Happy Thanksgiving!

This time of year, when Christmas commercials start shouting for my attention, I feel a little like I’m teetering on a precipice. Ahead is the whirlwind that is the Christmas season, threatening to suck me into non-stop cooking, shopping, wrapping, decorating, serving, baking, cleaning, hosting, traveling and sometimes difficult family interactions. All while schooling, discipling and at least maintaining the appearance I’m an adequate, effective homeschool Mom. It is almost a matter of routine for me to reach January first exhausted and depressed. But holidays aren’t supposed to be that way.

God filled the calendar year with regular opportunities to pause and celebrate; remembering all we’ve received and offer thanks to God. A heart of joy and contentment grows best in the soil of gratitude and thankfulness. It’s the enemy’s plan and the world’s expectation that we fall into holiday busyness and worry and spending too much. So before Thanksgiving, which should be a time of thanks-giving, I’m pressing pause (just for a minute!) to meditate on grace. God owes us nothing, yet has given us everything. All we have, from salvation to the bread on our tables, has come from the generous hand of God. Grace wiped away our sin; adopted us into the family of God; granted us relationship with our Creator and assured our eternal future—every bit of it an undeserved gift. If that doesn’t make me thankful, what would?

This year I’m throwing a barricade across the road that leads to post-holiday depression by reflecting on the tremendous blessings I already have. Since God has already given me everything that truly matters, perhaps it isn’t quite as important that my holiday look like a Hallmark special. Perhaps I can delete some of the ‘must do,’ ‘must have’ items on my list.  If you look at the biblical feasts, God intended that holidays refresh us by reminding us what is truly important. I recently heard the feasts distilled down to “They tried to kill us; God rescued us; let’s eat!” What else do we need?

Enter His gates with thanksgiving

and His courts with praise. 

Give thanks to Him, bless His name.

Psalm 100:4

I am a Christian

The horror which unfolded in Roseburg, Oregon is still painfully fresh. The faces of the martyrs in Umpqua are becoming familiar as their stories are being told. Christians dying in the Middle East at the hands of Muslim extremists is something we've seen. It’s horrible but remote—clear on the other side of the world. But Christians dying in their classroom in Oregon is up close and personal—and forces me to think.

The word martyr means “witness.” And there is no more powerful Christian testimony than those who would die rather than renounce their commitment to Jesus. It’s become standard to elevate martyrs to a kind of 'super Christian' status. We think, they must be made of sterner stuff than me. I just don’t think I could measure up to what they did. And each time the enemy helps our uncertainty by whispering, “You couldn’t do that. You’re not that kind of Christian. You’re too weak, too lazy, too immature.” Each whisper is designed to weaken faith and camouflage the real issue—that our loving, generous God can be trusted to give us exactly what we need in every situation.

As a child, Corrie ten Boom had an encounter with death that left her shaken and afraid. Her father comforted her with this, "When you and I go to Amsterdam...when do I give you your ticket?” She responded, "Why, just before we get on the train". Her father then went on, "Exactly. And our wise Father in Heaven knows when we're going to need things too. Don't run ahead of Him, Corrie. When the time comes that some of us will have to die, you will look into your heart and find the strength you need--just in time". Just so. The enemy wants stories of martyrdom to make us afraid and uncertain. God wants such stories to fill us with faith—not in our own strength or ability, but in Him. I can trust that my wise Father in Heaven has the necessary ticket for where I’m going.

I’m grateful that the courage the Roseburg martyrs exhibited isn’t something they learned in a book or gritted their teeth to produce. Those brave souls who overcame the enemy and went to glory last Monday couldn’t do what they did either…without the indwelling, super-abundant power of God. That’s not to downgrade what they did; it’s to encourage us. I don’t have to worry that my Christianity won’t pass the test, because there is no test. The same God I trust for my daily bread can be trusted to provide the power to face the unfaceable. Every.Single.Time.

That’s not to say that this isn’t a tragedy or that we shouldn’t grieve. I can only imagine the pain and anguish of those affected. I am praying for the friends and family of those who’ve lost loved ones and for the others healing from their wounds. My heart hurts for them, but I am also praying for us. The enemy would have us conclude that God was powerless to stop evil in Oregon. But we know something he’d rather we didn’t. When we trust our wise Father with everything…even the well-being of our physical lives, we overcome satan. In this world we will have trouble, but our Jesus is faithful. He has overcome and promises that we will as well.

And they overcame and conquered [the Adversary] 

because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony,

for they did not love their life and renounce their faith

even when faced with death. Rev. 12:11

Sukkot, 2015

I recently saw something on the internet that has captured my imagination. A video filmed in Jerusalem of a giant wedding dress flying like a flag over the Tower of David in the Old City. I did a little research and discovered that it is part of an art installation for a show at the Tower of David Museum which began the day after Yom Kippur. It is by artist Motti Mizrachi and entitled "Engagement."

The gal who shot the video was very excited, because to her and the many Christians in the city to celebrate Sukkot it spoke of the Body of Christ waiting for the arrival of Jesus our Bridegroom, ala Revelation 19. On the Plaza near the tower, she found a Messianic Jew (a Jewish person who has received Jesus as the promised Messiah) and asked her what it would mean to Jewish people in Israel. The lady talked about Jewish wedding traditions, and how weddings are like Sukkot in that you are commanded to rejoice and celebrate for seven days. She said it's like the city of Jerusalem is waiting for her bridegroom, the Messiah. Wow, what a wonderful picture!

All I could think is how the natural speaks of the spiritual and how God is using a secular Jewish artist to speak a prophetic word over the city of Jerusalem. All day my thoughts kept returning to the image of the historic Tower of David and that dress (eighteen feet tall!) floating from the roof like an icon of yearning for the coming millenial reality. The King is coming for His Bride and one mark of His nearness is His covenant people beginning to recognize and ask for Him.

When the show is over, the artist intends to loose the dress from its moorings atop the Tower, allowing it to float freely over the city. I pray that that image sparks a desire for God; a heart cry from the City of David for relationship with Him; a new, deeper yearning for the coming Messiah, their King. As I meditated on that image, my heart was stirred anew that this is what Sukkot is ultimately about. Thankfulness for all that God has provided--not just food and shelter, but the gift of salvation, a plan to restore the Earth, a way to be forever with Him. So the booth doubles as an annual wedding chuppah (canopy) to remind us that the end of days is not a Hollywood disaster movie, but the conclusion to a love story. God became a man in order to woo and win a people to Himself. He is returning to put our great enemy under His feet and take us to Himself. 

So as Sukkot winds to a close this weekend, consider your heart. This is the season for gratitude and rejoicing. But also the season to ask the Lord to refresh and renew hope and expectation deep within us for what God has promised yet to do. Our bridegroom is coming back. He is looking for those who are yearning for Him. Waiting for Him. Expecting Him. Like wise virgins, let us get oil for our lamps so that when the shout is heard, "Look! The Bridegroom is coming. Go out to meet him. (Matthew 25). We will arise, trim our lamps and go with our great King to the wedding feast.

The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come!”

He who testifies and affirms these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.”

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Blood Moons, again

This was originally posted in the spring, when the third blood moon of the tetrad appeared. The fourth blood moon, a supermoon (yes, that's a thing) is tonight.


Wherein I try to avoid lunacy (pun alert!), while pointing out some things...

Most of us are aware that we are in the middle of a relatively rare phenomenon called a lunar tetrad. Tetrad refers to four and lunar...well, you know.  A complete lunar eclipse is sometimes called a blood moon, because the light reflected through the Earth's shadow is red. Most are also aware of the alarming blogs, reports, articles, Facebook pages, tweets, ad nauseam screaming all sorts of stuff about what it all means. The sheer volume (both in number and in noise) is enough to make us cover our ears and eyes, until the fire hose is shut off. Because there is so much information to sift through, the tendency is to think about something else until the entire thing is over and we can return to hoping that Kim Kardashian has tired of posting nude pictures of herself on the internet (please God).

Because of instant, world-wide information access, our ADD culture chatters excessively about a topic for about five minutes, before jumping to the next trending story. That's a shame, because that doesn’t mean the story is actually over...or that we actually got the message of the story. Way, way back, before we had all our technology and scientific information, God told us He set the lights in the sky, "...to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years (Genesis 1:14 ESV). We take this for granted. Of course that's what they're for. Most versions say seasons, some say sacred events, less say religious festivals. But the Hebrew word translated seasons is mo'adim which means 'appointed time.' The religious festivals God ordained and scheduled according to the moon's cycle are special appointments at which He promises to meet with His people. He used the cycles of moon and sun to help pre-modern folks—who couldn't exactly check their watches or iPhones—keep track of time.

And yes, we don't need to use the moon to keep track of our calendar days any more. And yes, Paul tells us that feast days and new moon festivals are only shadows...our salvation is in Christ alone (Col 2:16-17). But we don't want to find ourselves thinking we've grown too sophisticated to hear from God, any way He chooses. Just because we now have clocks and printed calendars and internet doesn't mean that God has thrown up His hands with a, "Well they're ahead of Me now! I guess I'd better stop using such antiquated methods to signal my tribe." God uses many means to speak to us including signs in the heavens, the ancient method He invented.

So what does the tetrad have to say to us? That covers a wide spectrum from "nothing" to "The world is ending, like right now! Please go immediately to my website where I just happen to have for sale everything you need in order to survive the impending apocalypse!" We have to find the line of sanity which runs between these two extremes. We also have to be careful not to dismiss or accept the message because of how we feel about the messenger. Just because the folks shouting the loudest may come across as a bit loony doesn't mean God isn't trying to speak to us (If you're unsure, read about the OT prophets' lives). Neither should we uncritically accept reassurance that it all means nothing, because the messenger is logical, low key and credentialed. There are respected teachers and scholars on all sides holding forth on this topic.

I'm not saying which way folks should jump. What I am (I hope) gently and humbly urging is, please ask God. Do not simply rely on what others are saying, no matter who they are. Look up these phenomena in the Bible and read what it says about them. Pray. Find out for yourself what you believe God is saying through these signs, which no one can deny are biblical signs, i.e. found in the Bible. What you then do is between you and God.

Signs in the heavens are just that...signs. Signs exist to inform, or warn, or point to other things. The fact that these eclipses are falling on important feast days cannot be dismissed as mere coincidence. The first one was Passover 2014; the second Sukkot (Tabernacles) 2014. The third is Passover 2015, next Saturday morning (full eclipse at 6:58 am, Central time) and the final will fall on Sukkot 2015. God set up the feast calendar as a giant prophetic marker. The spring feasts were fulfilled with Jesus's first coming. Any guesses on what fulfills the fall feasts? Could God be saying to us—First Coming! Second Coming! Pay attention!

So, should we begin setting dates and counting days? Quit our jobs, postpone college or having children? Not at all! (Stop cleaning the house, maybe.) But neither should we give mental assent to the second coming as part of our orthodoxy, but live as though it were never going to happen. That's what scoffers do (II Peter 3:3-4). Re-examine those Scriptures we've been told say we can't know anything at all about when Jesus returns. In context, those verses seem to indicate that not everyone will be caught flat-footed. People who like to quote I Thess. 5:2 as if that concludes the matter, seem to be unaware of I Thess. 5:4-6. Since God both put the lights in the sky and arranged His calendar—before there were people, let alone calendars—it makes perfect sense to me that He is trying to tell us something. Only you can decide what that something is. I just can't picture Him in Heaven, smacking his head and saying, "Wow, Blood Moons! Look at that! What a coincidence! How did that happen?" And we shouldn't either.
 

The Sound of the Trumpet Blast

The ram's horn was heard in ancient Israel to sound the alarm; to gather the tribes for battle; to tell the people when the New Moon was sighted; and to signal times of feast and worship. God also commands that the trumpet blast be heard during the Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah), which is the biblical name for the Jewish civil New Year (Rosh Hashanah). It is the sound we will hear when Jesus returns.

We’ve entered the days which conclude the year-long cycle of feasts, traditionally called the High Holy Days. This period of time contains the New Year, The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) and The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot). It is a time to reflect, repent, and recommit to following the Lord more closely. The Fall feasts rehearse what we know will happen at Jesus' return; the blast of a trumpet; the books opened; final judgment rendered; followed by a magnificent, long-awaited bridal feast.

This season is all about refocusing on God. Retelling the accounts of His great deeds; remembering His goodness; thanking Him for forgiving our sins and calling us into relationship with Him. Our wise and wonderful Father scheduled the feasts so we have regular opportunities for gratitude and worship in order to re-direct and re-focus and re-center our lives on God.

The Feast of Trumpets begins the High Holy Days with the sound of the shofar. The trumpet blast is a proclamation that the Lord God is King of the universe; an announcement of doom to powers and principalities; a call to arms for God’s people; a broadcast that we stand with God in His victory.

Yom Kippur reminds us that our sins are forgiven; our future assured; our names inscribed in the Book of Life; we are permanently adopted into the family of God.

Sukkot is a feast of thanksgiving and gratitude for all that God has done. It is a picture of the bridal feast which culminates human history and inaugurates the fullness of the kingdom of God on Earth. It foretells the day when Jesus comes and ‘tabernacles’ permanently with us. The days when no sun or moon are necessary, because the Light of the World will be with us. An eternity with no tears or pain. Sukkot is an annual reminder that our forever home is with Jesus; it reminds us to look for, anticipate, yearn toward and prepare for that day.

We are approaching the season in which all the events long prophesied will begin to unfold. When the days of faith will become sight. When what we’ve believed will be confirmed as Truth. The exciting days of lifting our heads to see our redemption drawing near. The internet is full of uncertainty and fear about current events, but we can rest. Our peace does not depend on smooth seas, but on Jesus who calms every storm. He is the faithful One who has never disappointed or failed. The One who came for us, died for us and will return for us. Before the foundations of the world He set out the events which will close out human history. He knows exactly where we are on the prophetic time table. He knows how to protect us in the midst of difficult times. He knows how to strengthen us to pass through the storm, while remaining completely His.

Sukkot begins the evening of September 27. I encourage you to watch the final blood moon that night. Let awe fill you as you marvel at all that God has done, and anticipate what He has yet to do. Let this season lead you to watch, pray and resolve anew to give yourself completely into the hands of our good Father. Maranatha!

"I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable

and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world 

you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart!

I’ve conquered the world.”  Jesus

John 16:33 The Message

How not to Defend the Faith; Facebook Edition

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,

goodness, faith, gentleness and self-control...  Galatians 5:22-23

I went a few rounds on Facebook. Again. And then repented for my tone. Again. I'm beginning to think that social media may not the best arena for me. I get too riled up. My posts tend toward sarcasm, bordering on snark. Ignoring a challenge is not in my DNA. Sigh. I am way too eager to explain; to be understood; to demonstrate that I am not a nutjob. Which of course sometimes makes me look like a nutjob. Most of all I can see that my inability to humbly and graciously allow others to express their opinions, 'uncorrected', demonstrates an immature need to be right…and accepted. Double sigh. And after every, single, internet brouhaha, not only have I not persuaded anyone to my viewpoint, I end up snappish and irritated. Not a model of the gentleness that Jesus displayed when He was attacked.

Gentleness is an undervalued trait in our culture—words come to mind like weak, docile, soft, mousy or defenseless. That cannot be right for Jesus is gentle. And I don't mean 'gentle Jesus, meek and mild,' for when folks use that cliché they are describing a Jesus who surely never existed—a nice Sunday School Jesus who'd never hurt a fly. Jesus is gentle, but He is also the Jesus who threw the moneychangers out of the Temple; who boldly laid down His life then took it up again. The One who will return in kingly splendor, thrash the enemy, restore the world and set it running the way originally intended. So gentleness is not weak, it is strong, decisive and brave. It takes courage and strength to determine ahead of time to treat people like God would, no matter how we are treated in return. My Facebook forays reveal that I have a long way to go.

Gentleness does not wait to be treated well before treating others with kindness and respect. In a moment of potential conflict, it is a voluntary abdication of rights, choosing instead to rely on the vindication of God. It is neither the result of low self-esteem, nor a passive mindset. To me it feels like cowardice not to answer every challenge I'm presented, but Jesus was silent before His accusers. Was He a coward? Did He have nothing intelligent to say? Of course not; He was simply more concerned with God’s glory and reputation than His own. Jesus' love for God caused Him to trust in God rather than defend Himself. 

I am frustrated that our culture has become so shallow that knee-jerk outrage over stupid stuff counts as noble character these days. And I am ashamed that we Christians are partly to blame for that. We are just as prone to micro-aggression and misinformation as anyone else. I expend way too much energy fighting paper dragons with clever come-backs. Every day real injustice and catastrophe arise, perhaps my outrage should be reserved for them. Jesus has entrusted us with the words of life, yet I throw out one-liners like a kid in the locker room snapping towels at everyone.  

There is no question that we are on a learning curve here. The world is finally figuring out that our faith makes us different. It's a new reality to find that a great number of people think we are no better than terrorists—that Christianity is unintelligent, bigoted and hateful. It is natural to be shocked, angry and defensive at the level of ignorance and vitriol. But I have to discern the real issue here. Am I supposed to prove that I am right, or live and speak in such a way that Jesus' character is illuminated? Our world grows increasingly dark, but I can't help with that unless I'm holding a light folks will be drawn to. Ultimately I need to decide who's in charge of my reputation, me or God. When I must engage—and I'm still learning that I don't always need to—it should be in a gentle, winsome manner. I can scream all day long, "Daggone it, treat me with respect!" But arguments aren't won by shouting down the opposition. If my first inclination is to go on the attack, what am I winning? No one for Christ, that's for sure!  

When He walked the earth, everything Jesus said and did was a choice made to please and obey His Father (John 5:19, 30). Jesus' example shows me how far short of that standard I am, but also makes me want to more completely yield to God. I want my hard, selfish heart softened to make room for more of Jesus—and those He loves—in my life. This is a painful journey, though I suspect a necessary one. 

Father help me to stand for what is right, but in a manner that is also right. Help me to take a breath and check my motives before I run my mouth. 

A Deafening Silence

“[The wicked man’s] victims are crushed, they collapse;
    they fall under his strength.
He says to himself, “God will never notice;
    he covers his face and never sees.” Psalm 10:10-11

If you want evidence of how far America has fallen, look no further than the stories on the local and national news about the Planned Parenthood video scandal. You’ll have to look very, very hard, because there are hardly any. I live in the Bible Belt and even our local news isn’t carrying the story. The media would rather give us stories about an unfortunate wildlife preserve lion. Or Donald Trump's hair. When asked about the scandal, our President—who recently admitted that he hasn't seen the videos—complained about “extremists from the right,” “fraudulently edited video,” and promised to investigate the whistleblowers. The recent Senate vote seems to indicate that even its conservative members can’t all agree that Planned Parenthood should be defunded.

Have we grown so dull that we think God does not see and count each and every one of these precious lives, brutally torn apart before they see the light of day? Do we really think that the God who said “vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” will not bring a day of recompense, not just on the abortion industry, but on a society that callously looked away rather than stop it? And what about the Church at large, which complains but mostly doesn’t do a whole lot more than that?

The videos are disturbing, and the last two are stomach turning. Tiny arms and legs—identifiable as arms and legs—lying randomly in dishes as technicians tweeze about for the ‘valuable’ parts. No amount of editing created those images. Are we outraged enough? Grieved enough? I confess that the evidence of my own life suggests that I am not. I am ashamed to say that, while I oppose abortion, it has been easier to look away from the unpleasantness, to focus on my own busy life, rather than stand and object. But now that I've seen, I know I'm accountable.

We know from history that when we redefine humanity to exclude another group, we become capable of doing unspeakable things to them. Look at the Jews in WWII and the African and Native Americans in our own country. This is what the pro-abortion lobby has done with the unborn—refusing the smallest concession that they are even human. These little ones have no vote, no voice, no power to stop what happens to them. They have no focus group, poll or PAC representing them. They can’t even rely on their own mothers, the one person they should be able to count on to protect them.*

I hate these videos; I hate that they had to be made. They are graphic and ugly; they show me things I'd rather not see. But I needed to see those videos. America needs to see those videos, so she can stop pretending that abortion is the sanitized, simple medical procedure Planned Parenthood claims it is. If our government is going to permit them to continue, then we need to know what it is we are permitting. If PPFA wants to continue collecting their blood money, let them continue with everyone knowing in graphic detail exactly how they are making it. We dare not look away. 

These videos expose as lies the vague terms the abortion industry uses to describe what they do. "Products of conception" and "just a clump of cells,” and “fetal tissue” are invalid terms when you can see with your own eyes a tiny arm, the hand cupped upward, as if reaching for help, lying on a tray. I remember being four months pregnant, feeling how big the baby was as he moved and kicked. It's horrifying to imagine that child being probed and prodded, then finally sliced apart—without even the small kindness of a painkiller. We are kinder when we execute murderers than we are to the unborn. (Painkillers, if given, would be an admission that the “product of conception” is pain-capable. They can’t risk the general public beginning to think sympathetically of the “clump of cells;" they might then think of the “tissue” as a pre-born human, and then where would we be?)

This controversy has shaken and convicted me. I am perhaps too busy with my own life. There are many worthy causes to which I can and should give my money and time. But after seeing these videos, my busyness is beginning to feel like an excuse to avoid being uncomfortable--or accountable. As Christians can we be a people willing to be uncomfortable; to hear and see unpleasant things in order to speak out against this Holocaust of tiny infants? 

While protecting and helping women with the life and death decisions regarding crisis pregnancy, we must also speak out against the taking of innocent life. And we must be willing to provide solutions...simply being anti-abortion isn't enough. How can we criticize those who kill their children, if we don't speak up, vote, give, serve or even inconvenience ourselves by adopting and raising unwanted babies? There may be a deafening silence from the news outlets and the more liberal-minded, but there should not, there cannot be silence from Christians. And I confess, up to now I have been far too silent.

But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;

    you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;
    you are the helper of the fatherless.
Break the arm of the wicked man;
    call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
    that would not otherwise be found out.” Psalm 10:14-15

____________

*This is in no way a condemnation of women who have had abortions, just a focus on the needs of the more helpless person in the crisis. We are sinners, all of us, and there is forgiveness and healing in Jesus.