Author: Eerig

Unveiled Faces

There is controversy around the world regarding the wearing of the “veil” by women. While women in some countries are fighting for the right to wear a veil as an expression of their belief, there are others who simply want the freedom to choose whether or not they should have to wear one.  https://www.facebook.com/StealthyFreedom

Many people do not understand the significance of a veil covering the face from a Christian perspective. The Bible first mentions it in Exodus 34. Moses had been up on Mount Sinai for forty days and night receiving the law and commandments from God.

29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.30 Aaron and all the people of Israel saw Moses, and behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to come near him… 33 And when Moses had finished speaking with them, he put a veil over his face.

34 Whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil, until he came out. And when he came out and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, 35 the people of Israel would see the face of Moses that the skin of Moses’ face was shining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he went in to speak with him.

So in Moses case, the use of the veil was not to protect a woman’s modesty, obviously. It was because being in the power and presence of God caused Moses’s face to glow to such a degree that he scared the people! “Dude your face is glowing! Cover it up! You’re freaking me out!” (modern interpretation)

In 2 Corinthians 3:4-18 the writer, Paul uses this incident to illustrate the difference between being under the law in the time of Moses, to being under grace through Christ.

4 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter (law) but of the Spirit. For the letter (law) kills, but the Spirit gives life.

7 Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone (law), came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory?…

12 Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, 13 not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. 14 But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. 15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. 16 But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lordis the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

It is that last verse that I would like to focus on with this blog.  We can be transformed by being in the presence of the Lord! We do not have to veil our faces in His presence.  We can come boldly before God in prayer.

Hebrews 4:16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

When we spend time in His presence, the very Creator God of the Universe who spoke light into existence shines into our hearts!

2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

I have watched a group of women as they left a time of prayer together.  I have seen that light and glory on their faces! It reminds me of the gospel song,

Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place.
I can feel His mighty power and His grace.
I can hear the brush of angels’ wings.
I see glory on each face.
Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place

Wouldn’t it be amazing, if rather than using a veil to hide ourselves from the world, we instead had so much of the glory of the Lord radiating from our face that we had to cover it because it overwhelmed people with the power of God?

Working in the Garden

It is no secret that I love gardening. From my earliest memories toddling along behind my grandfather, I have loved being outdoors, feeling the soil and mostly, watching things grow. 

From the very beginning, this was the task God first gave to humans. Genesis 2:15 “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it.”  It has always seemed to me that followers of God should be the most committed to the care of the planet, but that is a topic for another post.

Jesus took the concepts that the farmers and shepherds of his day were familiar with and used them to teach spiritual concepts.  In particular concerning ministry and outreach to others.

In Matthew 13 the farmer sows the seed that falls on the path, the rocks, among thorns and on the good soil. He explains that where the seed falls represents the various responses of people to the message of Jesus.

In the same chapter, he talks about the weeds that an enemy might plant among the good grain. Revealing that judging who is a true follower and who is a “weed” is not for us to determine but will be dealt with in the coming day of separation.

John 4:35-38 is where I would like to focus for this blog.

35“Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. 36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

Anyone who has ever had a garden knows that it is WORK! There is labor involved. In our instant society, we often want to pay and instantly receive.  That is not the way of the gardener or of ministry. As verse 38 indicates, if someone responds to your message and comes to know God, you can be assured that either you or someone else has put some labor into it.

I am not a gardening expert by any means, but I know that before you plant, the soil has to be prepared.  It has to be broken up and softened, rocks, weeds, and other impediments have to be removed.

Often when you approach a person or a new ministry, it is the same.  Their hearts have to be softened in some way; the hurts and misconceptions that they have about God have to be removed. The weeds of worry, fear, and doubt must be uprooted.

It is not just a matter of what must be removed, but also what must be added.  Like soil, some people have become depleted and leached by life.  Their lives must be enriched with love, acceptance, truth, and compassion. This restoration can often require years of labor before enough trust is restored for there to be a harvest.

My point is that you cannot reap a harvest of faith with a person or group without WORK! 

My youngest son and I have been building a garden on a rocky hillside. This effort has required hours of hauling rocks to build garden beds, multitudinous bags of soil and mulch, and so far, the destruction of two wheelbarrows and a shovel. It has also cost blisters, sore muscles, sunburn and other minor inconveniences. Though often reluctant, my good son has “entered into my labor” with me.

In ministry as well, we need to be working together, entering into one another’s labor lest we become weary in well doing.  It is especially important that we involve the younger generation.  They need to work beside us in ministry.  Not so much to learn techniques, but rather to absorb the work ethic of the kingdom.  How do we go about loving, caring, and keeping people?

In the Genesis passage, God said Adam needed to tend the garden and “Keep” it. This is an area of ministry where we have often failed.  The grapes and olives, and even the poor fig tree of Jesus time were long-term, even lifetime projects.  Our ministry and outreach needs to have a long-term caring-keeping focus.  How can we care for our spiritual gardens so that they will continue to bear fruit, growing stronger and more productive year by year?

Paul gives us the answer in Ephesians 3:14-19 “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

All of our efforts have only one design in mind.  Harvest, fruit, growth, beauty.  The result is always more than worth work.

Psalm 126:5-6

Those who sow in tears
shall reap with shouts of joy!
6 He who goes out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him.

When the Body Suffers

The apostle Paul wrote to the church at Corinth, 1 Corinthians 12: 24-27 “But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it,that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

Paul was not referring to an actual physical body, but rather to the body of all believers.  We who follow Him in some mysterious way become part of a whole, which he refers to as the “body of Christ”.  We are not all in the same location nor do we have the same function, but we are in the body.  Lately it seems there have been repeated blows to the body.

Romans 14 says it even more directly “7 For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself.  8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.”

Lately, our hearts are broken for those who have died for the Lord.  Either directly because they carried the name of Christians or indirectly because the calling on their lives has sent them to places where they will be hated or despised simply because they cared enough to want to meet the needs of those in distress.

For years, it seemed we needed to drag out Foxes Book of Martyrs to discuss those who were willing to die rather than renounce their faith. Not so anymore, we only have to turn on the news.  It is not that these instances did not occur in the meantime. It is rather that we did not know or maybe even did not care to know the degree to which the other members of our body were suffering.

I confess to feeling a tremendous amount of empathy for the family of the young aid worker killed recently.  Because she came from my country, she was of my race; she was the age of my children or because I have a family member who travels to that region for nearly the same reason; I can identify.  However, that ancient family of believers, the Coptic Church, now has widows and fatherless children who will have to live with trauma and loss as well as continued threats to their own lives. The young girls kidnapped in Africa who are now slaves or forced to ‘marry’ their terrorist captors. Are they as often in my prayers?

Even, if I may step into dangerous territory here, if I had been as concerned for those innocents killed who are not of my faith, my country.  Whose simple, humble lives have been destroyed by bombs and drones and terrorists for reasons that, lacking internet and access to the outside world, they cannot possibly understand. Death came through no fault of their own. John Donne wrote many years ago.

No man is an island, Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thy friend’s
Or of thine own were:
Any man’s death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.

Do I truly feel that any man’s death diminishes me? Could it ever be that the death of innocent school children in Pakistan is as traumatic for me as a school shooting in my home town? When Jesus cried over Jerusalem, he wasn’t just concerned for his own followers.  “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem… How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”

It is Lent and on this Ash Wednesday I feel the need to repent for the callousness of my petty concerns.  Even for the amount of my prayer time that is consumed by myself and my small world.

Lord, what part of your body is hurting, even facing death? Please be close to that one! What innocent child is away from Your body that You long to gather to Yourself? Please have mercy on that one!  

Tangled and Entangled

Having recently returned from a ten-day visit with my wonderful granddaughter Sophia, I am quite sure I could quote verbatim the entire Disney movie Tangled.  You see, Grandma (me) only has a few movies on her iPad, and this is Sophia’s favorite from my selection.  Apart from the magical element of Rapunzel’s long mane of hair, navigating with all that dragging behind her meant she faced challenges the shorter haired princesses would never have experienced.  When was the last time someone stepped on your hair?

The scripture warns us about carrying around something which would lead to our being entangled.  Hebrews 12:1-2 offers this challenge, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, 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, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”

In a sense, if you are living with sin in your life, go get a spiritual haircut! Cut it out! Throw it off!

There are also entanglements that do not qualify as outright sin. Paul mentions this to Timothy in a military analogy. 2 Timothy 2:4, “No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.”  The problem is not with having civilian pursuits. In our lives, there is nothing wrong with pursuing careers, relationships, goals, etc. unless they take us away from our primary allegiance and keep us from being available to God to be called upon for service at any moment.

Another entanglement is the sort poor Martha experienced in Luke Chapter 10.  In all her care for Jesus, the disciples, the house, the meals she ended up being, “anxious and troubled about many things.” Jesus rebuked her kindly and said that her sister Mary had chosen the better part, which was to sit at His feet and listen.  Oswald Chambers describes it in the following quote:

“The great enemy of the life of faith in God is not sin, but the good which is not good enough. The good is always the enemy of the best.”

How easy it is to get entangled in all the “good” stuff we think we NEED to accomplish and to miss our time with Jesus!

The natural spiritual outflow of spending time with Jesus is that His love will begin to flow out from our lives to others.  Thomas a` Kempis describes this love and how it changes our desires to keep us from entanglements.

Love is a great thing, yea, a great and thorough good.
By itself it makes that which is heavy light;
and it bears evenly all that is uneven.
It carries a burden which is no burden;
it will not be kept back by anything low and mean;
It desires to be free from all worldly affections,
and not to be entangled by any outward prosperity,
or by any adversity subdued.
Love feels no burden, thinks nothing of trouble,
attempts what is above its strength,
pleads no excuse of impossibility.
It is therefore able to undertake all things,
and it completes many things and warrants them to take effect,
where he who does not love would faint and lie down.
Though weary, it is not tired;
though pressed it is not straightened;
though alarmed, it is not confounded;
but as a living flame it forces itself upwards and securely passes through all.
Love is active and sincere, courageous, patient, faithful, prudent, and manly.

by Thomas à Kempis.

Think about it, Rapunzel was never free to love until she lost all that hair which entangled her. Then she discovered that the gift was something which was inside of her. Ok I know, that might be a bit of a theological stretch….

However, loving also requires our risking entanglements as C.S. Lewis states,

“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.”

What are we tangled up in today; sin, our own agenda, or even good works? Instead, may God give us grace to allow our lives to become lovingly entangled in the lives of those He has placed around us.

Romans 13:8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

Chambers, Oswald. My Utmost for His Highest. Uhrichville: Barbour Publishing Inc., 1963.

Lewis, C.S. The Four Loves. Harcourt, 1971.

Tangled. Dir. Byron Howard Nathan Greno. Walt Disney. 2010. Film.

If you love me…

We are past Valentine’s Day, and it’s not Mother’s Day, so this is not a pathetic attempt at “guilting” my nearest and dearest to call me…although I wouldn’t mind. It is really just me having one of those, “why haven’t I seen this before” moments with God.

Jesus said,

John 14:5, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

That is not a difficult concept for me to understand. Accepting the great gift of God’s love and forgiveness for me means that I want to live my life according to what the One, who loves me, says is best for me. I do not want to live in a way that would damage our relationship.

There is another passage that presents the question another way. In John 21, Jesus is speaking to Peter as follows:

“Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”

Sooo, if I love God, a sure sign is that I am caring for his sheep? God will know that I love him if I follow His guidelines for living, AND I take care of His sheep.

Oswald Chambers says, “And Jesus has some extraordinarily funny sheep, some bedraggled, dirty sheep, some awkward, butting sheep, some sheep that have gone astray!” [i]

How true! We cannot just care for the “little lamb whose fleece is white as snow.” Most of the Father’s sheep are not fluffy and cute! Jesus even indicated that sometimes we may need to leave the safety and warmth of the fold to head out into the badlands searching for the ones who get lost. This may make us uncomfortable and may even cost us some sleepless nights. Search and rescue missions usually do. It sounds exhausting to take care of the sometimes difficult sheep in the fold while periodically chasing after those who willfully wander. How can one maintain this level of care?

Chambers again, “It is impossible to weary God’s love, and it is impossible to weary that love in me if it springs from the one center. The love of God pays no attention to the distinctions of natural individuality. If I love my Lord I have no business to be guided by natural temperament; I have to feed His sheep.”

In other words, the Spirit of God within me will reach out to love His sheep. I may not personally care for their appearance, temperament, choices, but basically that doesn’t matter. Will I cooperate with God who wants to pour out love? Or will I refuse because maybe I don’t like the look of that crusty old sheep, or of that willful wanderer who looks like he would rather butt you than talk to you?

In the Chinese calendar, this is the year of the sheep. So I wonder if what God is telling me is that this year I need to focus on feeding His sheep. After all, they all belong to Him. They are either found sheep, or lost sheep. “Do you love me?” He says. “Well then you know what to do.”
[i]
Chambers, Oswald. My Utmost for His Highest. Uhrichville: Barbour Publishing Inc., 1963.t

Back to Nature

Having lived in a huge city of concrete towers and masses of people, I think I appreciate even more the opportunity to live closer to the natural world. Up here on our windy hilltop with the birds at the feeder and the deer walking through the forest, I am so much more at peace with the world. Feeling the earth as I dig and plant, listening to the rain, even petting the cat connects with some deep place in my spirit that was missing amid the materialism of malls and mass transit systems.

I did not attribute any great spiritual significance to my love of nature, I just thought as a child of the 60’s I was a bit of a hippie at heart. Recently I have discovered that there may be more to this.

Why did God when he responded to the angry questions of Job, point him first to the natural created world? It was almost as if God was saying, “Have you looked around? How can you question a God who is capable of speaking into existence all this magnificent, intricate, overpowering living and life-giving planet?” Go back to nature Man! It’s all there in the rhythm of the seasons, the tides, the creatures and in the very soul and mindfulness of man.

Dallas Willard states, “Paul himself explains that all human beings remain responsible, no matter how far they fall, because of the clear way in which God stands forth in natural reality. ‘Since the creation of the world, God’s invisible nature is clearly presented to their understanding through what has been made.’ Romans 1:19-20.

The question is frequently asked regarding the people who have never heard the gospel of Christ. To which Paul answers in Romans 10: 17-18 from the Amplified Bible

17 So faith comes by hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the preaching [of the message that came from the lips] of Christ (the Messiah Himself).

18 But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have; [for the Scripture says] Their voice [that of nature bearing God’s message] has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the far bounds of the world.

Psalm 19

The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

2 Day to day pours out speech,

and night to night reveals knowledge.

3 There is no speech, nor are there words,

whose voice is not heard.

Yes, this world received the curse of the fall; as a result natural disasters are a part of our existence. However, the scripture indicates the burden of this on the earth with almost sentient descriptions.

Romans 8:19-22

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

Jesus Himself pointed people to creation,

Luke 12:24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!…27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.28 But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!

The purpose of this blog is not to gloat over those of my friends who still live in the steamy, smoggy overcrowded cities of the world. It is rather to say, take a break! Stop and watch the birds. Smell the flowers. Sit and listen to the waves. There is within the chaos that man creates to drown out the call of his creator, a still small voice and sometimes it is in the fragile face of a flower or the call of a bird.

If the very act of petting a cat has been shown to lower blood pressure, God must be saying something through the natural world. Maybe He is saying there is peace and praise when we pause long enough to appreciate the world He gave us.

Canticle of the creatures by Saint Francis of Assisi

Most High, all-powerful, good Lord,

all praise is yours, all glory, all honor, and all blessing.

To you, alone, Most High, do they belong.

No mortal lips are worthy to pronounce your name.

All praise be yours, my Lord, through all you have made,

and first my lord Brother Sun, who brings the day;

and through whom you give us light.

How beautiful is he, how radiant in all his splendor;

Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.

All Praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Moon

and the stars; in the heavens you have made them,

bright, and precious, and fair.

All praise be yours, my Lord,

through Brothers wind and air, and fair and stormy,

all the weather’s moods,

by which you cherish all that you have made.

All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Water,

so useful, humble, precious and pure.

All praise be yours, my Lord, through Brother Fire,

through whom you brighten up the night.

How beautiful is he, how cheerful!

Full of power and strength.

All praise be yours, my Lord, through our Sister

Mother Earth, who sustains us and governs us,

and produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs.

Let’s Talk

For many people, hearing the phrase “we need to talk” is somewhat terrifying. It equates in their minds to being in trouble, an invasion of privacy, and a need to disclose uncomfortable feelings and emotions that they would rather not air. Still, communication is absolutely vital to maintaining healthy relationships.
When it comes to talking with God, it becomes even more complicated. Recently I had posted the following quote by Timothy Keller to my Facebook page regarding Job’s often rather “in-your-face” challenges to God: Job 42:7-9
“Why would God be so affirming of Job? Job cursed the day he was born, challenged God’s wisdom, cried out and complained bitterly, expressed deep doubts…Through it all, Job never stopped praying. Yes, he complained, but he complained to God. He doubted, but he doubted to God. He screamed and yelled, but he did it in God’s presence. No matter how much in agony he was, he continued to address God. He kept seeking Him. And in the end, God said Job triumphed.”(1)
The story does not really end there though, because God knew that Job’s perceptions about Him were incorrect so after affirming that Job was still in right relationship with Him, He sat him down and gave him a lesson. Job 40:1-2, 1 The Lord said to Job, 2 “Will the one who contends with the Almighty correct him? Let him who accuses God answer him!”
After God had revealed Himself to Job in all the glory of His creation, Job had a more correct perspective on Himself and the God of the universe.
Then Job answered the LORD and said: “I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted…Therefore, I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know…I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:1-6 ESV)
That cosmic “attitude adjustment” is not really the point of this blog. Rather it is that this same overwhelmingly powerful God Job finally “saw” wants to communicate with us. It is there in the scriptures repeatedly!
Isaiah 1:18, “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
In other words, God was saying, “let’s talk about the things that separate you and me. I can take them away so that we can be in a free, open, unhindered relationship.”
He even went beyond through the Holy Spirit to promise to be with us available 24/7. Unlike what we experience within our frail and flawed human relationships, He will never be stand-offish or cold; whether or not we can perceive or feel Him, He is there!
Amplified John 14:16, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor. Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever-
Then He says, talk to me!
Call, Isaiah 65:24,
Ask, Matthew 7:7-11
Pray, Ephesians 6:18
So, my goal for this New Year is to come when He calls, to sit at His feet like Mary, and to talk to Him!
Brother Lawrence, a monk who lived in the 1600’s, described it this way, “a habitual, silent, and secret conversation of the soul with God.”
He goes on to describe coming before God in confession as if before a king.
“This King, full of mercy and goodness, very far from chastening me, embraces me with love, invites me to feast at His table, serves me with His own hands, and gives me the keys to His treasures. He converses with me, and takes delight in me, and treats me as if I were His favorite.” (2)
I do not think I have ever felt like I was truly someone’s favorite…
Maybe the Father and I should talk about that.

(1) Keller, Timothy. Walking with God Through Pain & Suffering. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2013.

(2) Foster, Richard J. and James Bryan Smith, Devotional Classics. New York: HarperCollins, 1993

Hope for the Almonds

I realize that this is a strange title for a blog post. No, it is not a campaign to raise awareness regarding the imminent loss of nut trees. It is not a new organic diet to cure cancer. It is rather a concept that has spiritual significance to me. Try not to laugh…smirking is allowed.
As an introverted teenager, ages ago in boarding school, I was blessed by the words God spoke to Jeremiah: 1:6 ESV 6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” 7 But the Lord said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
8 Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
declares the Lord.”
For many years, these words were tremendously helpful; however I am no longer a youth. One day in my later years, I was reading this chapter in the Amplified Bible and found the following verses: “11 Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Jeremiah, what do you see? And I said, I see a branch or shoot of an almond tree [the emblem of alertness and activity, blossoming in late winter].
12 Then said the Lord to me, You have seen well, for I am alert and active, watching over My word to perform it.”
Alertness, activity, and the ability to blossom even late in the winter of life, that sounds great to me! It is necessary to observe that God is the one who is alert and active in the performing of His word. This fact is important, since that means the activity is generated in His power and not in mine.
Recently, I encountered reference to the humble almond again in Numbers chapter 17, where even after his tremendous sin in enabling the people to worship the idol of the calf, Aaron’s tribe is chosen to be priests by the selection of his staff.
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel, and get from them staffs, one for each fathers’ house, from all their chiefs according to their fathers’ houses, twelve staffs. Write each man’s name on his staff, 3 and write Aaron’s name on the staff of Levi…5 And the staff of the man whom I choose shall sprout…8 On the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony, and behold, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds.
What a sign of restoration! Sometimes we might wish we had a similar test to give to our Christian leaders who have fallen to see whose repentance was real. Even more important for me is that God knows my heart. He can cause me to blossom and bear fruit again even when others have written me off as a spiritual failure. Grace can do that!
For years, that rod of Aaron was just a dried up piece of stick found dead in the desert. Until it was touched by God. Francis Schaeffer describes what it is like to be a “Rod of God”.
“The people who receive praise from the Lord Jesus will not in every case be the people who held leadership in this life. There will be persons who were sticks of wood that stayed close to God and were quiet before him, and were used in power by him in a place that looks small to men. Each Christian is to be a rod of God in the place of God for him. We must remember throughout our lives that in God’s sight there are not little people and no little places. Only one thing is important: to be consecrated person’s in God’s place for us, at each moment.”[i]
This stick of almond wood intends to stay close to the alert and active God, who is going to fulfill His word in my life. I may blossom in the late winter of my life and, who knows, quite possibly become even nuttier than I am now!
[i]
Schaeffer, Francis A. No Little People. Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1974.

Waiting for Rain

James 5:7 “Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains.”
Coming back to an environment with seasons has been refreshing in many ways. I confess that most of the time I am chilled to the bone now, but even living in layers of clothing has a certain comfort. There is a sense of expectation that comes with watching the trees turn colors and the seasonal decorations anticipating the coming holidays.
However, this verse from James touched me profoundly this week for another reason. You see, I know so many friends right now who desperately need the sustaining patience only God can provide to get them through their season that is in between the rains. The spring rains come; the farmer plants, but sometimes the wait until the latter rains can seem interminable.
That project that is halfway through and seems hopelessly stalled…
That child who has turned away from the family or God, and all you can do is beg the Father for mercy…That relationship that has been neglected for so long that it seems easier to walk away from, than to do the monumental task to rebuild…That final semester of all the classes when it seems you have been in school forever…My precious friends around the world who are fighting for their lives against the horror that is cancer, chemo, radiation, and fear-filled words like malignancy…

To all of us who do not feel we are currently living under the “showers of blessing”, this verse reminded me that the rains will come. As the writer of Hebrews says, “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.” Heb. 10:36
How can you endure when the suffering seems too long? This is not a post advocating singing in prison, rejoicing in trials, etc. Yes, those verses are in scripture and are truth and will help you to be an overcomer. If you have the strength- by all means sing!
This post is an acknowledgement that there are times when our strength and hope are gone, and the best that we can do is endure. The same Paul who “brought the house down” singing in the jail with Silas, also wrote 2 Corinthians 1:8-9. “For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death.”
There is also scriptural support for the following methods of coping:
Honestly tell God specifically what you need at this moment!
In the model prayer (Lord’s Prayer) Jesus said we could pray for enough bread to get through today. He also said worrying about what is ahead only leads to anxiety. (Matthew 6:34)

Dallas Willard explains it as follows:
“(Give us today our daily bread) this request embodies that confidence in our Father that relieves us from all anxiety. The emphasis is on provision today of what we need for today. His reign is the Eternal Now. So we do not ask him to provide today what we will need for tomorrow. To have it in hand today does not guarantee that we will have it tomorrow when we need it. Today I have God, and he has the provisions. Tomorrow it will be the same. So I simply ask today for what I need for today or ask now for what I need now.”(1)
James refers us to Job as the ultimate example of perseverance. James 5:11 “Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.” What is most remarkable about Job is how blatantly honest he was with God. He did get what he ask for, which was a chance to present his case directly to God. Granted he found the experience a bit overwhelming, but God did not condemn Job for his questions and even commended him. Job 42:7 and 8. Present your case before God.
Ask for help from others!
It is so much easier to complain to others about how hard it is, than to ask them specifically for help. It is interesting that following the verse about patiently enduring the time between the rains, James says not to grumble against one another. When no one seems to be aware that we are hurting, it is easy to become bitter and resentful. James solution is to verbalize: pray, sing, call, confess, and again to pray. James 5:13-16
In the Corinthians scripture where Paul said they had despaired even of life, he gives the lesson he learned through that experience. “But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. 11 You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.”
There are times we cannot rely on ourselves. We simply have to hold on to the God of resurrection and lean on the prayers of others! My friends, please be honest with your needs, and don’t apologize for asking. Let us help one another to hope as we listen for the rain.

(1) Willard, D. (1998). The Divine Conspiracy. New York: HarperCollins

Mud Men

It is no secret to those who know him that my husband has always had a fascination and love for Asia. Inferences to the “other woman” in my life come to mind. Years ago we started collecting “mud men” figures from wherever we could find them. Mud men are small clay figures that were originally used to decorate bonsai or miniature landscapes. The practice was known as Pen’Jing.

“To capture the realism of a favorite countryside or mountain scenic view, the artists added rocks and planted small trees in a large ceramic tray to simulate the panorama on a smaller scale. These were intended to invoke a harmonious feeling to the viewers.

In an effort to capture the illusion, the Chinese artisans used figurines of people, animals, huts, and temples, which gave an appearance of great age and size to the miniature forests. Figurines have had a place in bonsai as a visual contribution. Pen’Jing, nearly a lost art form, is experiencing a revival in modern-day China and is once again popular with Chinese bonsai enthusiasts.”[i]

As these things happen in my life when God wants to get a point across, my daughter Brenna and I have just returned from visiting the River arts district in Asheville North Carolina. This area is well-known for producing some of the finest artistic pottery and sculpture in the US. My daughter is also an accomplished pottery sculptor herself.

In church, for the past several weeks, the messages have referenced the scripture in 2 Timothy 2:20. “Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. 21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.”

Then just in case I still wasn’t getting the message loud and clear, the speaker yesterday morning told the story of God’s command to Jeremiah to go and observe the potters at work. (Jeremiah 18) It was almost a deja vu experience since we had just returned from watching so many potters at work. How incredible that the process of pot-making has changed so little since the time of Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 18:3, “So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.”

The first thing you notice is how messy it is. Mud, buckets, utensils everywhere. Potters may be neat and fastidious, but their medium is not. Next they knead, roll, mash, the clay until it is soft and pliable. Even when it is on the wheel, as Jeremiah’s story states, the sensitive hands of the potter may still find a hard lump, an imperfection that creates a flaw and means the project will have to be started all over again. My daughter tells me that sometimes the clay just will not cooperate. Even finished pots that get broken can be ground back down to make “grog”. Grog can be worked into new posts to make them strong and flexible.

In the very beginning, God, the master potter made a little mud man named Adam.

Genesis 2:7 “then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”

Even now, as Solomon said, that is really all we still are. Ecclesiastes 3:20, “All are from the dust, and to dust all return.”

I think God has been trying to tell me that is all that I am, a lump of clay in the hands of the potter. The process of formation is sometimes painful, but the imperfections must be removed. Otherwise, as Jeremiah says, I will end up marred. It is frustrating that God seems to have to remake me over and over, “as it seems good to the potter to do”. That’s the thing that it is hard to remember. God is doing a good thing. Yet how often I become difficult, as Isaiah describes.

Isaiah 45:9 “Woe to him who strives with him who formed him, (NIV says, ‘those who quarrel with their Maker’), a pot among earthen pots! Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?’”

What is God doing? He is making that “vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.”

2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

That’s the key; I need to remember that at best I am a little mud woman with a treasure inside. The power to be useful, honorable, and above all holy; certainly must come from God.

When I was reading about the Chinese mud men, I found this statement.

“For smaller ones, the artist just picked a small piece of mud and in no time made a figurine out of it by using their two fingers…Then the entire collection was fired in a kiln to cure the clay. Fingerprints can often still be seen, immortalized in the fired clay.”

When I come out of the fire Lord, let the world see Your fingerprints all over me!

[i] “Mystery of the Shekwan Ceramic Mud Woman & Mud Man.” n.d. EdenSong community. 10 November 2015. <http://www.edensong.com/mud_men_figures.htm>.