A Woman Who Fears the Lord is to be Praised

Tomorrow is an important day.  It is the birthday of two very special women in my life.  One is my daughter, and the other is my mother.  And so, today, I’m reflecting on my mother’s life and just how wonderful she is.  In the book of 2 Timothy, Paul is writing to Timothy and he is affirming his faith in God and he says that he praises God for the faith that was first in his grandmother Lois, his mother Eunice, and was also in him.

When I had the privilege of speaking at my grandmother’s funeral, I alluded to this text and praised God for the faith that was in my grandmother Wilma, my mother Trudy, and is now in me.  There’s something about a legacy of faith that is passed down from generation to generation.  I’ve met some people who are first-generation Christians, but I really attribute my faith in God to my mother.

As early as I can remember, my mother was up in the mornings having her prayer time and reading her Bible.  She took me to church every opportunity she had and had me in every children’s activity the church offered.  I was in Mission Friends, Royal Ambassadors, a youth handbell choir, a church choir, and of course Sunday School.  For a few years, my mother was even a Sunday School teacher in the same department I was in.  But I digress, you see, this is just the stuff I was involved in.  My mother was also very involved in the church herself.

My mother-particularly in recent years-has not been content to just be involved with one congregation. She sings in her own church’s choir, but that is not enough. If there is a special choir program at another church or a community chorus, she’ll be involved.  Her current church doesn’t have a handbell choir.  So did she give up handbells? No. She joined two other handbell choirs.  She also sings in a gospel trio with her sister and one of their friends from childhood.  She is very active in women’s studies at her church and is often making meals for bereavement dinners at her church.

So you get it. My mother has always been busy in the church.  But why is that important to me?  My mother instilled in me a love for Christ and his church.  My mother showed me that church was not just a casual part of our life that we attended on Sunday mornings when it was convenient.  She showed me what it meant to be a disciple.  She showed me what it was like to be a faithful wife and love my dad, even when they sometimes disagreed.  She showed me what it was like to be well-liked and respected in the community.  My mom was always up early and going to bed after me.  She worked a full-time job and yet always had time for me.

The last few verses of Proverbs 31 go like this:

She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
²⁷ She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
²⁸ Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
²⁹ “Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
³⁰ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
³¹ Honor her for all that her hands have done,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

So, this is my attempt to honor her at the city gate.  Mom, I love you and am thankful for every once of character you instilled in me.  I’m thankful for bedtime prayers and trips to church when I wasn’t in the mood.  Thank you for having the wisdom to walk me through my profession of faith alongside our pastor.  Thank you for supporting me through all of my hardships and victories.  I love you.

Lenten Journey March 28- “This Is Eternal Life”

Today’s reading is the entire chapter of John 17.  I encourage you to read it.  It is one of my favorite passages of Scripture simply because Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane and it recounts Jesus praying for himself, for his disciples, and even for you and me.  Here are the first few verses of this powerful chapter.

After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:

“Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. ² For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. ³ Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. ⁴ I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. ⁵ And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

Many years ago, I was reading and stumbled on John 17:3 which says, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Chris, whom you have sent.”  It quickly became one of my favorite verses because it really summarizes the New Testament.  Jesus’ desire was for us to know him.  He goes on in this chapter to pray for his disciples.  He says:

¹¹ I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of^[b] your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. ¹² While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by^[c] that name you gave me.

And then the greatest part of this passage is the last section, where he prays for all believers.  Jesus says the following:

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.

How cool is that?  It’s one thing to know Jesus died for us, but it’s intimate to think that Jesus prayed for you and me.  And what is amazing to me, is he is praying for what I think the church needs most to this very day-unity.  He wants those who follow him to be of one mind and spirit so they can impact the world for him.  True, we presently have dozens of denominations and hundreds of other Christian subgroups-Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Assembly of God, Roman Catholics-but that doesn’t mean we can’t be unified in our faith.  We may believe differently about baptism, or ordination of clergy, but we are all united under Christ.  How can we be obedient to the prayer of Christ and preserve unity within the church when there seems to be so much division?

The Little Red Hen is Calling

Today has been a rough day.  I had another student drop out of another mission trip.  We already cancelled one mission trip for this summer because students were too busy and it looks like we will have to cancel another one.  As I sat, in disappointment, my brain started to wander.  I wondered about our culture.  We have a culture where church is a social thing.  It’s not that way everywhere, but in many places, it is.  I realize that we have lives.  We all have families, jobs, school, problems, activities, and a number of other things that do not explicitly have the name of Jesus written on them.  But I had to consider Jesus’ calling of the first disciples.  I have to wonder if any of them said no.

Anyone remember the story of the Little Red Hen? She wanted to make some bread but nobody wanted to help her. Then after she had made it herself everyone came and wanted to eat some of it.  For the disciples, a call to follow Jesus was essentially a call to change the world. What if Jesus had called Peter and he had said, “No, I have work to do”? Or if he had called Thomas and he said, “No, I am going on vacation.” Or if he had called James and James had said, “Well, that sounds nice, but I can only go if John goes…because if John is out, I’m out.”

In Matthew 8:18-22, a disciple (it doesn’t distinguish him as one of the twelve) tells Jesus that he will follow as soon as he can go and bury his father.  Jesus says, “Let the dead bury their own dead.”  This is one of the harshest statements we read in the New Testament, and it still applies today.  We live in a culture where we compartmentalize that part of our lives that is devoted to God. And when life is too busy or our friends are not going to be somewhere with us, we decide that being a disciple is not such a great thing.  Or maybe we don’t give up our discipleship, but we often give up opportunities to grow in our faith because reasons X, Y, Z didn’t pan out.

I try not to take things personally.  I know there is a huge difference between being a disciple and simply signing up for one of my petty, week-long mission trips.  I also know that Christ would rather have a lifetime of devotion than a few days of complete surrender.  But that doesn’t negate the call we have daily to make choices that will impact the world for eternity.  Our call to follow Christ goes beyond free pizza and pot lucks dinners.  Folks, the Little Red Hen is calling us to make some bread.  The question is, “Are we going to help out or not?”

Lenten Journey March 27 “Born to Die”

Today’s text is from John 12 27-36.  Jesus is still trying to explain to the crowds of followers that he came to die for them, yet they are so caught up in their own idea that he has come to become an earthly king of political power, that they don’t understand what he is saying.

 “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. ²⁸ Father, glorify your name!”

Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” ²⁹ The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. ³⁰ Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. ³¹ Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. ³² And I, when I am lifted up^[a] from the earth,will draw all people to myself.” ³³ He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

³⁴ The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Messiah will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”

³⁵ Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. ³⁶ Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.”When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.

Yesterday, I had one of those “aha” moments.  I was pondering the events of Holy Week and how everything happened; how Jesus went from exalted King to scapegoat of the world in just a few hours.  I was wondering, after all of the healings and miracles they witnessed, how could they still not believe?  Likewise, why is it that many people today acknowledge who Jesus was as a person, yet do not choose to follow him with their lives?  And that’s when it hit me.  The validation of who Jesus is was not found in the healings or miracles.  The validation of who Jesus is was found in the cross!  Sure, the signs and wonders gave him some earthly credibility, but that’s not the reason he came.  He came for one purpose-to give himself up for us on a cross.  Along the way he showed us who God is and what God is like.  He showed us the power God has to change our lives.  He showed us the way to treat others.  But the ultimate reason he came was to die for us.

Maybe you look at your life and think, “Wow, my life is really bad.  I’ve had heartache after disappointment and can’t really look at anything in my life and say ‘Wow, God really came through on that one!’”  Know this.  Jesus gave his life on a cross for you.  This was no instant execution.  This was a day-long, drawn out, torturous process that was designed to be as excruciating as humanly possible.  When we look at life’s hardships and disappointments, it’s good to know that the cross is enough.  In the cross we find grace.  And his grace is sufficient for me.

Lenten Journey March 25 “Hosanna! Blessed is He who Comes in the Name of the Lord!”

Although today is Monday, today’s text is about what we traditionally call Palm Sunday.  This is John’s telling of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem as King and Lord just five short days before they would crucify him for claiming to be God. This is from John 12:9-19.

⁹ Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. ¹⁰ So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, ¹¹ for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in him.

¹² The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. ¹³ They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

“Hosanna!^[a]”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”^[b]

“Blessed is the king of Israel!”

¹⁴ Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:

¹⁵ “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion;
see, your king is coming,
seated on a donkey’s colt.”^[c]

¹⁶ At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.

¹⁷ Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. ¹⁸ Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. ¹⁹ So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”

What I love about Palm Sunday is Palm Sunday is the closest thing we see to perfection in the gospels.  On Palm Sunday, Jesus is regarded with the praise and glory he deserves.  In the hearts and minds of the people, he is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  In John’s account they know about his raising of Lazarus from the dead.  On Palm Sunday, he is Master and Healer.  There is no doubt in the minds of his followers that he is the Messiah.

So why were the people so consumed with Jesus? Because they had seen his miracles.  They had seen him heal people. They’d seen the lame walk and the blind see.  They’d seen the Pharisees attempt to catch Jesus in lies and deceit only to see Jesus elude their sly tactics and expose the darkness of their hearts.  The people had seen what Jesus could do, and they worshiped him for it.

Take a moment to examine your own life.  When are the times that you saw Jesus work in a mighty way.  Maybe it was provision in a time of need.  Maybe a healing from illness.  Maybe you knew someone who was on the brink of destroying their life and they found the Savior.  Maybe it was how Jesus helped you through a divorce.  Now take a moment to remember the Savior and his provision in your life.  Now thank him for being Lord and for what he’s done in you.

Lenten Journey March 21 “Are you a god?”

Published 3-20-13 as I will be in a non-tech zone to publish on 3-21) Over the last few days, we’ve been discussing Jesus’ interaction with the Pharisees about his validity as the Son of God.  Yesterday, he told his listeners that he was the “Good Shepherd” and that his sheep know his voice, but the robber comes in from another entrance and wants to do them harm.  The full text is John 10:19-42, but we will just be discussing the following section, John 10:25-39.

²⁵ Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, ²⁶ but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. ²⁷ My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. ²⁹ My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all^[b]; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. ³⁰ I and the Father are one.”

³¹ Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, ³² but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”

³³ “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

³⁴ Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’^[c]? ³⁵ If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside— ³⁶ what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? ³⁷ Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. ³⁸ But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” ³⁹ Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.

The Pharisees are trying to stone Jesus for claiming to be the Son of God.  There is a subtle comment made by Jesus that would be missed without a footnote.  Jesus tells them “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”? If he called them “gods” to whom the word of God came-and Scripture cannot be set aside-what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world?

The reference to them being “gods” is from Psalm 82 which says:

God presides in the great assembly;
he renders judgment among the “gods”:

² “How long will you^[a] defend the unjust
and show partiality to the wicked?^[b]
3 Defend the weak and the fatherless;
uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
⁴ Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

⁵ “The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing.
They walk about in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

⁶ “I said, ‘You are “gods”;
you are all sons of the Most High.’
⁷ But you will die like mere mortals;
you will fall like every other ruler.”

⁸ Rise up, O God, judge the earth,
for all the nations are your inheritance.

The term “gods” refers to those who are in places of nobility, who have the means to make a difference in the world, but choose not to.  Jesus is making a connection between the Pharisees and the “gods” who “no nothing and understand nothing” and “walk about in darkness”.  Verses 6 and 7 say they are sons of the Most High but will die like mere mortals and fall like every other ruler.

So what about you and me?  Are we the people to whom he’s referring?  Are we so caught up in our religiosity that we don’t have time to take care of the poor or the oppressed?  This is convicting truth from the mouth of Jesus.

Lenten Journey March 22 “Anointing of Jesus”

(Published 3-20-13 as I will be out of town and in a tech-free zone on the day of the post) Today’s post is more of a church-related thought, than a devotional.  The text comes from John 12:1-10 where Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus, pours out an expensive bottle of perfume on the feet of Jesus, to the chagrin of some of the disciples.

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ² Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. ³ Then Mary took about a pint^[a] of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

⁴ But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, ⁵ “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.^[b]” ⁶ He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

⁷ “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. ⁸ You will always have the poor among you,^[c] but you will not always have me.”

⁹ Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. ¹⁰ So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well,

One of the challenges of reading a book that’s nearly two millennia in age and set in the Ancient Near East, is that measurements and currency values often get lost in translation.  However, when the value of the perfume is described as “a year’s wages” that puts it in perspective.  Today, many people make different income.  But as a minimum, $30,000 would be a round figure we could use.  Many people drive cars that cost more than that, but that is about what many people make.  Imagine someone buying a jar of perfume that cost the same as a new car, and pouring it over the feet of Jesus.  That’s what Mary did in this story.

Over the years in ministry, I’ve heard lots of people look at elaborate church facilities and say, “Imagine if we didn’t have all of this to pay for or maintain, how much could we give to the poor?”  Now, I realize this passage is talking about Jesus and not a church building.  I also realize that in the book of Acts, people were meeting in homes, sitting on floors, and so fancy facilities are something that have evolved in the church over time.  But have you ever walked into a historic cathedral?  When I was in high school, I had the privilege of going into several of Europe’s most historic churches.  I was able to tour Westminster Abbey, Notre Dame, and the Vatican.  To think of how those buildings were built with the limited technology available at the time is simply amazing.  I’m sure atheists and agnostics alike have toured these majestic facilities, but for me, as a believer, I felt the transcendence of God.

So I would like to pose a few questions: Are worship facilities important?  Would it be better to sell our church facilities and give the money to the poor?  Is this a stretch to equate Mary’s gesture with the maintenance of an expensive edifice?