A WALK WITH MARY

Summary

A monologue, in which Mary the mother of Jesus reflects back on the events of the first Christmas and of the first Easter. 

Characters

Mary 

Script

I could never understand why my parents named me that. Mary. Just a family name, but why Mary? Why not Vania—'God's gracious gift' or Tobey—'God is good' or even Sarah—'princess." Why Mary? Why 'bitter'?

But not only did my name mean 'bitter,' as if that's not hard enough to answer to, it also was one of the most common names. 

'Mary! Did you finish your mending?' 

Five dozen yes's or no's would echo down our ally.

I learned to accept being common and answering to 'bitter' without becoming it. It was expected of a woman to accept her lot, and how could I be discontent when daily I knew the goodness of my God! 

One of my greatest amazements was His goodness in betrothing me to Joseph. I didn't need to be reminded, though my mother often would, of all the men my father could have chosen for me. Instead he chose Joseph, and Joseph wanted me! Such a kind and generous heart; I knew I would learn to love him very soon, if my admiration of him wasn't mixed with love already. 

"Then it happened. One minute I was daydreaming of Joseph, the children we'd have, a clean home with Joseph's shop around back, the children's bright eyes the first time they see the Temple, helping my children learn the Holy Scriptures, our Torah... when suddenly, the most incredible light shone from a being in the middle of my room. I hid my face. Was it God? Would I die? 

"Then he said it. 'Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you.' 

Me! A common nobody found favour with El Elyon, God Most High! Would have His Son! Would have the Messiah that every female born of Jacob dreamt of having! But it would be me! I had only kiddingly wished for it. I would laugh with pleasure at the thought of being uncommon enough to bear the Messiah—God's tool to deliver Israel. 

Deliver Israel.... That's the part I never understood; no Jew ever did. We expected a military hero, a king. The deliverance we experienced was unexpected. It was the reason Gabriel didn't change my name when he announced my son, Jesus, God's Son would be born. He called me Mary. 

I've pondered many things while raising Jesus. Or was it me learning from Him? That's the humour of it all. He taught in our Temple when He was only twelve! But He was God; why shouldn't He!

Then He did it. He delivered us. 

He allowed those who hated Him to just kill Him. He'd walked out of a crowd-full of people trying to stone Him. Then, for just a handful of rulers, He submits to condemnation. 

It was then I knew why I was called 'bitter.' I had never face bitterness like I did there at the feet of my son as He hung dying: not even when Joseph almost divorced me or the community shunned me as an adulteress or when we fled to Egypt to save Jesus' life or when Joseph died or Jesus left home. But here... I saw the hope of Israel dying a "needless" death. I had learnt by then not to ask or interfere, but to wait on the Lord. 

So I watched. As His heart broke and His lifeblood literally mixed with water and poured from His side, I died. I suffered the bitterest my life could have known. The Hope of Israel went out with the sun. It must have been His Father's anger, I thought then, that shook the earth. What could a mere woman do, Adonai?! You know. I would have died in His place! Even as I thought it, however, I knew it wouldn't have been the same. Though what good it had done for Him to die, I couldn't know. 

When the earthquake happened, many of Jesus' followers thought it was the end; we'd be swallowed up by the earth like Korah was in the desert. Some were even foolish enough to wail that God's prophecies were ruined; surely all Israel would die for it. Others ignored nature's chaos, and believed their trust in Jesus was misplaced. 

We didn't know then that the Temple curtain had been torn. Torn from top to bottom. The entrance to the forbidden Holy of Holies was exposed. All the priests ran out covering their eyes lest they perish.

Three days of grieving. A sorrowful Sabbath. Then Mary of Magdela, Mary Clopas wife and Saloam found Jesus' tomb was empty. Mary of Magdela claimed Jesus had come to her...alive! As the weeks went by, we and five hundred others saw Jesus, touched Him, ate and talked with Him. 

My son is alive! God's Son is alive. He is no more mine to guide and mother, but I am His now. He is and always has been greater than I. I can know His Father because of His blood sacrificed and perfect, acceptable as the complete atonement for my sin. Elohim, God has accepted Him as my sacrifice; my punishment was paid by my son. I am no longer 'bitter.' I am still common among men, yet loved by the Lord. 

Have you met Him? Come. Let me introduce you to Jesus.

.................................................
© Katy R. Pent, all rights reserved.

To Describe God

Below is an edited version of a prayer I wrote in February 2005. I’m posting it because I think to at least some of it you’ll relate.

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If I should try to describe You, God, I might say You’re like a mist; You form various shapes, but appear everywhere and different. I trust You to know my heart and know how I would not accuse You of changeableness, but accuse my understanding of not grasping You.

You are like a firefly on a dark summer night. I may believe You are there, but until you turn on Your light, I’m not certain where.

Sometimes You appear as a possible predator to my happiness; like a rattlesnake somewhere on a ranch, and I’m praying none of mine will step in Your path and take death’s poisonous exit.

Sometimes I long for You, ache for You, despair of being had by You. You stand nearby as my Invisible Observer, but You don’t make a sound. I end up on the floor with my paper gods with faces cut from magazines, little creatures no bigger than myself whom You have made.

Sometimes I listen for You and feel proud that I actually want to hear You. I hear buzzes, I hear cars, I hear the whistle of a train, but not one small whisper from Your lips.

I panic sometimes. If You should ever leave it to me to find my way Home, I’d be lost forever.

But I believe in You, God. You have been my Father, my Guide, my Strength, my Sustainer. In You is the only hope in which I can dream.

Funny. It is good to say that—the only Hope in which I can dream. Getting here has not been so easy. I’ve come kicking and screaming, but You didn’t put me down.

Oh, if only this was the end and all the refinement I need could be made with these “small” losses; if only I didn’t know greater sacrifices might await me. Oh, how lonely and scary and heart-wrenching one short life can be. You do not ask for more than You gave. You ask for everything.

What will Home be like with You? How is it that our tasks will look so small from the light of Home? What do I need to know or realise in order to let go and let You hurt me and still trust You completely?

Open my eyes wider. Not inwardly. Upwardly. Father, I see a shrivelled worm as I look inward. I see a sad excuse for a human—talentless, friendless, pointless, but still holding on to my pride to not get hurt and to my mini-gods.

What does it mean to be a Christian? What is it like to be free of myself? Where is the dividing line, the gulf that I can cross or be flung over and become the outward clothes of the Living Son of God? Where do You begin and I end? Draw it up. Point me there. It’s time that life began—No turning back.

Here are my fears. You’ll need to check all my pockets and hiding places. There are always some fresh ones lying around.

Here is my fear of losing those I love—of dying while they live or living after they die.  Here’s my fear of getting older and my desire to die early. Here are my fears—of rejection, of being unchanged and entering eternal shame, of success, of failure. Here’s my fear of never getting any closer to You or of getting too close to You.

Father, these are scary things to give up. All these fears, these quirks…You aren’t going to find anything left of me when they are gone.

It’s a starting place. I already feel myself reaching for my comfort “blankets.” I’ll take them all back, if you let me. PLEASE don’t let me. Let’s go forward, Father. It’s time. It’s past time.

How Are You?

There’s an art in sharing oneself.

I've discovered in most friendships that it is much easier to listen and to ask questions than to share (unless it’s trite facts). I find I feel a little smug when I’ve finished an hour and a half conversation with someone that is all about them.

Then a thought dawns on me. What if when I stand before God expecting praise for my listening ability, He looks sadly at me and asks why I was so stingy with myself?

Ninety or more percent of those I talk to actually don’t want to know any details of my life. I’m sure you’ve found that too. You begin to share something on your heart or answer their question about how you are when you notice they have mentally vacated the premises. Or you share something troubling you and they have an over-simplified, patronising solution that you’ve never found to work. Or you are told that how you feel is not a valid feeling, so you leave feeling worse than when you’d arrived.

I have a friend who I help with vacuuming once a month. The best part is sitting down with her after it’s over. I’ve shared my broken heart with her, and she empathised. I've poured out frustrations, and she sides with me. She doesn’t have pat answers. She doesn’t over-spiritualize. She just cares about me. Throughout our time, she also shares—she tells me of her struggle with grief over her mother’s death and the holidays coming. She has shared her couple-decade-old-hopes that never became reality. She listens and she shares. It’s a rare gift. I treasure those moments.

It seems easier to share with some I’ve never met. It’s often easier to think things through in e-mails and remember to ask things of which you may or may not be interested, because it’s staring at you in black and white. When you’re face to face, though, what you ask or what you share is what is most prominent on your heart or mind.

It’s safer not to share. Rejection, of any kind, pierces deep. 

Do you find it easy to share yourself with others? Why or why not? Who do you have to listen to your hopes and dreams and to trust you with their own?

Once Upon a Time

If you've grown up in the church, it seems you're likely to have one of two reactions to her current state: 1) You're disillusioned with her call and the reality of how that call is or isn't lived out or 2) you're excited about a new trend or vision you see developing and pulling away from the old.

I've long bemoaned that my Biblical Studies major did not allow me time to delve into church history. Besides what one is forced to hear in local and world history classes, I have been woefully ignorant of the narrative of the church. A friend recently recommended a sermon series taught by a pastor—Tommy Nelson of Denton Bible Church—on church history.  They're engaging, a great overview, and allow one to decide where to begin exploring on a deeper level.

One thing becomes clear as one glances over the timeline of persecution, hypocrisy, and revivals—God rarely, if ever, works the same way twice. The people He saves, the methods He uses are often as unique as snowflakes. Once the church latches on to a custom or person—as did Israel in the book of Judges—she becomes imprisoned again to the world, the flesh, and the devil; she becomes a mockery for the outsiders (Romans 2:24). It's as if the method, the program, the idea becomes (or maybe just the pride at mastering it) an idol. 

It still is true, is it not? Maybe the reason organizations, stores, programs, and churches fail, close, and die are because they have become the idol that blocks the face of God from the perishing. 

History illustrates another point: what God uses to awaken the church, to save the lost—is often not without error. He may use the person, may use the program, but without bringing everything back to Scripture, that very tool of salvation, if you will, may become the stumbling block for generations to come. 

This can mean 1) that you shouldn't throw out the good with the bad. I had a teacher who went so far as to state emphatically that Augustine was not saved. Yet he was one of the first to emphasize salvation by grace alone. We can learn truth, as it lines up with the Bible, even from one that we may strongly disagree with on minor issues.

2) This also means that you should never follow a person or a system with absolute loyalty. Just as your political party may betray your trust by applauding a position for which you oppose, a teacher, a writer, a denomination can ignorantly or craftily weave in distortions of the truth. 

If Paul, one of the first great theologians, commended the Bereans for searching the Scriptures to make sure what he taught was the truth, we must all the more guard our hearts lest our favourite preachers, our pride in a theological label lead us down a divisive road that will distract, not only us from glorifying God, but others from finding Him.

...let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the Founder and Perfecter of our faith....Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. ~Hebrews 12:1-4

You and I have been created and raised up "for such a time as this." Let us run well to the end.

(You can download the thirteen sessions on church history here.)

Called to Serve, a review

One of my brothers served in the military, but I have no personal experience in it nor have I ever been married. Yet, in "Called to Serve" Tony and Penny Monetti write in such a way that one can empathize with the feelings they have experienced and long for the solution. This book gives those outside the military and military family life greater understanding of how to pray. For those in such a life, it gives practical comfort and advice for warriors, their spouses, and even their parents.

If I am permitted to make a plug for one of our books, I highly recommend buying one for yourself and for a military family you know. If you order two or more copies at Discovery House Publishers, you'll receive a 30% discount.

To find out more about how you can help those in the military or receive help if your family is serving, visit the Monetti's site—Called to Serve Ministry.

Have you or someone in your immediate family served in the military? If so, what is one of the hardest things you’ve faced? If not, what are ways that you’ve helped a military family?

God's Love Letters to You

When I looked over the Thomas Nelson books available to review and saw one by Larry Crabb, I immediately download the e-book. And I'm not disappointed.

God's Love Letters to You gives a wonderful glimpse at the whole context of God's Word. Far from a feel good read, Dr. Crabb shows the reality of pain in a framework of love.

"But God's way of thinking and His way of loving are so far above us—and so different sometimes from what we think they should be—that His way of speaking life can feel harsh, even insensitive and uncaring. And for good reason: His words of life speak death to what is in us that needs to die."

The formatting of the e-book annoyed me at points, but it was just nit-picky things such as spacing. The quotes from writers outside the Bible jarred my assumption that the content concentrated on God's finished Word. Yet, the quotes added their own explanation and often were ones I highlighted for future reference.

If I taught a small group or class for young Christians, this text would be required reading. The way it touches upon suffering and love throughout the Bible, reveals the continuity of God's working through our own pain and His sovereign plan, which includes and redeems that pain. The questions at the end of each chapter too would be richer shared with others, especially those beginning to grasp the scope of God's work in our lives and world.

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My Wordless Prayer by Craig Courtney

This video shares the ache of my heart at many times in life (maybe a bit is always there—crying out). I believe this will speak for your heart at times too—when you need to pray, need to connect your heart with the Father, but the words just aren't there.

Praise be to God—He hears even our wordless prayers

Some Days are Diamonds

An old John Denver song has frequently come to mind. The chorus says—

Some days are diamonds;
some days are stone.
Sometimes the hard times
won't leave me alone.
Sometimes the cold winds
blow a chill in my bones.
Some days are diamonds;
some days are stone.

Regardless of whether or not you like country songs, everyone can relate to diamond and stone days. Because stones are common, they fill most of our time making the diamond-days more precious.

Internally, I've been gathering the stones of late. Just because they're prosaic pebbles doesn't mean some are not of rare beauty in colour or design. Yet others are sharp and cut deeply.

But these thoughts aren't really where my mind has been dwelling. There's a verse in the song that describes it.

Now the face that I see in my mirror
more and more is a stranger to me.
More and more I can see there's a danger
of becoming what I never thought I'd be.

Please forgive the depressive tone. And bear with me, because I'm sure—if you've lived long enough—there has been at least once where these words have rung true.

That moment may have come when you've worked your hardest, only to be told your efforts aren't needed. You're being laid off.

Or maybe it's in marriage. You see a wedding photo and glimpse for an instant all the lovely dreams you had of the kind of spouse you'd be and the kind of spouse you'd have. Now those visions are so distant, you hardly recognize yourself.

I'm at a place where I'm believing this is one of the best positions in which to be . . . at least for a while.

Sure, it's much nicer to always be happy, to feel life is coming together, making sense. But that's not where humility grows. Those sparkling, beautiful spots are not where we come face to face with our need to be washed over with the love and grace of God, broken-off from our old sinful nature, and smoothed out on the lonely bottom of life's ocean.

No. It is when we face ourselves in the mirror without the amiable make-up we put on for others, when we face the flaws in our human nature and admit that they are a fault—it is then that we are broken down to the basics and God can begin shaping us, polishing us, preparing us to become—not dry stones in His Kingdom, but—glittering jewels, whose brilliance the earth could not host.

If you're there—if your life isn't what you planned it to be, if you're less than you dreamed you'd be, if your failures are greater than you can live with—it is now that you can be rubbed and tumbled to beauty. Now is when you can give your plain, dry-brown-heart fully into the Artist's hands and let Him make something beautiful of you.

Don't be discouraged! He who began a good work in you WILL carry it to completion (Philippians 1:6).

The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ~John 12:25

When we think we know how our life is going, it's easy not to depend on His leading. But when life surprises us, we cling to Him. And that's right where we should be.

Can you relate? Has the face in your mirror ever seemed like a stranger? Are you there now or what happened to change things for you?

Review of "Love Wins"

Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived by Rob Bell

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Love Wins caught me a bit by surprise. From the many reviews of its damning content, I expected it to be persuasive in its "new" ideas. It wasn't. I also expected that it would vastly contain lies. It didn't.

On one hand, I saw Rob Bell making sweeping generalities with select verses without consideration of the context and with dismissal of equal or greater arguments contrary to his assertions. One example, of his leaping assumptions is his ignoring all scholarly debate on the identity of the author of Hebrews and authoritatively declaring the author a "she" (for which the evidence and arguments against this theory are more prevalent than those for it). This, though rather insignificant and seemingly-petty (to some), enforced the truth that Bell is no scholar, more or less a theological one. To go into detail about specifics of his errors is not my intention here. I'll leave that to true scholars, many of whom have already commenced to fight those battles.

On the other hand, I saw truth in what Bell presented. This is both dangerous and reassuring. Dangerous in that it is easy to overlook blatant error because of streams of truth running amidst the quicksand. Yet reassuring that the heart of his theory doesn't appear, to me (actually knowing Rob), to be merely to "tickle people's ears" (even if that is what it does for some).

Rob Bell reacts to an extreme in Christian circles--unloving attitudes and a sort of triumph over the unbelievers. This is not a good representation of Christians, but it is a representation of many or at least a reflection of the passionless love we have in contrast to our Saviour's love and our own salvation.

In conclusion, this book may be a good recommendation to those who have grown up in the church, to those too "familiar" with the salvation story. It needs to be balanced with the full truth of the Gospel, with the justice that those who truly love the lost will be compelled to share. But it also emphasizes God's love for all and our need to show it; something that may get lost in our self-centered religious lives.

I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing. 
~1 Timothy 2:8

I sincerely hope and pray Rob Bell does submit to God's authority and not trust with pride in his own thoughts and talents. 

Wanted: Dead or Alive

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"Josh, you know, I’ve heard a lot about you. And not very much of it that’s been good. And, after the way we treat you, you do a thing like this and you don’t want anyone to know about it. Seems to me that if the word got around, you might have more friends."

"Simple. The kind of friends who have to know, I don’t want."

_____________________

Reputations are tricky, aren't they? All of us have a conscious or unconscious goal of how we want others to perceive us. When we sense they think of us differently, we want to straighten the record.

A gang member wants to be tough. A snob, rich or beautiful. A comedian, happy. A business person, successful. The foundation? Pride.

How do you feel when the praise you've earned is given to someone else? What about when you receive undeserved criticism?

In many instances, discovering the motivation behind wanting to clear our name is like splitting hairs.

A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. ~Proverbs 22:1

If you're a Christian, you may argue that your life is the testimony pointing others to Jesus. True. Still, the line is fine between selfishness and piety.

Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; someone else, and not your own lips. ~Proverbs 27:2

I'm dwelling on this for two reasons.

1. Because I find this so very difficult in my own life. I constantly find times where defensiveness and justifications spurt out. But pure motivations are sketchy, at best. Sadly, I recognize it after I've interrupted or talked over someone else's words in order that they may hear "how it really is." Or when credit is questioned, I quickly assert my relevance to the situation.
   
   
2. I've been watching old TV shows. One of my new favourites is Steve McQueen's Wanted: Dead or Alive. The quote at the beginning is from the end of the first episode.

Josh Randall (McQueen) is a bounty hunter. Men like him are fierce and shady, often killing their wanted men or women because it is much easier to bring them in dead. The motivation for Randall is different. Although he does his work for money, honour and justice are the supreme driving forces.

Instead of justifying his actions to those who instantly judge him based on his career, he secretly gives generously, often helps the less fortunate, and goes beyond his duty when no one cares. Slowly, people learn some of what he does, but that's not why he does it.

The kind of friends who have to know, I don’t want.

What motivates you to do what is good? How comfortable are you when the accolades you're due aren't delivered?

Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.  ~Jesus
(Matthew 6)

It's hard, but it's a good goal: To not be integral for reputation, but for eternity's sake.

Run in such a way as to get the prize. Not here. Not now. But some day . . . soon.

Score One for the Team

"When things are going good, you just keep working hard. Things are bad, you keep working hard. So . . . my main focus right now is just to . . . help this team make the play offs. Regardless personally of what I do or what happens, my commitments are to the team and, the team comes first."
~Jamie Tardif (#25)

Last hockey season, my fencing partner got me started attending a few of our local Griffins' games. Sorry to say, they lost almost all of the ones I saw and many I didn't see.

This year in keeping with our new tradition, we went to see our team on February 25th. Because of some positive stories shared, we kept our eyes especially out for any time #9 Francis (Frankie) Pare was on the ice. Thankfully for the team, it was frequently.

What a difference from last year! The previous season, the team appeared to make up for lack of skill and teamwork with numerous fights. Hockey fans may call me out for this, but the fights usually look to me like immature, bullying boys throwing a tantrum.

In contrast to this (only one fight this game, which was a fist-fight between only two players), this year's Griffins were focused on the game. That doesn't mean there weren't reasons to fight.

For example, my new favourite player—As I watched, the Lake Erie Monsters players (the bad guys) held on to Francis' shoulders (but were never called) and made an obvious (but not to the ref) effort to trip him with a hockey stick, along with the usual slamming and pinning to walls. Instead of concentrating on the person impeding him, Francis worked his way free and concentrated on the goal, becoming the number one player for the evening (and not that evening only).

Last year, the Griffins teamwork stunk, and I used them as an negative example. This year, they are all about the team and working together. They have not only shown it on ice, but declared it in every interview. It's not about themselves, although the pats on the back are appreciated. It's the team that matters. It's helping each other meet the goal.

The Griffins' attitude reminds me of what our Coach has told us:

Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:12-22)

Pass the puck, guard your teammates, help those who fall down, honour those who score, but do it as a team, aim for the goal, and win it for the glory of our Coach.

Onions?

Whenever I work in the kitchen, at least one of my two cats figures there must be something good just out of reach. Last night as I cut up onions, Chiara (the cat above) wandered around my feet, crying. Often the only way to quiet her is to let her smell what I'm cutting up.

It reminded me of myself. And all of us. How many times do we cry out to God telling Him what we need, demanding the meat we know He's hiding just out of reach? Why can't I have that promotion? Why can't I get out of this marriage and into a happy one? Why can't this circumstance change to what I've imagined? Is God being stingy or is He cutting onions?

When I do have something good for my cat, I find it humorous that she feels the need to cry till I give it to her. How would she ever know the good available, if I had not given it to her in the past?

We also only know of good gifts because of what God has given to us before. Why then do we cry out in unbelief, I wonder, so sure that this time He'll be mean? All we know of good has come from God.

God tells us to pray and keep on praying. But, at the back of our prayers is the belief that even if it isn't the "food" we crave, it may be something new and altogether better.

The next time we ask for what we think would be best, I hope you and I both can remember, it may be just onions. With onions come tears. So, let's trust and wait for the good God is preparing.

When You Say You Love Me

I have a confession. I hate Valentine's Day. I don't remember a time in my life where I actually liked the "holiday." Maybe it's because it has the commercial shallowness of a chick-flick.

Regardless of why, it is actually more coincidental and not because of the holiday that I have been pondering on love . . . or the lack thereof.

I'm not sure what started it, except recognition of how easy it is to fall into routine, to make other things priority, which in turn sap my strength or distract me from wholeheartedly seeking God. It isn't really bad things. The activities are neither good nor bad, excepting how my heart responds. So I've begun praying again that the Source of love would give me love to love Him.

It's pathetic, actually. Can you imagine a spouse or child coming and asking you to help them to love you? Ouch! Yet God knows our lack and longs for our honesty. How freeing it is to live without needing to hide from the All-Seeing-Eye, because He also is Love.

We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. (1 John 4:16)

So what does it mean to abide in love? Is love a romantic feeling or a loyal friendship?

The Bible shows us that love is an action, but not just any action is love.We think of helping the poor or being willing to die for someone or something as love. But Scripture says that all this can be done without love.

If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,^b but have not love, I gain nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:3)

What then is love? 

Most of you could quote it:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8a)

We can emphatically make two conclusions from this passage.

1. Hollywood knows nothing of love, either on or off set.
2. Humans cannot love like this, but God commands this kind of love from us.

Furthermore, if we love God, we will love others with this kind of love.

And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.  (1 John 4:21)

Do you think if love came naturally to us, it would be necessary for God to command it from us? And, if it doesn't come naturally, then how can we feel we can "fall out of love" or even "into love"?

Love is an alien attribute to human kind. We crave it. We demand others give it to us, but we have no source within ourselves to conjure up an unselfish love. Whatever emotion, obsession, or lust that we label love always comes with a price-tag.

What's the point? As with everything, we cannot afford to disconnect from God. We need to have love. We are designed to give love, but it is only from the Source that we can get love.

If today you feel love towards someone, it's great to feel that, is it not? But it won't last.

"Ironically," in my church bulletin today was an article from Gary Chapman (author of The Five Languages of Love). In it, he shares about a man who came to him saying he no longer loves his wife.

Since this husband couldn't manufacture warm, romantic feelings, he concluded that his marriage was over. . . True love, the kind of love that keeps a couple together for a lifetime, is not a feeling but an attitude. It says, With the help of God, I'm going to do everything I can to enhance the life of my spouse. . . . .

Remember that warm, romantic feelings are the result of love, not the essence of love. . . . The good news is that whatever God commands, He enables us to do.

That is good news and applies to all our relationships, even our relationship to God—do all you do for His glory whether you feel good or not. It also is a love I long to give to my friends and family—one that loves without requiring an equal return. May God make it so in all of us!

Do I Know You?

Have you ever been introduced to someone through other people's descriptions long before you met the person?  If so, were you disappointed or pleasantly surprised?

On the other hand, have you ever known someone all your life only to find a mystery in their person that you'd never guessed?

Both of these levels of acquaintance are applicable to our introduction to the Christ or Messiah.

You've Heard the Whisperings
Dr. Richard Liverance explains that the promise of a Messiah is the most ancient hope of humanity.

A misconception among many today is that Christianity began two thousand years ago. In reality, it began at the fall of mankind when God promised a "Seed" that would strike the head of the devil (Genesis 3:15). From that time forward, thousands of generations retold the expectation to their children and their children's children: There will some day be a Hero born who will save us.

When God chose Abram (later renamed Abraham), He further narrowed the promise (Genesis 12 and 15). The Seed would come through Abraham and would bless the whole world.

When in faith Abraham brought Isaac to Mt. Moriah to sacrifice him to Yahweh, we see a foreshadowing of the Heir to come.

“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

Abraham answered, “God Himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” (Genesis 22:7b-8)

Narrowing still further, Jacob announces that the Seed will be a King and be born from Judah's descendants (Genesis 49:8-12).

Why is this important? It's a telescopic lens focusing our attention on someone to come. Every birth in Judah's line could have been accompanied by a drum role. Is this the one?

But it's made clearer still. We're told where He'll be born.

"But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity." (Micah 5:2)

Then Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 go further to elaborate on the illustration we glimpsed on Mt. Moriah. This King would suffer and die for our sins.

Surely He took up our infirmities

and carried our sorrows,

yet we considered Him stricken by God,

smitten by Him, and afflicted.

But He was pierced for our transgressions,

He was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him,

and by His wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to his own way;

and the Lord has laid on Him

the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:4-6).

But You've Known This All Your Life!

In a sense, you're reading an assignment I was given this morning at church.

How many of you, who have sat here for years listening to the exposition of Scripture, could show through the Old Testament who Jesus was?

It is astounding. I've barely touched on the detailed predictions of the "Jewish" Scriptures concerning the Messiah. It is some of these passages that Jesus used to explained the prophecies concerning Himself to the two on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-32). It is from these that Paul also argued the truth of Jesus as Messiah (Acts 17:2).

To most of us, this assignment isn't a hard task (although it is a necessary one to be able to voice what we know to be true). Yet I believe we often, like the disciples, have become so familiar with aspects of who Jesus is—with truths that we have memorized, with good habits of learning that we have formed—that we fail to grasp the fear of Him.

The transfiguration was one of the early moments that Jesus used to give three of His followers a glimpse of who He really was (Matthew 17). Peter, whose astonishment left his tongue loose, rattled something nonsensical till God the Father's voice boomed from heaven. The three fell on their faces before Him. All cliche's crumbled from their lips. Instead of giving Him answers, they seek the answers from Him.

We all need that revelation from God to scare us out of complacency; to understand, as my pastor pointed out this morning, that He did not come to bring peace to the earth, but to bring man peace with God (Matthew 10:34-39). 

The peace He puts in our heart becomes the power to obey. Those who reject this peace fight against those who have it and against the One who gives it. Our concern should not be with being agreeable, but with lovingly sharing the Truth. Some will hear and gladly receive it. Others will hate us for it. 

The claims of this Christ are such that every man ought to be busy fighting Him, or fighting for Him.
~G. Campbell Morgan 

If you have ten minutes to watch, I love the last part of this opening to The Passion of the Christ where Satan taunts Jesus. Suddenly Jesus stands and crushes the serpent's head—a beautiful visual illustration of a spiritual fulfillment.

The Unfallen Hero

Have you ever had a hero fall? It may have been someone close to you: a parent, spouse, pastor or teacher. It may have been someone far off and untouchable. The fall may have been moral or ethical; they may have died or merely disappointed your expectations.

If you have a full life, you'll see your heroes fall. Similar to nature's testimony of God's character, this common occurrence should reveal to everyone the truth that we all "have sinned and continue to fall short of God's glory."

What initiated this pondering was a post on Tim Challies' blog about one of my heroes (dead before I was born, which usually makes them less likely to disappoint). Challies brought up discrepancies raised by scholars over some of my hero's beliefs and a discussion started about whether the difference matters, since we've learn so much from him still.

The man, the discussion are a moot point here. What matters is that I struggled with the fallen image, true or not. I had thought the inspiration I had gained went beyond him, but when I was disappointed I realized just how focused on him it was.

As I wrestled with all this, another insight arose. It's good to be disillusioned! Everyone should be.

Once your star has fallen, you notice a brighter light in the night sky. Every time an image tumbles, I look up and God is still there.

What about you? Have you been disappointed by someone? Do you hold bitterness towards them or towards God because of their failure? Maybe you were clinging too much to a person, a sinner just like you.

The grace we have received, we also must give. . . even to our fallen heroes. Compare their faded light and your flickering light against the blinding light of God's faithfulness and love. You and I disappoint Him, but He never lets go.

. . . let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1b-3)

A Story

An Author once imagined a beautiful story. He planned for it to be a comedy in the original sense of the word—a story ending in a feast or wedding. Another way of stating it—a story filled with joy.

This Author wasn't like other writers. He wanted to interact with His characters. He wanted them to participate in His story, so He wrote in a "will" (the ability to determine to obey or not to obey) for each of them.

The gift of the will caused great rejoicing. Instead of being robots and performing their part of the story without a say, they could interact with the Author, ask questions, share ideas—have a relationship.

This freedom included only one "do not." In order to exercise their will, they could do anything in the created world of the Author except ONE thing. They had castles they could build and explore; mountains they could climb. They built homes of the very best quality, and the Author enjoyed their work and their delight. There was one door, however, that He told them not to enter. If they did, they would be cut off from the world where they now lived and from Him.

Gradually, the characters moved closer to the door. Why should the Author include a door they could not enter? If all in this story was full of wonder and fun, what might there be on the other side of that door? What if what is there is better than what is here? And so they crept ever closer, tempting themselves by constant watch.

Inevitably, they persuaded themselves to try the door. One by one they all filed through. Although one entered first, the others followed till every one was on the other side. Then...it shut.

They rubbed their eyes. It was pitch blackness. Slowly their eyes began to focus on the barren land ahead of them and the bolted door behind them.

Generations would be born in this dark land. What is the purpose of this story? each and everyone would ask. 

Some exited the story early on, by their choice or another's. Others decided to create their own story. This became quite a game, and soon all the characters had a story. Sometimes they combined their ideas and created a community that followed the same story. When enough decided that the story wasn't going their way, they would branch off and begin their own version.

Some sought to make their story good for others. Their version would bring smiles to those around them. Surly this is what the story was about, after all, making happiness for those around you? But they did not seek to know the Author and learn the story He desired for them.

Sometime in the new story, a lamp was placed in the midst of them. This aggravated most, who had become accustomed to seeing in the dark. The light only blinded them and exposed that they were different than how they had described themselves to those around them. 

Because of this, some tried to hide the light. Others, to snuff it out. Others just ran from it, moving as far away from it as possible till they gained some sort of darkness again.

A handful of characters approached the light. They were curious to see what really existed around them. Here they learned of the Author, forgotten or recreated by the tales of the original characters. They learned He still wanted to use them in His story. If they would accept His light and follow His story, He would eventually take them out of this story into one that would be beyond their dreams. 

Some of the characters accepted the light gladly and went throughout the new world offering to share the light. Some began to pick up the light, but when they read their part of the story, it was too small. They were capable of great things! Why should they give up their own stories for these no-name parts?

Those who fled from the light mocked the carriers of light. If this Author cared for them, why did only a handful have His special light and the knowledge of a place in His story? Why were they promised a new story of "happily ever after"? If He was a real Author, He would make good of the story here.

The Author continued to lead His story to the new ending He had determined for it. Only those who held His light and followed His storyline found joy in it. Those who created their own stories, no matter how good they were, stumbled around in the darkness far from the Author.

_________________

Whose storyline do you follow: your own or the Author's? The ending is determined by your acceptance or rejection of the Light.

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, "I Am the Light of the world. If you follow Me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the Light that leads to Life."

Stop. Wait. Listen

Have you ever wondered if you'd be willing to go if God sent you to some remote place to share His salvation? But what if He asked you just to stay where you are? Sometimes it is easier to hear "go" than to obey "stay."

Yes, obeying a call to the unknown is scary. But, at the same time, it can appear glamourous or, at least, full of adventure. Staying...doing the mundane...not so much!

In the book of Jeremiah chapters 41 through 43, the remnant of the Israelites left in Judah feared for their lives. An assassin had attacked the governor that the King of Babylon had set over them. Johanan and some other brave souls rescued the people the assassin had kidnapped and then they prepared their flight to Egypt to avoid the punishment sure to come from Babylon. On their way, they stop by Jeremiah and ask him to inquire of Yahweh what they should do. They promised that whatever He said they would obey.

With their donkeys loaded and their sandals warmed up and raring to run, Yahweh simply told them to stay. If they trusted Him, He would assure them safety.  If they ran, the disaster they feared would pursue them. So what do they do? Run, of course.

Having promised unconditional obedience, they naively suspected that God would affirm their plans. They never dreamed He would instruct them to wait for the hammer they were sure would crush them.

Can you relate? Are you stuck in a prison, an office, a sick body, a home—cooking and cleaning for your family? Do you long for God to give you a great assignment? Have you ever thought, maybe He has?

We have a major disadvantage to previous generations. In the past, making a good living and being a respectable family man or woman was a full and honourable life. Today we expect more. We may not be conscious of it, but we do.

If you preach, you expect to draw multitudes. If you write, you imagine your book on a best sellers list or chatted up on a big talk show. If you're in business, you expect to be sought after and to accumulate money for a comfortable life.

But God's ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not like ours. God may have you disciple a small group to spiritual maturity and die virtually unknown. He may have you write and never know the impact of His work through you. You may set an example in business and never be recognized for it.

But one of those discipled may go on to share the gospel with thousands, beginning a revival that spreads far and wide for God's glory. Your book may be on the night stand of a dying woman, who reads it and is born again. Your money saved in business may be sent to someone in need, who will be saved from devastation and go on to lead his people.

Or maybe God has other plans for you. Maybe this time is to train you for a calling, which to obey will cost you greatly, but will accomplish more than you can imagine. If you are faithful in the small, mundane areas of life, God will entrust to you far greater responsibility.

We often look for the great and glorious things for ourselves, but God may be glorified more in the small beginnings.

Should you then seek great things for yourself? Seek them not. ~Jeremiah 45:5

Only God knows the times in which we live and into what part of the puzzle your life and my life will fit.

Nothing is wasted. The Artist has you here for a purpose. Stop. Wait. Listen.

To Start Anew

The New Year always gives the feeling of a new beginning, doesn't it? This brings the tradition of resolutions, a chance to accomplish this year what we failed to do last.

A couple of interesting truths spring to mind as I think on the year ahead.

One, I'm still the same. The person that I was at the end of 2010 is the person entering into 2011. I have the same strengths, same weaknesses. If I fell for gluttony last year, I won't suddenly be cured this year. If I reacted impatiently when I was tired or stressed last year, I may repeat it again when I'm weary this year. I will not have boundless energy; I will still grow tired. I will not always want to do the good I know I should. I'm still me. You're still you.

What does this mean? When I'm tempted, should I throw up my hands and give in? Of course not. 

Understanding where you are weak can enable you to strategically plan for success instead of leading yourself down a path of temptation. More importantly, however, this truth is intricately tied with the second.

The second truth is God is still the same. Where the knowledge of our sameness may make us feel vulnerable, and we are, the acknowledgment of God being the same is our comfort. 

Jesus, the Messiah, is the same yesterday and today-and forever! ~Hebrews 13:8

Yahweh, the God of the Hebrew Scriptures is the same God who came in flesh as our Messiah, Saviour, Deliverer, Prince of Peace. He is the same God who loved us enough to pay the penalty for our sins. He is the same God who rose from death and lives inside of all who call upon Him in faith.

To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. ~Colossians 1:27

G. Campbell Morgan, an early Twentieth-Century preacher from Westminster, described "hope" like this:

It does not mean foundationless expectation, but rather confidence in something yet to be, with an accompanying endeavor to reach it.

He goes on to give us a glimpse of that hope—future and present:

Christ in you is the one unanswerable evidence of the ultimate victory. He is always singing the song of the future. He is also always energizing the effort of the present. 

If Jesus lives in me, in you, we not only have hope of future happiness, but the expectation of all that we need today. Not on our own do we succeed, but 

As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to Yahweh our God, till He shows us His mercy . ~Psalm 123:2

Listen to this by Pastor Morgan:

He [God] started the music, and all the world hears it, and yet it never becomes perfectly articulate, perfectly harmonious, until He sings it in the individual life.

If you know Him, you know this. All your friends crave something unreachable. You crave it. I crave it. We've been wanting from the moment of conception. Only when He sings in our hearts do we recognize the voice of Him for whom we long. 

Yes, we often lose sight of Him. We think it's this or that, him or her, that we want. We don't realize the agony of soul we face each time we try to fill our desire with something else. Empty!

This year we can have hope, a hope that energizes us to do the right we long to do—now. As Morgan says,

Christ is in me as hope; not merely in the sense of expectation, but in the sense of endeavor, Christ energizes the present . . . . I am renegade if I sit still and listen to His singing and do not co-operate in His efforts.

This year, all of us will be part of history-making. WE create the 2011 of which future generations will study.

Each life is given at just the right time to do & to be something special & irreplaceable . . . . You and I are lovingly shaped to be the building blocks from which history is created. ~Marion Stroud

You and I were made for today. We have no promise of tomorrow and no hope in yesterday. Today we can have hope in us, through Jesus, and can offer hope to those around us. 

You may have failed yesterday, but today you have Jesus. Today we can begin a history of hope for the next generation.

Christ IN you, the hope of glory!