This past week I had dinner with a friend. It’s a special friendship to me because she was my oldest son’s teacher when he was in 6th and 7th grade. Almost five years later, we remain friends.
Her family recently went through a scary experience. Her husband ended up in the hospital when an infection spread through his leg. How did the infection start? It started with an ingrown toenail. It got so bad that they literally had to cut open his leg to allow the infection (puss) to ooze out. He is still at home, unable to work.
As she was telling me this story I couldn’t get over how something that would seem so insignificant, like an ingrown toenail, could turn into such a dangerous infection. If he had gone much longer without seeing a doctor, it literally could have become deadly.
I didn’t realize at the time how that story would turn into a spiritual lesson. The very next night was my church’s Wednesday evening Bible study. We are going through a video series on one of my favorite Bible teachers, John Bevere.
The lesson that night was about sin. He talked about how one day believers will have to give an account to God for their works and how some of those works will be burned up. Suddenly the story of my friend’s husband came into my mind.
God was showing me how sin is like that ingrown toenail. It starts off as something we think is pretty insignificant. “Oh, it’s not a big deal if I watch…” or “No one will know if I…” or “I will just do it this one time and then never again.” There are many scenarios of sin that can play out in our lives. These are sins that we think are really no big deal.
But what can happen? If we don’t treat the ingrown toenail, or our sin, it can cause an infection. The infection starts off pretty small, contained to that one area, our toe. Yet without getting a handle on things, before we know it the infection begins to spread.
If my friend’s husband had continued to ignore the pain in his leg, it could have turned deadly. Keep in mind that the pain in his leg he was experiencing he didn’t associate with the ingrown toenail. He didn’t put two and two together. That can happen to us. We have sinned and something in our life begins to happen and we don’t realize that it was because of our sin.
Keep ignoring it, keep letting it spread and we can experience spiritual death. Thankfully he caught the infection in time to have it cut open and dealt with. God will cut open and deal with our sin, too. Suddenly we are exposed and now we have this mess to deal with. It’s not a pretty sight, as I am sure my friend can attest to.
One of the things that stood out in the Bible study was how God cleanses us from our unrighteousness. His leg had to be cut open and cleaned out. God does the cleaning. We don’t have to do the cleaning. But he had to make sure the wound was bandaged and kept clean. We must do the same. Once God has cleaned us out, we need to make sure that we stay clean. That means we don’t go back to our sin.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
Don’t ignore your ingrown toenail!
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Handle the Word of God Carefully
If you don’t already know I have three children who are 11, 13 and 16. I assign them weekly chores that pay a certain amount, so one chore is worth a different amount than another chore. I also rotate their chores every week so they aren’t doing the same ones. It’s a system that I have down pretty pat.
No today’s blog is not a parenting lesson. Something struck me about all of this that connects to the Word of God. It will make more sense in a moment.
My three children are very different from one another. They have different personalities and interests. The way they approach their chores is very different, too.
To protect their identity I won’t say who…but I have one child who not only does every chore on the list but will sometimes take another child’s chores if they don’t want to do it. This child doesn’t mind extra work if it will provide extra money.
Then I have another child who won’t do extra chores like that first child but will do whatever needs to be done, just enough to get by with a little bit of money.
Then there is the third child that usually doesn’t earn their full amount of allowance at the end of the week because that child has done less than was assigned and allowed that first child to take on some of their chores.
Which brings me to the parable of the talents, a parable that has been interpreted probably hundreds of different ways. Now here is what I think. I try very hard to not interpret as much as I do try to apply a Biblical principle to our lives. Interpretation can be a slippery slope and I would never want to be accused of interpreting falsely. So I choose instead to find an application for the parable of the talents. Just something to keep in mind…
Let me just break all down for you. A man is going on a journey and so he has to leave behind some of his property to be taken care of. I am the mom who is going on a journey called “life.” I am trying to make a living, run a household, take care of three children and be a loving wife. I need some help with some of my things, so I assign chores to my children.
He gives each one of his servants a different amount of talents. Every week I give my children different amounts of chores which equal to different amounts of money that can be earned.
Each servant handles their talents differently, just as I have already shared that my children do with their chores. One of the servants doubled what was given to him. That is like my first child who does more than their assigned chores.
The next servant earned just a couple more. That’s about as comparable as I can get to my child who usually does no less and no more.
Then there is the servant who not only didn’t earn more talents but actually hid the talent in the ground. This is like my child who would rather bury the chores and not even think about them.
The parable of the talents can be applied to our lives in so many different ways. It can be applied to the way we handle money, how we use the talents and skills that God has given us, how we deal with responsibility and yes, even how my children handle their chores. I think taking something from the Bible and finding a way to apply it to your life is great. Jesus used stories and parables all the time to try and make a point.
However we have to be careful, as I said in the beginning, about interpretation. In my work as a writer, I enjoy reading other writer’s work. However there are times when I literally cringe because I read something that just doesn’t sit very well with me.
We have to be careful that we don’t take scripture and turn it into a mandate. We shouldn’t try to put our own interpretation into what it means and then declare to others that they should interpret it the same.
Interpretation has created a lot of false messages. Just last night my husband and I were watching 20/20 which had this segment on about a family who teaches their children that God hates America, Jews, gays, and those who fight in the military. They were interpreting God and His Word to be based on hate. All I could think was that I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes.
The great thing is that sometimes we may get a particular message from Scripture because that is something God is trying to speak to us about personally. We need to be sure that we handle it the right way. We need to handle the Word of God carefully.
No today’s blog is not a parenting lesson. Something struck me about all of this that connects to the Word of God. It will make more sense in a moment.
My three children are very different from one another. They have different personalities and interests. The way they approach their chores is very different, too.
To protect their identity I won’t say who…but I have one child who not only does every chore on the list but will sometimes take another child’s chores if they don’t want to do it. This child doesn’t mind extra work if it will provide extra money.
Then I have another child who won’t do extra chores like that first child but will do whatever needs to be done, just enough to get by with a little bit of money.
Then there is the third child that usually doesn’t earn their full amount of allowance at the end of the week because that child has done less than was assigned and allowed that first child to take on some of their chores.
Which brings me to the parable of the talents, a parable that has been interpreted probably hundreds of different ways. Now here is what I think. I try very hard to not interpret as much as I do try to apply a Biblical principle to our lives. Interpretation can be a slippery slope and I would never want to be accused of interpreting falsely. So I choose instead to find an application for the parable of the talents. Just something to keep in mind…
Let me just break all down for you. A man is going on a journey and so he has to leave behind some of his property to be taken care of. I am the mom who is going on a journey called “life.” I am trying to make a living, run a household, take care of three children and be a loving wife. I need some help with some of my things, so I assign chores to my children.
He gives each one of his servants a different amount of talents. Every week I give my children different amounts of chores which equal to different amounts of money that can be earned.
Each servant handles their talents differently, just as I have already shared that my children do with their chores. One of the servants doubled what was given to him. That is like my first child who does more than their assigned chores.
The next servant earned just a couple more. That’s about as comparable as I can get to my child who usually does no less and no more.
Then there is the servant who not only didn’t earn more talents but actually hid the talent in the ground. This is like my child who would rather bury the chores and not even think about them.
The parable of the talents can be applied to our lives in so many different ways. It can be applied to the way we handle money, how we use the talents and skills that God has given us, how we deal with responsibility and yes, even how my children handle their chores. I think taking something from the Bible and finding a way to apply it to your life is great. Jesus used stories and parables all the time to try and make a point.
However we have to be careful, as I said in the beginning, about interpretation. In my work as a writer, I enjoy reading other writer’s work. However there are times when I literally cringe because I read something that just doesn’t sit very well with me.
We have to be careful that we don’t take scripture and turn it into a mandate. We shouldn’t try to put our own interpretation into what it means and then declare to others that they should interpret it the same.
Interpretation has created a lot of false messages. Just last night my husband and I were watching 20/20 which had this segment on about a family who teaches their children that God hates America, Jews, gays, and those who fight in the military. They were interpreting God and His Word to be based on hate. All I could think was that I wouldn’t want to be in their shoes.
The great thing is that sometimes we may get a particular message from Scripture because that is something God is trying to speak to us about personally. We need to be sure that we handle it the right way. We need to handle the Word of God carefully.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Remembering the Hurting this Mother's Day
Mother’s Day is a very special day to many women. However, sometimes we forget that Mother’s Day can also be a very painful day. There are daughters who have lost their mothers to death or even to a broken relationship. There are women who have longed to have a child yet remain childless. There are mothers whose children have died. There are mothers whose children are sick, running from God or for whatever reason, are no longer speaking to them.
Mother’s Day is not always a happy day. It can be an extremely painful day. I remember one of the worst Mother’s Days I ever experienced. It was about six years ago. Our family was going through a very difficult time, as my oldest had been diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome. Along with that difficulty were some behavioral issues and many nights where we didn’t get sleep. Being a mom was not a joyous occasion for me.
As our church does every Mother’s Day, we moms were invited to the front so that we could be recognized and prayed for. The front of the church was filled with smiling moms. What did I do? I was in the middle of this crowd bawling my eyes out. I had so many warring emotions going on inside of me. “God, this wasn’t what motherhood was supposed to feel like!”
Motherhood has its up and down moments. It has its difficult moments where we even wonder what God was thinking when he made us a mother. If you have never been in that place, be very thankful. But there are other women who are in that place. Mother’s Day is a painful reminder of what they no longer have or what they long for.
I feel very thankful that I can celebrate Mother’s Day knowing that all is well with my household. We are healthy, blessed and I have a good relationship with each of my children. But I can’t help but feel a twinge of sadness for the others who are not where I am. I don’t want to forget those who are hurting.
So this Mother’s Day, I just pray that each of us will remember to pray for someone that may be facing a painful Mother’s Day. While you are celebrating, someone is hurting. If you don’t personally know someone who is going through a difficult time, then pray for those who have longed to be a mother and it hasn’t happened. Pray for those who have lost their mothers and those who are in a broken relationship. Pray for those mothers whose children have passed on or are not involved in their lives. This Mother’s Day, remember the hurting.
Mother’s Day is not always a happy day. It can be an extremely painful day. I remember one of the worst Mother’s Days I ever experienced. It was about six years ago. Our family was going through a very difficult time, as my oldest had been diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome. Along with that difficulty were some behavioral issues and many nights where we didn’t get sleep. Being a mom was not a joyous occasion for me.
As our church does every Mother’s Day, we moms were invited to the front so that we could be recognized and prayed for. The front of the church was filled with smiling moms. What did I do? I was in the middle of this crowd bawling my eyes out. I had so many warring emotions going on inside of me. “God, this wasn’t what motherhood was supposed to feel like!”
Motherhood has its up and down moments. It has its difficult moments where we even wonder what God was thinking when he made us a mother. If you have never been in that place, be very thankful. But there are other women who are in that place. Mother’s Day is a painful reminder of what they no longer have or what they long for.
I feel very thankful that I can celebrate Mother’s Day knowing that all is well with my household. We are healthy, blessed and I have a good relationship with each of my children. But I can’t help but feel a twinge of sadness for the others who are not where I am. I don’t want to forget those who are hurting.
So this Mother’s Day, I just pray that each of us will remember to pray for someone that may be facing a painful Mother’s Day. While you are celebrating, someone is hurting. If you don’t personally know someone who is going through a difficult time, then pray for those who have longed to be a mother and it hasn’t happened. Pray for those who have lost their mothers and those who are in a broken relationship. Pray for those mothers whose children have passed on or are not involved in their lives. This Mother’s Day, remember the hurting.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Going Through the Motions
To me there is nothing worse than just going through the motions of life. There is a great song by Matthew West called “The Motions.” This song talks about what it feels like to just go through the motions…almost as if you really have no feeling. Have you ever been in that place? Where all you seem to feel is numbness? This can happen in any area of our lives. It can happen in our walk with God, our marriage, our parenting, our work, our ministry, our friendships and the list could go on. This is probably one of the worst feelings to have, that numbness. It’s hard to penetrate through that.
This song also talks about what type of life you have when you are going through the motions; it’s a life of nothingness. Everything you do in life basically has no value, no meaning to it. That is a very sad and pathetic place to be.
Who wants to feel this way? No one signs up for this. But it happens. Sometimes it happens gradually. In fact, it can be so gradual that we don’t even see it coming. We are almost blindsided by it. However, it seeps in because we allow it to. There are so many things that try to invade our thoughts—discontentment, jealousy, discouragement, frustration, disappointment and so much more. When we allow these things to come in, we set ourselves up to be in that place where we are doing nothing more than going through the motions.
Thankfully there is hope. We can break out of that pattern with the Lord’s help. As Matthew West cried out in his song, “I don’t wanna go one more day…” We have to not want to go another day of just going through the motions. It has to start with us first. It’s easy to blame others or blame situations. It’s easy to say, “If only…” and wait for that “if only” to happen. But we have to take a step in the right direction. We have to determine that we are not going to live this way. It doesn’t matter what area of life it is in—we need to determine that we are going to get beyond the motions and start living again.
We also don’t want to end up with regrets. Another line in the song says, “What if I had given everything instead of going through the motions?” When we just go through the motions, we are missing out on all the good things that could be ours. I’m not talking about getting every single thing we want on our wish list. I’m talking about living our lives in such a way that we GIVE everything. It’s not about getting, it’s about giving. The more we give, the more we will receive. Anyone who is stuck going through the motions is not someone who is giving.
If you have been in that place, in some area of your life, stop wasting time. Get out of the rut, get out of the place of nothingness and step into a world of giving…give of yourself to those areas that are struggling and God will see you through. When you live your life for Him there is no way your life will be just going through the motions. It will be a life lived abundantly and completely!
This song also talks about what type of life you have when you are going through the motions; it’s a life of nothingness. Everything you do in life basically has no value, no meaning to it. That is a very sad and pathetic place to be.
Who wants to feel this way? No one signs up for this. But it happens. Sometimes it happens gradually. In fact, it can be so gradual that we don’t even see it coming. We are almost blindsided by it. However, it seeps in because we allow it to. There are so many things that try to invade our thoughts—discontentment, jealousy, discouragement, frustration, disappointment and so much more. When we allow these things to come in, we set ourselves up to be in that place where we are doing nothing more than going through the motions.
Thankfully there is hope. We can break out of that pattern with the Lord’s help. As Matthew West cried out in his song, “I don’t wanna go one more day…” We have to not want to go another day of just going through the motions. It has to start with us first. It’s easy to blame others or blame situations. It’s easy to say, “If only…” and wait for that “if only” to happen. But we have to take a step in the right direction. We have to determine that we are not going to live this way. It doesn’t matter what area of life it is in—we need to determine that we are going to get beyond the motions and start living again.
We also don’t want to end up with regrets. Another line in the song says, “What if I had given everything instead of going through the motions?” When we just go through the motions, we are missing out on all the good things that could be ours. I’m not talking about getting every single thing we want on our wish list. I’m talking about living our lives in such a way that we GIVE everything. It’s not about getting, it’s about giving. The more we give, the more we will receive. Anyone who is stuck going through the motions is not someone who is giving.
If you have been in that place, in some area of your life, stop wasting time. Get out of the rut, get out of the place of nothingness and step into a world of giving…give of yourself to those areas that are struggling and God will see you through. When you live your life for Him there is no way your life will be just going through the motions. It will be a life lived abundantly and completely!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Weaknesses Can Be Powerful
Never underestimate the power of weakness. That’s the message I get through the story of Samson in the book of Judges. Samson lands the job of judge over Israel for a period of 20 years. He is a pretty interesting guy. He has a lot of strength, known for his buff body, but he also has some pretty powerful weaknesses.
Before Samson is even born, God has determined that he will be a man of strength and will bring deliverance to the Israelites. An angel of the Lord appears to a woman and tells her that she will have a son, whose hair should never be shaved. The source of his strength would be found in his hair. I don’t know why God picked his hair to be the source of his strength. I guess He chose something that wouldn’t be so obvious to others. After all, if someone could guess the source of his strength, then they could cut it off (the hair and his strength).
Now Samson is so strong that he does some pretty incredible things. He tears a lion apart with his bare hands. He manages to somehow tie the tails of 300 foxes together. I try to imagine gathering 300 foxes and tying their tails…an amazing feat for sure! He slaughters many (we don’t get details; we are just told he does in Judges 15:8). He breaks free from Judah’s attempt to bind him and turn him over to the Philistines. He kills 1,000 men with a donkey’s jawbone. These are just the stories we know of. I’m sure there are more that the Bible doesn’t include. After all, he did judge over Israel for 20 years.
So he is a mighty man, a mighty warrior and God uses him time and time again to do some pretty amazing things. But the problem is that Samson also had a weakness. His weakness was women. In the face of a lion he could demonstrate incredible might but in the arms of a woman, he became like mush.
We first see this when he gets a wife from the Philistines. Although he wanted to marry outside his people, it was God’s plan from the beginning. So I guess we can’t really fault him there. However, his weakness in women is quickly revealed when she manages to get out of him a riddle he has told the Philistines. She backstabs him and tells the Philistines the answer to his riddle.
Samson would be backstabbed by a woman more than once, yet they continued to be a weakness in his life and as we will see, a pretty powerful weakness. Samson ends up losing his wife, first to his best friend and then eventually she and her father are burned up by the Philistines. This was in retaliation for the whole fiasco of tying the fox’s tails together, setting them on fire and causing them to burn up the Philistine’s grain.
Then in Judges 16:1 he goes in to a harlot. No strings attached. The Philistines try to take advantage of this opportunity and lie in ambush. However, he manages to escape yet again, relying upon his strength as he rises up at midnight and lifts up the doors to the city’s gate, along with its posts and bar and carries them to the top of a hill. With so much strength, one would think he could overpower anything—including the lure of a woman. But no, that is his snag.
We all have a snag, a weakness that we can fall prey to time and time again unless we learn how to overcome it. It could be that Samson didn’t really recognize women as his weakness. Or it could be that he did but he didn’t know how to break the ties. It could also be that he didn’t want to overcome his weakness. We don’t really know but eventually, it would be his weakness that would bring about his demise.
Along comes Delilah. I don’t know what he thought he was getting into but clearly from the beginning her affections for him were not very deep. For some silver she is willing to give away the secret of his strength. But to do that, she needs to find out what it is. Three times she thinks she knows the answer and three times he tricks her.
The power of his weakness for women is most demonstrated in his “relationship” with Delilah. Not only does she nag him to give away his secret but she has men waiting to subdue him. Did he not know those men were there? The Bible doesn’t make that clear but it seems impossible that he didn’t know. In one instance it says that the men were in the “inner room,” so I don’t see how he didn’t know.
Here’s the thing, though. If he didn’t know, he was blinded by his weakness. Our weaknesses can do that. It’s like we are under the power of our weakness and the power over us is so strong that we can’t even see straight. Our perspective on things can get really messed up.
Finally, he gives in and tells her the source of his strength. It says in Judges 16:16 that she “pressed him day after day.” She just kept coming after him. Our weaknesses will do that. They will come after us, day after day. They are always there, whispering in our ear…enticing us. The question is will we give in? Samson gave in. In my Bible it says he was “vexed to death.” That means he was harassed, irritated, annoyed…to death. Literally it would bring his death.
The source of his strength is revealed, his hair is cut off, his eyes are gouged out and now he becomes nothing more than a source of sick entertainment for the Philistines. It says in Judges 16:20: For Samson did not know that the Lord had departed from him. There comes a time when our weaknesses have so overtaken us that the Lord is no longer with us, and we don’t even know it! We mistakenly think we can handle a situation but we have strayed so far from Him that we don’t even realize His presence is no longer there. What a sad ending for Samson but clearly, one that could have been avoided.
In the end, he sacrifices his own life to wipe out approximately 3,000 Philistines at a house where he pushes apart the pillars and the whole thing topples down on top of them. His end was due to his weaknesses. Don’t ever underestimate the power of your weaknesses. The more we give in to them, the more trouble we invite. Samson’s weakness was women. We all have our own unique weaknesses. Recognize what they are so that you can walk in the power of your strength and not those weaknesses!
Before Samson is even born, God has determined that he will be a man of strength and will bring deliverance to the Israelites. An angel of the Lord appears to a woman and tells her that she will have a son, whose hair should never be shaved. The source of his strength would be found in his hair. I don’t know why God picked his hair to be the source of his strength. I guess He chose something that wouldn’t be so obvious to others. After all, if someone could guess the source of his strength, then they could cut it off (the hair and his strength).
Now Samson is so strong that he does some pretty incredible things. He tears a lion apart with his bare hands. He manages to somehow tie the tails of 300 foxes together. I try to imagine gathering 300 foxes and tying their tails…an amazing feat for sure! He slaughters many (we don’t get details; we are just told he does in Judges 15:8). He breaks free from Judah’s attempt to bind him and turn him over to the Philistines. He kills 1,000 men with a donkey’s jawbone. These are just the stories we know of. I’m sure there are more that the Bible doesn’t include. After all, he did judge over Israel for 20 years.
So he is a mighty man, a mighty warrior and God uses him time and time again to do some pretty amazing things. But the problem is that Samson also had a weakness. His weakness was women. In the face of a lion he could demonstrate incredible might but in the arms of a woman, he became like mush.
We first see this when he gets a wife from the Philistines. Although he wanted to marry outside his people, it was God’s plan from the beginning. So I guess we can’t really fault him there. However, his weakness in women is quickly revealed when she manages to get out of him a riddle he has told the Philistines. She backstabs him and tells the Philistines the answer to his riddle.
Samson would be backstabbed by a woman more than once, yet they continued to be a weakness in his life and as we will see, a pretty powerful weakness. Samson ends up losing his wife, first to his best friend and then eventually she and her father are burned up by the Philistines. This was in retaliation for the whole fiasco of tying the fox’s tails together, setting them on fire and causing them to burn up the Philistine’s grain.
Then in Judges 16:1 he goes in to a harlot. No strings attached. The Philistines try to take advantage of this opportunity and lie in ambush. However, he manages to escape yet again, relying upon his strength as he rises up at midnight and lifts up the doors to the city’s gate, along with its posts and bar and carries them to the top of a hill. With so much strength, one would think he could overpower anything—including the lure of a woman. But no, that is his snag.
We all have a snag, a weakness that we can fall prey to time and time again unless we learn how to overcome it. It could be that Samson didn’t really recognize women as his weakness. Or it could be that he did but he didn’t know how to break the ties. It could also be that he didn’t want to overcome his weakness. We don’t really know but eventually, it would be his weakness that would bring about his demise.
Along comes Delilah. I don’t know what he thought he was getting into but clearly from the beginning her affections for him were not very deep. For some silver she is willing to give away the secret of his strength. But to do that, she needs to find out what it is. Three times she thinks she knows the answer and three times he tricks her.
The power of his weakness for women is most demonstrated in his “relationship” with Delilah. Not only does she nag him to give away his secret but she has men waiting to subdue him. Did he not know those men were there? The Bible doesn’t make that clear but it seems impossible that he didn’t know. In one instance it says that the men were in the “inner room,” so I don’t see how he didn’t know.
Here’s the thing, though. If he didn’t know, he was blinded by his weakness. Our weaknesses can do that. It’s like we are under the power of our weakness and the power over us is so strong that we can’t even see straight. Our perspective on things can get really messed up.
Finally, he gives in and tells her the source of his strength. It says in Judges 16:16 that she “pressed him day after day.” She just kept coming after him. Our weaknesses will do that. They will come after us, day after day. They are always there, whispering in our ear…enticing us. The question is will we give in? Samson gave in. In my Bible it says he was “vexed to death.” That means he was harassed, irritated, annoyed…to death. Literally it would bring his death.
The source of his strength is revealed, his hair is cut off, his eyes are gouged out and now he becomes nothing more than a source of sick entertainment for the Philistines. It says in Judges 16:20: For Samson did not know that the Lord had departed from him. There comes a time when our weaknesses have so overtaken us that the Lord is no longer with us, and we don’t even know it! We mistakenly think we can handle a situation but we have strayed so far from Him that we don’t even realize His presence is no longer there. What a sad ending for Samson but clearly, one that could have been avoided.
In the end, he sacrifices his own life to wipe out approximately 3,000 Philistines at a house where he pushes apart the pillars and the whole thing topples down on top of them. His end was due to his weaknesses. Don’t ever underestimate the power of your weaknesses. The more we give in to them, the more trouble we invite. Samson’s weakness was women. We all have our own unique weaknesses. Recognize what they are so that you can walk in the power of your strength and not those weaknesses!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
The Nameless Woman
There are so many stories in the Bible where you are left to read between the lines. You have no idea how it played out. The details are missing. I am going to have more than a few questions someday when I stand before Jesus!
There is one story in particular that I read about this morning. It’s in the book of Judges. It’s the story of Jephthah, a Gileadite. His father’s name was Gilead but there is no name for his mother. There is only a description of her. She was a harlot. At one point his half-brothers throw him out of the house, so he goes to the land of Tob.
Eventually the Ammonites come to attack Israel. The elders remember that Jephthah was a mighty warrior so they go find him and ask him to please come lead the Israelites against the Ammonites. He agrees but he makes this deal with God. He vows to God that if he would be victorious against the Ammonites, that whoever or whatever would greet him at his door when he returned from the battle, he would offer it up. In other words, he would sacrifice it.
Now, I’m not entirely sure what he was thinking…or if he was thinking. It seems like a very dangerous vow to make. Why would you suggest such a thing? Wouldn’t it have been enough to say, “God, if you give me this victory I will obey you the rest of my life?” I mean, I think that’s what people typically say when they make “deals” with God. I don’t hear of too many people who suggest something so radical.
At any rate, the vow is made. It’s a done deal. So Japhthah goes out and he gets the victory. He is returning home, maybe even forgetting about the deal he had made with God. Who should meet him at his door with celebration but his daughter! His only child! I mean, clearly he had not thought through this vow and considered the possibilities.
Japhthah knew his vow to God could not be broken. He had to break the news to his daughter. Now think about that. Your father tells you that he had made this deal, this dumb deal, and now he has to sacrifice you. I don’t know about you but I would run! Instead she says, “My father, if you have opened your mouth to the Lord, do to me according to what you have vowed, since the Lord has taken vengeance for you on your enemies the Ammonites.” (Judges 11:36)
What I find kind of sad is that she is nameless. The Bible never mentions her name. She is this somewhat forgotten portion of scripture. We may have read the story a hundred times and never given much thought to it. But think about the reality of this situation. This poor girl has come out to celebrate her father’s return and his victory over their enemies. The celebration quickly turns sour. Her decision to greet her father would bring tragic consequences.
She doesn’t run from it. She knows the value of the vow that her father has made. Think about vows for a moment. Vows are meant to be kept. They are never to be broken. They are promises that we say we will keep. Yet today, vows have become nothing more than casual statements. It is no big deal to break a vow. Vow to stay together until death do you part? Nah. We stay together until it gets too hard or we think that the grass is greener on the other side.
This is a woman of integrity. I wish I knew her name. I can’t wait to meet her someday. I will have so many questions for her! Although she knows that the vow cannot be broken, she makes one request of her father. “Let this thing be done for me; let me alone two months, that I may go and wander upon the mountains and bewail my virginity. I and my companions” (Judges 11:37).
I don’t know about you but I really find this remarkable. First of all, the fact that she doesn’t run from her father and that she doesn’t beg for her life is amazing to me. She then asks for some time to get away and mourn the fact that she would die a virgin. I really think that is what she was saying here. She didn’t seem to be grieving the fact that she was going to die. That would have been the ONLY thing on my mind! No, she was grieving the fact that she would never marry and never have children. She would die a virgin. I really honestly don’t believe I would be thinking about that. Maybe it’s because since the time she was a little girl, she had dreamt about the day she would grow up and meet her prince charming and become a mother. Perhaps she was already engaged and now the marriage would never take place. We really don’t know but I sure would like to find out!
So her father sends her away. She goes and spends two months in the mountains. Here is where I am really curious. What all happened during those two months? Two months is a long time to think about what you would never have, what you were going to face when that time was done. She must have had some awesome friends because apparently there were others who went with her to “bewail her virginity.” Maybe it was even her fiancé. We really don’t know.
What if you were given two months to live? How would you spend it? At first, I would think that spending it grieving in the mountains is a waste of time. Most people might think that they would want to go out and do everything they can while they have the time. They would want to live life to the fullest and do something wild and crazy. It would be easy to think that she just wasted the last of her days. But here is what I think. Remember, this is just my own thoughts…this is one of those Bible stories where we really don’t know what happened.
But what I think happened is that she probably had some amazing encounters with God. I think God was with her and helped her during that time. I think instead of going out and partying and living life to the fullest, she spent it connecting to her Heavenly Father. I think He prepared her for the sacrifice she was going to make. I think that by the time the two months was over with, she was ready. And I also believe that God had given her a peace.
Here’s why I think this. She had more than enough time and ample opportunity to escape. She didn’t have to return to her father’s house after those two months. I think most of us would probably run to another city, another country! But amazingly, she comes back to her father’s house. There is also a line in this story that says: She never mated with a man (Judges 11:39). Obviously this was a big deal to her. Now think about that. She could have said to herself, “You know what? I’m going to die anyway…I might as well enjoy the time I have left and go for it!” She could have lost her virginity and given herself to a man. She didn’t. She died a virgin and apparently, this was a very big deal for her.
I think our true character shows when we are facing dire circumstances. When our world gets turned upside down, the real “me” will shine through. We can hide our true selves from a lot of people and in a lot of situations. But when we are faced with a raw situation, I believe the raw person we are shows forth.
She is a nameless woman whose story only takes up about seven verses of scripture. But her story is very powerful when you try to read between the lines. She gives us a lot to think about. What is she saying to you?
There is one story in particular that I read about this morning. It’s in the book of Judges. It’s the story of Jephthah, a Gileadite. His father’s name was Gilead but there is no name for his mother. There is only a description of her. She was a harlot. At one point his half-brothers throw him out of the house, so he goes to the land of Tob.
Eventually the Ammonites come to attack Israel. The elders remember that Jephthah was a mighty warrior so they go find him and ask him to please come lead the Israelites against the Ammonites. He agrees but he makes this deal with God. He vows to God that if he would be victorious against the Ammonites, that whoever or whatever would greet him at his door when he returned from the battle, he would offer it up. In other words, he would sacrifice it.
Now, I’m not entirely sure what he was thinking…or if he was thinking. It seems like a very dangerous vow to make. Why would you suggest such a thing? Wouldn’t it have been enough to say, “God, if you give me this victory I will obey you the rest of my life?” I mean, I think that’s what people typically say when they make “deals” with God. I don’t hear of too many people who suggest something so radical.
At any rate, the vow is made. It’s a done deal. So Japhthah goes out and he gets the victory. He is returning home, maybe even forgetting about the deal he had made with God. Who should meet him at his door with celebration but his daughter! His only child! I mean, clearly he had not thought through this vow and considered the possibilities.
Japhthah knew his vow to God could not be broken. He had to break the news to his daughter. Now think about that. Your father tells you that he had made this deal, this dumb deal, and now he has to sacrifice you. I don’t know about you but I would run! Instead she says, “My father, if you have opened your mouth to the Lord, do to me according to what you have vowed, since the Lord has taken vengeance for you on your enemies the Ammonites.” (Judges 11:36)
What I find kind of sad is that she is nameless. The Bible never mentions her name. She is this somewhat forgotten portion of scripture. We may have read the story a hundred times and never given much thought to it. But think about the reality of this situation. This poor girl has come out to celebrate her father’s return and his victory over their enemies. The celebration quickly turns sour. Her decision to greet her father would bring tragic consequences.
She doesn’t run from it. She knows the value of the vow that her father has made. Think about vows for a moment. Vows are meant to be kept. They are never to be broken. They are promises that we say we will keep. Yet today, vows have become nothing more than casual statements. It is no big deal to break a vow. Vow to stay together until death do you part? Nah. We stay together until it gets too hard or we think that the grass is greener on the other side.
This is a woman of integrity. I wish I knew her name. I can’t wait to meet her someday. I will have so many questions for her! Although she knows that the vow cannot be broken, she makes one request of her father. “Let this thing be done for me; let me alone two months, that I may go and wander upon the mountains and bewail my virginity. I and my companions” (Judges 11:37).
I don’t know about you but I really find this remarkable. First of all, the fact that she doesn’t run from her father and that she doesn’t beg for her life is amazing to me. She then asks for some time to get away and mourn the fact that she would die a virgin. I really think that is what she was saying here. She didn’t seem to be grieving the fact that she was going to die. That would have been the ONLY thing on my mind! No, she was grieving the fact that she would never marry and never have children. She would die a virgin. I really honestly don’t believe I would be thinking about that. Maybe it’s because since the time she was a little girl, she had dreamt about the day she would grow up and meet her prince charming and become a mother. Perhaps she was already engaged and now the marriage would never take place. We really don’t know but I sure would like to find out!
So her father sends her away. She goes and spends two months in the mountains. Here is where I am really curious. What all happened during those two months? Two months is a long time to think about what you would never have, what you were going to face when that time was done. She must have had some awesome friends because apparently there were others who went with her to “bewail her virginity.” Maybe it was even her fiancé. We really don’t know.
What if you were given two months to live? How would you spend it? At first, I would think that spending it grieving in the mountains is a waste of time. Most people might think that they would want to go out and do everything they can while they have the time. They would want to live life to the fullest and do something wild and crazy. It would be easy to think that she just wasted the last of her days. But here is what I think. Remember, this is just my own thoughts…this is one of those Bible stories where we really don’t know what happened.
But what I think happened is that she probably had some amazing encounters with God. I think God was with her and helped her during that time. I think instead of going out and partying and living life to the fullest, she spent it connecting to her Heavenly Father. I think He prepared her for the sacrifice she was going to make. I think that by the time the two months was over with, she was ready. And I also believe that God had given her a peace.
Here’s why I think this. She had more than enough time and ample opportunity to escape. She didn’t have to return to her father’s house after those two months. I think most of us would probably run to another city, another country! But amazingly, she comes back to her father’s house. There is also a line in this story that says: She never mated with a man (Judges 11:39). Obviously this was a big deal to her. Now think about that. She could have said to herself, “You know what? I’m going to die anyway…I might as well enjoy the time I have left and go for it!” She could have lost her virginity and given herself to a man. She didn’t. She died a virgin and apparently, this was a very big deal for her.
I think our true character shows when we are facing dire circumstances. When our world gets turned upside down, the real “me” will shine through. We can hide our true selves from a lot of people and in a lot of situations. But when we are faced with a raw situation, I believe the raw person we are shows forth.
She is a nameless woman whose story only takes up about seven verses of scripture. But her story is very powerful when you try to read between the lines. She gives us a lot to think about. What is she saying to you?
Thursday, April 1, 2010
What If I Don't Feel Like Celebrating Easter?
I bet the title of this blog caught your attention. This weekend is supposed to be very special for our family. We have so many reasons to celebrate. First of all, we are celebrating Easter. It is the whole reason that Jesus came to this earth. He came so that on Good Friday He would take on the sins of the world, yet on Easter morning He would rise from the dead—clearing a path of salvation for all those who would believe on Him. What a glorious celebration!
Our family has other reasons to celebrate as well. My oldest son turns 16 this weekend. There is just something remarkable about that 16th birthday. It’s like a special turning point in a young person’s life. Childhood is just about to be completely left behind. A new season of life waits just around the corner.
We are also celebrating my mother’s 60th birthday which is yet another milestone in a special family member’s life. So many celebrations and so many good things to think about…but we have had this dark cloud covering the joys of all these celebrations. A marriage in our family is falling apart. It seems that prayers just aren’t quite getting answered the way we would like. Tomorrow is supposed to be a special day—the celebration of Good Friday. Sunday is another special day, Easter morning church service and then our family gathering to celebrate Jesus Christ and the aforementioned birthdays. But a family member will be missing. There will be this hole in our family and I have been battling the past week on how we can fill it.
The past several days I have been trying to think of ways to keep things joyful. Pretend it isn’t happening…bring out a funny DVD of a Christian comedian…put together some special Easter baskets for my kids and nephews…lots of different thoughts that I have had. In all honesty it has emotionally been a bit overwhelming. I have been feeling like I am trying to be the glue that keeps everything together and attempts to bring joy and peace in the midst of a very difficult and trying time.
I have also had my moments when I would like to do nothing more than just cancel everything. Forget even trying to make this happen. Call up family and announce the cancellation…they would probably understand. At one point I even thought that I should forget all about the plans I had this weekend to celebrate Easter—our Good Friday service, the Easter musical, and Sunday morning’s Easter service. How can I pretend to be happy when part of our world is falling apart? What if I don’t really feel like celebrating Easter?
Almost as quickly as I had those thoughts I was reminded of those dark moments that Jesus experienced the day He would hang on the cross for the sins of this world. It was now about the sixth hour (midday), and darkness enveloped the whole land and earth until the ninth hour (about three o’clock in the afternoon), while the sun’s light faded or was darkened; and the curtain [of the Holy of Holies] of the temple was torn in two (Luke 23:44-45). Indeed it was a dark time. It was not a time of celebration. It seemed that all hope was gone. But who was there? Who was hanging in the balance between life and death? Jesus was. Even in the darkest moments He was there. In our dark moments as a family, He is there. But the darkness won’t remain just as it didn’t on the day He was crucified.
I love how Luke 24 starts off…BUT. But on the first day of the week… What we know about the word “but” is that it cancels everything before. Our debt was canceled. The darkness that had once clouded everything was canceled by the word “but.” Because in Luke 24:3 it says But when they went inside, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. Why couldn't they find it? Because He had risen! The dark cloud had been lifted and Jesus’ resurrection paved the way for light and life.
My reminder, which is for anyone else who is experiencing something difficult in life right now, is that the darkness doesn’t remain forever. There may be a dark cloud hovering over you right now but Jesus is still there. Don’t feel like celebrating Easter? Do you think Jesus “felt” like hanging on a cross? Remember the reason for the celebrations of Easter, what He did for you and watch the dark cloud begin to break away.
Our family has other reasons to celebrate as well. My oldest son turns 16 this weekend. There is just something remarkable about that 16th birthday. It’s like a special turning point in a young person’s life. Childhood is just about to be completely left behind. A new season of life waits just around the corner.
We are also celebrating my mother’s 60th birthday which is yet another milestone in a special family member’s life. So many celebrations and so many good things to think about…but we have had this dark cloud covering the joys of all these celebrations. A marriage in our family is falling apart. It seems that prayers just aren’t quite getting answered the way we would like. Tomorrow is supposed to be a special day—the celebration of Good Friday. Sunday is another special day, Easter morning church service and then our family gathering to celebrate Jesus Christ and the aforementioned birthdays. But a family member will be missing. There will be this hole in our family and I have been battling the past week on how we can fill it.
The past several days I have been trying to think of ways to keep things joyful. Pretend it isn’t happening…bring out a funny DVD of a Christian comedian…put together some special Easter baskets for my kids and nephews…lots of different thoughts that I have had. In all honesty it has emotionally been a bit overwhelming. I have been feeling like I am trying to be the glue that keeps everything together and attempts to bring joy and peace in the midst of a very difficult and trying time.
I have also had my moments when I would like to do nothing more than just cancel everything. Forget even trying to make this happen. Call up family and announce the cancellation…they would probably understand. At one point I even thought that I should forget all about the plans I had this weekend to celebrate Easter—our Good Friday service, the Easter musical, and Sunday morning’s Easter service. How can I pretend to be happy when part of our world is falling apart? What if I don’t really feel like celebrating Easter?
Almost as quickly as I had those thoughts I was reminded of those dark moments that Jesus experienced the day He would hang on the cross for the sins of this world. It was now about the sixth hour (midday), and darkness enveloped the whole land and earth until the ninth hour (about three o’clock in the afternoon), while the sun’s light faded or was darkened; and the curtain [of the Holy of Holies] of the temple was torn in two (Luke 23:44-45). Indeed it was a dark time. It was not a time of celebration. It seemed that all hope was gone. But who was there? Who was hanging in the balance between life and death? Jesus was. Even in the darkest moments He was there. In our dark moments as a family, He is there. But the darkness won’t remain just as it didn’t on the day He was crucified.
I love how Luke 24 starts off…BUT. But on the first day of the week… What we know about the word “but” is that it cancels everything before. Our debt was canceled. The darkness that had once clouded everything was canceled by the word “but.” Because in Luke 24:3 it says But when they went inside, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. Why couldn't they find it? Because He had risen! The dark cloud had been lifted and Jesus’ resurrection paved the way for light and life.
My reminder, which is for anyone else who is experiencing something difficult in life right now, is that the darkness doesn’t remain forever. There may be a dark cloud hovering over you right now but Jesus is still there. Don’t feel like celebrating Easter? Do you think Jesus “felt” like hanging on a cross? Remember the reason for the celebrations of Easter, what He did for you and watch the dark cloud begin to break away.
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