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Walking into the Storm

June 7, 2015 / Sondra / 0 Comments

Mark 4:35-41 (NIV)

“35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” 39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

As I studied this passage this week, some things really popped out at me and, I confess, I didn’t like them very much. After all, who wants to deal with a storm? I personally prefer calm, smooth sailing.

In this passage, Jesus had spent the day teaching and healing the people who were following him around. It was probably a long and tiring day and Jesus was ready for some “manly man” time with his disciples. He suggests they get in a boat and sail to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Once he was still in the boat, he fell asleep. I have days like this; days where I’m so tired that as long as I keep moving I’m fine, but as soon as I get still for more than a couple of minutes I fall fast asleep. In fact, there are many times when I don’t know who was eliminated on Dancing with the Stars or The Voice until the next day because I fell asleep before the end. (This is where an attentive husband and TiVo are such a blessing.) I love this reminder of Jesus’ humanity. Sometimes I forget that when I am exhausted, he knows exactly how I feel.

While Jesus is asleep, a storm comes up. Because of the way the mountains surround the Sea Of Galilee, storms can come up very quickly and very unexpectedly. The NIV Study Bible explains it this way, “Situated in a basin surrounded by mountains, the Sea of Galilee is particularly susceptible to sudden, violent storms. Cool air from the Mediterranean is drawn down through the narrow mountain passes and clashes with the hot, humid air lying over the lake.” These storms can be really fierce. In fact, the word used in the Greek for this storm can also be translated hurricane. These storms are definitely not for the faint of heart. Since many of the disciples were fishermen used to this sea, these storms were familiar to them. So I think that for them to get this afraid, this one must have been especially terrible.

Here’s the thing: the disciples would have had no way of knowing that this storm was coming, but Jesus did. Jesus knew what would happen when he suggested they get in the boat that day and yet told them to do it anyway. I told you there were lessons in here that I didn’t like…

In his New Testament commentary for this passage, Warren Wiersbe puts it this way, ‘’The same day’ refers to the day on which Jesus gave the ‘parables of the kingdom.’ He had been teaching His disciples the Word, and now He would give them a practical test to see how much they had really learned. After all, the hearing of God’s Word is intended to produce faith (Rom. 10:17), and faith must always be tested. It is not enough for us merely to learn a lesson or be able to repeat a teaching. We must also be able to practice that lesson by faith, and that is one reason why God permits trials to come to our lives.” In other words as my former Bible Study Fellowship teaching leader used to say, “Faith is a muscle and we have to use it in order for it to get stronger.” Application! Application! Application!

Honestly, I don’t like these thoughts either. It’s like God is giving us homework. I never really liked homework when I was in school and now my son doesn’t like it either. I find myself in the position of having to remind him of the benefits of homework even though I know I said the same things at his age. I understand not wanting to sit and do the same kind of math problems over and over again, but that is how the teachers measure the understanding level of the students. In order to really remember and understand what they have learned, they must practice.

My husband and I had a similar discussion last night. When my son was much younger and still taking naps, I worked through a lot of computer books. I learned HTML and CSS. I read through the Missing Manuals for the latest operating systems (yeah, I’m that girl…); all in the hopes that I would be able to help my husband in the Information Technology business we had started. The problem is that I never really applied what I learned. I haven’t had the opportunity to design a website from scratch or play with the style sheets from an existing site. The result is that I have retained very little.

What brought this up is that this summer my son and I plan to learn Java, but I don’t want the same thing to happen again. My husband and I started talking about what kind of project we could do so that we would have the opportunity to apply what we learned. We will be able to use our knowledge to create and maintain a new app and hopefully our knowledge of that programming language will be cemented in our heads.

Jesus had been teaching the people all day long and now it was time to see if they could apply what they had learned. Jesus wanted to measure their understanding. I can really relate to the disciples here because so often when I’m faced with that hurricane designed to strengthen and cement my faith, I fall flat on my face too. I have panicked in the face of the wind and waves. I have asked God if he cares at all.

In verse 40 Jesus asks the question, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” I think he was telling them that fear and faith cannot coexist. As long as they were afraid, they could not claim to have true faith in the circumstance. As I look at my life, I find this a humbling thought. I’m by no means a spiritual giant, but I do consider myself a person of faith and yet often I find myself terrified. In those moments, I now realize I have let my fear overcome my faith. That fear chokes out my faith the way the weeds choke out the good plants in the garden and God needs me to see the places where I still have these fears. That’s when the testing comes.

I also noticed that even knowing what was coming, Jesus was so confident and secure in his Father’s love and care that he was able to lie down and sleep through the storm. How many of us can say that? I do think that Jesus was exhausted, but I also think this is yet another example for us to follow. His faith was so great that it didn’t matter what his body was about to endure. His trust was so secure that he walked directly into the storm without a second thought.

Jesus understands our physical needs and in the midst of a physical need may lead us into a storm. However, He wants us to have so much faith and trust in Him that we can sleep soundly in the midst of the storm as we rest in His care. He wants us to be so close to him that our first reaction is to remember that he can and will use this thing for my good and his glory. It’s humbling to realize that God could, at any moment, lead me directly into a storm. However, His desire is that I not panic, but completely trust Him and Jesus showed me how. I want to be able to do that, but I’m not there yet.

These two things should be always present in our minds because they affect everything we do. We don’t have to panic because God is sovereign. We don’t have to panic because He is omnipotent. Sometimes He will lead us into a storm because He wants to remind us that He is trustworthy and our faith never grows if it’s not exercised. Even in these times, we can trust Him.

Have you faced any hurricanes lately? Were you able to walk in the footsteps of Jesus and show faith and trust or were you like me and the disciples and panicked first? God will continue to work in, around, and through each of us to shape us into his likeness. He is the same God who controlled the winds and the waves on the Sea of Galilee. He took care of the disciples then and he will take care of us now.

Time to Rest

May 28, 2015 / Sondra / 0 Comments

Mark 6:31 (NLT) Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.”

The more I study the life of Jesus, the more I realize just how many of the things He did that were done to set an example for us. For instance, Jesus went to John the Baptist to be baptized. John’s baptism was for forgiveness of sin, yet Jesus had never sinned. Jesus didn’t need to be baptized, Jesus knew that He should be baptized to set a good example for us.

Then Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness. I’m sure there were many reasons that God allowed this to happen, but I think a big one was to teach us how to handle temptation when we are faced with it. Otherwise, why would Jesus have told the story to His disciples who then recorded it for us to read later?

I think another example that Jesus lived out for us in His daily ministry is one that we often forget. He lived out the need for rest and alone time with God.

Mark 1:32-37 (NIV) 32 That evening after sunset the people brought to Jesus all the sick and demon-possessed. 33 The whole town gathered at the door, 34 and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.

35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.36 Simon and his companions went to look for him, 37 and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!”

Jesus spent an evening healing the sick and driving out demons. I would think he would be very tired and he probably was, but more important to him was time spent with his Father. He needed to recharge, spiritually. One on one time with God became the foundation of his ministry. Here is another example:

Luke 5:15-16: 15 But despite Jesus’ instructions, the report of his power spread even faster, and vast crowds came to hear him preach and to be healed of their diseases. 16 But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer. (NLT)

If you read previously in this chapter of Luke, you will see that this was a busy day! Jesus spent the morning preaching along the Sea of Galilee. Then He took Peter out so that Peter could catch some fish, called His first disciples, and healed a man with leprosy. He spent the day acting out His faith (preaching, teaching, healing, doing miracles) but then He took time to be quiet and alone with God.

Luke 6:12-13 12One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. 13 At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles. (NLT)

Over and over again, we see Jesus go without sleep or even leave the people for a while to spend time alone with God. These moments with His Father seemed to recharge Him like no nap or good night’s sleep ever could. Oh, that I could learn this lesson.

In today’s church the common statistic is that 20% of the people do 80% of the work. If those people are anything like me, they also have more than one job in the church where they serve. Unfortunately, the result is often that we are so busy getting things done for the church that we don’t take time to rest. We’ve decided that working for Jesus is much more important than resting in Jesus.

There have been so many times when I was afraid to miss a Sunday or an event, etc because this is my ministry and no one can do it the way I do. They need me. I should be there. I have felt guilty so many times for being absent or even sick and missing something. And I don’t think I am wrong, other people will not do things exactly the way I would do them. The part that I forget is: that is ok.

I have a very honest friend who reminds me that the Holy Spirit can use anyone and He uses every person differently. If I am truly joining the Lord in His work then I must remember that I am not the essential one in the partnership, He is. He will use any vessel He chooses, willing or unwilling to accomplish His purposes. Sometimes I need this humbling reminder that it isn’t about me, it’s all about Him. I can leave and God will find another willing vessel to get His message across whether it is in Sunday School, Preschool choir, or through music.

Which brings me back to my point. Jesus is the essential one in all of these equations and yet He often took time and opportunity to get away. He left people who were in need to retreat into the mountains and be alone with God. Without saying a word, I believe that Jesus is teaching us the very important principle that we must take care of ourselves first in order to be effective ministers for Him. If I fill my days up with doing things, things get done. If I forget to take time to BE, then my attitude, my effectiveness, even my efficiency is compromised.

In the last few years, I have developed a love of gardening. My mother-in-law and her siblings are thrilled! They feel like in this area they have had a positive effect on me. I am truly part of their family now because I have joined in the family pastime. At my house, we have flowers in the front yard and then in the back we have an herb garden in one place and a fruit/vegetable garden in another. I find tending the garden to be both productive because I get things from my garden that I can eat or cook with and relaxing because this is quiet time surrounded by God’s creation. I often think about God as I’m working in the garden.

If we use the analogy that our relationship with God is like a garden (which, by the way, is one of my favorite analogies), then we can see that periodic weeding of the garden is necessary in order to maintain its beauty and its productivity. If I never take the time to weed the garden, the pretty flowers will be choked out by weeds. The garden will become overgrown and ugly. I won’t have herbs or fruits or vegetables because they can’t thrive in an environment where they are competing with weeds.

If I never take the time to BE with God, I still have a garden, (my relationship with Him never goes away) but it becomes full of weeds and is not very pretty to look at. The weeds (things that interfere with my relationship to God), if allowed to take over, will choke out the beneficial plants that I want to thrive there. When I do take the time to be with God, my garden is weeded, God points out things to me that aren’t right; places where I need to ask or offer forgiveness; attitudes that don’t glorify Him and shows me how to take care of them. He also reveals Himself to me in a deeper more intimate way allowing my faith and my trust to grow.

If I don’t take time to Be with God, I can still work for His kingdom, but I will tend to get frustrated, upset, or even burned out because I haven’t gone back to the one who is the sustainer of all things. I also can’t pass along what I’m learning because I’m not really learning very much. God can’t get a word in edgewise with all of my busy-ness.

By His actions, Jesus is showing us the value of resting in Him. He wants us to take time to relax and enjoy Him, just like we spend time relaxing and enjoying our friends. And when it is time to work, He promises to help us:

Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV) 28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Jesus didn’t just promise to strengthen us and send us on our way. He’s helping to shoulder the burden with us. He is, after all, on the other side of the yoke and I think that since my burden is light, He is probably carrying most of the weight. However, this only works if I go to Him first.

I love that we can look at the life of Jesus and see not only in the things He said, but also in how He lived, important things about developing a close relationship with God. Jesus went to God for rest. Jesus offers us rest. I want to be more deliberate about taking Him up on that offer. What about you?

**Author’s note: all emphasis in scripture passages is mine.

Even Jesus Poked the Bear

March 25, 2015 / Sondra / 0 Comments

Luke 4:16-30 (NIV)

When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.” He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!” Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” Then he said, “You will undoubtedly quote me this proverb: ‘Physician, heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.’ But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown. “Certainly there were many needy widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the heavens were closed for three and a half years, and a severe famine devastated the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them. He was sent instead to a foreigner—a widow of Zarephath in the land of Sidon. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, but the only one healed was Naaman, a Syrian.” When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious. Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff, but he passed right through the crowd and went on his way.

Every time I read this passage of scripture, it bothers me. Based on what we know, this would seem to be Jesus’ first sermon. He preached it in his hometown amongst his own family and friends. And yet every time I read this it seems to me like Jesus deliberately provoked the people there.

”Then he said, “You will undoubtedly quote me this proverb: ‘Physician, heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.’ But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown. “ (Vs 23-24)

The thing that I find so puzzling about this is that the verse immediately before this statement talks about how the people were amazed by him.

”Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” (Vs 22)

So why did Jesus turn around right then and poke the bear? After all, poking the bear doesn’t seem to be the best way to start a ministry or gain a following.

I will confess, I love to poke the bear. I love to play devil’s advocate and stir things up. I love to throw things out there just to see what will happen. I don’t do this just to create trouble, I love the discussions and debates that arise from it. I love hearing the wheels turn in other people’s minds (as well as my own) as they really think through a topic. I enjoy hearing ideas different than my own and examining them to see which parts have merit, what I agree with, etc.

But why did Jesus poke the bear? I think that part of the answer to this question is that Jesus, by this point was filled with the Holy Spirit. I also think He was fully God and fully man, so He knew the desires of their hearts. He knew what they would say before they said it. So He headed them off.

Jesus shows us over and over again that He was more concerned that people hear and understand the truth than He was about gaining followers. At this time in the history of Israel, much had been added to the original message God gave them. Not content with the 10 Commandments and the Law of Moses, the Pharisees had added many laws of their own to those God had expressly given them. There was so much emphasis on the rules that they seemed to have forgotten about the relationship. God wanted more from them than just good behavior, God wanted to know them.

Jesus wanted them to think. He knew that “poking the bear” would bring out what was really in their hearts and He wanted them to see it. There really were at least two possible responses to Jesus’ words. The people could have gotten angry at the thought that anyone would go to those outside of Israel, which is what they did, or they could have stopped to think about their original calling to be God’s ambassadors to the surrounding nations. Warren Wiersbe once said in reference to the discussion of the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, “… for the same sun that melts the ice also hardens the clay. It all depends on the nature of the material.” The same is true here. The poke would either reveal anger or compassion…

The focus in Israel seems have changed as well. When God called Israel to be His chosen people, His desire was for them to be His ambassadors to the Gentiles sharing the message of God that was intended for all people. Israel, however, took pride in their status. They became self-centered and closed themselves off from the rest of the world. As Jesus pointed out to them these specific miracles, He was reminding them that God’s message was for all people and that part of His mission was to go to the Gentiles. That is what really got the people angry.

Don’t we do the same thing? We don’t want to get to know “those people” because they don’t: look like, act like, talk like, or think like us. Yet, as Christians, we are called to be in the world and not of it. Most of us, myself included, seem to prefer creating our own little worlds within our world and try to ignore the greater world just outside our doors.

I can say this because it is my life. If you were to examine my life, you would see that as a stay at home mom, my first responsibility is to my family. Then you would notice that I spend much of the rest of my time, teaching Sunday School, leading Preschool Choir at church, singing in the choir, reading Christian books for my Christian book club, and studying my Bible. I tell you this not to toot my own horn but to point out that, although these are all good things, by the time I do them I don’t have much time left to cultivate relationships outside the church. Like Israel, I find often myself inside my little bubble.

I think Jesus was saying to them. Yes, I am your son, your brother, your friend, but I am not only here for you. I am also here for the leper, the widow, the Samaritan woman, and the Roman Centurion. Maybe Jesus, by poking the bear, was actually issuing an invitation to them. Maybe he was telling them that He would not be joining them in their little bubble, but He very much wanted them to join Him in His big world.

Will you accept Jesus’ invitation? What are some of the ways you can get out of your little bubble?

Faith and a Snake

February 28, 2015 / Sondra / 0 Comments

Exodus 4

Nestled in the midst of Moses’ whining and excuses, we find this nugget of faith. Really, it’s a glimpse of the great faith that will show itself again and again over the next forty years. Moses has been telling God all of the reasons why He was the wrong guy for the job of leading Israel out of Egypt, so God gave Moses a sign.

Exodus 4:1-3 (NIV)

4:1 Moses answered, “What if [the Israelites] do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?” 2 Then the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. 3 The Lord said, “Throw it on the ground.”

Moses threw it on the ground and it became a snake, and he ran from it. 4 Then the Lord said to him, “Reach out your hand and take it by the tail.” So Moses reached out and took hold of the snake and it turned back into a staff in his hand. 5 “This,” said the Lord, “is so that they may believe that the Lord, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.”

I confess, if it were me and I was already in the throws of whining and complaining, I probably would have continued to grumble and maybe even outright refuse. I mean really??? A snake??? I don’t want to have anything to do with snakes, not even the harmless ones. You should have seen me the time a snake went slithering through my feet while I was working in the garden. Screaming like a little girl doesn’t begin to cover it…

Moses was scared enough that when the staff initially turned into a snake, he ran away. That would be me! Then God told him to pick it up “BY THE TAIL!” I know very little about snakes, but I do know that if I ever pick one up (almost guaranteed I won’t), I should pick it up right behind the head so that it can’t bite me. The Bible doesn’t tell us what kind of snake it was, but in the classic movie “The Ten Commandments,” they decide the snake is a cobra. I can tell you that there is no way that I will ever pick up a cobra, especially by the tail. And yet Moses obeys the Lord and picks up the snake by the tail and sees the miracle of his staff returned to him.

In my “About Me” page on my blog site, I say that I write in order to process what I learn. This is very true of me. I often have to chew on stuff for awhile before I really see things and get the meanings. For example, I studied this passage back in September at BSF and again a few weeks ago for my Sunday School class and I am really only now chewing on the implication of faith that is defined here, because I believe the act of picking that snake up by the tail, was one of pure faith.

However, in the next breath, Moses continues his mission to give God all of the reasons he is not the right man for this job. If I had been there, I don’t think I would really consider Moses to be a great man of faith or to even have much faith at all. And yet, when we look back from the end of his life, we can see just how great his faith really was. I am so thankful that God chose to include this in the Bible, because the way Moses acted (having a great moment of faith, followed by a crash and burn moment) is just like me.

See, I have had moments of great faith followed by total acts of cowardice too. I’ve argued with God that I wasn’t the right person for the job. But maybe one day, at the end of my life, someone will be able to look back on my life and see a person of overall great faith. I hope that some day my children and grandchildren (eventually) will see my life as a testimony to God’s grace. I pray that God will use my failures to grow my faith just as He did for Moses and that others can learn from my mistakes. That is the kind of legacy I’d like to leave behind.

It’s easy to look at Moses standing at the burning bush from our perspective and wonder why he didn’t get it. Yet, often when I’m the one at the bush, I don’t get it either. These verses give me hope that God will turn my failures to faith just like He did for Moses.

How about you? Have you had an epic fail that you can look back on and see how God brought great faith from it? I’d love to hear from you!

As Long as There is Us and Them, We Have a Problem.

February 19, 2015 / Sondra / 3 Comments

I am becoming more and more disturbed by the way we, as Christians are acting, not just toward those outside our faith, but to those within our faith. The 24 hour news cycle seems to have made us both more aware of what is going on in the world and more opinionated about it (or maybe I’m just hearing those opinions now). I see things every day, articles in the news, interactions through social media, and more that give illustration after illustration of how ugly we are to each other and it breaks my heart.

We are quick to take sides, just name the hot button topic.

Politics? sides…

Homosexuality and the church? sides…

Literal versus metaphoric interpretation of the Bible? sides…

My issue is that we’re not just content to take sides. We act and react with venom that makes the snake himself happy. We call names, use stereotypes, throw out insults, and lose our tempers all while sporting fish on our cars and WWJD? bracelets on our arms.

Recently, there was great furor over President Obama’s speech at the National Prayer Breakfast. For three days my Facebook timeline blew up with articles from Fox News and other conservative outlets saying that this is one more example of how our president is anti-Christian. Really, that’s fine. It is THE WAY these things are said that bothers me. Many of the comments weren’t just, “I disagree with the President”. They start calling him names, slandering his friends, or saying he’s stupid and only got his education because of his race (yes, I actually read that). It would be one thing for anyone to say these things about our President, but these are professing Christians. And it isn’t just one side. I also read comments slandering conservatives and their agenda to rally people “too dumb to know any different.” This group, rather than slandering the President, is now slandering their friends, neighbors, and even family members. These are people who are also representing Jesus! What are we doing?

I read an interesting and heartbreaking article written by John Pavlovitz entitled “The Continued Crucifying Of Rob Bell, And What It Says About The State Of Modern Christianity.” The article discusses Rob Bell’s fall from “Christian Rock Star” as the founder of Mars Hill Bible [mega] Church to outcast among the more outspoken Christian circles because he dared to ask the questions that many of us have already asked in our minds. His problem was that he did it in print; he wrote a book. Before I go any further, I don’t really know anything about Rob Bell and I have never read his book, although I might look for it now. I’m not advocating for or against his opinions. What I am advocating is that he should be able to express those opinions without becoming an outcast among his brothers and sisters. The opening line of Pavlovitz’ article is, “It’s often been said that we Christians eat our own.” This is a terrible indictment of us. I just wish it weren’t true.

I am in a book club through my home church and we have been reading Philip Yancey’s “What’s So Amazing About Grace?” The thing that comes up over and over again as we discuss the chapters in this book is, “As long as there is us and them, we have a problem.” This is so true but the problem is that “us versus them” is so ingrained in us that we find it difficult to describe things apart from it. Even in trying to write this, I am struggling to get away from “us versus them” and it’s hard because it is just easier to label everyone by his/her differences.

We have conservative Christians, liberal Christians, moderate Christians. We have heterosexual Christians and homosexual Christians. We have traditional Christians and progressive Christians. I’m sure if I sat here long enough, I could fill up an entire page of “us versus them.” Of course, all of this would be absolutely fine if the individual groups got along with each other, but we don’t.

Enter Jesus…

I’m sure it’s an unpopular opinion, but I believe we are more like the Pharisees than we are like Jesus. The Pharisees were threatened by Jesus’ radical interpretation of scripture and His focus on the state of the heart. Like us, the Pharisees liked the Law. They liked having rules to follow and I understand that completely. If I have a rule, then there is no question what is right and what is wrong. There is no gray. Everything is clearly written in black and white and I don’t have to think at all.

But Jesus wants us to think. He wants us to internalize God’s Law to the point that we can see the Law for what it truly is, a measure to show our complete need for a Savior. Jesus wants us to get past the rules and regulations and move to the heart of the matter. He wants us to see how much of the Law is steeped in thought and feeling. So in example after example, Jesus makes us think.

In John 8, Jesus is teaching at the Mount of Olives when He is interrupted by the Pharisees who were dragging a woman out with them.

“4 and [the Pharisees] said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him….” *

John clearly tells us that their question was a trap. They were trying to put Jesus on the defensive. They were being adversarial. Jesus, however, remains calm and makes them think.

“…But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.”

Essentially, Jesus was telling them: Think about what you’re saying. Examine yourself. Have you never done anything sinful? And it worked. They did think.

9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.

Finally Jesus has His first words with this woman.

10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

11 “No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

With everyone gone, Jesus could easily have started spouting scripture after scripture to this woman telling her how wrong she was and how badly she had behaved. That’s my tendency, for sure. Instead, Jesus showed love, grace, and mercy. He was the only one who could have thrown a stone and He chose not to. He knew that she didn’t need to hear how bad she was, she needed to hear how much she was loved.

Jesus didn’t worry people would think that by showing her love, He was condoning her sin. He didn’t worry about what other people thought at all and it was very clear that He was not condoning her sin when He lovingly told her not to do this anymore. But we are afraid. I can’t reach out to “that person” or she’ll think that I think the way she lives is ok! Or I can reach out, but when I do I have to drum in all the scriptures that support my opinion on her life of sin. That way there will be no confusion about my beliefs. Yet, Jesus just loved her. Jesus saw past the Law to grace and He didn’t let fear of how someone else might judge His motives stop Him from giving her exactly what she needed.

In John 17, Jesus has been talking to his disciples during the Passover. He’s trying once more to prepare them for what is coming. Then Jesus looks toward heaven and prays one of my favorite prayers in all the Bible. By the time we get to verse 20, Jesus is praying for us. He says:

20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

Over and over again, Jesus prays that we would be one. This is not just an arbitrary prayer by someone who thinks it would be a good thing if people see us unified. He prays this prayer with purpose. Jesus says that it’s vital that we stand together in unity so that, “the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (Vs 23b) So my question is, what message am I sending to the world every time I stand against a Christian brother or sister? How much damage am I doing to God’s kingdom, when I focus on our differences and ignore all of the things we have in common? How many people have failed to understand that God loves them so much He sent His only Son, because of my words or actions?

Let’s go back to John Pavlovitz. He says,

“We’ve lost the ability to welcome diversity of thought. We’ve made the Church a members-only club, defined by the narrowest of doctrines and the most rigid understandings of God and Scripture.”

We can’t grow in wisdom and stature if we can’t even listen to someone who has a different view than we do. We grow through self examination. If I am presented with a differing view point which causes me to re-examine what I believe and why, then my faith grows stronger. This is especially true if I am forced back into the scriptures to support my position. And there is always a possibility that going back to the source will cause me to realize that my views don’t line up with Jesus. Am I willing to honestly do this?

Is it even possible for us to move away from “us and them”? Can we make the leap to allowing everyone the opportunity to present his/her questions or opinions and discuss them logically and rationally? Can we really allow God to transform us to the unified people that Jesus desired us to be?

I close with the words of Paul, to remind myself as much as anyone else of what I have been called to do.

“1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:1-6)

It’s important for each of us to recognize how God sees each one of us in Christ. I think it’s just as important to treat each other as the Treasured Possessions we are to God.

But I Don’t Want to Go!!

January 14, 2015 / Sondra / 0 Comments

Exodus 4:13 But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.” (NIV)

I love the humanity of Biblical heroes. I think God shows them to us, warts and all, in order to remind us that He is not sending out perfect people. He is sending out imperfect people with a perfect God to work in a perfect plan.

The story in Exodus 3 and 4 is a familiar one. After Moses blows it in Egypt at age 40, he goes to the wilderness of Midian to hide from Pharaoh (he thinks). I believe that God really had Moses there to grow. So 40 years later, it’s time. At the end of Exodus 2 verses 23 and 24 tell us:

“23 Years passed, and the king of Egypt died. But the Israelites continued to groan under their burden of slavery. They cried out for help, and their cry rose up to God. 24 God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 He looked down on the people of Israel and knew it was time to act.” (NLT)

God knew it was time to act, enter Moses.

God get’s Moses’ attention again by appearing to him from a burning bush, except it wasn’t really burning which is why Moses got interested. God tells Moses the plan and Moses immediately comes up with all the reasons he shouldn’t go.

Exodus 3:11 (NIV) “11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?””

Exodus 3:13 (NIV) “13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?””

Exodus 4:1 (NIV) “Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to me and say, ‘The Lord did not appear to you’?”

Exodus 4:10 (NIV) “10 Moses said to the Lord, “Pardon your servant, Lord. I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.”

And finally, the last straw and the real truth:

Exodus 4:13 (NIV) 13 But Moses said, “Pardon your servant, Lord. Please send someone else.”

Can’t you just hear him, “But I don’t want to go!!!!” “Don’t make me do that!” “That’s not fair!”

I hear things like this from my son all the time. I know why the next verse tells us God got angry, the thing I don’t understand is why He didn’t get angry sooner. I would have. I’m not sure I would have made it past excuse number 2 without yelling, “WILL YOU JUST TRUST ME???” The painful part of this though is the realization that God hears this from me too.

For as long as I can remember I have loved music. You could say that music has been my life especially for the last 15 years or so. Everything I did in ministry revolved around music. I sang in the choir, sang on the Praise Team, I led preschool choir. For VBS, I was often asked to help with music is some form. Music was my ministry. Music was my life. Then I developed some vocal damage due to complications from illnesses and medical conditions and I had to stop singing. It was like my entire world had been ripped out from under me. I was devastated.

During this time of recovery (and I have mostly recovered now), I had one friend in particular who tried to encourage me with these words, “I think God is leading you to another area of ministry.” I very distinctly remember having the very same reaction every time she said it, “But I don’t wanna go!” I never said it out loud. I don’t know if my friend knows this is what I was thinking or not because all I did was smile and nod. I didn’t look for a new ministry. I didn’t want a new ministry. I wanted my old ministries back. I wanted my life back, just the way it was before.

I can picture Moses having a similar inner monologue going on. Maybe it was something like, I’m happy here in Midian. I have a quiet life as a shepherd with lots of time to think about God. I have a great family now. I love my wife and my sons and I’m one of the rare people who gets along great with my in-laws. I tried helping out in Egypt and look what that got me. I’d rather stay here where I’m comfortable.

Ugh…

I did it…

I went there…

I want to be comfortable…

I wanted to be comfortable too. The music ministry was comfortable for me. I felt prepared there. I felt gifted there. I was well trained in music, it was a safe place. The problem is that God doesn’t call us to be comfortable, He calls us to be faithful. God wouldn’t let me stay comfortable and He wouldn’t let Moses stay comfortable either.

Exodus 4:14 (NIV) Then the Lord’s anger burned against Moses and he said, “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he can speak well. He is already on his way to meet you, and he will be glad to see you. 15 You shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; I will help both of you speak and will teach you what to do. 16 He will speak to the people for you, and it will be as if he were your mouth and as if you were God to him. 17 But take this staff in your hand so you can perform the signs with it.”

Moses fought hard against God and it made his journey much more difficult. I know the feeling, I did the same thing…

Holding onto my plan and my dream led down a path of depression, sometimes to the point of despair, and damaged relationships. I made it difficult for me, for my family, and for my friends. That process was much harder than God wanted it to be because I fought so hard against it. I couldn’t let go. I couldn’t just trust.

Moses did the same thing and his consequences were far reaching. Moses’ excuses gave him a big problem. God responded in a way that took care of the excuse, but it also greatly limited Moses’ power and authority. Vs 15 You [Moses] shall speak to [Aaron] and put words in his mouth… every single time… Vs 16 [Aaron] will speak to the people for you as if he were your mouth and you were God to him… every single time… Do you wonder if Moses ever got tired of not being able to directly address the people? Do you wonder if God answered back, “I told you so…”

Moses could never again move without Aaron. He needed Aaron to speak. Can you imagine? Come here Aaron, I have a message from God for these people. Hey Aaron, I need you! I have something else to say. Moses even lost the privilege of doing the miracles. Now Aaron gets to have all the fun.

Exodus 4:30-31a (NIV) “and Aaron told them everything the Lord had said to Moses. He also performed the signs before the people, 31 and they believed.”

I can only wonder how many times Moses kicked himself for fighting against God and being in that situation.

God’s plan will be accomplished. He wants to do it the easy way, but it will happen, even if it’s the hard way. I’ve experienced that part too. My friend was right. Even with all my protests, God was moving me to a new ministry. I now teach Sunday School to 5th graders. The kids have been a tremendous blessing to me and I know I am where God has led me to be. God has used this new place to help me grow spiritually and to develop relationships with kids that help them to grow too. I just wish I had gone there the easy way.

So what place is God taking you that you don’t want to go? Are you going to do it the easy way or the hard way?

Up On the Mountain – Exodus 25-27

November 22, 2014 / Sondra / 0 Comments

Fall Mountains

In the middle chapters of Exodus, God has rescued the people of Israel from their bondage in Egypt, He has miraculously delivered them out of the hands of the Egyptian army, and has now led them to Sinai, the mountain of God. This is their time of teaching; their time of waiting.

In chapter 20, God calls Moses up on the mountain and plans for all of the people of Israel to see Him in His cloud of glory and hear Him as He begins to give instructions. But the people get scared, I mean really, who wouldn’t be scared?

Exodus 20:18-19: “When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, ‘Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.'”

The people seem perfectly content to have Moses go up on the mountain and talk to God for them. They even promise to listen to Moses and what he has to say when he returns.

In chapters 20-23, God gives Moses the laws that He wants the Israelites to follow. Chapter 25 begins the description of what God wants the Israelites to do for Him. He tells Moses that they are to build Him a sanctuary.

Exodus 25:8 “’Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. 9 Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.'”

God had planned all along to dwell among them and now they needed a special place for God to be. It’s really easy to get overwhelmed in the details of this elaborate sanctuary. Even today as I was reading, there were a couple of times that I felt my eyes glaze over. God is so specific about types of wood, lengths, sizes, types of fabric, how they are fashioned, how they are embroidered, etc. It reads like a pretty uninteresting list and then I saw a verse that I thought I had already ready read.

Exodus 27: 8 “Make the altar hollow, out of boards. It is to be made just as you were shown on the mountain.”

As I looked through the passage I realized that I had read this, but not because I was reading the same verse over and over.

Exodus 25:40 “See that you make them according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”

Exodus 26:30 “Set up the tabernacle according to the plan shown you on the mountain.”

Three times God says do it just like I showed you on the mountain. I tell my 5^th graders that when God repeats something it must be really important, so I started wondering what is God trying to tell me here?

You should also know that I have been on a Steven Curtis Chapman kick for the last couple of weeks. I have been constantly listening to all of his albums, some of which I haven’t listened to in a very long time. So don’t be surprised when I tell you that as I read these verses in the Bible, his song “The Mountain” started playing in my head over and over again.

“You bring me up here on the mountain
For me to rest and learn and grow
I see the truth up on the mountain
And I carry it to the world far below

So as I go down to the valley knowing that You will go with me
This is my prayer, Lord, help me to remember what you showed me
Up on the mountain, up on the mountain”

God reminded Moses over and over again to remember to do things the way God showed him while he was up on the mountain and Steven sings about all he learns up on the mountain and how his prayer is to remember what God showed him on the mountain when it’s time to go down to the valley.

We don’t like valleys. Well really I can only say, I don’t like valleys. I assume no one else really does either. I just finished reading the book “The Life You’ve Always Wanted” and doing the study that goes along with it. In the last video as John Ortberg discusses suffering he says, “No one ever asks, ‘May I have a problem, please?’” Of course, everyone chuckled because we know it’s true. And yet, we all know that our best spiritual growth happens through our suffering. We’ll deal with suffering when it comes, we’ll try to recognize that God allows suffering to help us to grow and draw us closer to Him, but we certainly don’t want to ask for it.

After reading this passage, though, I wonder if there is another option for growth for us. Moses is up on the mountain of God, with God. He is alone in the cloud that is God’s glory talking with the Almighty. What an incredible experience that must have been! Moses didn’t have to worry about a thing. He was with God. He knew that God would take care of everything. He was free to rest and enjoy his time alone with the Father.

As a tween and teen I used to love time alone with my Daddy although it wasn’t often restful. We did projects together. Well, he did projects and I helped. He bought a new house when I was in the 10^th grade and we installed ceiling fans and new multi switch outlets in every room (“We must have a separate switch for the light and the fan!”). We put a floor in the attic that was over the garage and then added shelving and storage (it was an awesome attic). We installed a pull down ladder to make entry into the attic easier. We wired the garage for an electric garage door opener. One day, after we finished our projects, Daddy looked at me and said, “I feel sorry for the poor guy you marry because you’re going to know how to do all of this stuff better than he does.” It made me laugh, and sometimes it turns out to be true… 😉

To me though, the important thing wasn’t doing work with Daddy. I loved spending time with him. He would talk to me while we were working and tell me stories and explain how things worked and why. There was a lot of love in those times as well as the blood and sweat. So I can relate a very little bit to how Moses might have been feeling. He was up on the mountain with his Daddy. And just like my Daddy told me that I would remember how to do all of this stuff, God told Moses to remember what He told Moses on the mountain.

What if mountain top experiences are also supposed to be times of learning and teaching? What if sometimes God has mercy on us and allows us to sit in His presence and absorb all we can from Him where it is pleasant and comfortable? What if God is strengthening us on the mountain; giving us strength and wisdom so that we can face our next period of suffering in a better, more godly way. “See that you make them according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”

The pastor at the church I grew up in had a plaque in his office that read, “Never forget in the darkness the promises God gave you in the light.” Maybe, for our purposes, we could alter that a little bit and say, “Never forget in the valley, the promises God gave you on the mountain.” It doesn’t flow as well on the tongue, but the meaning is the same.

I think I am going to pay more attention when I am up on the mountain. I don’t just want to learn in the hard times, I want to learn in peace and comfort while I rest in God’s presence. I want to learn all that God has for me to learn on the mountain so that I can be strengthened and encouraged when I get to the valley; so that I can represent Him in a way that brings glory and honor to Him when I’m in the valley. And maybe, just maybe, that will make the times of suffering that will follow a bit smoother.

What about you? Do you have a mountain top experience you’d like to share? What does God want you to remember from what He showed you on the mountain?

New Thoughts on an Old Passage – Exodus 20

November 15, 2014 / Sondra / 0 Comments

A funny thing happens when I ask God to show me something new in the scriptures: He does!! Why am I always surprised by that? I usually pray before I start studying because I know I can never get full benefit without God’s guidance, but this day, on a lark I asked God to show me something new. I was working on my BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) lesson and the passage was Exodus 20: The Ten Commandments. This is a really familiar passage and it’s way too easy to read over the verses instead of really reading them.

Many of us can remember these words, if not all of them, at least parts of them. God tells them, “I am the Lord your God… You shall have no other gods before me.” (vs 2-3). He continues to tell the Israelites and us that we are not to make idols or worship them (4-5), we are not to misuse the name of the Lord our God (ouch! Probably the one I struggle with the most.) (7), and we are to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. These are the commands that define our relationship with Him. Then God talks about the things that should define our relationships with others. We are to honor our parents (12), no murdering (13), no adultery (14), no stealing (15), no lying (16), and no coveting (17).

It was as I read the very last question in my lesson that I had my new thought. “What have you learned about God in this week’s study?” My first thought was similar to the fourth graders I taught in Sunday School a couple of years ago. I was substituting for their regular teacher and the lesson was all about Jesus. One of the opening questions was something like, What new thing do you want to learn about Jesus today? A couple of the kids, my son included, replied with answers that indicated they already knew everything about Jesus. They had been studying Jesus for years so there couldn’t be anything more to learn. Oh, to be 10 again… Yet I do the same thing! “What have you learned about God in this week’s study?” My first thought was “these verses are so familiar, what new thing can I learn about God from this?” So much for being more mature than my son…

I have understood for awhile that everything God does is centered around offering and building a relationship with His people. Sometimes it is so hard to get my head around the fact that God desires a close relationship with me! It’s true, though. God went to great lengths to make relationship with Him possible and He desires us to choose to enter that relationship. So here’s the new thought He gave me: God does desire relationship with us, but that relationship must be on His terms. God will not let any part of the relationship be contaminated by things that go against His nature. I’ve known this in some form for a long time, but it seemed new and different to me today.

God lays it out so specifically. “You shall have no other gods before me.” He commands that we not make any idols, no images in any form, and that we not worship them. He also says we are not to misuse his name. I confess that I am not as big of a fan of the wording in the most recent NIV translation. When I was a kid, we memorized “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” Since I didn’t really even know what that meant, I was good to go. Clarifying that terminology into “misusing His name” means that it stings every time I hear myself say, “Oh Lord”…

My point is that there is no negotiation here. These things are what we must do if we want to walk closely with God. If we try to be any other way and if He were to accept it, then His nature and His character would be forever changed. God loves us far more than we can ever comprehend, but He will not change for us. We must change for Him. As I pondered this I kept asking myself, what about me? Have I ever allowed my character to be altered within or because of a relationship? Well actually, yes; many times.

I have a close friend that I used to spend a lot of time with. She likes all things new and popular. She likes current fashion, current popular music, current popular trends, you get the idea. It’s not a bad thing, that is just very much her. I, on the other hand, still very much enjoy my favorite tunes from the 80’s, I often don’t pay much attention to current trends, I don’t tend to do a lot of clothes shopping (though I do enjoy shoes…), etc. I don’t want to be antiquated and out of the loop, but I’m not cutting edge either. In time, life and circumstance happened and now we don’t spend a lot of time together. We are still good friends, but that one on one time together isn’t there anymore.

Upon reflection, here’s what I have noticed. When I was spending a lot of time with my friend, we did a lot of shopping. We spent a lot of time talking about current trends and watching “What Not to Wear” (which taken in proper context was very helpful to me). She helped my modernize my style because I hadn’t really gone shopping for clothes for myself in years (yes, years! What was I thinking???). I started to focus a lot on what I was wearing and how I looked and if this outfit really worked for me. I wanted to look good! I wanted to make my friend happy. She was helping me to look better on the outside and I really did look better, a lot better. I was, and still am, very grateful for her help and her honesty with me.

What I’ve noticed in our time apart is that I don’t focus as much on style (which may or may not also have to do with the fact that after convincing me that straight legs are good and tapered legs are bad, now they want me to wear skinny pants… Ummm, no…). I don’t go shopping as often as I used to (except maybe for shoes…), I don’t spend as much time planning out my outfits, I’ve even noticed that I don’t care as much what other people think about the way I dress. Again, I don’t want to dress in a way that is markedly outdated, but I don’t care about being on the cutting edge of fashion. I was spending a lot of time with my friend and so I was becoming more like her. Once our time together was reduced, I started being more like the way I was before.

As I thought about the requirements God laid down with the 10 Commandments, I realized that this story about my friend and me is a superficial example of how spending time with other people changes me and most of the time, I don’t even realize I have changed. God made us to love people and we often love the things our loved ones love. My friend loves to shop and she brings excitement and enthusiasm to the experience. I started loving to shop because shopping with her was fun. I was becoming more like her.

If it’s important to them, it becomes important to me. I don’t think that is an inherently bad thing, but I do think I need to be careful. If I become someone different from the person God created me to be because I am trying to fit in or have something in common with someone else, I am walking away from God. I think this is what God was trying to get me to recognize in this passage of scripture.

In my relationship with God, God is so adamant that He will not change (a very good thing), that He won’t even let me approach Him if I’m in a sinful, dirty state. That’s why I so desperately need Jesus. My faith in Christ means that Jesus’ blood covers my sin and I can again approach God. God is not changed and I am forgiven. But it doesn’t end there. As I walk with God, He changes me. He remakes me in His image. He transforms my heart and my life so that I more resemble the person He really created me to be. I want to make time alone with God a priority because I like the me I become when I am with Him. We really do become like the ones we spend the most time with and I want to become more like Jesus.

How about you? Do you have a story of how you have changed when spending time in the presence of God or other people? Who is it that you desire to be most like?

Letting Go of Our Crutches – Genesis 39

October 14, 2014 / Sondra / 0 Comments

If you have read my “About Me” page, then you may recall that I teach 5th Grade Sunday School at the church I attend. I love teaching 5th grade. The kids are old enough to really start to think, but they don’t quite know everything yet. 😉

This is the second week we have talked about Joseph in Sunday School. I love Joseph! If ever there is an example of how I want to be, it’s in Joseph. I just wish I could get there without going through what he went through. I mean, I really hate it that I have to learn all of my lessons the hard way. I would think after all these years, I would be able to take the gentle nudge, but no! I’m stubborn. I need the kick in the pants.

As I studied and prepared for this lesson on Joseph, I read a couple of commentaries about the passage. I like to know what other people think about the passages and often one of them will point out something I have never noticed before. That is precisely what happened this week.

The first part of the chapter talks about Joseph and how he was purchased by Potiphar and the recurring phrase is “The Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in everything he did.” It didn’t take long for Potiphar to see how much better his estate was doing under the care of Joseph and it didn’t take Mrs Potiphar long to realize Joseph was handsome and desirable. Uh oh… While Joseph did a great job of fleeing temptation, Mrs Potiphar told her lies and got her revenge. Joseph went to jail for a crime he didn’t commit.

Genesis 39:19-20 (NIV): 19 When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger.20 Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.

In “The Wiersbe Bible Commentary for the Old Testament,” Warren Wiersbe makes a statement about this event. He says, “God often removes our ‘crutches’ so we’ll learn to walk by faith and trust Him alone.” This really struck me in a new way as I read through these scriptures this week. You see, I’ve had God take away my crutches too.

The first thing you need to know about me for this story to make sense is that I LOVE singing to Jesus. I sing all the time. I sing at home. I sing at church. I sing in the car. You know how sometimes when you’re driving along, you come up on someone who is obviously lost in her own little world and singing in her car at the top of her lungs? Yep! That’s me. I sang in the choir, the praise team, and lead preschool choir. Almost every way I served the Lord had its base in music. That was my nitch. The musicians were my community. I was happy and excited to be serving God in a way that allowed me to do what I loved to do.

More history: I grew up in Florida, but for the last 18 years I have lived in Southwest Virginia, otherwise known as the “Allergy Capital of the World.” Not long after moving here I developed seasonal allergies, then asthma, then Laryngopharyngeal Reflux. I cruised on with all of those things for many years and was able to control them just with diet and avoidance for a long time, but not anymore.

Five years ago a terrible bout with the flu sent my health in a downward spiral. I struggled with uncontrolled asthma for two years before my doctors were finally able to figure out all of the interactions and get things back under control. My asthma manifests as a horrible cough. I don’t wheeze so much as I start coughing and can’t breathe. It’s terrible for vocal cords. As if there weren’t enough things going on, during the two years of uncontrolled asthma, I developed Irritable Larynx Syndrome. So then, not only was I coughing, but every tiny trigger made me cough uncontrollably. The gist of all of this is that I sustained vocal damage due to all of the coughing. I had to stop singing or risk further damage.

I was completely devastated. I felt like I imagine Joseph must have felt. There I was living my life the best I could in service for God and then suddenly, Boom! It was over. I wondered what I had done to deserve this. I felt like I had lost everything. I had lost my ministry and my community and I went into a deep depression. I realize now that God was taking away my crutches. He was developing my character so that I would learn to live by faith and learn to trust Him alone.

The Bible makes it seem as though Joseph just kind of went with the flow as things happened. We don’t really know how he reacted except that if he did struggle it wasn’t for long because in every situation we are told, “The Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in everything he did.” So I’m thinking that overall, Joseph had a pretty good attitude. I, however, did not.

I walked this road that God laid out before me, but I did it kicking and screaming (sometimes literally). I fought every step of the way. The Lord was with me, but I did NOT have success in everything I did. In fact, several years later, I am still wading through damage. I had to do it the hard way, but I’m so glad that I can point to Joseph and say, “Do it like he did.” Don’t do it like I did.

During the time of my exile, God brought people into my life from different places that became my new support system. I was no longer dependent upon one group of people. God used this time to develop some new relationships that I treasure. And, ultimately, He sent me to teach 5th grade Sunday School.

The good news in this story is that The Lord has allowed me to recover almost completely. I will probably always have some difficulties with my voice because medications don’t quite fix all of the physical damage. I don’t sound bad, but I don’t have a lot of stamina in my voice. I’ve become a sprinter instead of a long distance runner. Even with medication, I have to be extremely careful with what I eat because every one of those no-nos affect the way my voice sounds. I still have to avoid scents (perfumes, lotions, candles, etc) like the plague.

God really did remove my crutches and I really did fall flat on my face. God took away almost every person and every ministry that I had been leaning on instead of Him. It was an extremely difficult time to live through. And I am so thankful He made me do it, because I finally gave up and gave in. I went back to Him whole heartedly. I am learning more everyday how to trust Him completely and how to lean on Him alone. Just like with Joseph, God used that experience to strengthen my character and my relationship with Him and I wouldn’t trade that for all of the singing in the world.

How has God taken away your crutches? What are you learning through your experiences?

Mercy in the Midst of Judgement – Exodus 9:13- 19

October 10, 2014 / Sondra / 0 Comments

Exodus 9:13-19 (NIV)

13 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let my people go, so they can worship me. 14 If you don’t, I will send more plagues on you and your officials and your people. Then you will know that there is no one like me in all the earth. 15 By now I could have lifted my hand and struck you and your people with a plague to wipe you off the face of the earth. 16 But I have spared you for a purpose—to show you my power and to spread my fame throughout the earth. 17 But you still lord it over my people and refuse to let them go. 18 So tomorrow at this time I will send a hailstorm more devastating than any in all the history of Egypt. 19 Quick! Order your livestock and servants to come in from the fields to find shelter. Any person or animal left outside will die when the hail falls.’”

We learn who God is by learning more about His character. Learning the character of God enables us to draw close to Him. It allows us to trust Him more. It gives us the opportunity to know Him better. I have studied Exodus many times before, but imagine my surprise when I saw a piece of God’s character that seemed out of place given the situation.

In this part of the Exodus story, God is demanding, through Moses, that Pharaoh let the Israelites go to the wilderness in order to worship Him in a festival. After each request Pharaoh says, “No!” and God sends a plague. As this exchange progresses, the plagues go from gross annoyances (who wants to find frogs in their bed or be covered with flies?) to serious, life threatening situations. And that is when God shows the unexpected: Mercy.

In the passage above God explained why these things are happening the way they are. Verse 16 says, “But I have spared you for a purpose—to show you my power and to spread my fame throughout the earth.” God wanted to make Himself known, both to the Israelites and to the Egyptians. God wanted them to understand that He is God; the one true, all-powerful God. Up to this point the Egyptians could have cared less about the Hebrew God, if they thought about Him at all. The Israelites? Well, after 400 years in Egypt, they needed a little reminding.

God demanded His captives released, Pharaoh says no, and God shows who He is by unleashing some of His great power. It seems simple enough. It might even seem a bit harsh. After all, what about all the Egyptian people who were affected by these plagues because of Pharaoh’s stubborn refusals? However, our God is not a harsh God. He shows it in verse 19: “Quick! Order your livestock and servants to come in from the fields to find shelter. Any person or animal left outside will die when the hail falls.”

God essentially says, Pharaoh has refused me again so this is what is coming next. Get your animals and your people inside because if they are outside when the hail starts, they will die. And there it is: Mercy. God didn’t have to give them this warning. He could have just let the people and animals die, but He chose mercy. He says, “I love you too much to let this happen without warning. I love you even though you don’t know or love me.”

I wonder how many times when I am in the midst of a hard time of struggling that I miss God’s mercy. I almost missed it here where He showed it to the Egyptians and it is written in black and white for all of us to see. So when I don’t have the words in front of me, when I all have is what is going on around me, do I really look for God’s mercy?

It’s fall here in Virginia, where I live, and in my house the change of seasons wreaks havoc on our respiratory systems. We are allergic! This morning I woke up feeling tired (never a good sign) and slow, could be allergies, could be a virus, at this point I don’t know. I usually try to take a walk through my neighborhood every day and like all other stay at home moms, I have a mile long list of things I’d like to get done today. I checked the weather this morning for my son, who still insists on wearing shorts everyday (I get cold just looking at him) and I noticed that it was supposed to rain later in the day. While I was studying this passage in Exodus, it started raining. Had I realized the rain was coming so early, I would have walked and then studied, but I hadn’t paid close enough attention. Now, however, I have to wonder. Was the early rain part of God’s mercy? God knew I would push myself to walk even though I’m not feeling well. Did He send the rain as a merciful reminder that today I should rest? Perhaps.

Regardless of what is going on in my life, God puts in little acts of mercy to remind me, “I love you! You are my treasured possession.” I don’t want to miss God’s mercy or any other revelation of His character. How have you seen God’s mercy in your life today?

His Treasured Possessions