Doing My Job

"I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." Luke 19:40 (NIV)

I was headed to the grocery store with my daughter, when she received a text from her husband. As she was driving, she asked me to respond to it. Problem was, her phone was an iPhone and very different from mine and I did not know how to use it. My daughter started laughing and said if one of the kids were here, they could do it. So very true! My not-quite-three year old granddaughter can get around that phone like it is nothing. I was chagrined to have this really brought to light, yet it was my fault. See, my husband had an iPhone and I could have easily learned to use it, but I just did not want to. Hubris stopped me from being a help. In not learning something that would have only taken a few minutes, I was unable to do “my job” and help my daughter.

 Luke 19: 37-40 tells of Jesus was approaching Jerusalem and a crowd of disciples were praising God for the miracles they had witnessed. The so-called righteous Pharisees were objecting to their praises and had asked Jesus to rebuke them. The Pharisees wanted to silence the praises of Christ. Jesus, in answer, told the Pharisees that His praises, God’s praises will be sung, if not by man then by the rocks of creation.

I don’t know about you, but when I am given a job to do, I want to do it to the best of my abilities. I do not like it given to someone else because of a lack in me to do the job. It was humbling enough to have a not-quite three year old able to do my job, but to have rocks, inanimate objects do my job- well, that is beyond insulting. However, I must ask myself, am I truly praising God? Or am I just giving Him lip service so that rocks must do my job? How about you, are rocks doing your job too?

Digging Deeper: Habakkuk 2:11; Joshua 24:11; Matthew 6:21

Where Is Your Focus

Colossians 3:2 “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth.”

Breakfast, back packs, lunches, permission slips, finished homework, special snack for after school, meetings, seminar notes, commute, dry cleaning, milk- just a running list of things to do and items to get, take, etc.. runs through my mind like a fast moving train as I try to get out the door in the morning. Life is busy.  It is filled to the brim of people to care for, things to do, and places to go.  It is difficult in the deluge of life to keep my focus where it should be.  

Most humans are not content to take one step at a time.  We want to take several and we want to know where the steps are leading, how many we need to get there.  The journey for us as Christians has many steps, twists and turns.  Too many times we become focused on the journey instead of the one leading the way. 

The journey entails learning to trust, to ignore the distractions of life and focus on God.  Frequently we start out on the journey gung-ho, full of energy and drive.  Then, the journey becomes tiring, requires some effort, takes time, and often is not easy. The conditions of the journey no longer appear as inviting as when we first started out. So, put little effort into it or quit. Ecclesiastes 11:4 tells us that “If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done”.

Proverbs 24:16 tells us that “The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again.” God does not reject us in our weakness; rather He is there to carry us, to help us, and to love us.  Philippians 1:6 says “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” So dear one, continue the journey, though it may be hard for God is at work in you, He will work out His plan for you.  The journey may be long, but the final destination is worth it all. So, focus on the One leading the way.

The song by Helen Lemmel says:

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
  In the light of His glory and grace.”

Digging deeper: Psalms 62:8; Isaiah 40:11; Proverbs 3:5-6; Matthew 6:33-34; Hebrews 12:1-3; Psalm 138:8; Psalm 37:3; Philippians 4:8

Faith Filled Friday

From the Message Bible: "That clinches it- help's coming, an answer's on the way, everything's going to work out." Psalm 20:5

Believing it, claiming it today. How about you?

Seasoned with Salt

“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” Colossians 4:6 I love the taste of salt. I like salty foods and often pour more salt on foods already seasoned with salt (like crackers). Salt makes food palatable for me. To be without salt, is to have bland food. It can be eaten, but it is not very enjoyable. Leviticus 2:13 says “Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings”.

 In offering my sacrifices to Christ to be of any meaning, they must be salted. This requires them to be flavorful and of virtue. The same must be of my words. Matthew Henry writes “Though it be not always of grace, it must always be with grace. Though our discourse be of that which is common, yet it must be in a Christian manner. Grace is the salt which seasons our discourse, and keeps it from corrupting. It is not enough to answer what is asked, unless we answer aright also.”

Jesus tells us in Mark 9:50 "Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with each other." Like salt is good for seasoning foods, we must be seasoned with grace. This means that love, forgiveness, gentleness, a servant-spirit towards others, and patience, along with faith and hope should be our makeup and come through in our conversations. To do this, spend time in the word and with the Father. Ask for His seasoning.

 Digging deeper: Ezekiel 43:24; Matthew 5:13, 12:35; Job 6:6; Ephesians 4:29; I Peter 3:15

Faith Filled Friday

The other day on Facebook, someone posted an encouraging scripture verse for a friend. Only God knew that I also needed to read that verse and claim it. Sometimes this journey that I am on is very discouraging, tiring and leaves me to question whether or not to press on to the finish line. Right now has been a time of questioning, stressing about the next few months rather than leaving it in the Father's hands. Like me, perhaps you too, need to hear this verse: "But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded" 2 Chronicles 15:7

An Invitation to Dine

“God, who gets invited to dinner at your place? How do we get on the guest list?” Psalm 15:1 (MSG)

I am not a huge fan of eating at people’s homes. The reason is simple; I am a picky eater and rarely is fixed anything I like. I do not want to hurt my host’s feelings after they have gone to so much work by not eating what is fixed, but…. Sometimes I can get away with it if my husband is with me; by covertly placing “whatever” on his plate (he is definitely not as selective as me). But, he is not always able to be with me. Sometimes the host really knows me and fixes me something special and invites me to dine with them. What joy to participate and to truly be invited to dine.

I love to be invited. Who doesn’t? A Nazarene pastor, Charles Widmeyer wrote a song and the first verse and refrain so eloquently invite us to the Lord’s table:

Jesus has a table spread where the saints of God are fed
He invites his chosen people come and dine
With his manna he doth feed and supplies our every need
Oh tis sweet to sup with Jesus all the time.

Come and dine the Master calleth come and dine
You may feast at Jesus table all the time
He who fed the multitude turned the water into wine
To the hungry calleth now come and dine.

“And Jesus said to them ‘Come and dine’” (John 21:1a). We are invited to come and dine at the banquet table, a meal of which we cannot even conceive of the bounty and goodness waiting for us. How hungry are you today? We can be fed by the Master. Revelations 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with me.” Just open the door and be fed.

Digging deeper: John 10:9; Luke 14:15-24

Onomatopoeia

“People thought evil, imagined evil- evil, evil, evil from morning to night. God was sorry that he had made the human race in the first place; it broke his heart.” Genesis 6:5b-6 (MSG)

Growing my vocabulary has been a continual part of my educational endeavor. When I come across a new word, not a neologism, I write the word with the definition on an index card that I review until the word is embedded in mind. A few weeks ago, a new word that I encountered was onomatopoeia. Onomatopoeia is defined as “word that imitates the sound it represents”. A few examples are zip, gush, drip, splash, and kerplunk.

As I was pondering onomatopoeia and its meaning, I thought of the word sin. Sin is like it sounds; dirty, nasty, ugly and yet, none of these adjectives nor the true meaning of sin can really be defined and sound like it truly is. Sin breaks the heart of God. Its cost is more than we can pay, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). The cost of sin is Grace: God’s riches at Christ’s expense. Grace- it sounds like something that cannot be purchased, something hard to truly grasp, a beauty in it that defies description. God is grace, of grace and grace comes only through Jesus Christ (John 1:17). I do not really think grace sounds like what it is, for true grace cannot be heard; only known.

Does sin make your ears hurt? Do you know grace? You can. I John 1:9 tells us that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” From evil to forgiven, from experiencing sin to experience grace has been paid for us by Christ; all we need to do is to be truly repentant and then accept what is freely given (Romans 3:24). What word do you want your life to sound like today?



Digging deeper: Isaiah 63:9-10; Ephesians 4:30; Psalm 11:5, 7: Micah 7:18-19; Titus 2:11; Ephesians 1:7