A Year of Sundays: Week 10

Sunday 10: The Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

What does it mean to be a church on a mission?

Mission isn’t always about going.

Sometimes it’s about being.

We all have spiritual gifts, but we don’t always have opportunity to use them. The most gifted speaker does not preach at all times. A prophet does not exclusively live in his visions; he spends his time in the ordinariness of life. Even a missionary, who has dedicated his life to a particular type of living on mission, does not do his work without stop.

However, at all times, we have the opportunity to love.

"Suppose I speak in the languages of human beings or of angels. If I don’t have love, I am only a loud gong or a noisy cymbal. Suppose I have the gift of prophecy. Suppose I can understand all the secret things of God and know everything about him. And suppose I have enough faith to move mountains. If I don’t have love, I am nothing at all. Suppose I give everything I have to poor people. And suppose I give myself over to a difficult life so I can brag. If I don’t have love, I get nothing at all... Love never fails. But prophecy will pass away. Speaking in languages that had not been known before will end. And knowledge will pass away. What we know now is not complete. What we prophesy now is not perfect. But when what is complete comes, the things that are not complete will pass away." (1 Corinthians 13:1-9, NIrV)

A day will come when spiritual gifts as we know them will no longer be necessary. There is no need to preach in heaven because all will already know the full goodness of God. There will be no prophecy because we will see and understand in a new way. But love will remain because God is love.

And today, also, we can always love.

A Year of Sundays: Week 8

Sunday 8: The Second Sunday after Epiphany

Epiphany is a season of going. Magi went to the manger (Read Matthew 2:1-12). Jesus went to the water to be baptized (Read Matthew 3:15-22). The disciples went with Jesus (Read Luke 5:1-11) . And if I may take some liberty, Jesus’ mother went to Him at a wedding (Read John 2:1-11).

But what is the point of all this going?

A phrase caught my attention as I listened to Scripture today:

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” (1 Corinthians 12:4-7, NRSV)

Common good.

The common good is hard to define. It is conceptually understood, even desired, without the full ability to articulate it. The struggle to define the common good is not limited to Christian thought, or even philosophy.  In fact, just this very week I sat amongst a group of graduate students at the University of Southern California and tried to give definition to this idea. Each small group landed on a good - but perhaps incomplete – definition.  One common thread was the idea of benefit to others; whether that was articulated as a “majority” or “all people” or “society,” it was understood that the common in common good was a challenging modifier.

So it is, too, in the Corinthians passage above. Later in the chapter, the author compares the common good to parts of a body working together, each with a unique part that serves the collective body. The ear may enjoy music from time to time, but primarily it does not hear for its own benefit, but rather to learn or warn the body. The feet may enjoy the pleasure of a pedicure from time to time, but mostly it carries and moves the body. It is the same with eyes and elbows, hips and hearts, armpits and even the appendix.

Using our gifts for the common good is not always easy, but it is important.

If I am a leg, let me stand.
If I am an arm, let me carry the hand.
If I am knee, let me bend.
If I am hand, let me extend.
If I am an eye, let me see.
If I am a bladder, let me pee.
If I am heart, let me beat.
If I am a butt, let me take a seat.
If I am a stomach, let me digest.
If I am a brain, let me know what is best.

Life Cycles and Stages

A few weeks ago I returned late from a dinner to celebrate a friend's birthday. Apparently it was birthday night at the restaurant because, as we discovered over the course of the night, most of the tables on the patio were celebrating a birthday. As we were seated, the table closest to us commented that they were celebrating a birthday as well. At their table, Robin was turning 65; at our's, Ana was turning 40. As we each turned back to our respective tables, one of our new friends at the table next to us commented that she wished she was 40 again.

Really? I thought.  Hadn't our table just been talking about divorces, diseases, and problems with children - all a result of this moment in our lives.  Yet, at 65 this woman wished she were 40 again?

The evening passed and we had a pleasant evening.  The meal was finished, the tab was paid, and as we made our way out of the restaurant, the scene changed.  We saw a group of girls, maybe in their mid-twenties.  My friends and I looked at each other, and there was an understanding: it would be easy to wish we were them again.  Remember the thrill of wondering where life would take you?  The energy to stay out late and get up the next morning unphased?  The carefree moments when you could do what you wanted because you reported to no one else?

And then almost as quickly: Remember not having enough money for rent?  Being mistreated in a relationship?  Desiring the respect your age made hard to earn?

In writing about developing mature love, the apostle Paul wrote:

"When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things." (1 Corinthians 13:11, NASB)

Similarly, we must learn to put former days behind us.  Have you ever met someone who was desperately hanging on to their youth? It always makes me sad to think they are missing out on what is happening in their life because they are attempting to gain something they'll never have again.

I hope that when I'm 65, I enjoy being 65. So, I must begin that practice now.  I appreciate that I'm 39, at least for a few more days, because this is where God has me.

* * *

Dear Reader,

This post was written several weeks ago and fell between the cracks.  I was reluctant to post it, having just written about slowing down as I approached 40. Two posts in a row about turning 40?  I promise I am not obsessed, as I thought you may consider me.  Instead, I choose to own it.  I am almost 40, and these are things I'm thinking about these days.  It is what it is.  So I hope, friend, that you will bear with me as I learn to let go of being 30-something and embrace being 40-something.

-Amie

FMF: Church

I am by far the least important of all the Lord’s holy people. But he gave me the grace to preach to the Gentiles about the unlimited riches that Christ gives. God told me to make clear to everyone how the mystery came about. In times past it was kept hidden in the mind of God, who created all things. He wanted the rulers and authorities in the heavenly world to come to know his great wisdom. The church would make it known to them. That was God’s plan from the beginning. He has fulfilled his plan through Christ Jesus our Lord. (Ephesians 3:8-11, NIRV)

I remember once telling someone that I wouldn't want to serve a God I could fully understand. What kind of God would that be? Today, as in the current era of my life, and today, meaning the last 24 hours of my life, that idea has been tested. I stand firm in my statement, but I am amazed by what I cannot fully understand: the church.

In Ephesians 3, Paul writes that the church is an integral part of revealing the wisdom of God, the mystery of God. Specifically, the church would be the vessel that shows how all are welcome into God's family - both Jew and Gentile. Though God's plan was fulfilled through Christ's death (think of the symbolism of the tearing of the veil into the Holy of Holies in Matthew 27:51), it would be made known through the church.

When I think of the church, I think of the old hymn, "'Tis a glorious church without spot or wrinkle." Eek. It sure feels a little wrinkled, like maybe God needs to toss us back in the dryer on high heat or pull out the iron to straighten us out. But, if I'm going to sing that song, I can't stop with that one line because I'd miss the important part, "'Tis a glorious church without spot or wrinkle... washed by the blood of the Lamb." Just like Paul wrote to the Ephesians, this hymn reminds us that we become the church only through Christ.

God, help me to be the church.



This post is a prompt from Five Minute Friday and was written in approximately five minutes. For more information, visit fiveminutefriday.com.

Love is...

See that picture frame?
It's actually a fish tank mounted in the master closet.
Are you asking why? So are we.

Growing up, my parents hung a felt banner in our living room that said “Love Is A Decision.” As I recall, they (and by “they” I mean, probably, my mom with my dad sitting nearby) made it at a marriage retreat they attended long before I was born. As the third child, there were many things that occurred long before I was born, but I digress.

When I hear “Love is...” I think of Kim Casali’s comic strip by the same name. The simplicity of her drawings and her ability to capture every day moments has allowed her work to remain popular over the years. According to her website, these started "back in the late 1960s when she drew the little pictures as love notes for her husband-to-be."  If you are unfamiliar, you can see a collection of her drawings on the website, loveiscomix.com.

Indeed, love is a decision.

That seems to be the heart of this verse, in one of the most famous passages on love ever written. When we think of 1 Corinthians 13, most think of the author's description of what love is, but consider these often glossed over verses:

If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

(1 Corinthians 13:2-3, NIV)

In many ways, we can't help what gifts and talents we have.  The pianist cannot create what the sculptor can, but both can love. The prince and the pauper have the same ability to love, though they may not have the same access to any other thing in life. I love the way The Message paraphrases the above verse, "So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love." Love may be the only thing that we can always control.  We can always choose to act lovingly. A genuine act of love is never wrong.

So how about you? If you were going to draw a "Love Is..." style comic strip, what would it show? In mine, you would see a couple eating burritos in bed because:

Thanks to my husband for showing me this act of love this week. No shame here; I love breakfast burritos!

Read my other posts on LOVE.

Love More

I was recently watching an old reality show. I've never watched it regularly, though I have seen a few episodes.  It featured a cast of women, a few of whom openly professed their faith in Christ. By the second episode, I was cringing every time they showed these believers. I'm sure they thought they were sharing Christ with their cast mates, but all I could do was pray that somehow God had used them. I could not see how.

We read about the apostle Paul facing an equally awkward scene:

Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.
(Acts 16:16-18, NIV)

Let's get this straight, there is a wrong way to proclaim Jesus. It's part of the reason the body of believers is facing some of the challenges we have today. A friend recently told me about an encounter he had with an unbeliever. The unbeliever told him the biggest problem he had with church is the hypocrisy. I can't blame the guy for thinking this way. I, too, have been hurt by believers whose actions didn't match their statements of faith, and I know I have been the one to hurt others this same way. We've missed the proverbial forest for the trees.

What is the answer?  As it so often is, it's Jesus. When we draw close to Jesus we learn the compassion He had for those who were "like sheep without a shepherd" (Matthew 9:36).   We learn the forgiveness He had for people like the woman caught in adultery, and we will say that we don't condemn people as we encourage them to "go now and leave your life of sin" (John 8:11).  The answer is not to judge more.  It is to love more.  More love for those who don't know Christ.  More love for those who've been proclaiming Christ wrong.

If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love,

I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

(1 Corinthians 13:1, NIV)

May we love more and clang less.

I am Apollos

What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.
1 Corinthians 3:5-9, NASB

It's summer time in Southern California, a summer that I desperately needed.  In past years summer has meant a lot less to me.  For years I worked five days a week in an air conditioned building.  If it were 100 degrees outside, I was still leaving the house with a sweater.  I might get the chance to step outside for lunch and feel the warmth of the sun, but that sun was gone again as soon as my break was over. Since I stopped working full time, I have come to appreciate the seasons, mostly because I experience them now.

My first cucumber in early growth.

My newest joy is my garden.  Yes, I have had things growing my back yard (and front yard, actually) since we bought our home eight years ago.  I have written before about my benefiting from another's work.  When my yard got a major trim this month, I was sad at how much they cut off my fruit trees.  Then I reminded myself that I waste a lot of the fruit that is produced, and everything will grow back.  In fact, it will grow back stronger for the trimming that occurred.

Right now the shining gem of my garden is my single cucumber plant that I could easily take too much credit for.  It was my mother in law who showed up at my door with seeds and a trellis for the vines to creep up.  It was my son, under my mother in law's guidance, who turned the dirt.  It is me, though, who faithfully waters the plant.  Everyday.  Sometimes, twice a day.  As Paul wrote, it was God who made it grow.  There is nothing I could have done to make that plant grow.

Paul recognized his place in the hierarchy believers.  He was someone who said yes to God, one of many someones.  I love my cucumber plant, and I am looking forward to the fruit it produces. However, the plant would have grown for anyone who did the work that my family did.  The believers in Corinth did not understand this truth.

The modern church sometimes gets hung up on things that don't matter.  There are groups who believe they have exclusive access to God because of the day they worship, the age at which they baptize, who they accept in their priesthood, or the way they talk to God.  This is what Paul identifies as "jealousy and strife" in verse 3.

I am Apollos.  I can only take credit for watering my garden.  It would not have mattered if I used a bucket or a hose.  One may be appropriate for one part of my garden and the other more appropriate for another part of my garden.  Where seed is being sown, cultivated, and watered, God will do the rest.

Good Deeds

Before I get into the thick of this, let's have a little laugh. Watch as Friends' Joey and Phoebe debate whether selfless good deeds exist.


There's no denying that we are supposed to do good to others. The Bible makes that abundantly clear in verses such as "Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it" (Proverbs 3:27, ESV) or "Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin" (James 4:17, NKJV). Yet, I still find myself thinking that somehow good deeds will offset my bad deeds, as if it wasn't something I'm expected to do, and, instead, is something I'm doing out of my own goodness.

If our good deeds, in fact, earn us something (love from God, admission into heaven, forgiveness, etc) then how good do we have to be? Is sharing a cookie sufficient? Is mending a relationship you would have otherwise given up on sufficient? Is selling everything we have and giving it away sufficient? Is it, as Joey proposes in the above clip, that there is nothing such as a selfless good deed because you feel better as as result of it?

It may be fun to debate the existence of altruism, but the selflessness of a deed is not the most important thing to consider. When unsure of what to do, we can ask ourselves:

1. Is this how I want to be treated?
   "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you" (Luke 6:38).
2. Do I feel good about this decision?
   "Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7).
3. Can this deed bring glory to God?
   "You will be enriched 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)

These questions won't tell you the right thing to do in every situation, but they're a good place to start.

Mold

Last night I had the unfortunate experience of finding mold in my coffeemaker.  I am fairly committed to my daily cups of coffee, so this was a troubling experience for me.

I've only had this coffeemaker a few years, and it was moderately expensive because of several appealing features, like the "rich brew" setting and the ability to make one cup at a time without using pods. At the same time, I am avidly mold averse. To be fair, I'm not sure that there is anyone who likes mold, but what I mean is that my tolerance of mold is very low.  I have thrown away many things, because of mold sightings, that probably could have been cleaned.  However, I knew I could not throw away my coffeemaker.  Instead, I found a way to clean the machine (actually, to clean it several times), and I thanked God for letting me find the mold before it caused any harm.

But it also begged the question: what was I doing wrong? I've had the machine for several years, and I have never seen mold before.  I considered what actions had changed recently, and I decided to not do those things anymore so that my coffeemaker would remain clean.

In chapter 6 of 1 Corinthians, Paul addresses inappropriate behavior among the believers.  He encourages them to settle matters under the guidance of another believer instead of taking each other to court.  He tells them to consider allowing themselves to be wronged instead of wronging another believer.  These are hard words to accept.  Does God want them to be taken advantage of?  Shouldn't they want justice for these wrongdoings?  Paul further clarifies:

"Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-11, emphasis mine)

Paul makes it very clear: The believers were once one way; now they should be another way. God had washed the mold off their hearts and those moldy ways should no longer be practiced.

I was hesitant to write about my mold discovery.  I feared a friend would read this and never accept a cup of coffee at my house again.  Similarly, I am often fearful of sharing the stories of my spiritual mold, those parts that aren't so pretty and need God's touch, but I cling to the promise that Paul gave the Corinthians:  I have been washed, I have been sanctified, and I have been justified through Christ and the Spirit. Thank you, Jesus!

Little Man

One of the things that I miss about church while we shelter-in-place is teaching our children.  It's sometimes exhausting, often surprising, and always a blessing.  I'm thankful that my church team is working together to remotely present the gospel to our youngest visitors, but it's not quite the same as being together in person. Today, I felt that void a little more than I have other weeks.  Our curriculum was on the Sunday School classic, Zacchaeus.  Oh, poor Zacchaeus.  He's the Napolean of the Bible.  We miss the wonder of his encounter with Jesus because we get wrapped up in one little detail: Zacchaeus was a wee little man (a wee little man was he).

The Gospel of Luke tells the story like this:

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”
Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” (Luke 19:1-10, NIV)

In modern days, we focus on the fact that he was short, and I understand why.  It's a great image to think of a grown man climbing a tree to see who's passing by in a crowd.  Like other gospel encounters, we read about a person who was curious about Jesus. I love how verse 3 says "He wanted to see who Jesus was." Maybe he wanted to size up (pun intended) this man he's been hearing about. Maybe he wanted to see one of His famous miracles.  Or maybe, just maybe, the message of Jesus was already beginning to do a work in his heart.  I'm thankful for the Zacchaeus-es of the world, who are willing to do silly things, undignified things, to see who Jesus is.

But the story isn't really about a short, wealthy man who was willing to climb a tree.  The story is about the Savior who was passing through Jericho, who was surrounded by a crowd, and who knew to look to an unlikely spot to find the man who was truly searching for Him. Jesus had previously promised the people, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened" (Matthew 7:7-8, NIV). Zacchaeus was acting on these words.

Do you think Zaccheaus climbed the tree reluctantly?  I don't think he climbed it saying, "Well, I guess I'll climb this tree if that's what I have to do."  No, I think he was excited that a solution existed. I envision a movie moment.  Zacchaeus is being pushed and shoved in the crowd, maybe getting an elbow to the head.  He stands on his tip toes, but still can't see over the people around him.  Then the crowds part ever so slightly, and he sees the tree (maybe there is a light shining down on it). He pushes through the people to the tree, and he's thankful that he has the opportunity to climb the tree.

When I read a story like this, I usually ask myself what I am willing to do to see Christ.  I think a better question is what I want to do to see Christ.  Paul tells the believers in Corinth that "you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver" (1 Corinthians 9:7, NIV).  Similarly, God doesn't want us to climb the sycamore trees in our life "reluctantly or under compulsion."  We should love climbing the trees that let us see Jesus.

Strange Chocolate Bunnies

Sometimes I'm strange. I think that's ok.

The Bible is full of strange things. Balaam's donkey had to talk sense into him (Numbers 22). Esther uses her status as a royal beauty pageant winner to save the Israelites (Esther 1-9). Jesus healed a blind man by spitting in the dirt and then rubbing the mud in his eyes (John 9).

Sometimes my prayers are strange.  I don't mean that I pray in tongues (1 Corinthians 14), my thoughts are strange.  A few days ago I found myself telling God that I am a chocolate bunny. My husband had gone to the grocery store with me, and, as we went down the seasonal aisle, he caught me looking at a huge chocolate Easter bunny. "Come on," he said, "it's hollow inside." I knew he was right. Though I knew it was only a chocolate shell, I was drawn to the treat. I laid in bed the next night and confessed to God that sometimes I am a chocolate bunny. I look solid, but I am weak. I look complete, but there is something missing. God, help me.

Today I found myself lost in the strangest worship. I was driving to the grocery store, listening to Celine Dion's "It's All Coming Back to Me Now." I prayed to God as I sang "It was so long ago, but it's all coming back to me." There's something in me that I've lost, but it's coming back.  I pray God honors what my heart was saying.

I recently found an old Bible up on the top shelf of a closet. It was actually at the bottom of a pile of Bibles, still in the leather case I carried it in. I had other Bibles before it and after it, but the one I found was special because it was the first meaningful Bible I had. It was a Teen Study Bible. It had bright colors and illustrations, and it was falling apart. I carried that Bible to church on Sundays and Wednesdays for years. I underlined and highlighted it. I filled it with bulletins, book marks, and even a leaf. I couldn't help but notice my current study Bible looks a little different. It doesn't reflect the same passion that other Bible does.

There's an older gentleman at my church that calls me "Sweet Amie." Sometimes I have to paste a smile on face when I hear him say that. I am not always sweet. I am a chocolate bunny, but I'm trusting God to fill me.

*If I said bunny enough times to make you think of the classic VeggieTales song, you can enjoy it HERE.

See You Soon

The apostle Paul had a special gift for telling people he missed them. Sure, everyone misses someone from time to time, but Paul was good at expressing it.

In his letter to the Roman believers, he speaks of the blessing it will be when he is reunited with them:

"I pray that I will be allowed to come to you, and this will happen if God wants it. I want very much to see you, to give you some spiritual gift to make you strong. I mean that I want us to help each other with the faith we have. Your faith will help me, and my faith will help you" (Romans 1:10b-12, NCV).

In his letter to Timothy, he recalls the affection of his coworker and the joy his friendship is:

"Remembering that you cried for me, I want very much to see you so I can be filled with joy" (2 Timothy 1:4, NCV).

In his letter to the believers in Corinth, he states that he'll be visiting on his return trip so that he can spend more time with them. In the previous verse, he says he hopes to stay the whole winter, but he will act upon God's will:

"I do not want to see you now just in passing. I hope to stay a longer time with you if the Lord allows it" (1 Corinthians 16:7, NCV).

In his letter to the believers in Philippi, he expresses the deepness of his love for them:

"God knows that I want to see you very much, because I love all of you with the love of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:8, NCV).

In this era of social distancing, many are feeling socially isolated. Not just physically separated, they feel lonely and devalued. I have struggled with these feelings even though I live with three other people. We may not be in prison, like Paul, but we may feel trapped in our homes all the same.

Our communities need us to be Pauls, to be willing to put our hearts on the line, and expose our deepest emotions.  It's ok to miss people.  It's ok to remember good times. It's ok to have hopes for the future. However, it is better that these feelings be expressed to build each other up.

I'm starting now.  I pulled out some blank notecards and all the postage stamps I could find in my house. I am going to do what I can, what God allows me to do, to make sure people know they matter to me.

I hold on to the hope that God will allow me to see you soon.

St Patrick's Day 2020: God is ____-er than me...

It started as one of those simple brotherly games. Josiah (5) was stating random facts to Jacob (10).  Jacob would respond with a DING if he was correct or an AAAA! if he was incorrect. Josiah would say things like "a bunny is bigger than a giraffe" and then receive an AAAA! from his brother.

They had been playing for a few minutes when I heard Josiah say, "God is bigger than me."

AAAA!

So he tried again, "God is smaller than me."

AAAA!

Even at five, he had a basic concept of size. He knew what bigger than and smaller than meant.  Frustrated, Josiah asked his brother, "What then?"

That's when Jacob said "God is the same size as me."

I wanted to yell DING because he had just spoken some deep theological truth. Yes, God is bigger than me. He created the universe and "the train of his robe fills the temple" (Isaiah 6:1). He is small enough to know us before we are formed in the womb (Jeremiah 1:5). Don't think that's small? The human ovum is less than 4/1000 of an inch.

Yet, the real miracle of God is that He is also our same size: "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you— unless indeed you fail the test?" (2 Corinthians 13:5, NASB, emphasis mine).

It reminds me of a portion of the Prayer of Saint Patrick:

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

May it be so.

Spirit

What do you know about the Holy Spirit? No, it’s not a trick question. What do you know? If you are anything like me, you might be having a hard time answering. Maybe you have some ideas but you can’t formulate the right words. I was reminded today that the Bible holds answers for our questions about God, so I am taking this time to reflect on what the Bible says about the Spirit. Seeing these verses, I know two things: I love who the Holy Spirit is, and I need more of the Spirit in my life.

1. The Spirit of God lives in me.
“Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16, NASB)

2. The Spirit provides me the ability to live the way God wants me to.
“I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances” (Ezekiel 36:27, NASB)

3. The Spirit raised Jesus from the dead and also gives my body life.
“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you” (Romans 8:11, NASB).

4. The Spirit guides me.
“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come” (John 16:13).

5. The Spirit brings me the hope of God.
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13).

Envy

It feels like I'm going through a phase in my life where God is calling me to do scary things. Recently I've been presented with situations that will grow my faith. I know that our lives are filled with opportunities to grow our faith, but there's something going on right now that I'm excited about. That's how, today, I did something scary.

On Sunday mornings my pastor has been preaching out of 1 Corinthians. This is a familiar passage and a well loved passage by many believers.  Can I confess to you that it's never moved me in the way it moves some people? I feel terrible writing those words.  I believe this chapter, and I try to live out this chapter, but it would not land on my list of top 10 favorite passages.

The focus today was verse 4: "Love... does not envy." My pastor said that he didn't recall ever preaching on envy, and I wondered if I had ever heard a sermon on envy. It's not a very glamorous sin, and it can be hidden so easily. That's why it's so sneaky. The one thing he said that would not leave my mind was that if love does not envy, "you cannot love someone and envy them at the same time."  I knew immediately what God was asking me to do. I had to apologize to a friend for the feelings I've had, so I gathered up all my nerve... and sent her a text. (Hey, it's the world we live in!)

Her response was more gracious than I could have imagined, "I sensed you were struggling with something, and something was off, but didn't really know what to do about it... Thank you for being so brave and sensitive to the Lord in sending that text. I know it's not easy." This friend gets me, and it's one of the reasons I love her so much.

You know what happened next? Life continued. She texted me like she normally would, and I texted back like I normally would, but there was one thing different.  I had not let sin come between us.

I thank God for the opportunity to receive forgiveness, and I pray that I am equally as generous when someone asks me to forgive them.

FMF: Experience

It's Valentine's Day, and I'm thinking about my dad. When I was 16, he gave me a necklace on Valentine's Day. It was the most meaningful gift I had ever received up to that point. Now that I'm older, and he has passed away, I think about him a lot.

Sometimes my memories are deceptive. I don't remember my dad saying "I love you" much. In fact, the first time I remember him saying it was on my wedding day. I'm sure he said it before then, but I don't remember it. Memories like this are painful.

However, my experience tells me my dad loved me quite a bit. When believers talk about Biblical love, they often go to one passage: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." (1 Corinthians 13:4-7, NIV)

Using this passage as a yardstick, my dad was quite loving. Dad was kind; he was always doing things for me. Dad didn't boast; I don't remember him ever bragging about anything he had done. Dad was not self-seeking; he worked long hours to provide for his family. Dad was not easily angered; when he was angry he'd say "for the love of mud" and so it was hard to believe he was really that angry. On and on it goes.

So if you are like me, and you are struggling today, take some time to embrace your experiences. You may find some love that was hidden away.




This post is a prompt from Five Minute Friday and was written in approximately five minutes. For more information, visit fiveminutefriday.com.

FMF: Practice

I’ve been “practicing” this blog post over and over in my head all day. I’ve written and rewritten the words that I wanted to type but instead of actually doing it, they’ve gone undone and have been lost into space. So many things in my life get “practiced” for no reason:

There are the words that I wish I had said after I had a fight with someone.

There are the things that I should’ve done to improve a situation that I was facing.

There are the ways that I intend to act when I get somewhere important.

There is the way I’m going to look when I finally lose those next few pounds.

In all of this “practice” I am spending energy and effort on things that don’t matter. I am not preparing. I am not rehearsing. I am wasting. And so could it be that this supposed “practice” is really something evil disguised as something important. Could it be a wolf in sheep‘s clothing waiting to attack me, from the inside, from my own very thoughts?

This could be why we are instructed in Philippians to think about good things. To think about things that are noble. To think about things that are trustworthy. This is why we are told in 2 Corinthians to take our thoughts and make them captive. And it is why the real practice is eliminating these “practices” and instead focusing on Christ.




This post is a prompt from Five Minute Friday and was written in approximately five minutes. For more information, visit fiveminutefriday.com.

Giving up...

If you give up when trouble comes, it shows that you are weak. (Proverb 24:10, NCV)

I can honestly say for the first time since Lent started I honestly feel like giving up - and with just 9 days until Easter there is only one word for this: stupid. Why can I only get so far in my efforts? It always seems that self-defeat sneaks in right at the worst time. Perhaps this is my weakness.

Maybe this is nothing more than the reason why we have sayings like, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." I need to get going.

But practically, how do we actually do it? How does victory become a reality? If I can't succeed at something as foolish as not going on Facebook, then how do I expect to succeed at anything that is actually important in my life?

...To keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud. Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:7b-10, NLT)