Don't Forget to Remember

Tonight is the eve of my birthday. For over twenty years I have had an unbroken tradition of writing a farewell letter on this night to my age.

It may sound corny, but there is a feeling of accomplishment to remember and summarize a year of one's life. This tradition both validates my experiences and, maybe in a sense, puts the year to rest.

Some years, I slip in pictures of trophies won. Other years, like with filing taxes, I list my losses. Every year, I have more blessings to mention than I have time, paper, or energy to mark.

God often told His people to remember, to write down what they had learned. He commanded the kings of Israel to write out a portion of the law before they began their rule. If they had obeyed, I wonder how different their history would have been. God is sovereign and knew they'd disobey; nevertheless, the prescription is still written for us to follow.

At the Jew's national birth into the land of Israel, God admonished:

Write [My law] on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates...—then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord (Deuteronomy 6:9,12a)

We are apt to forget not just God's law, but also His faithfulness; answers to prayer that at the time astounded us, now are a distant and vague memory.

Many passages in the Bible reminisce God's faithful dealings with His people:

I will remember the deeds of Yahweh; yes, I will remember Your miracles of long ago.
I will meditate on all Your works and consider all Your mighty deeds.
Your ways, O God, are holy. What god is so great as our God?
You are the God who performs miracles; You display Your power among the peoples.
With Your mighty arm You redeemed Your people...
Your path led through the sea, Your way through the mighty waters,
though Your footprints were not seen. (Psalm 77:11-15, 19)

Perhaps writing a letter to yourself seems too silly. How about to your son, daughter, niece, nephew, or a younger sibling? Write down what God has done for you and how He has amazed you by His grace. If they are children, seal it for them to read years from now after you are gone.

Point out His footprints in your life. Let's not let the stories of God's faithfulness die with us.

How has God been faithful to you this week, month, or year? I'd love to hear.

Ugly Duckling vs Beautiful Swan

What were your first thoughts when Susan Boyle took the stage on Britains Got Talent? Did you, like me, expect another horrible audition like many shown on American Idol? Probably. Susan's frumpish looks, her cocky, devil-may-care attitude... She was too unattractive to be so confident. Then, she opened her mouth and sang, and the Simon Cowell in all of us sat stunned. This ugly duckling had a beautiful talent for song.

What is it in us that applauds beauty and charm? It doesn't start as adults. Some of the smallest of children cringe from what they perceive as ugly and reach for what is lovely.

But from where does this ideal originate? It's true that someone who attracks you may not be attractive to me. As the saying goes, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Yet, I think, certain deformities are universally disdained. A particular level seems to be in place, differing some from culture to culture, by which we judge ourselves and those around us.

We accept in people some things that are different from us, but there is a line we draw. If someone is on this side of the eccentric line, they are accepted; that side, they are shunned. And sometimes, we shun and accept those we cannot ignore. Wealth and fame may weigh heavily in this.

What is it that causes us to react to singular people with something akin to fear? Why should we fear what we don't understand? History shows us we do. Look at the Americans' view of their African slaves or the Nazi's view of Jews, as a couple examples. Consider the horror and pain that these phobias caused.

Although we all love stories of ugly ducklings becoming beautiful swans, we must admit to secret judgements in our heart; standards by which we determine who is acceptable. We may fight it. Yet, it's there when we look in the mirror, watch TV, enter our jobs, sit in our pews.

C.S. Lewis, in writing to a childhood friend, reminds him of the connection between our eyes and the objects we view.

You say that nature is beautiful because of its shape, colour and motions, and perhaps a little because of association. Now these colours etc are sensations in my eye, produced by vibrations on the aether between me and the tree: the real tree is something quite different—a combination of colourless, shapeless, invisible atoms. It follows then that neither the tree, nor any other material object can be beautiful in itself: I can never see them as they are, and if I could it would give me no delight.

The prophet Isaiah paints a picture of Jesus' coming and predicts our prejudice:

My servant grew up in Yahweh's presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to Him. (53:2)

The prophet Samuel fell into this trap when he was looking at Jesse's sons. He saw one of David's older brothers. Surely this tall, handsome man was who God had chosen to be king.

But Yahweh said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7)

In one of his books, C.S. Lewis described how some, who we admire on earth, we may look at in horror when we see them as they really are; while others, who we ignored or shunned on earth, we, if we could see now how they really look, would be in danger of falling down and worshiping.

We may be nothing much to look at. We may not have a beautiful voice with which to sing. Yet, our bodies, our voices, our charm will some day return to dust. It's our hearts that live on. Our spirits are the focus of God's eyes.

As believers in our Lord Jesus, especially, we are commanded to not show favouritism (James 2:1). We are known to be God's by our love for enemies as well as friends. God's love in our hearts works to make us beautiful.

So, before you gaze so critically in the mirror or inwardly mock the stranger beside you, remember our true appearance is not yet visible.

What are your thoughts?

You Are What You Think

"Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds." Deuteronomy 11:18a

My best friend and I were longtime fans of the Christian-rap group, DC Talk. I knew most of the lyrics by heart, especially Toby's. I didn't sit down to memorize them. I learned them by listening repetitiously and thinking about them. One day we put in one of their cassettes as we drove to church. When Toby's part came on, as usual, I rapped with him word for word. Something else happened in that moment. My friend looked at me in disbelief as my voice suddenly blended so completely with his, it sounded like one voice.

In a similar way, our daily actions become one with whatever consumes our thoughts. In Matthew 12:34b-35, Jesus said, "For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings forth evil things out of the evil stored up in him."

What are we storing up in our hearts? Are we reading God's Word and letting His thoughts fill our minds or are we filling our minds with music, books, magazines, pictures, internet, movies or other things that teach an opposite way of life? The images and messages may seem harmless, but God reminds us that our thoughts determine our actions.

In Deuteronomy 11, God told the Israelites to be consumed with Him and His Word, and, in so doing, set an example of passionate living for God. If seeking God's pleasure consumes our thoughts, energy, feelings, and speech (Mark 12:30), He promises us a deeper understanding of who He is, a peace despite circumstances, and a freedom from sin's strongholds.

What can we do to fill our thoughts with things of God? We can memorize Bible verses ("Fix these words of Mine in your hearts and minds"v. 18), share our faith with others ("Teach them.., [talk] about them" v. 19), and display pictures, verses, or other items that remind us of our relationship with God ("Write them on the door frames of your house" v. 20).
Your actions flow from the rivers of your mind.

So how are you doing? Are there any tips you've learned that help you to concentrate daily on Him?

Climbs a Tree and Scrapes Her Knee...

Once, in second or third grade, I fell in the parking lot and scraped my knee. Since I kept up with the boys when I could, a scrape was not going to slow me down. That evening as I crawled into the hot bathtub, a red streak showed from the wound climbing up my leg. Mom took me over to the doctor. Blood poisoning. For at least a week I had to lay with my leg raised to keep the poison from spreading. Had my mother not seen it or taken me to the doctor, it would have been fatal.

Sadly, I think we often scrape up our spiritual knees and ignore the need for cleansing. It seems too small a sin to us. We forget that sin is sin to God, "big" or "small." Some sin immediately affects others; some, when left, festers into something more serious.

For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. (James 2:10)

Any sin left uncleansed will shoot straight to the heart with its poison. Don't take your sin lightly. Confess it to God.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

It's a daily bath in God's forgiveness that will keep us clean for the work He has for us.