What makes a Christian?

September 27, 2025

Maria Blood of the Lamb, Exodus, Gospel, Passover, Saving Faith , , , , , Leave a comment

“The blood was the sign of those who were inside the house and were counting on the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who believed enough to obey His commands and trust in His Word.” The Sons of Encouragement: Biblical Stories of Aaron, Caleb, Jonathan, Amos, and Silas, by Francine Rivers, (my translation from the Spanish-language edition)

Last night, reading Rivers’ first story centered on Aaron, I paused at this bit of narrative.  Aaron is reflecting on the significance of this first Passover evening as shadows lengthen and night falls. The house, where Aaron lives along with his sons, grandkids, Miriam and Moses, will be protected by the blood from the lamb roasting on a spit in the hearth. He nervously anticipates devastating events for the Egyptians when the Angel of Death sweeps through the land in a few hours.

What I liked about this passage is how Francine Rivers parsed out with clarity what it means to belong to God, to be one of His. An authentic Christian is entitled to claim the name of  “Believer” if he or she trusts God enough to obey Him. Any boy or girl, man or woman who takes Jesus at His Word and WANTS to obey Him can enjoy the assurance of having been adopted by the Father.

Daily, as I intentionally share something about Jesus with people I meet, I feel an inner push to ask a question that will lead to clarity about the Good News.  Thanks to River’s novel, I see a way from Aaron’s inner dialogue for me to get to the nut of what it means to be a Christian. 

As a polyglot in my encounters with non-Americans in person and online, I represent not only America but Jesus.  For that reason, I’m always on the lookout for a creative way to be able to explain clearly what is a Christian. I often have to dismantle the usual viewpoint that a Chrisitan is defined as someone religious who attends church. Of course someone may be religious and hopefully enjoy a church home, but that doesn’t define a follower of Jesus.

This assumption about what makes a Christian is so widespread, that I constantly depend on God to help me ask effective questions. Novels about the life of believers who struggle to understand God equip me. Thank you, Francine Rivers.

Shameful thoughts

September 15, 2025

Maria 2 Corinthians 4, Conviction, Holiness, Holy Spirit, Sin , , , , , 1 Comment

We reject all shameful deeds. . . 2 Corinthians 4:2 NLT

Do you occasionally find the Lord bringing a matter to your attention all at once, but from different sources? It’s been a few weeks since that last happened to me, but this morning God seemed eager to get my attention. He did that by elevating the issue of my holiness, or lack thereof. 

Over the last few weeks, Mike has been sharing what he is reading for his book study group at church.  The men are going through JC Ryle’s Holiness.  Then yesterday, the Lord emphasized the matter of my holiness through our new Sunday school class called, Respectable Sins which is based on a Jerry Bridges book. Some of the behaviors our class facilitator mentioned are anything but respectable.  They include discontentment, anxiety, grumpiness, anger and a whole host of others.

Then this morning, reading Oswald Chambers, the Father personally pinged me through the verse above together with what this British pastor wrote in My Utmost for His Highest.

“Is there a thought in your heart about anyone that you would not like to be brought into the light?”

Golly, several came to mind. Just being around my church family the day before provided some opportunities for judgmental thoughts I would not want aired. Finally later this morning, leaving Walmart, I spotted a gal, obviously an Instacart provider, who was loading her car with six different containers. My first thought was: “Look at how obese she is!  She’s wearing pajama bottoms with an obvious roll of fat hanging over.” 

I’d want to disappear if she heard my impression and turned to stare with shock and hurt as I walked to my car.

But thanks be to God! Because I had been mulling over the need to rid myself of shameful thoughts, the Holy Spirit supplied a lovely truth as a substitute. “This gal is an image bearer of the living God. Look at how she is blessing people by doing their grocery shopping for them. They are going to be so grateful.”

I can see that ridding myself of shameful thoughts will require me to pay close attention. But I’m not worried. I can count on the Spirit to remind me each time now. I just pray that I start making the switch to THINKING something true, beautiful and good about each person I encounter. 

Talking to God

September 5, 2025

Maria Listening to God, Prayer, Psalm 62, Worry , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:8 NIV

As I write, we’re passing over Des Moines en route to Seattle for Mike’s 50th high school reunion.  Shortly after sunup, after feeding the cats their breakfast, I slipped out into the cool misty September morning to walk and pray and off load my travel anxiety.  After a few minutes taking in beauty, physical sensations and sounds, I turned inward, thinking I should start praising God.

I surprised myself as I just began chatting to God, not using any structured prayer or format. “Wait a minute. I have a Father. I don’t have to follow a script. I can just talk to Him as I would to my own dad. After all, wouldn’t I find it weird if Wes or Graham were to initiate each conversation with me, their mom, praising me for my attributes? 

For sure, for what I value most with my sons is when they share their hopes, their worries, their dreams, and what makes them laugh. I love their jokes. Simply put, I want them to be real, to be themselves around me. I love spending time with them.

So while taking in the beauty of the early morning, I began simply to talk to my Father about what was on my mind. It felt natural and free flowing. Occasionally, I spontaneously broke into praise. My mind then moved towards friends and family who needed Divine help. Intermittently chattering tree frogs captured my attention and made me smile. I simply enjoyed being present with God in His creation.

Pumping my legs, relishing the fresh beauty, savoring the freedom to be transparently real with God made for a relaxing start of a long travel day.  Sure there is a place for using Scripture to pray in a more organized manner, but I imagine the Lord smiles when we just want to be close to Him.