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Committing Our Calendars to God

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“Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.  What is your life?  You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’”  James 4:13-15

As a born planner, this has never been one of my favorite passages of Scripture.   I am alternately irritated and inspired by people who thoroughly live “in the moment.”  I like schedules and lists.  My mom can attest to the fact that once I started elementary school, I planned all my birthday parties.  The guest lists, invitations, games, favors and food were carefully selected months in advance.   Now that I am a mom, I jokingly refer to myself as “Julie the Cruise Director” because of all the planning I do for my boys.  (If you didn’t watch “The Love Boat” in the 70’s and 80’s, just ignore that example and read on).  When my older son was two or three, he would wake up, rub his eyes and say, “What do you have for me today, Mom?”  I hope eventually I can show God that same kind of trust daily.

The compulsion to plan sometimes arises out of fear or the need to control.  We think if we can plan something well enough, we can avoid what we fear.  Similarly, we think if we have control over something, we can avert mistakes or failures.  We have the illusion of control over our lives, but James reminds us that God is the only one with real control.  It’s not a sin to make plans, but it’s important to entrust them to God.  I’m learning to ask for His leading instead of telling Him to bless my unilateral decisions.  People often quote Jeremiah 29:11,  “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”  However, my favorite part of this passage comes in verse 12:  “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”  This requires time, patience and trust.

God has bigger and better plans than we do.  Beth Moore says it well in James: Mercy Triumphs:  “God is the one with the real plan….We have all sorts of plans jotted on our calendars pertaining to the next year, but they’re mostly based on theory.  His is the only day-timer based on certainty.  That’s one reason why spending time with God in His Word in the morning is so vital.  He wants to prepare us for the reality of our upcoming day.  Not our theory”  (p.152).   Abiding with Him closely is the best way I’ve found to surrender my plans and to let Him shape them.  Many mornings I come to Him fretting over something and leave feeling grounded and at peace.  That doesn’t necessarily mean He gives me a clear-cut answer, but He does change my perspective.  I don’t have to know the details of what the future holds because I know God will be with me, no matter what.

If you are not in the habit of spending time with God daily, let me encourage you to give it a try.  Pick a length of time that feels reasonable, but that will stretch you a bit too.  One day isn’t enough, 365 might be too ambitious.  Maybe it’s two weeks; maybe it’s the forty days of Lent (which starts on Feb. 13 this year).  Just pick an amount of time and commit to seeking God daily for the duration.

If you are not a morning person, pray and ask God to give you the self-discipline to get up earlier.  Plan ahead by turning off the TV or computer; close your book or iPad instead of staying up late.  That way you can wake up to be with God first thing in the morning.  Ask Him to help you make it a priority.  He honors our desires to spend time with Him and will enable you to follow through.  Starting your day with God puts you in the right frame of mind to face whatever comes your way.   It is even more important than your need for coffee or a hot shower in the morning.

Not sure how to start?  There is no “magic formula” so don’t worry.  Some people like the ritual of doing the same thing at the same time in the same place every day; others like to mix it up.  The good news is that God is there with you in it, no matter what you choose to do.  Here are a few ideas to try:

-Start by praying and asking God to reveal Himself to you and to show you what He wants you to learn

-Read a devotional to get your mind focused.  There are many to choose from; two of my favorites are Jesus Calling by Sarah Young or My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers.

-Read the Bible; if you are involved in a study I think it is OK to incorporate your homework into this time as long as you are using it as a way to hear from God and not just trying to check it off your “to do” list.  If you’re not in a study, try reading the passages mentioned in the devotional so you can see their context.  Another idea is to choose a book of the Bible and to read through a small portion daily (start with something in the New Testament).

-Pray:  You can talk out loud, pray silently, write your prayers in a journal or put on Christian music and sing your prayers.  Consider mixing up your routine by getting up early some mornings and taking a walk while you pray; try listening to worship music on headphones and using it to prompt your prayers.  When you pray, start with praising God for who He is and thanking Him for what He’s done.  I used to think prayer was just asking Him to do what I wanted, but I’m learning that it’s more about aligning my heart to His.  Sometimes I intentionally don’t ask anything about specific situations and just spend time thanking or praising Him.

-Listen to music: throughout your day, try listening to music that focuses your thoughts on God and reminds you of His truth.  If you are not one who follows Christian music, listening to KLOVE at 107.3 FM or The Message on satellite radio are great places to start.

Most importantly, DO NOT beat yourself up if you miss a day!!  We have a God of grace and He is not keeping a record book logging the minutes of the time you spend with Him.  If you miss a few days, don’t give up!  Keep trying.   You will be blessed and God will be honored.

Post a comment and share what you’re learning about submitting your schedule to God!

Sticks and Stones

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“Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.  Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.  The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body.  It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.”  James 3:5-6

The kids are joking and teasing before class starts.  It seems harmless at first until one boy pokes a girl sitting near him.  Holding up a hastily drawn cartoon he exclaims:  “You know what’s uglier than this, picture, Sasha?  Your face!!”  The kids around him laugh.  She winces, but tries to smile and act like it doesn’t bother her.

Jarred by his words, I ask: “What did you just say?”  The grin vanishes from his face, he slumps his shoulders and responds quietly: “I was just joking.” Trying to contain my anger, I address the class of 5th graders who I teach weekly after school:  “I don’t EVER want to hear that kind of joking again.  We do not talk to each other unkindly in this class.  We don’t make fun of each other.  The cruel words you say in a joke are never forgotten.  I still remember mean things kids said to me when I was your age.”  They are startled by the emotion in my words and sit quietly.

Embarrassed, the boy turns to Sasha without being prompted and says sheepishly:  “Sorry, Sasha, I really was joking.”  She tries to smile again but can’t find words to respond.

My emotional response to this boy’s cruel joke came from deep inside me. When I was a child, people used to say: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”  Later in life I realized the saying really isn’t true.  Maybe that’s why I relate so much to Beth Moore’s comment in James:  Mercy Triumphs when she says:  “Usually when I’m most passionate about a subject in my teaching, it is either because I struggle with it myself or because I’ve been personally injured by it” (p. 113-114).  Both hold true for me with this topic.  We may be more sophisticated than fifth graders slinging insults, but our hurtful words are no less damaging to our relationships and our community.

The tongue is the strongest muscle in the body relative to its size.  It also wields amazing power and reveals the contents of our thoughts and characters.  Jesus says in Matthew 12:34 “The mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.”  James is one of the shortest books in the Bible and covers many topics quickly, so it is significant that a large portion of one chapter discusses the tongue and its dangers in such detail.

I’ve had to ask for God’s help consistently to keep my tongue under control.  There are subtle ways I use my words in a hurtful manner.   My guess is that some of them may resonate with you, too.   Here are a few:

Silence when words are needed:

When a conversation turns negative about a person, I’m more inclined to remain silent than to re-direct it for fear of seeming judgmental or morally superior.  It’s easy to speak with boldness to a room of 5th graders who look to me as an authority; it’s much more challenging to cut off the negative words of my peers.  When I do speak up, the words must be chosen carefully, spoken with sensitivity and tempered with grace.  Sometimes I’m too cowardly to do it.  I’m learning to ask God to give me the wisdom and the words when I find myself in those uncomfortable moments where silence might indicate I agree when I don’t.

False Intimacy:

Sometimes we share negative thoughts about someone to feel connected to the person with whom we’re sharing.  We may say something critical under the guise of “needing to vent” and be totally tainting the hearer’s view about the other person.  Conversely, we might goad someone into sharing information that they shouldn’t.  Maybe you’ve been in a situation where a friend shares, “ I probably shouldn’t say this but…”  Do you stop your friend right there or encourage her/him to continue?  Maybe your curiosity gets the best of you and you say, “Go on and tell me, you can trust me.”  You feel privileged to be hearing private information and want to believe you’re mature enough to handle it.  Even if you don’t ever share what’s been said, you’ve been impacted and influenced by it.

Addressing Hurts:

I’m learning the importance of talking to a person instead of about a person-especially in regard to being hurt or frustrated.  If I have a problem with someone, the Biblical response is to address it with that person directly.  Matthew 18:15-17 gives very clear instructions for how to handle this.  Nowhere does the Bible tell us to talk about our problem with others and get sympathy to fuel our fires of indignation.  We also risk unfairly tainting someone else’s opinion of that person.  This can tear a community apart.

Sharing Stories:

If someone has shared personal information with us, it is important to remember that it is not ours to re-tell.  No matter how innocent the information may seem, it does not belong to us.  This goes for stories about our kids, spouses and parents too.  There is no greater way to break trust than to tell a story that wasn’t meant to be re-told.  Sometimes a friend may share something in confidence that we’re tempted to repeat to a different person who doesn’t know her, thinking this is “safe” (especially if we leave names out).  Several times I’ve been told a story about a stranger and later on I’ve met the person.  It’s awkward because I already know a story about him or her that I shouldn’t.  It causes me to prejudge.  When a story is told because it is interesting or “juicy,” we make the person it’s about into a character in a drama rather than a fellow human being.  We can talk about others the way we’d discuss characters in a book or movie.  The difference is they are real people who can be hurt by this.

Prayer Requests:

Asking for prayer for someone else can be a veiled form of gossip.  Sometimes a story is so sad or so ugly that we ache for the person and want others to pray too.  We need to be careful that we don’t share more than we should and that we ask permission before repeating the story and all of its details. Consider asking a friend for prayer about how you can be supporting the person instead of sharing all the ugly details that she might not need to know.  God knows the person’s situation regardless and Romans 8:26 tell us the Holy Spirit will intercede to tell God exactly what is needed!

Positive vs. Negative:

While James spends much time discussing the negative effects of the tongue, it can also have a positive impact.  If our tongues can praise God, aren’t they also capable of praising people?  Don’t we have the chance to set the tone in a situation by the words we say?  Every day we have opportunities to speak with kindness, affirmation and love to those around us- whether it is the checker at Trader Joe’s, our spouses or the neighbor next door.   Our words can bring life and hope to people.  The smallest positive comment can put a smile on someone’s face for the rest of the day.  Sometimes we’re better at affirming people behind their backs than to their faces.  Try sharing your positive thoughts directly and see what a blessing you can be!

If you’ve been convicted by any of the things, know that you are not alone.   I write from experience- these are real struggles in my life.   Through prayer we can trust God to help us keep a reign on our tongues and speak with wisdom.

Where have you seen the power of words in your life?  Post a comment and share some ideas that will inspire others to use words for good instead of evil.

Click on the link below to listen to Josh Wilson’s song “Forest Fire” that is based on James 3:5-6. Music is a powerful way to help God’s truth stick in your mind.

Widows and Orphans: Thoughts on Compassion

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“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says…Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this:  To look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”  James 1:22 & 27

 Tenth Avenue North is a Christian band whose music speaks powerful truth.   A few months ago my son and I went to see them in concert.  The lead singer, Mike Donehey, is not only a great musician, but also a gifted speaker.  Before the concert, he spoke passionately about the importance of serving the needy.  He highlighted a ministry that connects impoverished children with monthly sponsors.  Mike explained that sponsoring a child is sometimes the only thing that keeps him/her from being sold into slavery.  A human trafficker will approach unsuspecting parents in extreme poverty and offer to give them money and take their child to get a “better life” in the city.  The well-meaning parents accept the money, thinking they are helping their child and the rest of the family at the same time.  However, unbeknownst to the parents, the “better life” in the city is actually a life of prostitution.  After sharing this, Mike asked the crowd to consider sponsoring a child, costing just under $40 per month.  The funds cover the cost of food, schooling, clothing and other necessities.  He ended his sharing by saying:  “You don’t need to pray about whether or not to show compassion to widows and orphans because we already know God wants us to do it.”  His directness may make you squirm, but there is no denying the truth of his words.

There are many worthy organizations that offer the option of child sponsorship including Compassion International, World Vision, Children of Grace, Macedonian Outreach and City Impact.  If you don’t already sponsor a child, consider looking into it.  Your monthly giving makes a world of difference to a child and a family in need.

Recently I heard a sermon online by Pastor Jim Wallis.  In it, he describes volunteering at a shelter for the homeless when he was a young man new to the faith.  He loved arriving early for the prayer time before serving the long line of hungry people waiting outside.   As those volunteering bowed their heads, an old woman with a deep faith would lead out with soulful prayers that always ended with: “Lord, we know that you’ll be coming through this line today, so help us to treat you well.”  Wallis was struck by the woman’s understanding of Matthew 25:40: “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”    She knew that when we serve those in need, we are serving Jesus.

With this story ringing in my ears, my family and I decided to participate in a Coat Give Away at City Team Ministries in Oakland in December.  A family of four came through the line with a boy and a girl who were probably 6 and 8.  As I helped the mom comb through the racks for her daughter, the little girl spied a sparkly pink fleece sweatshirt.  Delight shined in her eyes as I helped her try it on.  The sweatshirt fit her perfectly, but had no growing room.  Her mom stood alternately smiling and looking anxious.  It was cute, but not particularly warm.  Pulling a heavier coat from the rack, I held it out:  “This one looks good, do you want to try it?”  It was thick; well made and had plenty of room for growth.  Relieved, the mom thanked me.   Her daughter unzipped the sparkly sweatshirt and started handing it back to me until I stopped her:  “You know what?  That sweatshirt looks so cute on you, I think you need to keep both.”  Gratitude and disbelief flooded their eyes.   Their smiles could have lit up the whole room.  As I walked them out, they were given bag lunches, blankets and a small care package.  The whole family left with warm coats, but I probably felt the best of all of them.  It cost me a Saturday morning, nothing more.

Let me stop you before you think I volunteer in homeless shelters every weekend.  Serving the needy feels awkward and uncomfortable for me.  I don’t know how to do it well or how to fit it into my schedule regularly.  I’m not gifted in it naturally, but I am trying to grow.  I’ve committed to praying and asking God how He wants to show compassion through me.  The rest is up to Him.  I wonder what would happen if each follower of Jesus did one act of compassion consistently.  I think the effects could be astounding.

Compassion is contagious.  Once you start serving, you want to do it more.  When you share what you’re doing with others, they want to join you.   Beth Moore says “Social consciousness beckons each of us across the board, but the ways we could respond are as varied as our holy passions…. God is practical.  He doesn’t ask us to do what doesn’t matter.  What seems a drop in the bucket to you is a sip from the wellspring of life to someone about to thirst to death.  Let’s muster the courage to ask Him to show us who to help and how. True religion is all hands on deck and all heads out of the sand. The mystery is that there, we often find our own healing and fulfilling” (James:  Mercy Triumphs p. 86).

Take a moment to post your thoughts and ideas about compassion.  Just click on the number in the circle to the right of this post’s title above to enter your reply.

Where do you serve or want to serve?  How do you find the time? How have you seen God bless you as you’ve shown compassion to the needy?  Let’s encourage each other to live out this scripture!


Below are the lyrics to a song about compassion by Audio Adrenaline called “Kings and Queens.”  You can also click on the link at the bottom to hear it and watch the music video.  I hope it will bless you and motivate you to serve the needy joyfully!

“Kings & Queens”

Little hands, shoeless feet, lonely eyes looking back at me

Will we leave behind the innocent to grieve

On their own, on the run when their lives have only begun

These could be our daughters and our sons

And just like a drum I can hear their hearts beating

I know my God won’t let them be defeated

Every child has a dream to belong and be loved

[Chorus:]

Boys become kings, girls will be queens

Wrapped in Your majesty

When we love, when we love the least of these

Then they will be brave and free

Shout your name in victory

When we love when we love the least of these

When we love the least of these

Break our hearts once again

Help us to remember when

We were only children hoping for a friend

Won’t you look around these are the lives that the world has forgotten

Waiting for doors of our hearts and our homes to open

[Chorus]

If not us who will be like Jesus

To the least of these

If not us tell me who will be like Jesus

Like Jesus to the least of these

Boys become kings, girls will be queens

Wrapped in your majesty

When we love, when we love the least of these

Then they will be brave and free shout your name in victory

We will love we will love the least of these

We will love the least of these

We will love the least of these

We will love the least of these

We will love the least of these

We will love the least of these

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U64bongHqYU

Every Good and Perfect Gift

IMG_4905“Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers.  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.  He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, the we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created.”  James 1:16-18

Gifts.  We all love receiving them.  There’s something so enticing about a beautifully wrapped package concealing something chosen specifically to delight us.  Sometimes it’s even more fun to find the “perfect” gift to give someone else; something you know they’ll appreciate that will communicate your love for them.

How do you feel when you spend the time to find just the right gift for someone; to wrap it with care and send it hoping the receiver will be thrilled?  If you were anything like me, you’d hope for a response from the person the minute the gift was received.  You would be anxious to hear his or her enthusiasm and gratitude.  But, what if you never heard a thing? What if the person received the gift and either neglected to open it or quickly put it aside, forgetting about it entirely?  My guess is most of us would be hurt, disappointed and maybe even a little angry.

I wonder, though, do we ever do the same thing to God?   James 1 tells us not to be deceived and to recognize the good and perfect gifts we receive as being given to us by God.  In Week 2 of James:  Mercy Triumphs Beth Moore says:  “James sets before his readers the God of Heaven and earth who literally, actively, perpetually, and generously gives divine gifts to His children…All of us have received a host of them.  We just don’t always recognize them…God’s gifts are given with goals.  They’re perfect because they’re perfecting.  They don’t just give today.  They give toward every tomorrow”  (p.62).

God gives us gifts every day that we might take for granted:  the predictable rising of the sun, air to breathe; warm shelter; food.  He also gives us more personal gifts including our children, spouses, and friends.  He gives us experiences that shape our characters and refine our faith.

Another set of gifts God gives us is spiritual in nature.  The Bible includes several passages listing out the different spiritual gifts God bestows on His followers.  One verse that sums it up well comes from 1 Peter 4:10:  “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”  In other words, the gifts God gives us are to be unwrapped, enjoyed and used to serve and bless others.  This is how we show Him love and gratitude.  It is also one of the many ways God reveals His glory on earth.  Not taking the time to discover and use our gifts is the equivalent of receiving the perfect present from someone who loves you and not even taking it out of the box!

A few years ago a friend from Bible Study arranged for a small group of women to participate in a spiritual gifts class led by two seasoned women from church.  I asked one of those teachers, Barbara Butlin, to share her thoughts with me on teaching the class and this was her eloquent response:  “I first took the Spiritual Gifts Class in 1991. It was the first time I realized that if I said “yes” to God’s kingdom work, He would be my ministry partner and I could rely on Him to equip me for whatever He called me to do. It was at that point that I began the most wonderful adventure of my life.  I have taught the Spiritual Gifts class at three churches for the past 20 years (10 years at CPC) and have had hundreds of students develop the ability to see themselves and others through God’s eyes. God’s thoughts and ways are higher than ours and He takes us to deeper levels of understanding throughout our lives with Him. It is a great source of joy to watch as others learn to appreciate how God gifts us and that these gifts are not for themselves but for the purpose of strengthening us and bringing glory to God for all to be able to see God alive and at work in our lives.  He has gifted me so that I can gift others. What I do for Him in love lasts for all eternity.”

Through that class God gave me clarity about my main spiritual gift:  The Gift of Encouragement.  I realized that the areas where I was serving and using my gifts energized me; they didn’t feel like work.  The places where I was serving using my own skills and not relying on God just didn’t fulfill or excite me the same way.  Serving only out of obligation to fill a need didn’t seem to bring as much joy or satisfaction.  The best part about receiving gifts from God is that HE gets all the credit for them, not us.  It’s not being arrogant or prideful to use the gifts God has given you- it’s being obedient and giving Him glory!  God gives us gifts to use so we can bless others and glorify Him.  When we don’t discover, develop and use them, everyone loses out.

Last year during Lent I felt called try an “experiment” with my gift.  Every morning I would wake up and ask:  “God, who do you want to encourage through me today?  Help me to be sensitive to the promptings of your Spirit as I move through my day.”  I was amazed at the ways He answered me over that forty-day period.  It was exciting to have Him place different people on my heart to call, e-mail, write or meet in person.   My family would ask nightly at dinner what God had led me to do.  We loved looking back over the day and seeing the people He placed in my path or prompted me to pursue.  Every time He would use me, I would thank Him for giving me a front row seat in watching Him work.

Guess what?  He can do the same thing in your life, if He hasn’t already.  He can use anyone who is willing to accomplish His purposes using the gifts He’s given.  Have you taken time to discover the “good and perfect” gifts He’s given you?  Have you found places to use them so that you can bless others?  If you haven’t, there’s no time like the present to start.  This isn’t about feeling guilty or doing it because you “should.” It’s about living into what God has prepared for you.

Take a moment to post a reply sharing how God has used your spiritual gifts! Maybe you’ve been inspired to discover them for the first time. Posting a comment could be a way to commit in writing to taking the first step in the process.  Go ahead, unwrap the gift, stand back and be amazed!


Buckle Up and Get Ready for the Ride

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“Sometimes we can know something is right, wonderful, and as it should be yet still be pierced by it.”  Beth Moore tells us in the opening week’s study of James:  Mercy Triumphs.

If you’re a mom, that quote resonates in a way that can bring tears to your eyes.  Watching home videos of our kids in younger days can make our hearts ache.   I used to joke when my boys were younger that I was going to stack books on their heads to prevent them from growing taller.  A few months ago, my thirteen year old surpassed me in height, much to his delight and my chagrin.  In a few years I’ll be buckling my seatbelt as he begins driving. Being a good parent ultimately means that we work ourselves out of our jobs.  We raise our kids and eventually they mature to a point where they are adults standing on their own two feet.  We can lament it or embrace it, but change is an inevitable part of life.  This is “right and wonderful” but it pierces us.

Continual change is a fact of life for kids, but sometimes adults do all they can to keep things the same.  We find our niches and stay put.  We tend to struggle with fairly minor things like switching small groups or deviating from the usual church service we attend.   Welcoming major, life altering changes and perspectives takes us way out of our comfort zones.  However, if we are earnest in our desire to apply the Word of God to our lives, then studying the book of James is not going to let us stay the same.  It is going to stretch us and pierce us to the core.

From the first week of homework, Beth Moore sets the stage:  God uses unsettling things to grow us and to further His kingdom.  She references Acts 11:19-21 and describes how the disciples scattered as a result of persecution after Stephen was martyred.   She says “The very thing meant to stamp out the fires of Christianity only kicked the coals across the land and set a parched forest ablaze” (p.26).  Followers of Jesus fanned out to remote locations to escape persecution, but also continued sharing the good news of Jesus with Jews and Greeks.  Acts 11:21 says: “The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.”

During this time, three men arose as leaders of the Christians:  Peter, John and James.  James grew up in the same household as Jesus.  They were literal brothers sharing the same mother.   Beth Moore says:  “James skyrocketed to a place of tremendous prominence in the early church.  He bounced from doubter to leader in a mind-spinning flash of time” (P. 31).  Peter, John and James are referred to as the “pillars” of the faith in Galatians 2:9.  They extended “the right hand of fellowship” to Paul and Barnabas after they recognized God’s grace in Paul’s conversion.  At the Jerusalem Counsel described in Acts 15, these leaders grappled with hard questions about what it meant to live out the Christian faith- especially for newly converted gentiles.  (Melissa Moore Fitzpatrick goes in depth on this in her “Next Level” articles in Week 1 of the study). Because the church was so new, they had no traditions to follow, no clearly defined protocols or best practices.   They had to rely on the Spirit, the teachings of Jesus and the Old Testament to guide them.  There was no option for saying:  “Let’s do it like this because we’ve always done it that way.”  Tempers likely flared, feelings might have been hurt, but they pressed on.  Life was not predictable or ordinary; it was full of the unexpected and was changing rapidly all the time.

Conversely, today it can be easy to be lulled into complacency and not to feel that same sense of urgency to lean into God and seek His wisdom.  We have protocols and policies.  We know the spoken and unspoken expectations.  If we want to live life by a checklist, we can easily find one.  Sometimes we might follow the Christian lifestyle more than we actually follow Jesus. It’s safer and less messy but not really full of abundant joy.

The book of James is not going to be safe, easy or comfortable to study.   It is going to make us squirm from the very beginning as we study about trials producing joy.  Things will continue to heat up with topics like actions vs. words, faith vs. deeds, taming our tongues, favoritism, wealth and more.  The things we are challenged to think and do are going to pierce us.  However, they are also “right and wonderful.”  So, let’s all buckle our seatbelts and get ready for the ride.  Change is coming, and we’d be wise to embrace it so we can discover all that God has in store for us.

 

Traveling Light with an Eye Towards Home

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In the spring of my junior year of college, I was blessed with the opportunity to study abroad in London.  The program was structured to allow all the students ample time for traveling on weekends.  We even had a ten-day break in the middle of our studies to take adventures to more far flung destinations.

I’ll never forget our first weekend trip.  My friend, Kristi, and I packed up our large travel backpacks and headed to Paddington Station in central London.  By the time we arrived at the station, our backs were already aching and our shoulders were sagging under the weight of our large loads.  What we quickly realized was that the full size bottles of shampoo, multiple pairs of shoes and outfit changes we’d packed led to unbearably heavy baggage.  A few weeks later when we packed for our longer trip, we had learned our lesson and brought as little as possible.  The things that had seemed so important to bring lost their value when we realized how much they weighed us down.

My lesson traveling in Europe seems to fit well with Sheila Walsh’s final chapter in The Shelter of God’s Promises.  As she explores The Promise of Heaven, she likens our time on earth to a short camping trip.  She says: “I think we will all be more than happy to pitch our tent and be in a mode of traveling light because what is ahead is so much better!” (p.196) What things do you need to jettison from your baggage so that you can travel lighter on the journey?

For many people, focusing on this life supersedes thoughts of the life yet to come. Yet, God’s plan all along has been to use this life as a training ground to prepare us to spend eternity with Him.   Paul reminds us in Colossians 3:1-3  “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”  When we fret over earthly things, we are losing sight of truth.  When we focus all of our energy on making life here and now perfect and comfortable, we’ll be disappointed repeatedly.  Sheila Walsh puts it well when she says:  “We will always have an experience here of It isn’t quite what I hoped it would be, or It isn’t quite as fulfilling as I thought it would be.  That is because we were not made to live in our earthly tents for very long”  (p. 196).

I have had the privilege and the heartbreak of watching three different family members go home to Heaven in the last 9 years.  It may sound strange to read the word “privilege” in response to seeing a loved one die, but those experiences have had a profound impact on my faith and my understanding of God.  It’s hard to put words to the experience and of the intimacy of watching someone move from this life to the next.  There is a sense of relief knowing they are no longer suffering, but also the realization that they actually have the better end of the deal.  Something about it makes everything seem more real, more profound- God’s word and promises, our faith, our relationships, the love we share, the hope we have because of who Jesus is and what He has done.  The fussy things of this life seem shallow and meaningless by comparison.  The hurt and the pain are raw and powerful, but the hope and peace are deeper still.   They bring an unspeakable comfort that words cannot adequately express.

Through the journey of grief, I found powerful healing and comfort through songs with themes centered on Heaven.  Some have become like well-loved companions holding my heart in times of intense pain.  I thought it would be fitting to include a few of my favorite titles and artists.  They can point you toward the promise of heaven in a way words alone cannot.  I hope you’ll take time to listen to them, to download the ones you love and to share your own favorites by commenting below.

I’ve included links that will play the songs and show the lyrics.  Carve out ten minutes for a “worship moment”  to listen and  praise God for the promise of Heaven that gives us ultimate joy and hope.


This Is Not My Home by Building 429

I Can Only Imagine by Mercy Me

I’ll Fly Away traditional hymn sung by Jars of Clay

Deep Enough to Dream by Chris Rice

Take Me Into the Beautiful by Cloverton

Softly and Tenderly traditional hymn sung by Amy Grant

Untitled Hymn by Chris Rice

I Will Rise by Chris Tomlin

Finally Home by Mercy Me

Candy Canes and College Dorms

Watching old home videos recently, I came across a short clip that brought a smile to my face.  It was a few weekends before Christmas and we’d brought our boys to visit Santa.  At the time, they were about three and five and totally enthralled by seeing Mr. Claus in the flesh:

“What would you like Santa to bring you for Christmas?”  The red-suited man asks.  Staring wide-eyed, my younger son stammers shyly:  “A candy cane.”  Reaching into a basket, Santa chuckles, hands him one of the many candy canes he’s been giving out all day and responds, “Here you go!  Santa will try to think of something else to bring you for Christmas day.”  Smiling sheepishly, my boys say “Thank you” and slide off his lap.

We all laughed as we watched the video and my older son, now thirteen, asked his eleven year old brother:  “Why did you ask Santa for a candy cane when you already knew he had a basket of them?  You could have asked him for anything!”

My younger son had no real explanation other than, “Well, I saw the candy canes and I wanted one!”

Sheila Walsh shares similar stories in her teaching on “The Promise of More” in The Shelter of God’s Promises.  She points out that people often ask God to give them things that are familiar and comfortable, but not necessarily best for them.  She admonishes us not to settle for what will satisfy us for a moment when God wants to give us so much more.

Sheila highlights an uncomfortable truth:  “We have more than one hundred prophecies in the Scriptures that Jesus fulfilled.  It is easy to ask how the Jews could possibly miss Jesus being the One.  Yet we miss Him all the time because our appetites are not hungry enough for Him.  Governing the world was not what God has in mind, but rather governing our hearts.”  (P. 177)

In our culture, when we hear “The Promise of More” many of us think in terms of the things we’d like for ourselves:  more money; more time; more success; more respect; more friends; more entertainment; more technological gadgets; more health; more security.  You can probably fill in the blank with any number of things.

We might read a passage like Matthew 7:7-8 and see it as a promise that God exists to fulfill our desires:  “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”   At first glance, it seems like an easy promise to claim and to see fulfilled.

However, many of us have prayed for “more” and not seen results or have received answers that look different than we’d expected.    In my life, this is usually because God is looking to change me more than my circumstances.  As we ask and seek, we grow in relationship with Him.  When we repeatedly ask, He begins to move and work at refining our hearts and aligning our desires with His will.  He has more that He wants to give us than what we’re asking for, which is why He usually isn’t interested in quick fixes.  Like the mall Santa with my son, he could grant our shallow requests for a candy cane and send us happily on our way.  However, in His infinite wisdom, He often says “no” to the “candy canes” in our lives that would keep us from seeing the “more” He has to offer.

The first time I experienced this was in my freshman year of college.  Living in Southern California 350 miles from all that I knew and loved I felt lost in a sea of students.  I struggled to embrace the lifestyle in the dorms.  I was constantly surrounded by people, but felt totally alone. I longed to find deep friendships with others who cared about knowing me truly.  Even the campus ministry I attended just didn’t feel like “home” and I had a hard time finding friends there.

In my loneliness, I pleaded with God to bring me a true friend and to help me find my place in the huge, impersonal university setting.  For the first time in my life I began spending time with God consistently.  I combed the Bible for truths I could claim and poured out my heart to Him in the pages of my journal.  I trusted Him in a way I couldn’t trust my new acquaintances and casual friends.  Spending time with God became my life- line and the only thing that gave me the strength and confidence to face each day.  I ached for a true friend, but I see now that God kept that from me until I was totally dependent upon Him.  He wanted me to lean into Him and to develop the deep relationship with Him that I longed to have with another person.  He wanted to give me more of Him than I ‘d ever had before.  Looking back, I remember all the feelings of insecurity and loneliness, but I also recognize how God met me and stretched me. He laid the foundation for a deeply personal relationship with Him that has continued growing ever since.  Eventually He did bring solid friendships into my life, but He also gave me more than that.  He knew what I needed better than I did.

All these years later, I still seek God daily and trust Him to give me the wisdom and confidence to carry me through each day.   I pray for Him to pour out His Spirit on me so that I am filled to over-flowing.  I see now that each time we ask Him for more of Himself in our lives, He expands our capacity to receive Him and to bless others.  When we stop asking Him to do only what we want and instead invite Him to let His will be done, we will see the “more” that He has to offer.

How about you?  Do you see places in your life where you are seeking the world’s version of “more” and missing out on the deeper things God wants to give you?   Where would you like to see Him give you “more” this week?   Post a comment and share it with us!

Building Your Core Strength

“God leads us by unexpected ways, off the strong and solid land.”

-Amy Carmichael

Clenching my toes in the wet sand, I looked up at the grey clouds filtering the early morning sun.  It was the last day of our family vacation and I planned to make the most of it, whether it rained or not.  Stand-up Paddle Surfing had been our family’s favorite activity in the Newport Harbor all week.  The final morning dawned cool and damp after an overnight rainstorm, but the calm bay beckoned me onward.  Other days we’d stood on the beach in gentle afternoon breezes that felt more like fierce headwinds once we paddled out on the bay.  Battling strong currents and choppy water, we’d bent our knees to avoid being toppled by wakes of passing boats. Each day we paddled out, our core muscles became stronger and our legs more steady as we balanced on the constantly moving boards.  I didn’t want to pass up the chance to glide through calm waters on that final day.

To the casual observer, paddle surfing hardly looks like a sport.  Before I tried it, people told me it was a great “core” workout.  Although I’d often been unaware when out on the water, the soreness of my muscles afterward told me they were right. Our “core” is essentially our torso, which Certified Personal Trainer Paige Waehner describes as “the body’s center of power.”  She explains that “these core muscles help keep your body stable and balanced.”  Waehner says that among the benefits of working on the core is having “interesting workouts that challenge you in new and different ways.”

Having a strong physical core significantly impacts our quality of life.  It makes our bodies more durable and less susceptible to injury.  Similarly, having a strong spiritual core affects every part of our daily lives.  The more we lean into God and trust His promises, the stronger our core becomes.  His strength becomes part of the fiber of who we are and is readily available for us at all times.  And just like those physical core workouts, God give us challenges that stretch us in new and different ways.

It takes consistent sweat and effort to build our physical strength, whether it is by intentionally doing core-strengthening workouts or engaging in an activity like paddle surfing where it happens naturally.  Similarly, our spiritual core strengthening can happen in several ways. We can be diligent about studying God’s word, praying, serving, giving and connecting with others who follow Him.  However, sometimes we get a spiritual core-strengthening workout when we least expect it.   In The Shelter of God’s Promises Sheila Walsh says “Life’s greatest trials often come without a moment’s notice.  There is no prep time or convenient moment to book them on our daily calendars.  They brutishly make their way into our lives and threaten to undo us…When we look back, those moments can become milestones and strong pillars of our testimony because we survived on His strength alone” (p. 152).   If our disciplined pursuit of God strengthens our spiritual “muscles”, then the trials we face provide the opportunity to show off God’s strength.

The Bible assures us we are going to have trials, but how we respond to them is our choice. Jesus tells us in John 16:33 “In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world.”  If we really believe this, we can be encouraged knowing that God is trustworthy.   He has the big picture in mind for our lives that we can’t always see from our limited perspective.

Looking back, I realize how God has used trials to strengthen my core and to increase my trust in Him.  I didn’t enjoy going through them, but I am thankful for the ways He used them to strengthen me.  Through the things I’ve learned, I have been able to encourage others going through similar difficulties.  I can point to specific scriptures that brought hope and reassurance to me in hard times:  1 Peter 1:6-7 as I struggled through my freshman year in college, Jeremiah 17:7-8 and Psalm 27:13-14 as my husband and I prayed through a major career change for him, Psalm 62 & 63 during some severe illnesses of different family members.  Those passages became a lifeline for me, reassuring me of God’s presence and enabling me to have a supernatural strength I never could have had on my own.

Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling is one of my favorite daily devotionals.  Each day’s writing combines several scriptures and speaks to the reader as if it is directly from the voice of God.  A recent entry caught my eye: “Learn to appreciate difficult days.  Be stimulated by the challenges you encounter along your way.  As you journey through rough terrain with Me, gain confidence from your knowledge that together we can handle anything.  This knowledge is comprised of three parts:  your relationship with Me, promises in the Bible, and past experiences of coping successfully during hard times.” (p.327)

So, when the headwinds blow and I’m struggling against the current, I can bend my knees and dig in my paddle with confidence knowing that God is going to give me strength I need.

What about you?  When has God led you in “unexpected ways off solid land”?  Do you have a few Bible verses that have sustained you through hard times?  As you look back, what milestones reveal God’s strength that you never could have mustered on your own?  Post a comment and share it to encourage and strengthen others!

Finding Grace in our First World Problems

“God is more interested in our weaknesses than our strengths. Our strengths cause us to be self-reliant.  Our troubles are God’s grace in disguise.” –Paraphrase of Sheila Walsh

Troubles are something many of us go to great lengths to avoid.  Our culture feeds us continuous messages telling us the value of self-reliance, the importance of playing to our strengths and the assurance that we deserve the best of everything.  Patience used to be considered a virtue, but our culture seems to be doing everything in its power to make it so we never have to wait for anything, ever.  Unfortunately, it seems that much of what we are learning from the world around us is contrary to God’s economy.  We are actually being trained to circumvent our troubles and to coddle our weaknesses instead of turning to God and His strength to sustain us through them.

Oftentimes it takes extreme situations for people to recognize that they aren’t self- sufficient and that they do need God’s grace.  It might be facing a life-threatening illness or financial trouble; a high needs child or a hidden addiction.  It might be suffering from abuse or deep-seated loneliness.   People facing dire circumstances with no earthly solutions often find God’s grace to be the only true comfort.

However, what about those of us cruising through a season of life with relative ease?   Is God’s grace still relevant in those times?  What prompts us to cry out to Him when we aren’t facing a trauma?  How can we be reminded daily of our need for Him?

Recently I learned a term from a friend’s teenage daughter that really strikes a cord with me.  It’s called having a “First World Problem.”   The example she gave was this:  “There was this pair of Nike running shoes I really wanted in this amazing color called Tiffany Blue.  I went to every store in the area and they were out of my size.  I’m kinda bummed because I could only find them in Neon Pink… I know, total First World Problem, but still…”  You might not be pining for a pair of Nike running shoes, but can you relate?  Here in the First World, we worry about the color of our shoes, not whether we have shoes or not.

It could be easy to feel guilty comparing our First World Problems to the rest of the earth, but that isn’t my point.  God can use even seemingly shallow “troubles” in our daily lives to convict our hearts and point us back toward Him.  This is His grace.   He is always ready and waiting to use our trials, both large and small, to turn our eyes off of ourselves and onto Him.

For me, the truth of this became abundantly clear last year when my house was being remodeled and absolutely nothing went according to plan.  This was a definite First World Problem, but as I prayed through each frustration, I found God using the whole situation to refine me and to reveal His grace in deeper ways.  While I lamented living without a kitchen for 6 months, I also thanked God that I had a roof over my head, food to eat and the promise of a new kitchen that would be finished eventually.  With each frustration and roadblock, my husband and I would stop and pray:  “God, what do you want us to learn from this?  What are you trying to show us that we’re not seeing?”  He revealed many attitudes and behaviors that needed changing.   He also showed us the many, many blessings He showers on us every day.

I can also attest to seeing God’s grace in grave difficulties as I’ve sent family members home to heaven and have walked with others through serious illnesses.  He has been there for me in times of deep loneliness, extreme stress and dark depression.  What I’m learning is that He’s also ready to invade my life with His grace in my weaker moments each day.  When I want to make a snap judgment about a person or situation, His Spirit whispers in my ear.  I have the choice to exercise self-control and extend grace or to keep plowing ahead with my own critical spirit.  When things I want to control don’t turn out the way I plan, I can put up a fit and be grumpy, or lean into God’s grace and trust that His plan is ultimately better.  First Peter 4:10 is a good reminder for me:  “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”  (My italics.)

How about you?  How is God at work in your First World Problems?  Where is He inviting you to rely on His grace in every day situations?  If you’re anything like me, this whole topic might sting a bit as God convicts you.  Try leaning into His grace and surrendering your weaknesses to Him.  Share what you’re learning by writing a comment so that others can be encouraged and inspired!

The Apple Tree

My family has an old tree in the front yard that grows some of the sweetest, crunchiest apples I’ve ever tasted.  It was planted long before we ever bought the house, so we are just the grateful recipients of a previous owner’s forethought.  Every year we seemed to pick enough to enjoy with our family and to share with friends and neighbors.

A few years ago, the tree was getting a little tall.  We decided it needed to be pruned back and thinned out.  The next spring, we were dismayed when not a single blossom sprouted in the tree.  That fall, our tree was bare.  Not a single apple.  “What have we done?” I thought to myself.  Sure we’d ruined it for good, I lamented the loss.

The next year, a few blossoms appeared on the branches in the spring and we actually picked a small crop of apples that fall.  I was relieved, but not entirely convinced the tree would ever return to its former glory.

Last spring the tree was bursting with blossoms and so laden with apples by this fall that one branch actually cracked away from the trunk.  Every weekend I would pick apples to thin out the huge amount of fruit and lighten the load the branches were bearing.  I could work steadily for an hour, filling several bags, but when I’d look up at the tree, I’d barely made a dent.

There was no way our family of four could possibly consume all the apples the tree was producing.  Earlier in the fall, I’d come across information about an organization called Urban Farmers that uses volunteers to harvest fruit trees at private residences.  All the fruit is taken to local food banks and places that provide meals for the hungry.  A few of the places mentioned were ones I recognized like the Contra Costa Food Bank and Loaves and Fishes.  I decided to sign up and see how it worked.

This past Saturday, the founder of Urban Farmers arrived on a sunny morning with fruit picking poles, crates and buckets.  He worked alongside our family to harvest the apples weighing down the branches of our tree.  He was delighted by the taste and smell of the apples and worked cheerfully alongside us filling the crates.

At one point as we were talking about feeding the needy he asked, “What makes you want to do something like this?”  I paused, weighing what kind of answer I wanted to give and finally decided to let go of my usual restraint.  I responded: “Because I love Jesus.”  He remained quiet and I continued:  “Last year I read a book called The Hole in Our Gospel and it helped me understand our responsibility to help the needy.”

The conversation continued, becoming richer and deeper as we shared more.

When all but a few apples were picked, the man asked if he could take our picture with all of the apples.  He said it was unusual to have a whole family participate in helping with the harvest.

Later that day, he sent us an e-mail telling us we’d donated 310 pounds of apples that would be enough to feed 62 people for a day.   I was astounded realizing the decision to register with Urban Farmers  and a few hours of harvesting was helping so many people in need.

It also got me thinking about a conversation I’d had in Bible Study a few days earlier.  We’d been talking about Jesus’ teaching on the vine and the branches from John 15.  In the passage He says:  “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful…I am the vine; you are the branches.  If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”  (John 15:1 & 5)

God’s pruning process in our lives can be incredibly painful, but if we’ll wait for his timing, we can see amazing results and bountiful fruit.  Just like my tree.

The word “fruit” appears numerous times in the Bible and has many layers of meaning, depending on the context.  The Greek word is “karpos,” which literally means: “fruit produced by the inherent energy of a living organism.”  Metaphorically, it is the visible expression of Christ’s power working inwardly and invisibly.  When we are brought into union with Jesus by abiding in Him, His fruit shows in our lives.  He produces the Fruit of the Spirit in us described in Galations 5:22.  When we display this fruit, it draws others to Him who become His followers as well.  These new disciples are yet another kind of “fruit.”

What I’m learning is that I have no power to produce fruit on my own strength.   I might be able to muster up some love, joy, peace and patience for a little while.  Flurries of kindness, goodness, faithfulness and gentleness may breeze through me periodically.  I can even demonstrate self- control once in a while, but none of these things can be sustained in me if I’m not abiding with Jesus throughout the hours every day.

The apple tree appears passive as it sits in one spot absorbing nutrients from the soil, water and sun.  We only see what has been going on inside it when the blossoms appear and the fruit grows.  Like the apple tree, we can absorb every moment with Jesus and produce such an abundance of fruit that our branches sag under the weight.   Love and good deeds flow from us as we abide in Him and draw on Him for strength. The best part is, He does all the work and just asks us to share the fruit with others. Lives are touched and even more fruit is produced as other people come to know Jesus.

Take some time this week to think about your spiritual garden.  Are you in a phase of being pruned?  Are you blossoming and growing fruit?  Are you abiding in Jesus or trying to produce fruit on your own strength?  How can you apply this metaphor personally?  How have you seen its truth?

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