Taking Advantage and Taking for Granted ...

... are annoyances that many of us are familiar with. I would venture that most Christians have experienced the unpleasantness of being used on the one hand, or taken for granted on the other.

The question isn't when will it happen, but how will we as God's people respond?

Well, here's what I'm doing today. I may choose to languish in self-pity and righteous indignation again tomorrow, but for today, I took one last fleeting look at my bankroll of unforgiveness (Lot's wife would have cautioned against that backward glance), then sent it to the shredder.

A dear friend visited last night and bemoaned the fact that he sees himself taking a position of ingratitude with his Savior. He mentioned a couple of big blessings to which, he confessed, he realized he was yawning and saying, "Ho hum." He seemed genuinely concerned about his lack of appreciation for some really major workings of God in his life. This helped put me on the other side of the fence I've been straddling. The one where I know I'm as ungrateful a wretch as ever lived (proven by the fact that I received a token of love just last week, tossed it in my locker at work, and forgot to acknowledge it till I opened the locker two days later), but expect flowers and candy when I do the slightest bit of kindness for someone else.

Perhaps the greatest resentments I've been lugging around have centered on other believers who don't do what I expect them to (or what I see as their Christian duty). The Lord showed me recently that what I can learn from my brothers and sisters in Christ is much greater than the ways in which they fail me. In other words, as a 12 step program with which I am gratefully affiliated puts it, "Principles above personalities."

What a concept.

Mended Fences

I'm so happy. Today I apologized to a dear friend for using harsh words when soft ones would have sufficed (Proverbs 15:1). Like the angel she is, she accepted my apology with grace and love.

But wait, the story gets even better. After I cleared the air with my friend, someone else asked my forgiveness for past wrongs.

I guess what goes around really does come around.

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Luke 6:38

To Whom Shall We Go?

I've been having a tough time lately. One of those tooth-pulling, gotta force myself to do what I know is good for me type deals. I've been able to trace the root of the problem, which is good, because that's half the battle. Now I've got to just stay the course, make good small decisions on a daily basis, which past experience suggests will lead to good large decisions if I remain focused on my faith walk.

The discomfort began when I learned of upsetting happenings in the lives of several other Christians. I'm not just talking prayer being needed for a second cousin who's having a tooth extracted. The events related to me involved major backsliding and outright denial of the faith on the part of lifelong believers. Because the news came as a clump, it was hard to digest, just as it's galling to swallow a whole plate of a distasteful vegetable. It's much easier to choke down a nasty food if we limit the portion size and mix it with something more palatable; all at once is asking for trouble. But when what's served up is not to our liking and in abundance, we have to find some way to stomach it. 

True to form, I chose to resort to my old faithfuls: entertainment and food. They've never let me down (except for the fact that they mess with my physical, mental, emotional and - oh, yeah - spiritual health). They've been rock solid and trustworthy for me. I always know when I spend quality time with M&M's that I'm gonna feel good for a short while (never mind that I'll have to shoehorn myself into my clothes for the next week). It's a sure bet the perils of Star Trek Voyager's crew will numb my mind for a few hours (but that won't help me deal with a crisis that explodes without warning in my own life).

The good news is, these periods of oblivion are getting shorter. I'm learning to turn to the One from whom I'm turning, so these "vacations" from God are of briefer duration. I realized quickly that my earthly gods were only sinking me further faster, so I began rallying sooner. I felt a little better yesterday when I put in some decent time with the Almighty, and today I feel better still. Lord knows it's not all about feelings, but for us sense-bound creatures, in many ways it is. We are what we are, which is dust,  and our perceptions shape so much of how that dust operates.


Do I hear someone whispering that I'm hiding my head in the sand? Not getting any real answers? Just sticking it out with a God who isn't strong enough to keep His own followers from defecting? It's a fair question and deserves a thoughtful answer. I'm not bowing down to a caricature or cartoon character with the substance of onion skin.The God I serve has been tried and found worthy by the likes of Mother Teresa, Corrie ten Boom, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Luther King. I am proud and at the same time humbled to sit in their company, while engaging daily in the tasks my King sets before me. 

I can't be responsible for what others who wear His Name choose to do. The best I can offer - and all He asks for - is obedience, to the best of my flawed ability. 

For more like this, check out: Reflections by Thea: Awake!

Reflections by Thea: Complete the Work!

He is Risen, Indeed!

Our pastor, Jerry Iamurri, of Bethany Evangelical Presbyterian Church, knocked one out of the park again today. He described how Psalm 22, particularly the following verses (14-17), vividly describes the process of crucifixion, hundreds of years before this form of execution was being practiced:

I am poured out like water,
And all My bones are out of joint;
My heart is like wax;
It has melted within Me.
 My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And My tongue clings to My jaws;
You have brought Me to the dust of death.

 For dogs have surrounded Me;
The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
They pierced My hands and My feet;
 I can count all My bones.

How could the psalmist paint such a vivid picture of this horrible form of torture, which didn't even exist yet, if he weren't being guided by a divine hand?

Our pastor went on to say that the huge rock that sealed Jesus' tomb was rolled away, not so that Christ could emerge, but so that His followers could enter!There would have been no need for Him to have an "exit plan," as Scripture is clear that He could walk through walls and appear and reappear in His resurrected physical body:

"Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” (John 20:19)

Note how the resurrected Savior just bypassed the closed doors to make His unconventional entrance! And in the following passage, note how He appears out of thin air and departs the same way:

"Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. And He said to them, 'What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?' Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, 'Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days? And He said to them, 'What things?'

"So they said to Him, 'The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see.'  Then He said to them, 'O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?' And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

"Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. But they constrained Him, saying, 'Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.' And He went in to stay with them.

"Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight." (Luke 24:13-31)

Pastor Jerry also made the point that we don't have to worry about accomplishing all the goals on our "bucket lists" because what awaits us in heaven is far superior to anything we could experience on earth. Jerry stated that since Christ ate, walked and conversed with His disciples in His resurrected body, we can assume we will do those things in heaven as well. We can forego our bucket lists and even our rights because "no good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly" (Psalm 84:11). Furthermore, Jerry stated that He has "paid off all our bills" in the sense that He took the punishment we deserved; it really is finished! When God applies Christ's righteousness to our account, our sin is paid for completely - just like if a millionaire paid off our credit card debt, wiping our slate clean.

Check out "Do It Anyway" 

(attributed to Mother Teresa)

Tenacity

Keith Green's Easter Song

It's been a winter for the books. Ten days off from school due to storms. Snow all the way up through last week, and more promised for this coming one. Record amounts of precipitation and ice. March is certainly refusing to go out like a lamb.

In spite of all this weather-related insanity, tiny shoots of color are starting to spring up on lawns. I'm seeing ground cover for the first time since our last mowing. Today the beginnings of a crocus peeped up at me as I made my way to church. I smiled in admiration of the little flower that knew enough to stay hidden during the cruelty of Mother Nature's wrath, yet refused to remain dormant forever. It completed its work underground and is now rising triumphantly, in imitation of its maker, for whom death was merely a hibernation while eternal purposes were being wrought.

For more like this, check out: Morsels for Meditation...: Weeds

Morsels for Meditation...: Weeds 2

Their Watch

By the world's standards, they were old maids. Never left home. Worked in the family business. One was rejected by the man she loved, losing out to a rival. The other was in such frail health that she gave up any hopes of becoming a wife and mother, the highest aspirations for women of that era.

Yet history will never forget the courage and sacrifice of these two "unwanted" women.

Corrie ten Boom and her sister Betsie lived quiet lives in Holland while Hitler waged war in Europe. They contented themselves assisting their elderly father in running his watch shop: Corrie found she had a knack for working with time pieces; Betsie was better suited for keeping the home fires burning.

Then came the day they had to face what was happening around them. Hitler's henchmen were rounding up Jews in an effort to exterminate the entire race. The three watchmakers, along with extended family, embraced the role of "underground" workers, making their home a way station for Jews being relocated to safety. They created a secret room - a hiding place for their "tenants" in the event of a Gestapo raid.

When betrayal occurred, all four of the Jews hidden in that tiny space survived, while an equal number of the ten Boom family lost their lives as a direct result of their rescue efforts and subsequent capture by the Nazis. The ten Boom Museum in Haarlem, Holland, where the family took in Jewish refugees, estimates that as many as 800 Jews were saved through the ten Boom family's courageous actions.

According to societal norms of the time, Corrie and Betsie did not measure up. They stood on the sidelines as their siblings entered into marriage and parenthood. Surely they longed for the embrace of a husband and the blessings of offspring; yet these joys were denied them by a Bridegroom who, centuries before, had promised countless children to a childless man named Abram/Abraham, and would later entrust hundreds of those children into the care of these spinsters. During their watch, they would follow their Bridegroom into an earthly hell while protecting His chosen children. They willingly laid their lives and prospects for worldly happiness onto an eternal altar, only to take up gifts greater than any temporal happiness could afford.

My prayer is to be just as faithful - and content - with whatever life situation He ordains for me.

"Though the fig tree may not blossom,

Nor fruit be on the vines;

Though the labor of the olive may fail,

And the fields yield no food;

Though the flock may be cut off from the fold,

And there be no herd in the stalls—

18 

Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,

I will joy in the God of my salvation."

Habakkuk 3:17-18

Obstacles vs. Treasure

I keep bumping up against walls. Not figurative ones, either. These are real, honest-to-goodness, car-scratching walls that might just as well be made of concrete, instead of the "powdery" (yeah, right) snow they're really composed of.

By now we're all sick of winter. My wonderful neighbor is doing all he can to lighten the load for everyone, chugging up the street with his snow blower, leaving straight paths on pavements and smiles on faces. He is a true godsend, especially for the elderly and ill who can't do it for themselves.

What I can't figure out is, how come I keep making the same mistake over and over again? I try to ease my car in and out of the driveway carefully, striving to avoid the granite-like walls of heaped up snow on either side. Invariably, though, I miscalculate, or there's a giant Hummer parallel parked just where I need to be cutting my wheel, blocking my otherwise perfect escape route. I can't wait to see the nicks in the paint when all the salt finally washes off.

It's the way of nature. What appears beautiful and harmless at first glance often morphs into something with jagged edges when overindulged in. Most of us marvel at the softly falling snow, especially when its descent is framed by lacy window treatments alongside a roaring fire. But - on the day after (sometimes only hours later) - it creates problems that have to be dealt with laboriously and at great expense.

Sin is like that. It always looks enticing. It promises everything and usually delivers a payoff, however temporary. There's got to be something in it for us, or we wouldn't keep falling for it. It may appeal to one of our five senses, or some intangible need that no one and nothing else seems to be meeting. We turn a blind eye to - or don't even foresee - the perils, and advance full speed ahead. The next thing we know, we're walking around with indelible scars, wondering how we missed the turn trajectory yet again.

The only solution I've found (and I by no means always win over wayward impulses) is to walk arm in arm with the Almighty. I measure progress by frequency and duration of obedience. I look for an inverse relationship between time spent with Jesus and time spent on sin. It's that simple (and that complex). When I'm enjoying "down time" (such as snow days stacked up like ice blocks in an igloo), am I banking time with Jesus to draw on when my schedule gets frantic again? Does a hectic life pace mean I must rely only on past "savings"? Of course not! Even small deposits of prayer and Bible study, proportionate to daily demands, can add up to big earnings in the long run.

My mom used to say, "Pay yourself first." What she meant, of course, was that any paycheck, regardless of size, could spare even a tiny amount to be put into savings. My parents were neither rich nor savvy investors, yet they died with more than a small nest egg that helped their offspring pay off mortgages and send kids to college.

If this basic principle can make such a huge difference in the temporal world of finance, how much more can we expect when applied to the heavenly realm?

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." 
Matthew 6:19-21

Crankiness...

I am - ahem - full of it. No comments from the peanut gallery, please. While these snow days are lovely, I find myself having more time to take others' inventory (after I finish sleeping in, of course). 

                                                    

This person ignored my correspondence. That person can't be pleased, wants everything her own way, showing no gratitude for all my efforts. This one over here is (gulp) constantly critical of others; no wonder she's lonely. Someone else is high maintenance (now how is it I can so easily recognize that failing, hmmm?).

 All this grumbling, even as I'm reminding my son to overlook          others' faults and keep his side of the street (well, driveway at    least) clean.


Why can't I suffer in silence? Why do I have to rail against things    I can't control? Why do I look at others' faults, yet find my own        so easy to tolerate?

  A little bit of patience would go a long way.

"What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through 
Jesus Christ our Lord!"

Romans 7:24-25

The Thick of It

Today I visited a church I attended for many years. How wonderful to see so many familiar faces and growing families! One group in particular struck me. Their four beautiful kids were sprawled all over the pew in various stages of activity. Two sat alongside Grandpa, clutching both of his hands. One sang with Mom, both of them smiling and swaying to the music. The littlest planted herself firmly in Dad's arms, resting her head on his shoulder as he alternately sat and rose according to convention. Downstairs, their newborn lay cradled in someone else's arms.

Afterwards in the parking lot, I caught up with this gang as they piled into their minivan. I complimented Mom on how happy they all seemed together. She replied wryly, "Sometimes it comes across that way!"

My own experience as a parent is much further along; my sons are nearly 22 and 17, while the eldest in the above-mentioned family is under ten. I couldn't help but wonder what trials they are in for. Raising children in this country at this point in history is challenging at best and hair-raising at worst. I'm in the thick of it, and so are many of my contemporaries. Worry and fear can get the best of us, unless we combat them with faith and prayer.

The good news is, God isn't going away.

"Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear." Isaiah 65:24

Dumped On, AKA, Winter Wonderland

It’s been an atrocious winter. We’ve had just about every mix of precipitation known to man since before the calendar even turned to the first day of winter. Schools have been closed, leaving parents scrambling to find child care at the last minute. Power outages abound, causing families to hunker down in unheated houses, while food spoils in stocked refrigerators. People all over the East Coast are muddling through but in truth, we’re starting to feel dumped on.

Yet, in the midst of all this inconvenience, the scenery is magnificent. The trees glisten, but with heaps of frozen snow that threaten to sever limbs from trunks, forcing us to contend with downed wires and damaged property. The landscape is truly grand, a silvery marvel, but at the same time, it makes traveling hazardous and unpredictable. There surely are two sides to this wintry weather.

In contemplating these paradoxes, I find parallels in my attitudes. I have so many blessings in my life, yet I’ve been taking others’ inventory (12 step program-speak for passing judgment) on a frequent basis. A neighbor who has come through in the clutch on numerous occasions criticizes rather than showing appreciation for my kindness; nothing new, it’s her usual M.O, as if she would somehow be diminished by expressing thanks. So why am I dwelling on it? A friend is a bit demanding; yet this same friend has been a godsend when my heart has needed it most. Why don't I focus on that? A car wash business does a shoddy job, then refuses to make good on it; there is no up side to this one, but must I let it ruin my day?

I guess my point is that it’s way too easy to miss the good stuff for the muck.

But none of this should surprise me. We humans are nothing if not shortsighted. God created a glorious garden, and our first parents tossed it away for a piece of fruit. Esau traded his firstborn privileges for a bowl of stew.  Moses’s newly freed campers looked back longingly on the provisions they received while living in merciless Egyptian servitude. If the world’s a stage, as Shakespeare postulated, we actors keep rerunning the same play. We let grumbling supersede gratitude, and gain only misery.

"Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.” 

1 Timothy 6:6-8