I've known that plants grow toward the light ever since I helped with the gardening in my childhood days. But I learned something new last year. I planted a single tomato plant in a Topsy Turvy™ (upside down) planter. The main stem grew out of the bottom of the planter bag, away from the roots, as usual. So did that make down become "up" for that plant? No, many of the branching stems, before they became heavy with fruit, curved upward in the opposite direction from the growth of the stem. It was not because they were growing toward the light any more significantly than the stem, the whole plant being more or less equally exposed to the sun. They were affected instead by gravity, which makes the roots of plants grow "down" (toward the center of the earth) and the stems to grow "up" (away from the earth's center). Living things that are sensitive to gravity are said to be "geotropic," geo earth + trope turning. (I'll bet you didn't know that! I didn't.)
We too are meant to grow up—no, not just so we become grownups—we are to grow upwards. We must keep reaching, aiming for the highest that we know. The Apostle Paul calls that setting your "affection" on things above. "Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God." (Colossians 3:1-3) Yes, our feet do have to be on the ground, both literally and figuratively; however, the impetus of our Christian growth will be in the lessening of our attachment to what cannot last and our greater focus on the things that will.
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotation taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Impossible!
"When God wants to do an impossible task, he takes an impossible man, and he crushes him." This notable quotation is from Alan Redpath, who moved to the U.S. from England in 1953 to become the pastor of the Moody Church in Chicago where he served for nine years. He then returned to Great Britain serve in Edinburgh, Scotland, but suffered a near-fatal stroke in 1964. He was able to recover but suffered from deep depression for a period afterwards, even while serving in important administrative positions. Did he consider himself that impossible man?
When I think of what Dr. Redpath said, I am reminded of Gideon in the Bible. The Midianites, an enemy nation, were so cruel that the Israelites made hiding places for themselves in mountain dens and caves. When the Israelites sowed their crops, marauders from the east would arrive, as thick as locusts, and they camped in the land and destroyed the crops. They stayed until the land was stripped bare, leaving the Israelites with nothing to eat, even taking all the sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. .So Israel was reduced to starvation by the Midianites. An impossible situation! So God selected an "impossible" man.
Gideon was threshing wheat one day, at the bottom of a winepress to hide the grain from the Midianites. The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!” “Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.”
Then the Lord turned to him (because it was indeed the Lord) and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!”
“But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!” Gideon knew his people were in an impossible situation, and yes, he would be an impossible man!
The Lord said to him, “I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.”
Gideon was not easily convinced. Even after miraculous demonstrations of God's ability to do the impossible, he was reluctant. Gideon saw the angel touch with the tip of his staff the meat and bread Gideon had brought for his guest to eat. Fire flamed up from the rock and consumed it all. He saw a wool fleece soaking wet with morning dew while the ground around it was dry; then he saw the fleece remain dry while the surroundings were wet with dew.
Gideon assembled an army of 32,000 men but God wanted them to know they were still dealing with an impossibility, and that victory would not be something they achieved on their own. God instructed Gideon to cut down the troops by sending home those who were afraid, 22,000 of them. That left 10,000—still too many. A test of watchfulness while drinking, probably at the well of Harod or the stream there, further diminished the number, leaving only three hundred. Now it was indeed an impossible situation!
Equipping the men with swords and lamps hidden in clay pots, they entered the enemy camp. Read the story yourself (Judges 6 through 8); it is exciting history of God doing the impossible through an insignificant, "impossible" man.
MaryMartha (Thanks, cousin R.!)
(All rights reserved)
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
When I think of what Dr. Redpath said, I am reminded of Gideon in the Bible. The Midianites, an enemy nation, were so cruel that the Israelites made hiding places for themselves in mountain dens and caves. When the Israelites sowed their crops, marauders from the east would arrive, as thick as locusts, and they camped in the land and destroyed the crops. They stayed until the land was stripped bare, leaving the Israelites with nothing to eat, even taking all the sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. .So Israel was reduced to starvation by the Midianites. An impossible situation! So God selected an "impossible" man.
Gideon was threshing wheat one day, at the bottom of a winepress to hide the grain from the Midianites. The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!” “Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.”
Then the Lord turned to him (because it was indeed the Lord) and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!”
“But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!” Gideon knew his people were in an impossible situation, and yes, he would be an impossible man!
The Lord said to him, “I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.”
Gideon was not easily convinced. Even after miraculous demonstrations of God's ability to do the impossible, he was reluctant. Gideon saw the angel touch with the tip of his staff the meat and bread Gideon had brought for his guest to eat. Fire flamed up from the rock and consumed it all. He saw a wool fleece soaking wet with morning dew while the ground around it was dry; then he saw the fleece remain dry while the surroundings were wet with dew.
Gideon assembled an army of 32,000 men but God wanted them to know they were still dealing with an impossibility, and that victory would not be something they achieved on their own. God instructed Gideon to cut down the troops by sending home those who were afraid, 22,000 of them. That left 10,000—still too many. A test of watchfulness while drinking, probably at the well of Harod or the stream there, further diminished the number, leaving only three hundred. Now it was indeed an impossible situation!
Equipping the men with swords and lamps hidden in clay pots, they entered the enemy camp. Read the story yourself (Judges 6 through 8); it is exciting history of God doing the impossible through an insignificant, "impossible" man.
MaryMartha (Thanks, cousin R.!)
(All rights reserved)
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Things Mama Taught Me: "Be Nice"
Being nice is not all that easy for a kid—or for a grownup either.
First of all, what is "nice"? It's not very specific. Actually, what it meant when I was young was something like, "Stop fussing with your brothers." "Don't tease your little sister." "You mustn't shut the kittens up in that box." As a grownup, then, could I assume being nice means speaking courteously to the bank teller, tipping well at the restaurant, and feeding the squirrels and birds? All of these actions are "nice," but is it enough to do nice things? We could very well be merely acting nice, and not being nice at all. Like the rich young man who had kept the commandments from his childhood, we could bolster our self-esteem with outward compliance and lack the one vital thing: an involvement of our heart. (See Matthew 19:16-22)
Without meaning to, we do sometimes attempt to carry the idea of "niceness" over into our faith life. "I go to church every week," we think. "I support the church and community charities, I don't get drunk, I don't even gossip—am I not a 'nice' Christian?" But one thing is worrisome: How much nice is enough? Would you really want to base your relationship to God on how nicely you can behave, or risk your eternal well-being on your personal niceness rather than the righteousness of Christ? Jesus had stern words for a group of people who had acted nice, but did not keep the law of love. “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’ " (Matthew 7:21-23)
I appreciate my mother's efforts to train me properly; she did instill a few social graces in me. But I'm glad I know that my "niceness" is not how God measures me. He looks to see if the love of Christ is growing in me.
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
First of all, what is "nice"? It's not very specific. Actually, what it meant when I was young was something like, "Stop fussing with your brothers." "Don't tease your little sister." "You mustn't shut the kittens up in that box." As a grownup, then, could I assume being nice means speaking courteously to the bank teller, tipping well at the restaurant, and feeding the squirrels and birds? All of these actions are "nice," but is it enough to do nice things? We could very well be merely acting nice, and not being nice at all. Like the rich young man who had kept the commandments from his childhood, we could bolster our self-esteem with outward compliance and lack the one vital thing: an involvement of our heart. (See Matthew 19:16-22)
Without meaning to, we do sometimes attempt to carry the idea of "niceness" over into our faith life. "I go to church every week," we think. "I support the church and community charities, I don't get drunk, I don't even gossip—am I not a 'nice' Christian?" But one thing is worrisome: How much nice is enough? Would you really want to base your relationship to God on how nicely you can behave, or risk your eternal well-being on your personal niceness rather than the righteousness of Christ? Jesus had stern words for a group of people who had acted nice, but did not keep the law of love. “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’ " (Matthew 7:21-23)
I appreciate my mother's efforts to train me properly; she did instill a few social graces in me. But I'm glad I know that my "niceness" is not how God measures me. He looks to see if the love of Christ is growing in me.
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Monday, April 27, 2009
Don't Give Up the Dream!
Susan Boyle, an unemployed Scottish church lady brought down the house at the "Britain's Got Talent" auditions and has introduced "I Dreamed a Dream" (from Les Miserables) to a new generation. As of April 20, Reuters reported over 100.3 million online views of her performance and related materials. The song is actually quite a sad one, beginning with lines about excitement and high hopes and undying love, ending with hopelessness and disillusionment. The closing words are, "Now life has killed the dream I dreamed." I don't know whether or not it was intended, but Susan capitalized on the "dream" idea by explaining that she had not had the chance to fulfill her ambition of becoming a professional singer. She ignored the open skepticism of the audience and the rude presumptiveness Simon (one of the judges) didn't even bother to hide. She then proceeded to wow them all! Against the odds, at mid-life, she is still holding on to her dream.
A blogging friend of mine is headed this fall to a prestigious seminary on a full, merit-based scholarship. People wonder, she reports, how she happens to have such a wonderful opportunity, how almost like magic she reaches her goals, how she seems to have fairy dust sprinkled on her life. No, she would like to explain to them (but can't really), it has involved risk and lots of personal growth and a great deal of hard work. It has been some time in coming, but rather than give up the dream, she has pursued it and enlarged it and is ready to capture it.
Use of the word "dream" in Scripture usually means either a dream in the night or a special vision from God. Perhaps "ambition" or "compelling" may serve to mean the same as the "dream" we have for our future. The Apostle Paul wrote, "My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else." (Romans 15:20 NLT) He did exactly that in his missionary journeys! "Afterward Paul felt compelled by the Spirit [Or decided in his spirit, marg.] to go over to Macedonia and Achaia before going to Jerusalem. 'And after that,' he said, 'I must go on to Rome!' ” (Acts 19:21 NLT) Paul went to Rome as a prisoner, but he did get to Rome and was an effective witness there. Finally he wrote, "This is the only race worth running. I've run hard right to the finish, believed all the way. All that's left now is the shouting—God's applause!" (II Timothy 4:7, 8 MSG) What would the world have been like if Paul had not dreamed? What a great loss to the Church if we did not have the letters which were born of his dream?
Don't give up your dream! This is the race worth running! Run hard right to the finish, believing all the way!
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
A related post: I Have a Dream
Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved. Scripture marked MSG is taken from The Message. Copyright © 2003 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
A blogging friend of mine is headed this fall to a prestigious seminary on a full, merit-based scholarship. People wonder, she reports, how she happens to have such a wonderful opportunity, how almost like magic she reaches her goals, how she seems to have fairy dust sprinkled on her life. No, she would like to explain to them (but can't really), it has involved risk and lots of personal growth and a great deal of hard work. It has been some time in coming, but rather than give up the dream, she has pursued it and enlarged it and is ready to capture it.
Use of the word "dream" in Scripture usually means either a dream in the night or a special vision from God. Perhaps "ambition" or "compelling" may serve to mean the same as the "dream" we have for our future. The Apostle Paul wrote, "My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else." (Romans 15:20 NLT) He did exactly that in his missionary journeys! "Afterward Paul felt compelled by the Spirit [Or decided in his spirit, marg.] to go over to Macedonia and Achaia before going to Jerusalem. 'And after that,' he said, 'I must go on to Rome!' ” (Acts 19:21 NLT) Paul went to Rome as a prisoner, but he did get to Rome and was an effective witness there. Finally he wrote, "This is the only race worth running. I've run hard right to the finish, believed all the way. All that's left now is the shouting—God's applause!" (II Timothy 4:7, 8 MSG) What would the world have been like if Paul had not dreamed? What a great loss to the Church if we did not have the letters which were born of his dream?
Don't give up your dream! This is the race worth running! Run hard right to the finish, believing all the way!
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
A related post: I Have a Dream
Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved. Scripture marked MSG is taken from The Message. Copyright © 2003 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Blinders
Early in my childhood, my father had a team of horses which he used for some of the field work on the farm. These were huge draft animals, at least huge to a person who was only three feet tall! There are many straps and bands, rings and buckles that make up the harness of a work horse, but I really remember only one: the blinders that were attached to the bridle. These were fascinating to me. Why would you not want the team of horses to see where they were going?
That's just it. The horses could see where they were going, but that's all. The blinders prevented them from seeing to the rear or side. Their attention was not diverted by every little sound or movement around them, and so they stayed focused on the task at hand. They were not as likely to be "spooked" by the sudden appearance of a jack rabbit jumping up or a quail whirring away in flight.
We may have something to learn from the horses' blinders. How easily our attention is drawn away from what is before us! The Apostle Paul talked about staying on task. "I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us." (Philippians 3:13, 14) A great many things around us compete for our attention, but not every thing is deserving! We can choose what is worth our time and attention, and then turn our "blinders" toward the other things that would simply consume those personal resources without profit.
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotation is taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
That's just it. The horses could see where they were going, but that's all. The blinders prevented them from seeing to the rear or side. Their attention was not diverted by every little sound or movement around them, and so they stayed focused on the task at hand. They were not as likely to be "spooked" by the sudden appearance of a jack rabbit jumping up or a quail whirring away in flight.
We may have something to learn from the horses' blinders. How easily our attention is drawn away from what is before us! The Apostle Paul talked about staying on task. "I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us." (Philippians 3:13, 14) A great many things around us compete for our attention, but not every thing is deserving! We can choose what is worth our time and attention, and then turn our "blinders" toward the other things that would simply consume those personal resources without profit.
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotation is taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Friday, April 24, 2009
Worrying
Have you ever watched a dog "worry" a bone? He grabs it, shakes it with his teeth, gnaws and growls, and makes a great show of mangling it. And the bone? It doesn't do anything. All the fuss is created by the worrier.
It's probably no accident that the anxious mental process in which we sometimes engage is also called "worrying." Actually, the circumstances themselves have only the significance we assign to them. When we empower them by our persistent recognition of them and our concentration on them, they are continually able to harass. All of the fuss is created by us!
This is not to minimize the legitimate concerns that we face, sometimes on an every-day basis. But worrying does not really address those concerns. Corrie ten Boom is credited with saying, "Worry is a cycle of inefficient thoughts whirling around a center of fear." All of our "shaking and growling and mangling" of the problem accomplishes nothing. Jesus asked, "Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?" (Luke 12:25, 26)
My personal paraphrase of I Peter 5:7: "Give to God all the things you keep gnawing on and the things you try to scare away by growling. He cares about you!"
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotation is taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
It's probably no accident that the anxious mental process in which we sometimes engage is also called "worrying." Actually, the circumstances themselves have only the significance we assign to them. When we empower them by our persistent recognition of them and our concentration on them, they are continually able to harass. All of the fuss is created by us!
This is not to minimize the legitimate concerns that we face, sometimes on an every-day basis. But worrying does not really address those concerns. Corrie ten Boom is credited with saying, "Worry is a cycle of inefficient thoughts whirling around a center of fear." All of our "shaking and growling and mangling" of the problem accomplishes nothing. Jesus asked, "Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?" (Luke 12:25, 26)
My personal paraphrase of I Peter 5:7: "Give to God all the things you keep gnawing on and the things you try to scare away by growling. He cares about you!"
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotation is taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Thursday, April 23, 2009
A Safe Dwelling Place
Have you ever been perplexed by tragedy which comes to a family of earnest Christian believers? It's hard, sometimes, to reconcile what we understand about God's faithfulness with what we see happening around us—or perhaps to us. Yes, we hear stories of miraculous deliverance, apparently because someone prayed or even "commanded" the elements to cease. The tornado lifts up and spares the home, the flood stops rising just in time, the fire sweeps past the house without burning it down, the earth leaves off its quaking before the walls collapse.
Well, what about such intervention? Why does it work for him/her/them and not for me? Am I not good enough for God's special attention? Is my faith not strong enough? Or are these disasters something God doesn't bother to interrupt?
There is no doubt in my mind that sometimes, for His own good reasons, God performs a rescue; I think we cannot explain some occurrences any other way. There is also no doubt in my mind that sometimes, for His own good reasons, He does not step in with a rescue, and people of faith suffer huge loss right along with those who care nothing at all for God. We quote Scripture over and over: "If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home." (Psalm 91:9-10) A wonderful promise. Well then, why can't we make it work?
I think we don't see the promise of God's protection "working" because we don't understand what the promise says. Our earliest written psalm is a prayer of Moses. He declared, "Lord, through all the generations you have been our home!" (Psalm 90:1, emphasis mine) God was his dwelling place! Not the king's palace of prestige and plenty where he grew up as a boy. Not the land of Egypt where he ate fish and all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic he wanted. Not the heat and dust of the wilderness where he tried unsuccessfully to lead a fearful and disobedient crowd to their homeland. If "home" consists solely of the roof over my head, home can be destroyed by wind or flood or fire. But no evil can conquer me nor any plague come near my home if that "home" is God Himself.
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Well, what about such intervention? Why does it work for him/her/them and not for me? Am I not good enough for God's special attention? Is my faith not strong enough? Or are these disasters something God doesn't bother to interrupt?
There is no doubt in my mind that sometimes, for His own good reasons, God performs a rescue; I think we cannot explain some occurrences any other way. There is also no doubt in my mind that sometimes, for His own good reasons, He does not step in with a rescue, and people of faith suffer huge loss right along with those who care nothing at all for God. We quote Scripture over and over: "If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home." (Psalm 91:9-10) A wonderful promise. Well then, why can't we make it work?
I think we don't see the promise of God's protection "working" because we don't understand what the promise says. Our earliest written psalm is a prayer of Moses. He declared, "Lord, through all the generations you have been our home!" (Psalm 90:1, emphasis mine) God was his dwelling place! Not the king's palace of prestige and plenty where he grew up as a boy. Not the land of Egypt where he ate fish and all the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic he wanted. Not the heat and dust of the wilderness where he tried unsuccessfully to lead a fearful and disobedient crowd to their homeland. If "home" consists solely of the roof over my head, home can be destroyed by wind or flood or fire. But no evil can conquer me nor any plague come near my home if that "home" is God Himself.
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
A Sure Thing
"There's nothing sure but death and taxes," my family used to tell me. Probably by now, older and wiser, all of them are aware of the loopholes in tax-paying for those who want to evade it. So that leaves death as our one certainty. Unless we are caught away "at the last trump" [trumpet], all of us face the inevitable. "No one can live forever; all will die. No one can escape the power of the grave." (Psalm 89:48) Ordinarily we prolong life as long as we can, but death claims all of us eventually. The "pull" of the grave is relentless. Although we prefer not to dwell on it, especially when we are young and full of vigor, it is there nevertheless in our cautions and preventive actions.
There is something, though, as tenacious as death and the grave. "Love is as strong as death, its jealousy [or zeal] as enduring as the grave." (Song of Solomon 8:6) While our human love sometimes fails that test, God's love certainly measures up. To the extent that our love reflects His own, it too is enduring.
Furthermore, love is not only as powerful as death and the grave, but even more so! It outlasts everything! "Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love." (I Corinthians 13:8, 13) If we truly love, we will carry that with us into eternity.
Want to know what's an absolutely reliable thing in our world of change? Not taxes. Want to know what's the biggest thing you will encounter in your lifetime? Not death. LOVE.
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
There is something, though, as tenacious as death and the grave. "Love is as strong as death, its jealousy [or zeal] as enduring as the grave." (Song of Solomon 8:6) While our human love sometimes fails that test, God's love certainly measures up. To the extent that our love reflects His own, it too is enduring.
Furthermore, love is not only as powerful as death and the grave, but even more so! It outlasts everything! "Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love." (I Corinthians 13:8, 13) If we truly love, we will carry that with us into eternity.
Want to know what's an absolutely reliable thing in our world of change? Not taxes. Want to know what's the biggest thing you will encounter in your lifetime? Not death. LOVE.
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Friends in High Places
A few days ago, I drove by the construction site of the new arena being raised in our city. The tallest portion of the building is the spire on the south end, reaching 160 feet above the ground. Just below the spire, I saw someone suspended on a system of ropes, working on the face of the decorative wall which supports the spire. He (or she) was not on scaffolding and not in the bucket of a crane as many of the workers have been that I've observed in the past. I had to admire the skill and boldness of whoever that was dangling there, well over a hundred feet in the air. A "friend" in a high place, for sure!
That's nothing, though, compared to the high, heavenly place where my Friend is who sees me perfectly. I am not just a teeny, tiny person driving by in a miniature car; He is watching me with loving concern. He is not so far away or so busy with some other business that He cannot hear me when I call to Him. Celebrities and politicians and the wealthy may have friends in high places, but so do I! I am privileged, along with you, to share the viewpoint Christ has of earthly matters. "And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:6)
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
That's nothing, though, compared to the high, heavenly place where my Friend is who sees me perfectly. I am not just a teeny, tiny person driving by in a miniature car; He is watching me with loving concern. He is not so far away or so busy with some other business that He cannot hear me when I call to Him. Celebrities and politicians and the wealthy may have friends in high places, but so do I! I am privileged, along with you, to share the viewpoint Christ has of earthly matters. "And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:6)
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Monday, April 20, 2009
Revenge Doesn't Work
I think it is not by chance that most of the references that speak of revenge in the Bible either state or imply that this is God's business. When He said, "Vengeance is Mine, and retribution," (Deuteronomy 32:35 NASB), He was not just talking about what is best; He was talking about the way things really are. We live in a litigious, pay-back world. We laugh when someone says, "I don't mad—I get even." But very often these actions aren't very satisfying. Victims of horrible crimes or their families find only limited comfort in the apprehension or even the execution of the offender(s). There may be a certain sense of closure after all that can be and should be done has been accomplished, but the loss they have suffered can never be fully repaid.
Last December, Florida police officials announced that a deceased serial killer was responsible for the 1981 abduction and murder of six-year-old Adam Walsh. For twenty-seven years, John and Revé Walsh, the boy's parents, have waited for "closure," but naming the man who was imprisoned on other murder charges and who died twelve years ago, has not provided that relief. "This has helped us close a chapter. No closure," the father said. "It's about justice. It's not about revenge or vigilantism or closure."
The Walshes' personal tragedy fueled intense efforts on their part to aid other missing and abducted children. The murder turned John, a middle-class hotel marketing executive, into one of this country's best-known advocates for missing children. He started the Adam Walsh Child Resource Center and co-founded the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which since 1984 has assisted law enforcement with more than 148,160 missing child cases, resulting in the recovery of more than 132,300 children. Beginning in 1988, John Walsh hosted the television show, "America's Most Wanted," which began profiling missing persons, especially children, in 1991. The show says its reports have led to the capture of more than 1000 fugitives. Together the Walshes lobbied for the Missing Children Act which set up an FBI database of missing children. In 2006, President Bush signed the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, which, among other things, created more stringent requirements for sex offender registration.
These devastated, heartbroken parents could easily have "drowned" in their flood of anger and grief, but Revé said, "You know, we're destroying ourselves. This is not something that Adam would want." I don't know whether or not Christian faith spurred the Walshes' decision to invest their passion in positive ways, but I do know it was a wise choice. No amount of tormenting grief could restore Adam to them. Savage anger could not bring him back.
Other losses may or may not have the measure of the Walshes' experience; that is not the point. The crux of the matter is leaving it with God. "Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, 'I will take revenge; I will pay them back,' says the Lord." (Romans 12:19 NLT) "For we know the one who said, "I will take revenge. I will pay them back.' " (Hebrews 10:30 NLT)
Jesus Himself is our greatest example. "He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly." (I Peter 2:23 NLT)
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture marked NASB is used with the permission of the Lockman Foundation, www.lockman.org Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Last December, Florida police officials announced that a deceased serial killer was responsible for the 1981 abduction and murder of six-year-old Adam Walsh. For twenty-seven years, John and Revé Walsh, the boy's parents, have waited for "closure," but naming the man who was imprisoned on other murder charges and who died twelve years ago, has not provided that relief. "This has helped us close a chapter. No closure," the father said. "It's about justice. It's not about revenge or vigilantism or closure."
The Walshes' personal tragedy fueled intense efforts on their part to aid other missing and abducted children. The murder turned John, a middle-class hotel marketing executive, into one of this country's best-known advocates for missing children. He started the Adam Walsh Child Resource Center and co-founded the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which since 1984 has assisted law enforcement with more than 148,160 missing child cases, resulting in the recovery of more than 132,300 children. Beginning in 1988, John Walsh hosted the television show, "America's Most Wanted," which began profiling missing persons, especially children, in 1991. The show says its reports have led to the capture of more than 1000 fugitives. Together the Walshes lobbied for the Missing Children Act which set up an FBI database of missing children. In 2006, President Bush signed the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, which, among other things, created more stringent requirements for sex offender registration.
These devastated, heartbroken parents could easily have "drowned" in their flood of anger and grief, but Revé said, "You know, we're destroying ourselves. This is not something that Adam would want." I don't know whether or not Christian faith spurred the Walshes' decision to invest their passion in positive ways, but I do know it was a wise choice. No amount of tormenting grief could restore Adam to them. Savage anger could not bring him back.
Other losses may or may not have the measure of the Walshes' experience; that is not the point. The crux of the matter is leaving it with God. "Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, 'I will take revenge; I will pay them back,' says the Lord." (Romans 12:19 NLT) "For we know the one who said, "I will take revenge. I will pay them back.' " (Hebrews 10:30 NLT)
Jesus Himself is our greatest example. "He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered. He left his case in the hands of God, who always judges fairly." (I Peter 2:23 NLT)
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture marked NASB is used with the permission of the Lockman Foundation, www.lockman.org Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Living in Perfect Love
The old King James Version of the Bible has had a powerful influence on my life; it is the Bible I quoted when I learned memory verses in Sunday School; it is the Bible I studied as I learned about my Christian faith. But those words translated so long ago sometimes have clouded their meaning in my mind. A case in point: I John 4:18 clearly says (to me), "If you are afraid, your love is not perfect." What an indictment! Of course, I've always had one fear or another, so then my love for the Lord is lacking—a fine Christian I have turned out to be!
"As we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. (I John 4:17, 18 NLT, emphasis mine) This speaks of a specific fear: judgment and punishment. Sure, I'm afraid of spiders and high places and strange noises at night. But I am not afraid of punishment for I am one of God's children, living in this world, learning to experience His perfect love—not worrying about my own!
I have always been intimidated by the love chapter, I Corinthians 13. "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." (verses 4-7 NLT) Is that not beautiful? And impossible?
But a new concept is soaking into my heart. God is love, therefore it can be said that these verses describe Him—not just how He acts, but who He is. God is patient and kind! God is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude! God is not irritable! God keeps no record of being wronged! God rejoices when truth wins out! God never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful. God endures through every circumstance! Instead of looking with dismay at my well-intentioned but weak performance, I purpose to focus on experiencing His perfect love!
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
"As we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. (I John 4:17, 18 NLT, emphasis mine) This speaks of a specific fear: judgment and punishment. Sure, I'm afraid of spiders and high places and strange noises at night. But I am not afraid of punishment for I am one of God's children, living in this world, learning to experience His perfect love—not worrying about my own!
I have always been intimidated by the love chapter, I Corinthians 13. "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." (verses 4-7 NLT) Is that not beautiful? And impossible?
But a new concept is soaking into my heart. God is love, therefore it can be said that these verses describe Him—not just how He acts, but who He is. God is patient and kind! God is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude! God is not irritable! God keeps no record of being wronged! God rejoices when truth wins out! God never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful. God endures through every circumstance! Instead of looking with dismay at my well-intentioned but weak performance, I purpose to focus on experiencing His perfect love!
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Friday, April 17, 2009
"I Want to See"
A blind beggar was sitting beside the road that led into Jericho when Jesus came walking by. The man could hear the noise of the crowd going past. "What's happening?" he asked someone. "Jesus, the man from Nazareth, is coming this way!" they answered excitedly.
With that, the blind man began shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
“Be quiet!” the people at the front yelled at him. But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Of course, Jesus heard the commotion. He stopped. "Bring that fellow over to me," He directed. As the man came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”
An audience with Jesus! The Miracle-Worker is asking him what he wants! Perhaps, "Jesus, make someone give me the coins that will buy what I need for this week."
Or, "Jesus, make the man at the marketplace be generous toward me. He could help me if only he would."
"Jesus, make someone clear this roadside where I sit. Every day I stumble."
"Jesus, make my family accept me. Make people be kind. Make people listen to me."
No, none of these. The blind man was wise enough, brave enough, to tell Jesus what he really needed. "Lord,” he said, “I want to see!” So then Jesus said, “All right, receive your sight! Your faith has healed you.” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus, praising God. (from Luke 18:35-43)
Perhaps sometimes we too come to God with a litany of what others should be made to do! It's better to get to the point: "Lord, I want to see! Change me!"
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
With that, the blind man began shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
“Be quiet!” the people at the front yelled at him. But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Of course, Jesus heard the commotion. He stopped. "Bring that fellow over to me," He directed. As the man came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”
An audience with Jesus! The Miracle-Worker is asking him what he wants! Perhaps, "Jesus, make someone give me the coins that will buy what I need for this week."
Or, "Jesus, make the man at the marketplace be generous toward me. He could help me if only he would."
"Jesus, make someone clear this roadside where I sit. Every day I stumble."
"Jesus, make my family accept me. Make people be kind. Make people listen to me."
No, none of these. The blind man was wise enough, brave enough, to tell Jesus what he really needed. "Lord,” he said, “I want to see!” So then Jesus said, “All right, receive your sight! Your faith has healed you.” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus, praising God. (from Luke 18:35-43)
Perhaps sometimes we too come to God with a litany of what others should be made to do! It's better to get to the point: "Lord, I want to see! Change me!"
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Lost Things
Jesus proclaimed that He came into our world to find and restore what was lost. No, not misplaced keys or runaway puppies or an earring that slid down the drain. People. He came to rescue men and women, boys and girls, who couldn't find their way.
He used three parables, illustrations from the real lives of His listeners. He told one story about a lost sheep. When the shepherd called his flock together, he found that one sheep was missing. He had ninety-nine other sheep, but he would not rest until he had gone out into the wilderness to find the wandering lamb. (The Scripture doesn't say it was a lamb; it might have been a stubborn old ram or an absent-minded ewe, but the picture of the Good Shepherd that hung on the wall of my childhood home makes me know it was a lamb!)
Supposing that it was a lamb, how did she get lost? Was she so busy nibbling at the tender blades of grass that she did not hear the shepherd call? Did she find the grass a little greener just beyond the patch where the rest of the flock grazed? I think she did not mean to get lost; sheep are usually followers. Perhaps she wasn't playing close enough attention, or she got side-tracked, or she was forgetful. She did not decide, early that morning, "I think I'll get lost today." All of a sudden, she looked around—and she was lost.
Jesus told a second story about a lost coin. A woman had ten silver coins. She must have dropped one, and it rolled—somewhere, but she didn't know where. Lighting a lamp, she looked for it. She got the broom and jabbed it under the bed and into the corners, searching for the missing coin. Perhaps she said regretfully, "If I had just been more careful—" The coin had no will of its own. It was not careless or forgetful. It was actually someone else's fault that it got lost. But it was lost nonetheless.
A third story was about a lost son. A young man demanded the inheritance that was intended for him when his father died. With his portion of his father's possessions, he went into a far country, and there he wasted everything with his reckless living. The lostness in this parable is different from the others. This young man got lost on purpose. He ran out of money, but he just kept on staying lost. Not until he was really desperate did he consider letting himself be found.
People are pretty much like these lost things. There are those who don't intend to get lost, but they just wander about on their own until they are a very long way from safety and hope. Others are lost because someone failed them; sadly, no one guarded and guided them. They are somewhere in the dark, hiding perhaps, waiting for someone to care. And then there are those who deliberately avoid the very One who came to rescue them.
When Jesus declared His mission to find lost people, He did not define the search by how they came to be in their lost state. Nor should we. Careless, unaware, or just stubborn—if they're lost, Jesus is looking for them.
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
He used three parables, illustrations from the real lives of His listeners. He told one story about a lost sheep. When the shepherd called his flock together, he found that one sheep was missing. He had ninety-nine other sheep, but he would not rest until he had gone out into the wilderness to find the wandering lamb. (The Scripture doesn't say it was a lamb; it might have been a stubborn old ram or an absent-minded ewe, but the picture of the Good Shepherd that hung on the wall of my childhood home makes me know it was a lamb!)
Supposing that it was a lamb, how did she get lost? Was she so busy nibbling at the tender blades of grass that she did not hear the shepherd call? Did she find the grass a little greener just beyond the patch where the rest of the flock grazed? I think she did not mean to get lost; sheep are usually followers. Perhaps she wasn't playing close enough attention, or she got side-tracked, or she was forgetful. She did not decide, early that morning, "I think I'll get lost today." All of a sudden, she looked around—and she was lost.
Jesus told a second story about a lost coin. A woman had ten silver coins. She must have dropped one, and it rolled—somewhere, but she didn't know where. Lighting a lamp, she looked for it. She got the broom and jabbed it under the bed and into the corners, searching for the missing coin. Perhaps she said regretfully, "If I had just been more careful—" The coin had no will of its own. It was not careless or forgetful. It was actually someone else's fault that it got lost. But it was lost nonetheless.
A third story was about a lost son. A young man demanded the inheritance that was intended for him when his father died. With his portion of his father's possessions, he went into a far country, and there he wasted everything with his reckless living. The lostness in this parable is different from the others. This young man got lost on purpose. He ran out of money, but he just kept on staying lost. Not until he was really desperate did he consider letting himself be found.
People are pretty much like these lost things. There are those who don't intend to get lost, but they just wander about on their own until they are a very long way from safety and hope. Others are lost because someone failed them; sadly, no one guarded and guided them. They are somewhere in the dark, hiding perhaps, waiting for someone to care. And then there are those who deliberately avoid the very One who came to rescue them.
When Jesus declared His mission to find lost people, He did not define the search by how they came to be in their lost state. Nor should we. Careless, unaware, or just stubborn—if they're lost, Jesus is looking for them.
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
The Tax Man Cometh
Income Tax Day in the U. S.
Whether or not we like the way the government spends our money, it's a responsibility that income-earning citizens of this country have. Jesus Himself did not oppose the paying of civil taxes. Some men who were trying to get Jesus in trouble with the law confronted Him. “ 'Teacher,' they said, 'we know that you speak and teach what is right and are not influenced by what others think. You teach the way of God truthfully. Now tell us—is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?'
He saw through their trickery and said, 'Show me a Roman coin. Whose picture and title are stamped on it?'
'Caesar’s,' they replied.
'Well then,' he said, 'give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.' ” (Luke 20:21-25)
I took an unexpected hit from the IRS when my tax preparer had finished figuring my return. It wasn't due to my coming into sudden wealth, but my failure to file a W-4 correctly. After recovering from the shock, my next thought was, "Well, paying this tax on my income means God is providing for me!" I don't want to be insensitive toward those for whom this is a difficult time, but we do have around us the evidence of God's provision. I am reminded of the poem my mother used to quote:
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotation is taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Whether or not we like the way the government spends our money, it's a responsibility that income-earning citizens of this country have. Jesus Himself did not oppose the paying of civil taxes. Some men who were trying to get Jesus in trouble with the law confronted Him. “ 'Teacher,' they said, 'we know that you speak and teach what is right and are not influenced by what others think. You teach the way of God truthfully. Now tell us—is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?'
He saw through their trickery and said, 'Show me a Roman coin. Whose picture and title are stamped on it?'
'Caesar’s,' they replied.
'Well then,' he said, 'give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.' ” (Luke 20:21-25)
I took an unexpected hit from the IRS when my tax preparer had finished figuring my return. It wasn't due to my coming into sudden wealth, but my failure to file a W-4 correctly. After recovering from the shock, my next thought was, "Well, paying this tax on my income means God is providing for me!" I don't want to be insensitive toward those for whom this is a difficult time, but we do have around us the evidence of God's provision. I am reminded of the poem my mother used to quote:
Thank God for Dirty Dishes
Thank God for dirty dishes;
They have a tale to tell.
While others may go hungry,
We're eating very well.
With home, health, and happiness,
I shouldn't want to fuss;
By the stack of evidence,
God's been very good to us. -- Author Unknown
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotation is taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Pruning
I have been pruning the roses. I had to cut them back more severely than ever before. The largest bush, with blooms that have graced the gate each summer for a long time, took the hardest hit. In spite of wearing a mulch "collar" through the winter, this bush lost many of its long arching canes to my shears. It is old, visibly weakening—perhaps dying slowly. There is another old bush that consists mostly of one long cane and a couple of shorter ones. It regularly produces one rose. It is beautiful—but there is only one. I've considered removing these two old bushes and replanting, but I think about Jesus' parable concerning the unfruitful tree. The owner proposed cutting it down; it was just wasting space, but the gardener said, "Let's give it another year. I'll dig around it and fertilize, and maybe it will produce next year; if it doesn't, then chop it down." (Luke 16:7-9 MSG) Maybe I'll see if they can be revitalized.
I cut away quite a lot of dry, blackened tips from the newer bushes too. We did not have a particularly harsh winter, but there were a number of warm, spring-like days and little green leaves appeared as though it were really the right time. Then came the late March ice and snow, and the new tender growth shriveled and dried. It is not vengeance that motivates me to apply the pruning shears. If the bushes can stop the effort to do damage control and pour energy into new leaves and buds, I will have abundant roses later on.
Speaking of spiritual fruit rather than flowers, Jesus said, "I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more." (John 15:1, 2 NLT) Pruning, then, is a process we should expect. The Divine Gardener is very patient and willing to give every opportunity for us to lead productive lives. At the same time, He may sometimes use the "shears" to remove what hinders growth and fruit.
I learn a lot when I work in my rose garden!
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture marked MSG is taken from The Message. Copyright © 2003 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. Scripture quotation marked NLT is taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
I cut away quite a lot of dry, blackened tips from the newer bushes too. We did not have a particularly harsh winter, but there were a number of warm, spring-like days and little green leaves appeared as though it were really the right time. Then came the late March ice and snow, and the new tender growth shriveled and dried. It is not vengeance that motivates me to apply the pruning shears. If the bushes can stop the effort to do damage control and pour energy into new leaves and buds, I will have abundant roses later on.
Speaking of spiritual fruit rather than flowers, Jesus said, "I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more." (John 15:1, 2 NLT) Pruning, then, is a process we should expect. The Divine Gardener is very patient and willing to give every opportunity for us to lead productive lives. At the same time, He may sometimes use the "shears" to remove what hinders growth and fruit.
I learn a lot when I work in my rose garden!
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture marked MSG is taken from The Message. Copyright © 2003 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. Scripture quotation marked NLT is taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Monday, April 13, 2009
Hollow Chocolates
It can be pretty disappointing to children when they discover, after the Easter egg hunt, that the chocolate eggs they found and the huge chocolate rabbit awarded to some lucky person were not solid candy. They were hollow, made mostly of—nothing.
I read a review recently, although the book itself is not a new one, of a well-known celebrity who was called "a hollow man." He was "monstrously callous," the biographers wrote. He "double-crossed his way to the top"; his memoirs are "a pack of lies." Greedy business dealings. Rotten behavior. Neglect and coldness toward friends and family. The antithesis of his public image. The reviewer wasn't convinced, however, because some very ambiguous evidence was presented in the worst possible light, resulting in a nasty "hatchet job."
Still, it got me thinking about people who are something like the hollow chocolate candy. After you get through the sweet surface, they are mostly—nothing. Good looks and smooth talk do not a fine person make! Jesus had some harsh words for the people ("frauds," He called them) who presented an attractive outside but were very different on the inside. "You're hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You burnish the surface of your cups and bowls so they sparkle in the sun, while the insides are maggoty with your greed and gluttony. Stupid Pharisee! Scour the insides, and then the gleaming surface will mean something. You're hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You're like manicured grave plots, grass clipped and the flowers bright, but six feet down it's all rotting bones and worm-eaten flesh. People look at you and think you're saints, but beneath the skin you're total frauds." (Matthew 23: 25-28 MSG)
We can't change anyone else, but if we suspect any hypocrisy in ourselves, here is the remedy: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life." (Psalm 139:23, 24 NLT)
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture marked MSG is taken from The Message. Copyright © 2003 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. Scripture quotation marked NLT is taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
I read a review recently, although the book itself is not a new one, of a well-known celebrity who was called "a hollow man." He was "monstrously callous," the biographers wrote. He "double-crossed his way to the top"; his memoirs are "a pack of lies." Greedy business dealings. Rotten behavior. Neglect and coldness toward friends and family. The antithesis of his public image. The reviewer wasn't convinced, however, because some very ambiguous evidence was presented in the worst possible light, resulting in a nasty "hatchet job."
Still, it got me thinking about people who are something like the hollow chocolate candy. After you get through the sweet surface, they are mostly—nothing. Good looks and smooth talk do not a fine person make! Jesus had some harsh words for the people ("frauds," He called them) who presented an attractive outside but were very different on the inside. "You're hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You burnish the surface of your cups and bowls so they sparkle in the sun, while the insides are maggoty with your greed and gluttony. Stupid Pharisee! Scour the insides, and then the gleaming surface will mean something. You're hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You're like manicured grave plots, grass clipped and the flowers bright, but six feet down it's all rotting bones and worm-eaten flesh. People look at you and think you're saints, but beneath the skin you're total frauds." (Matthew 23: 25-28 MSG)
We can't change anyone else, but if we suspect any hypocrisy in ourselves, here is the remedy: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life." (Psalm 139:23, 24 NLT)
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture marked MSG is taken from The Message. Copyright © 2003 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. Scripture quotation marked NLT is taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Worthy!
The Passion and Resurrection of our Lord in the words familiar to many (the old King James version of the Bible):
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.[1]
He [was] despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.[2]
"I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting."[3]
"All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, 'He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.'[4]
"Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.[5]
"Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow."[6]
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he [was] brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he [opened] not his mouth. . . He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of [Thy] people was he stricken.[7]
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.[8]
I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.[9]
But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.[10]
Behold, I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. . . When this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, "Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" . . . Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.[11]
Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. . . The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. . . KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.[12]
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. . . Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation . . . Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing . . . And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, [said], "Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever."[13] Amen.
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
[1] Isaiah 53:6
[2] Isaiah 53:3
[3] Isaiah 50:6
[4] Psalm 22:7, 8
[5] Psalm 69:20, 21
[6] Lamentations 1:12
[7] Isaiah 53:7, 8
[8] Isaiah 53:4, 5
[9] Job 19:25
[10] I Corinthians 15:20-22
[11] I Corinthians 15:51-57
[12] Revelation 19:6; 11:15; 19:16
[13] Revelation 4:11, 5:9, 12,13
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.[1]
He [was] despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.[2]
"I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting."[3]
"All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, 'He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.'[4]
"Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.[5]
"Is it nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow."[6]
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he [was] brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he [opened] not his mouth. . . He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of [Thy] people was he stricken.[7]
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.[8]
I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.[9]
But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.[10]
Behold, I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. . . When this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, "Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" . . . Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.[11]
Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. . . The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. . . KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.[12]
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. . . Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation . . . Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing . . . And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, [said], "Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever."[13] Amen.
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
[1] Isaiah 53:6
[2] Isaiah 53:3
[3] Isaiah 50:6
[4] Psalm 22:7, 8
[5] Psalm 69:20, 21
[6] Lamentations 1:12
[7] Isaiah 53:7, 8
[8] Isaiah 53:4, 5
[9] Job 19:25
[10] I Corinthians 15:20-22
[11] I Corinthians 15:51-57
[12] Revelation 19:6; 11:15; 19:16
[13] Revelation 4:11, 5:9, 12,13
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Friday, April 10, 2009
To Bear His Cross
Roman soldiers led Jesus out from the governor's palace, forcing Him to carry the cross on which He would die. On the way, tradition says, Jesus, weakened by the physical traumas of the preceding hours, collapsed under the burden. Then they [the soldiers] compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross." (Mark 15:21 NKJV)
Why Simon? Why a good country man who had cares enough of his own? He had not come, as many had, to the see the public spectacle of a crucifixion; he was just minding his own business.
Or did the blood and dirt and injustice make him cry out, brining the scornful attention of the soldiers? Did Simon "ask for it"?
They compelled him to take Jesus' cross. Was he afraid? To bear the cross of Christ—what awful judgment might be visited upon him for aiding in Jesus' death! Did Jesus then, through His pain, perhaps smile at him and whisper, "It's all right, Simon. Take the cross. It's not for them you do it. It's for Me!"
And when we face a cross—entering into the dark places of human need, loving and holding up the weak, caring patiently for those who disappoint, enduring the misunderstanding of some we had counted on, giving ourselves cheerfully to a small but wearying task—can we then remember that we bear His cross? This is not our loving or giving; it is His—His cross again, for He still feels the burden of lost, confused people. The Apostle Paul wrote from prison, "I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church." (Colossians 1:24 NLT)
Our self-made crosses cannot redeem; suffering of our own will not bring healing. It is only Jesus' cross that saves. Only His suffering is redemptive. Like Simon, we may be called upon to bear a cross. We too are compelled, but not by a sword. "For the love of Christ controls and urges and impels us, because we are of the opinion and conviction that [if] One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, so that all those who live might live no longer to and for themselves, but to and for Him Who died and was raised again for their sake." (II Corinthians 5:14, 15 AMP)
The hymn lyrics written by Thomas Shepherd ask:
To let the cross be laid upon us for His sake, to bear His cross with Him and for Him is to help release His redeeming love and power to work in our troubled world.
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture marked NKJV is taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved. Scripture marked AMP is taken from The Amplified Bible®, copyright 1965, 1987 by The Zondervan Corporation and The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Why Simon? Why a good country man who had cares enough of his own? He had not come, as many had, to the see the public spectacle of a crucifixion; he was just minding his own business.
Or did the blood and dirt and injustice make him cry out, brining the scornful attention of the soldiers? Did Simon "ask for it"?
They compelled him to take Jesus' cross. Was he afraid? To bear the cross of Christ—what awful judgment might be visited upon him for aiding in Jesus' death! Did Jesus then, through His pain, perhaps smile at him and whisper, "It's all right, Simon. Take the cross. It's not for them you do it. It's for Me!"
And when we face a cross—entering into the dark places of human need, loving and holding up the weak, caring patiently for those who disappoint, enduring the misunderstanding of some we had counted on, giving ourselves cheerfully to a small but wearying task—can we then remember that we bear His cross? This is not our loving or giving; it is His—His cross again, for He still feels the burden of lost, confused people. The Apostle Paul wrote from prison, "I am glad when I suffer for you in my body, for I am participating in the sufferings of Christ that continue for his body, the church." (Colossians 1:24 NLT)
Our self-made crosses cannot redeem; suffering of our own will not bring healing. It is only Jesus' cross that saves. Only His suffering is redemptive. Like Simon, we may be called upon to bear a cross. We too are compelled, but not by a sword. "For the love of Christ controls and urges and impels us, because we are of the opinion and conviction that [if] One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, so that all those who live might live no longer to and for themselves, but to and for Him Who died and was raised again for their sake." (II Corinthians 5:14, 15 AMP)
The hymn lyrics written by Thomas Shepherd ask:
Must Jesus bear the cross alone,
And all the world go free?
No, there’s a cross for everyone,
And there’s a cross for me.
To let the cross be laid upon us for His sake, to bear His cross with Him and for Him is to help release His redeeming love and power to work in our troubled world.
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture marked NKJV is taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved. Scripture marked AMP is taken from The Amplified Bible®, copyright 1965, 1987 by The Zondervan Corporation and The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Why This Waste?
During the last week of Jesus' earthly life, He again visited the home of His friends in Bethany. A dinner was prepared in His honor and Martha served, as usual. Lazarus, whom Jesus had raised from the dead, sat at the table with the others who accompanied the Master. "Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance. But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, 'That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.' Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself. Jesus replied, 'Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.' ” (John 12:3-8)
How could Judas have been so grasping, implying that giving to the poor—although that is not what he actually intended to do—was a worthier cause than expressing devotion to the Lord? Is there such a thing as lavishing too much love on Him? Is anything we pour out for Him truly wasted? Mary did not think so—and neither did Jesus.
What if Mary had hesitated? "Maybe this would embarrass Jesus; I know for certain that the disciples will not understand." "Maybe I should wait until some time when we are alone." "Martha and Lazarus will think I am foolish; I have scrimped and saved all my life for this little jar." "It—really—is—a lot of money." "And if I pour out all of this oil, there will be none for my own burial." So many objections Mary might have considered, but she chose instead to "waste" her precious treasure.
Just a few days later, Jesus was arrested in the garden, found guilty of claiming to be the Son of God, and executed on a cross. Among the crowd witnessing the awful event, were a number of women who were followers of Jesus. They observed the tomb where His body was laid, and went home to prepare spices and fragrant oils for perfuming the dead. After the Sabbath ended, very early in the morning, they came to the tomb, bringing their gifts. But the tomb was empty! Jesus was gone!
What if Mary had kept for herself the costly perfume instead of pouring it on Jesus? She never had another chance to demonstrate her devotion. Jesus had told the observers, "She did this ahead of time for my burial." He meant exactly that, for it was the only opportunity she had to pour the precious ointment on her Lord.
If we have an offering of love to "waste" on Jesus, some words or actions fragrant with grace to honor Him, let us do it now.
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotation is taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
How could Judas have been so grasping, implying that giving to the poor—although that is not what he actually intended to do—was a worthier cause than expressing devotion to the Lord? Is there such a thing as lavishing too much love on Him? Is anything we pour out for Him truly wasted? Mary did not think so—and neither did Jesus.
What if Mary had hesitated? "Maybe this would embarrass Jesus; I know for certain that the disciples will not understand." "Maybe I should wait until some time when we are alone." "Martha and Lazarus will think I am foolish; I have scrimped and saved all my life for this little jar." "It—really—is—a lot of money." "And if I pour out all of this oil, there will be none for my own burial." So many objections Mary might have considered, but she chose instead to "waste" her precious treasure.
Just a few days later, Jesus was arrested in the garden, found guilty of claiming to be the Son of God, and executed on a cross. Among the crowd witnessing the awful event, were a number of women who were followers of Jesus. They observed the tomb where His body was laid, and went home to prepare spices and fragrant oils for perfuming the dead. After the Sabbath ended, very early in the morning, they came to the tomb, bringing their gifts. But the tomb was empty! Jesus was gone!
What if Mary had kept for herself the costly perfume instead of pouring it on Jesus? She never had another chance to demonstrate her devotion. Jesus had told the observers, "She did this ahead of time for my burial." He meant exactly that, for it was the only opportunity she had to pour the precious ointment on her Lord.
If we have an offering of love to "waste" on Jesus, some words or actions fragrant with grace to honor Him, let us do it now.
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotation is taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Failure
To many people, Jesus looked like a failure. He announced the Kingdom of God, but there was no kingdom visible. He drew a following, but eventually they betrayed, denied, or forsook Him. He claimed that He came to give life, but He Himself died. One could certainly think that He was a failure.
I had an angry talk with God about failure one time. I had given my best to a demanding job, and the results met with mixed reactions. Some people thought I was not really qualified, others felt the experience had been worthwhile and they could expect improvement, and still others considered I had done reasonably well. I was not accustomed to even minor failure; I was disappointed and hurt. (I did not understand, at that point in my life, that one could do a failure or make a failure and not be a failure.) "I have done all I could and failed," I whined to God.
"I provided Jesus," He seemed to say. "He experienced human sorrows, your hurt and disappointment."
"That's all well and good," I countered. "But You're God! You don't know how sharp and bitter failure tastes."
"Well, there's Jesus," He said again. "And if He is not enough for your situation, then yes, I have done all I could do—and failed."
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
I had an angry talk with God about failure one time. I had given my best to a demanding job, and the results met with mixed reactions. Some people thought I was not really qualified, others felt the experience had been worthwhile and they could expect improvement, and still others considered I had done reasonably well. I was not accustomed to even minor failure; I was disappointed and hurt. (I did not understand, at that point in my life, that one could do a failure or make a failure and not be a failure.) "I have done all I could and failed," I whined to God.
"I provided Jesus," He seemed to say. "He experienced human sorrows, your hurt and disappointment."
"That's all well and good," I countered. "But You're God! You don't know how sharp and bitter failure tastes."
"Well, there's Jesus," He said again. "And if He is not enough for your situation, then yes, I have done all I could do—and failed."
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
The Grownup Jesus
Around Christmastime, we usually sing the sweet words about the "little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes." I'm afraid I just can't believe that. Jesus entered the world as a normal human baby, even though His beginning was supernatural. I don't think He was a difficult child or a rebellious teenager, but He probably did have to be urged to eat his vegetables and drink his milk just like other children, and He may well have had to be reminded about the curfew hour just like other teens. He did not merely become like us but He became one of us, and "faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin." (Hebrews 4:15 NLT)
As wonderful as the miracle of Jesus' birth is, our salvation does not depend on a sweet little baby. Only the grownup Jesus could make the Calvary choice. I think He did not always know He would die; I doubt that the twelve-year-old boy just beginning to realize that His heavenly Father had work for Him to do was burdened by those thoughts. Some time in those silent years between His childhood and the beginning of His open ministry, while He "grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people," Jesus came to understand--or perhaps, He remembered?--that there would be the Cross.
How steadfast He was in this decision! There were a number of opportunities to evade the Cross during His lifetime, some of those times recorded for us. After His baptism in the Jordan River, the Spirit led Him into a desert place where He would be tempted by the devil. One of Satan's approaches was this: "The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours." (Luke 4:5-7 NIV)
All things were made by Christ, but temporarily their rulership resides with the evil one. Eventually, all those kingdoms with their authority and splendor will be returned to their rightful owner. "Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9-11 MSG) "Take a shortcut," was the temptation that Satan presented to Jesus. "You don't really have to go to the Cross. There is an easier way."
Another time, as Jesus tried to explain to His disciples that it was necessary for Him to die, Peter brashly objected, "No, Lord, not you." Jesus rebuked that thought completely. "Get behind me, Satan," He ordered, not calling Peter himself "Satan" but recognizing in that suggestion the same temptation Satan had brought before, that is, to avoid the Cross.
Even while He was hanging on the cross, "'those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, 'You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!' In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 'He saved others,' they said, 'but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.' " (Matthew 27:39-42 NIV) Luke records that one off the criminals who hung beside Jesus hurled insults at him, "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" (Luke 23:39 NIV).
It is not true that Jesus could not save Himself. He could have called, as Ray Overholt's song declares, "ten thousand angels to destroy the world and set Him free . . . " The issue was that He could not save both Himself and us. If we had only the baby Jesus, there would be no fulfillment of the redemption plan. Had He, as the grownup Jesus, chosen to evade the Cross or to somehow escape from it, there would be:
No victory over death.
No salvation for us.
No eternal hope.
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotation marked NLT is taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Scripture marked MSG is taken from The essage. Copyright © 2003 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
As wonderful as the miracle of Jesus' birth is, our salvation does not depend on a sweet little baby. Only the grownup Jesus could make the Calvary choice. I think He did not always know He would die; I doubt that the twelve-year-old boy just beginning to realize that His heavenly Father had work for Him to do was burdened by those thoughts. Some time in those silent years between His childhood and the beginning of His open ministry, while He "grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people," Jesus came to understand--or perhaps, He remembered?--that there would be the Cross.
How steadfast He was in this decision! There were a number of opportunities to evade the Cross during His lifetime, some of those times recorded for us. After His baptism in the Jordan River, the Spirit led Him into a desert place where He would be tempted by the devil. One of Satan's approaches was this: "The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours." (Luke 4:5-7 NIV)
All things were made by Christ, but temporarily their rulership resides with the evil one. Eventually, all those kingdoms with their authority and splendor will be returned to their rightful owner. "Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father." (Philippians 2:9-11 MSG) "Take a shortcut," was the temptation that Satan presented to Jesus. "You don't really have to go to the Cross. There is an easier way."
Another time, as Jesus tried to explain to His disciples that it was necessary for Him to die, Peter brashly objected, "No, Lord, not you." Jesus rebuked that thought completely. "Get behind me, Satan," He ordered, not calling Peter himself "Satan" but recognizing in that suggestion the same temptation Satan had brought before, that is, to avoid the Cross.
Even while He was hanging on the cross, "'those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, 'You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!' In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 'He saved others,' they said, 'but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.' " (Matthew 27:39-42 NIV) Luke records that one off the criminals who hung beside Jesus hurled insults at him, "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" (Luke 23:39 NIV).
It is not true that Jesus could not save Himself. He could have called, as Ray Overholt's song declares, "ten thousand angels to destroy the world and set Him free . . . " The issue was that He could not save both Himself and us. If we had only the baby Jesus, there would be no fulfillment of the redemption plan. Had He, as the grownup Jesus, chosen to evade the Cross or to somehow escape from it, there would be:
No victory over death.
No salvation for us.
No eternal hope.
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotation marked NLT is taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Scripture marked MSG is taken from The essage. Copyright © 2003 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Monday, April 6, 2009
Bloom Where You Are
About twenty little grape hyacinths are blooming in various places throughout my yard. None of them are in the bed where I planted them two seasons ago. The squirrels took a particular liking to those bulbs, dug them up, and then hid them in scattered spots in the yard. That is where the hyacinths are now blooming. I have to smile at the squirrels' determination to find and store these delicacies; I just wish I could train them to do the transplanting that I have planned!
Sometimes people get "transplanted" too, and the roots we have put deep into our surroundings are suddenly pulled up: a job transfer, a family member who needs care, an educational opportunity far away, a relationship that cannot be furthered long-distance. Transplanting can be figurative as well as literal: a job loss, serious illness, a relationship that ends. It was both in the lives of dear friends of mine who last week quickly moved a thousand miles away to comfort and aid their son who lost half his family in a horrible crime.
Plants and people take awhile to re-establish their growth. That is all right; new roots have to be developed. When that quiet, unseen process has occurred, they can bloom beautifully again, right where they are. It will happen! I take special care of the things I've transplanted myself without the squirrels' help, and I think God takes special care of people who've been "dug up and moved." If you've experienced transplanting, go ahead and bloom where you are!
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Sometimes people get "transplanted" too, and the roots we have put deep into our surroundings are suddenly pulled up: a job transfer, a family member who needs care, an educational opportunity far away, a relationship that cannot be furthered long-distance. Transplanting can be figurative as well as literal: a job loss, serious illness, a relationship that ends. It was both in the lives of dear friends of mine who last week quickly moved a thousand miles away to comfort and aid their son who lost half his family in a horrible crime.
Plants and people take awhile to re-establish their growth. That is all right; new roots have to be developed. When that quiet, unseen process has occurred, they can bloom beautifully again, right where they are. It will happen! I take special care of the things I've transplanted myself without the squirrels' help, and I think God takes special care of people who've been "dug up and moved." If you've experienced transplanting, go ahead and bloom where you are!
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Choose Me! Choose Me!
Being quiet and not athletically inclined, I was never among the first to be picked for team activities as I was growing up. The swift and strong were chosen and then the hopefuls who shouted, "Me! Me! Choose me!" If only those of us who remained had possessed the power to choose which team we wanted to be on!
Reading the early history of the Israelites again recently, I came across this Scripture. “Look, the highest heavens and the earth and everything in it all belong to the Lord your God. Yet the Lord chose your ancestors as the objects of his love. And he chose you, their descendants, above all other nations, as is evident today." (Deuteronomy 10:14, 15) God has a chosen people; I have known that most of my life. But what surprised me was another verse just a few lines away. "For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords. He is the great God, the mighty and awesome God, who shows no partiality and cannot be bribed." (verse 17) How is it, I wondered, that the great and awesome, impartial God has an especially-loved, favorite people?
It is because, unlike the children who wait to be chosen by the team captain, we can choose to become chosen by this Lord of Lords! I am special to God—and so are you. I am a favorite of His—and so are you! The Apostle Peter writes to Christian believers scattered in exile throughout Asia Minor, probably not all of whom were Jewish. He said, "You are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.” (I Peter 2:9, 10) Paul made it perhaps even clearer, "There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you." (Galatians 3:28, 29)
By faith in Christ, you and I become part of the chosen. "God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.” (Ephesians 1:5, 6)
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Reading the early history of the Israelites again recently, I came across this Scripture. “Look, the highest heavens and the earth and everything in it all belong to the Lord your God. Yet the Lord chose your ancestors as the objects of his love. And he chose you, their descendants, above all other nations, as is evident today." (Deuteronomy 10:14, 15) God has a chosen people; I have known that most of my life. But what surprised me was another verse just a few lines away. "For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords. He is the great God, the mighty and awesome God, who shows no partiality and cannot be bribed." (verse 17) How is it, I wondered, that the great and awesome, impartial God has an especially-loved, favorite people?
It is because, unlike the children who wait to be chosen by the team captain, we can choose to become chosen by this Lord of Lords! I am special to God—and so are you. I am a favorite of His—and so are you! The Apostle Peter writes to Christian believers scattered in exile throughout Asia Minor, probably not all of whom were Jewish. He said, "You are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.” (I Peter 2:9, 10) Paul made it perhaps even clearer, "There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you." (Galatians 3:28, 29)
By faith in Christ, you and I become part of the chosen. "God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.” (Ephesians 1:5, 6)
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Friday, April 3, 2009
In All Things, Charity
Centuries ago, a Lutheran theologian in Germany wrote the words which have since become, in one form or another, a key watchword in many Christian denominations and organizations. Church historians even have a special term for it: The Peace Saying. Peter Meiderlin (pen name: Rupertus Meldenius) lived in the early 1600's, a very troubled time with both political and religious strife. He wrote, "In essentials, Unity; in non-essentials, Liberty; in all things, Charity."
Who could quarrel with unity, liberty, and charity? We probably are all in favor. But what if, at the very outset, we cannot agree on what is essential and what is non-essential? What I consider an integral part of my Christian faith may be a non-issue for you, and both of us may quote Scripture to support our position!
Jesus Himself narrowed everything down to two fundamentals. “ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40) When faced with Jesus' defining statements, we may ask the startled question, "But what about . . ." and bring any number of issues to be debated.
What is important to our understanding is that a great many things lie along a continuum. There are not just two alternatives with a great divide between, but many points along a "scale" from one extreme to the other. Take, for example, the matter of disciplining one's children. Some parents believe they should never inflict any kind of physical hurt, while others are sincere in administering Proverbs 23:13, 14—"Don’t fail to discipline your children. They won’t die if you spank them. Physical discipline may well save them from death." And a lot of people are somewhere in the middle, including those who think a single, swift pop on the seat of the pants works well. Some groups are very specific about what their adherents should wear, while others think it matters little. Some groups permit no musical instruments in the house of worship, others use a piano but would not allow drums, and some go for the whole rockin' band! Some people consider betting on the horses unacceptable, but they would buy a lottery ticket; those who object to the lottery might still buy a ticket for the church raffle. Still others refuse any kind of gamble.
Each person must decide, with the clearest available information and their best personal judgment and the help of God's Spirit, where is the right place on the continuum for himself/herself. And that makes Christians appear inconsistent! Because we all must find the place where we draw the line, each of us may be in a different place than those around us. Some of my animal-loving friends marched outside our civic center to protest the beauty pageant contestants being awarded furs. But while they marched, they wore leather shoes! So yes, we are inconsistent. We have different points on the continuum where we have chosen our positions.
Remember this: According to Jesus, these issues are not the greatest to be considered. We try very hard sometimes to make everyone fit into one tidy "box" of outward behavior. Early church fathers discovered this did not work very well, and began to rely on "The Peace Saying." They chose to be united in their belief that salvation comes through personal faith in Jesus Christ. They chose to allow diversity of beliefs and opinions and regulations and practices among believers. They chose to let love rule above all.
Let us do the same!
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Who could quarrel with unity, liberty, and charity? We probably are all in favor. But what if, at the very outset, we cannot agree on what is essential and what is non-essential? What I consider an integral part of my Christian faith may be a non-issue for you, and both of us may quote Scripture to support our position!
Jesus Himself narrowed everything down to two fundamentals. “ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40) When faced with Jesus' defining statements, we may ask the startled question, "But what about . . ." and bring any number of issues to be debated.
What is important to our understanding is that a great many things lie along a continuum. There are not just two alternatives with a great divide between, but many points along a "scale" from one extreme to the other. Take, for example, the matter of disciplining one's children. Some parents believe they should never inflict any kind of physical hurt, while others are sincere in administering Proverbs 23:13, 14—"Don’t fail to discipline your children. They won’t die if you spank them. Physical discipline may well save them from death." And a lot of people are somewhere in the middle, including those who think a single, swift pop on the seat of the pants works well. Some groups are very specific about what their adherents should wear, while others think it matters little. Some groups permit no musical instruments in the house of worship, others use a piano but would not allow drums, and some go for the whole rockin' band! Some people consider betting on the horses unacceptable, but they would buy a lottery ticket; those who object to the lottery might still buy a ticket for the church raffle. Still others refuse any kind of gamble.
Each person must decide, with the clearest available information and their best personal judgment and the help of God's Spirit, where is the right place on the continuum for himself/herself. And that makes Christians appear inconsistent! Because we all must find the place where we draw the line, each of us may be in a different place than those around us. Some of my animal-loving friends marched outside our civic center to protest the beauty pageant contestants being awarded furs. But while they marched, they wore leather shoes! So yes, we are inconsistent. We have different points on the continuum where we have chosen our positions.
Remember this: According to Jesus, these issues are not the greatest to be considered. We try very hard sometimes to make everyone fit into one tidy "box" of outward behavior. Early church fathers discovered this did not work very well, and began to rely on "The Peace Saying." They chose to be united in their belief that salvation comes through personal faith in Jesus Christ. They chose to allow diversity of beliefs and opinions and regulations and practices among believers. They chose to let love rule above all.
Let us do the same!
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Losing Our Way
This incident happened a long time ago, but I think of it fairly often because it still holds instruction for me!
Nickie, my terrier of indeterminate heritage, ran away. Someone left the gate ajar, and she squeezed through the narrow opening into that most desirable of all states--freedom in the world of exciting sounds and smells beyond the backyard fence!
I was busy with chores that took me in and out of the house, the garage, and the yard. Nickie was happily exploring nearby with much digging and snuffling. I had been working for some time, when I became vaguely aware that I had not seen or heard her for quite awhile. I began to look for her, calling her name. She wasn’t in the yard any longer, and she was not in the garage or the house. Where could she be?
I happened then to look across the fence which separates my enclosed backyard from the neighbor’s open one. There was the wayward Nickie, looking back at me! My heart sank. Sorry experience had taught me that Nickie would make a game of being brought back to the confines of our yard. As soon as I began to call and plead, she would run halfway down the block. Just I approached with the leash, ever so slowly and gently, off she would go again to wait for me somewhere in the next block. No amount of pleading prevailed. Only when she grew tired of watching me make such futile attempts or when she was ready to indulge in the proffered treat, would she concede with a dignity that pointed up my own foolishness.
When I saw her across the fence that day, I hurriedly gathered my dog-catching equipment--the leash and plenty of dog biscuits--and enlisted the help of my teenager. I tried to prepare myself mentally for the exasperating chase of this adventure-seeking, disobedient, dumb--and entirely lovable—pet. “Help me,” I prayed. “Please don’t let her get lost. Don’t let her get hit by a car.”
We stepped out onto the porch. “Here, Nickie,” I called tentatively, knowing these words would induce her rapid flight down the street. “Come here, girl.”
I was surprised to see her moving into the unfenced area which joins the front of my property with the neighbor's. I was absolutely stunned when Nickie came running and lay down submissively at my feet. When I picked her up to carry her into the house, I felt the pounding of her little heart. She began to tremble violently. I hugged her tightly. This little dog that was so eager to run away and who always made a game of being “lost” was scared!
It's fun to run down the block when you can see the people who love you coming right along behind. It's neat to smell new things when you know the way back home. But when Nickie slipped out of the back gate and ran down the alley, she was all alone and she couldn’t see Home. When she came through the other yards on our block, she could see Home again. There was the back yard she knew; there was the door she always ran through to get inside the house. But she didn’t know how to get to it. A chain-link fence separated her from being where she now realized she wanted to be.
For several minutes, I held Nickie close until her shivering stopped. I wanted her to feel the warmth and safety of Home again. And while I did this, I thought of the security of parents’ care. “Without making a huge thing of this," I told my daughter, “Nickie’s running away is a lot like teenager’s wanting to leave home. They can hardly wait to get away from their parents and all their rules, so that they can be on their own. But when they get out there in the world, they find it’s kind of scary! They get confused, and they’re not sure they know the way back.”
And of course, teenagers are not that different from everyone else. Who of us hasn’t thought, “If I just didn’t have all these difficulties and restrictions in my life . . . Why is everything so hard for me? I wish I could just be free! ” But the freedom we may sometimes think we want is a scary thing. If we do occasionally slip away through a crack in the “fence” that holds us, we suddenly find ourselves out there all alone. We can see the back yard, so to speak, and we can see the door where we used to go in and out. But we can’t reach it. We’ve lost our way.
Then we hear the Master call our name. If we have any wisdom at all, we will run to Him and throw ourselves at His feet in humility. Hearts pounding with the fright we’ve had, we relax in His strong, warm arms and know that we are safe again and still greatly loved!
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Nickie, my terrier of indeterminate heritage, ran away. Someone left the gate ajar, and she squeezed through the narrow opening into that most desirable of all states--freedom in the world of exciting sounds and smells beyond the backyard fence!
I was busy with chores that took me in and out of the house, the garage, and the yard. Nickie was happily exploring nearby with much digging and snuffling. I had been working for some time, when I became vaguely aware that I had not seen or heard her for quite awhile. I began to look for her, calling her name. She wasn’t in the yard any longer, and she was not in the garage or the house. Where could she be?
I happened then to look across the fence which separates my enclosed backyard from the neighbor’s open one. There was the wayward Nickie, looking back at me! My heart sank. Sorry experience had taught me that Nickie would make a game of being brought back to the confines of our yard. As soon as I began to call and plead, she would run halfway down the block. Just I approached with the leash, ever so slowly and gently, off she would go again to wait for me somewhere in the next block. No amount of pleading prevailed. Only when she grew tired of watching me make such futile attempts or when she was ready to indulge in the proffered treat, would she concede with a dignity that pointed up my own foolishness.
When I saw her across the fence that day, I hurriedly gathered my dog-catching equipment--the leash and plenty of dog biscuits--and enlisted the help of my teenager. I tried to prepare myself mentally for the exasperating chase of this adventure-seeking, disobedient, dumb--and entirely lovable—pet. “Help me,” I prayed. “Please don’t let her get lost. Don’t let her get hit by a car.”
We stepped out onto the porch. “Here, Nickie,” I called tentatively, knowing these words would induce her rapid flight down the street. “Come here, girl.”
I was surprised to see her moving into the unfenced area which joins the front of my property with the neighbor's. I was absolutely stunned when Nickie came running and lay down submissively at my feet. When I picked her up to carry her into the house, I felt the pounding of her little heart. She began to tremble violently. I hugged her tightly. This little dog that was so eager to run away and who always made a game of being “lost” was scared!
It's fun to run down the block when you can see the people who love you coming right along behind. It's neat to smell new things when you know the way back home. But when Nickie slipped out of the back gate and ran down the alley, she was all alone and she couldn’t see Home. When she came through the other yards on our block, she could see Home again. There was the back yard she knew; there was the door she always ran through to get inside the house. But she didn’t know how to get to it. A chain-link fence separated her from being where she now realized she wanted to be.
For several minutes, I held Nickie close until her shivering stopped. I wanted her to feel the warmth and safety of Home again. And while I did this, I thought of the security of parents’ care. “Without making a huge thing of this," I told my daughter, “Nickie’s running away is a lot like teenager’s wanting to leave home. They can hardly wait to get away from their parents and all their rules, so that they can be on their own. But when they get out there in the world, they find it’s kind of scary! They get confused, and they’re not sure they know the way back.”
And of course, teenagers are not that different from everyone else. Who of us hasn’t thought, “If I just didn’t have all these difficulties and restrictions in my life . . . Why is everything so hard for me? I wish I could just be free! ” But the freedom we may sometimes think we want is a scary thing. If we do occasionally slip away through a crack in the “fence” that holds us, we suddenly find ourselves out there all alone. We can see the back yard, so to speak, and we can see the door where we used to go in and out. But we can’t reach it. We’ve lost our way.
Then we hear the Master call our name. If we have any wisdom at all, we will run to Him and throw ourselves at His feet in humility. Hearts pounding with the fright we’ve had, we relax in His strong, warm arms and know that we are safe again and still greatly loved!
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Little by Little
The children of Israel were preparing to take over Canaan, the land God had promised to Abraham and his descendants. It was, however, inhabited by enemy nations that would have to be defeated. God gave Moses instructions for the people. "The Lord your God will drive those nations out ahead of you little by little. You will not clear them away all at once, otherwise the wild animals would multiply too quickly for you." (Deuteronomy 7:22)
Many of our personal battles, too, are not won in a day. We often wish they were; we want quick action, and quick answers to our prayers. We've become accustomed to immediacy, from the microwave in the kitchen to the red telephone on the President's desk. In reality, most things take time.
A number if years ago, a cousin and I were both enrolled in a graduate program at a university located in another city. For several semesters, we commuted the ninety miles or so together. Trying to balance jobs and motherhood and church involvement along with part-time schooling was a daunting task, and many times it looked like it couldn't be done. She reminded me often, when we were both tired and facing difficulties on every front, "It will yield to steady pressure."
Steady pressure is a very powerful force. Why does a building suddenly collapse under the weight of the snow piled on its roof for several days? How can a dental appliance correct the alignment of teeth or jaws? The snow did not suddenly become heavier; the braces didn't suddenly push harder. The roof, the teeth, yielded to steady pressure. Little by little, while not anything apparent was happening, preparation was being made for change. In our personal lives too, some things just cannot be accomplished quickly. Sometimes it is a matter of praying and then waiting patiently for the right circumstances to come around. Other times, only our consistent, determined effort will bring the results we desire.
When God aided His people to conquer Canaan, it was only "little by little." How tragic it would have been to win their battles only to be overpowered by the wild animals which lived in the land. If every difficulty of ours were to be solved immediately, who knows what dangers might lay ahead of us in subtle forms we did not expect? God's timing protects us!
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotation taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
Many of our personal battles, too, are not won in a day. We often wish they were; we want quick action, and quick answers to our prayers. We've become accustomed to immediacy, from the microwave in the kitchen to the red telephone on the President's desk. In reality, most things take time.
A number if years ago, a cousin and I were both enrolled in a graduate program at a university located in another city. For several semesters, we commuted the ninety miles or so together. Trying to balance jobs and motherhood and church involvement along with part-time schooling was a daunting task, and many times it looked like it couldn't be done. She reminded me often, when we were both tired and facing difficulties on every front, "It will yield to steady pressure."
Steady pressure is a very powerful force. Why does a building suddenly collapse under the weight of the snow piled on its roof for several days? How can a dental appliance correct the alignment of teeth or jaws? The snow did not suddenly become heavier; the braces didn't suddenly push harder. The roof, the teeth, yielded to steady pressure. Little by little, while not anything apparent was happening, preparation was being made for change. In our personal lives too, some things just cannot be accomplished quickly. Sometimes it is a matter of praying and then waiting patiently for the right circumstances to come around. Other times, only our consistent, determined effort will bring the results we desire.
When God aided His people to conquer Canaan, it was only "little by little." How tragic it would have been to win their battles only to be overpowered by the wild animals which lived in the land. If every difficulty of ours were to be solved immediately, who knows what dangers might lay ahead of us in subtle forms we did not expect? God's timing protects us!
MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)
Scripture quotation taken from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.
Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com
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