Good and Pleasant

About a month ago my mother had surgery for ovarian cancer.  She seemed to be recovering very nicely while she was in the hospital but we began to be concerned about her while she was recovering at home and at her two week follow up appointment, we learned that she had not healed properly and required another surgery.  That was 10 days ago and we expect to be in the hospital for another week.  One of my sisters has come from Alabama to help and what was expected to be a one month visit has turned into what will probably be two months.  My other sister has come twice for long weekends to relieve us and to see Mom.

During this time out of respect for my mother's privacy as well as her need for rest we have asked that she not have visitors at the hospital and have not relied heavily on friends to stay with her.  My father was recovering from hip surgery (which he had a week before she was diagnosed) so he needed help at home and driving to and from everywhere he went.  For this reason my sister and I divided our time with Mom into 24 hour shifts, every other day.  I have to admit I was really worried about how exhausted I would become but instead I have found it to be a really blessed time.

During the days that Mom was drifting in and out of wakefulness without really waking completely, it was such a joy to care for her and to share the burden with my sister.  So many times I was reminded of the times my mother came to care for me when my children were born.  She would stay with us for two weeks, cooking, cleaning, and caring for the baby while we slept.  Her advice and tenderness during those days made our homecomings almost magical in spite of medical complications. 

As my sisters and I have worked together to take care of mom we have also watched out for one another, listening, advising, crying together, sharing our fears and thoughts as well as our prayers and hopes.  I have been so grateful for the time with them and for our love for one another and I'm so aware that not every family has this kind of harmony and ability to work together.  It is truly a blessing from God. 

Each day has new challenges and new victories and we do not know what the future holds but we know that we have a loving Father who does know the future and holds it in His hands.  And we know that we will walk into that future together, grateful for the time that we have.

Psalm 133:1, 3 "Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity. . . For there the LORD has commanded the blessing, life forevermore." (ESV)

surrounding me

I was born into great love,

that I did nothing to deserve

A fierce love that required my very best

I am surrounded by deep love

that comforts me and gives me life

And takes life from me,

making it beautiful.

 

Crepe-y Necks and Gratitude

“I just looked at my neck and realized it has gotten really crepe-y lately!” 

“Now would probably be a good time to stop looking at your neck.” 

The timeframe of this text conversation included my 17 year old son’s car being totaled by a reckless driver (not him) the weekend before we closed on a house on Tuesday that we had to get painted, re-carpeted and moved into on Saturday so that our renters could move into the house we were vacating on Sunday.  And those were the minor details of that week.  The major parts of that week were that my father had just had hip replacement surgery the week before and the day that I said that, my mother had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. 

Well, that certainly puts that into perspective doesn’t it?  What a silly thing to even think about!  Who cares if my neck gets crepe-y?  Newsflash!  If you live long enough, your neck is going to get crepe-y!  And apparently, from all the stars that have surgically smooth faces but still have crepe-y necks, you can’t really get that fixed.  So, bring it on!  Bring on the crepe-y neck, Lord.  And thank you for my son’s safety and the beautiful house and the renters who were ready right away!  And if I’m going to ask for anything Lord, it’s this – that you would heal my mom and give us many more years and much more crepe-yness  together!

Matthew 6:27 “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”

The Way of Love

In my journey through the Old Testament passages that Jesus teaches from I came to a passage in Matthew 5:19 that says "whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven." This one stopped me in my tracks because in Acts 10, Peter was told to eat 'unclean' foods although one of the commandments is to not eat unclean foods. So I found myself asking Jesus what he meant by that.

Galatians 3 and 4 were a huge help in understanding the relationship between the old and new covenants and their requirements. It vehemently points out that we are saved by faith and not by the law but it says that the law was a "guardian" to lead us to Jesus. This guardian did at least two things. It showed us what God's standard is and then it taught us that we can't do it! That leaves us in a terrible position from which we cry out "who will save me from the righteous judgment of God?" From that position we look for someone to save us and Jesus comes to us and says, "I fulfilled all of the righteous requirements of the law in your place." Whew!

So, does that just let us off the hook? In one way, yes and in another way, no. Yes, we are off the hook and do not have to fulfill the requirements of the law to be saved. Jesus did that for us and through faith in Him we participate in his perfection. But it also doesn't let us "off the hook" of the standard of God. As a matter of fact, in Matthew 5 Jesus shows us that the standard is higher. The standard is love.

Love says 'not only will I not murder someone, but I won't call someone names. In fact, I will seek reconciliation with my enemy as a higher priority than my religious acts.' Love says 'of course I wouldn't commit adultery against my spouse but I won't even allow my mind to go there. In fact, I take my personal holiness so seriously that I would pluck out my eye or cut off my hand rather than allow those parts of my body to lead me astray.' Love makes me a person of integrity so that I don't have to swear for people to believe me but I can just say 'yes' or 'no' and let that be that.

It is only as we are led by the Spirit of God that this kind of life changing love can flow through us. Our flesh sets itself against this kind of love and fights against it our whole life. Only through abiding in Jesus can we bear this fruit for "apart from him we can do nothing".(John 15:5)

Jesus and John the Baptist

My sister and I have sons who are about the same age difference as Jesus and John. These boys LOVE each other. If they could be together 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, they would. They don't remember a time they weren't in each other's lives. They have never lived in the same town but when the families are in town, they are together. It would be a cardinal sin to keep them apart.

I wonder if Jesus and John were like that. Think about the things we know about their relationship. When Mary visited Elizabeth at the beginning of Mary's pregnancy and the end of Elizabeth's, John leapt in Elizabeth's womb as he recognized Jesus in Mary's womb. They were aware of each other in a profound way even before their births. John's entire life purpose was to "prepare the way of" his cousin, Jesus. This was very serious I'm sure, but they were also boys and teenagers together. Can't you just picture them chasing each other and wrestling, making messes and discovering things together? As they grew up, what did they talk about?

In Matthew 4:12 we read some words that we could skip over pretty easily. It says "when (Jesus) heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee." And then we see Jesus moving from Nazareth to Capernaum "so that" a messianic prophecy would be fulfilled. Then at the end of this passage in verse 17 it says, "From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'" Remember who was saying that in chapter 3, verse 2? This was John's message as he prepared the way for Jesus and this is now Jesus' message as he begins his ministry, the ministry that John prepared the way for.

This is very poignant to me as I think about Nelson and Mitch. Their love for each other has woven their lives into a fabric in ways that will never be completely separated. They are a part of each other. This is what I see in Matthew 4:12-17. Our Lord had a close friend and cousin who was arrested for preparing the way for His ministry. It affected him. "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize . . . "

The Weapons of HIS Warfare

I am currently enjoying a Bible study on the scriptures that Jesus quoted during His time here. It's something I've wanted to do for a while but am just now getting around to. I am struck by the thought of the Author of the Bible reading and meditating on scripture and then using it to do spiritual warfare. Today I am looking at Matthew 4 and Deuteronomy 6-8.

In Matthew 4:2,3 we see Jesus being “led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3And the tempter came . . .” This is not the first time I remember God using the devil to tempt people (see Job 1:12 ). The first thing I see in this passage is that God is sovereign even over the tempter and the thief (Jn 10:10).

The first temptation presented by the devil was to turn the rocks into stone. This was after 40 days of fasting and the Bible says Jesus was hungry. Huh, ya think?! But Jesus answers him with “man shall not live by bread alone” from Deut 8:3.

Then Satan seems to say ‘so, we’re going to sword fight, huh (Eph 6:17)? Well, I know how to play that game!’ and thrusts with Ps 91:11, 12 “'He will command his angels concerning you’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone’” at Jesus. Jesus parries this thrust with Deut 6:16 “"You shall not put the LORD your God to the test,”.

Then Satan delivers what he probably thought would be a death blow, since it was the temptation he fell to when he wanted to be worshipped. He “showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” At this point Satan seems to be thinking that he can’t win at the sword battle so he will see if he can tempt Jesus with achieving his destiny the “easy” way. But Jesus doesn't throw down his sword just because his opponent does. He gives Satan the winning blow by using Deut 6:13 and I Sam 7:3 and says “You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.' At this, Satan left him and angels came to minister to him.

I am really moved to imagine my Lord in the desert, not eating physical food, but eating "every Word the proceeds from the mouth of God". I wonder if he had been meditating on Deuteronomy 6-8 during his fast. I know in my own life the Lord shows me things in the Word that I will need in the next battle and I wonder if He was doing the same thing with Jesus during the 40 days. Wow!

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin." Hebrews 4:15

Wow! It's been forever!

Well, someday I'll learn not to say "tomorrow I'll do this or that" . . . doesn't it say that somewhere in James? Back in the Fall I thought I was going to write a book and have it ready for the Spring. Then life happened. However, my son is driving now so I may actually have a few nights at home during the week. I might blog some . . . not promising anything. Tonight is a product of caffeine induced insomnia and I'm not hoping for more of that, let me tell you.

The past few days have shown me how dependent I am on hearing the voice of God. I don't know about you but sometimes it's hard for me to tell whether I'm being led by the Spirit or taken off track by my flesh or the enemy or circumstances. I find it's much easier to discern the difference when I am spending time in the Word daily and taking time each day to quiet my heart before Him.

I really believe God wants to speak to each one of us. Jesus said that he is the good shepherd and that his "sheep hear (his) voice". I want to position myself each day to hear Him. When I do I find that he really does "lead me beside still waters and quiets my soul". He speaks truth to me that convicts me of sin areas in my life but He also lifts me up and reminds me of who I am in Him. Without that time with Him, I head out into a world that is either going to build me up artificially or tear me down harshly and I'm not protected by Truth.

This morning I choose to stop and listen to Him. Today, may I snuggle into His branch so that I can bear much fruit.