A Nation Divided

How quickly life changes. The past week has been a roller coaster of emotions–fear, disappointment, sorrow, and helplessness. And then I remember who I am and Whose I am. Fear is not welcome in a life surrendered to Jesus Christ and neither is helplessness. I know what to do when these ugly emotions nip at my heels and rare their heads during the dark hours of sleep–PRAY!

Let me also say, I’m not a political person. I vote on the basis of my Christian faith and then get back to the gift of living, of serving my family, church, and community, and thinking about what I’m going to have for dinner. The past couple of months have been different though. Listening to the blasphemy against God, half-truths, and outright lies has caused me a great deal of anxiety. I know my God is in control, but I also know His Word says He will remove His protection over nations who turn their back on Him.

I believe we are witnessing biblical prophecy playing out right before our eyes. If nothing else, this election proves that charismatic personalities delivering well written sound bites have the power to lead people down a path of deception. And just so you know where I’m coming from, I believe Jesus is the only way to eternal life. He is The Way, The Truth, and The Life. Period. Any other teaching/rhetoric that doesn’t align with that is false and will lead to spiritual death. When physical death comes, hell is your destination.

But that’s not the end of the story. We who believe the Bible have much work to do. The reading for today from Everyday Gospel by Paul David Tripp spoke directly to what I’ve been thinking on since last week’s election. He says:

Even though you and I have not outgrown our own need for God’s grace, He calls us to be tools of grace in the lives of others. He has given us the honor of visibly representing His grace to others who need that grace. In this way we represent the look of God’s face, the tone of His voice, and the touch of His hand. We could receive no higher honor.

This high calling is also a hard calling. People who need God’s rescuing grace are often messy, angry, proud, demanding, accusatory, self-righteous, and blind. You cannot be an instrument of God’s grace unless you are willing to step into the mess and get your hands dirty. You cannot demand a comfortable life and also be a tool of grace in God’s hands. 

I’ll admit that I’ve been angry this past week, but my greater emotion is sorrow–sorrow for my beloved country and the consequences of the election. The church of Jesus Christ is asleep while a foreign evil is crouching at the door of every home in America. We need to wake from our slumber and put on the full armor of God. Our country won’t be saved through policies, programs, or politicians. We need to be praying for the salvation of those who seek to destroy us. Show grace and mercy whenever possible while also recognizing the danger they represent. The blue wave everyone is talking about is the evidence of a country that has turned its back on everything sacred. Our children are sacrificed and slaughtered in the womb then celebrated in the public places like they are nothing but an inconvenience. God have mercy on us. We must be willing to stand up for what is right and good while also extending grace to those who are blind to the truth. And that is hard. Just as he said in the quote above, “The high calling is a hard calling.”

When I stand before Jesus one day, I want to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” I don’t want to hear Him say, “I brought the enemy to your door, but you were too comfortable, too self-obsessed, too busy, you missed the greatest opportunity to show the world who I am.”

I want my words to matter. I want my enemies to know that God loves them and He commands me to love them and pray for them. We must remember that most of our enemies have been taught hate from the moment of their birth. It’s up to us to show agape love even when we disagree. We are a country divided, not by red or blue, but good vs evil.

Not a single American should be celebrating. We should be in mourning and see this as a call to action–A call to intercede for our country asking God to protect this great nation and give us the courage to turn back to Him. We should also pray for the salvation of those who have been given a mandate to harm anyone who doesn’t believe in their god.

As Christian believers, we also have a mandate…We are to love God first and others second. Loving God is not simply saying we love Him, we must know what He says is good and do that, and we must know what He abhors and abstain. True love is honest and trustworthy. God is love, but He is also holy and righteous. We forget His holiness many times. Following God is not an easy path. It requires us to surrender our lives to Him. The good news is that He always knows what’s best for us and He will never leave us. When life gets hard, and it will, I have the greatest love of all, and His name is Jesus. I want you to have Him too! He’s as close as the whisper of His name.

None of us know how bad it will get if our country is taken over by our enemies, but God does. As the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 1:21: 

                                                     For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

How to Walk the Broken Road

 Have you ever tried to do the right thing only to be misunderstood and even abandoned?

It’s not easy to stand for truth, to defend righteousness, and to ultimately desire peace.

I’ve walked a broken road or two in my life and it’s painful. Not everyone is going to understand or see where you’re coming from. Not everyone is gifted with the ability to extend grace and mercy.

So what do we do when there seem to be no answers?

As a Christian, I look to Jesus and how He lived His life while He walked the road that led Him to a wooden cross on Calvary.

It’s difficult to read of the way He suffered on that momentous day more than two thousand years ago. His accusers labeled Him unjustly. He was humiliated, tortured, mocked, and stripped bare. He was treated no better than an animal. He offered no defense as He stood before the Roman authorities who’d arrested Him. As the song says, “He could have called ten thousand angels…” Yet, He chose to die willingly as the ultimate sacrifice for sin–past, present, and future. He hung there quietly enduring a heinous death. 

My suffering is no comparison, and neither is yours, though it may be horrific. History has recorded the life and death of Jesus and His purpose for dying. Our lives are but a dot on the timeline of eternity, however, we have a role to play right now in how we live and die.

Jesus is my example of how to handle defeat, betrayal, loss, anger, and every other emotion known to man. Philippians 2:6-11 (my favorite passage of scripture) describes Jesus in the most profound way: He made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness…He humbled Himself and became obedient to death.

That’s how I want to live–obedient, humble, serving others, and sharing what God has done in my life. When trials come, and they will, I want to stand for truth. If I’m misunderstood, if I’m not worthy, if life is unkind, I want to be found faithful. The One who loves me unconditionally will be waiting for me on the other side of my broken road, and He will lead me home.

 

 

Joy in the Seasons of Life

 I don’t know if there’s anything I enjoy doing in my leisure time more than watching animals in nature. I love to read, but even that takes effort sometimes. There’s something soothing that happens in my soul when I observe animals in their natural habitat. 

Last night we watched two different momma deer with their babies. Both fawns still had spots and stayed close to Mom. The protective relationship made me think back to my time as a young mother. Both moms were on high alert scanning the landscape for danger. They stopped to graze on tasty limbs hanging low, and yet any sound caused them to stop and check for a possible reason to flee. I’ve felt that way in my life. There were times I wanted to cover Andy and Bailey with my rules laced with wisdom. There came a time though that they left my protective covering and made their own way. That will come soon enough to the spotted babies. I wonder if their mom will grieve the loss of that closeness the way I do. Probably not since she will produce another spotted baby in her next season.

I’m sharing my testimony with a group of women at my church in a couple of weeks on joy in the seasons of life. My season of being a young mom is definitely one of the best seasons of my life–hard sometimes, yet filled with joy. The season I’m in now ranks right up there too. The season of being Gigi is sweet and filled with moments of unbridled joy. There’s something about seeing your children parent their own children that is deeply satisfying–a full circle moment. My husband and I are enjoying the season of retirement and the freedom to spend time with the grands.

There are things I’d do differently with my children, but second-guessing your parenting methods never leads to answers that bless those years. The same goes for the rest of the seasons of my life. I have to remember and believe that God ordained all the days of my life. Every single day had already been written for me before I took my first breath according to Psalm 139:13-16. I must choose to find joy in every season since God Himself sifted what came my way. 

My encouragement to you is to look for moments that will bring you joy in whatever season you are in. It may be found in serving someone else, sitting with pen in hand and recording the simple things, or watching deer through your window. Joy isn’t always found in the big adventures of life. I believe true joy is found in finding contentment in the little things that everyone else takes for granted. Call your parents, hug your children and tell them how much you love them, and don’t forget to thank God for the breath He gave you today. He is the truest path to lasting joy after all.

Join me at Concord Baptist Church on Saturday, July 18^th, from 9:00-11:30 a.m. I’ll be sharing my testimony and Becky Walker, Associate Campus Minister for Women’s Ministries at Anderson University, will be sharing about “Joy Through the Seasons of Life.” There will be a delicious brunch served with sweet fellowship around the table. I’d love to see you!

At Home in the Quiet

As a writer, I’m always paying attention to my surroundings. The books I read and places I go reward my inner world with a myriad of thought-provoking topics. I also keep a journal of quotes from authors who speak to my greatest need of the moment.

Wendell Berry is one of my favorite authors. I’ve read many of his books of prose and poetry. One of his most popular books is Hannah Coulter, a simple, yet profound, story of the life of a woman in rural Kentucky. I first listened to this book on Hoopla and loved it so much I ordered the paperback version. I want to share one of the quotes that gives insight to my writing life.

The quote comes on page 87. I’m including a good portion of the paragraph for context:

 

“…That is where I go to rest before I begin my slow climb back home again. I sit and let the quiet come to me. It doesn’t come right away. I have to quiet myself before I can hear the quiet of the place, and a car passing along the road up on the hillside or an airplane flying over makes it harder. But I listen and wait, and at last, it comes. It is an old quiet, only deepened by the sound of the creek, a bird singing, or a barking squirrel.”

 

This passage stirs something deep inside me. I love the quiet times when I sit before the Lord attentive to His voice. There is no way on earth to hear Him in the busy world we live in unless we get quiet, and I’m very much at home in the quiet, but sometimes I must seek it.  And just as Hannah says, “It (the quiet) doesn’t come right away…but at last, it comes.”

Do you run on empty, or fumes at best? If you’re like me, the noise of social media is overwhelming and at times suffocating. As the political season ramps up again, my phone notifications have increased many times over. As a dear friend says, “It’s too much!” Our world is too loud. I run to passages such as the one above to quiet my soul.

Being an introvert, the posture of sitting quietly is enough for me. It awakens my senses to all of creation around me. It slows my pulse to the beat of birdsong and squirrels rustling through leaves. It allows my mind to ponder the thoughts that swirl through my brain, and yet, it slows those very same thoughts and creates wonder and recognition of beauty. 

Sitting outside as a gentle, springtime breeze wafts across my face, sunlight peeking through branches, I'm reminded that light cannot be stopped. It has the power to slip through and cut the darkness like a knife. And one day, the Light of the world will descend on a cloud and pierce the darkness with His presence. I'd miss all this without the stillness.

The ebb and flow and rhythm of life speaks through a megaphone in the quiet corners of my soul and leaves me filled to overflowing with God’s goodness.

Only then am I able to give and serve in the way God created me. If you’re struggling with too much noise, find a quiet place where the sound of a rippling stream transports you to that place of rest and peace that only God can give. He will fill you and strengthen you to live out your calling in a world that needs to hear your voice. 

Quietly, of course.

 

 

Temptation 101

This morning, I read Matthew 4:1-11, the scripture that accompanied my devotional reading for today. You know the passage where Satan tempts Jesus in the wilderness. I’ve read this multiple times throughout my life. This time it hit me differently. No doubt Jesus and Satan knew each other well. They had been adversaries for Millenia since the fall of the angels from heaven’s glory. In this context, Jesus is God/man, and no longer in heaven’s realm. He is fasting and praying in the wilderness for forty days. His enemy is watching and waiting for his moment to strike. He approaches Jesus three times, and three times, Jesus quotes scripture to defend Himself. 

My role as Gigi gives me opportunity and
responsibility to protect, encourage, and teach

Satan recognizes His physical weaknesses and challenges Jesus to betray what He knows is right and follow him. But Jesus responds to this evil being with the power that comes from God Himself.

How much more should we, as humans, respond likewise? Our enemy will take advantage of the weakest place in our personality, physical makeup, family situation, emotional condition, and social standing. His one goal is to destroy you. The Bible says in 1Peter 5:8– “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” NIV

It also says in Job 1:7 – Satan answered the Lord, “I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on.”NLT

Those are sobering words. In his arrogance, he spoke to the God of the universe with disrespect and contempt. We have a saying in our family, “don’t poke the bear.” Satan was not only poking the bear, he was challenging the only true God who created the very earth he claimed to be patrolling. 

If he will do that to the God of the universe, we mortals are mere toys for him to bat around, confuse, and destroy. He has all the tools he needs to succeed, except One.

The Bible tells us to put on the full armor of God so we may be able to defeat the evil one. 

 

Belt of Truth: Protects from lies and deceptions

Breastplate of Righteousness: Protects our heart

Shoes of Peace: Ready for battle, based on the gospel

Shield of Faith: Extinguishes the fiery darts of the enemy

Helmut of Salvation: Guards the mind with the assurance of faith

Sword of the Spirit: The Word of God – used offensively to combat spiritual attacks

Also with these two cuties

In a world where we will be tempted in every way possible just as Jesus was, we have the solution for battle. He will come at us when we’re weary, when we have family issues, when we’re hungry, when we’re lonely, when we’re scared, when we’re bored, when we think no one is looking, and when we think we’re on top of the world. The blessed peace in knowing all this is that I have a Savior who loves me and wants the best for me.

One of the most tender things about the passage in Matthew 4:1-11 comes in verse 11: 

And these two little loves

“Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.”

The angels ministered to Jesus at the conclusion of his temptations. That spoke volumes to me because I’ve been there—exhausted with fighting an unseen enemy, broken by family dysfunction, sorrowful because of loss (too many losses for one person), and one regret piled on top of the other. But God…. He knows my every need and broken place. He not only sent His angels—at times I felt like it was His very own hand comforting me when all looked hopeless.

That’s what He did for me, and that’s what He’ll do for you. We are targets for the enemy when we’re not protected. Your mind, heart, and body are too important to leave exposed. Guard them wisely. 

And as a closing reminder, if your children are too young to understand the schemes of the evil one, it’s your responsibility to protect them at all cost. The consequences may exact a high cost to you, but God is there to minister to your need, and He will never leave you or forsake you.