I was just watching something that made me think I'm asking the "wrong" question. Frankly, it's not so much about the "right" or "wrong"-ness of the question, but what it shows about my thinking in general when it comes to God.
The "wrong" question is "How can I be more Christ-like?" We want to be like him. Being like him is indeed a good thing. But that's not the point. What I realized (and what is "wrong") is that it focuses on me - it's self-centered - and it also presumes I have any ability to make it happen. The point is I want to be Christ-like. I can think of a thousand reasons why, and I can see how unChristlike those reasons are! God does not ask us to be Christlike. That is NOT to be our focus, nor can we do it of our own accord. That is why it is the "wrong" question.
He made me and He has indeed set a standard of behavior, etc. But He is the one who works in me to enable me to meet that standard. And when I don't, He redeems my mess, each and every time. I am not to wallow in my failure - I'm to "wallow" in His grace. My focus is to be on HIM, not on me: on HIS grace and goodness and perfection and love and mercy and power, not on my efforts, my behavior, my successes or failures or anything else.
So rather than ask how I can be more like Him, let me rather ask how I can honor and glorify and thank Him for who He is and what He's done. Let me ask that question first, and let all others pale in comparison to knowing and loving and focusing on Him.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
A Surprising Lesson
I have spent countless hours teaching my kids to do things themselves: eat, use the bathroom, wash hands, zip coats, put away toys…. As moms, that’s what we do. But even while they learn age-appropriate independence, I want them to recognize when they need help, and how and whom to ask for it. Frankly, I’m teaching them to recognize they’re still dependent.
There’s been a new and surprising lesson for me in this. From the moment I became a mom, I found myself unexpectedly needy. I’m learning that I too live a life of dependence. My needs may be physical: a ride, lifting something, or juggling responsibilities. They might be emotional: encouragement, wisdom, affection, or perspective. I too am learning when, how, and whom to ask for help. This reflects how God made us, created for relationship with Him and others. But because of my sin – my willful disobedience – I refuse the very help I need, much as my children pull away when they need me most. This creates a relational barrier because God is holy and my disobedience has consequences. Yet God is kind and patient, and loves His children. With grace and mercy, He calls me back and restores our relationship. Through faith in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross – the ultimate consequence of my sin – He’s forever paved the way for me to return to His open arms. Learning to go to Him needy and empty-handed is humbling. But it’s by God’s design, and it’s good.
Our children are born dependent on us. Even while they learn appropriate independence, I’m ultimately teaching them to transfer their dependence from me to God. As they learn to trust and depend on me, they learn to do the same with Him. And this is equally true for me. As I learn to let go of my kids, I’m learning to trust Him to take care of us.
Note: I wrote this for the November 2011 newsletter at our church's monthly mom's ministry.
There’s been a new and surprising lesson for me in this. From the moment I became a mom, I found myself unexpectedly needy. I’m learning that I too live a life of dependence. My needs may be physical: a ride, lifting something, or juggling responsibilities. They might be emotional: encouragement, wisdom, affection, or perspective. I too am learning when, how, and whom to ask for help. This reflects how God made us, created for relationship with Him and others. But because of my sin – my willful disobedience – I refuse the very help I need, much as my children pull away when they need me most. This creates a relational barrier because God is holy and my disobedience has consequences. Yet God is kind and patient, and loves His children. With grace and mercy, He calls me back and restores our relationship. Through faith in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross – the ultimate consequence of my sin – He’s forever paved the way for me to return to His open arms. Learning to go to Him needy and empty-handed is humbling. But it’s by God’s design, and it’s good.
Our children are born dependent on us. Even while they learn appropriate independence, I’m ultimately teaching them to transfer their dependence from me to God. As they learn to trust and depend on me, they learn to do the same with Him. And this is equally true for me. As I learn to let go of my kids, I’m learning to trust Him to take care of us.
Note: I wrote this for the November 2011 newsletter at our church's monthly mom's ministry.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
An appetite which has been whet...
I recently read the foreword to the book Peacemaking Woman. I hope to someday read the book. In the meantime, this comment has truly whet my appetite for more.
I am personally delighted with the greatest strength of this book -- it is consistently Christ-centered. Instead of calling women to work harder in their own strength, it calls them to rest more fully and confidently in the redeeming work of Christ.A little further on in the book ( not in the foreword), I also read a quote from another book, Boundaries (a good book in its own right, from p.94). This time the quote was interesting especially to share it w/my kids. I look forward to reading (someday) how this quote fits into the book.
Things can hurt and not harm us. In fact, they can even for good for us. And things that feel good can be very harmful to us.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Motherhood
This evening, I read an article a friend shared on facebook. It is entitled "Idealized Domesticity." I took away from it a sense that we try to encourage ourselves by talking up the worth of our being at home. It is true that it is worthy. It is true that it is hard work. But honestly, I love that hard work and sacrifice are normal. What I do isn't "exceptional" - it's life. What else would I do, honestly? Even were I employed outside the home, I wouldn't be looking for kudos because I left work early to go home to care for a sick child. I think we sometimes think that as we do that which we are called to do, that which is normal, we think we're earning points with God for our service. I think this article, without doing so directly, knocks the wind completely out of those sails. It's all about grace. We do and offer nothing. God gives us everything. He gives us the good, the bad, and the mundane (and the ugly). And then he uses it all to glorify himself and shower us with love and grace. It's pretty cool, and it's pretty creative. And I am thankful to be a part of it. And it is hard. And I do try to talk myself into that which I need to do, sometimes probably in wrong ways. So it's good to be reminded in articles like this about carts and horses and which is first, and why we do what we do. It's all by grace and there's much yet to discover.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Law and Grace
On Monday morning, I was driving with Andante, when I was faced with a very real temptation to disobey the law. In fact, I was chafing to do so. Badly.
You see, there is a stretch of road very close to our home where the rules of the road are a bit ambiguous, but there are still some obvious ones. I will try to paint the picture for you. We walk this route to and from school every day. We drive it as often. We see all sorts of law-breaking all the time, as well as some law-stretching. Basically, there is a light involved, some train tracks, a "wide" but not-quite-yet-two-lane stretch prior to the tracks, and two lanes, complete with lines and directional arrows on the other side of the tracks as you approach the light. It's a busy stretch with plenty of traffic, especially on a Monday morning. Throw in an intersection just before the tracks, a crossing guard for that location, a couple of driveways, and you have the picture.
So here I am, running later than planned (although not technically late because there's no appointment), and I'm in the left side of the widish road prior to the tracks, trying to not block the intersection, and very impatient people behind me. Add to that relatively steady but not constant oncoming traffic in a single and not particularly wide lane, a double yellow line, and a wide open "left-turn only" lane in front of me. But to get there, I'd have to go about a foot over the double yellow.....
Here is the temptation.
I want to go.
I can't without going over the double yellow.
It's clear that I'm going to miss this "round" of it being our turn at the light.
The guy right behind me full out went around me IN THE ONCOMING LANE, furious with me.
Obstructing the lane - or playing chicken - to keep others from passing is generally to be discouraged (and it might have appeared I was doing that).
I am late.
It is unlikely I would be caught.
I know this is the law, despite most folks ignoring it, because once several years ago when I did it I got pulled over and given a talking to. The cop made a point of noting what I did in his computer, along with my license, which means if I do it again and get caught, it's a definite infraction, points, fines, etc. That was several years ago, but that cop meant business. I really am not convinced at that occasion that I was even over the line - I thought I was just passing and still on my side of the double yellow, and not in the other lane at all, and he was reprimanding me for passing, period, when there weren't two lanes.
So the fact is, this time, I knew that I'd be over the line. Period. No matter how you look at it.
And my son was watching. He was in the car when I got pulled over the other time, and we discuss this stuff all the time when we're walking. He knew, as did I, that to not wait, to pass, was disobeying the law. And he could tell I did NOT want to obey the law and was chafing.
It made me think of Romans 7 where it discusses that the law can actually produce sin - for if it were not for the law, we would not know we were sinning, but once the law was given, we began to sin even more.....
Ouch. And boy did I want to go! It was a real struggle!
We talked about it.
We discussed that God is watching.
We discussed that obeying the law is important, even when we don't want to.
We discussed that disobeying is sin. Period.
We discussed that obeying the law can actually put us in danger!
He looked me in the eyes, at my request, and encouraged me to do what was right.
Several times!
I needed it.
I'm thankful for these examples of God working in my life to show me my sin, and also to show me how his grace works. He showed me (and Andante) that I did sin, even though I technically obeyed the law. I WANTED to disobey, and only the fact that my son was with me and the "fear" of getting caught held me back. In my heart, I crossed that line, and I was not particularly repentant for my struggle. I could have justified my disobedience in a heartbeat. Hardly repentant. And we discussed that. It was a very good discussion.
What a gift to have been able to live that moment together, to model for him what temptation can look like, how hard it can be to obey, to be so foolish as to think that we might "get away with it" - as though God doesn't see. And God cannot be mocked. That adults struggle too. That it is easy to justify a heart that doesn't even want to obey.
I have taken this up with the Lord, so please don't worry about me not being right w/him. What I wanted to share was how thankful I am for this opportunity with my son, to live the real, hard life before him, imperfectly, and to know it is good. This too is grace. As is the law, that makes us know our sin, and our need for Him - our need that cannot be filled anywhere else by anyone else. Only the blood of Jesus is sufficient to pay the price for this sinridden and disobedient heart of mine- and because of him, it is indeed clean - amazing grace indeed. May I continue to see the sin that is so pervasive and grieve my unrepentance quickly, and find his grace so refreshing when he works in my heart to see, to confess and to seek him.
You see, there is a stretch of road very close to our home where the rules of the road are a bit ambiguous, but there are still some obvious ones. I will try to paint the picture for you. We walk this route to and from school every day. We drive it as often. We see all sorts of law-breaking all the time, as well as some law-stretching. Basically, there is a light involved, some train tracks, a "wide" but not-quite-yet-two-lane stretch prior to the tracks, and two lanes, complete with lines and directional arrows on the other side of the tracks as you approach the light. It's a busy stretch with plenty of traffic, especially on a Monday morning. Throw in an intersection just before the tracks, a crossing guard for that location, a couple of driveways, and you have the picture.
So here I am, running later than planned (although not technically late because there's no appointment), and I'm in the left side of the widish road prior to the tracks, trying to not block the intersection, and very impatient people behind me. Add to that relatively steady but not constant oncoming traffic in a single and not particularly wide lane, a double yellow line, and a wide open "left-turn only" lane in front of me. But to get there, I'd have to go about a foot over the double yellow.....
Here is the temptation.
I want to go.
I can't without going over the double yellow.
It's clear that I'm going to miss this "round" of it being our turn at the light.
The guy right behind me full out went around me IN THE ONCOMING LANE, furious with me.
Obstructing the lane - or playing chicken - to keep others from passing is generally to be discouraged (and it might have appeared I was doing that).
I am late.
It is unlikely I would be caught.
I know this is the law, despite most folks ignoring it, because once several years ago when I did it I got pulled over and given a talking to. The cop made a point of noting what I did in his computer, along with my license, which means if I do it again and get caught, it's a definite infraction, points, fines, etc. That was several years ago, but that cop meant business. I really am not convinced at that occasion that I was even over the line - I thought I was just passing and still on my side of the double yellow, and not in the other lane at all, and he was reprimanding me for passing, period, when there weren't two lanes.
So the fact is, this time, I knew that I'd be over the line. Period. No matter how you look at it.
And my son was watching. He was in the car when I got pulled over the other time, and we discuss this stuff all the time when we're walking. He knew, as did I, that to not wait, to pass, was disobeying the law. And he could tell I did NOT want to obey the law and was chafing.
It made me think of Romans 7 where it discusses that the law can actually produce sin - for if it were not for the law, we would not know we were sinning, but once the law was given, we began to sin even more.....
Ouch. And boy did I want to go! It was a real struggle!
We talked about it.
We discussed that God is watching.
We discussed that obeying the law is important, even when we don't want to.
We discussed that disobeying is sin. Period.
We discussed that obeying the law can actually put us in danger!
He looked me in the eyes, at my request, and encouraged me to do what was right.
Several times!
I needed it.
I'm thankful for these examples of God working in my life to show me my sin, and also to show me how his grace works. He showed me (and Andante) that I did sin, even though I technically obeyed the law. I WANTED to disobey, and only the fact that my son was with me and the "fear" of getting caught held me back. In my heart, I crossed that line, and I was not particularly repentant for my struggle. I could have justified my disobedience in a heartbeat. Hardly repentant. And we discussed that. It was a very good discussion.
What a gift to have been able to live that moment together, to model for him what temptation can look like, how hard it can be to obey, to be so foolish as to think that we might "get away with it" - as though God doesn't see. And God cannot be mocked. That adults struggle too. That it is easy to justify a heart that doesn't even want to obey.
I have taken this up with the Lord, so please don't worry about me not being right w/him. What I wanted to share was how thankful I am for this opportunity with my son, to live the real, hard life before him, imperfectly, and to know it is good. This too is grace. As is the law, that makes us know our sin, and our need for Him - our need that cannot be filled anywhere else by anyone else. Only the blood of Jesus is sufficient to pay the price for this sinridden and disobedient heart of mine- and because of him, it is indeed clean - amazing grace indeed. May I continue to see the sin that is so pervasive and grieve my unrepentance quickly, and find his grace so refreshing when he works in my heart to see, to confess and to seek him.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Thankfulness in the storms
Since school got out about six weeks ago, there have been many "storms".
I read a blog just now going thru several months of emails (deleting most of them) entitled What to Sing in Your Storms. I loved it. What perspective. What grace God gives us. I was moved and convicted by her words, "That which I refuse to thank Christ for, I refuse to believe Christ can redeem." Ouch. Thank him for these storms? These trials? The conflicts at home? The arguing kids? The broken dishes and the burnt dinners and the lost toys and the silent treatments and the rolling eyes? The hurting friends? For those who've committed crimes? The husband who left? The wife who doesn't believe? The illnesses? The cancer itself? Even death? How, Lord? How?
By your grace alone. I can't do it - only you can.
May I learn to see your grace in it all Father. Please help me to see. I am so very very blind. Please forgive me and give me a heart to thank you in everything. Eph 5:20.
- A dear friend's wife was diagnosed with breast cancer.
- A close friend has had another recurrence of the same - the 3rd or 4th time in 8 years
- A friend shared with me that her husband of a good number of years has left her.
- A friend's fiancee (a guy I know) was arrested on serious drug charges - he'll probably be behind bars a very long time, maybe even life.
- Another mom I know was sentenced to jail for 20+ years for murder.
- A friend shared deeply and emotionally of a marriage that is empty and lifeless with little hope for change.
- Yet another couple may be on the verge of divorce - certainly there is conflict that is very deep and seemingly irreconciliable.
- A friend's father is dying of cancer.
- A friend's mother is at death's door.
- A friend is dying of cancer - but it seems he's got some time as the latest drug is staving it off for the moment.... but it's only a matter of time.
I read a blog just now going thru several months of emails (deleting most of them) entitled What to Sing in Your Storms. I loved it. What perspective. What grace God gives us. I was moved and convicted by her words, "That which I refuse to thank Christ for, I refuse to believe Christ can redeem." Ouch. Thank him for these storms? These trials? The conflicts at home? The arguing kids? The broken dishes and the burnt dinners and the lost toys and the silent treatments and the rolling eyes? The hurting friends? For those who've committed crimes? The husband who left? The wife who doesn't believe? The illnesses? The cancer itself? Even death? How, Lord? How?
By your grace alone. I can't do it - only you can.
May I learn to see your grace in it all Father. Please help me to see. I am so very very blind. Please forgive me and give me a heart to thank you in everything. Eph 5:20.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Taking the Time
Sometimes grace is knowing when to take the time for a picture - even when the walls are pressing in with urgency, with friends who have real needs and you wish to serve them, with emails that need a response, with children who need correction....
Gathering 24 people in one place to get them to all "smile in unison" (or trying to do so) takes effort and determination. In our case, it takes a man standing up and saying "Will you please all set aside your desires and plans and needs - for ten minutes - NOW." It takes everyone else loving that man and dropping what they're doing - even if it's "more important" and saying "Yes, Dad, we're coming."
Not an easy task, not for any of us. I know I was in the middle of a conversation I wanted to continue and which was never really recovered afterwards. I learned later my beloved was reading a weighty email - not a big deal, seeing as it didn't wander off, but still an interruption. My brother-in-law would have liked to stay longer at the side of a friend whose wife is ill and whom he wished to serve and love. That one was really hard.
I also love my father-in-law, and I want to cooperate and serve him. These pictures of "life" - of a family - are pictures that represent so much. These are special people, and we rarely all get together at the same time. Who knows when we will ever - if we will ever - be together again? What storms will we encounter? Will someone be missing "the next time"? I won't quickly forget last Fourth of July at an Aunt's 70th birthday party; Patience was with us, but she was in the car fighting a migraine and spent the last 90 minutes of our drive home vomiting over and over again. Her absence was conspicuous, and the day anything but pleasant for her, and a shadow was over it for the rest of us. A mini-storm to be sure, but we were thankful this year that she was able to be with us in person, not just in the car. And I will never forget the Fourth of July many years ago which we were spending together when we learned one of the cousins had been shot and killed the night before.
So thanks everyone for setting aside all you were doing to come for the picture. What a terrific time we had together during our special week. I thank God for Dad, who rose to the occasion and made the picture happen, despite the difficulties and quasi-objections. I pray that we all might come to appreciate God's grace to us that we were simply able to be together and take these photos.
And if the Lord wills and allows, let's take the time to do it again. Soon.
Gathering 24 people in one place to get them to all "smile in unison" (or trying to do so) takes effort and determination. In our case, it takes a man standing up and saying "Will you please all set aside your desires and plans and needs - for ten minutes - NOW." It takes everyone else loving that man and dropping what they're doing - even if it's "more important" and saying "Yes, Dad, we're coming."
Not an easy task, not for any of us. I know I was in the middle of a conversation I wanted to continue and which was never really recovered afterwards. I learned later my beloved was reading a weighty email - not a big deal, seeing as it didn't wander off, but still an interruption. My brother-in-law would have liked to stay longer at the side of a friend whose wife is ill and whom he wished to serve and love. That one was really hard.
I also love my father-in-law, and I want to cooperate and serve him. These pictures of "life" - of a family - are pictures that represent so much. These are special people, and we rarely all get together at the same time. Who knows when we will ever - if we will ever - be together again? What storms will we encounter? Will someone be missing "the next time"? I won't quickly forget last Fourth of July at an Aunt's 70th birthday party; Patience was with us, but she was in the car fighting a migraine and spent the last 90 minutes of our drive home vomiting over and over again. Her absence was conspicuous, and the day anything but pleasant for her, and a shadow was over it for the rest of us. A mini-storm to be sure, but we were thankful this year that she was able to be with us in person, not just in the car. And I will never forget the Fourth of July many years ago which we were spending together when we learned one of the cousins had been shot and killed the night before.
So thanks everyone for setting aside all you were doing to come for the picture. What a terrific time we had together during our special week. I thank God for Dad, who rose to the occasion and made the picture happen, despite the difficulties and quasi-objections. I pray that we all might come to appreciate God's grace to us that we were simply able to be together and take these photos.
And if the Lord wills and allows, let's take the time to do it again. Soon.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
I digress a bit - but it's fitting
Sometimes we see God at work in our children, especially His grace in and through them to us. None of our children claim to know Jesus personally at this point, but then none of them have as yet rejected Him either. They are not saved, but they are open and thinking and I believe seeking to understand and know Him. That in and of itself is a grace of His towards us. We enjoy interacting with our children about God and all that he has done and their interest is encouraging.
Parenting is difficult work, and we are but novices. I wonder if that will ever change, even with experience! Sometimes, in parenting, you find yourself "stumped" by the questions of your children, but even more so by the questions of others about your children. Today I want to share something my husband wrote in response to our oldest child's math teacher at the beginning of last year, as he (the teacher) sought to better acquaint himself with his new batch of students (all 100+ of them in their grade!). I will gladly confess that I was in deep waters of paperwork and adjusting to new schools for three of the kids, wading through nurse/teacher/diabetes training and so much more, and I punted on this assignment: "Papa Bear, could you PLEASE do this one..." I was in no state of mind to even try. I think it took him two nights to do this (this type of assignment is really hard for both of us). But it was so worth it. I saved these words and go back to them often, for they not only tell volumes about this child and who she is, but also a great deal about my beloved, and they express much about God's grace to us through this journey as parents.
---
Re: Parent/Guardian Homework
6th grade math class
September 6, 2010
Dear Teacher,
Patience is the first born of four children. If you knew what you were asking when you asked me to write a letter about her, you would not state the assignment so glibly. Sure, there may be no guidelines, but to even begin to convey to you the color she brings to our world would require a discipline and a mastery of language that is far beyond the powers of this feeble mind of her father this evening.
To describe her to you this evening, I'm going to start with one word, but the dictionary definition of this word will not suffice. It's a word I use in my own mind and in my own way. To me, my daughter is a "trouper". Webster defines the word as "a person who deals with and persists through difficulty or hardship without complaint". This would imply, however, that the persevering individual is still characterized as being under the difficulty, or subdued by the hardship. The trouper I see in Patience rides above, not below, the challenges that she faces. It's as though, having already been acquainted with the reality that life will contain some bad news, Patience continues to seek, and readily find, a truth in her life that says the good news is just plain bigger than the bad. And what shines forth from her in our home can only be characterized, by those of us privileged to be in contact with her, as delight.
To watch Patience grow is to realize that more is churning inside her than meets the eye. She's a voracious reader with a skilled and logical mind. She has a private side that takes more in than she lets flow out. And yet her interactions with others are open and genuine. She may not be as quick on the uptake when it comes to the latest social and cultural mores of the pre-teen world, but she processes such new ideas and decisions with maturity, evenness, and grace.
If I had more time, skill, and energy I would relate more. But this is a beginning.
Sincerely,
Papa Bear, Patience's dad.
Parenting is difficult work, and we are but novices. I wonder if that will ever change, even with experience! Sometimes, in parenting, you find yourself "stumped" by the questions of your children, but even more so by the questions of others about your children. Today I want to share something my husband wrote in response to our oldest child's math teacher at the beginning of last year, as he (the teacher) sought to better acquaint himself with his new batch of students (all 100+ of them in their grade!). I will gladly confess that I was in deep waters of paperwork and adjusting to new schools for three of the kids, wading through nurse/teacher/diabetes training and so much more, and I punted on this assignment: "Papa Bear, could you PLEASE do this one..." I was in no state of mind to even try. I think it took him two nights to do this (this type of assignment is really hard for both of us). But it was so worth it. I saved these words and go back to them often, for they not only tell volumes about this child and who she is, but also a great deal about my beloved, and they express much about God's grace to us through this journey as parents.
---
Re: Parent/Guardian Homework
6th grade math class
September 6, 2010
Dear Teacher,
Patience is the first born of four children. If you knew what you were asking when you asked me to write a letter about her, you would not state the assignment so glibly. Sure, there may be no guidelines, but to even begin to convey to you the color she brings to our world would require a discipline and a mastery of language that is far beyond the powers of this feeble mind of her father this evening.
To describe her to you this evening, I'm going to start with one word, but the dictionary definition of this word will not suffice. It's a word I use in my own mind and in my own way. To me, my daughter is a "trouper". Webster defines the word as "a person who deals with and persists through difficulty or hardship without complaint". This would imply, however, that the persevering individual is still characterized as being under the difficulty, or subdued by the hardship. The trouper I see in Patience rides above, not below, the challenges that she faces. It's as though, having already been acquainted with the reality that life will contain some bad news, Patience continues to seek, and readily find, a truth in her life that says the good news is just plain bigger than the bad. And what shines forth from her in our home can only be characterized, by those of us privileged to be in contact with her, as delight.
To watch Patience grow is to realize that more is churning inside her than meets the eye. She's a voracious reader with a skilled and logical mind. She has a private side that takes more in than she lets flow out. And yet her interactions with others are open and genuine. She may not be as quick on the uptake when it comes to the latest social and cultural mores of the pre-teen world, but she processes such new ideas and decisions with maturity, evenness, and grace.
If I had more time, skill, and energy I would relate more. But this is a beginning.
Sincerely,
Papa Bear, Patience's dad.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
What is needed to be "fit" for God
In church this morning, we sang a hymn whose final verse struck me very strongly. How beautifully is stated what God desires of us.
From the hymn "Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy"
The chorus is full of hope too:
I will arise and go to Jesus. He will embrace me in His arms;
In the arms of my dear Savior, O there are ten thousand charms.
Let not conscience make you linger,
Nor of fitness fondly dream.
All the fitness He requireth
Is to feel your need of Him.
From the hymn "Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy"
The chorus is full of hope too:
I will arise and go to Jesus. He will embrace me in His arms;
In the arms of my dear Savior, O there are ten thousand charms.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Amazing Grace
Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
and grace my fears relieved.
How precious did that grace appear,
the hour I first believed.
and grace my fears relieved.
How precious did that grace appear,
the hour I first believed.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Preaching . . . . in New England
I've been thinking....
Hell or grace....
Which is harder to preach, honestly?
Which will get a good bible-preaching pastor in more trouble, from all sides?
Which one is more likely to be misunderstood, misapplied, and abused?
Which is more offensive to the self-righteous prig?
Which is harder to understand, or to accept?
Which one is more often refused?
Which one offers hope?
Which one sucks the hope right out of you?
Which one cannot exist without the other?
Hell is logical - we deserve it.
You can have hell without grace....
... but you can't have grace without hell.
I think we need to preach grace to the lost in this God-forsaken place called New England where fewer than 2 or 3 in 100 even know what I'm talking about. These New Englanders may not believe in hell, but they do already know about it - they live it, and they know it well, even if they don't know what it's called.
Grace on the other hand is something they haven't got a clue about. These are the work-hard, pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps folk. Traditionally they earn their keep. Sure they help their neighbor. But if their neighbor is a lazy good-for-nothing, well, they don't keep digging him out of the same pit over and over again.
Grace is getting what you don't deserve, and we New Englanders don't like that. We like to keep our accounts even. You know, tit for tat. I might help my neighbor, and I know someone (not necessarily my neighbor) will help me too. What goes around comes around - a complicated tit for tat if you follow my meaning.
Grace isn't like that. It's truly free. And we don't deserve it.
And we New Englanders think, usually rightly so, that if it looks to good to be true, it probably is. Better work harder. Try harder. Preach "better". Live "righter" Don't take chances. You know, reduce, reuse, recycle, be idealistic, change the world, strive, work, do more....
But grace isn't like that. It's really free.
Romans 6:1-2a What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!
If our grace-abounding lives and our grace-filled preaching don't lead us to ask that question, then we probably haven't done a good job living or sharing grace. Of course the answer is "no" - grace is not license to sin.
But it is really that free - that it makes us ask that question. And it should.
Hell's obvious.
Grace is mind-boggling.
And it's just as real.
And it's free.
And it changes everything.
It gives hope.
It gives life.
It restores broken relationships, starting with the most important one - our relationship with God.
It explains everything.
It underestimates nothing - not even the reality of hell.
And it is worth everything.
And it costs nothing.
Because God gives it. 100%. Gratis.
Try preaching that in New England.
Hell or grace....
Which is harder to preach, honestly?
Which will get a good bible-preaching pastor in more trouble, from all sides?
Which one is more likely to be misunderstood, misapplied, and abused?
Which is more offensive to the self-righteous prig?
Which is harder to understand, or to accept?
Which one is more often refused?
Which one offers hope?
Which one sucks the hope right out of you?
Which one cannot exist without the other?
Hell is logical - we deserve it.
You can have hell without grace....
... but you can't have grace without hell.
GRACE is scandalous
I think we need to preach grace to the lost in this God-forsaken place called New England where fewer than 2 or 3 in 100 even know what I'm talking about. These New Englanders may not believe in hell, but they do already know about it - they live it, and they know it well, even if they don't know what it's called.
Grace on the other hand is something they haven't got a clue about. These are the work-hard, pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps folk. Traditionally they earn their keep. Sure they help their neighbor. But if their neighbor is a lazy good-for-nothing, well, they don't keep digging him out of the same pit over and over again.
Grace is getting what you don't deserve, and we New Englanders don't like that. We like to keep our accounts even. You know, tit for tat. I might help my neighbor, and I know someone (not necessarily my neighbor) will help me too. What goes around comes around - a complicated tit for tat if you follow my meaning.
Grace isn't like that. It's truly free. And we don't deserve it.
And we New Englanders think, usually rightly so, that if it looks to good to be true, it probably is. Better work harder. Try harder. Preach "better". Live "righter" Don't take chances. You know, reduce, reuse, recycle, be idealistic, change the world, strive, work, do more....
But grace isn't like that. It's really free.
Romans 6:1-2a What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!
If our grace-abounding lives and our grace-filled preaching don't lead us to ask that question, then we probably haven't done a good job living or sharing grace. Of course the answer is "no" - grace is not license to sin.
But it is really that free - that it makes us ask that question. And it should.
Hell's obvious.
Grace is mind-boggling.
And it's just as real.
And it's free.
And it changes everything.
It gives hope.
It gives life.
It restores broken relationships, starting with the most important one - our relationship with God.
It explains everything.
It underestimates nothing - not even the reality of hell.
And it is worth everything.
And it costs nothing.
Because God gives it. 100%. Gratis.
Try preaching that in New England.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Grace in the belly of the whale
I just discovered that verse in Jonah, chapter 2 (verse 8). Great chapter, great context. Find it below in full, but do meditate for a while on this verse. Pretty cool! It's seems to be saying that taking our eyes off of Christ can lead to disaster. We have all we need in him, and when we look away... Bamm! We hit the siderails.
BUT when we set aside our idols, his grace is ours!
See verse 9:
Salvation comes from the Lord!
Jonah Chapter Two (NIV) 1 From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God. 2 He said: "In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry. 3 You hurled me into the deep, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me. 4 I said, 'I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.' 5 The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. 6 To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God. 7 "When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. 8 "Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. 9 But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD." 10 And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Love is Patient
I have read a certain blog a few times hosted by Marcia Somerville entitled Tapestry of Grace. Everything I've read that she has written has blessed and encouraged me so far. (Disclaimer however - I haven't read THAT much of what she's written. I say that "just in case"....)
Somehow I ended up over there this morning and read a good part of her latest entry, Love Is Patient. It was particularly striking in light of what I posted yesterday and I think simply sharing the link here and recommending it highly is the best thing I could possibly post today!
Let me whet your appetite with this small excerpt copied below, and then off you go. Happy reading!
Somehow I ended up over there this morning and read a good part of her latest entry, Love Is Patient. It was particularly striking in light of what I posted yesterday and I think simply sharing the link here and recommending it highly is the best thing I could possibly post today!
Let me whet your appetite with this small excerpt copied below, and then off you go. Happy reading!
We all know people whose patience is on full display. We marvel at them, but inwardly, we can think: wow, I am just not that kind of person. I could never be patient like s/he is! But, here’s a piece of good (and convicting) news: if we have the Spirit of God within us, we can become patient. Patience is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). There are really no naturally patient people. When you see God-honoring patience in people, they weren’t born that way. God has worked this fruit in their lives, whether or not they are aware of it. And the same Spirit is at work in you, and will prevail in the end (Philippians 1:6).
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Guilt and Grace
Grace is a tough concept for me. I think knowing I'm a sinner - painfully so - occasionally has me wallowing in guilt (my husband would say 'fairly often' is more accurate) . . . . thing is, it's self-induced guilt and not always godly repentance. That's a whole 'nother story and blog entry, but it's a pattern I'm increasingly aware of and working to address. It's kind of like I try to use the 'guilt' of knowing I've 'failed' to motivate me. It doesn't work, and I end up very discouraged. In light of this, I really liked what I read a few weeks ago.
Gratitude to put it simply flows from knowing and experiencing God's grace.This experience--from guilt to gratitude--has been teaching me something about God. I used to think that guilt prompted us to repent and turn towards God. This may be true at times, but I don't think guilt can sustain a relationship with God, and I don't think it is meant to. Guilt implies that I could have done things differently, that the offense is entirely my fault and I could have controlled the situation in such a way to produce a more effective result. But gratitude... gratitude recognizes my limitations. Recognizes my lack of control. Recognizes that, whether or not I deserve it, I have been given something good.
I don't mean to say that I'm not responsible for the bad choices I've made or the sins I've committed. All I'm trying to say is that if guilt brings me to God, it's gratitude that keeps me there. Gratitude is a response that takes the attention off of me and puts it onto the giver. Guilt reflects the depth of my own depravity, but gratitude reflects the goodness of God. (To read the entire entry, click here.)
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