Living life with steps of faith

As I'm wandering through Revelation 20 and reflecting upon what it means by "first resurrection," I had an interesting thought cross my mind.  Not completely original, because it is influenced by my reading Origen's thoughts on what it means for Jesus to baptize "in the Holy Spirit and in fire," but still a thought that is new to this mind. When we are instructed to baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit - what if that is really saying that we are to receive three types of baptism.  Baptism in the name of the Father is belief.  Baptism in the name of the Son is repentance.  And baptism in the name of the Spirit is surrender or the filling of the Spirit!

We don't get to define God.  God gets to define us.  See Psalm 78 & Matthew 13

Why is there suffering in the world? A.       God created a beautiful world and gave humans volition (the power of using one’s own will). ( Genesis 1 & 2 ) B.       God gave us instructions on how to live well.  We can choose to follow God’s advice or choose to go our own way. (The book: The Bible .) C.        Problem is that when we choose to go our own way we create brokenness.  That brokenness impacts everything and everyone! ( Genesis 3 & 4 ) D.       There is suffering in the world because people choose to disobey God’s wise advice and the earth, our bodies, and our relationships have suffered as a result. ( Romans 8:18-22 ) So how do we find Joy in the midst of the suffering? A.       Recognize that Joy flows from God & we become conduits of this Joy when we worship God. ( Psalm ) B.    ...

When I was in middle school I created a list of 100 lifetime goals.  Using colorful markers and white pieces of computer paper I recorded these dreams of mine for the life that I wanted. In high school I recreated the list, crossing off the few items I had completed. In college, in writing pen, I added several more and removed new achievements. Yesterday, I went to find the list and was unable to locate it. So, I sat down to write a new list and realized how much my adult perspective had shifted things. A hundred goals at an idealistic age of thirteen was no problem.  But now that I have seen the work, patience, and obstacles that must be overcome to accomplish each goal, even creating a list of eight was difficult.  My new list, I suspect contains some of the items on my old list.  "Travel to Italy," "Be in a movie or television series," and "Learn another language."  It also contains some new ones, with lengthy clauses, "Have the entire house c...

"Brothers and sisters, we don't want you to be unaware of the troubles that we went through in Asia.  We were weighed down with a load of suffering that was so far beyond our strength that we were afraid we might not survive.  It certainly seemed to us as if we had gotten the death penalty. This was so that we would have confidence in God, who raises the dead, instead of ourselves. God rescued us from a terrible death, and he will rescue us. We have set our hope on him that he will rescue us again since you are helping with your prayers for us. Then many people can thank God on our behalf for the gift that was given to us through the prayers of many people." - 2 Corinthians 1:8-11

Imagine your family has its own mission statement.  It has been written up in an elegant type placed in a frame that was hand chiseled by your great-grandfather and it hangs over your fireplace mantel.  When you look at the statement it gives you the warm fuzzies because you know it is true.  Your great-grandfather (actually several "greats" ago) claimed that it was a mission statement given to him by God and your family tells stories of its fulfillment in each generation. You are a small and very close-knit family.  When you gather for a holy day of remembrance there are only a few in each generation.  Yet you laugh together, enjoy a meal, and take time to worship your God.  Actually taking the time to worship God is the reason that you gather, but it doesn't appear the same as it does for other families.  First each generation gets their chance to tell their own story of God's faithfulness and their incredible encounters with Him.  Then your...

Today as I was doing research on a passage from the gospel of John I came across this quote from Chrysostom that caught my attention. He writes, "Don't be amazed that I bring you to what is profitable for you by way of such sorrow, since even a mother, to become a mother, passes in a similar way through pain." (Homilies on the Gospel of John 79.1) I am not sure yet where our journey of infertility will lead us, but if it is to adoption, I will know that I did not miss out on the birth pains of pregnancy or delivery.  They just came to me in a different way. So if you are reading this and you are an adoptive mother - know that when women start sharing their delivery stories, you have one too!  You were in delivery for 5 years, 7 years, 10 years, 18 years (you know how long). Your contractions happened on a monthly basis, sometimes they were more painful than others.  You were never quite sure when you would finally give birth or whether or not the result would be a li...

A passage that addresses all my questions and fears that I now claim as my own: Exodus 23:25-26, "Worship the LORD your God,  and his blessing will be on your food and water.  I will take away sickness from among you,  and none will miscarry or be barren in your land.  I will give you a full life span." Amen!

The Jahi McMath case has troubled me over the last few weeks.   How can I pray and ask God to heal this little girl when so many other families have made the heartwrenching choice to let go and remove life support.   If she were to be healed, wouldn’t this be harmful to those families who accepted the doctors’ prognosis and let go?   Wouldn’t it be cruel of God to heal her when others weren’t “given that opportunity” to be healed? Today, as I sat down to read my daily devotional, I reflected upon the story of the deceased child found in chapter five of Mark.   The community declared and mourned the death of twelve-year-old Tabitha.   Yet Jesus said, “This child is not dead but asleep.”     This statement of Jesus makes me wonder two things.   Was there something Jesus knew about death that the culture of the time didn’t know?   Was she really, truly still alive, yet only asleep?   Or, was this Jesus speaking a...

I went to the doctor today and he said, "Worse case scenario, it is _____."  I started thinking about that statement, "Worse case scenario" and began to fill the blank in with all of the possibilities my mind could come up with. After each I asked myself if that really would be the worse case scenario and with each I could see an opening for the grace of God.  What might be defined as a worse case scenario from a doctor's perspective, from a Christian's perspective might not be all that bad.  Actually, a doctor's worse case scenario might be a Christian's best case scenario.  And what I realized is that with Christ there is no worse case scenario because in every scenario God wins!

This morning I read the story of Joseph interpreting the Pharaoh's dream with the result being those living in Egypt were saved from a famine.    In this story, Joseph's response to Pharaoh's request to interpret the dream stood out to me, "I cannot do it, but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires." (Gen. 41:16)  Then I opened up my Bible and read from the 11th chapter of Hebrews and listened to the stories of people who took "risky" steps of faith, some resulting in their own torturous death.  This chapter concludes with these words, "the world was not worthy of them" (Heb. 11:38) and "These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us that only together with us would they be made perfect." (Heb. 11:39-40) I know a handful of people who have the faith of Joseph and could say "God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires" without ad...

My husband mentioned that there has been a few news articles most recently asking where God was the day 6 and 7 year olds lost their lives at Sandy Hook Elementary. I have to admit, that hasn't been one of my questions this Christmas season, rather I have found meaning in a part of the Christmas story that for the most part of my life I have overlooked: Matthew 2:16-18 New International Version (NIV) 16  When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.   17  Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: 18    “A voice is heard in Ramah,    weeping and great mourning,  Rachel  weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted,        because they are no more.” [ a ]         ...

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about what it means to be set apart for God and how all of us Christians are set apart for God.  I've thought about how I started the race well as a child, having been confident of my faith and committed to living differently as described in the Bible.  Then considered how my teenage years I gave into pressures to "conform to the world."  It was in little ways that I gave in - telling a dirty joke, laughing when I shouldn't, and wearing "attractive" clothes.  I remember hearing my grandmother say on multiple occasions, "what is so bad about being a nerd?"  Then in college, I chose to be set apart by joining other Christians at a Christian college. I had hoped to be humbled by having others around me of deep faith.  Instead what I discovered were things that I didn't like about Christians.  Yes, I was blessed my first couple of years in a cocoon of growth, but in the later years I began to questio...

1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14 “The Right Request” “Nothing is foolproof to a talented fool.”   “The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.” “Borrow money from a pessimist; they don’t expect it back.” “Experience is something you don’t get until just after you need it.” What is wisdom? And why do we want it so much and then when we get it we ignore it? There are a lot of advantages to being wise.    According to Proverbs 3:13-18: READ FROM BIBLE Wisdom has the potential to bless us with longer lives, wealth, and peace.   Ecclesiastes tells us that wisdom is better than weapons for war. Proverbs says that wisdom will save us from the ways of the wicked and from the adulterous.   If we don’t let it out of sight, we will find that wisdom keeps us from stumbling and maintains our safety. But it does more than that.   Wisdom protects our reputation.   In Matthew Jesus reflects on the ridiculous...

So, I just stumbled upon a contest, where members of the U.S. American church are challenged to write a letter to the church answering the question, " If I could say anything to the church, what would it be?"   The contest ends tonight at midnight (oops - I guess it ended at noon - I missed it).  Here is the website that details the contest:  http://promoshq.wildfireapp.com/website/6/contests/211410 Since I just stumbled upon the contest, here is my impromptu response (hopefully this counts as submitting it in the contest?): Dear church,             Don’t be so concerned with fitting in with culture.  I remember how hard you tried as pre-teens to gain approval from your peers, how in middle school you were taunted for the way your faith made you stand out, that is okay.  It is okay to not fit in.  The early disciples didn’t fit in, “and more were added to their number each day.” (Acts 2:47) ...

Isaiah 55 - 56:8 (NIV) "'Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters;  and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!  Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.  Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?  Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.  Give ear and come to me; listen, that you may live.  I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.  See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a ruler and commander of the peoples. Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations you do not know will come running to you, because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.'  Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.  Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the LORD, and he wil...

I was thinking the other day about how we give greater honor to those whose stories have been recorded.  It is almost as if one's work doesn't matter unless it is published.  But, this isn't how it works in God's kingdom.  This morning I read Jesus' words as recorded in John 4:38, "I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor."  Who are these other people? In the church, we frequently rely upon the stories of the New Testament, for obvious reasons.  But, we also tend to tell the New Testament stories that are louder and take more space.  The disciples get a lot of attention.  Here, in John, Jesus acknowledges that the disciples have the easy job--they get to reap what others have sown. But look at what, or should I say, "who," Jesus is pointing to here.  Jesus is recognizing that many of his followers have worked quite hard to get people to the feet of Jesus. ...

Your gracious care, O Lord, extends beyond our human race, it enfolds plant life, animals, nature, and even angels! Your covenant of love has no borders. Jesus, Your perfection has grandeur greater than  St. Helens, Mt. Everest, and the Alps combined. The depth of wisdom to your judgments, who can comprehend? Through them you bring about life for both humanity and the animal kingdom. How great of value is Our Mighty One! We find comfort and safety in Your wake. Your supply is overwhelming, You not only provide for our needs, but delight in our pleasures as well. You are our womb. From within Your being, we gain vision and sight. Persevere, O Lord, in being our teddy bear, the One who comforts and loves us and invites us to be intimately known. Share Your perfection with us, and make our hearts right like Your own. Amen.

I struggle with these verses. "I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be a blessing." Perhaps it is because I define "righteous" from a New Testament perspective - as Christ makes all believers righteous.  Perhaps it is because I define "forsaken" too loosely and include in that definition "treated unjustly."  Perhaps it is because I wonder if the opposite is true, that if we see one who is forsaken or their children are not called "blessed" this verse indicates that indeed the parent isn't as righteous as s/he seems.  More likely I struggle with these verses because I wonder how they apply to a relative of mine who has been through a lot, yet has always been a person who is generous and lends freely... a person who acknowledges God's will and gives God honor even in Job-like moments. I supp...

This has been a week of God sightings. This past Monday immediately after receiving a phone call that could have made me very nervous, a beautiful, bright rainbow with clearly defined colors appeared perfectly framed by my living room window on a sunny day.   It was as if God was saying "I promised" and "It will turn out alright." This morning I had a dream where an acquaintance came to my door and asked me to intercede in prayer for him.   And this past week my mom encouraged me to contact this pastor who lives 1,000 miles away whom I have never met to see if he would be willing to meet.  I contacted a member of his church and within 24 hours I received an email response saying that this pastor will be in my neighborhood this upcoming week and was given his cell number! In none of these circumstances was I expecting to hear from God.  Perhaps I should be listening more!