before that, there was a series on the Lee Strobel book Case for Christ, and an in depth study of Genesis preceded even that.

The Gospel of John is the book that I must admit captures just a little bit more of me than the other 65 books. I don't intend to discount or disrespect any part of God's word with that statement, but just as most people have a favorite story or character from the Bible, I believe having a favorite book comes just as natural.

Why John for me? My first response to that question comes as early as the book's first passage:

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.  John 1:1-5 (NIV)

Now I'm no Rhodes scholar, but John makes it simple and clear enough for anyone, including me, to understand.  Jesus was with God from the very start...or at least the beginning as our finite-thinking minds can comprehend. 

John differs from the Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke with 90% of the material being unique to his inspired writings. I think that's another reason John is a favorite. He establishes the Christology of Jesus being God and doesn't mask the fact He is the only way to God:


6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  John 14:6 (NIV)

John gives far more focus to the relationship of the Son to the Father than the other gospels and is often used by Christians to better understand the Holy Trinity. John includes far more direct claims of Jesus being the Son of God than the Synoptic Gospels. The gospel also focuses on the relation of the Redeemer to believers, the announcement of the Holy Spirit as the Comforter (Greek Paraclete), and the prominence of love as an element in the Christian character...all great stuff too.Christians know John is referred to as 'beloved' by Christ and was one of the three men closest to Jesus during His ministry on Earth. I like to believe John saw and accepted Jesus for who He really was before any of the other disciples, and Jesus shared intimately spiritual truths with him before anyone else because of this. Maybe that is why the Gospel of John appeals to me so much and has been the book I go back to time and time again for examples of the love Jesus spread and demonstrated while here.

Scholars believe John's Gospel wasn't penned until around 90 A.D. But why so far after the death of Jesus? John was busy going about the business of Christ's ministry, and during a time when word of mouth was far more common than writing with the many limitation it imposed, maybe he didn't see the urgent need to author what he had learned. I can't help but personally believe from varies comments in the Gospel of John of other writings from the time that John also sincerely felt Jesus was coming back in his lifetime.

I'm thankful God inspired John to write down what he had been taught by Jesus. I'm most thankful that God so loved the world...   

 

What are you thinking on?

The whole Bible good. It's useful for helping me to understand God's ways and plans, for convicting my heart of sin, for providing me with Hope, and so much more. There are many books in the Bible that I adore.

But the book that's had the biggest impact on me these last couple of years is Philippians. Perhaps that's because I tend toward melancholy by nature, and then these past couple of years have brought me some tough stuff that's hit me at my most vulnerable spots.

Philippians has been described as the book of Joy and I've reached out for it - with both hands.

The fact that Paul wrote this letter from a dank, dirty, jail cell, yet it's contents are filled with hope, peace, and celebration never ceases to grab my mind. Make me realize that I can, by God's grace and power, choose how I want to live.

Repeatedly the words in this letter have helped me deal with specific situations in my life. There's just SO MUCH good stuff here. Philippians 4:8 has become a verse that I look to repeatedly. The reminder there to:

Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

is one I need to apply frequently. It's not just fluffy positive thinking either. To think on what is true is a big one for me since I've found that almost every time I get out of step it's because I've started thinking on some lie of the enemy.

In my current job situation I could think that God abandoned me and I'm just stuck in a backward situation; but that's not the truth that I see in the Bible. The truth is that God loves me and has a plan for my life. The truth is that He has me right where I am for His reason and purposes. The truth is that I get to find what He wants to do and join Him in His work (instead of throwing a pity party because things didn't turn out the way I'd planned).

Or sometimes with my husband, or other close relationships; sometimes people disappoint me. At those time I can either choose to start thinking negative lies about the person, such as that he doesn't really care for me or can't really be trusted, or I can choose to believe the truth - that people sometimes fail, but that does not mean that they are not true friends and great blessings in my life.

Besides the truth part in this verse there's the whole choice to think of praiseworthy things instead of perseverating on the negative. How contrary to our culture that is!

I'm constantly praying and asking God to open my eyes. To empower me to see His many blessings around me, instead of getting caught up in looking at, and for, all that's not as I would want it. I ask God to enable me to see the good things that my employees and sons do, and give me the words to praise them, and encourage them. I want to live that way, instead of focusing on what's wrong all the time. This doesn't mean that I ignore or fail to deal with problems; only that my focus is on the good stuff.

Another couple of verses out of Philippians that I'm constantly applying are Philippians 4:6-7 :

Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

With all the bad choices I've watched my middle son (who is currently a Sr. in high school) make this past year, through all our conflicts, as I sadly observe his lack of interest in spiritual things...instead of giving in to a sense of hopelessness, I can apply the words from these two verses. I can pray and ask for God to work his life, all the while praising God because I know that the truth is that God loves him far more than I do. Repeatedly as I've come before God this way a sense of knowing that God is working in his life has permeated, giving me peace and hope.


What about you, is there a specific Bible book that God's been using in your life lately?

Ephesians - Handbook to Maturity

It is hard to say what my favorite book of the Bible is. At different times certain ones have held the top spot for different reasons. I am a huge fan of the Gospels, and Acts inspires my faith every time I read a passage.

They truth is at some point I grew up and I do not need the verses that helped me get through a day, or a tough situation. Don't hear what I am not saying. I still need the word of God from day-to-day. When things come up, verses like "therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself." are handy tools for understanding how God thinks. It is just that there is a lot less panic because of the faithfulness of God in my life.

Currently I am really pouring over Ephesians because my focus is on church building, not David fixing. I love the fact that God pursued me. Paul's prayer in chapter 1 is beautiful because of the love he expresses to those he writes to. The Song Open the Eyes of My Heart is taken from this passage. In chapter 2 he speaks of how we are made alive in Christ; both of us, Jew and Gentile. In chapter 3 there is a heart felt prayer for the Ephesians (Gentiles) that God would accomplish much in them. In chapter 4 Paul deals with growing the church up. In chapter 5 he makes it personal - you know that passage about husbands loving their wives is there along with some other moral instruction.

For the grand finale Paul writes about the armor of God and how it is to be used in our lives.

6:13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Awesome don't you think!

I know that it is primarily an epistle aimed at how the church is supposed to be crafted by the spirit. I have studied a lot on the 5 gifts of the spirit that are given to the church in 4:11. I even wrote a book about it. You can down load a free copy of it HERE.

There is one verse that seems to get a lot of lip service, and I have found it elusive and puzzling. Here it is:

4:13 until we all reach [preserve] unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

So often we see the body of Christ attack one group, while another says: "How will we ever get everyone to agree on anything?" For God's sake, Peter and Paul didn't agree on everything! So what does this verse really mean?

I heard one teaching that said it presumes the "fullness of Christ," and no on has that; therefore, it is impossible. If you read the preceding verses it talks about the ascension gifts, but there is a huge debate of over those.

The verse actually says to "preserve the unity of the faith." That removes it from the natural realm and puts this particular unity into the realm of faith. That means that it is not agreement, but an agreement of the spirit of God.

It means that when we received Christ by faith, we have this unity because of his spirit in us. It is an inheritance. It is not a theological license, but something that we must express that comes from our new man.

I recently heard a teacher say it this way. "I am God's house by faith in Jesus, and God is always home!" In context, unity comes when we are mature enough to act like Jesus.

Spiritual unity is that which the Father, Son and Holy Spirit have together.

Pretty cool in my book.

Andale! Andale! Arriba! Arriba!

O the B-I-B-L-E, yes that’s the book for me! I stand alone on the word of God.

The B-I-B-L-E
O the B-I-B-L-E, I'll take it along with me, I'll read and pray and learn God's way.
The B-I-B-L-E

Sometimes I feel like telling God to Andale! Andale! Arriba! Arriba!  It's scriptural you know?

This week your Kingdom Bloggers will be talking about their favorite book of the Bible and an opportunity to apply it to their life.

I am very partial to the Old Testament or Hebrew Bible.  I love the narratives.  I love the glimpses of God as He forms humans as potter does clay.  I love the picture that He sews clothes for Adam and Eve before they leave the garden.  Reminds me of times I’ve been so mad at my children for something and then turn around and make their favorite cookies or something.  I love the story of creation.  My husband was reading it recently and his comment was that the story of creation is “wondrous.”  It is.

My favorite book of the Bible is Genesis.  It is the book I most love to teach.  As my Hebrew and Hebrew Bible professor used to say, “if you don’t understand Genesis, you don’t understand the Bible.”  I wish you could hear him teach Genesis – you’d love it too.

But an application is harder with the Book of Genesis.  I think that would take a book rather than a blog to explain.  As I thought about this some more, I thought about the book of Psalms.  There have been several times in my life where I have been in great despair.  During many of those times I would turn to Psalms.  I love how the Psalmists start off with their lament but usually, before the Psalm is done, they are praising God again.
 

During these times, I often turned to Psalm 70.  I would read it out loud each morning and again at night.  It became my lament and prayer. 


It reads:

Hasten, O God, to save me; come quickly, LORD, to help me

May those who want to take my life be put to shame and confusion;

may all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace.

May those who say to me "Aha! Aha!" turn back because of their shame.

But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who long for your saving help always say,

"The Lord is great!"

But as for me, I am poor and needy; come quickly to me, O God. You are my help and my deliverer;

Lord do not delay.

I love that "Aha! Aha!" part.  I also love how The Message translates that last verse:

But I've lost it, I'm wasted!

God, quickly! quickly!

Quick to my side, quick to my rescue!

God don't lose a minute.

I have told God Andale! Andale! Arriba! Arriba!  How about you?

It's okay to do that.  The Bible even says it. What are you wishing God would hurry up and do?

I saw Michael Jackson's head burst into flames during that Pepsi commercial...

I remember vividly the Sunday morning that was to be my first at FFWBC in my small home town...

My now wife, Candice, wasn't even my then girlfriend, but she had been persistent in her invitation for me to attend her church one Sunday. Her eyes would sparkle as she described the people, the place and most importantly the Divine presence in the house of worship. She had grown up in the church and was as active as any youth that attended in the numerous ministries the church conducted. 

Reluctant is an understatement for my initial feeling as I approached the entrance. I would carry with me through the doors that first Sunday morning an attitude near contempt. I realize today that my demeanor was much more a reflection of my own self-loathing than a true feeling toward any single person in attendance that Sunday.

After a few hand shakes and pleasantries with people I had known for many years, I parked myself near the back row almost perfectly diagonal from where Candice and her family sat. No way I was walking up there where they sat...the back of my head might burst into flames from the laser-like stares and feelings projected in my direction of ill-repute. I would have soon danced naked on Main Street that very moment...and I was completely sober!

Today, I look back on that day as a pivotal day in a new beginning for my life. Was I comfortable? Absolutely not! Did I run to the altar and fall on my face begging for God to forgive my many transgressions? Unfortunately no. But the one word that best describes that day, hands down, as I look back is...love.

God brought me to a place of His love, filled with His people, using one of His own. I get pretty emotional when I look back and think about it. My negative attitude was completely absorbed by people of His body doing what they were commanded to do...love your neighbor. Even if he's a bum like me.

I never imagined I could be as close again as I was with the church family I grew up with twenty years before walking through those doors on that Sunday morning. Again...I was wrong. I still love and cherish every single person from my first church. Many have been promoted to Glory, and I celebrate for them.  My new church family is just as precious to me. As I sit at my laptop typing the last bit of this post with tears flowing down both cheeks...I thank God with ever fiber of my being for blessing me so greatly with the new church family He did, and for the new beginning He gave me that painful Sunday for just taking a single step in obedience. 

May all my efforts be in service to Him and may He receive all the honor and glory for it all.

Every Day is New

New beginnings huh? I’m old enough to have had LOTS of new beginnings. Funny thing, you never stop having new beginnings.  I was struck my David’s comment yesterday about how the mercies of God are new every morning.  For me that means that even in the day to day grind something every morning is new – the unfailing, unceasing mercies of the Lord.  I don’t know about you, but I need them.  I found myself humming a song we used to sing in church:

Mercy is falling is falling is falling

Mercy it falls like a sweet spring rain

Mercy is falling is falling is falling

Mercy is falling all over me

Hey-Yo I receive your mercy

Hey-Yo I receive your joy

Hey-Yo I will dance forevermore

 And yes, I love to dance to this song!  You can tune in here and dance if you like.

In May of this year I became a doctoral student.  While I have been working on a degree or going to school now for about 6 years, this is new territory.  Frankly, I’m still scared.  I’m older than most of the people in my cohort.  I have children older than some of them.  I still haven’t gotten used to looks of “what are you doing here?”  They were more blatant at the seminary or during my master’s work at Trevecca Nazarene, never the less, they are there.

One of the women in the cohort mentioned that she had just had her 33 birthday.  I thought yikes!  I’ll be married 33 years in February.  I am soon to be a great-grandmother again.  Should I share this with my cohort? Or will it just accentuate how old I am?

Since May I’ve wondered at times if I could do this.  I even asked myself, what’s the point?  I am old after all.  Besides the absolute joy I have in learning and research, I’ve learned a lot about myself in this experience.  We kicked off this experience with eight days of dorm living.  I’ve never lived in a dorm nor had any great desire to do so – it was good for me.  It was very good for me.  To say I found myself again during this summer is not an overstatement.  I had been lost.  Even I didn’t know who I was anymore.  But just like summer camp, the time away helped me fine myself.

This new beginning gave me new focus on living.  Gave me something to be excited about and to plan around.  While I shuttered when I heard we had to do a 100 entry annotated bibliography, I hit the ground running and had nearly 150 when it was due.  I learned a lot too.  I have a renewed excitement about life and the future.  New  beginnings are like that. 

This is a new year.  I’m old enough to enter into a new year with a bit of trepidation.  As I look back on 2010, it was not an easy year.  I lost my mother.  I saw my plans for education at the seminary fall apart.  I had many other disappointments.  I imagine 2011 will have disappointments as well.  However, I am excited about ushering in the New Year.  As the mercies of God come with every sunrise, I’ll once again know His faithfulness.  I’m ready for the new.  How about you? 

The Curse of New

New years are a curse for me. Some things I don't want to start over. In fact I was happiest with 1982, and wish it could have lasted forever. Well at least I thought I was.

This week your beloved Kingdom Bloggers are writing about new beginnings - but not salvation.

The Bible is filled with "new" metaphors. Spring, rebirth, born again, be like a child, spring forth, fresh fallen snow and I am sure there are many more. Well, I don't like new unless it plugs into the wall, a USB port or smells like a new car. Personally, I prefer things that are antique, vintage, retro or aged to perfection. I am still using Windows XP Pro!

I often hear in Christian circles that God is the God of a second chances. I used to think that was true until I needed a third chance. Actually the Bible says that his mercies are new every morning. That is a refreshing thought for a guy like me.

I have had a few fresh starts, and I eventually ended up pretty close to where I had started. Grace is a beautiful thing. I went to three colleges, had a few dozen jobs, and belonged to a number of churches. I used to view new as exciting. At just past the half-century mark, I am trying to make time slow down!

A few months back, 6 in fact, I started going to a new church. (HERE is the story about how I got there.) I had gotten pretty disillusioned about going to any church,  the lack of commitment, the lack of relationship and religious behavior, that was not connected to God's power. I honestly didn't have much hope, but I liked the music and kept on going. It's a long drive to the church. It takes 1 hour, sometimes a bit more.

It was a another new start. Who knew how it would turn out. HERE is a story about what is going on there for me now.

The Bible says not to despise small beginnings. This church is a new beginning - maybe even a small one. If you read either of the other blogs, you be able to see that it is God. It is not like getting unhooked from drugs, or getting remarried - both of which I have done. It is like having another child, one that you were there for the delivery, and one that you can enjoy as it matures. I love kids. Each one of mine brings a different sort of joy.

I guess in truth, I am not looking for a vintage, a retro or an antique God. I am looking for one that charges my batteries, and transforms my life.