The power of an idea – two thoughts that have changed my life recently

February 18, 2010

Maria Peace, Prayer , 1 Comment

A friend and I were discussing prayer, both having read Paul Miller’s book, A Praying Life.  She mentioned that she had started a prayer journal where each day she writes down the things over which she has no control.  That ‘title’ for one’s worries all of a sudden opened up a way to articulate so many MORE concerns in my life.  I hadn’t realized what resided in the bottom of the muck pool of my mind.  New topics to pray about and actually hand over to God started to leave this familiar, fetid place and venture into new territory.  I grew excited about the possibilities!

As soon as I got home, I found a diary with a few blank pages left and wrote the date and the title:  Today I Have No Control Over…..  As soon as I had written down 5-6 things, I said to God, “Here, YOU take and handle them today.”   It was easy and left me feeling lighter.

The next morning, I could hardly wait to get up and write down the new day’s concerns over which it was apparent I have no control.  Of course, one could get carried away with all sorts of situations..but I confined myself to concerns in my life that day: younger son’s projects at college, older son’s fears about supporting his family, husband’s discomfort stemming from a controlling & dysfunctional boss, in-laws’ declining health and their fears about making it to the wedding in June, a scheduling problem to be sorted out with a Travelocity rep located on the other side of the world, French classes’ scheduled for the day and their energy level and response to my input.

Several days create a habit.  What has surprised me is the spread of my new consciousness over items I really don’t control.  Apparently the very act of writing them down has trained my mind to respond ‘properly’ during other parts of my day.  I heard some bad news this afternoon and immediately thought – “I have no control over that, Lord, that’s YOUR department”.  No time in my in-box of worry.  So I have freedom to keep a mental diary handy, with its column already set up, ready to receive MORE items.  This is fun!

I did run into my friend and shared with her how much her brief 20 second explanation had changed me.  I wanted her to be encouraged about the positive influence we can have on those around us and maybe not even know it!

The other mind-altering thought came from a blog post by Ray Ortlund.  He mentioned in ONE sentence that ‘our okay-ness’ is located outside of us. I took that to mean that if there is anything worthy or beautiful about me, it’s because of Christ’s righteousness imputed to me.  There is nothing noteworthy about me beyond the fact that I am made in the image of God.  As Paul says several places and actually quotes (is that a retweet?) the Old Testament prophet – “, ‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord'” (from Jer 9:23; I Cor. 1:31)

The application for me was that I have no reason to defend myself – EVER.  The truth is, at it dawned on me; no one can hurt me with criticisms or put- downs.  If I already know that ‘no good thing resides in me’ – Rom 7:18 – then I am FREE.  I can give a logical response to a personal attack. “Yes, you’re correct that I………And your point is?”

All in one week, I have been given two gifts.  First, I can stop doing God’s work for Him – by worrying about things only He has sovereign control over and second, I can stop defending myself, since there is really nothing to defend.  What amazing power resides in ideas!

Why can’t God just overlook or forgive our sins?

February 15, 2010

Maria Forgiveness, Romans, Sin , 3 Comments

But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it- the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,  and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,  whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. Romans 3:21-25

Why couldn’t God just keep on passing over our sins, i.e.  FORGIVE our sins, without Jesus having to die? I was thinking about the nature of sin the other day during a Chapel talk at my school.  I suddenly realized that we have to accept that a property or feature of sin committed in God’s world is that it automatically incurs God’s wrath.  We can’t get away from that aspect.  It’s incontrovertible – not open to being challenged.  God set up the world and is the final authority on what everything means and what the rules of the ‘game’ are.  And since He says that sin has to be paid for – ultimately, then He can’t just forgive it.  The whole package of sin includes this wrath-incurring aspect.

When a friend fails to do what she says and lets you down, you experience at the very least the pain of disappointment.  Even if you forgive her, you still suffer.  Suffering can’t be separated from sin.  God’s active, avenging anger is the same way.  It is part of the nature of sin.

So when Paul tells us that God is righteous, it means that He acts consistently with the nature and consequences of sin.  He doesn’t go against the system He established – there is actual wrath to be dealt with.  We normally would absorb that wrath as a consequence of being the instigators of the sin.  But the amazing, outside of the box, reality is that Jesus in covenantal agreement with the other two members of the Trinity, absorbs that wrath in our place.  That is what ‘propitiation’ means.  God the Father accepts the work of his Son in absorbing the entire wrath due us for our sin.

It’s not that we are declared not guilty. We ARE guilty.  It’s that our debt or penalty to God has been paid for and we get to walk out of jail free.  It is incorrect to say that it is though we never sinned.  We DID sin.  Appropriate punishment was meted out and paid for/absorbed by Jesus.  And now we are welcomed back into society.

But our reentry into the community is far better than going back to ‘normal’.  Think about a man charged with being a sex offender who spends time in jail and then when his sentence has been completed, he is released.  The problem for him is that no one wants him living in the community near them.  He lives with shame the rest of his life.

Our crimes against God are FAR WORSE than the sex offender.  We rebelled against the very One who created us in the first place.   But God does not leave us to stew in our shame.  He invites us to a NEW normal.  We are actually given a place of honor, the opposite of shame.  God, the Father, invites us to share in the privileges of children of the King with full inheritance rights.

May we meditate on this unexpected grace.  May we revel in thoughts of the inheritance waiting for us.  May we frequently daydream about the full fellowship we will enjoy when we are face to face with the One we sinned against and the One who absorbed the punishment due us.

What is your major premise about God?

February 11, 2010

Maria Colossians, Doctrine, Job 2 Comments

Job 23:10   (God) He knows what he is doing with me…and when he has tested me, I will come forth as pure gold.

This verse contains both Job’s basic theology about God, what I call his major premise, and Job’s conclusion.  What did Job know about God?   Despite personal pain, Job could essentially assert in advance, ‘God has a plan for me and knows what He is doing – He’s actually in control of my miserable circumstances.’   With that theology in place, when the unthinkable happened, he safely concluded, ‘I will actually be a better person when all this is over’.

Because Job was certain about God, he bore with some grace the nightmarish circumstances of loss of family and property and did not dissolve into suicidal depression.  What we believe about God influences our conclusions about God.  These fundamental beliefs frame our context when we have to make sense of life’s painful & disappointing circumstances.

What was the major premise of the disciples upon encountering the man born blind?   They asked Jesus, ‘Lord, tell us who sinned – this man or his parents?’  Their theology at the time was that health and prosperity were a result of being obedient and enjoying favor with God.  So when they met the handicapped man, their conclusion was that SOMEONE sinned.  This reaction is similar to how Hindus view the caste system.  Those privileged members at the top won’t give aid and assistance to those at the bottom for fear of interfering with the cycle of Karma.  The well-to-do believe that the dregs are paying for sins committed in a previous life and that one should not interfere.

Today, most people’s major premises go unspoken.  You only hear them when tragedy strikes and they conclude that a) there must not be a God or b) God must not be loving or powerful. Their major premise is that if there is a God, then he would not permit evil if he loves mankind and is in control of the universe.

Job’s knowledge of God kept him grounded and he was able to draw a healthy conclusion in the absence of any explanation from an imminent, supernatural and caring deity.

Without the correct presuppositions, Job could have concluded, “God is mean/ God doesn’t love me/God is punishing me/ God doesn’t exist.”

Paul reminds us in Colossians 3 that since we have put on the new self we are being RENEWED in KNOWLEDGE in the image of our creator.  The correct knowledge about God does make a difference.  We dishonor God when we draw an incorrect, sinful conclusion about Him.

Let’s finish the rest with forthrightness and humility like David

February 3, 2010

Maria 2 Samuel, Wisdom , Leave a comment

2 Sam 24:10  But David’s heart smote him after he had numbered the people.  David said to the Lord, I have sinned greatly in what I have done.

Unlike his earlier major debacle with Bathsheba when Nathan confronted David with his sin, no human being needs to meet with David this time.  The unseen Holy Spirit, who convicts all believers of sin, communicates directly to David’s heart.  The king has called for a census during a time when his kingdom is not at war, and no conscription is necessary. Joab, his military chief of staff, has strongly advised against it.  But the King’s wishes prevail.  However, after 9 months of counting when David is presented with the data, he immediately comes face to face with the fact of his sin.  He confesses immediately to the Lord and submits to his punishment.  We know that he was correct in his spiritual inventory, because the prophet Gad is directed by God to present to David three choices of punishment.  God implements the 3-day plague that David has chosen as the lesser evil.

A further sign of spiritual growth is when David, appalled at the price his own people have to pay for his sin, attempts to halt the plague’s destruction at the end of the allotted time.  His prophet Gad instructs him to set up an altar and sacrifice.  The intended place is Araunah’s barn.  When the farmer finds out David’s intentions, he offers to supply everything David needs at no cost, including the land, animals and firewood.  David, totally unconscious of any embarrassment, publically renounces the gift by explaining that he will not offer to the Lord something that has not cost him.  David has learned that true worship, where one declares the worth of another, requires giving up of something of personal value.

I’m struck by a parallel thought.  First, the mighty King David, the man after God’s own heart, is still sinning.  I need to prepare myself for the fact that as I mature, I will, from time to time, still settle for less than God’s glory in my choices. I am still a sinner, though redeemed.  But I can always repent and receive forgiveness as long as I am humble.  Second, my sin will cost others, and my repentance will cost me.  But I rather face reality and prepare for it, then live with the illusion that Christian growth leads to an end to sinning.  Not in this life!

Reactions worth emulating, taken from the Life of David

January 27, 2010

Maria 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, Wisdom , 2 Comments

1 Sam 30: 1-6  Now when David and his men came to Ziklag on the third day, the Amalekites had made a raid against the Negeb and against Ziklag. They had overcome Ziklag and burned it with fire and taken captive the women and all who were in it, both small and great. They killed no one, but carried them off and went their way. And when David and his men came to the city, they found it burned with fire, and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive. Then David and the people who were with him raised their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep. David’s two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel. And David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him, because all the people were bitter in soul, each for his sons and daughters. But David strengthened himself in the LORD his God.

David’s men had every right to be upset over the kidnapping of their families.  The Amalekites were not present to absorb this outrage, so it was directed at their own beloved leader, David. Had they stopped to think rationally, they would have concluded that clearly David was not responsible for this disaster.  After all, he suffered the same loss as his men.

What stuns me is how David did not argue with them or show any fear or start to make plans.  He immediately turned to the Lord for his strength.   What did that look like?   He must have privately poured out his grief over the loss of his wives and sought God’s counsel about how to deal with his men.  Did this last 30 seconds or 2 hours?  Was there much time before his men actually picked up stones?  We don’t know.

But his next step was to consult with the priest and pray publicly to the Lord for a plan.  God answered and David moved into leader-mode and constructed a rescue plan that eventually succeeded.  All family members were saved.  David’s priorities in the face of a leadership and life crisis were vindicated.

**

2 Samuel 5: 9-12

And David lived in the stronghold and called it the city of David. And David built the city all around from the Millo inward.  And David became greater and greater, for the LORD, the God of hosts, was with him.   And Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, also carpenters and masons who built David a house.  And David knew that the LORD had established him king over Israel, and that he had exalted his kingdom for the sake of his people Israel.

In this passage, David had been anointed King over both Judah and Israel and was enjoying great success.  Scripture tells us the reason was due to God being with him. But what was David’s assessment?  Was his stature and international renown due to his own prowess?  How encouraging it is to follow David’s thought process when foreigners bestow him with gifts.  A lesser man could easily conclude that this good fortune was due to his own greatness.  But David lived with the sovereign intervention of God in his life.  Had his life unfolded as his mom and dad expected, he’d still be a shepherd and last in line to inherit anything. David clearly understood that it was God who had cast him in this leading role and that God was the director and had his own purposes for Israel.

One can read elsewhere how David did not always act righteously, but here, at least, are two examples that offer us patterns to emulate.  In the face of immediate disaster, David turned to God.  In the face of impressive success, David acknowledged God’s agenda and doing.  He was neither too worried about his circumstances, nor too impressed with his own curriculum vitae.  His eyes were on God in either case.  May it be so with us.

Flimsy Faith

January 21, 2010

Maria Colossians, Reflections Leave a comment

Colossians 2: 11-12

In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

I stopped when I read this explanation by Paul.  Do I REALLY believe?   The word says that I am raised by means of my faith in God’s power.  How do I know I believe?  Maybe I’m just saying that I believe, but I really don’t?

Do you ever think like that?  I was helped this morning in considering these doubts, because they forced me to reason with myself.  My mind recalled a truth

  • Christ is the author of my faith (Hebrews 12:2) which means that HE initiated it.  It is not something I was born with.  Faith does not reside in me naturally.  It is a gift.  It is something planted in me.

So, if there is even a teeny bit of faith, faith exists.  If forced at sword’s point to admit whether or not I have faith….ONLY those 2 choices, would I really say I have NO faith?  Not if I’m honest. So the existence of even a mustard-seed-size faith (Luke 17:6) qualifies as faith.

The next truths that came to mind were

  • My faith does not have to be extensive to be effective.  The blind men cried out after Jesus, Son of David, Have Mercy on us (Matt 9:27).  Jesus must have given them an affirming glance to encourage the faith that they offered, for the Word continues, When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”     “Yes, Lord,” they replied.  Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you”; and their sight was restored. (verses 28,29)
  • God will encourage our faith as we exercise it.  Their first use of faith was when they spoke to Jesus.  He led them on to firmer, more expansive faith and rewarded them with the gift of sight.

So, do we have to do anything, besides USE our faith? Well, continuing with the agricultural theme of a mustard seed, we can use common sense and realize that seeds need the sun to make them grow.  My part in growing the faith God has planted in me is to seek out sunlight.  The more I dwell in the kingdom of light with my conscious thoughts, the more I encourage my little seedling of faith to grow into a huge robust tree of faith with branches strong enough to encourage others and myself.  The more I read and study to know Him, the more I desire and pray to love Him, the more I will trust what He says.

The bottom line for me this morning was the security I felt when I realized that I, Maria, am not the source of my faith.  Once God has given me His faith, it is Christ’s job to help me grow my faith.  Hebrews 12: 2 not only calls Christ the author of my faith, but the perfecter or finisher of my faith.

Be calm and rest, O my soul.  You are in good hands. You HAVE been raised with Christ.  Your citizenship is in heaven.  You have a good inheritance waiting you.  And no less than the son of God has taken responsibility to make sure my faith is strong enough to be effective.

Hannah’s prayer reveals her treasure

January 16, 2010

Maria 1 Samuel, Prayer , 1 Comment

1 Sam 2: 1-10

Hannah longed for a child.  She made a deal with God, that if He would remove her barrenness and give her a son, she would dedicate the child to Him.   Eli, the priest, spotted her praying silently and interceded on her behalf.  Her long-standing prayer is answered…… and Samuel is born.  Her response, recorded in the first ten verses of chapter 2, stuns us.   It is remarkable in what it does NOT mention.  Not one reference is to her son or how God answered her prayer.  She doesn’t even explicitly THANK God.  She revels in Him instead.  Savor her words of praise for who God is and what He does.

“My heart exults in the LORD; my horn is exalted in the LORD, My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies, because I rejoice in Thy salvation.
There is no one holy like the LORD, indeed, there is no one besides Thee, nor is there any rock like our God.
Boast no more very proudly, do not let arrogance come out of your mouth; for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and with Him actions are weighed.
The bows of the mighty are shattered, but the feeble gird on strength.
Those who were full hire themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry cease to hunger. Even the barren gives birth to seven, but she who has many children languishes.
The LORD kills and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and raises up.
The LORD makes poor and rich; He brings low, He also exalts.
He raises the poor from the dust, He lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with nobles, and inherit a seat of honor; for the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and He sets the world on them.
He keeps the feet of His godly ones, but the wicked ones are silenced in darkness; for not by might shall man prevail.
Those who contend with the LORD will be shattered; against them He will thunder in the heavens, The LORD will judge the ends of the earth; and He will give strength to His king, and will exalt the horn of His anointed.”

I think she was overwhelmed by the magnificence of a god who would actually listen to her and give her what she initially thought would complete her and make her whole.  Instead of JUST what she & Eli had prayed for, she received far more.   She got God himself, the one who is all-mighty.

So she rejoices in her new treasure (not her son) and wants everyone to know.  This new relationship with her Maker far outweighs the son she thought was her heart’s desire.  Her passions have changed.  She no longer worries about being harassed by ‘the other wife’, Peninnah, who constantly lorded it over her with her God-given children.  Hannah has God Himself.  That is why she is so easily able to honor her vow and hand Samuel over to Eli for temple service.

And God’s response to her sincere worship of Him?  1 Sam 2:21a records, “And the Lord visited Hannah; and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters.”

She didn’t even ask God for more children.  Having God Himself was enough for her.  How lavish is our Father with His love.

Grey clouds of anxiety

January 11, 2010

Maria Peace , 3 Comments

1 Pet 5: 5b – 7 God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.  (By ) cast (ing)  all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

A Christian friend asks me how I’m doing.  I pause and search my thoughts to figure out a way to communicate that lack of contentment and peace that plague me.  What is it, exactly, that is wrong?   After all, I have many blessings and lack many troubles that trouble those I know.  At the time, I can’t really put my finger on anything in particular.  It’s just that I don’t FEEL like all is well.

Here’s my self-diagnosis.  When I think of those primary family members whom I love most:  son # 1, his wife and their baby, son # 2 and his fiancée, my husband – there is this grey cloud of anxiety that hovers OVER each of their heads and their lives.  They haven’t told me that such a cloud exists – I put the clouds there in my little world.  The cloud represents all the uncertainty that I feel about how their lives are going to turn out.

My pride and desire for control to script their lives IN ORDER to feed my happiness and peace is what has brought clouds into my life and obscured my joy.  As I read last night in an article by Paul David Tripp, when my treasure is based on something of this world, I start to get anxious, because nothing in this world is under my control.

So, here is the solution- pray about each of these situations/people whom I love – once a day.  If something specific comes up during the day, then humbly, acknowledging my dependence, pass on that request to my Father.  But no more fretting and arranging in my mind possible future scenarios for each.  This is pride-busting, because it’s admitting that Maria does NOT have control, that there is nothing I can do, or should do, but entrust each care to my Heavenly Father.  Even if I COULD script their lives and nothing untoward would happen to them, what perspective do I have that would mean my choices for them would be optimal?  Only God know what is best.  So why worry?

With all that time now freed up to think of other things, I can reflect on what will make me truly feel better – thankful thoughts about God, His goodness, His qualities, His promises, His amazing encounters with his sinful, sheep-like (or worm-like) children whom he loves.  I am convinced that what I feed on affects my mood.  The less I look at imaginary grey clouds and the more I look at the bright light of God’s glory, the more joyful will I feel.

Thought Control – or Double your Joy

January 7, 2010

Maria Peace, Reflections , , 2 Comments

Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice..  (Phil 4:4)

Bless the Lord, O my soul, Bless His holy name.  Bless the Lord O my soul and forget not all his benefits. (Ps 103:1-2)

If you live in me and my words remain in you….. (John 15:7)

Go to bed bummed, wake up bummed.  My fight is with my thoughts.  They are the material units that make up my moods.  If I am feeling out of sorts or down, I can usually trace it back to specific thoughts.

Notice how God has us figured out.  His antidote to our moods is to double and triple our thoughts about what is good – God.   He exhorts us “Lift your countenance and thoughts up towards Me – think about what is true and good and noble and pure and excellent.”    It really is a choice.

The other morning, I woke up feeling out of sorts.  I had been reading Psalm 103 the night before.  I recognized right away as soon as I padded into the bathroom that I DID have a choice.  So I prayed, “Lord, help me to bless you right now instead of muse about why I might be feeling bad.” It wasn’t that difficult to make the switch.

Later on my morning walk, I started cataloguing WHAT exactly was on my mind.  Some of my ‘worry thoughts’  had to do with me wanting  people in my life to live their lives the way I, MARIA, thought best.  I was struck with the presumptuousness of that mindset.  What a waste of emotional energy.  Isn’t it enough that I live MY life the way I sense God is directing me?   And there is plenty of work to do to order rightly my thoughts.

I read recently that for every thought about ourselves, we should look up and direct 10 heavenward.  I don’t know if I can do that, but my life would really be different if I just managed to dwell on God AS much as I dwell upon MARIA.  After all, God doesn’t promise that I’ll bear fruit if my thoughts abide in me, but only if I dwell in Him and His words and thoughts live in me.  Fruit # 3 is peace – the opposite of waking up ‘bummed’.

Coincidentally, in my teacher training, I have heard that it takes 10 positive strokes/kind interchanges/praises directed toward a student to equalize or cancel one humiliating/negative comment leveled at him.  If that is true of interaction between folks, then perhaps it also applies in our inner conversations.  Is it any wonder that some of us are so depressed, given how we talk to ourselves?

Making decisions – God’s way

January 3, 2010

Maria Prayer, Reflections , 1 Comment

Prov 16:9 – A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure.

Prov 21:31 – The horse is prepared for the day of battle, but deliverance and victory are of the Lord.

Psalm 33:22 – Let Your mercy and loving-kindness, O Lord, be upon us, in proportion to our waiting and hoping for You.

Lamentations 3:25 – The Lord is good to those who wait hopefully and expectantly for Him

My question as I start the New Year – when do we submit and assume that present circumstances, however painful they are, are from the Lord and are being used for our sanctification?  And when do we work to change our circumstances?    Or to pose the question another way – do we do nothing in a trying situation and trust the Lord to bring about change?  Or do we do something and trust the Lord that He will guide our strivings?

Maybe I’m committing the fallacy of bifurcation, setting the question up as an either/or dilemma.  It’s hard to know.

In past decisions that we have made as believers, my husband and I waited for a sign and then acted, all along trusting that God was in the whole process, guiding it.  For example, three years ago I asked God for a sign to leave my former school and it eventually came (the waiting and trusting part).  Then I had to find another job (the action and trusting part).  More recently, we wanted to leave our former church.  We waited until my husband felt the time was right.  We looked (action) for another church and settled in quickly.

Now we are in a situation that feels heavy with import.  My husband is in a job that is unbearable most days – it sucks his soul dry.  He dreads it.  Through it all, he has depended on God for a good attitude and to help him to make a contribution.  And God has sustained him.  Is this ‘wrong’ job part of the sanctification process and therefore it would be a mistake to seek out something else?  Or maybe the whole trusting God through the job search adventure is the sanctification process?  Scripture seems to counsel both:  waiting and doing.

I think a situation similar to ours would be one in which a couple would like to have children but can’t seem to get pregnant.  Do they take things into their own hands and try fertility treatments?  Do they start the adoption process?  Or do they just accept they are childless and leave it as being their ‘chosen, assigned portion’, their cup or lot.   What do we do with those desires – the desire for a child, the desire for a job that brings joy?

At times I don’t know what to think.  As a wife, I want to give my husband good, biblical counsel.  I don’t want to steer him wrong and fall into traps similar to those that tripped up our first mothers (Eve, Sarah, Rebecca).  I can be encouraging to him one night and then fearful in the morning.  Nonetheless, here is how I leave the dilemma at the end of each day.  I remind myself and trust myself to God’s hands and His unchanging sovereignty.  After all, we are just pilgrims on His journey.  He IS directing the journey.  He put us on this planet at this time, in this country, among these people, with this skill set and outlook.  He, alone, has the plan.  This impatient traveller wants a glimpse at the map!

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