Christian daily devotionals

Good Answer

Posted on by Betsy

Are there Bible passages that absolutely stump you? Do you read stories in scripture that not only make you scratch your head in wonder, they make you look away in avoidance?

Today’s reading is one of those passages for me. I am confused, saddened, and honestly, a little repulsed. But scripture itself assures us that all scripture is beneficial for teaching, so let’s jump in together and see what we can learn.

Mark described a moment in Jesus’ ministry when Jesus was traveling throughout Israel, teaching, ministering, and healing people. The word of his miracle-making had preceded him and in a futile attempt at some rest, he tried to stay away from the crowds. But people knew he was in Tyre when a persistent mother sought him out:

Mark 7 (Common English Bible)

24 Jesus left that place and went into the region of Tyre. He didn’t want anyone to know that he had entered a house, but he couldn’t hide. 25 In fact, a woman whose young daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit heard about him right away. She came and fell at his feet. 26 The woman was Greek, Syrophoenician by birth. She begged Jesus to throw the demon out of her daughter. 27 He responded, “The children have to be fed first. It isn’t right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

I’m sure you can anticipate my objections to this passage. I don’t understand how the Messiah, who came because “God so loved the WORLD, he sent his only son,” would reject a mother’s plea for her child to be released from demonic possession. I know that his reference to “the children needing to be fed first” refers to the fact that he was sent to the Jews for their salvation. He was their long-awaited Messiah, whom prophets had foretold for centuries leading up to this moment. But how can Jesus say this to the woman? Is he rejecting her because she is a Syrophoenician? What the heck?

Let’s unpack this.

First, verse 24 tells us that Jesus traveled (over 50 miles) to the region of Tyre, which was where the Gentile cities were located. When he entered a house there, he entered a Gentile house. This was against Jewish law that said that Jews and Gentiles shouldn’t mix, but Jesus overcame this to be present in this moment with this Gentile mother. He chose to be there.

Next, we need to consider the “pericope” of this story. The pericope includes the stories that come before and after the text you are studying, and thus sets the passage into context. Jesus had just had a lengthy conversation with the Pharisees where he had basically undone the “clean or unclean” laws in regard to food. Is he now undoing the idea of “clean or unclean” people in this Gentile community where he has been received?

Finally, consider the woman. She is clearly not a Hebrew. Her background and her current residence in a Gentile city suggest that she is a pagan. In any case, she is not part of the “lost sheep of Israel” and thus has no concept or context for Jesus’ messiahship. Why has she come before him, then? Might she be hoping that his magician’s parlor tricks would work on her daughter? Surely she has no idea that she is standing before the incarnate Son of God, so who does she think she is asking for help?

Yet, she asks, and Jesus referenced the children needing to be fed before the “little dogs.” Don’t miss the fact that he didn’t refuse her. He didn’t say that he won’t heal her daughter…what he said was “yes, but not quite yet.” Perhaps he wanted a moment to rest…or perhaps he had already healed the daughter and was teaching the mother about persistence in faith.

28 But she answered, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

You do have to admire her persistence! She is like a dog with a bone, nipping at Jesus’ heels and letting him know that “not yet” was NOT the answer she had come for. Perhaps at this moment she has a Holy Spirit awareness of who Jesus was, and she is now able to stand before the Savior and ask for her daughter’s salvation. She may realize that the power of God within him is more than enough to save both Jews and the Gentiles alike. Or perhaps she still thinks he is a magic man, but at least he’s a good one. We’ll never know, but it is obvious that to Jesus, it doesn’t matter in the end who she thinks he is. He knows who he is, and he knows who sent him to save the world.

29 “Good answer!” he said. “Go on home. The demon has already left your daughter.” 30 When she returned to her house, she found the child lying on the bed and the demon gone.

This event made it clear to all who observed it that the Jewish Messiah had a ministry beyond Israel. As the disciples, the Pharisees, the Gentiles, and the nations watched, he announced the full inclusion of everyone he came to save.

I think this passage gives us all permission to persist. Persist in prayer. Persist in asking for healing even if you feel unworthy. Persist in gaining an understanding of who Jesus is. Persist in interceding on someone else’s behalf. Persist in your faith.

When the timing is right, Jesus will answer your persistence just as he did the Syrophoenician woman. Just don’t give up!

Don’t Give Up by Michelle Robertson

Turned Hearts

Posted on by Betsy

What tempts you away from the good things that you know you should be focusing on? Is it food, wealth, possessions, laziness, your neighbor’s spouse…the list is endless. All of us have a weakness for something we want that we know we shouldn’t have.

With Solomon, it was women. Perhaps it was wine, women, and song, but mostly it was women. (As in, over 1000 women.) He was the son of King David, who also had a weakness for women that weren’t his to enjoy. Solomon was a huge womanizer in a culture that thought little of women. His conquests were staggering, and his appetite was insatiable.

God loved Solomon and warned him about intermarrying with all these foreign women, but Solomon ignored every word:

1 Kings (Common English Bible)

11 In addition to Pharaoh’s daughter, King Solomon loved many foreign women, including Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites. 2 These came from the nations that the Lord had commanded the Israelites about: “Don’t intermarry with them. They will definitely turn your heart toward their gods.” Solomon clung to these women in love. 

Had Solomon clung to God, the rest of this story would have a better ending. Instead, he clung to these women in love. But I have to stop here and ask, what are YOU clinging to that threatens your relationship with God? Are you also turning away from God’s words of warning?

3 He had seven hundred royal wives and three hundred secondary wives. They turned his heart. 4 As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods. He wasn’t committed to the Lord his God with all his heart as was his father David.5 Solomon followed Astarte the goddess of the Sidonians, and Milcom the detestable god of the Ammonites. 6 Solomon did what was evil in the Lord’s eyes and wasn’t completely devoted to the Lord like his father David. 

“They turned his heart after other gods.” Our mamas warned us about running with a bad crowd. When you hang out with reprobates, you are likely to become one yourself. Mama was right.

7 On the hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a shrine to Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and to Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites. 8 He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods. 9 The Lord grew angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from being with the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. 10 The Lord had commanded Solomon about this very thing, that he shouldn’t follow other gods. But Solomon didn’t do what the Lord commanded.

Have you ever failed to do what the Lord commands? Sometimes temptations are so great they blot out everything else. Godliness, decency, moral living, and proper behavior are often the victims of a temptation to which we succumb.

11 The Lord said to Solomon, “Because you have done all this instead of keeping my covenant and my laws that I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom from you and give it to your servant. 12 Even so, on account of your father David, I won’t do it during your lifetime. I will tear the kingdom out of your son’s hands. 

The punishment is pronounced, but notice that even in anger, God’s love for both David and Jerusalem results in a measure of grace being extended. But Solomon’s actions result in the loss of a united Israel. After his death, the kingdom divides and grows weaker and weaker. Eventually even Jerusalem falls.

13 Moreover, I won’t tear away the entire kingdom. I will give one tribe to your son on account of my servant David and on account of Jerusalem, which I have chosen.”

Solomon the Wise turns into a King of Fools when he succumbs to his temptations. His strength becomes his weakness as he goes from following God to actually building detestable idols in his own backyard. We can see in his story that having wisdom is not a panacea against the wiles of evil. Being smart does not equate to having strength of character.

Where is God calling you to outwit your temptations? Have you stepped aside from God’s will for your life as you have chased after idols? Has someone or something turned your heart?

Through the grace offered by the shed blood of the atonement, you can turn away from those things and come back to God. Forgiveness is the blessing that is always available to the repentant person. Softly and tenderly, Jesus calls us to come home.

Come Home by Peggy Bryson

Deception

Posted on by Betsy

Is there ever a good reason to lie?

Can God use a falsehood or deception for our good?

Every pastor at some point in their ministry faces this dilemma. I faced mine many years ago when a battered wife came to me for refuge with her two small children. Her husband had become very violent after a horrific argument, so she fled to me for safety while she worked out something more permanent.

That Sunday, as she and the children remained sheltered in my home, her husband suddenly walked down the aisle just as worship was about to begin and stood and addressed the congregation. He cried and pleaded with us to tell him where his “deranged wife had hidden his children.” He claimed that he knew it was someone in the church and he demanded the truth. Anyone harboring his children was evil, he shouted. He looked straight at me as he made his speech, knowing that I would be one of the places where she should flee. As he turned to leave, he asked me directly if I knew where his family was. I looked him straight in the eye and said “no” in front of the entire congregation.

Thus I told a blatant untruth in the sanctuary on the Sabbath, and I would do it again.

In this wonderful story from the second chapter of Joshua, we see a woman look a man straight in the eye and tell a lie:

Joshua 2 (Common English Bible)

2 Joshua, Nun’s son, secretly sent two men as spies from Shittim. He said, “Go. Look over the land, especially Jericho.” They set out and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab. They bedded down there.

2 Someone told the king of Jericho, “Men from the Israelites have come here tonight to spy on the land.”

3 So the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab: “Send out the men who came to you, the ones who came to your house, because they have come to spy on the entire land.”

We have to interrupt this message to remind ourselves of the importance of hospitality in this ancient culture. The Jewish Virtual Library says this about Old Testament hospitality:

In ancient Israel, hospitality was not merely a question of good manners, but a moral institution which grew out of the harsh desert and nomadic existence led by the people of Israel. The biblical customs of welcoming the weary traveler and of receiving the stranger in one’s midst was the matrix out of which hospitality and all its tributary aspects developed into a highly esteemed virtue in Jewish tradition. Biblical law specifically sanctified hospitality toward the ger (“stranger”) who was to be made particularly welcome “for you were strangers in a strange land” (Lev. 19:34 and see Ex. 12:49). Foreign travelers, although not protected by law (Deut. 15:3; 23:21), could count on the custom of hospitality.

So Rahab is complying with the expectations of hospitality in ancient Israel that dictate that strangers in your house come under your protection. But then she takes that one step farther:

4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. Then she said, “Of course the men came to me. But I didn’t know where they were from. 5 The men left when it was time to close the gate at dark, but I don’t know where the men went. Hurry! Chase after them! You might catch up with them.” 6 But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the flax stalks that she had laid out on the roof. 7 The men from Jericho chased after them in the direction of the Jordan up to the fords. As soon as those chasing them went out, the gate was shut behind them.

Why did Rahab lie? Why risk getting caught in this blatant untruth in order to save two strangers from her fellow countrymen? Did Rahab know something else?

8 Before the spies bedded down, Rahab went up to them on the roof. 9 She said to the men, “I know that the Lord has given you the land. Terror over you has overwhelmed us. The entire population of the land has melted down in fear because of you. 10 We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Reed Sea in front of you when you left Egypt. We have also heard what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites on the other side of the Jordan. You utterly wiped them out. 11 We heard this and our hearts turned to water. Because of you, people can no longer work up their courage. This is because the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below. 

Rahab’s lie was based on a larger truth. It was the truth that the Lord God who had brought the Israelites out of Egypt through the Reed Sea was the same God who had sent the two spies into her home that night. She knew of God’s might and power, and so she aligned herself with these men in order to barter for the protection of her family:

12 Now, I have been loyal to you. So pledge to me by the Lord that you in turn will deal loyally with my family. Give me a sign of good faith. 13 Spare the lives of my father, mother, brothers, and sisters, along with everything they own. Rescue us from death.”

Rahab’s cunning and quick thinking saved the lives of the two men, and they in turn protected her family. A lowly prostitute outwitted the authorities by leveraging what she had for what she needed.

14 The men said to her, “We swear by our own lives to secure yours. If you don’t reveal our mission, we will deal loyally and faithfully with you when the Lord gives us the land.”

Sometimes we need to go to extremes to protect the ones we love. Sometimes, especially in the face of violence, we are called to lie, deceive, and leverage what we have in order to provide safety and sanctuary for the weak and vulnerable.

God protects those who protect others in the name of the Lord. The truth of God’s divine power and might wins out every time.

Safe Sanctuary by Lola Hilton

Turn, Turn, Turn

Posted on by Betsy

Sometimes I get a song stuck in my head and it lives there for days. Every time I read Ecclesiastes 3, I hear a folk rock song that was released in 1965 by a band called the Byrds. It was called Turn, Turn, Turn and I bet many people were surprised to learn that it comes directly from scripture.

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven.

Now you can have this song stuck in your head, too!

The timeless wisdom of this passage is meaningful in every circumstance of life. Births, deaths, graduations, weddings, wars, and occasional pandemics are all seasons we can experience in a lifetime. The writer reminds us that with every season, God has a purpose:

Ecclesiastes 3 (Common English Bible)

There’s a season for everything
    and a time for every matter under the heavens:
2     a time for giving birth and a time for dying,
    a time for planting and a time for uprooting what was planted,
3     a time for killing and a time for healing,
    a time for tearing down and a time for building up,
4     a time for crying and a time for laughing,
    a time for mourning and a time for dancing,

This is incredibly helpful to remember when you are in a season of sorrow. A friend who recently lost her mother describes it as “sorrow sitting with joy.” If you have experienced the death of a loved one, you know the terrible disorientation that falls over you. When my mother-in-law died, I remember thinking that it was just stupid that she was not in the world with us anymore. It made no sense. It was a big mistake and we just needed it to be fixed. But in time, mourning faded as dancing with happy memories took over. Eventually our season of crying turned into a season of joy when we welcomed her first great-grandchild into our family. A daughter became a mother, a mother became a Nana, a sister became an aunt, and suddenly God restored balance.

5     a time for throwing stones and a time for gathering stones,
    a time for embracing and a time for avoiding embraces,
6     a time for searching and a time for losing,
    a time for keeping and a time for throwing away,
7     a time for tearing and a time for repairing,
    a time for keeping silent and a time for speaking,
8     a time for loving and a time for hating,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

We get out of balance when we forget that everything has a purpose under the heavens. Your life was designed for something meaningful and long-lasting. What will your legacy be? Do you live according to God’s purpose? Or have you lost your way and somehow wandered into a meandering, pointlessness existence?

When I have gone through seasons of wandering, I have found it helpful to immerse myself in daily scripture reading and prayer until I found my way home. The Psalms are especially helpful for wilderness walking and if you read one a day, you’ll have 150 chances to discover yourself again.

Whatever season you are in right now, turn, turn, turn back to your purpose. No season lasts forever, but God has a call on your life in every season. Turn around and listen, and God will remind you.

A Time for Laughing by Bonnie Bennett

Untied

Posted on by Betsy

My denomination is in the process of moving from “united” to “untied.” We are a large and global church that has reached a point of considering schism because we can’t agree on major points of practical theology. All of us are grieving. Nobody wanted this to be the result of our decades of conversations. When we entered life in our local churches, few of us imagined that this would happen in our lifetime, yet here we are. In preparing for what inevitably will come, we try to soothe ourselves with the notion that two strong denominations will emerge from this separation There may be some truth to that, God willing. But this divorce will be costly, exhausting, and worst of all, it has taken our eyes off of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Our infighting is a poor witness to the world Jesus came to save.

What does the Bible say about unity? Should people, churches, and entire denominations try to stay together in deep disagreement for the sake of remaining intact?

We look to Paul for answers:

1 Corinthians 1 (Common English Bible)

10 Now I encourage you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Agree with each other and don’t be divided into rival groups. Instead, be restored with the same mind and the same purpose. 11 My brothers and sisters, Chloe’s people gave me some information about you, that you’re fighting with each other. 12 What I mean is this: that each one of you says, “I belong to Paul,” “I belong to Apollos,” “I belong to Cephas,” “I belong to Christ.” 13 Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you, or were you baptized in Paul’s name? 14 Thank God that I didn’t baptize any of you, except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so that nobody can say that you were baptized in my name! 16 Oh, I baptized the house of Stephanas too. Otherwise, I don’t know if I baptized anyone else. 17 Christ didn’t send me to baptize but to preach the good news. And Christ didn’t send me to preach the good news with clever words so that Christ’s cross won’t be emptied of its meaning.

Paul could not have anticipated the many fractions of Christian expression that we have today. Where he encouraged preaching the good news, we have encouraged dogmas, doctrines, and disciplines that ended up drawing so many lines in the sand, we have neutered the message of “Christ-crucified.” Shame on us.

Human wisdom versus the cross

18 The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are being destroyed. But it is the power of God for those of us who are being saved. 19 It is written in scripture: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will reject the intelligence of the intelligent.20 Where are the wise? Where are the legal experts? Where are today’s debaters? Hasn’t God made the wisdom of the world foolish? 

As denominations debate their individual positions regarding social justice and the practice of ministry as each one sees it, God’s wisdom is lost in a sea of cacophonous dialogue. Those of us who have no other choice but to wait for the results are exhausted, overcome, and ready for it to be over. Paul reminds us that our one and only job is to preach “Christ-crucified.” Unfortunately, much of the foolish preaching that goes on in our churches has strayed far from this mandate.

21 In God’s wisdom, he determined that the world wouldn’t come to know him through its wisdom. Instead, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of preaching. 22 Jews ask for signs, and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, which is a scandal to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.24 But to those who are called—both Jews and Greeks—Christ is God’s power and God’s wisdom. 25 This is because the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

Paul went on to say that God’s plan for the conversion of the world was through those who were not considered wise or powerful, and were not from the upper class. Instead, the Gospel message would be carried out by those whom the world considers weak, low-class, and low-life:

26 Look at your situation when you were called, brothers and sisters! By ordinary human standards not many were wise, not many were powerful, not many were from the upper class. 27 But God chose what the world considers foolish to shame the wise. God chose what the world considers weak to shame the strong. 28 And God chose what the world considers low-class and low-life—what is considered to be nothing—to reduce what is considered to be something to nothing. 29 So no human being can brag in God’s presence. 

What does this say to all of the many top-heavy denominations? In creating hierarchies among people, have we completely lost sight of the mission?

30 It is because of God that you are in Christ Jesus. He became wisdom from God for us. This means that he made us righteous and holy, and he delivered us. 31 This is consistent with what was written: The one who brags should brag in the Lord!

As we move forward, may we take comfort in being part of the denomination of Jesus Christ, and Christ alone. That is the only place where our “membership” should reside. The rest of our structures and man-made institutions will all fade away someday, and rightfully so.

Let us brag only in the Lord, even if that means walking away from something we have loved for too long.

Walking Away by Kathy Schumacher

How God Sees It

Posted on by Betsy

I have a vision condition called mono-vision. One eye is sighted to see distance while the other is sighted to see close-up. My optometrist prescribed contact lenses of different strengths to help my brain learn to focus in order for an image to be clear, regardless if it is near or far away. It is strange in the beginning, but in a short time your brain can actually learn how to instantly chose which lens to use to see the object. The vision in the dominant eye is corrected for distance while the other is left somewhat nearsighted for close vision, and the brain takes over.

In the Bible, we encounter all kinds of “visions” that come to people in different ways. Prophets had visions that were intended to correct the community, like the vision of dry bones that Ezekiel saw. Joseph and Daniel had visions that came through dreams, warning them about dangers and conflicts that were coming. The entire book of Revelation is John of Patmos’ vision of the new heaven and the new earth. God spoke though visions in order to reveal plans to those who would listen. Biblical visions are a way for us to explore how God sees things.

In this passage from Ephesians, Paul described how God sees the activity of Christ on the cross and what that means for us. We were brought to life while we were dead in sin because of God’s great love for his creation.

It is a vision of pure, unconditional grace:

Ephesians 2 (Common English Bible)

4-5 However, God is rich in mercy. He brought us to life with Christ while we were dead as a result of those things that we did wrong. He did this because of the great love that he has for us. You are saved by God’s grace!

The vision continued as Paul saw us raised up in the heavens with Jesus. He described our destiny in this letter…we are destined to rise up with Christ because God is so good and God’s grace is so great.

 6 And God raised us up and seated us in the heavens with Christ Jesus. 7 God did this to show future generations the greatness of his grace by the goodness that God has shown us in Christ Jesus.

Isn’t this amazing? God has plans to seat you in heaven. That is God’s vision for your future!

Can you see it? Are you prepared? Or do you need to take your eyes off whatever is distracting you first and focus on your relationship with Jesus?

What are you looking at right now?

Wherever this scripture finds you today, turn your eyes upon Jesus. Jeremiah wrote that God has plans for you. These plans are to prosper you, not harm you. God plans to give you a future with hope! (Jeremiah 29:11) Focus on this and make it your own vision. Know that because of the resurrection, your place in the heavens is set. You’ve been saved by God’s grace!

That’s how God sees it.

Seated in the Heavens by Bev Mineo

True Wisdom

Posted on by Betsy

What is true wisdom? How is it defined? Is wisdom a matter of Mensa memberships, IQ scores, and success that is determined by wealth, achievement, and status? Or is wisdom something else…perhaps a combination of natural intelligence, the ability to learn, and the capacity to show compassion to others?

In other words, who is wiser…Elon Musk, the creator of Tesla and SpaceX, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, or Mother Teresa, who spent her life in poverty ministering to the sick and poor of Calcutta?

Merriam-Webster defines wisdom as “having the ability to discern inner qualities and relationships; having insight and good sense; and having good judgment.” Notice that this definition has nothing to do with IQ scores, economic achievement, or innovation.

The book of James is a fascinating exploration of the subject of wisdom. It becomes clear that God defines wisdom much differently than the world defines it.

James 3:13-18 (Common English Bible)

13 Are any of you wise and understanding? Show that your actions are good with a humble lifestyle that comes from wisdom. 

Immediately we see that worldly wisdom falls short of this standard. James made a deliberate connection between being wise and having a humble lifestyle.

14 However, if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, then stop bragging and living in ways that deny the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above. Instead, it is from the earth, natural and demonic.

That last sentence surely catches our attention. James delineated the difference between wisdom from above and wisdom of the earth, which he called demonic. That’s bold! Perhaps this is a straightforward matter of “considering the source.” Those who live, work, and strive for wealth in a state of separation from God cannot hope to achieve the peaceful, gentle, and genuine wisdom that comes from heaven:

16 Wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and everything that is evil. 17 What of the wisdom from above? First, it is pure, and then peaceful, gentle, obedient, filled with mercy and good actions, fair, and genuine. 

When we seek wisdom from above, it leads us to places of justice and peace. Those who have employed their intelligence for sheer profit and gain will often sell their soul, or at least their product, to the highest bidder. When wealth is the goal of wisdom, people on the lower economic spectrum are left behind. The poor will never enjoy a Tesla or a ride in space. Those who toil their lives away working for Amazon are underpaid and desperately overworked. But the people who received the wise counsel and ministrations of Mother Teresa, though they were the poorest of the poor, became the richest in the world because she gave them God. Mother Teresa sowed seeds of justice in an unfair world with her acts of humility and goodness. That is true wisdom.

18 Those who make peace sow the seeds of justice by their peaceful acts.

Are you an example of wisdom that comes from above? How will you pass it along to others? True wisdom, according to James, is revealed in acts of mercy, justice, peace, and fairness. Go and share the wisdom of Mother Teresa with someone today.

Sow Seeds of Peace by Kathy Schumacher

Text Anxiety

Posted on by Betsy

Raise your hand if you experience recurrent dreams about taking a test in a class for which you have not prepared. I have both hands raised. My dream involves sitting down to take a college final for a class that I had registered for, but never attended. Somehow I forgot, and now I am staring at the final with no clue about what to write. I hear from my alumni friends that this type of test anxiety dream is common. I’m sorry to tell you that you never stop having test anxiety, even if your last college exam was many (many!) decades ago.

Tests often make us feel unprepared. Even when we did attend class and study hard, the possibility of failure looms large in our minds when we open up the exam and read the first question.

I once completely froze in seminary when my Systematic Theology final included a question that asked “Who is God, and how do you know?” I know the professor expected a lengthy response quoting the various theologians we had studied all semester. We were supposed to defend our thesis with solid theories and attributions. All my brain could conjure up was, “God is love. I know, because the Bible tells me so.” At the end of the hour, it was all I had. Luckily, I had a strong A going into the final and the professor could not argue with my position, so I ended up all right. But even writing about that moment makes my heart flutter!

James 1 (Common English Bible)


2 My brothers and sisters, think of the various tests you encounter as occasions for joy. 

Tests as occasions for joy?? Speaking for myself, that is a big ask! Let’s read on…

3 After all, you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 Let this endurance complete its work so that you may be fully mature, complete, and lacking in nothing. 5 But anyone who needs wisdom should ask God, whose very nature is to give to everyone without a second thought, without keeping score. Wisdom will certainly be given to those who ask. 

This is a beautiful answer to our test anxiety issues. Tests produce endurance and endurance leads us to maturity, completeness, and WISDOM. And isn’t wisdom the goal? James contended that all we need to do is ask for wisdom and God will certainly give it. I should have asked for some when I took that final!

6 Whoever asks shouldn’t hesitate. They should ask in faith, without doubting. Whoever doubts is like the surf of the sea, tossed and turned by the wind. 7 People like that should never imagine that they will receive anything from the Lord. 8 They are double-minded, unstable in all their ways.

We know that doubt is often a gateway to learning, so what James may be suggesting is that we are not supposed to get stuck in our doubts. We should never doubt that God will answer us if we seek him. When our questioning minds lead us to further inquiry and wisdom-seeking, we come through it better prepared to understand. But stubbornly remaining in doubt can result in tossing and turning and never moving forward in our understanding.

Are you caught in a sea of doubt? Are you unsure of your faith? Does the idea of being tested in your relationship with God bring you anxiety? James invites us to persevere in our pursuit of wisdom as we grow in our knowledge of who we are, and Whose we are.

We are the children of God…of that, we can be sure. The rest will sort itself out if we continue to study and learn.

And guess what? You’ve already passed your finals…Jesus took them on your behalf.

Tossed and Turned by the Wind by Michelle Robertson

Caught

Posted on by Betsy

Caught….red-handed….without a hope of denying it.

Have you ever been caught doing something you shouldn’t have done, and then had to face the consequences? I sure have. I will never forget getting caught gossiping in the cloak room of my fifth grade classroom about a girl of whom I was very jealous. The teacher heard me, sent the girl out of the room on an errand to spare her feelings, and then made me stand in front of the class and repeat what I said while she condemned every word. I was HUMILIATED, and rightfully so. The sting of that experience is still with me.

When we are caught, feelings of shame and regret are immediate and overwhelming. Our first thought is “Why, oh WHY did I do it?” Right up to the moment of discovery, we delude ourselves into thinking that we will get away with our sinful behavior. Most of us can even rationalize that if nobody finds out, nobody gets hurt.

Then everybody finds out, and everybody gets hurt.

Such is the case in Psalm 51, written by David after he was caught committing adultery with Bathsheba and was confronted by his friend Nathan. He immediately felt the searing pain of knowing that he has sinned against God and now everyone knows it. Listen to the regret and remorse that flowed from his pen as he composed a song of confession:

Psalm 51 (Common English Bible)

Have mercy on me, God, according to your faithful love!
    Wipe away my wrongdoings according to your great compassion!
2 Wash me completely clean of my guilt;
    purify me from my sin!
3 Because I know my wrongdoings,
    my sin is always right in front of me.
4 I’ve sinned against you—you alone.
    I’ve committed evil in your sight.
That’s why you are justified when you render your verdict,
    completely correct when you issue your judgment.

David is such a man of faith that his sinning against God was the worst part of it for him. He knew his wrongdoings. This sin was not done in ignorance of the Law that commands “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” He knew that he coveted another man’s wife and then had that man brought home from war to cover up the unplanned pregnancy that resulted. Then David sent him back to the front lines to be killed. Coveting, adultery, lying, murder…David was guilty on all counts.

5 Yes, I was born in guilt, in sin,
    from the moment my mother conceived me.
6 And yes, you want truth in the most hidden places;
    you teach me wisdom in the most secret space.

David was blessed to have received wisdom from God in the “most secret space.” He studied the scriptures. He experienced God’s power first hand when he faced down Goliath many years earlier. All of David’s experiences had been an adequate teacher of God’s will and direction for his life. It is this truth in the hidden places of his heart and soul that he walked away from in his pursuit of Bathsheba. There is no pleading ignorance here…David totally knew better.

As did I, when I sinned.

As do you, when you sin.

His song of confession then moves from pain to hope, and David reminds God that God alone has the power to wash this sin away. He writes that joy can be felt once more, but only after God wipes away all of his guilty deeds:

7 Purify me with hyssop and I will be clean;
    wash me and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and celebration again;
    let the bones you crushed rejoice once more.
9 Hide your face from my sins;
    wipe away all my guilty deeds!

Singing these words to the God that he loved provided a moment of humble obeisance for David, as the song now moves to a plea for a new, clean heart. This may be one of the prettiest verses in all of the Psalms:

10 Create a clean heart for me, God;
    put a new, faithful spirit deep inside me!
11 Please don’t throw me out of your presence;
    please don’t take your holy spirit away from me.
12 Return the joy of your salvation to me
    and sustain me with a willing spirit.

“Create in me a clean heart, oh God, and return unto me the joy of your salvation!” This should be our song today as well. God always inclines an ear when people confess with contrite hearts and humility.

Where is God calling you to lay down your sin so that you might take up a new and faithful spirit? God truly longs to sustain you with the power of the Holy Spirit, but you have to come clean first.

Don’t let the sun go down on your sin. Open yourself to God and ask for a clean heart to be created in you. And may the joy of God’s salvation make you sing.

Sunset Awaits by Michelle Robertson

Aggravations

Posted on by Betsy

Friends of mine are finally building their “dream home.” The perfect location, plans that they helped design, space for an in-law suite, and views for miles…what’s not to love?

Moving. Moving is not to love.

Having started my married life as a Navy wife for the first eight years, I know the pain of frequent moving. During the first two years, we moved four times while my husband attended different flight schools. I never bothered to learn any of the zip codes. There was no point! It would change in a few months anyway.

In this FABULOUS passage in 2 Corinthians, Paul gives us a different spin on moving. He likens our earthly homes to tents, which have to be put up and taken down with some regularity as we relocate ourselves to different homes here on earth. But better things are coming, and we should be ready to talk about it!

2 Corinthians 4 (The Message)

13-15 We’re not keeping this quiet, not on your life. Just like the psalmist who wrote, “I believed it, so I said it,” we say what we believe. And what we believe is that the One who raised up the Master Jesus will just as certainly raise us up with you, alive. Every detail works to your advantage and to God’s glory: more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise!

16-18 So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.

My friend is hoping this will be her final move. She recently posted, “If I ever move again it will be too soon!” But this aggravation, and ALL of our aggravations, is here today and gone tomorrow.

What is aggravating you today? God promises to make a new life out of this old one where things are falling apart on us on a regular basis. We can claim, as Paul does, that not a day goes by without experiencing God’s unfolding grace. Today’s hard times are “small potatoes” compared to what is coming.

5 1-5 For instance, we know that when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven—God-made, not handmade—and we’ll never have to relocate our “tents” again. Sometimes we can hardly wait to move—and so we cry out in frustration. Compared to what’s coming, living conditions around here seem like a stopover in an unfurnished shack, and we’re tired of it!

So whatever you are going through right now, hold on to the fact that it is temporary. Life here on earth is temporary. And compared to eternity, this current aggravation is just a blink of an eye. All of our frustrations will melt away into nothingness compared to what’s ahead.

We’ve been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies! The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what’s ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we’ll never settle for less.

So hang on! Better things are on the way.

Heaven Awaits by Michelle Robertson