Re-Framing

I have been listening to a CD on which the gospel singer declares that she had questions with answers she couldn't understand. I think that is probably true for all of us, and sometimes the questions don't seem to have answers at all. As we struggle with the things that perplex us, a wonderfully helpful verse from the Bible is this: "Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think." (Romasns12:2) Difficulty itself does not necessarily set us free, but reframing it—changing how we think about it—does liberate us. Jesus said, "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32)

If you are in a hard place now, where can you find the truth that will change how you think and set you free? Many of us are convinced that the Word of God is ultimate truth, but often our traditional views and personal opinions cloud our understanding of it.

4 A Popular Notion: Jesus said whatever I ask for, the Heavenly Father will give to me. So I'm going to ask for a Lexus and a new tri-level house.

8 What the Word Teaches: "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your own pleasures." (James 4:3 NIV)

4 A Popular Notion: Didn't God say He would supply all my need? Well, I actually do need a _______ [new car, new house, new clothes, new spouse—you fill in the blank.]

8 What the Word Teaches: Yes, but the Apostle Paul—a remarkable Christian, after all—tells us, "Actually, I don't have the sense of needing anything personally. I've learned by now how to be quite content. I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little." (from Philippians 4:11, 12)

4 A Popular Notion: If I serve the Lord, I will have fewer troubles. Jesus said, "My yoke is easy and my burden is light."

8 What the Word Teaches: Jesus also said, "Here on earth you will have many trails and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

4 A Popular Notion: God obviously is pleased with my life because I have good health and financial success.

8 What the Word Teaches: It's quite possible to enjoy some of God's gifts without really having His blessing! Examples are Samson, Baalam, and any who "speak with the tongues of mean and of angels and have not love." (See I Corinthians 13)

"The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives." (Psalm 37:23) This does not mean that every act and thought of ours is predetermined, and we have only to live mechanically what has already been established. What it does mean is that God has orchestrated our lives in such a way that we will come face to face with His reality. Quite often this comes to us through pain or loss, disappointment, difficulty or perplexity because it is when we are searching for answers that we look up—and there is God! Would we actually want to wish away the critical events that have caused us to search for Him? Although they may have seemed almost unbearable at the time, we can ask God to change the way we think and then we can see how fruitful those times really were!

MaryMartha

Unless otherwise indicated, all 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 quotation marked NIV is 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.

Art from http://www.sxc.hu/

Broken and Better

One of the tasks of my part-time position at the public library is mending "broken" books. The pages may be falling out, the binding may be loose or split, the covers may be torn or dog-eared. Various methods and materials are used for repair, and I find it satisfying to make useable again a book that would otherwise be destined for discarding. Occasionally, I am challenged by someone who asks, "Can you really fix this?" And I answer, "Yes, it will be better than new."

Book publishing has changed a great deal over the years. Once it was an art with beautiful and substantial covers enclosing sewn signatures, the industry now produces annually nearly 300,000 titles in the U.S. And that is just new titles and new editions of earlier titles; many of these are printed in the hundreds of thousands. While there are many fine books available—I am speaking of physical quality, not content—many others currently published are not able to withstand the repeated handling of library use; they are glued together just well enough for a few readings. It is these that can actually be improved by mending.

Ernest Hemingway said, "The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places." Have you considered that the places in your life where you have been battered about some, perhaps even broken, are made a source of strength when God is permitted to work there? Jesus came as God's anointed one to proclaim, "He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted." Having had our brokenness exposed is not something only to be regretted, but also to be respected for its part in bringing us to acknowledge our constant need for God's grace. Experiencing some of His "mending" then helps us connect with other sufferers in a real way. The late Henri Nouwen, spiritual writer and teacher, gave us the lovely phrase, "wounded healer." That is what Jesus is to us, and what we can be to others.

Broken does not mean discarded. Mending is possible. That does not mean the brokenness never was. It can mean better, stronger, more useful than before.

MaryMartha

The book publishing statistic is from R.R. Bowker, a large bibliographic information
management company, researched at www.bowker.com

Art from http:www.sxc.hu/

Neighbors

Today, in the United States, we are observing Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. A little over forty years ago, this African-American preacher and civil rights activist preached his final sermon in Memphis, Tennessee. The next day, April 4, 1968, he was assassinated.

In that speech, Dr. King spoke out in support of the striking sanitation workers in the city and quoted Jesse Jackson who earlier had said that up to now only the garbage men had been feeling the pain, and now we must "redistribute the pain."

What did that mean? He described the situation in terms of Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan. When Jesus taught that we ought to love our neighbor, a man approached with a question to trick Him. "Who is my neighbor?" This could easily have ended in an involved theological and philosophical debate, but Jesus' response was a simple story.

A certain man was traveling the winding road from Jerusalem to Jericho. It is a dangerous place, well-suited for ambush by thieves. Not surprisingly, the man was attacked, beaten and robbed, and left for dead. A priest came by, but did not stop to help. A Levite too passed by without stopping. Dr. King said,

"Now you know, "we use our imagination a great deal to try to determine why the priest and the Levite didn't stop. At times we say they were busy going to church meetings—an ecclesiastical gathering—and they had to get on down to Jerusalem so they wouldn't be late for their meeting. At other times we would speculate that there was a religious law that 'one who was engaged in religious ceremonials was not to touch a human body twenty-four hours before the ceremony.' And every now and then we begin to wonder whether maybe they were not going down to Jericho to organize a 'Jericho Road Improvement Association.' That's a possibility. Maybe they felt that it was better to deal with the problem from the causal root, rather than to get bogged down with an individual effort.

"But I'm going to tell you what my imagination tells me. It's possible that these men were afraid. . . That's a dangerous road. In the days of Jesus it came to be known as the 'Bloody Pass.' And you know, it's possible that the priest and the Levite looked over [at]that man on the ground and wondered if the robbers were still around. Or it's possible that they felt that the man on the ground was merely faking. And he was acting like he had been robbed and hurt, in order to seize them over there, lure them there for quick and easy seizure. And so the first question that the Levite asked was, "If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?" But then the Good Samaritan came by. And he reversed the question: 'If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?' "

With compassion, he gave aid to the wounded man, took him to an inn, and arranged for his care there, promising to pay for whatever was required. "Now then," Jesus asked, "who in the story was a neighbor?" Obviously, the one who helped was neighbor to the one who was in need.

We are neighbors to the suffering people of Haiti. We are neighbors to the homeless and hungry in our own city. If we do not stop to help, what will happen to them? If we close our eyes to need, something closes off in our hearts—compassion—even if there is not very much that we can do to bring actual aid. If we can't be bothered even to care about abused children and laid-off workers, we get calluses on our spirits.

If we do not redistribute some of the pain, what will happen to us?

MaryMartha

Art from http://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/Picture.htm

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

Let This Cup Pass

Most of us can remember, probably, having to take a dose or two of unpleasant-tasting medicine during our childhood. Once it was placed in our mouth, there was nothing to do but swallow. A watchful parent would not permit spitting it out, and just refusing to swallow didn't work either, because that parent was there to pinch our nose shut. If we expected ever to breathe again on this earth, we had to swallow the horrid stuff!

Life has, for all of us, some "bitter pills to swallow." There is no escaping difficult circumstances, unfair treatment, or friends who prove to be disloyal. Jesus Himself experienced this, and "a student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master." (Matthew 10:24 NIV) In the Garden of Gethsemane, away from the disciples who were too sleepy to aid their Lord in His hour of greatest need, Jesus prayed alone. "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” Returning to the disciples, He urged them again to watch and pray, then a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.” (Matthew 26:39, 42 NKJV)

It was not the physical suffering alone that Jesus faced, but the dreadful weight of being guilty before God as He became sin for us. From the very foundation of the world that God knew would be fallen, redemption was planned. If it was to be made effectual, Jesus must face the Cross. His humanness naturally shrank from the cost. "If it is possible . . ." But no, it was not possible. If the cup of human sin and suffering was to be emptied, He must drink it.

It is no different for us. There is no quick and easy way to get rid of the difficult, unfair, bitter things in life, but to receive them fully.

• Swallow the bitter medicine.
• Accept what is or has to be.
• Embrace the Cross.

MaryMartha
(All rights reserved)

Scripture quotation marked NIV is 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 NKJV is taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Email: mrymrtha@gmail.com

Job's Suffering and the Church

I do not, of course, have “the answer” to the difficulties and uncertainties that are part of present day life, but I do have a response.

Suffering people have questions. “What have I done wrong, that I should suffer like this? How have I offended God?” God’s people, desperate for answers during times of hardship, have often turned for consolation to the Book of Job. Reading that ancient story, they discover that there may be a hidden drama unfolding on the stage of their own lives. Perhaps once again Satan has confronted God defiantly. “Yes, I’ve seen your servant Frank [or JoAnn or Leslie], blameless and upright. But does Frank fear you for nothing? You have protected him and his household. You have blessed JoAnn and her work. But You just wither those blessings and see if they don’t turn against You!”

God agreed to the testing of Job, and Satan was permitted to touch all that Job held dear, except his own person. In a single catastrophic day, Job lost everything: teams of oxen, donkeys, flocks of sheep, camels, herdsmen, servants, and even his children. Still, Job did not sin by blaming God. Modern Christians, studying this passage about Job, are encouraged to trust God through their own trauma and loss. “I serve the same God. The same devil is my enemy. I will prove myself faithful, even as Job did.”

Not satisfied with Job’s integrity in the face of ruin, Satan again taunted God. “Yes, Job could tolerate the destruction of everything around him. But just touch him in his own flesh, and he will curse you, I know it!” With God’s permission to do anything short of taking Job’s life, Satan struck Job with painful boils from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head. The devastated man did not know that the tragedies of his life were brought about by Satan’s desire to provoke and embarrass and ultimately hinder God. He struggled mightily to understand the reason for his suffering.

We today have the advantage of perspective revealed in Scripture. Simply put, Satan wants desperately to hurt God. In the process, he collides with us. Having knowledge of this does not alleviate human suffering, but our trust in God is strengthened by the written account. From it, we lay hold of the firm conviction that God is fully and lovingly involved with us, even though we do not comprehend the mysteries of His lordship of the whole universe!

In this broader view of God’s governing lies one cause of the problem of Christian suffering. Ours is a tortured world, with all creation groaning and laboring with birth pangs until it finally sees the gloriously liberated people of God (Romans 8:19-23). “All creation”—that means our political leadership, our judicial system, our economics, our educational methods, our health care arrangement, our whole world is aching to be different. We limit our thinking, for the most part, to our own small world of family and friends, our personal health and economy, our place of employment, our church. Too often we notice society’s deplorable ills only to criticize, “It wasn’t like this years ago. How did we get to this place?” Like Job’s false friends, we presume to have answers. “It was this treacherous leader. . . It was that high Court decision. . . It’s the unconscionable media. . . It’s the failure of the schools . . .” And some even say, “It’s the Church’s fault.”

The doom-mongers would have us believe that all the above are true, and that all can be attributed to some vast conspiracy to subjugate the American people. Those who would never be intimidated by bold unrighteousness, the gloomy prophets say, are nevertheless being undermined by an insidious plot whereby eventually all people bow unknowingly to the will of ungodly authority. There is a master mind, they say, behind gratuitous violence on TV, the call to recognize same-sex unions, the legalization of abortion, the education of functionally illiterate students, the rising prices of fuel and food, and everything else that has gone awry!

Yes, unfortunately, there is a Master Mind behind it all. It is not, however, the leagued mind of evil men and women. No human mind could conceive the sorrow that has been unleashed on the world by the evil one whose sole desire is to thwart God’s purpose in His children. Listen as he approaches the throne of God.

The Lord speaks to Satan. “Where have you been?”

“Why, I’ve been going to and fro on the earth, walking back and forth on it.“

“Ah yes! And have you noticed My servants, the Blood-bought Church, that there are no others like them on the earth, blameless, upright, fearing Me and shunning evil?”

“Yes,” Satan replies, “I have noticed. But does that Church of yours fear you for nothing? Haven’t You made a hedge around them and their households and around everything that concerns them? You have blessed the work of their hands, and by honoring You their possessions have increased.” It may be that Satan has a different strategy for the Church in some other parts of the world, but for the prosperous Church in America, he taunts God, “I’d just like to see you stretch out Your hand and touch what these folks own, and they will surely curse You to Your face!”

What if God has given Satan permission to test us in just this way? “Behold, all they have is in your power. But don’t lay a hand on their persons.” Do we truly believe that “we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places”? (Ephesians 6:12)

If the battle could be won just by speeches and banner-carrying and letter-writing and electing God-fearing people to office, it would have been won by now. This is not to say that speeches should not be made, banners carried, letters written, and God-fearing people elected. But the passage noted above continues with the admonition to put on the whole armor of God and then “pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.” (Ephesians 6:18)

Until we have done that, there is not a whole lot to be gained by all the other tactics.

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