Whatcha Lookin’ At?

Posted on by Betsy

If this were a Bible class and you were reading from the Bible in your hands, I would have you take out a highlighter and highlight every time the word “see” or “saw” appears in this passage. Since you are reading it online, use your imaginary highlighter instead!

Genesis 3 (The Message)

3 The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made. He spoke to the Woman: “Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?”

2-3 The Woman said to the serpent, “Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. It’s only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘Don’t eat from it; don’t even touch it or you’ll die.’”

4-5 The serpent told the Woman, “You won’t die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you’ll see what’s really going on. You’ll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil.”

6 When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she’d know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate.

7 Immediately the two of them did “see what’s really going on”—saw themselves naked! They sewed fig leaves together as makeshift clothes for themselves.

See/saw/sinned/sewed. It was a quick downhill slide! And that LYING snake, twisting God’s words for the first of many, many times. But I want us to focus on how “seeing” is the first step in the downhill slide of sinning.

When the Woman SAW that the tree LOOKED like good eating….it started with that. Eve looked at something she was told to pass by, but instead she stopped to contemplate it. Every sin we willingly participate in begins the same way. Adultery, lust, coveting, greed, stealing, killing, etc. all begins with looking at something we can’t have, and taking it anyway.

When the forbidden fruit was consumed, the two of them did “SEE what’s really going on-SAW themselves naked! So once the covenant with God was broken, the cover-up began. The lies took over, the shame took hold, and the trust was fractured. Sin replaced love as they tried to hide from the Father. Aren’t we just like that? When the threat of exposure of our sins takes hold, we lie through our teeth to try to prevent everyone knowing what we’ve done and who we truly are.

So the question for us this Lent morning is, what are you looking at? What’s in your hand? What temptation has Satan put in your view that is calling you to sin against God?

Look away. You can avoid the whole downward spiral right now by looking away, walking away, and telling Satan to beat it.

Tempting Apples by Becca Ziegler

More than Bread

Posted on by Betsy

Ahhhh, temptation. If you gave something up for Lent this year, you are probably in the fighting-temptation stage. A friend shared with me that she gave up Twitter. She felt she was spending too much time and emotional energy on Twitter, and is now trying to break the habit of constantly looking at it. Her need to scroll was challenging at the beginning, and she even contemplated changing her password to a computer-generated one, with the idea of saving it in a safe place for later, and thus by-passing the temptation to look.

I get it. Psychologists say it takes a full six weeks to develop a new habit and rid yourself of an old one. It is WORK.

Jesus gets it, too. In our passage today, we see Jesus in the wilderness, weak and starving, being tempted by the Tempter Extraordinaire:

Matthew 4 (The Message)

4 1-3 Next Jesus was taken into the wild by the Spirit for the Test. The Devil was ready to give it. Jesus prepared for the Test by fasting forty days and forty nights. That left him, of course, in a state of extreme hunger, which the Devil took advantage of in the first test: “Since you are God’s Son, speak the word that will turn these stones into loaves of bread.”

4 Jesus answered by quoting Deuteronomy: “It takes more than bread to stay alive. It takes a steady stream of words from God’s mouth.”

5-6 For the second test the Devil took him to the Holy City. He sat him on top of the Temple and said, “Since you are God’s Son, jump.” The Devil goaded him by quoting Psalm 91: “He has placed you in the care of angels. They will catch you so that you won’t so much as stub your toe on a stone.”

7 Jesus countered with another citation from Deuteronomy: “Don’t you dare test the Lord your God.”

Did you notice that Jesus answered each assault by quoting scripture? Could there be any better way to look temptation in the face? Of course that meant that he KNEW scripture….

Thus, the challenge for us. Bible Study leader Dick Murray once said that it was in a foxhole in World War II when he realized how little scripture he had actually memorized. After reciting the few big ones he knew (John 3:16 and Psalm 23,) he was at a loss. From that day on, he committed to memorizing scripture. Think about it: if your only Bible was the one in your head, how much use would it be to you?

8-9 For the third test, the Devil took him to the peak of a huge mountain. He gestured expansively, pointing out all the earth’s kingdoms, how glorious they all were. Then he said, “They’re yours—lock, stock, and barrel. Just go down on your knees and worship me, and they’re yours.”

10 Jesus’ refusal was curt: “Beat it, Satan!” He backed his rebuke with a third quotation from Deuteronomy: “Worship the Lord your God, and only him. Serve him with absolute single-heartedness.”

11 The Test was over. The Devil left. And in his place, angels! Angels came and took care of Jesus’ needs.

Beat it, Satan! You have to love The Message’s language. I imagine this scripture is one we can all memorize! And one that we all need on a daily basis. And again, Jesus backs up his rebuke with another quotation from scripture.

As you continue the discipline of giving something up this Lent, perhaps you might consider taking on the memorization of Bible passages. After all, it takes a steady stream of words from God’s mouth to keep temptation at bay. Let’s start today….repeat after me:

BEAT IT, SATAN!

“I will not eat these, I will not eat these…” Simba’s Temptation by Marta Young

Stay at Your Post

Posted on by Betsy

A few days ago I read an exchange on FaceBook between a pastor and a lay person. The post celebrated the ministry of a long-running Camp Meeting that has brought souls to Christ for decades. The lay person asked, “Do progressives go to Camp Meetings?”

I can’t ascertain the reason behind this question, but it broke my heart. The practice by many of dividing our flock into two labeled camps is a hurtful witness to the world. When the world sees us so divided, they have no reason to seek out Christ through what we do.

Paul was keenly aware of this. He called his church at Corinth to drop their differences in order to enter into God’s work. God calls us to be RECONCILERS. As we proclaim the good news of God’s reconciling work on the cross, where the sinful world was reconciled to the Father through the shed blood of the atonement, we must be reconciled with one another or our witness is diminished.

I believe Paul speaks directly to the church today as well.

2 Corinthians 5

20 God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.

21 How? you ask. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.

6 1-10 Companions as we are in this work with you, we beg you, please don’t squander one bit of this marvelous life God has given us. God reminds us,

I heard your call in the nick of time;
The day you needed me, I was there to help.

Well, now is the right time to listen, the day to be helped. Don’t put it off; don’t frustrate God’s work by showing up late, throwing a question mark over everything we’re doing. Our work as God’s servants gets validated—or not—in the details.

Church, now is the time to listen. We dare not squander ONE BIT of this marvelous life God has given us. When we publicly squabble within our Body, we put a question mark over everything we’re doing.

Our work indeed gets validated (or not) in the details. If what you are saying, doing, posting, and proclaiming brings harm to the Body, keep it to yourself.

 People are watching us as we stay at our post, alertly, unswervingly …in hard times, tough times, bad times; when we’re beaten up, jailed, and mobbed; working hard, working late, working without eating; with pure heart, clear head, steady hand; in gentleness, holiness, and honest love; when we’re telling the truth, and when God’s showing his power; when we’re doing our best setting things right; when we’re praised, and when we’re blamed; slandered, and honored; true to our word, though distrusted; ignored by the world, but recognized by God; terrifically alive, though rumored to be dead; beaten within an inch of our lives, but refusing to die; immersed in tears, yet always filled with deep joy; living on handouts, yet enriching many; having nothing, having it all.

We have the world to win for Christ. But first we have to enter into God’s work of making things right between ourselves. Stay at your post…people are watching.

God’s Light by Michelle Robertson

Lent Rules

Posted on by Betsy

Let’s talk about the Lectionary for a moment.

The Revised Common Lectionary is a prescribed set of scripture assignments in a three-year cycle. The purpose of the Lectionary is to provide preachers with a compass. Those who follow it will be sure to draw from a wide range of readings, as opposed to choosing what to preach on each week based on our own preferences. Trust me, we would all like to stay in the safe waters of the Gospel of John or the Psalms, but the Lectionary throws us into the deep depths of Amos and Revelation as well. Those are books a smart preacher avoids like the plague! So following the Lectionary ensures that the entire Bible gets preached.

A Lenten discipline that I am practicing for the second year now is to do these devotionals following the Lectionary. Usually when I sit down to write, God has presented a topic that has captured my attention and I find a scripture that speaks directly to the issue. During Lent, the scripture will find me instead, as I will be following the four prescribed weekly assignments for Year A. (Fridays will be writer’s choice!)

Yes, this is a harder approach. But Lent is designed to stretch us, challenge us, and allow God to teach us his wisdom into our secret hearts. So come along with me as we allow the Lectionary to drive this train!

Matthew 6 (The Message)

“Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won’t be applauding.

2-4 “When you do something for someone else, don’t call attention to yourself. You’ve seen them in action, I’m sure—‘playactors’ I call them—treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that’s all they get. When you help someone out, don’t think about how it looks. Just do it—quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out.

Isn’t this an appropriate text for our first week in Lent? It lays out the rules: don’t make a performance out of being good. Don’t call attention to yourself when you are doing something for someone else. Don’t show your compassion only when someone is watching. Don’t focus on how you look when you are helping someone.

Be quiet. Be unobtrusive.

Pray with Simplicity

5 “And when you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat?

6 “Here’s what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.

This last verse nails Lent: go to your quiet and secluded place and JUST BE THERE as simply and honestly as you can manage, and shift your focus to God.

Ponder that as you move through your day. When and where can you quiet down your life so that you can sense God’s grace today? When and where can you enter into God’s presence and shift your focus to him?

Lent is calling. Go into your prayer closet and shut the door. Shut down your ego, shut the door on your need for attention, and especially shut out the clamor of the world around you…and simply BE.

https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=23

Ashes, Ashes

Posted on by Betsy

Ring around the rosie! A pocket full of posey. Ashes, ashes, we all fall down!

Who has played this as a child? I have fond memories of watching my mother with my girls and my niece in a Disney hotel pool, holding hands and circling around while singing this. The finale was to all fall backwards into the water, which is a clever way to help young children learn how to hold their breath and immerse their heads under water without fear. Sneaky Grandmere!

I was startled to learn that some people attribute this cute little ditty to the plagues. Yes, the plagues. It is thought that ring around the rosie refers to the fever-flush that would appear on the face with the onset of sickness. Pocket full of posey refers to the medicinal herbs that were used to treat the victim. And of course ashes refers to the necessary burning of the bodies in an attempt to stem the course of the virus that was taking out entire villages.

That is quite a morbid take on a nursery rhyme, but it does lead us into a contemplation of our own mortality as we approach the season of Lent on Ash Wednesday.

Lent is the 40 days (not counting Sundays) prior to Easter when we are invited to slow down our frazzled pace and contemplate the meaning of life, death, and life beyond death. It is a season of preparation for the marvelous celebration of the resurrection on Easter morning. We are wise to approach it with a serious, soul-searching attitude.

Psalm 51

1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.

2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

4 Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence and blameless when you pass judgment.

5 Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.

6 You desire truth in the inward being; therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.

Truth in the inward being is a noble pursuit. God knows the secrets of our heart, but do we? Is there stuff buried so deep that we have forgotten about it? The strength of our denial can enable us to live as though certain actions and behaviors never took place. We go along on our merry way, thinking we have gotten away with it.

Lent says otherwise. It is an opportunity to confront our deepest sin without fear, because Jesus has the power to cleanse us, FREE US, and make us whole again.

You know that the thing you have buried is still there, waiting like a ticking time bomb to resurface and explode you into pieces. God says that is not necessary. You can give it over to him and let him blot it completely out.

This Lent, let us ask God to teach us his wisdom in our secret hearts.

It’s time to come clean.

Photo courtesy of Covenant Presbyterian Church

Solitude

Posted on by Betsy

I really, really dislike solitude. Everybody who knows me gets that. I score extremely high on the “extrovert” scale, which means that being surrounded by people energizes me. I once went on a retreat that had enforced solitude. We could not speak to one another for an entire night and into the next morning. I thought I would die.

But today I read something that blew me away:

“In solitude, we stop believing our own press.”

Whoa. This nugget comes from Ruth Haley Barton’s book, Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership, which my church staff is reading together as we consider our personal leadership style and the challenges of leading others. In her chapter on solitude, Barton asserts that it is only when we are apart from others and quiet in our own souls that we can begin to deal with our false self.

People develop false selves as a way of negotiating past experiences as they deal with current realities. The false self is a set of adaptive behaviors that are often in opposition to the life of love and trust that God offers us and wants from us. False selves come from a need for self-preservation, but can be a strong obstacle when it comes to having an authentic relationship with Christ, who knows our true selves (and loves us anyway.)

Luke 12 (The Message)

2 You can’t keep your true self hidden forever; before long you’ll be exposed. You can’t hide behind a religious mask forever; sooner or later the mask will slip and your true face will be known. You can’t whisper one thing in private and preach the opposite in public; the day’s coming when those whispers will be repeated all over town.

In this passage, Jesus is speaking directly to his disciples and warning them about the habits of the Pharisees. The hypocrisy of the Pharisees acted like a yeast that could easily spread and detract from God’s message. They were a negative witness to the love, compassion, and true mission of God’s people.

Jesus warns us to remain authentic and present ourselves as we truly are. No religious masks, no talking behind our hands out of both sides of our mouths…eventually everyone gets exposed for who they actually are. So stop believing your own press, and OWN UP.

In Christ, there is no need for false selves, blown up egos, over-aggrandized facades, or hiding. It’s a come-as-you-are party with him. He sees you for all that you are, and loves you unconditionally.

Take a quiet moment today to reflect on that. Jesus knows all about you, and grace, mercy, and forgiveness are always his response when you open up and are real with him.

Solitude will reinforce this…if you let it.

All is Quiet

Kinsman Redeemer

Posted on by Betsy

The marvelous book of Ruth in the Old Testament shows the kinsman redeemer law in action. Based on Leviticus 25, the law simply said that when a husband/father dies, it falls to the nearest male relative to take the wife/mother/children into his household to provide for them. Women and children had no status in those days, and this compassionate law was their only defense in a patriarchal society.

In the third chapter of Ruth, we see Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, preparing Ruth to approach Boaz to become her kinsman redeemer. Naomi has lost her husband and both her sons, and so their situation is precarious, to say the least. Ruth makes her way to Boaz in a very favorable moment:

Ruth 3 (Contemporary English Version)

7 Boaz ate and drank, and he was in a good mood. He went over to lie down by the edge of the grain pile. Then she quietly approached, uncovered his legs, and lay down. 8 During the middle of the night, the man shuddered and turned over—and there was a woman lying at his feet. 9 “Who are you?” he asked.

She replied, “I’m Ruth your servant. Spread out your robe over your servant, because you are a redeemer.”

10 He said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter! You have acted even more faithfully than you did at first. You haven’t gone after rich or poor young men. 11 And now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I’ll do for you everything you are asking. Indeed, my people—all who are at the gate—know that you are a woman of worth.”

When it was ascertained that Boaz was indeed the next kinsman redeemer available, he married Ruth and took in Naomi as well.

I love this story because the mother-in-law is the hero. Think about that. How many bad mother-in-law jokes have you heard? I have always resented those because I was blessed with an OUTSTANDING mother-in-law. And now that I am a MIL, I really like a story that shows one in a positive light.

Ruth and Boaz had a child whose lineage provided YOU with your kinsman redeemer. Through the generations, and through the house of David, came a child of that line whose name was Jesus. He came to redeem us, and truly is our own kinsman redeemer through our adoption by his Father:

Ephesians 1:5 (New Living Translation)

5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.

And thus a resourceful mother-in-law was pivotal in the salvation of the world. (I told you this is a good MIL story!)

So if you ever find yourself doubting your place in the family of God and unsure of your position, remember that YOU are a kinsman to the Redeemer. All of this happened for your salvation! Thanks be to God.

Family Lineage

Sabbath Snow

Posted on by Betsy

Walking with a fellow preacher on President’s Day, we began to commiserate about the fact that we often work on days that most people experience as holidays. Christmas and Easter are the obvious ones, but even those happy little Monday holidays that normal people enjoy don’t usually provide a day off for us. Sermons still need to be written, bible studies need prepped, and urgent hospital visits aren’t canceled due to the calendar. Don’t get me wrong, we love our work. But carving out a sabbath for people who work on the sabbath takes effort. Everybody who has to work on the weekend, raise your hand!

My friend confessed to me that the only time she really feels released from work is on a snow day. The inability to physically get out of the house is the one time she can just let herself have a do-nothing day and relax without feeling guilty. We don’t get many snow days on the Outer Banks, but when we do, it’s a treat.

There is truly something magical about a snow day that helps the world shut down and reflect. I can remember the joy of a snow day when I was a kid. All of Chatham Road would gather on the street for snowball fights, sledding, and making snowmen in each other’s front yards. Snow days are a child’s best sabbath.

Exodus 20 (The Message)

8-11 Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Work six days and do everything you need to do. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to God, your God. Don’t do any work—not you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your servant, nor your maid, nor your animals, not even the foreign guest visiting in your town.

For in six days God made Heaven, Earth, and sea, and everything in them; he rested on the seventh day. Therefore God blessed the Sabbath day; he set it apart as a holy day.

I joked with my friend that poor God is looking at all of his hard workers and saying, “What, I gotta send you SNOW to make you take a rest?” God created the sabbath for us so that we might cease our work and spend that time with family, friends, our thoughts, and God himself. That’s why he made it HOLY: it is set apart for his use so we might re-charge and re-connect with him.

Sabbath-making and sabbath-taking is meant to be a blessing to us. Many of my friends work seven days a week for months on end. The Outer Banks is a seasonal community, and our population quadruples with visitors in the warmer months. Our local businesses go crazy when the season begins. Sometimes there is no choice.

So the key here is to create sabbath in ways that accomplish what sabbath is intended to do: to re-charge our souls and re-connect with God. In other words, find a way to create your own snow day.

If God, who created the universe, counted and named all the stars, and set the rising and the setting of the sun in motion took a day off, so can you. Rest. Recuperate. Relax and remember who you are, and whose you are.

Tomorrow comes either way.

Come Unto Me, and I Will Give You Rest by Becca Ziegler

Hang on to the Rope

Posted on by Betsy

The story is told of a helicopter that was called to remove eleven stranded skiers from a mountain top during an avalanche. The pilot deployed a rope ladder and instructed them to hang on. As they clung to the rope and flew away, the wind shear became treacherous when they flew over a deep ravine. The helicopter began to dip, and the pilot called down to the ten men and one woman clinging to the rope that the helicopter could only support the weight of ten people. So in order for everyone to survive, someone would have to let go. 

The skiers began to grumble and fight among themselves, and finally the woman spoke up. 

“Gentlemen, I have lived a life of service to my family. I have sacrificed all of my life for my children and my husband. I denied myself at every turn, even taking care of both my parents before they died. In light of that, I have decided that since sacrifice was the way I lived, sacrifice will be the way I die. I will sacrifice myself so that you all may survive.” When the men heard this they were overcome with gratitude, and immediately every single one of them took their hands off the rope and burst into applause!

But on a more serious note….

For every one of you who lives a life of service to your family, who makes sacrifices for their welfare, and who works tirelessly to provide for your household: we see you. You live a life of frequent self-denial so that others might thrive and be happy. But make no mistake…DON’T LET GO OF THE ROPE.

Joshua 1:9 New International Version (NIV)

9 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

That, right there, is your rope. The Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Grab ahold of him.

I remember once seeing our preschool’s two-year-old class walking to the playground. The teachers use a long rope with multiple loops with handles, and the kids hang on to it as they walk. Yep, we got kids-on-a-rope right here! And you know those kids hang on for life.

So too should we. We need to hang on to God for dear life.

Joshua 23 (The Message)

 8 Hold tight to God, your God, just as you’ve done up to now.

9-10 “God has driven out superpower nations before you. And up to now, no one has been able to stand up to you. Think of it—one of you, single-handedly, putting a thousand on the run! Because God is God, your God. Because he fights for you, just as he promised you.

So the next time you’re falling into bed well after midnight because you were up finishing the laundry, helping a child with a science project that they only remembered after dinner is due tomorrow, or fixing the garbage disposal, know that God was there. When the alarm goes off at O-Dark-Thirty tomorrow morning, realize that God will be along for the ride as you commute to work for another long day.

God honors your sacrifice. You are a blessing to your family. So hang on! God is God…YOUR God. You are never alone.

This is the legit Safety Information Card from an airline that I flew on. Once.

Befriending Your Brokenness

Posted on by Betsy

Last week I told my congregation a story that came out of India. There once was a water bearer who had two large water pots in which he carried water from the river to his master every day. One of the pots was perfect. The other one had a crack in it. The perfect pot always arrived at the master’s quarters perfectly full. The cracked pot was always half empty. Embarrassed and ashamed, the cracked pot said to his carrier one day, “Why don’t you get rid of me? I never arrive at the master’s quarters more than half full.”

”Ah,” replied the water bearer, ”you don’t know the full story. Look beside the road where I carry you each day. There are flowers growing that I pick for the master’s table. The flowers only bloom on your side of the road. It is your cracked pot that waters them.”

Isn’t that an inspiring story for all of the cracked pots reading this today???

Scripture: Psalm 147: 2-5 (NRSV)

2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
    he gathers the exiles of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted
    and binds up their wounds.
4 He determines the number of the stars
    and calls them each by name.
5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
    his understanding has no limit.

This beautiful Psalm speaks of brokenness. It reminds us that God heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Brokenness is everywhere. All around us are people dealing with broken hearts, broken bodies, broken dreams, broken relationships, broken thoughts, broken jobs, broken social lives, broken promises, broken minds….brokenness has been part of who we are since Adam and Eve broke the covenant with God in the garden.

In his wonderful book The Life of the Beloved, Henri Nouwen suggests that we befriend our brokenness by embracing it, acknowledging it, and owning up to it. This is far preferable to running away from it. The first step to healing is not a step away from the pain of brokenness, but a step toward it. Attempting to avoid, repress, or escape the pain is like cutting off a limb that could be re-attached if it only had proper attention.

Nouwen asserts that our human suffering need not be an obstacle to the joy and peace we desire, but instead it can become the means to it. But he cautions that we can’t do it alone. We need someone to stand with us in the brokenness, to remind us that there is peace beyond the anguish, life beyond death, and love beyond fear.

Are you broken? What is the source of your anguish? Where is God calling you to lay down your broken pieces and let him make something beautiful out of them?

As you make your way through it, find a friend. Ask for help. Go to a therapist, a church, a clergy person, a trusted family member, and get someone to come alongside of you. Nouwen is right. If we befriend our brokenness with someone who has befriended us, we will find hope at the end of the journey together.

God will use your brokenness to bring forth beautiful flowers, if you let him. Everyone and everything can be repaired, and you will find meaning and value in the hands of the Master. You are the Beloved!

Broken Shell Planter by Jan Wilson