Singing in the Shadows

Imagine Jesus and His disciples singing, “This is the day the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad” mere moments before His violent arrest, just days before His crucifixion. “And when they had sung a hymn, [specifically from Psalms 115-118 celebrating triumph and deliverance], they went out to the Mount of Olives” (Matthew 26:30).  

Why was Jesus singing under impending horrific circumstances?

Praise at the Passover was not only Hebrew tradition; for Jesus it was also soul preparation. Preparing Him for unjust physical and emotional abuse during His trials and crucifixion. Jesus prepared well. Humble and mostly silent without a hint of anger, praise had given Jesus a sense of absolute, composed surrender to His Father’s will.

What Real Life Looks Like and How to Find It

I heard that voice again. Suavely proposing that real life is merely getting and gaining more, to impress others and please myself.

What happens when I gain all the gadgets and pricey high tech devices I want?  When I claim life as my own?  When I use it to benefit myself?

Is real living truly about gaining the whole world?    

        

That version of real life strokes my ego; it makes myself appear righteous.
_ It insists real living must use precious people to serve me. 
_ I must have your good opinion.
_ I live to self-indulge and serve my purposes.

I know better! That voice, an impostor, grates on the truth!

I see what happens. The impostor wins and life turns stressful. Jealousy drains the soul. Right becomes confusing and sometimes wrong.

So how is real life found?

Why I Never Stop Praying

 Sleds, saucers, and four rambunctious kids crowded our van. Pursuing Mt. Baker’s 11,000-foot summit, huge snowflakes began to fall.  The higher we ascended, weaving around the steep mountain, on a narrow paved road, the heavier the snow fell. The kids cheered.

Suddenly, the van started to fishtail, tires spinning. The speedometer nose-dived….25 mph…15 mph…10 mph…5 mph…we slid backwards! I swung to the rear and commanded the kids, “Pray!”   Panic triggered my prayer, “God, please keep us from going over the edge. Stop the van!”

We stopped. Our van’s rear wheels teetered on the edge of a 200-foot ravine. Fearful that any slight movement would capsize us, we sat motionless.

Somehow… my husband maneuvered the van to safety. The kids spent the afternoon throwing snowballs and sledding down the base of Mt. Baker! God rescued us on the summit.

God’s chosen people, the Jews, following their captivity and deportation to Babylon, remained prisoners for two successive empires. Meanwhile, their once-beautiful temple in Jerusalem lay in ruins. Years rolled by. A frustrated people must have wondered, will we ever escape this situation? Will our temple always remain in shambles?

 Have you ever wondered if you would escape a situation that seemed destined to destruction? Destined to never change?

A Remedy for Worry

Everyone tends to worry. It robs us of peace and joy. Worry steals our hope. Our good Shepherd knows how worry creates adverse effects upon our health. Jesus advises, “Do not worry about your life… Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”(Matthew 6:25-27).

How do we not worry when we’re facing a deadline? When a car payment is due and finances are tight. When our children make foolish choices. When we receive a gloomy medical report.

What is worrying you?

Several years ago my 18-year-old daughter planned to move out of the house on the heels of high-school graduation. I worried! Worry caused me to imagine awful scenarios. I lost sleep. I rehearsed a plethora of “what ifs.” Worry dragged me around by the neck and choked my faith.

"God...Don't You Care?"

In troubling times it’s easy to question God. “What have I done to cause this?” “How long must I wait?” “Why should I keep praying?” “Have I not prayed enough?” “Do You really care?”

Our natural senses become short on spiritual insight. We conclude, “This isn’t fair!”

John the Baptist, chained in a bleak dungeon, asked his friends to send a question to Jesus. John felt physically, emotionally, and spiritually beaten. In a dark place, infested with rats and reeking of urine and feces, confusion flails John’s understanding of Jesus.  

A Breathtaking Verse

 “From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another” (John 1:16.) Grace is a gift.  Our heavenly Father is the giver. We don’t earn grace. We don’t deserve it. We don’t bring it about.

I used to believe God reserved blessings for deserving people. That the most deserving received bigger blessings!  That a person’s merit persuaded God. If my prayer life impressed God, if I attended church, memorized Scripture, or read my Bible, I could earn a heap of blessings.

 Then I discovered some breathtaking truths about grace. They crushed my humanistic ideas. God’s grace exceeds reason and logic. His generous blessings reach beyond my computation. If I am to embrace and enjoy His infinite goodness, I must stop believing that I must earn it.

A True Love Story: God Longs to Embrace You (Part 1)

There’s a quest in everyone’s heart. A quest to be loved without conditions or limitations. A quest to be loved always and forever. A quest to be loved with honor and dignity.

When we seek this perfect love outside of God, we never find it. Because humans love only when there’s something lovely to be loved.

God’s unconditional love excels. God launched agape love when He sacrificed His son. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). The Greek language coined the unique word, agape, to express God’s unfathomable love for sinners.  

Agape love specifically seeks the highest good for the other person…always…no matter what. Agape is a self-giving love that gives freely without asking anything in return. It does not consider the worth of its object but is a love by choice. God chose to love us in spite of our miserable condition. “…while we were sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

How to Live with An Unfair Advantage

Afternoon sunshine warmed Sparta Day’s festivities. The one-mile kid’s race drew a handful of red-shirted 5 through 7-year-olds. Parents busied themselves at forming kids’ wiggling bodies into a straight line.

A shrill whistle signaled the runners and spiked adrenalin. Starry-eyed winners, every one of them, were including John Jr., our 5-year-old son, with spindly, over-long legs. Suddenly, I wanted to scoop him into my safe arms. “Never mind.” I pushed away nervousness. “Let him run.”

 “Get ready, get set…” Bang!

Parents began chiming, “Run fast!”  “Don’t slow down.” “Run faster!”

My husband leapt onto the cinder track about 2 feet from John Jr.’s side, jog-trotting. Just close enough to link hearts.

“Pace yourself. Slow down.” Wise words spoken by a Father experienced at running life’s race.  

This man knows full well about starting too fast, full of optimism. Then bam. Everyday pressures, family problems, unemployment, financial difficulties and health issues take their toll. Weariness and discouragement knock him windless.

5 Words That Could Change Your Life

  “Look! The water’s rising above the street curb. I’ll call Skip and ask if this is normal.”  Our native California neighbor chuckled at my husband’s inquiry.

“The rainy season is here. Relax!”

Our four children, then ages 8, 6, 4, and 2, peered out our living room window, intrigued by nature’s water show. Within minutes, water covered the brick John had placed in the middle of our driveway.

With rain still pounding, John called again. “Skip, are you sure this is normal?”

Strong winds pushed waves of hungry water half way up our front yard. Skip’s car bobbled down the street like a water toy. Fear gripped us.

“Let’s move as much furniture upstairs as possible,” John ordered. Our feverish efforts paled compared to forceful, fast rising flood waters.

“Let’s pray,” I said. Prayer empowers me to keep fear from dominating.

Knees to the carpet, I suddenly didn’t know what to pray. That God save our lives? That our house is not destroyed? Booming thunder mocked my puny faith.

When Suffering and Sorrow Happens

Hinds’ Feet on High Places, my favorite children’s story, is an allegory about Much Afraid (someone inside each one of us) and the Shepherd—Jesus! Much Afraid lives in the valley with her relatives Gloomy, Spiteful, and Craven Fear. Oftentimes Much Afraid makes the mistake of allowing them into her cottage, causing her to feel weaker and more helpless.

The Shepherd encourages Much Afraid to leave the Valley and climb the steep mountain to the High Places. The air is clean there, and the healing streams wash away anything unlovely. No fears of any kind are there because ‘perfect love gets rid of fear.’

“I will help you when you call,” the Shepherd promises. “And as you begin your journey, I will give you my very best and strongest helpers, Sorrow and Suffering. They are two of the best teachers I have.”

Much Afraid burst into tears. She begged for Joy and Peace to go with her. It seemed she was faced with the impossible.

 Do you know someone who loves the Lord, but is experiencing sorrow and suffering? The journey seems ominous.

Fear, Leprosy and Praise!

When I arrived at Alicia’s doorstep, she met me with a ‘why are you here’ look. I expected to color her hair, as planned, and enjoy some girl talk. 

 “I guess you didn’t get my text message or phone message,” she said.

Apparently, my dear friend Alicia had canceled our appointment due to not feeling well. She assumed it best to remain quiet and not meet with me.

Earlier that day, I had been outside raking leaves. Then I rushed to get ready to go to lunch with my husband and our elderly friend. I ignored my cell phone and missed Alicia’s messages.

 “Well, you’re here!” Alicia graciously hugged me. “It seems the Lord wants me to get my hair colored today, anyway.”  

Alicia took careful consideration that God’s plan was different than hers.  She accepted it in spite of her physical and emotional struggles.   

While I saturated Alicia’s hair with color, she skimmed over what was upsetting her.  I suggested we pray because Alicia didn’t have the power to deal with her fears. I sensed this was the reason God had me show up.

Miracles Still Happen!

As a young child I entertained some incredulous ideas: chocolate milk comes from brown cows; crippled people are contagious; swallowing a watermelon seed will grow a watermelon in my tummy. Children believe the unbelievable!

That’s why I enjoy teaching kids’ Sunday school. They enthusiastically believe Jesus’ supernatural works:  feeding 5,000 folks with two fish and five loaves; raising the dead to life; healing lepers; turning water into fine wine! Our faith increases as we marvel at Jesus’ unusual, illogical, extraordinary works.

Several months ago my child-like faith was challenged, again, to reach beyond the printed pages of the Bible. My husband’s acute symptoms of a blocked primary artery invited lots of fearful “what ifs” which rumbled my faith.