Bee Busy

  “Then He added, ‘Every teacher of religious law who becomes a disciple of the Kingdom of Heaven is like a homeowner who brings from his storeroom new gems of truth as well as old.’” Mathew 14:52

  It took a while to find today’s passage. This is a time of many distractions, tasks to do, errands to run, the usual life stuff only amped up as the reno date comes closer. I am also taking time to lay new kitchen flooring at work for purely selfish reasons. The existing vinyl flooring is beyond redemption and hasn’t looked clean for years. Even hands and knees scrubbing with a brush failed to make a difference. After today’s post, I am heading over there to install the new flooring and am excited to do so!

  The company I am dealing with for my own renos gave the centre, a non-profit organization, a great price for the new flooring. A local business blessed us with a generous grant to help improve our space. It all has come together.

  And really it’s an answer to my prayers and oft repeated truth, “The kitchen floor is the bane of my existence! It gets washed and washed but never looks clean! We need new flooring!”

  The comment was getting as old and tired as the floor. (Smile.)

  There’s a new coat of paint for the place in the works as well but, thankfully, someone else is taking care of that.

  I have no idea how this ties into today’s passage…except to realize my workplace is part of the Kingdom of God and, as a follower of Jesus and an employee, I can appeal to God for anything that is needed there!

  God’s storeroom is limitless.

  AMEN!

More Than Manners

  “One of them, (a man with leprosy) when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done.”

    Please and thank you were drilled into my child’s brain right from the get-go. Being passed the salt required a “thank you”. Wanting the salt meant saying, “please.” It became habitual…so ingrained that by the time I was an adult, even the dogs were treated with such high regard! Then, of course, I would laugh at myself for doing so.

  Was there an understanding as to why this was so necessary? Nope. It was simply one of life’s rules about how to conduct yourself right along with not picking your nose in public. (Smile.)

  I am thankful for these early lessons all the same because these two words have remained a fundamental part of my vocabulary. The difference is I now realize just how important they are.

  They are a gift to give my fellow humans. Saying please and thank you to them are words that pour worth into their lives. It’s saying, “I see you and you have blessed me by doing _________. You have honoured me by answering my ask.” In a society that finds people feeling more and more disconnected this is especially important. Maybe a smile, a please and a thank you are the most love they get all day.

  And there is something reciprocal about such exchanges. Our own smile releases a whack of good brain chemicals that make us feel good. It’s a win-win situation.

  I confess to not always being so nice. Being busy, distracted, and overwhelmed contributes to me not seeing the “invisible” people behind the cash register or the coffee counter. When I have caught myself being this way, I often apologize for my abruptness. (Saying “sorry” is a whole other post topic.)

  The childhood foundational teaching has become a foundational aspect of my faith. These two words are an expression of humility and wonder and awe because by saying them, it acknowledges and celebrates the presence of God in my life. Sometimes it’s my heart that does the speaking all by itself in those moments when feelings of gratitude are so big it hurts and mere words fail me.

  That’s the best kind of all.

  Lastly, these two words are a huge part of my prayer life. I regularly give thanks for what God has done but thanking God for something that has not happened is a  declaration of what changes I would like to see happen. It confesses an awareness that there are aspects of my life which don’t reflect who I want to be as a follower of Jesus. Being thankful for what is yet to come unlocks my heart and opens my soul to letting go and letting in.

  These prayers aren’t demands! They are words of surrender laid out before the Author and Finisher of my faith. They are expressions of hope and humility because I know God is more than able to work the changes needed.

  And He does, far and beyond what I could ever have imagined or asked for.

 

  Lord, thank You for my mom’s utter determination to raise polite children.  (Smile.)

Once Upon a Time

  “Jesus also did many other things. If they were all written down, I suppose the whole world could not contain the books that would be written.” John 21:25

  I remember as a child struggling to grasp the difference between a biography and an autobiography. The first being a true story about someone else’s life, the second being the true story of the author’s own life. During yesterday’s teaching, I realized how tightly the two are intertwined. Every autobiography contains the stories of others’ lives.

  Every biography contains a piece of the author. The story they are sharing about whoever can be influenced by the author’s own perspectives, opinions and experiences. Portrait artists are the same because when they draw someone, they can’t help but include some element of the face they are most familiar with: their own.

  And a hint of a memory…was it a police officer saying, “The facts, ma’am; just the facts”? Is this from an old TV show? Oh, yah, a rumpled and misleadingly inept Columbo, private eye, who always solved the crime.

 

  I think I finally understand what faith is exactly. It is my story intertwined with Jesus’ story…or perhaps it’s better to say it the other way around: Jesus’ story of His life, death and life is permanently (that’s the faith part) intertwined with my own.

  Faith believes Jesus is an integral, foundational, part of my existence because He is the Author and Finisher of what that existence, my life, looks like. He is unchanging so I may change because there is only one of us who needs to change!

  (Smile.)

  The truth of who He is has been captured in the biographies of the first four books of the New Testament. There are some differences because each of the Books reveals different attributes of Jesus and His Message. Nevertheless, the fundamental truth remains no matter how the authors’ perspectives on the narrative determined what they have recorded. Clearly, because of the similarities, God was involved in every written word. (Just the facts, fellahs, just the facts. Leave the rest to Me.)

  I am left pondering on the uncountable stories that have been “written” ever since John recorded these final prophetic words: the only sentence in his Gospel with the word “I”. They are the only hint at how the life of Jesus had touched his own; the only glimpse of his awe and wonder at the immensity of God’s ability and willingness, through His Son, to give and continue giving each of us a redemption story of our own. 

  Thank You, Lord, for giving us the Bible. Thank You, for all the people who have influenced my life, whose stories weave themselves into the pages of my own book. I especially thank You for Jesus. AMEN!

Avian Attitude

“Be still and know that I am God!” Psalm 46:10

  There is a Mourning Dove sitting on a nest in the pine trees beside the patio in my back yard. It is fairly low to the ground so I’ve been able to watch her easily. The nest was built like lettuce in a sandwich; where two thick, lush branches almost touch.  The nest itself is a motley collection of sticks and roots with very little structure. They have simply been piled together to create a rough platform no bigger than the bird herself.

  The pine boughs gives her plenty of shelter from the rain and camouflage from any egg hungry birds or raccoons. She’s been sitting on the eggs for a while so it shouldn’t be long before babies show up.

  I wonder if she enjoys listening to the little waterfall that burbles into the pond as much as I do. Does it help pass the time?

  I am also impressed by the stoic patience such labour requires. The sole focus of her existence is caring for the precious eggs. Nothing interferes with that purpose, not even me working in the garden beneath her.

  What fascinates me the most is her stillness, her focus on simply being.

   Yet, the nest was built and the eggs were laid in precise alignment with her purpose: to make more Mourning Doves, her legacy.

  I bet, when she started, she wasn’t thinking about the labour ahead or the long wait.

  If anything, it’s a lesson I could well use in my own life.

  Be still.

Laws and Love Again, Again

“Then Jesus said to them, ‘The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of the people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath.” Mark 2:27

  Once again, I find myself needing to work through a perspective that has rocked my world and fundamentally changed everything I had believed Christianity should look like.

  Jesus challenges the rigid structure around the Sabbath, the mandated day of rest for the Jewish people, a few times. Saving a donkey that had fallen down a hole was one. When the date of circumcision fell on the Sabbath, how it superseded the Sabbath laws is another. Then there is this passage.

  So what needs is Jesus talking about?

  Within my lifetime I have seen stores remain open on a Sunday, the most common Christian Sabbath. It didn’t used to be that way because the understanding was everyone was entitled to a day of rest so they can spend time with God and family. We are not so Christian centered today as Canada becomes increasingly multi-cultural. It’s only Christmas Day and Easter Sunday which are mostly observed as national holidays. (Hmmm, not holy days.) Even so, there are restaurants, gas stations and a few small variety stores which remain open. Obviously there is a need. Or have we become habituated to convenience? Or does this reflect the decline in Christian numbers?

  As well, family dynamics have changed over the last (gasp!) half century. In most families, both parents work full time. There is an increase in single parent families. This has a direct impact on what happens during a weekend.

  Is this another “water jug” teaching?

  The Laws were given to the Jews, not to Christians even though many Christians have adopted them as part of their faith structure. I admit to having been one such believer but now realize Law keeping goes against everything Jesus’ life gave us. The Law is a jumping off point in His teaching about love, the fulfillment of their purpose. (Help me wrap my head and heart around this, my Lord!)

  Not that Christianity is the gateway to chaos! But we have a higher calling: to love others just as Jesus loves us.

  And it’s this higher calling that has me desiring every day becomes a Sabbath day, a holy day, a day of rest in the Lord. One day a week isn’t enough because I need the love of Jesus to infuse all my actions, thoughts and deeds. (Smile.) Yes, this is a work in progress!

  So it’s far more important for me, a follower of Jesus, to continue learning about divine love, not the love with its laws and conditions that had done such damage. Oh, Lord, how far I have come!!

  And maybe that’s as good a barometer as any. True love does no damage. It inflicts no harm. It passes no judgment. It encourages, raises up and restores. It has room for grace and forgiveness.

  Is this type of love easier than keeping the law? No. Is it impossible? No. (Smile.)

  Law keeping keeps us apart from God. Love keeping is completely relational. And that is the best thing of all. AMEN!

I Will Follow You

    “It is not right to acquit the guilty or deny justice to the innocent.” Proverbs 18:5

   I had started writing something all together different this morning but it felt forced. I have come to recognize that’s usually because I am trying awfully hard to be intelligent. (Chuckle.) That’s solo flying without listening to the Spirit. Not a good thing. Thankfully my laptop has a delete button and start overs are just fine by me. I’ve had plenty of practice.

  So here we are, in Proverbs, instead of investigating Jeremiah’s shattered water jug.

  Because I didn’t know, I asked Google. The Book of Proverbs is part of the Torah which means it would have been included in Jewish teaching. While not Law exactly, the Proverbs are filled with wisdom, guides to moral living, encouragement and warnings.

  When I read this one today, I was instantly transported to the scene outside Pontius Pilate’s. The gathered crowd of leading priests and Jews called for the release of Barabbas, a convicted criminal, instead of Jesus.  John 18:40

  They acquitted the guilty so the Innocent would die.

  But Caiaphas, the Pharisee, had justified this. In words that were decidedly prophetic, he said to the other leaders, “It’s better that one man should die for the people.” John 18:14

  Now I suppose the people he was talking about were those he was trying to maintain religious control over. So really, his first consideration was to maintain the status quo, ergo, his seat of power.

  One Man died for His people because Caiaphas ignored the prophecies about the Messiah found throughout the Torah. One Man died for His people because morality was usurped by greed and fear.

  One Man died because He had to.

  Sometimes it’s hard to wrap my head around just how cruelly Jesus died. Yet, Jesus’ sufferings were the labour pains of the New Covenant and a new hope. I am so grateful to live under this New Covenant.

  Hmmm, maybe this does tie in to Jeremiah’s shattered water jug after all. In Jeremiah 19, he is commanded by the Lord to take an empty water jug and break it as a symbol of what the Lord was going to do to His wayward people who were merrily worshiping idols. They ended up exiles, enslaved by the Babylonians, with the temple in Jerusalem destroyed. All this happened so the line of David would be the one that rose from the ashes.

  Jesus is a descendant of David.

  And like Jeremiah, His life and death and life did plenty of jug shattering but since His Father is a potter, we get new ones that are far more beautiful than the old. (Hmmm, that’s from the Book of Jeremiah, too!)

  Thank You, Lord for guiding me today; for reminding me You are the Author, I am the scribe. Thank You so much that I have access to the internet to help me find all these different passages in the Bible and for the dedicated people who make sure this information is readily available. AMEN!

The Joy of it All

  Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.” John 6:29

  This ties in with yesterday’s post about demands and commands and the stark difference between them.

  God gave the Hebrew people pages worth of instructions about how to live (The Ten Commandments), eat (Kosher laws), worship (how to build God’s temple), and make offerings (only unblemished male animals and first fruits). A quick glance through the Old Testament reveals there are many more instructions for life as a Jewish person. It took a lot of work to live according to these instructions.

  I have to wonder if God set up religion just so it would fail right into the arms of Jesus.

 

  Why would believing Jesus has been sent by God be considered work especially since such belief is given to us by God?

  Is this because God gives us this re-birthday gift but we need to unwrap it?

  There is much in my life that has appeared because of faith. The blog/studying God’s Word is one aspect. Some might call it a daily devotional. Playing on the worship team and making time to practice is another. Attending church on a Sunday and small group on a Wednesday is important to me as well. None of this has been forced on me. I do these things because I have chosen to take advantage of opportunities…although (and I have shared this before)I did get a very clear sense that God was adamant I join the worship team, much to my dismay at the time. This was waaay outside my comfort zone.

  (I probably keep sharing the worship team story because I am amazed at how it has transformed my life and how it continues to be transforming!)

  A rather irreverent chuckle escaped here because I am in good company with this sort of discomfort. Moses was totally uncomfortable with what God asked of him, too! It’s more of a point that he chose to obey the great I AM although not always. He was human after all.

  But do I consider my involvement with different faith practices to be work? Not one bit. Are they acts of discipline? Yup. But these disciplines are also the fruits of an insatiable curiosity and a love of puzzle solving. They are the fruits of my burning desire to understand the “why” of everything. They are the fruits of years of music lessons and band playing. They are the fruits of a growing understanding that faith in Jesus is not a solo act but one of community and relationships.

  There has been a harvest of joy in all of it because God planted the seeds. From my gardening experience, seed planting and getting them to grow is the hardest work of all.

  (Smile.)

  A seed won’t grow if we keep digging it up to see if it has sprouted.

  Umm…Lord? Maybe we need to work on patience...smile.

A Quest for Understanding Begins

“On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, ‘Anyone who is thirsty may come to me!’” John 7:37

  During yesterday’s teaching a couple of points came up to clarify some things I have written about lately. The first one is that a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for any of the Holy festivals was only required if you lived within twenty miles of the Holy city. I suppose this drives home the idea that the Roman census requiring Mary and Joseph to make a ninety mile journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem was a terrible hardship. God didn’t demand such obedience from His people.

  Now there’s an interesting thought. Has God ever demanded obedience?

  (A long pause.)

  God’s commands are not God’s demands because He has allowed the right to choose to remain in us. In saying that, there definitely are consequences for our choices. No, it isn’t a bolt of lightning from Heaven striking us dead when we go astray unless you lived during the time of the Old Testament. (Smile.)

  Now here’s something to ponder:  consequences aren’t necessarily a bad thing. There can be good consequences.  Hmmm, this is awfully black and white thinking because, through Jesus, what may be a poor decision or choice can be transformed into something good.  

  So why is the idea of demands leaving such a bitter taste in my mouth?

  Demands are anti-relational. Demands are the offspring of a hierarchy of power. “This is the box I have made for you now you darn well better stay in it or there will be hell to pay!”  (The stories of my old life but, no longer, praise God!)

  Demands maintain their choke-hold through fear.

  On the other hand, many demands are put in place because of fear; the box builder’s fear of losing control or perhaps, the fear of not living up to the box someone else built for them.

  God wouldn't have had that type of fear...but mortal demands often usurp God's commands.

  I’d never thought of it that way before. It would seem I have found a little more grace to spread around.

  The religion of society…a man’s role, a woman’s role; it varies according to the society we are part of. In North America, many of these ideas are drawn from Scripture albeit misunderstood or misinterpreted Scripture. What ended up sticking was anything that created a hierarchy of power and domination. And there the devil is at his best.

  For me, one of the saddest passages in the Bible is Exodus 20:19. “And they said to Moses, ‘You speak to us and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!’” Then, because they didn’t hear God’s voice, they went ahead and built a golden calf to worship. Hmmm…was this why they were taught to worship God within the structure and rituals of offerings and purification?

  God gave them the religion they asked for all the while knowing how badly it would fail.

  But He had a plan. That plan was Jesus.

  Time is against me this morning. The last three hours have flown by. Many of these ponderings need more pondering because I am not overly familiar with the Old Testament except that God seemed to do an awful lot of smiting. The big question for this morning is, “Why?”

  Thank You, Lord, that You will bring me into a place of understanding. Thank You, Lord, for the gift of Your Son and Your Spirit. AMEN!

 FYI: the water libation ceremony was done every day during the festival of Sukkot, or Tents, not just the one day as I had thought.

Dust to Dust

  The story goes: The Pharisees brought a woman to Jesus who had been caught in adultery. The Law demanded she be stoned to death. “They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger.”  John 8:6

  Eventually, Jesus responded to the Pharisees’ demands he make a decision on how this woman was to be treated. Would he honour the Law or not?

  This woman ended up saved because Jesus said one of his most famous quotes, “All right, but let the one who is without sin cast the first stone!” v7

 

  Sometimes Jesus is portrayed as having drawn a line in the dust which, I think, is where the expression, “crossing the line” came from. (I could be wrong.) Regardless of what Jesus actually wrote with his finger, I find the significance of this chosen medium rather intriguing.

  Dust is a poor thing to write anything in. The wind, a rain shower, a careless footstep, or even the brush of a hand will wipe it out completely.

  I’ve drawn in the dust a few times as an idle way to pass the time. I’ve also done sand doodles because it is fun to do on a sandy beach as the sun shines down and the water laps at my heels. The best sand is the wet stuff on an ocean beach. Like sandcastles, the incoming tide will obliterate its existence. That’s half the fun!

  Why did Jesus do this?

  Hmmm…The Law of Moses was handed down in written form through the generations. Was Jesus’ writing in the dust a foreshadowing of what his life and death and life would bring about? That the Law would become no more significant than writing in the dust?

  No, that’s not it. I’ve said many times Jesus uses the Law as a jumping off point in lessons about love. At the same time, he has set us free of having to live according to the Law.

  Perhaps he was demonstrating to the Pharisees how quickly they obliterate obedience to the Law for the sake of power.

  Now I am totally confused this morning. One of the great Commandments Moses brought down from the mountain says “Thou shalt not kill.” Yet elsewhere in the Law are commands that bring about the death of an adulterer, although stoning isn’t a direct way to kill someone. Was this so no one would know who threw the final stone therefore absolving everyone from the sin of taking a life?

  Maybe that’s the significance of Jesus writing in the dust. The Law can be manipulated to serve human purposes. It’s why and how Jesus died because the Pharisees did a pick and choose about which Law to honour. Pontius Pilate became their stone.

  And I am reminded as well how many times those who profess to be Christians manipulate God’s Word for their own purposes. It’s a grim history: the Inquisition, fraudulent Televangelists, the forced removal of Aboriginal children from their homes…

  Jesus’ writing in the dust serves as a warning for all of us.

  But it also fills me with hope because Jesus has been writing his message of love in the dust of my heart. And that, my friends, is permanent. AMEN!

A Day of Reflection

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking and the door will be opened to you.” Mathew 7:7

  I took a moment to read many of the more recent posts because this last little while has contained so many new understandings about God and about love. It’s like taking a trip back in time but these past posts also revealed a testimony of the countless times God has answered my prayers. Most of the time, they were answered far and beyond my simple requests.

  While I don’t necessarily classify myself as a Bible scholar, one of the things I have come to realize is the Good Book could never have been written by people all on their own. Yes, I believed the Bible was inspired by the Holy Spirit of God but only because this is what I had been taught.

  The last shreds of doubt about its authenticity have been swept away as I’ve followed the different threads of an idea, or should I say, followed the revelations of the Spirit. Every word had to have been inspired by something far greater than our own minds. The Old and New Testaments are a tapestry of stories and teachings so interwoven with each other it would be impossible for any human being to be able to make all the connections as they wrote their own piece of this wonderful, amazing Story.

  All I can say is how delighted I am to have some of these connections revealed. I am even more delighted when my understanding is verified by other, more wise, more knowledgeable teachers. This is something I always look for. It is helping to build a foundation of trust in the Holy Spirit’s leading and, dare I say, more confidence to explore the Bible even further.

  There’s also another side, one that doesn’t end up in black and white. Every time I had written the word, “religion”, I had struggled with defining what that meant. Until the other day when I finally understood what Jesus meant in condemning religious practices. Our freedom to choose how and where we worship isn’t the issue here. It’s when the how and where we worship becomes the focus of our faith. The dark side of religious practices is when the how and where becomes a platform for prejudice and hatred.

 

  Lord, thank You for all the changes that have happened in the last little while. Thank You for helping me articulate many of the confusing mental muddles that accompany much of my writing. Thank You for answering my “asking” when I didn’t even know a question had been posed. Thank You for the gift of Your Spirit and for the trust that is becoming the solid foundation of my faith. Thank You as well for building confidence in my abilities and for wrapping that confidence in humility. You are the Author behind my words. AMEN!

Understanding Religion

  “Jesus told the servants, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ When the jars had been filled, he said, ‘Now dip some out and take it to the master of ceremonies.’ So the servants followed his instructions.” John 2:7-8

  The master of ceremonies marveled at the quality of the wine not knowing where it had come from but the servants did. Those who were least in the household were the first to witness a miracle, a sign of Jesus’ divinity. It is interesting to realize they also played a key role. Jesus involved these lowly servants by asking them to fill the jars with water.

  This first sign not only challenged the religious practices of the day because the Holy jars were used to hold water for Jewish ceremonial hand washing. It also was a foreshadowing of The Last Supper where Jesus would offer wine to be taken in remembrance of Him. Finally, it truly defines Jesus’ purpose to not only save us but to involve us in the process.

  Yesterday’s post was another answer to prayer because I have been wrestling with trying to wrap my head around religion. There was plenty of time to mull over something that came out in yesterday’s post that helped me to define what can be wrong about it and why Jesus was so hard on the Pharisees.

  Religion is dangerous when it usurps the truth found within its own teachings for the sake of preserving or expanding its own existence, traditions, rules or rituals. (Thank You, Lord, for clarifying this idea.)

  Let me think for a minute…

  This has a universal application to many religions not just Christianity but since I am a follower of Jesus, I will refrain from applying this to the religions I know nothing about. I also want to be very careful here because it would be very easy to condemn others of various faith practices simply because they adhere to those practices. It would be presumptuous of me to assume I know what lay in their heart or to make assumptions about the reasons they follow various faith practices.

   Condemnation is not love but it is, sadly, a key component for why so many have died throughout the history of the church.

  I pray God can forgive us, forgive me, for the times we, I, have condemned and persecuted another’s beliefs. I may have never drawn a sword against them but words are a terrible weapon.

 

  For the time being, I think it is far more important to give thanks for the diversity within Christian culture and especially for living in a country where we are not persecuted for our faith.  I give thanks, as well, for the journey that led me to the Anabaptists where I am challenged, stretched and finally learning to love a whole lot better.

  Lord, I have to admit, sometimes the path of love is the hardest one of all but I know, in You, everything is possible. There isn’t a religion on earth that can contain You although, Lord, how we try! Forgive us for making jars. Please show me where they still exist in my own heart. AMEN!

 

Jars of Clay

  “Jesus replied, ‘Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem.” John 4:21

  Because I didn't know, I had to look this up. 

  Wikipedia explains the Samaritans were a people who separated from the Hebrews during the time Eli was a prophet. Samaritan translates as guardians/keepers/watchers of the Torah, the Jewish holy book. They also believed theirs was the true religion of the ancient Israelites. The Samaritans worshiped the same God as the Jews but the biggest thing that kept them separated was their belief that Mount Gerizim, not Jerusalem, was the original Holy Place of Israel.

  Hmmm…that means, like the Jews, the Samaritans were waiting for the coming of the Messiah.

  Jesus came into their midst because He went against prejudice and tradition; firstly by speaking with a Samaritan and secondly, because she was a woman. (The Disciples were shocked by both these things.) She wasn’t just any woman, but a dear one, despite her having been divorced five times and living with a sixth without the blessing of a marriage ceremony.

  Divorce was easily attained in those days. A poorly cooked supper was grounds enough for a husband to divorce his wife. Jesus speaks about it in Mathew 5:32. That’s not the point of today’s post because I have a question or two to ponder.

  Were the Samaritans part of God’s chosen people? Is that why Jesus made a point of making Himself known to them? Is this why He made a point of saying the differences between the Hebrews and the Samaritans would no longer matter?  

  I believe the woman makes the answers a positive “yes” when she affirms their ancestral connection to Jacob. She also shares that the water from Jacob's well was good for his sons and animals so therefore was good enough for her. Is this metaphorical for her inherited faith practices, too?

  Yet, this woman abandoned her water jar…A symbolic representation of leaving behind religion because something, Someone, far better had poured truth into her soul! She must have been radiant as she called out to the other villagers, telling them who she had met!

  The villagers begged Jesus to stay with them. After two days, many Samaritans believed Jesus was the Messiah, the Savior of the world. Oh, had I been there to hear Him teach!

  Holy water jars that held miraculous wine. Here we learn of an empty water vessel needing to be filled. A water carrying man led the Disciples through Jerusalem. There seems to be a theme here. I believe the significance is two-fold. What is inside the jars is important because Jesus uses their contents as a jumping off point to many lessons. I now realize there is an important significance to the jars themselves. I believe them to be representative of human efforts to contain God.

  Even when Jesus is on the Cross, there was a jar of sour wine nearby. (Both sour wine and sponge were used for personal hygiene but that's a whole other topic.) Is this a final, condemning metaphor for the Jewish religious practices that placed Law above love? When Jesus had tasted it, while being crucified because of a religion that usurped the truth found within its own teachings for the sake of its own existence, He said, “It is finished!” and died. (John 19:29-30)

  Jars of miraculous wine and a jar of sour wine bookend Jesus' teaching: the Message that changed the world by revealing the love of God in all its un-containable, wondrous majesty and simplicity.

  Wow. There are some pretty heavy jars I need to stop lugging around. AMEN!

Doing God's Will

“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.” Mathew 7:21

  This is another of the passages I have struggled with over the years, wondering if I would be one of those who Jesus was going to deny knowing on judgment day. I believe I finally understand what’s going on and why Jesus says what He says.

  The people He is denying knowing may have prophesied, performed miracles, or cast out demons in His name but God’s greatest law is the law of love.

  I think back to the movie, Boy Erased. It’s the story of a young, gay man. This son of a Baptist minister is sent to a Christian based organization for "conversion therapy" in the early 2000's. As a believer, it was terrible to watch. At one point, they actually beat him with Bibles in an effort to put him on the “right” path.

  This is a true story and one that has haunted me since I saw it in the theatre.

  The fact he was gay is only a minor point in this. What is far more important is how the church community of his father reacted. The beating was only a fraction of the hurt and harm caused to this man because of religion, a religion they believed gave them the right and authority to punish and shame another human being in order to make a Christian man of him.

  It makes me so very sad.

  Where am I going with this, my Lord?

  I am trying very hard not to judge these brothers and sisters as well as the ones who, throughout my journey, have come down really hard on mental illness. Maybe that’s why this young man’s story has touched my heart so very much. (I have much to forgive and choose to do so.)

  God’s greatest law is the law of love.

  Yet, the pure love of God cannot manifest itself without my co-operation. It is His will that I work and grow towards becoming a transformed being; a transformation that is only possible because He loved me first.

  It couldn’t happen any other way.

  My beloved Lord, teach me how to love these “tax collector” Christians so they, too, can know what it really means to be Your child, one who has a place reserved in the Kingdom of Heaven. Let my words and actions demonstrate the profound knowledge that You love them first, not second, not third, not only a little bit.

  I also pray for the liberation of my brothers and sisters who are caught up in the idea that Your love must be earned. 

  Forgive me for the times I have mistaken my will for Yours and for the times I believed keeping the rules defined my faith.

  Thank You for clarifying this passage because I finally realize it isn't about keeping rules simply because the rules are there, it's about the heart behind it.

  All these things I pray in Jesus’ name. AMEN

Love is Patient

  About correcting another believer…”If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.” Mathew 18:17

  It’s an “ah-ha!” moment this morning after spending a good while perusing the Bible for today’s passage. I have no idea where the understanding evolved that treating a fellow believer like a pagan or tax collector meant banishment or walking away from them. That’s how I’d always interpreted this passage. Was I wrong!! So terribly, terribly wrong. (Thank You, Lord, for Your mercy.)

  Instead, I believe Jesus is telling us to take it back a notch. Instead of trying to force the issue or demanding something be corrected, we treat the person with love. We treat the person as a non-believer, starting all over again with whom Jesus is and what his life, death and life represents. We let the life and teachings of Jesus do the “correcting”. And they will, according to God’s time.

  These are personal matters for God to contend with. Only God knows what lay in a person’s heart, what hurts, what challenges, or what is stopping them from being able to receive His love. He even knows why they (me, too!) get it wrong.

  Perhaps an earthly father who did harm gets in the way of knowing a heavenly Father.

  Perhaps an earthly spouse who did harm gets in the way of knowing Jesus as Bridegroom.

  Perhaps it was another believer who did harm despite their “good intentions”…Or sadly, through an abuse of religious authority.

  Lord, be with those who have been sexually abused by priests and pastors and church leaders. If my heart breaks at the thought, Your pain must be more than I could ever bear. Be with the wounded, comfort them and bring them out of the shadows. Break the silence of shame so a journey into freedom can begin. In Jesus’ name I pray.

  I also pray for the people I have harmed in Your name because it wasn’t in Your name at all.

  These are heavy thoughts for a beautiful, sunny day. Even so, I can’t help but smile because I have learned one more thing about love.

 

Oh, What Joy!

  “I (Jesus) will not judge those who hear me but don’t obey me, for I have come to save the world and not to judge it.” John 12:47

  “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

  I am finally coming to understand this thing called love. It’s a far cry from doing a Bible word study of every scripture containing the word “love.” That was suggested to me when I first became a follower of Jesus along with the command to keep reading them over and over until I “got it.” I ended up giving up because it only triggered the fact that all I knew of love was what it wasn’t. What was supposed to be joy filled and enlightening only caused sorrow and a sense that I was being punished. (Lord, I think I can finally forgive this misguided attempt to teach what only experience can. Let my life be a beacon. Let my life be a vessel so Your love can pour out.)

  The love passage at the top was one of the most difficult to read.

  But love is patient. Love knew I would need healing before being able to even receive the kind of limitless, unconditional love God has for every one of us. Love guided my steps to the people (and vitamins) that have been part of an amazing transformation.

  This needs to be said yet again because I am so grateful for the changes in my life, my heart and my mind; none more dramatic than what has happened over the last couple of weeks, My understanding of religion and especially repentance has brought such joy! God is good!

  I get a sense that this is another beginning. I like beginnings. AMEN!

From the Heart

  On the last day, the climax of the festival (the Jewish Festival of Shelters), Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart!’” John 7:37

  The Festival of Shelters or Tabernacles, is one of the Jewish holy celebrations that demanded pilgrimages to Jerusalem. This is a seven day festival where, on one of those days, the Temple Priests would collect water from the Pool of Siloam in a golden vessel. They would parade it along the pilgrim road to the Temple accompanied by music and dancing. The water and some wine would be poured out on the altar as a libation. (Libation is a drink poured out as an offering to a deity.) This ritual does not happen at any other time. (Thanks, Google, for helping me find all this out.)

  I’d mentioned a few posts ago about the Disciples following a water carrying man to the upper room where Jesus would meet them to celebrate Passover. This man would have been an unusual sight for the time. The idea was explored how this procession was emblematic of the Festival’s ritual.

  I thought this was going to be an exploration of Jesus as the living water but something has leapt off the page…

  The water and some wine would be poured out on the altar as a libation.

  “And he (Jesus) took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.” Mark 14:23

  The Priests poured out the water and wine as an offering to God.

  Jesus pours out the wine as an offering to us.

  (A long pause.)

  In doing so He declares us to be God’s temple, a living altar of God’s grace and forgiveness. The Disciples’ communal sharing of this cup means the water libation ceremony is replaced by relationship: relationship with God, Jesus and each other through the sharing of the Last Supper.

  A humble cup has replaced a golden vessel.

  A table to gather around in the presence of Jesus has replaced a building with both structural and religious layers separating God from humanity.

  My brain is going in a thousand different directions, having been both humbled and awed by what has been revealed this morning.

  This has enriched an already precious act of partaking in Communion. It has always been a deeply personal moment of intimacy with Jesus; one of acknowledging and giving thanks for His life and death and life that has healed me of so much. Now I understand it is a personal moment enveloped by community.

  It’s time to step out of the safety I have created by not being involved with other people. It’s time to realize I no longer have to hold myself at a distance. Forgive me, Lord, for being so afraid, but I am. Stepping out of the boat is not easy...but then, You are there to give me a hand.

  It’s time to realize I have finally realized there is something missing from my life.

  Because of a cup of precious wine, I am not an outsider. I am an insider who has just realized how lonely a life I’ve led...

  But that, my dearest Lord Jesus, is something that can be changed. (A big, teary smile.) Forgive me for justifying all the reasons for keeping myself at a distance. Thank You for bringing trust worthy people into my life and for giving me the eyes to see them. Help me forgive all those who have betrayed me just as You forgave those who betrayed You because they didn't know what they were doing. Amen!

Fig Leaf Philosophy

  “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted…” Mathew 5:3-4, and beyond. NKJV

 

  The first verses of Mathew 5 are known as the Beatitudes or, in plain language, supreme blessedness. This is more than being blessed; these encouraging words are supreme blessings! Think about it! God’s creation of the universe and all its wonders was good!  These blessings are beyond good by an immeasurable, unfathomable distance!

  That’s something to get excited about!

  I’ve headed in this direction this morning because of something someone said recently. It’s a saying that is often shared with people who are struggling. It is a phrase meant to be encouraging...

  “Fake it ‘til you make it.”

  Last Thursday, I heard it with new ears. I heard how cruel these words actually are.

  They put a person in a place where they cannot be true to their feelings; where being poor in spirit or to grieve is something to be ashamed of. “Faking it” is the same as covering ourselves with fig leaves to hide our naked pain, our vulnerability, our needs, from other people. (Genesis 3:7)

  Isolation is the devil’s playground.

  And just so you know, grief does not come with a timeline.

  I have read the Beatitudes time and again and again throughout my struggles, finding comfort in the grace filled acceptance of the Black River times. It enabled me to learn how to not only accept this side of the human emotional experience but to embrace it. Mostly anyways. Not always. (Smile.)

  I had been ensnared by faking it, a message that is treacherous in its subtlety and pervasiveness in North American culture. Faking it comes with its own rigid, shaming laws such as “real men don’t cry.”

  Performance (obeying the rules), servitude (my "place" as a woman), denial (the crying thing was applied to women, too), shame, (if only people knew the truth) and fear were the parameters that shaped how I lived. Mostly it was fear of rejection and abandonment; a fear that reinforced the need to fake my identity and feelings. But no one knew because of my ability to sew a covering of fig leaves. I was a master seamstress.

  I don’t wear them anymore. They take way too much effort to maintain. (Smile.) God just reminded me of my reluctance to share with my home church how bad things were before I started taking Vitamin D. (Chuckle.) Okay. So I am not completely there yet. (Grin and my heart leaps with joy because of God’s grace. There is always a next time!)

  So, the question is, where do these fig leaves show up? For what reason? With whom? Is it because a fear of rejection and abandonment still has a hold over me?

  (Long pause.)

  Yah. It does but not as badly as it used to.

  Fear, too, is the devil’s playground.

  Another chuckle escapes because God has orchestrated my journey into a freedom I never thought possible in spite of my human frailty and weaknesses. And I laugh even harder at the idea that repenting is filled with such joy! As it should be since it means I am looking straight into the eyes of Jesus.

  One day, in the not so distant future, fig leaves will become a fashion faux pas with no place to go but the trash. For all of us.

  AMEN!

 

Feeling Justified

“Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.” Romans 5:1 NLT

  “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” NIV

  I looked up “justify”.

1.       1.Show or prove to be right or reasonable.

2.       2. Declare or make righteous in the sight of God.

  Today’s task is to figure out how wrong thinking can end up being “right”. There are areas in my life where, through thoughts and ideas, I have actually poisoned myself without even realizing it was happening!

  I have managed to justify the reasons things couldn’t change. I’m going to use my diet as one example. So…it’s true the meds have side effects in the form of carb and sugar cravings. I have used this truth to justify my inability to make changes.

  When I think about all the things, the sin, that keeps me apart from God, I have realized for most of them I am able to justify the reasons these things continue in my life.

  There is only one being who benefits from this behaviour. It is the enemy of every living soul on the planet who is very happy with the state of things as they now stand. His greatest joy is to undermine the freedom every one of us is given through Jesus.

  One of the first things I learned as a new Jesus follower was about word curses. These are the toxic thoughts and words we pronounce as truth over our lives and the lives of others. But old habits die hard. (Oops. There’s a curse and a justification right there! Man, they are slippery devils, these truths that are only true if we believe them.)

  Jesus made it a point to expand on the Law. The Law is about actions, such as committing adultery. Jesus takes the act of adultery and places it in our hearts and thoughts even if we never physically commit adultery. The Law becomes love.

  I am left with nothing but a prayer on my lips that God will reveal the areas where I have sold myself down the river by believing “truths” that have interfered with my relationship with Him.

  As for the changes to how I eat, sitting in front of the TV is where it is at its worst; the mindless munchies move in but there is a solution: simply turn off the TV and find other things to do to occupy my hands until the habit is broken.

  I have to think long and hard about my beliefs about the world, others and myself. Ideas will need testing through a lens of love. If it isn’t love, it isn’t of God.

One Step Begins a Journey.

“Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.” Colossians 3:10

  It’s been a thought provoking week. Much has been around what I’ve said about confession off and on over the years. I was coming at it from the wrong direction because I was getting confession mixed up with repentance; my understanding of repentance having meant getting down on my knees and begging God’s forgiveness for my sins.

  I just learned on Wednesday that to repent means to turn away or choose another path. This insight has changed my life because it has empowered my ability to make choices.

  It’s also given me pause to think about what I say and do that has dis-empowered the ability to make better choices. Let’s take my ample waistline for example. I had convinced myself that the meds were the cause and that I was helpless to fend off the carb and sugar craving side effects. I was giving myself permission to go ahead and eat accordingly because I could not do otherwise. My ability to choose was handed over to a couple bottles of pills.

  I also managed to convince myself that there wasn't the money to eat properly. Then telling myself how much I struggle with cooking for one or not feeling like cooking at all because of feeling depressed. Even the kitchen sink was part of this anti-cooking justification. You get the idea. All these things, these lies, have piled up to justify the permission to eat whatever with no regard to weight or health.

  It feels good to confess these things without guilt and without shame. Instead, they come with a renewed understanding. I have realized my words and ideas have poisoned my mind and soul by dis-empowering the freedom to choose. For that I ask God’s forgiveness. I can also ask His forgiveness for not trusting in Him to provide for all my needs.

  So this new nature is a repentant one. Repentance is life giving, life embracing when we turn to God in all things but how does confession tie into it? Confession helps identify the areas of my life I do not look to God. Confession, as the Holy Spirit guides me, identifies the areas, habits, un-Godly beliefs, and sin I need to turn away from. One can't happen without the other.

  The Vitamin D has also changed my life. It has manifested itself by giving me a new nature. I hadn’t realized how much the dark cloud of depression was a constant companion. If something is present all the time, how would or could I know anything different?

  For the first time ever, the lifelong presence of depression is completely gone.

  There are no words to describe what this is like.

  When hospitalized for depression and anxiety, right away they give out Vitamin D. The dose wasn’t high enough. That’s why I thought it didn’t make a difference. It justified my not taking it at all.

  Thank You, Lord, for pharmacists and for leading me to ask the right questions.

  With the depression gone, a lot of the anxiety is falling away. I hadn’t understood that much of the anxiety was because every day was like trying to walk upstream on slippery rocks against a torrent of sorrow.

  This gift of a renewed spirit will make it much easier to make changes to my lifestyle.

  This new nature will mean I can thrive.

  It might take time to make all the changes and to learn new habits. Thank You, Lord for grace. Thank You that I am not alone.

  The first thing I am going to do is stick a label on the bathroom mirror: Repent, for the kingdom of God is near.