Reflections on One Word

“God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.” –Matthew 5:6NLT

What a difference one word makes! The New International Version of the Bible is my favorite. I spend most of my Bible study and devotional time in that translation. But every now and then, I like to read from another version to see how other scholars have interpreted God’s Word from its original Greek, Hebrew, or Aramaic. It especially catches my attention when they insert unfamiliar words into a familiar passage like the Beautitudes (Matthew 5:5-12). In the case of verse 6, they changed the NIV’s righteousness to justice and sent me down a whole new rabbit trail of thought.

When I think of hungering and thirsting for righteousness, I think of longing to be made righteous personally. I think of my own failings, sins, fallen nature and how hungering and thirsting for righteousness led me to Christ Who took my sins on Himself on the cross that He could clothe me in His righteousness. Thanks to Christ, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be satisfied!

But the word justice changes everything. When I hunger and thirst for justice, which I often do, I’m demanding that life be made fair, that those who hurt others pay for their crimes, that everybody get what’s rightfully coming to them.

This world is full of people who are hungering and thirsting for justice. But demanding justice is an impossible way to live. In their book, Finding Purpose Beyond Our Pain, Paul Meier and David Henderson offer two examples: If we treat two children with different IQ’s the same, one will excel and one will fail. Is this just? Yet if we treat them differently, offering more time and aid to the one with the lower IQ, is this fair to the one who needs less? If we set the fine for speeding at $200 per offense are we being fair to the school teacher who has so much less than the billionaire? But if we fine her less for committing the same crime is this fair to the billionaire? (p. 6)

Trying to make everything fair in this life is a frustrating exercise in futility. And when I think about demanding that everyone get what they deserve, good or bad, God gently reminds me that I really don’t want what I really deserve. Jesus died to save me from that. Thanks to Him, I live under grace, not law.

Which led me to the next Beatitude! “God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Matthew 5:7NLT) When I read this, I noticed that when we hunger and thirst for justice, God promises satisfaction. He takes care of it. We leave our perceived need in His hands. But we are to be merciful. We do something. We show something. We offer mercy to others, and receive it from God in return. Our hands are tied as far as justice is concerned, but mercy is something we can give. This passage doesn’t say God blesses those who make everything right and fair. He blesses those who long for a world that is right and fair; they will be satisfied. It’s a promise they can claim, but God will do the work. In the meantime, we offer mercy to those who’ve hurt us, knowing our God is merciful to us.

Wow!

But that’s not all. Verse 5 says, “God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth” (NLT). As I continued my devotional reading today, I came across this verse, “The one thing I ask of the Lord—the thing I seek most—is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfection and meditating in his Temple” (Psalm 27:4NLT). To me, that’s the ultimate definition of humility. We seek God. We live in His Presence. We leave justice in His capable hands. And we show mercy to the people who surround us each day.

In her book, Jesus Calling, Sarah Young says, “Instead of grasping and controlling, you are learning to release and receive” (p. 326). Instead of grasping and controlling and demanding life be fair, I release it all, dwell in God’s Presence, and thankfully receive all He gives. I can’t make everything fair. I may hunger and thirst for justice, but I must trust God to satisfy that need. Jesus promises He will. In the meantime, I show mercy. I am forgiven; I forgive.

Lord, I often long for a perfect world where everything is just and right and fair. I see so much wrong that I cannot fix. Help me to release this to You knowing You will make everything right in Your time. While I wait, I’ll walk with You, delighting in Your perfection and meditating in Your Temple, offering mercy to those who offend me that, hopefully, they will find Your grace, too. Teach me to release and receive. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Parachute Prayer #41

We've all had days where everything we try to do goes wrong. Other times, we schedule baby steps toward reaching big goals: "I'll do this by this date, then this by this date, then this by this date," and so on. But brick walls appear just before each little goal, hindering our progress . . . causing much frustration.


Today's Parachute Prayer is to pray when brick walls block our way. It's hard, I know. But on a bad day when all's going wrong, dropping everything to ask God for wisdom, assistance, even blessing not only comforts us, but also often helps us to find a better way. Who knows? Maybe the brick wall is something to be thankful for. Maybe God has a different plan for our day. Maybe God is challenging our commitment or using the obstacle to strengthen our resolve. If we don't talk to Him about it, we'll never know--and we may never reach our goals. We'll just get many bruises from throwing ourselves at an unmoving wall, go to bed exhausted, and have to face it all again another day.

When obstacles confound us, it's worth our time to stop and pray.

Grace Shown Seen or Unseen

“Though grace is shown to the wicked, they do not learn righteousness; even in a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and regard not the majesty of the Lord.” –Isaiah 26:10

In yesterday’s post, I mentioned that the drunk driver involved in the accident had received a gracious wake-up call (because no one was hurt by his actions) and that I hoped he would listen and respond. That reminded me of this verse in Isaiah 26 which tells us that grace is shown to the wicked—to those who don’t live for God, to those who aren’t yet even thinking of turning to God.

I love that! Though the verse focuses on the consequences of not learning from gracious wake-up calls, I love knowing that God gives them! God loves all people, regardless of what they have done or how they respond to Him. He is constantly working behind the scenes to teach righteousness, to draw all who don’t yet know Him into His Kingdom.

That drunk driver now has a choice. He can recognize God’s majesty in the events of the accident and praise God for sparing him from a murder conviction on top of his DUI, or he can learn nothing from the experience and go on doing evil just as he was.

Sometimes those who do wrong get second chances. When they do, rather than cry, “No! That’s not fair!” as we're sometimes prone to do,* let’s pray they’ll see God’s majesty at work and respond to His gracious ways.

Lord, please show grace to the wicked, so they will learn righteousness. And please help Your children to live uprightly—in Jesus—that the unsaved will see and respond to the Your majesty!


*I'm most definitely not crying, "No fair," this time. God's grace toward the drunk driver spared two innocent lives, including the life of my loved one. Sometimes God's grace toward unsaved people helps His children, too!

Our True Moral Compass

Beware. This is one of my rare soapbox posts. But I just have to share my heart. I may be preaching to the choir, but perhaps some who really need to read these words will find them, pray about them, and seek God’s Truth for themselves.

I’ve often heard people say, “If it makes me happy, it must be okay.” In other words, happiness is their moral compass. If it feels good, it is good. If it hurts, leave it alone.

I’m sure the man who drank too much alcohol probably enjoyed the experience. He believed that alcohol was making him happy, so he drank up; then he got in his car to drive. He might even have been happy right up to the moment when he slammed his car into another, sending it spinning out of control and into the car one of my loved ones was driving at the time. That drunk driver may have been happy, but what he did was wrong.

Thankfully, no one was seriously hurt—this time. I praise God for that, and I hope with all my heart that this alcohol-drinking driver will listen to the gracious wake-up call he just received. I pray he’ll learn from the experience and never drive drunk again. And if he turns to God with a repentant heart, that will be even better still. This is now my prayer for him.

But back to my soapbox, I’m sure burglars who steal from others do so because they believe stealing will make them happy. They may be pleased with themselves, but that doesn’t excuse their actions. Stealing is wrong.

The terrorists who flew planes into our World Trade Center on 9-11 may have been happy about their choices, too. They were anticipating some glorious reward, which I’m certain they didn’t receive. Murder is wrong.

My point is: wrong is always wrong, regardless of how one feels. Using emotions to determine morality is like using a compass whose needle points a different direction every time. You can’t find the right path that way; emotions will just leave you lost.

That’s why Jesus has given us another compass—one that never changes and is always accurate. His Word, the Bible, shows us the only right way.

And if the size of the Bible overwhelms some, Jesus made it all so simple in Mark 12:30-31 when he said that there is no greater commandment than, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” and “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

If our actions show sincere, unselfish, 100% genuine love to God and to the people around us, our actions are going to be right. Be warned though: the most loving actions may, in truth, make us feel unhappy sometimes. In fact, in some cases, the most loving actions may make people around us unhappy. But feelings, because they can be deceitful, are irrelevant; our goal is to do what is right.

Paul also gave us a simple indicator when he said, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23). There is no law against these because actions that come from these show love to God and His beloved creation, humankind.

Happiness is nice, but it can’t tell us the difference between right and wrong. For that, we have to listen for God’s voice by reading His Word and obeying as Jesus taught and as the Holy Spirit leads. Ironically enough, when we do this, true happiness—the kind that comes from inner peace and joy—will find us. The other kind is a counterfeit that will leave us spinning around helplessly like the drunk driver I now pray for.

Lord, when we’re in doubt or feeling confused about what to do, draw us to seek clear direction from You. Thank You for Your Word, Your Son, Your Spirit, and the determination to always choose right over wrong—for the sake of Your Name and the glory of Your Kingdom. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. Amen.

A New Look at Old Genesis 2

“The warden paid no attention to Joseph’s care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.” –Genesis 39:23

Here’s another example of a familiar Bible story hitting me in a whole new way. I’ve read Joseph’s amazing story many times, but when I read this verse, I had to stop and think. It says that God gave Joseph success in whatever he did.

Now let’s just back up the turnip truck for a moment. (That’s such a bizarre phrase, don’t ya think? I may have to look into its history for curiosity’s sake.* But back to the story . . .)

Joseph was a slave. Then Joseph was framed for a crime he didn’t commit and became a prisoner. I don’t know of many societies that would define these “occupations” as success. Parents don’t say, “When my boy grows up, I hope he’s forced into slavery” or “put into prison for a crime he didn’t commit.” No. It just doesn’t happen. Not anywhere. I don't think.

Yet Genesis 39 tells us that the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success. In fact, it says it twice. Verses 3-4b say (of Joseph's time as Potipher’s slave),

“When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant.”

When we read the rest of the story, we learn that God eventually grants Joseph huge worldly success as well. But these verses from Genesis 39 don’t say, “the Lord planned to give Joseph success.” They say, “the Lord gave him success in everything he did” (emphasis mine).

I think the take-away point for us is that the circumstances we find ourselves in don’t determine success or failure in God’s eyes. Oftentimes circumstances are out of our control. We have to trust God with that, just as Joseph did. But if we serve God faithfully in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in, doing whatever our hands find to do with all our might (see Ecclesiastes 9:10a), this is success in God’s eyes.

Paul’s message to slaves in Colossians 3:22-24 sums this up well:

“Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

If we know God is with us, as Joseph obviously did, and we serve Him in all circumstances, He will bless our efforts with success right where we are. And even if we don’t see that success on society’s terms, we can trust that, in God’s eyes, we’re doing well indeed.

Lord, help us keep our eyes on You, serving You only through all we do.


*Results of my research: Oh! I get it. You back up the truck because you never know what may "turn-up" when you go over the ground a second time. Clever--that phrase gets creativity points. (No, Justin, I don't know how many--you can decide this time.)

A New Look at Old Genesis

I’ve been reading through the book of Genesis this month. It’s one of my favorites! (The book, not the month—not that there’s anything wrong with October. It’s a perfectly fine month. But I’m referring to the book.)

I love the book of Genesis because it’s a book of stories, fascinating stories we begin telling children from their earliest years, yet stories adults can learn from, too. I recently heard it referred to as the soap opera that resulted from the Fall.* That made me giggle, and I suppose it’s true. The difference is, these stories show God at work, carrying out His perfect plan among and on the behalf of the fallen people He has decided to redeem because He loves us all so much.

My point today is that we can always learn something new from Genesis. This is true of all of God’s Word, but I think we sometimes take Genesis for granted. It is the beginning and many of us learn its stories from our beginning and they become so familiar to us. It’s easy to consider skipping over them, thinking that if we can recite them by heart, then we’ve learned all we can.

But there’s more! Every reading there’s more!

For example, when I read through the story of Noah (Genesis 6-9:17) this time, these two passages caught my attention:

“Noah did everything just as God commanded him.” –Genesis 6:22

and

“By the first day of the first month of Noah's six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry. By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was completely dry. Then God said to Noah, ‘Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives.’” –Genesis 8:13-15

Did you catch that?! The ground was dry on the first day of the month. It was completely dry on the 27th day of the month. Noah saw that it was dry, but he waited. He waited in an ark full of stir crazy animals with his stir crazy family for almost a full month. He stayed in that ark in spite of what he saw until God told him to come out.

Wow! When Moses wrote that Noah did everything just as God commanded him, he wasn’t kidding. And since Noah was the one man chosen (with his family) to be spared from the flood, I think we should take note. (I also think we should hope and pray it doesn’t take us 601 years to learn to wait on God, ‘cause sometimes I think, with me, it might.)

I have a few more Genesis lessons to share, but this post is long enough for today. I’ll share more thoughts in coming days. In the meantime, happy studying! If you’re wondering what to read now, consider giving good old Genesis a brand new try.



*Sermon by Mike Reeves, October 25, 2009

For last year's thoughts on Noah, click here.

Indescribable

Before worship yesterday morning, our pianist quietly played one of my all-time favorite hymns, “How Great Thou Art.” I recalled the words and couldn’t help but worship right then:

“O Lord my God,
When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed . . .”

People were still wandering into the sanctuary, greeting one another, finding their seats . . . but for me, the service had begun. That song truly does draw my soul to sing as it so beautifully proclaims God’s creative, awesome, eternal majesty. How great You are, O Lord! How great You are!

Later, during the offering, the pianist continued her worship theme, playing and singing Chris Tomlin’s modern hymn, “Indescribable”:

“From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea
Creation's revealing Your majesty . . .
Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God.”

My mind pondered the parallels between the two songs, written more than a century apart, proclaiming the same incredible Truth. And then I remembered Psalm 8:3-4:

“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?”

It seems people have been drawn throughout time to worship God, the Creator of all, through the works of His hands. All that we see and consider in nature reveals the true nature of our almighty God. The heavens, especially, declare His unfathomable greatness! Our God’s huge! Yet He creates tiny, delicate flowers that sometimes go unseen—just because He wants to—and He counts the hairs on our heads and makes no two snowflakes the same! As we think about this, we have to sing, to praise, to pray, to fall on our knees and proclaim His glory with adoration, wonder, and inexpressible awe.

I’ve heard of a star registry, where people can apply (and pay) to have stars named for themselves or those they love. But God’s already named them! They are His Creation; He holds them in His hands! He’s so big.

Others believe that if they are very, very good and follow all the rules, someday, God will give them planets or solar systems of their own to rule over just as He does. But God already rules over them all! There is only one God—and He can manage ev-er-y-thing!

We don’t exist to make great names for ourselves—to claim stars or planets or people or things. We exist to glorify and proclaim God’s incomprehensively majestic name! And yet, we’re so very small. To think that our little voices, among all the other little voices that ever have or ever will exist, matter to the God who hangs the stars in the sky without even burning His fingers on that which would vaporize us in an instant from light years away. . . He invites us to sing, to live lives that bring glory to His worthy name.

He loves us each so much! That’s indescribable.

Wisdom Work

“Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you.” –Proverbs 4:6

The Internet amazes me. True--it has its problems and dangers, so I approach it with caution and care. But anytime I want to know a fact (the meaning of a word, a historical detail, specifics about a current event), all I have to do is turn my computer on, find my favorite search engine, type a few words, and suddenly all the answers are there! I no longer have to wonder until I find the time to go to the library or purchase a newspaper, if I find the time at all. No effort needed aside from a few quick keystrokes. Knowledge is available like never before!

Wisdom, however, is different. Wisdom is knowledge gained from experience. I may be able to find an advice columnist on-line who is willing to share her wisdom concerning a particular situation, but her wisdom may not be right for my situation. She doesn’t live in my shoes; she hasn’t experienced my life. Different circumstances call for different solutions; finding them requires personal wisdom, wisdom from within.

How does one gain the kind of wisdom that protects, loves, and watches over a person? This wisdom comes from God. So easy to say! But how do we access it? By filling our hearts and minds with His Word--reading, studying, memorizing, devouring! God invites us to take it all in--His wisdom! He wants us to internalize it, make it a part of ourselves.

If we do this, then, when difficult circumstances arise, God’s Spirit will act as a search engine, pulling the verses we need onto the screen of our awareness, so we’ll know how best to respond. With practice and experience, this wisdom comes more easily, giving us confidence in our ability to handle new situations wisely with God’s help.

And we can’t forget to pray. Asking for wisdom pleases God. He’s ready to give us all we need at any time. (Again, that's easy to say, but remembering to do this, training ourselves to make prayer our first response and to trust that God will answer takes practice, determination, and time.)

Google for knowledge. For wsidom, go to God.

Father, open my heart and mind to Wisdom. I choose to honor her. Let her protect and watch over me, helping me make right choices to successfully live Your way. Thank You in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Parachute Prayer #40

Today is someone’s birthday. I won’t mention her by name. I wouldn’t want to embarrass her or anything. But if you’re reading this post, you know who you are. Happy birthday! We love you!

As I send her gift, I whisper a prayer, thanking God for her life and asking Him to bless her this next year—and always!

Then I remember, I have a cousin her same age. I pray for him, too.

Then I think of all the October birthday people in our family. It seems just about everyone either has their own October birthday or has a spouse, child, or parent with an October birthday. If you’re part of our family, you are partying this month!

And then I remember the crazy couple who decided to get married in the midst of all these birthdays adding an anniversary to the celebration parade. (That’s almost as nuts as getting married around Christmastime! Who’d ever do a thing like that?) I pray that God will add many blessings to this precious marriage, too.

It seems a birthday can trigger all kinds of Parachute Prayers! What a great opportunity to ask God’s blessing on our families.

Thank you, Lord, for each life we celebrate on a happy birthday—or anniversary! Please bless those we love through the coming year and always with health, with love, and with a growing knowledge of You. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

For These Children: A Reminder

While unpacking boxes of books after our most recent move, I came across a little book I’d never noticed before. I don’t know where it came from, but my husband and I both love books and somehow this one wandered into our collection. It caught my attention because it tells about ministry to troubled teens living on the streets; it was written by a nun, Sister Mary Rose O’Geady. I decided to see what she had to say.

Are You Out There, God? is a collection of letters written by Sister O’Geady to people who support the Covenant House ministry through prayer. Each letter tells the story of a different child living on the street either by choice (the runaway) or through abandonment. The stories are heartbreaking—sometimes horrific; some end triumphantly, some hopefully, some not yet, but maybe someday.

As I read through the first three or four stories, I noticed something strange within myself. My mind recognized that the stories were atrocious, but my heart didn’t seem to feel anything at all—it was actually taking in the information rather matter-of-factly. My mind didn’t think this was right. It told my heart to make me break down and cry. My heart stubbornly ignored it, remaining stoic. I asked God about this:

“Lord, these children’s lives are nightmares I can’t even begin to imagine. Millions of children are living on the streets right now experiencing things no one should. I don’t ever want to be callous to such a thing. Help me respond as You want me to.”

The phrase, “For this child I prayed,” (from 1 Samuel 1:27KJV) came to mind.

I love that phrase! It’s actually part of Hannah’s explanation to Priest Eli as she left her son, Samuel, to serve at the Temple. (See 1 Samuel 1.) Hannah had been barren. Year after year, she had prayed for a child. When she finally conceived and bore Samuel, she gave him back to God for life!

Hannah’s story is one of hope for childless couples, and her statement, “For this child I prayed,” is usually associated with thanksgiving for a long-awaited child. Christian bookstores carry beautiful pictures of mothers holding new babies. Hannah’s phrase is often the caption for these. I love that!

But I wasn’t thinking about eagerly anticipated new babies. I was thinking about lost teenagers. I believe God was showing me the statement can apply to these, too. Covenant House workers invite all the children they can in from off the street—and for each of these, they pray.

So I’ll pray, too!
For the prodigal—
For the forsaken—
For the hungry—
For the hurting—
For the homeless—
For these children, I’ll pray.

And as God leads, I’ll do more as I can.

My heart and mind are getting along now. I don’t think they ever weren’t. My heart just didn’t want to accept that what my eyes were reading was true. Children shouldn’t suffer like that—not anywhere, not ever, not even if they brought their troubles on themselves. God created them, He loves them, and He’s waiting to welcome them home—into His arms, into the homes of people who will care for them the way He originally planned. That is my prayer: that they’ll find their way there, that those who can will help, including me.

“I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him.” –1 Samuel 1:27

God answered Hannah’s prayer—so for these children, I’ll pray: May their lives come to honor God as Samuel’s did. Amen.

Lord,
Please provide food for those who don't have any

• and shelter
• and safety.

You've already provided salvation--their most crucial need.
Please draw them to find it.
Thank You, Lord.
Amen

Are You Out There, God? was written in 1996, but the Covenant House ministry is still going strong in several major cities around the world. For more information, click here.


Originally published September 25, 2008.