In the past several years, God has orchestrated people and events in my life, which has made His desires impossible for me to ignore. Once you are aware of certain truths, you are responsible for doing something about it.
More than five years ago, after a very difficult year filled with personal tragedy and just plain hard times, I left teaching and ended up working for a nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower people in communities to better their own lives, the lives of others, and ultimately the lives of their communities. At the time, I felt God had blesesd me by providing me with a job, especially one that was such a good fit for me, particularly where I was at the time emotionally and mentally. Looking back on it, I can see that God was preparing my mind and my heart to do more for Him during my life. A lot more. I'm not one who knows many statistics off the top of my head, but one thing I learned during my two years of working for the nonprofit was how to find data.
"Water scarcity affects one in three people on every continent of the globe" (World Health Organization, Fact File, Fact 2, http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/water/water_facts/en/index1.html on October 31, 2010).
"Almost one fifth of the world's population (about 1.2 billion people) live[s] in areas where the water is physically scarce. One quarter of the global population also live in developing countries that face water shortages due to a lack of infrastructure to fetch water from rivers and aquifers" (World Health Organization, Fact File, Fact 3, http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/water/water_facts/en/index2.html on October 31, 2010).
"[In America,] approximately 3.5 million people, 1.35 million of them children, are likely to experience homelessness in a given year [National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, 2007]" (National Coalition for the Homeless, Fact Sheet "How Many People Experience Homelessness?", http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/How_Many.html on October 31, 2010).
Based on studies conducted, "approximately 1% of the U.S. population [experience] homelessness each year, 38...to 39%...of them being children [Urban Institute 2000]" (National Coalition for the Homeless, Fact Sheet "How Many People Experience Homelessness?", http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/How_Many.html on October 31, 2010).
In the Fort Worth region (Region 11, as established by the Texas Education Agency), 42.8% of enrolled students were economically disadvantaged during the 2008-09 school year. Additionally, 41.8% were considered to be at risk (Texas Education Agency, Academic Excellence Indicator System, 2008-09 Region Performance Report, Region 11: Fort Worth, http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/cgi/sas/broker on October 31, 2010).
In the San Antonio region (Region 20, as established by the Texas Education Agency), 62.2% of enrolled students were economically disadvantaged during the 2008-09 school year. Additionally, 50.6% were considered to be at risk (Texas Education Agency, Academic Excellence Indicator System, 2008-09 Region Performance Report, Region 20: San Antonio, http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/cgi/sas/broker on October 31, 2010).
So. Changes things a bit in your own perspective, doesn't it? Why am I complaining that my feet are cold? I don't even know the number of pairs of socks I have, but it's more than enough. The office coffee is too weak? At least it was brewed with water that won't make you sick. Given the tight economy, you weren't able to take a family vacation? At least you have a home to keep you safe and comfortable every day.
So. What does God have to say about such matters?
"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8).
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world" (James 1:27).
"'Love your neighbor as yourself'" (Mark 12:31b).
One of the reasons I love the ocean is that you cannot see where it ends. Its size overwhelms me. And it reminds me of how much larger God is than I, and how much more of His world there is than I. The more and longer I live, the more I learn that His plan for me is bigger than I am. And I am learning that He equips me every day to live out His plan for my life. I am nowhere close to following my understanding and beliefs as I feel I should. But I'm getting there.
Our Father, I ask that You would enlighten us to really see Your world and the people in it. Make it painfully clear, LORD, who our neighbors are and what their needs are. And I ask You to empower us with Your Spirit to do something about it.
Amen.
I love Facebook. I don't spend a huge amount of time on it, which is nice because it can be a time waster. But it can also, like all things, direct our eyes to God. Last night one of my Facebook Friends posted a link to a blog a friend of hers writes. In it, the blogger wrote about how "relentless" God is in trying to get our attention to show us what He wants us to learn. He wrote about how he has tried ministering on his own, but it is really God who creates the opportunities to reach others---we must simply join God in His plan for us. Another person (his wife?) commented on the blog and referenced a statement from Experiencing God (Blackaby et al): "God never asks people to dream up something to do for Him."
Last Sunday my husband and I went to our first class of a 4-week series about discovering your personality type, your spiritual gifts, and therefore, your God-created options for serving Him. So I have been thinking a lot (okay, even more than usual!) about who I am, who God made me to be, and what He has gifted me to do. And after reading my friend's friend's blog last night (and my friend's friend's wife's comment!), I am struck all the more that we are here FOR HIM AND HIS DESIRES.
So what are His desires? John 3:16 puts it plainly:
"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."
I also love this passage from 2 Corinthians 5:
"[God] reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. ...[H]e has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ...We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God" (v. 18b, 19b, 20b).
During the past 3 weeks, our pastor has presented a series on finances. Those messages are always a bit difficult to hear and even harder to put into practice. Several of the passages our pastor used in this series are full of "so that's." If you really want to get down to the basics of what God wants and why, you need to seek out and internalize the "so that's." As you read Scripture, look for the phrase "so that." Here are some of the "so that's" I read this week:
"And God is able to make all greace abound to you, SO THAT in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work" (2 Corinthians 9:8).
"You will be made rich in every way SO THAT you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God" (2 Corinthians 9:11).
"Command [those who are rich] to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. ...SO THAT they may take hold of the life that is truly life" (1 Timothy 6:18, 19b).
Some insights I received this week from these passages:
1) God will give us all we need. Not all we want, but all we need. I am learning that the more stuff I want, the less I think about God and the less I realize I need Him.
2) These passages address more than our money. God blesses us with time and talents, and we are to use those for what He desires.
3) The most important lesson here: God blesses us so that we may bless others so that we may show them our Father.
So you see, it's not about me. This is a lesson I have begun learning for about 15 years, and I pray I continue to learn it more and more deeply throughout my life.
Grow in Him, friends, SO THAT we can show each other our God.
For nearly two years, we escaped the “family sickness.” You know the family sickness. Someone in the family gets sick, then another catches it, and subsequently, the rest of the family members pass it amongst themselves. But a few weeks ago, my husband came down with the crud that had been going around. And about a week later, our daughter became sick. I thought my powerful immune system would hold up, but alas, it did not. And in the past week, I have nearly lost my voice. In this time, God has taught me two lessons. Not the most powerful example of being strong even when you’re weak, but God uses the most mundane events to teach us, if we’ll only pay attention.
First of all, our God, creator of everything, reminded me that He created and gave us the gift of music. A simple piano solo can move me to tears (and did, in fact, yesterday). Much of my musical experience my entire life has been church music, and I’ve grown up loving to sing at church. And I’m not the only one who has loved to worship God through music. In fact, it’s been a tradition for thousands of years.
“Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord: ‘I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted’” (Exodus 15:1a).
“Hear this, you kings! Listen, you rulers! I will sing to the LORD, I will sing; I will make music to the LORD, the God of Israel” (Judges 5:3).
“Then the trees of the forest will sing, they will sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth” (I Chronicles 16:33).
“I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me” (Psalm 13:6).
“Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him” (Psalm 33:1).
“But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble” (Psalm 59:17).
“The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing” (Psalm 65:13).
“I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live” (Psalm 146:2).
“Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!” (Psalm 147:1).
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16).
“Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise” (James 5:13).
And last night, much to my dismay, I couldn’t participate as I normally do in worshiping God with my voice. It surprised me how much I missed it. I did what I could, singing an octave lower than usual, croaking out some phrases, interrupted now and then by a squeak as my voice broke.
At one point, I opened my mouth in song, but nothing came out. And God taught me the second lesson, one He has been trying to get through my thick skull for a while. It occurred to me that perhaps I should just shut my mouth and listen and let God speak to me. And here are the words the church was singing:
“I hear the voice, the voice of the One I love,
He's calling my name.
I hear the voice, the voice of the One I love,
He's calling my name.
“He's saying, Come up higher and hear the angels sing.
Come up higher, My beloved.
Come up higher and leave this world behind.
I find you to be beautiful.”
(“Running” by Gateway Worship)
And I cried for the second time yesterday because of a song that reminded me that I am loved.
Our pastor has quoted I Timothy 6:17 often, which tells us that God “richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” What a generous and creative Father who gave us the gift of music. May we daily return the gift to Him.
Over the past few weeks, it has become clearer and clearer that I need to take more time for prayer. Really, for time with God in general. My "quiet time" has decreased to about ten minutes (if that) first thing in the morning, during which time I read some Bible passages and write very briefly about them. It's just not cutting it. While Bible reading is important (it's God's word), I'm missing the personal connection with His Spirit that I need in order to get the most out of His word.
When you're having a spiritual problem, I think the best place to look for an answer is the person of Jesus. Two main concepts that come to mind about Jesus and prayer:
1) He often withdrew by Himself to spend time with His Father.
2) He taught about prayer and even gave us a model for prayer.
"'And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
"'This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one'" (Matthew 6:5-13, NIV).
Sometimes I like the Lord's Prayer in the King James Version, so here it is:
"'Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as [it is] in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen'" (Matthew 6:9b-13).
So now God and I are going to spend some quality time together. Blessings to you, friend. Please do the same soon and often.
I struggle with being positive and cheerful. It's so easy to let life's anxieties get the better of me. I can feel it in the tension of my face and my shoulders. I hate it. And sometimes even reading the Psalms doesn't cut it for me. So then what?
Some years ago Oprah promoted the idea of keeping a gratitude journal, recording at least one thing for which you were thankful that day. I've done so off and on through the years, but normally I did it at the end of the day. After all the traffic jams, relationship conflicts, confrontations with students, and so on. Better to start your day with thankfulness, don't you think? And isn't that what David wrote in the psalms time and time again? He thanked God for what He had done for him.
Sometimes I just have to kick myself. You'd think I'd have this joy thing down by now. But I don't. And honestly, I think Satan has been doing his best in the past few years (and especially in the past few weeks) to keep me from the abundant life of joy that God has created for me to have. William Bennett said, "Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that thankfulness is indeed virtue." Thankfulness, like anything else, must be cultivated. It doesn't come naturally; we must deliberately choose to be thankful. And sometimes wondering how God will help us get through difficult times just keeps us focused on our pain. Gratitude shifts the focus off ourselves and our pain and onto God and His goodness.
My mother loved the story of Corrie ten Boom. As I recall, this is how one of her favorite lessons from the book goes. Corrie and her family were imprisoned during World War II. While in a concentration camp, Corrie's sister thanked God for an infestation of fleas. Corrie was horrified about this. However, they later discovered that the guards stayed away because of the fleas, which allowed the prisoners to hold worship services. I think God blesses thankfulness, don't you?
Mom loved Thanksgiving. (Who wouldn't? It's all about some of my favorite foods!) But Mom loved the idea of giving thanks. I think one year she even sent out Thanksgiving cards, rather than Christmas cards to emphasize the importance of thankfulness. One year, after I was grown and living on my own, Mom gave me a small plate that says "Give Thanks." So simple. And yet so vital to our success at living well.
So, friends, what will you thank God for today? And don't stop at today. Thank Him tomorrow morning too. I've written on both bathroom mirrors in our house "Our Father, I thank You for..." to remind me to thank Him. Among other things, I thank Him for you.
"I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better" (Ephesians 1:16-17).
