He knows the stars by name

I recently stumbled across this poem which I started back in 2004.  I gave it a good, hearty revision from its schoolgirl vocabulary and format, but the same theme runs through the newly minted lines.  It seemed fitting for the Lenten/Easter season, so I decided to share it here: 

Once upon an evening, when scores of celestial pin pricks
Illuminate the Masterpiece dancing dreamily to a silent song,
I, spellbound, survey the lyrics of hidden hope, the tale old as time.
This their peaceful proclamation, Word-written from the beginning:

“The One who spoke us alive abandons Heaven without hesitation
Bound by a mission of mercy to save the souls who broke His heart.
Those once-rulers of paradise, imprisoned by their own free will,
Defiantly return to dust without ever consulting the Creator-Christ,
Turning blind ears and deaf eyes to every echo of the eternal truth.
Our song of redemption lingers on, awaiting one whose ears can hear.”

But hark! Listen now to the angelic chorus,
Their tidings of joy are beginning anew:

“A lost one has recently found the Great Shepherd,
A new name inscribed in the Lifebook by the hand of the Lamb.
Again He has stomped on the head of the serpent,
One more soul has gained Heaven by choosing the Way.”

My gaze gradually dims, my eyes fill with happiness
As I continue to watch the stars dance their melody across the sky,
That endless expanse where all the stories of their Namer are written.
Then I savor the tears streaming down quite unhindered
Reminded once more: I am loved.

Sharing rescue-love

I am excited that the sermon series at church is returning to 1 Corinthians for the next few months.  In preparation, I've started reading through the whole epistle during my quiet times.  It has been a precious time for me as I'm reading from a Bible that I originally gifted to a sweet sister who went to be with the Lord ahead of me. It is a New Living Translation Study Bible, and I am really appreciating how reading in a different translation than normal can open my eyes to a familiar passage in new ways.  I've only made it through the first few chapters so far, but I look forward to continuing and "catching up" with the sermon series.

Yesterday, Carl Baum taught on the first 4 verses of 1 Corinthians 13, a passage that is, for many of us, extremely familiar.  You know--the "love" chapter--the one you've heard so many times that you might not be able to quote it from memory, but you do recognize it immediately when someone starts to read or recite it.  I really enjoyed looking at this passage through fresh eyes, and one point that Carl made really hit home to me.  In the first three verses of the chapter, Paul describes how, without love, our striving is, in effect, useless.  Seems pretty simple, right?  Love is sacrifice.  We get it.

However, Carl made an interesting point that true love, agape love, is rescue love.  Yes, it requires a sacrifice, but it also requires us to seek rescue for those around us, whether that is spiritual rescue for an unbeliever, emotional rescue for someone who is hurting, or physical rescue for someone who is in need.  Tolerance isn't love, because tolerance merely leaves people with the same need of rescue.

After discussing rescue love, when he moved on to verse 4, Carl talked about how love is active.  All the words which are translated as adjectives--patient, kind, not envious, not boasting, not proud--are actually verbs in the original Greek, he told us.  In other words, love is doing, not feeling.  (I have severely condensed the point of the sermon in these few paragraphs, but I encourage anyone who is interested to read the entire sermon here.)

Now, of course these are all ideas that I've heard/learned/read before, but I really appreciated how the Lord drew them all together and spoke to my heart during the sermon.  As a result, I considered what I could be doing more of to show His love to others, and I believe He has already shown me a small way to begin.

When I returned from church, I noticed a lot of posts on Facebook discussing "Blue Monday" and how winter can be a depressing time for some people.  Of course, in the usual social media way, the posts all encouraged people to copy and re-post to pass the message along.  I know that people who post such things generally have good intentions, but I really didn't want to copy and paste the feel-good social media buzz-word-filled "I'm here for you" announcement.  However, after prayer, I decided to write my own post this morning:

"I have several friends who have been posting in the last 24 hours about always being available and willing to talk if someone is needing a listening ear. These posts reference the idea of a "Blue Monday" and ask for others to copy and post the same to prove that someone is always listening. Unfortunately, in our world, I think that such a proof would be an impossible task, and I don't particularly like following social media trends myself.

"However, I do hope that anyone who knows me realizes that if you are in a place where you feel unheard, discouraged, or depressed, I truly am willing to listen. I may not be able to fix anything for you, but I know the One who is always present and able to move mountains. Together we can carry your burdens before His throne and remind one another of the truth of His unfailing love for us. My prayer is that all who need such encouragement will know that they can find a Friend in Him."

If anyone is reading this blog, please know that the same holds true for you--I am always willing to listen and pray with you.  I'm not sure whether this post will help anyone, but I am glad that I took a small step toward offering love to people who need it.  I know that I can't rescue others on my own, but I do hope that others will be reminded that I'm willing to go with them to the Great Rescuer.

If you are a child of the King, I challenge you to look for areas in your own life where you can share His rescue-love with the ones around you.  Don't be afraid to start small, or to look silly; you can be confident that the Lord will open your eyes to ways to minister that will make an impact for eternity.

Celebrating Advent with a ready heart

After a long hiatus from having specific thoughts "jump out" at me from My Utmost for His Highest, once again this week I have found some great nuggets to chew on as this Advent season draws to a close:

Readiness for God means that we are prepared to do the smallest thing or the largest thing--it makes no difference.  It means...whatever God's plans may be, we are there and ready...Be ready for the sudden surprise visits of God. (April 18)

Unsurprisingly, this idea ties in particularly well with the message from this past Sunday.  John Farmer gave a teaching entitled "Not Just Another Christmas." He begins the message by describing how changing one word of the title makes a big difference: 

You could take out the word "just" and say instead "Not another Christmas."  Maybe that causes us to think about being no more Christmases.  That might be sad...however another way to think about it would be that Jesus' return [might not] end Christmas but it would certainly transform it.  The Christmas season is often called Advent season in the church...  Jesus' return is called the Second Advent.  When He returns...that would be a good thing, right?

These ideas might make it easy to focus on the future, but we should never let our hope in the Second Advent eclipse the work God has called us to do today. 

What makes this ...not just another Christmas?  I think it has to be the choice to open the gift of Jesus freshly and receive and enjoy that gift for what Jesus intended it to be...God is ready to satisfy us this Christmas and every Christmas.

Chambers also alludes to this important truth:

The mystery of God is not in what is going to be--it is now, though we look for it to be revealed in the future in some overwhelming, momentous event...Realize that the Lord is here now, and the freedom you receive is immediate. (April 21)

I want to live in the freedom and joy that comes from knowing the One who is central to all of history, not just the Christmas season.  May it ever be so.

New skills

Wow it has been a long time since my last post!  I am still reading along in My Utmost for His Highest, but nothing has really struck me as super insightful recently.  However, I did complete my first stranded color work knitting project, and I thought I'd share the results:

I made these for Grace since her hands get cold at work.  I adapted them from a free fingerless mitt pattern on Ravelry--removed some width to fit her small hands, lengthened the cuff, shortened the hand, and added tip-less fingers so that she could type without the cold air running up into the gloves.

I'm really quite pleased with how they turned out.  I'm not sure I'll be jumping into another color work pattern very soon, but I am glad to have learned something new!

Faith in the infinite

Today I am chewing on a section from My Utmost for His Highest:

My misgivings arise from the fact that I search within to find how He will do what He says. My doubts spring from the depths of my own inferiority. If I detect these misgivings in myself, I should bring them into the light and confess them openly— “Lord, I have had misgivings about You. I have not believed in Your abilities, but only my own. And I have not believed in Your almighty power apart from my finite understanding of it.” (February 26)

The context of this section questions whether we truly believe the Lord will provide, or whether in our heads (and hearts) we are silently doubting how He can do so "in the real world."  I am struck by the irony that this particular lesson resonated with me so deeply--over the past seven years in particular I have repeatedly learned to trust the Lord to provide, even when circumstances seem bleak, and it is an area that I have recently felt I have come much closer to mastering--but in truth there are still times when I am trying to "noodle" how He can possibly work in a particular situation. 

Perhaps He is prompting me to release the desire to think of a possible solution for Him, "just in case."  Or maybe He is trying to just show me that the road ahead is much longer than the one I have already traversed.  In any case, I am making a conscious choice to let Him decide how to work in me to increase my faith.  I am simply listening, waiting for Him to keep speaking.

The "why" of service

Today I (finally!) finished my study of Hebrews with an in-depth look of Hebrews 13.  One of the exercises in the New Inductive Series is to come up with a summary/title for the chapter, and for me the focus of Hebrews 13 boils down to this truth: "Christ; the same today, yesterday, and forever; the Reason I live, serve, and do good."

Hebrews 13 lists many good things we should strive to do as Christians, but none of these should take precedence for our love of Christ.  It is because of Him that we choose to live in obedience.  John puts it this way:

And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did. --I John 2:3-6

I have written about this before, but as a person whose identity is closely aligned with the idea of serving, I often have to remember to check my motivations.  Why am I choosing to do something good?  If I am choosing it because I'm seeking attention or acknowledgement from others, then my good deed is not truly good.  This same idea is echoed in one of Chambers' challenges this week:

If we are devoted to the cause of humanity, we shall soon be crushed and broken-hearted, for we shall often meet with more ingratitude from men than we would from a dog; but if our motive is love to God, no ingratitude can hinder us from serving our fellow men. (February 23)

At times it is easy for me to feel hurt when my service goes unnoticed, especially when this is in an area where I have poured myself out completely.  While I am not suggesting we go around with ingratitude toward one another, I also realize that my emotions can be deceived when my focus is on myself or even the people whom I am serving.  I am so thankful that the Lord reminds me to focus all of my love and attention where it belongs: on Him, the one true object of my devotion.

 

Spiritually open eyes

It's been almost a month since I last posted on this blog...where has the time gone?  I have still been reading Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest, but nothing in the past few weeks has struck me as deeply as the readings from the first couple of weeks.  In the meantime, I have also slowly been working to finish my inductive study of Hebrews.  

This past week I finished up Hebrews 12.  I have enjoyed my study of Hebrews, but it has also dragged on so long with other studies coming and going in between, that at this point I'm more motivated to finish so that I can be done rather than being super excited about digging into the chapters.  Thus, while I have still enjoyed learning from the study, at times I feel as though I've been reading with my eyes spiritually closed.  

Most of what I gleaned from my study of chapter 12 related to discipline and endurance in our Christian life.  I know that this due in part to the study guide I have been using, which had a lot of additional reading about discipline, and also the reality that it is easy to let my mind focus on the the first part of the chapter and skim over the end.  And while this was a good reminder to me, if my learning had ended there, I would have missed out on so much.

Ironically, (from a human point of view), in the first sermon of the new series at my church this past Sunday, Carl's message referenced two sections of Hebrews 12, both from the second half of the chapter.  The focus of the series is on worship, and looking at Hebrews 12 through that lens gave me an entirely new perspective on the chapter:  Hebrews 12 demonstrates how awe and trembling should be an aspect of our understanding of worship.  Here are a couple of the thoughts which stood out to me from the sermon:

"Holiness, out of all the attributes of God, describes God and God alone and summarizes how unlike He is compared to us. The angels described in Revelation don’t say “Faithful, faithful, faithful,” or “mighty, mighty, mighty,” or anything like this. They say, “holy, holy, holy.” Psalm 111:9 says that “Holy and awesome is His name.” That means that “Holy” is one of the names God uses to describe Himself because it is so central to who He is. God is unlike any created being. He is perfect. He is holy, set apart...

Hebrews 12 has a lot to say about worshiping God with awe, with trembling.  Verse 14 says, 

Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. – Hebrews 12:14 

Did you catch that last part? Without holiness, no one will see the Lord. We are unholy, in our flesh. We must be made holy to withstand the presence of the Lord...

Hebrews 12 goes on to talk about the mountain of the Lord in Exodus where God came with fire and the blast of something like trumpets, a place made so holy by God’s presence that no one could approach it and live. It compares this to Mount Zion, to the place of angels in joyful assembly and of people who have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus. It then gives a warning: 

See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from Him who warns us from heaven? At that time His voice shook the earth, but now He has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.” – Hebrews 12:25-29 

The Greek word for reverence is aidos, which has a root a word that means to have downcast eyes. The word implies modesty, bashfulness, respect...

The Greek word for awe is eulabeia. It’s a bit hard to define, but it helps to know there is a different word for simply being terrified (phobos, from which we get phobias). Eulabia has an implication of caution, of great respect because of what is involved, in this case, interaction with the holy God...To worship God with eulabia is to understand the holiness of the God you worship..." 

Anyway, the way the Lord works so many things together in my life to show me new things about Himself constantly amazes me.  While it is easy for me to feel guilty that my study of Hebrews wasn't wrapped up sooner, I also don't think that the sermon would have had such a profound impact on me had I not just been reading Hebrews 12 during the past week.  Even in our weakness and human frailty and failings, the Lord works.  Only He can spiritually open my eyes to what He wants to teach me each week, each day, each moment of my life.  Only He can make me holy.  My response can only be to follow the command to worship: 

"Since we are receiving a Kingdom that is unshakable, let us be thankful and please God by worshiping him with holy fear and awe."--Hebrews 12:28 (NLT)