URGENT!

Not long ago, I ordered a bulletin board for my office. My husband scrunched up his face. "It's so small," he commented. 

Yes. It's just for urgent things; they'll be right there where I can't miss them. 

It has worked out pretty well. I haven't missed a thing. All the urgent things --the same urgent things --have been hanging there since he mounted the board at the beginning of the summer. The board is doing exactly what it's intended to do, heralding my need for action. I, however, have not done my part.

Our relationship with God can be like that bulletin board. Our Bibles lie untouched on the nightstand. We'll get to Bible study next week. Thanks for the food, Jesus. Amen. or, I really need a job, Jesus. Amen. And we go on about our lives as if we've filled our obligation or will get to it tomorrow. So long as we avert our eyes from the bulletin board, we need not be reminded we haven't really taken care of business. 

Or maybe, our bulletin board is full of conviction, a haunting uneasiness about the terrible lives we are living. This wasn't the way you were raised, it reminds. How did you get this far from who you were? We don't necessarily want to live the way we're living; but we haven't yet partnered with the God who wants to change us. Until we humbly imitate Jesus and determinedly follow the Holy Spirit, until we boldly confront the urgent things staring us in the face, the issues just keep piling up. 

Perhaps your bulletin board is completely empty. I've forged myself a pretty good life so far. I'm not a bad person, I make sure my family's cared for, I've had the same job for twelve years, the mortgage is paid. But take the time, dig around. What sort of things have been hidden or forgotten under all those items you've managed to stay on top of? Maybe there aren't any "urgent" matters to mind or overdue balances, but is there shame? Is there a desire to be defined by what you own? Is there a broken relationship with your siblings you've been pushing to the bottom of the pile? Is your confidence firmly planted in your reputation?

I was raised going to church. My parents had a Good News Club in our home. VBS, Christian school, Christian summer camp, youth group --all these things were a part of my life from the time I can remember. But by the time I was in my twenties, my life looked nothing like that. No church. No interest in memorizing Scripture. Little interest really, in doing the right thing. My Bible and my "Christianity" were nostalgic, things I referenced when trying to appear respectable. Each time I looked up at my "bulletin board" and saw just how much of my life needed to be corrected or at the least, addressed, the task appeared daunting --more like trying to empty a billboard than a bulletin board. There's no way I can get from here to there, I'd reason. And I was absolutely right. But my bulletin board hadn't become full overnight, and to "be a good Christian," I didn't have to change overnight. From the moment I confessed Jesus as my Salvation and my King, I began to look like Him! He gave me His righteousness and a new nature. As long as I remain invested in doing the work, as long as I am committed to growing spiritually each day, tackling those problems on the bulletin board, I will look more and more like Him. You will as well.

If you've not yet considered some things that need a push pin or two, pay attention to the issues or desires that seem to pop up from time to time --the bad habits you always seem to fall back into or the nagging sense something isn't quite right about the way you talk to others. If you seem to have drifted to a place you never thought you'd be or your spirit is at war with who you have become, maybe you need to have a talk with the One who made you and knows exactly where you need to go; He can turn that cluttered, menacing bulletin board into an unambiguous path to Shalom. If you've gotten into the terrible habit of avoiding those things marked URGENT, ask the Holy Spirit to step in, to give you the desire to start decluttering that board. Ask which item you need to tackle first and begin doing the work. Keep your eyes on Jesus and focus your prayers on that one thing. Respond to the call to action. Keep your bulletin board small and your commitment to becoming Christlike King-sized!

Midweek: "It Is Not Good for Man to Be Alone"

In my earlier days of life (?), of friendship with Jesus (?) I had a mantra: If I can see my neighbors, they are too close. Today, there is a part of me that still thinks this way from time to time: I am quite happy being solitary. But my happiness is not the endgame of my existence. The endgame of my existence is relationship with my Creator and relationship with all He has created. So, as a means of preaching to myself today and an attempt to encourage others who might, too, be happy in solitude, I share with you Maya Angelou's beautiful poetry:

"Alone"

Lying, thinking
Last night
How to find my soul a home
Where water is not thirsty
And bread loaf is not stone
I came up with one thing
And I don’t believe I’m wrong
That nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

There are some millionaires
With money they can't use
Their wives run round like banshees
Their children sing the blues
They've got expensive doctors
To cure their hearts of stone.
But nobody
No, nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Now if you listen closely
I'll tell you what I know
Storm clouds are gathering
The wind is gonna blow
The race of man is suffering
And I can hear the moan,
'Cause nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

-- Maya Angelou 

"Alone"

Cover Your Mouth!

Even as temperatures in our area remain in the 90s, my thoughts are turning to cold and flu season. I'll be disinfecting door handles and light switches a couple times each day (Not a germaphobe, just Mom to a ten-year-old and our last daughter at home is a teacher). I'll be doubling down on Vitamin C and trying to get more rest. Removing our shoes at the door is a standard in our home, but making sure things like coats and backpacks don't wind up on tables, counters, and other surfaces where people eat will take some extra reminding. Cover your mouth! will replace summertime's Close the door! Like most folks, I will do whatever I can to prevent getting sick and keep sickness on the outside of our home. But Scripture warns us to be even more meticulous about what goes in our hearts.

Proverbs 4:23: Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. In other words, Protect your heart; it's a matter of life and death! Think about this in terms of physical health. When we make poor food choices, develop habits like smoking, and fail to exercise, we put our heart at risk; an unhealthy heart can result in early death. A heart that is cared for is a strong, living heart, one that is conditioned to take the body well into old age. Spiritually, our hearts need protection. As Proverbs 4 continues, God through its author tells us how to "keep" our hearts:

Put away from you a deceitful mouth,
And put perverse lips far from you.
Let your eyes look straight ahead,
And your eyelids look right before you.
Ponder the path of your feet,
And let all your ways be established.
Do not turn to the right or the left;
Remove your foot from evil.

Let's ever so briefly break this down. Don't lie. Don't say bad things: curses, rude jokes, gossip, complaints. Keep your eyes on the prize: a life lived righteously. Take regular inventory of your choices, the steps you are taking, and be sure they align with God's directives. Do not stray from the path God has laid out for you.

Our behavior is (hopefully) a response to what our hearts are feeling toward the Lord; but it is our behavior that guards (or opens wide) our hearts to the corruption of worldly things --ideologies, desires, methods, goals, etc. Our life in Christ should be a cyclical thing: the more we desire God, the more our behavior imitates our Lord; the more our behavior imitates our Lord, the better insulated we become against the temptations of this world and the more we prefer the things of God. 

What's all this got to do with cold and flu season? Well, if we're not careful, we can bring all sorts of things into our homes, things that can make us sick. And if we're not diligently guarding our hearts in the ways Scripture commands us, we can expose ourselves to all sorts of things that will make us heart-sick. Our spiritual hearts will weaken the more pathogens we allow past the gate. At the cross, the hearts of all those who look to Jesus for salvation were made pure; as His disciples, we daily walk in agreement with that work when we imitate Him and submit to regular examination by the Holy Spirit. Like the precautions we will soon be reinstating to prevent debilitating (or just plain annoying) winter maladies throughout our family, guarding our hearts through the discipline of godly behavior, will keep heart-sickness from spreading. When we submit to the Holy Spirit's examination, when we regularly and critically assess ourselves, when we solicit the counsel and judgment (Yes, I said judgment) of godly brothers and sisters in Christ, and we correct our behavior, we protect those around us. If my temper has gotten out of hand, if those around me are starting to notice more complaining coming from my side of the car, if I'm skipping fellowship, the godly wisdom of others and my prompt correction can prevent further conflict with or hurt toward others. You know complaining can spread like cancer, right? Well, if I repent and correct my attitude, the spread can be prevented. And notice the first thing the author of Proverbs says with regard to protecting our heart: it's to change the way we speak! Words are the way we communicate what's in our hearts. If what is in our heart is good, others will be covered in encouragement and blessing. But if what is in our hearts is filth, we cover others in our filth every time we open our mouths. They, too, can become sick.

So, as the grocery store begins to stockpile Halloween candy, and we all start thinking about cold and flu prevention, let's not forget the good sense measures critical to all times of the year: keeping our hearts. Let's obey God and His Holy Word, take regular inventory of our thoughts and behaviors, review our goals and refocus on ones from which we may have strayed, and cover our mouth. A healthy heart is an important asset in any season.