Pass It Down

The biggest regret in my life is that I did not have the personal relationship with Christ I have now when I was raising my kids. I took them to church, taught them to say Grace and bedtime prayers. I was a believer but not submitted to Christ as Lord of my life. I did not model, either the walk or talk of a mature Christian for my kids. When I knew better, I did better. I think, perhaps, the worse of all generational curses is not passing on a strong spiritual foundation. Psalm 78 shows us the wisdom of passing on the knowledge of God to our children and generations to follow. If we don't, who will?

Psalm 78:1-8    

      Listen, O my people, to my instruction; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us. We will not conceal them from their children, But tell to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and His strength and His wondrous works that He has done. For He established a testimony in Jacob And appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers that they should teach them to their children, That the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, that they may arise and tell them to their children, That they should put their confidence in God And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments, and not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not prepare its heart and whose spirit was not faithful to God.

" A stubborn and rebellious generation…"… that concept has been 

around a long time. We, as a people, are stubborn and rebellious, 

not only to God but to our parents, elders, and authority figures. 

The two quotes below share that notion.

"The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for

authority, they show disrespect to their elders.... They no longer

rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents,

chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their

legs, and are tyrants over their teachers."

"The young people of today think of nothing but themselves. They have

no reverence for parents or old age. They are impatient of all

restraint. They talk as if they alone knew everything and what passes

for wisdom with us is foolishness with them. As for girls, they are

forward, immodest and unwomanly in speech, behavior and dress."

Both of those quotes date back to the time of Plato and Socrates, 400-300 BC. They are as true today as they were back then. I know that's a sweeping generalization and there are exceptions, great kids doing powerful works for the Lord. My point is, keeping in mind we are also the younger generation to those before us, people have always been driven by and for the flesh, self-serving and motivated by all that glitters.

My maternal grandfather was a spirit-filled preacher. Father of seven, he never saw the fruit of his labor to instill a spiritual foundation in any of his kids. I asked an aunt once why none of them were church-goers and she said he took them when they were younger but as teens they were heathens (her words, not mine) and wanted to do their own thing. He modeled the life and behavior I didn't see in my parents or show to my kids, yet the call of the world and flesh pulled his kids away. I take no satisfaction in that knowledge.

As parents, we do the best we know to do most of the time. We fail and fall short. Our kids will, too. The best we can do as parents is following the mandate as stated in Psalms 78. God will always do His part; we need be faithful to our part:

   Which He commanded our fathers that they should teach them to their children, that the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, that they may arise and tell them to their children, That they should put their confidence in God And not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments, and not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not prepare its heart and whose spirit was not faithful to God.

Mustard Seed

I wanted a simple omelet this morning, so I sautéed a little chopped onion in olive oil. Beating 2 eggs, I added a little spicy mustard to them and poured it over the onion. No muss, no fuss omelet. Delightful. I pretty sure, you do not care what I have for breakfast but I shared because the mustard led my mind to the scripture in Mathew 13:30-32 about faith.

The Mustard Seed

 He presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that THE BIRDS OF THE AIR come and NEST IN ITS BRANCHES."

Matthew 17:20

And He said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.

Mathew, Mark, and Luke all record the message Jesus shared in His teaching. Standing before my omelet, I reached into the spice drawer and pulled out a jar of mustard seed. I don't remember why I have a jar of mustard seed but I do…..hey, I just remembered. Thank you, Lord, for the prompting.

Eight years ago, I started a women's Bible study in our neighborhood. I did a teaching on faith and bought the mustard seed so I could give one to each of the women. I later passed them out to a mission training class. I think I'll use them with my kids at church. Today, I'm sending YOU a mustard seed. It is only this big ( * ). I held the jar up to the computer screen to compare.

We all have issues and situations in our lives that feel very large in our hearts and minds, heavy burdens we carry. We can feel small and weak looking at them looming large over us. It was Jesus, our JESUS, that said, "… for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you." Our comfort comes in knowing He carries the load for us, we are not required to be bear that burden alone. No matter how insignificant we may feel now staring at our situation, we only need faith the size of a mustard seed "…and nothing will be impossible to you."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I sent extras…share with others!

Psalm 51

My reading this morning led me to this prayer in Psalm 51. Tap, tap, tap…the Lord's holy tap my shoulder let me know this is what I am to put out this morning. I think David said it all, no need to gild the lily. God thinks we need to see this, here it is.   

Psalm 51

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.

Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.
Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.
Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem.
Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Run Demon, Run!

I was reading the Biblical story of Jesus releasing the demon possessed man and casting the legion of demons into the pigs. It's a short story but is jammed packed with important points and lessons. It raised questions in my mind; I sought answers in reading a few commentaries.

Why did these people have pigs? Jews consider them unclean and would in no way have a herd of pigs. It became clear these were Gentiles. Jesus waged war against demons and won in front of Gentiles. The fact Jesus landed near the tombs, another Jewish no-no, reinforces this. Jews would not go rushing out to an unclean burial ground concerned about unclean pigs. While He was standing in forbidden places, Jesus interacted with the Gentiles, people not following Mosaic Law, people with whom Jews were forbidden to socialize. Jesus does not discriminate.

It was obvious the demons KNEW who Jesus was when they said, "What do you want from me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore you by God not to torment me." According to Revelation 20:10 Satan and the demons will be cast into a lake of burning sulfur at the end of time. These demons are acknowledging that they knew Jesus and his power. They know what will become of them and who will be in charge of the whole sentencing. 

There is relevance in Jesus asking, "What is your name?" In the day of that culture, having someone's name was personal. By demanding the name, He was showing who was in control. They could have lied but they knew with whom they were dealing.

These are just a few points of the story but look at what we've covered so far. Jesus was walking and interacting with unclean people. He wasn't sitting among Jewish religious leaders when He dealt with authority over the spirit of darkness; He walked among those considered unworthy to hang around. His location was not happenstance. He purposed to go there. Jesus went to the outcasts, and faced the demonic hold head on. By these actions, He is telling us several things. First of all, if the Lord Himself goes against society’s rules to reach those that have been banned, pushed aside, considered outcasts, or not up to par for the culture, why do we stop short in going to them ourselves? How often do we modern day Christians purpose to go to the unclean people walking in darkness?

Jesus demonstrated His power and authority over the evil spiritual realm. He is showing us who is the boss and who the demons answer to. Should we be afraid of them? No. We should be respectful of the power they possess and humble in knowing that we do not have the power in ourselves to defeat them. However, through the Holy Spirit, the name of Jesus, and the presence of God no demonic force can stand against a believer. 

Sadly, the demons do not rush out trembling in fear of the power in every Christian. More Christians walk in fear of the demons, scared to venture into spiritual strongholds. People, we say we are joint heirs with Christ, yet we act like more like the orphans living and hiding in the streets. We need arm ourselves with the Holy Spirit, cast out demons in the name of Jesus confident that we are in the presence of God; there is no power on earth or beyond that stands a chance. Walk in authority, not fear. Look out, demons, here we come!

Let Us Pray!

I was pondering prayer because it is something I am working on with the kids in my class at church. It hit me that we have prayer snobs and they are a danger. Oh yes, as in the day of the Pharisees making a point of praying on the street corners for all to witness, we have prayer snobs that think they are just better 'pray-ers' than others. You can buy books on "how-to" pray, just as easily as "how-to" unclog a toilet. Here's the deal as I see it, if prayer is a systematic methodology one practices, making sure to say all the 'right' things, they might as well be dealing with the clogged toilet. Prayer is personal, communication through relationship man/woman to the Lord, spirit-to-spirit, heart to heart….not a 1-2-3 guideline to follow. It has nothing to do with the size of your spiritual vocabulary, nor the volume of your voice, nor the poetic flow of words…..

Prayer has to mean something or it means nothing. If it is a litany of formulated words, it can be robotic and mechanical. People can and have been intimidated to pray, especially aloud, because they think they are not as good "pray-ers" as the next guy. How sad is that?

When my Honey and I met, he thought my way of praying could be more effective if I prayed more like the women in the prayer group of his church at the time. He was used to extremely adamant women that prayed with intensity at a great volume and stomped their foot. Me, I'm not so loud. I explained that my God was not hard of hearing and did not require volume to know I was sincere. He was used to what he knew; I was used to what I knew. Judgments come when we think our way is the only way. Prayer snobs are birthed on a bed of judgments.

Praying for and with others is scriptural and vital. When our pastor invites people to come up to the altar to pray on their own or with an elder, it seems curious and doubtful that out of the full sanctuary, no one needs to pray. Really? Pfsst! Of course, there are people that need to pray. So why won't they come to the front?

Some do not consider their needs worthy of bothering God (I've been guilty of that in the past), some are embarrassed by their need and don't want anyone at the church to know their issues (Guilty again). Some are too timid, some too ashamed (me again), some feel like they already covered it, so no need to have someone pray with them (I've been guilty of that, too). There is a host of excuses…er, reasons people give themselves for not praying with the brethren of the church. I can sum it up in five words; it's a matter of trust.

This brings us full circle to the relationship aspect of prayer. We need a personal relationship with the Lord in order to trust Him. Everyone says they trust Him but giving an issue over to God and walking away in complete confidence that He will handle without picking it up as you leave the foot of the cross is harder than it sounds. We trust Him, yet we 'help' Him deal with our issues. He doesn't need our help; we are, after all, the ones on our knees in need are we not?

We need a personal relationship with someone we know we can trust before we lay our naked souls out before them. There are 'generic' prayer needs (for lack of a better term) we share with everyone. Pray that I get a job, pray that I receive healing for this cold, etc. You know those, we all have them. THOSE we will share. Then there are the prayers we take to a smaller group, the people we feel comfortable around enough to show them more of our lives and ourselves. Pray for my wayward child on drugs, etc.

The 'inner circle' prayer partners are the only ones we take our deepest fears, sins, and needs to. That circle is a small group indeed. Some people do not have an inner circle of trust, so they sit in the sanctuary week after week in need but never going to the altar or to a prayer partner. Worse yet, out in the world, without a prayer lifeline. This is the saddest situation of all. Maybe they have that close relationship with the Lord and do not feel they need anyone else to pray with them. Isn't that another form of prayer snob? I don't need anyone to pray with me…Didn't Jesus tell us to pray with one another. I'm thinking He knew what He was talking about; do we know more than Jesus?

The Rest of the Story

We are familiar with the story of Jonah and whale and many a reference have I heard made to the lesson on obedience. I think it is advisable to read the entire chapter and any commentary reference on it because that is not the whole story nor only lesson in that Book. Though I read this Book several times over the years, I did not have revelation knowledge of the lesson at the end of the book until this morning. It brought to mind a simple sentence I had read in another genre. The article was about people cutting back in the economic uncertain times.

The writer said, “There are others who always lived on the financial edge and are now truly suffering.”

This financial edge is not like the ‘cutting edge’ of technology, it’s living on a financial cliff from which one could easily take a terrible fall. These two issues came together for me in realizing from the Bible that Jonah was living on the spiritual edge.

Taking a deep sea ride in a whale’s belly with seaweed wrapped around his head was not enough to get through to him. Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh because he didn’t think these people were worthy of being saved from God’s wrath. It made him angry God was sending him into the land of lowlifes. He did go, after the scenic route failed to get him off the hook. He did preach repentance to the people and he was so convinced it was pointless, he hung around to watch their destruction from a distance.

He sat in the hot sun waiting to see an entire city of people wiped out. Scripture says God appointed a plant to quickly grow over him for shade. Remember, this is the same God Jonah was angry with. Sitting in the shade God provided made him happy. The next day God appointed a worm to attack the root of the plant at dawn. By day’s end, the plant had withered. The next day, God sent a scorching east wind and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head to the point he became faint and begged with all his soul to die, saying death was better to him than life. God asked him if he had reason to be angry and foolish Jonah said he had good reason to be angry, even to death.“There are others who always lived on the financial spiritual edge and are now truly suffering.”

Jonah 4:10-11 Then the LORD said, "You had compassion on the plant for which you did not work and which you did not cause to grow, which came up overnight and perished overnight. Should I not have compassion on Nineveh, the great city in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand, as well as many animals?"

The phrase ‘persons who do not know the difference between their right and left hand’ was a term used in that day signifying very young children who had not reached the age of accountability, not capable of making moral decisions. God was trying to show him that ALL people are His and He cares for them. This shows clearly that the Lord is God of all nations, not just Israel, and that He is concerned with all mankind.

Jonah, like so many others in his day and now, felt a spiritual superiority (his spiritual edge) and was angry God was showing compassion for people of different mindsets, different faith practices. God was giving them a chance for redemption and they took it. Jonah had more concern for a plant that brought him physical comfort than an entire city of people, rather self-serving and single-minded. Later prophets, like Isaiah, tried to expand the people’s vision by looking forward to the day when God’s message would reach all nations, and Jesus’ great commission assured that this would indeed take place.

We need monitor our hearts and thinking to make sure we do not adopt a Jonah mentality when confronted with people that do not think, look or practice faith as we do. God places value on all people. Our spiritual mission is to reach out with a message of repentance, not condemnation.

Walking Through the Shadow

If we are not careful to guard our hearts and minds, we can wake up one day finding ourselves in a place we did not intend. Today is one of those days for me. Physically, I am in the safe comfort of my home. Emotionally, I feel beat up. Spiritually, I feel ineffective. Mentally, I want a break from my own mind, to sit and not think at all. Pretty lousy place to be, especially for a Christian writer. I have been here in front of my computer since 5am, that's 4 hours and 17 minutes at this moment in time. Nothing much 'spiritual' about anything has come to me to write. Why? I refer you to the above descriptions of the place I find myself today.

If I gave in to the pressure to write something, anything, to get this blog out, I would be cheating everyone concerned. Apparently, 4 hours and 17 minutes of sitting here have not convinced me to do that. There would not be any integrity in my work if I did so. Therefore, in the name of integrity and transparency, I decided to share my heart and mind knowing it it shows you a side of me that is not flattering.  

I am tired to the core of me. I walked through my normal God time as usual. I read my Bible and the words felt flat, no pearls of wisdom jumping off the page at me today. God's Word hasn't changed, I know that, it is me. I tried to pray...emphasis on 'tried'. I know all the right words to say but words are just that, words. Prayer is not about words, it's about connecting with God, spirit to spirit. I prayed in my prayer language, trusting the Holy Spirit in me was doing it's job, connecting for me. I would be deceiving you if I said I felt it was. I did not "feel" anything, that's why it is so important to "know" and trust and believe the Word of God as it is written.  That is what will get me through this day.

I know everyone of us have days like this. I anticipate it coming to an end soon, this shadow time. I know I stand in the company of Moses, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, David, Paul, Matthew and even Jesus in my desert experience today. People, as Christians we deal with the same issues non-believers struggle with. Our fates have already been determined and we are not sentenced to live in the state, though we walk through it from time to time. I think Christians are perhaps the least likely to say, admit aloud to others, especially other Christians, "I am struggling. I need you to be my Aaron and help hold up my arms today." It is easier to paste on a phony smile and act as if we didn't have a care in the world than risk feeling spiritually naked in front of those most able to stand in the gap for us and with us. Who does it benefit? No one.  

That being said, I am asking you to stand in the gap with me. I am asking you to pray for the 5 R's for me. They are "renovate," "renew," "restore," "refresh," and "rejuvenate"; all mean to make like new.

 

"Renovate" suggests a renewing by cleansing, repairing, or rebuilding. 

 

"Renew" implies a restoration of what had become faded or disintegrated so it is new again.

 

"Restore" suggests a return to an original state after depletion or loss. 

 

"Refresh" implies the supplying of something necessary to restore lost strength, animation, or power. 

 

"Rejuvenate" suggests the restoration of youthful vigor, powers, or appearance.

 

I know my journey through this valley in the shadow of death is a temporary state, I know my Lord has me in His hand always and I know my heart will be made new again. I know Jesus walks beside me even when I do not see or feel Him. I know Christians need to pray with and for one another when we feel like we can't pray or do not know how to pray when our hearts are weary. This is me saying, "Today, I am weary. I need you, Friend."

 

In All Fairness

That’s not fair! How many times have we said those words in our lifetime? How many times have we heard those words from our children? How many times have we replied, “Life isn’t always fair!” to our children?

This morning, as every weekday morning, I am at my desk working when I hear the first rattling of a kennel door. It’s Chelsie letting me know she is ready to get out of the kennel and start her day. The problem with that is the starting of her day means the beginning of the interruptions in mine. She starts making her desire known shortly after Honey has left for work, a little after 5am. It is still dark out, the world is still quiet, and I’d prefer to keep it that way. Chelsie has other plans of her own. She rattles the kennel door again, after a couple of times, I tell her to be quiet. That works for a while, a short while. There comes a point when the rattle takes on an urgency indicating she’s serious, it’s potty time!

I make the trip back to the kennels and release the hounds. On any given day, there are at least two not interested in leaving the coziness of their kennels, and balk at going out. They have no choice, it’s time, and I send them all out together. You have no trouble telling which of the hounds look at you thinking, “It’s not fair!” The last couple of days, I started sending Chelsie out alone after a few rattles. She bolts out as usual, then comes back inside, and stands at the baby gate with a perplexed look. After a bit, she whines for her siblings. She has the “it’s not fair” look on her face. Meanwhile, her siblings get the extra time in bed they want and happily make their way out when I go back later for them.

Life isn’t always fair. Finding balance of fairness for the hounds and my need for a quiet workplace is a tricky, slippery slope. This is my burden with our animals. In the big picture of life, it’s not a huge thing. It is to me when I’m trying to write each day but, to others, may seem nothing.

Put into perspective with all God deals with in the day-to-day dealing of His people, my problems are nothing. Can you imagine how often God hears, “It’s not fair!” or “Why me?” or “How come I don’t have as much as he has?” I shudder to think!

It occurs to me that we have an issue with fairness because we think ‘fair’ should mean ‘equal’. Isn’t that what a young child is really saying when an older sibling gets to do something they can’t? We want and think we deserve equal ‘blessings’ to those around us. ‘God showers others with prosperity, why not me? It’s not fair; my life is harder than everyone else I know.’ Sing with me, “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen…” 

Life may not look or feel fair but let’s look at where it is equal… we have equal access to God through Jesus Christ. God doesn’t love some of us more than others. Jesus died on the cross to save all people, not a select few. Scripture says, “…every knee shall bow, every tongue confess…” He’s an equal opportunity God.

This begs the question, are we giving equal time to study and prayer as we do TV or computer? Do we seek His face first thing every morning like our friend that walks through their day in peace? Or, are we looking more for His hand and what He holds in it for us? Is that fair to God to always be asking and expecting more, when we are stingy with our time given solely to Him? Are we as concerned with fairness when it comes to giving it as much as we are in receiving it? Before you get up in arms, I am not saying we have to earn blessings, we can’t. We are not even worthy of earning them, they are freely given. I’m talking specifically about our misconception that ‘fairness’ is the same as ‘equal’. If God was fair in dolling out what we deserve, we would be far less happy than we are in our quest for ‘equal’. Just something to think about…

What are YOU Talking About?

You do not have to look far to find a stressed out Christian. It may be as simple as opening your email, talking to a friend, or looking in the mirror. It is alarming to me how many ‘alarmists’ there are in the Christian community. Given the state of our political environment and certainly with all the name-calling and mud-slinging going on in the pre-vote election explosions, you do not have to look hard to find a litany of reasons for concern. However…it seems to me, too many Christians are keeping their eyes on this world and every negative factor out there rather than focusing on the simple truth Believers say their faith is based on, God is still in control.

Imagine with me for a moment the power and persuasion the Christian community would have if every conversation about the ‘worldly’ issues were directed instead to saving the souls of the world. Jesus is the foundation of a Christian faith. Jesus said we are to keep our eyes on Him, believe on Him, listen to Him, and follow His commands.

Rather than stirring up anxiety within our sphere of influence, imagine if that same stirring was about Jesus in reaching the lost. How much time each day do you give to worldly matters? How much time each day do you give to sharing Jesus? Are your eyes on news commentators or are they on Jesus? Do you believe what you see/hear going on in the world or stand on what you know to be Biblical truths?

It’s simple, we can choose to promote stress, anxiety and fear or we can choose to promote Jesus. When our eyes and thoughts are consumed with the vile and ugly, our hearts cannot be far behind. Scripture says our mouths reveal the abundance of our hearts. What are you talking about?

Most Christians I know believe we are in the end times. That being said, doesn’t it make it more important that we focus on people headed straight to hell because they do not have a personal relationship with Jesus - rather than finances, politics and the things of the world that will burn away? If time is so short, why are we wasting it? Stand up for Jesus, share Jesus, promote Jesus, and give your time, energy, and resources to Jesus and reaching those that do not know him. 

If you absolutely must be alarmed about something, be alarmed about how many people in your daily life do not know Jesus as Lord of their life. Be alarmed about those that do not have email, television, or running water in their village and how we can get word about Jesus to them.  

As a line from a skit our church Youth performed made clear – How can you say you’d die for Christ if you will not even live for Him? Turn off the TV, shut down your computer and walk the walk for Christ. Anyone can sit around and talk…

Call of the Wild

In the darkness of early morning coupled with my hilltop advantage, I hear the howl of coyote pups. This is a common experience living here. Early mornings and late evening the pups howl. We assume it is when their mothers must leave them for hunting. It is mournful all of the time and panicked some of the time. This particular morning they sounded more mournfully distressed. I was not alone in my interpretation, I believe, because a number of our village dogs joined in their sad song. Stunned by the uncharacteristic silence of our hounds, this moment of camaraderie between the babes of coyotes and village canines felt poignant.

It occurred to me our village dogs were responding to the call of the wild, genetic instinct raising above their domesticated history. Primitive blood of pack days gone by stirs up restlessness, which courses through their bodies, strange and familiar at the same time.

We Christians have a lot in common with them, don’t we? Born with a sinful nature, we need not be taught to sin, it comes as naturally as a coyote pup’s howl. Selfishness and self-preservation course through us with equal ease. It is the ‘dying to self’ we must work hard to maintain, fighting those natural urges. Our blood is easily stirred by the call of the wild and worldly.

When we do not heed our Master, we are as useless as an untrained dog. We would roam about seeking our own pleasures, fighting for that which nourishes us. The ‘pack mentality’ would become our source of strength, our sense of family. Our comfort found in others as wild and sinful as ourselves; each struggling to stay on top in the pecking order of the pack.

Each night in our home, we snuggle up with our well-fed hounds for family time. They are loved on and give love freely in return. Contentment is practically pliable, and certainly most visible in both man and beast. Our time together satisfies us all. Yet, when they do not observe the house rules, choosing to ignore the commands given, our time is not spent resting in sweet companionship, it requires discipline and structure be restored straight away. Any rebellious behavior addressed. Our love for them not changed by any wrong behavior, but our opportunity to enjoy their company wiped away for the moment at hand. Sometimes the offender sent away from our presence, bad behavior cannot be rewarded. They want nothing more than to sit by our side or in our laps, feeling a loving touch. This is the same touch a coyote pup never knows, except from another coyote. The call of the wild is in the wind.    

There’s a lesson in there…..

Rx for Daily Life

I look into the mirror each morning and run my fingers through my tussled hair. The eyes looking back at me are puffy and vacillate between watery/itchy and dry/itchy. My nose hurts all the time. It is in a constant state of itchy and painful. My head throbs from one side of my face to the other. My ears hurt to a point of distraction. Certain I had an ear infection before, I’ve made the trek to the doctor only to be told, no ear infection, it’s the tubes in front of my ears that are plugged causing the pain.

I am an allergy sufferer. I walk around with a roll of tissue in my hand most of the time. I am like millions of others prone to allergies. The trees and beautiful flora I love so much do not treat me kindly. I am allergic to them. If it grows in Texas, chances are, I’m allergic to it. At least that is what the allergy test says and I have the long, painful history of sneezes and sinus headaches to prove it.

Fall is my favorite time of the year. I love the colors, the pleasant days when it ceases to be too hot and, throwing caution to the wind, I open up my house and let the fall breezes…and all the little fall allergens blow right on in. “They”, the all knowing albeit unknown experts, say you should keep your windows closed if you suffer with allergies. Mine are not seasonal, they live here all year long, so I cannot accept their conventional wisdom or I would never have any pleasure from the great outdoors.

As I sneezed my way through cooking breakfast earlier, it occurred to me that we are lucky God doesn’t make our personal sins as obvious as allergy symptoms. Can you imagine how we would look if our ungodly thoughts gave off a red vapor out the top of our heads? What if our eyes shed tears of blood if we looked at that which is unpleasing to God? Imagine what our hands could look like if stained with a dye (like that used on stolen money from a bank) every time we touched something forbidden and sinful. What if our noses grew, like Pinocchio’s, when we were not exactly telling the whole truth? Wouldn’t be so easy to hide all our dirty little secrets, would it?

This begs the question…Since God knows all things before we ever do or think them, have we admitted to ourselves it is other PEOPLE from which we are hiding them? AND, Are we putting their opinions of us before God - because we haven’t stopped the bad behavior to please God, just work to hide it from people? Is it okay to rationalize our behavior because God will love us and accept us anyway but other people will judge us so we must, MUST hide our little secrets so they will think better of us? Are we taking God for granted if we assume He overlooks those sins even if true repentance has not yet changed our hearts and actions? Do we act as if God can’t see through our Hide & Seek game? I’m just asking…

Most people can take an allergy pill of some sort to relieve the symptoms. Due to a funky heartbeat, I can’t. Thus, my apparent year round love affair with tissue. Sin symptoms can’t be relieved with a pill either. There is, however, a prescription for them:

Pray without ceasing every day. Swallow pride with large glass of contriteness to cleanse the heart. Increase transparency of daily thoughts, words, and deeds to shrink appetite for the ungodly. Exercise wisdom. Avoid contact with contagious sin. Call the Great Physician in the morning, every morning.

Is History Repeating Itself...Again?

I have a question; does the spiritual condition of the nation reflect the spiritual condition of the church?

In the Book of Joel, the prophet, we see God first warning the people of Israel, then telling them how to avoid the penalties of their behavior before practically begging them to come to true repentance so He can heal and restore their land. He calls first on the church leaders.

“Put on sackcloth, O priests, and mourn; wail, you who minister before the altar.. ” And, “Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly, summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord” (Joel 1:13, 14, 2:17)

“Even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning” (2:12)

It was not just an outward, ritualistic show the Lord wanted, but genuine repentance: “Rend your heart and not your garments” (2:13)

Priority of repentance is given first to the priests and the religious leaders. Then, they were instructed to call the rest of the people, from the oldest to the youngest,

“Bring together elders, gather the children, those nursing at the breast. Let the bridegroom leave his room and the bride her chamber” (2:16).

The prophet’s call is, “Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill” (2:1), where Zion is a symbol of the people of God who take the lead. The spiritual condition of the nation at any given time in history was the barometer of the spiritual condition of Zion.

Paul writes,

Now you, if you call yourself a Jew (Christian); if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God; if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth – you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written, 'God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles (non-Christians) because of you (Romans 2:17-24)

The Scripture puts the responsibility on the people of God.

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

If the land is in broken condition, it is not because the heathen are acting as heathen, but because the church is not acting as the church. It is written...

Fruit of the Spirit

I’ve noticed, lately, the usual settings on my computer have odd changes. One or two here, another one over there…nothing major or glaring but each one making a difference in how I am able to work on the computer. For instance, this morning’s oddity was that when opening a document to write this on, the page was about 4”s wide rather than the normal size page. No big deal but, why? Once I made the page the normal, the size of the font was set at 114%...makes it easier to read as I work but I never set the font there, so again I asked myself, why? The auto-spell check option is a reoccurring change, now that one does bother me. I use it all the time. I think faster than my fingers can type and I need to make sure I catch the odd misspelled word. Why I find it turned off now, when it was previously on all the time, I do not know. I have to reset the options before starting to work and I never had to do that before. If I did not know better, I would think the computer gremlins were dancing about on my keyboard making changes in the night.

This irritating issue has me perplexed but it is, after all, merely a perplexing issue in my work life. I am at the keyboard early every morning and most of the day. It seems as if my life is spent here but it is nothing in the big picture of life. It did occur to me that it is a parallel to what can happen in our spiritual life. We wake up one day to realize we have a glitch in our spiritual world, nothing big, more an irritation than major sin but it is there, and it has an affect on our daily life.

Let’s take frustration as an example, not I have any personal experience with this one…oh, give me a break, I’ve already asked for forgiveness for taking “artistic license” in representing myself in this sentence! **wink**.

Frustration, as I have dealt with it, is usually the result of a number of little issues joining hands to create a tidal wave where, on their own, would have been a ripple. You can brush off an irritating issue here, ignore another one over here but when they band together, you can end up with a full-blown case of frustration where your ‘spiritual fruit’ is squeezed to the point of rendering a ‘fruit’ juice mess. It is amazing how often we allow ourselves to wade around in the fruit juice mess feeling complete justification. Before you know it, you’re up to your knees in fruit juice because, after all, it isn’t your fault, – you have no choice, the situation is the reason you are squeezing fruit all over the place. As the day wears on, you’re worn down and it seems as if life, itself, is out to get you! Every stinking little thing gets on your nerves and you’re snapping at people for breathing. You are swept away by the tidal wave of spiritual fruit juice and you realize you are swimming with the pits.   

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." (Gal. 5:22,23).

When one is up to one’s neck in swirling bruised ‘spiritual fruit’ juice, it is difficult to remember we are to bear the fruit, not swim in the juice.

Feast...or Spiritual Famine

In reading the Book of John this morning, I had a spiritual image of Jesus dealing with the Rabbis and Jewish leaders as they watched and waited for His every word or action to criticize, condemn and accuse. In attendance with those self-appointed judges, were locals and those in town for the Feast of Booths.

I got frustrated just reading how Jesus was under a magnifying glass of scrutiny, if you will, and was challenged at every sentence. It felt like trying to explain gravity or Newton’s Law to pre-school kids. They just didn’t have a clue because their minds were closed to everything but that which they believed they had total command.

Some of those following Him as Disciples even threw their hands up and walked away when the concept of Jesus being ‘the living bread’ needed to be eaten for eternal life blew their minds. This had me asking myself, would people be any different today? Sadly, I do not think so.

At a time when the Church Body is more concerned over denominational trivialities than they are reaching people for Jesus, I doubt the majority of Church leaders would come across from a more receptive stance than the Rabbi’s of Jesus’ day. Jesus was considered a radical by those practicing the long standing traditions and conventions of faith. Good heavens, Jesus walked, ate and hung out with undesirables, causing those that believed they were the all knowing ones, the educated and defenders of all things of Jewish law to look upon Him as a heretic; this non-conforming man with the audacity to heal on the Sabbath, to eat with tax collectors, to mingle with the diseased.

He specifically rebuked them in John 7:24 when He said, “Do not judge according to appearance but judge with righteous judgment.” The problem was they thought they were the epitome of righteous judgment; the truth is more that they were consumed with being judgmental about anything with which they were not familiar.

Jesus is using language from Moses' teaching regarding the responsibility of the judges and officers of the people (Deut 16:18). Jesus’ opponents are not acting in accordance with this injunction. The right judgment of which Moses speaks includes such things as refraining from showing partiality and taking bribes. Jesus' opponents are not blinded by bribes (Deut 16:19) but are blinded by receiving glory from one another (Jn 5:44). They are observing the letter of the law, but do not understand what the law is really about, neither in its witness to Jesus nor in its goal of expressing God's own love and mercy in the life of God's people. Making a right judgment (dikaia krisis) is dependent on seeking God's will and not one's own (5:30). They lack this disposition; they are too shallow. They have no depth in themselves and thus cannot recognize God at work among them. God Himself is the one who is dikaios ("right," "righteous"; cf. Jn 17:25; 1 Jn 2:29; 3:7; Rev 16:5), so their lack of right judgment is yet another indication of their alienation from God.

This call to right judgment is a challenge to each of us, for we are all guilty at times of judging by appearances. The only way to avoid such shallowness is to be united with God and to share in His truth about Jesus and about our own lives. This requires that we will God's will (7:17), which means God's will as God knows it, not as our prejudices and sins tailor it. To will God's will is to have a purity of heart and clarity of vision that come through our ‘death to self’. Until we have found our own heart (which lies deeper than our emotions and imagination) and made contact with God there, we will be in danger of judging by appearances instead of with right judgment.

Four Faces of Jealousy

Last night I got a call from a step-brother with whom I recently reconnected. When I was in high school, and before he became a step-sibling, I used to babysit this kid and his three younger brothers. He is now a balding man in his 40's but in many ways still the kid I once knew. Our paths crossed again at the funeral services for his father. He jumped back into the "little brother role" eagerly, needing the emotional support in his time of grieving.

After the pleasantries were exchanged he asked if I was going to fuss at him; odd question, I thought. He stated "You always fussed at us when we needed it." I asked if he needed it. He said he did. "Okay…what do you need to be fussed at for?", I asked. He said he struggled with jealousy. That's a biggie!

Lives are destroyed by jealousy and I've always considered it a destructive, negative , waste of emotion and energy. Yet, we have Scripture saying God is a jealous God. This took me straight to my Hebrew-Greek Study Bible where I found there are four separate Hebrew words for jealousy.

Qana – is a root verb meaning 'to make jealous' (in a bad sense) strong emotion for possession of object or position of others (envy); fear of losing possessions or position

Qanna – adjective, is the word always used to describe God's intolerance for worship of other gods and His anger in judgment toward idol worshippers.

Qinah – noun, means zeal, jealousy, to be jealous or zealous with passion and emotion that is greater than a person's wrath and anger, can be good or bad; but such passion can be rottenness to the bone (their words, not mine); used to describe a spirit of jealousy, which comes on a man toward his wife; or is used most often to describe God's zeal, which will accomplish His purposes and be the instrument of His wrath in judgment.

Qanah – verb, meaning to provoke to jealousy to purchase, possess, recover or redeem property

I found it interesting that Qinah, the only one described as 'can be good or bad' and the only one to say it is stronger than man's anger, describes both the negative spirit of jealousy in man AND the zealous wrath of God to accomplish his purposes.   

If I had to sum up what I took from this, it would be that human jealousy is about wanting to possess objects (relationships) or position (envy). God's jealously is entirely different. We cannot compare the two, as in justifying man's jealousy by saying even God was jealous. It is not the same at all, thus the 'good or bad' definition.

Lesson Under the Early Morning Stars

My morning was fraught with mishap. Before Honey left for work, we loaded the car with things we had gathered to donate; he will drop them off today. Honey had propped the outside door on the back porch open for easy access. To my dismay, I discovered I never closed it when I came in. The older dogs run straight outside when released from their kennels, I was lagging behind taking care of things with the puppy. Once outside with her, horror filled my heart because the dogs were not in their potty yard but roaming free in our unfenced back area. Not good!

I called them and two of the three ran back inside. Pan Dulce, normally an obedient dog, just watched me from a distance, ignoring my call….then the next, and the next, and the next. Not to be outwitted by a 3 ½ pound canine, I sat on the ground holding a treat in my hand to wait him out. As I sat on the chilly, damp, hard ground full of who knows what kind of creepy crawlers…and let's not forget the sticker burrs…I called lovingly to Pan Dulce. He is the consummate lap dog and typically cannot resist an offered lap. Not his morning! "Plan A" did not pan (pardon the pun) out.

Needing another plan of action, I got up and tried to walk toward him. This would have worked…if he had stood still!!! But, NOOOO, he would stay just out of reach and dash off if I ventured nearer. I called him in that loving 'mama' tone, I changed to the authoritative "Alpha pack leader" tone, I did not whine nor yell, though my frustration level was rising quickly! "Plan B" also failed.

 I went inside to get some of his food, knowing he would want that. He did want it, he would come in close enough to take a good whiff but young Pan is quicker than his mama…especially when she sits on the ground…and he'd take off when I lounged at him.

Then came the tap, the Holy Tap on my shoulder, the morning nudge from God to remind me to pay attention…looking up at the dark sky full of stars, I waited….here's what I heard Him say in my spirit: "This is how My children are with Me. They run away when excited about something out in the world. They will look to Me from a distance but not heed My call. When My hand is extended they come running in anticipation but stop short of commitment. What would you show them to make them want Me and come to Me?" Hmmm. Deep stuff, that question. What would I show them?

People would rather see a sermon than hear one and all I could show them was God's love for me. "Thank you, Lord!" I took Nikos out of the fence and sat down to love all over him. He 'kissed' me and I hugged him. Just love all around. It was only a matter of seconds before Pan Dulce was in  my lap wanting to be loved, too! Whoo hoo! Thank you, Jesus! That would have made a good ending to the story… if it had been the end.

As I tried to get up with a dog under each arm, I stumbled and fell back down on the rock in the French Drain hidden under the grass. My knee took the worse of the blow and pain shot up my body. It was the kind of pain that makes you queasy and sweaty. I couldn't put the dogs down, so I struggled again and again to get on my feet. Once safely behind the fence, I limped inside after hugging the two bundles of love in my arms. I checked out my knee in the light. It is swollen and bruised. The words from the Christian song, "By His Wounds" rushed to my mind, it's from Isaiah 53:5. This is the verse repeated in the song and chorus:

He was pierced for our transgressions
And crushed for our sins
The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him
And by His wounds, by His wounds we are healed

We are healed by Your sacrifice
And the life that You gave
We are healed for You paid the price
By Your grace we are saved
We are saved

Isn't wonderful how God uses everyday life to show us something! I love the life lessons He shares with me. I know God may have used this incident to help me retrieve my dog and remind me to show the love of Christ to win others to Him. But, I also know He may have orchestrated this incident because someone reading this needed to hear it. Regardless, a side lesson is that God is in everything, absolutely everything, we just have to watch and listen for Him.

Postcard from Heaven

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me and I will listen to you, you will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:11-13

Yesterday, I received an email from a woman dear to me and this Scripture verse was the foundation of the message. It resonated in my heart and I kept going back to it. I wrote it as the screen saver on my work computer. I wrote it on one of my spiral index card notepads and I wrote it on paper in front of me. This happened over the course of the day. I could not get it out of my head.

I've come to recognize when God is trying to tell me something, so I made my spiritual ears and heart available to Him. I asked Him to help me understand what He wanted me to get from this.

I had a revelation one day as I was writing. The book I am writing is a Christian fiction novel. My heart is to share Jesus with others. It struck me that my calling to serve the Lord in the mission field had evolved into serving as a missionary in print. That moment of revelation turned into comprehension, which led to acceptance that fueled motivation. It was a momentous spiritual awakening. A point in time and an event I will not forget.

I am working diligently to finish the book and, admittedly, am intimidated by the publishing aspect. I have little knowledge about it. I've researched and read advice from published authors. Still, the more I learn about the process, the more I know there is yet to learn. No snapping of my fingers and presto ** a published book**. Darn the luck.

Then, at a time when I struggled to make sense of the unknown, I received the email with those words: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me and I will listen to you, you will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:11-13

Isn't that just like God to reach out to us in our time of need in a way can we relate. I believe God used my dear Lady to send a message to me, to place it in front of my eyes until my head and heart realized it was Him sending me comfort and encouragement. This, Friends, is yet another reason we need fill our lives with God's people; He uses them to minister to us even when they do not know. We are His hands and feet to use at His Will. I am thankful for the reminder from God and thankful I have godly people in my life that serve as His messengers. What a blessing!

Intent vs. Interpretation

This morning I was reading in Luke, the parable about the 'Unrighteous Stewart'. The use of wealth is the major topic of Luke 16. Its point is clear enough--be generous and responsible with your resources. Wealth can be a blessing or a curse, depending on whether used as a means to exercise power, a tool of self-indulgence, or a resource to serve others. However, to possess money is also to hold a sacred stewardship. I was reading from the Greek-Hebrew Study Bible. I also studied commentaries that differ in interpretation based on the standard translations, not the literal Greek.

Luke 16:1-13 Now He was also saying to the disciples, "There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and this steward was reported to him as squandering his possessions. And he called him and said to him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your stewardship, for you can no longer be steward.' 'The steward said to himself, 'What shall I do, since my master is taking the stewardship away from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg. 'I know what I shall do, so that when I am removed from the stewardship people will receive me into their homes.' "And he summoned each one of his master's debtors, and he began saying to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?' "And he said, 'A hundred measures of oil.' And he said to him, 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.' "Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?' And he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.' He said to him, 'Take your bill, and write eighty.' "And his master praised the unrighteous steward because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light. "And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the mammon of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings. "He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. "Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous mammon, who will entrust the true riches to you? "And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? "No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other You cannot serve God and mammon."

Two important words: The word dieblethe in verse 1 is translated as 'reported', should actually be translated 'falsely accused', derived from diabolos, devil. The devil's accusations are always false. The unjust person in this parable is not the steward, but the rich employer who fired him on hearsay or false accusation. The next word is metastatho, was a word used by the Greeks to denote 'ones removal from this world to the next'. The basic lesson in this parable was that the steward was required to collect the bad debts due his master his removal. He engaged in the forgiveness of partial debts due his lord; so must Believers act from the moment he is saved. In view of our metasasis, our 'removal from this earth', Believers must engage in forgiveness of debts (sins). This forgiveness of sins is the most important thing that any believer can do during his life of faith before departing this earth (death). Note: After being falsely accused, the steward still offered forgiveness of debts.

The steward collected part of the debts due his master, thus pleasing the master, who otherwise would have received nothing. It pleased the debtors who were unable to pay in full, and they became his friends. When the steward later found himself in need after losing his job, they gave him hospitality. In this same way, the Lord says to us in v. 9 that the friends, the people we win to Christ by using the mammon of the unrighteousness (money) to make the Gospel available, will be our welcome committee in heaven. The true riches are not money, but the forgiveness and eternal life with those we brought to Christ.

One thing we need to know for clarity in the translation of v.8. The word "master" is actually kurios, Lord, indicating that it is not the servant's master commending him. The literal translation is "And the Lord (Jesus) commended the economist (steward) of unrighteousness (or injustice)," Unfortunately, the "economist of unrighteousness (money)" has been translated as the "unrighteous steward". The Lord would never commend an unjust steward. The word adikia, 'unrighteousness' in many instances in the NT stands for money, because money was/is used for unrighteous purposes much of the time. (Consider Judas) The word translated "shrewd" and "more shrewd" in v.8 is phronimos which means "prudent" and "he who knows how to regulate his affairs with people."

In standard interpretation, the steward was seen as a thieving weasel looking out for himself. Knowing the use of original words in Greek, we see a man using generosity and forgiveness, though he received neither. The Lord, for this, commended him.

Woman at the Well - Part 2

When we were here last, Jesus was sitting at Jacob's well in Samaria, with a Samaritan woman full of regret and laden with chains of failed relationships and shame. She made the daily trek to the well in the heat of the day to avoid the stares and wagging tongues of the town's women that shun her.

Jesus spoke freely to her, which confused her. She questioned why a Jewish man was speaking to her, asking her to give him water when it was obvious he had nothing with which to draw the water from the deep well.

Jesus spoke to her of 'living water' that quenches thirst eternally, rather than satisfying the physical thirst that returns. She asked that he share this living water with her. He told her to get her husband and come back. She replied she didn't have a husband. Here, note the things Jesus did not say: He states her past and present marital status but makes no mention of her sin. He gives no call to repent. He presents no structured plan for salvation. He offers no prayer. In the quiet of the well, away from the noise of the city, He shows her a reflection of herself in the measured cup of living water.

Now, since she thought him to be a prophet, she brought up how the Jews and Samaritans believed in different, though specific, places to worship. Jesus said, "Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall you worship the Father. You worship that which you do not know (pagan gods); we worship that which we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

This divine appointment in the desert led to a profound discussion on Scripture regarding worship – God is spirit and worship is not the body coming to a church, a place, but the soul coming to the spirit of God.  She stated she knew the Messiah is coming and knew He would explain it all to them. Jesus replied, "I who speak to you am He." Can you imagine the thoughts reeling through her head? What an experience this had been! The Jew man speaking to her, sharing about 'living water of eternal life', telling her of her past without the condemnation with which she was so accustomed, and now he has said he was the Messiah she had heard about all her life. Can you picture the look on her face as the revelation sinks in? How her heart must have trembled in awe as she receives all she has heard!

Her response, she ran to tell any and everyone what she has seen and heard. She ran to share this with all the people that used and/or shunned her over the years. How remarkable is that? She was, in fact, a Samaritan disciple as she ran to tell all of the eternal life Jesus shared at the well. A woman of the world used by Christ to sow seeds in a city full of people most Jews would not give the time of day. The gift received, was a gift that keeps on giving when shared. The encounter with Messiah freed her from the chains of sin and remorse and opened her eyes to the knowledge of God's spirit; true believers come into His presence for worship.

Yet another great desert experience! Interesting how God uses those times of desert living to reach out to His people. Makes facing our own desert experiences something to watch for and see what God is trying to teach us, one divine appointment at a time, doesn't it?

Across the Sands of Time and Division

In the Book of John, the Scriptures regarding the Samaritan woman reveals much about the character of Christ as much in what it doesn't say as it does. What it doesn't say about the woman reveals a great deal, as well. Once again, knowing a little about the culture and place in time of it occurrence makes a difference.

The Samaritan woman was making a trip to the well alone in the heat of the day. Typically, the town's women would have made the daily water run early in the morning when it was cooler and spent this errand time visiting with one another and catching up on town news and gossip. Yet, here is this woman coming alone, after all the others had made their way back home. Can you picture her walking in the dusty heat carrying a large water pot on her head? Can you feel the sweat running down her sides as she makes her way to the well? Scripture says 'it was about the sixth hour' when Jesus arrived at the well, that would make it noon, the sun high over head beating down on both our Lord and this lonely Samaritan woman; the empty water pot rather symbolic of her empty life.

Once at the well, the nameless woman (could have been any of us) was surprised when Jesus spoke to her. At that time in history, it was not culturally accepted for a man to address a woman in public that was not his wife or family, and most especially not practice for a Jew to speak to a Samaritan at all.

The hatred between Jews and Samaritan dates back to 722BC; when the Jews were captured and taken to Babylon, the conquering king sent colonist in to repopulate the area. The colonist worshiped pagan gods and the remaining Jews intermarried and practiced a faith of worshiping the God of Israel along side the pagan gods of the new comers. Once the captured Jews were released from Babylon and returned home, they felt bitterness and despised those Jewish cousins that had built a temple on the holy Mount Grizim for their pagan worship. Jews in the days Jesus and the Disciples ministered would not even walk through Samaria, choosing a much longer route to avoid it.

 There are countless modern parallels to the Jewish-Samaritan differences and hatred wherever racial and ethnic barriers divide people. Perhaps that’s why the Gospels and Acts provide so many instances of Samaritans coming into contact with the message of Jesus. It is not the person from the radically different culture on the other side of the world that is hardest to love but our neighbor with skin color, language, rituals, values, ancestry, history, and customs different from one’s own.

Here we have Jesus walking through the hated land of Samaria and talking to a Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob, Father of Israel. He has cut through the lines of discrimination, hate, and cultural boundaries to keep a divine appointment with a pagan sinner. The radical love of Christ crosses all boundaries, real or imagined, to do the work of His Father.

Next time we will continue to look into this story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman. Food for thought: Is there any one, any groups, any culture with whom you have no dealings?