Carry the Torch

It's 2020, and I don't think my prayer list has ever been longer. Sickness, unemployment, mental health, isolation, grief, and far too many people who have not yet come to know God as He is revealed to us in the Scriptures. 

If I can, for just a moment, talk about that last one. People have lots of ideas about God. The only truth about God, however, is found in the Bible. Great, you see Him in a sunrise, or you hear Him in the sweet coos of your tiny new grandchild. He is there, for sure; the Bible says that every good and perfect gift comes from God. Whether you know God or not, whether you choose to believe He exists, no matter what you think, if you've got something good, He gave it to you. And that's that. But if you're looking only at the places or things in which His goodness is revealed, you're not going to know Him -- all of Him. You have to read the Bible to know who He is, in His. Own. Words.

In the last few years, I have known the passing of several beautiful, sweet souls. And they were all very clear with regard to their dying wish: that people would come to know Jesus. Their family, their friends, their neighbors. One was hopeful her illness would bring her sister to her so she could share the Gospel with her. One had prayed and loved on her children for years, in hopes they would return to the God they knew as little ones. They had a profound desire that was focused on the Lord and His universally inclusive work on the cross, that those they loved and cared deeply for would know truth that sets the captive free.

This morning, I was praying for the folks the saints have left behind. As I prayed, I realized I had this idea of what should have happened: the prodigal weeping at their loved one's bedside, contrite and overcome by gratitude for their loved one's faithful petitions, turning to the Lord right then and there that the dying saint might pass on in peace. Very Hallmark. It didn't happen, and it's a scene that will never take place. Why, God, did You allow someone who prayed so persistently, who loved so much and so well, who spoke life to those they loved at every opportunity -- why did You allow that kind of godly influence to be withdrawn from the lives of others? And before I could think another thought, the answer came. It wasn't that He had allowed a saint to be removed and their loved ones to perish without knowing Him, but the goodness was in the fact saints were so public about their desires, there's no forgetting it. These saints had shared their hearts, making known to us all the very thing they wanted most -- whether they were around to see it, or they were in Glory -- for their loved one to know the Savior. And here I was, praying for people I've never met because of the testimony of those I have held dear. 

God is still working and believers are still interceding, and until it's over, it's not over. So, what is your heart's desire? Do you dare to hope your daughter and her husband will stop tearing one another apart and begin serving the Lord? Do you dare to pray in faith for your neighbor to turn from false religion and confess the King of kings? Make your requests known to the Lord, yes, but make your heart's desire known to other believers as well. Give them the opportunity, the privilege, the responsibility of carrying that torch, even after you are gone.

What Are You Lookin' At?

"Eyes up here, Class," our sixth grade teacher used to call out when we weren't really paying attention. One of our classmates had the brilliant idea to make balls out of masking tape with the sticky on the outside. He drew an eye on each one. So, one day when she asked for eyes at the front of the room... Yeah, he launched them. I don't recall her reaction. Was he in class the rest of the year? Hmm...

There is a reason she wanted everyone looking to the front of the room. She was in the front of the room. She was the source of the information we needed to acquire. That is where our attention needed to be. Look at all the damage distracted driving has done. When driving, our eyes need to be on the road. If our full attention is on the backseat, or our phones, or the Cheeto we dropped between the seat and the console, there will be things happening on the road we will miss -- things that may require our reaction, things that definitely require our attention. Allowing our focus to be drawn away from the things that are most important can have devastating consequences.

2 Samuel 11:1, tells us there was a time of year when all kings went to battle. On this particular year, King David did not. We're not explicitly told why, but maybe he had a "good reason." Maybe he was tired. Maybe he had full confidence in his men; he had trained them, had passed on the torch, so to speak, and it was all good. No matter the reason, it wasn't God's. I've done that. My excuses have made perfect sense -- to me. "They have plenty of people to help with Vacation Bible School," or, "I've done it for years. Let someone else do it." Is that what God is telling me? Probably not, and He definitely didn't tell David to sit this one out. David looked away from God and His will. The King of Israel put his eyes on his plan, and we know what happened next. He saw Bathsheba, another man's wife. He succumbed to temptation and got her pregnant. He brought Uriah, her husband, back from the battlefield for a little "family time." When he found his soldier would not leave his men to relax with Bathsheba, David hatched a plot to have Uriah killed. David allowed his focus to be drawn away from the Lord, and many suffered. 

Full disclosure, David had been heading this way for a while. This was not the first time he neglected to have his eyes where they belonged. 2 Samuel 3, tells us David had multiple wives and concubines. Satan had found himself a foothold in David's life, sexual sin. All the more reason the king's eyes should have been riveted on the King of kings. We need God each and every moment of every day. Without Him we can do nothing. In those times when we are faced with the things that appear most desirable, we need to move closer to Him, test things against His truth. Maybe you remember the old movies where the guy is wandering around, dehydrated and delirious in the desert, and stumbles upon his last hope -- an oasis. He throws himself into the water and begins to gulp it down as quickly as he can. Draught after draught. Just what he has searched for! Just what he needs! Only to find, it is a mirage. He has been deceived, and has swallowed cup after cup of nothing but sand. And he dies. He did not test what he thought he saw, but threw himself recklessly at a brilliant illusion. David did as well. So have I.

There's a reason coaches tell their players to keep their eyes on the ball. There's a reason driving instructors tell their students to keep their eyes on the road. There's a reason Mrs. Gough demanded we keep our eyes on her. Where your eyes are, your body and mind will follow. May we all be diligent in keeping our eyes on the Lord.

Christians Need Religion

What is something you do -- always? I know a man who walks a couple miles, goes home, eats two cookies, and bikes several miles after that. It's his routine and, barring serious illness or terrible weather, he follows it. He is religious about his health. 

I see it all the time. I've done it. You're halfway through the parking lot and you remember your mask. Back to the car to get it. We're how many months into this thing, and we still forget to wear our mask? How is it not a regular part of our routine by now? 

I need medication daily. Without it, I'm pushing up daisies. It is recommended I take it each morning, the problem is, my "morning" changes. Sometimes morning is 5 or 6 AM; sometimes morning is 9:30 at night. It doesn't change the fact I need to take this medication. It does, however, alter the likelihood I will take it. I wake up; I've barely slept 'cause my bedtime has changed -- again; I wander bleary-eyed to the bathroom -- "Just get me through this day" -- and I never give my meds a thought. Or, I'm late; I've tried to get every minute of sleep I possibly could; brush teeth, get dressed, get coffee, I'm out the door -- "Oh, man, my meds! Nothing I can do about it now." And on I go. I need this stuff to live! What am I doing?! 

I am a Christian. Christianity is faith; Christianity is a walk of life; Christianity is not a religion. But, Christianity needs religion. When I was a little girl, we went to church every Sunday. One of the biggest fights my parents had in front of us kids was when we were on vacation. Mom wanted to see the sights, but it was Sunday morning, and Dad had already inquired at the hotel's front desk about nearby churches. We were going to church. That is religion. Church and the knowledge of God became such a part of my identity, when I grew older and I stopped going to church, I actually experienced the emptiness of holidays like Easter and Christmas without that part of me. I distinctly remember driving through a neighborhood on a beautiful sunny day just before Easter. Lawns were decorated with brightly colored eggs and enormous white bunnies. I thought to myself, "Is this what non-Christians do? Is this really what they celebrate?" In reality, I wasn't even observing that, but I wanted something real to celebrate. The next Sunday I had my small son in church. And though it was another ten or so years before I authentically, relentlessly began seeking after the Lord, religion kept me within the safety and ministry of God's Word. I was learning, and God's Holy Spirit was speaking to my heart.

Today I need religion because I am human. My neighbor's exercise regimen is to be commended, but even bad weather or ill health can waylay him from it. Distractions or a shift in priorities can keep us from doing the things we need to do. Fatigue and stress can mess with our minds -- emotionally and physiologically -- so that routines which are so important, habits we need in order to live, can be completely forgotten. How does that happen? We're human. That's why the Bible tells us not to give up regular meeting with other believers. That's why Jesus commands us to remember Him regularly through the Lord's Supper. That's why we are to be baptized as outward evidence of a heart turned toward God. Religious acts, signs that not only serve to demonstrate we identify with Jesus, but they serve as reminders and commitments to each of us. Events we schedule or recall cause us to turn our thoughts to the Lord -- the One we truly need for life. As humans, we need regular celebrations and prompts to draw our hearts and minds to their true purpose. In fact, I am more likely to do my Bible reading without fail than I am to take my medication. And that's not because I am some religious nut or some "Super Christian" (they don't exist), it is because of the work of the Holy Spirit in me; it is because He changes and convicts me, is always close beside me, directing me in the path I should walk. And my daily dose of church (Bible reading, prayer, worship) is where I go to be reminded whose I am.

Religion drew me in and kept me close until the day I laid my life at the foot of the cross. Now, that may or may not be your testimony; God works in each of us differently. But, religion is also what keeps me close today. Not empty religion, mind you; not me doing things to earn favor with God or work my way to heaven, but routine commemoration. The candle I light to celebrate times the Lord has revealed Himself to me, or the verse I recite to remember the places He has brought me out of, or the weekly group I attend to uncover more truth about the One I serve -- actions that may appear to others as though I am going through some pious routine to gain favor with a supreme being, but are, in truth, set in motion and sustained by the One who has brought my heart from empty to full, from mere routine to righteousness. 

By the Strength of the Lord

How are you raising your children? To the best of your ability? That's how I raised mine. I mean, who wouldn't, right? Well, I wouldn't. Not if I had it to do all over again. 

When I was raising my children, I worked a nightshift, 11 PM to 4 AM, prime sleep time. I'd try to catch a nap before going in, but that rarely worked out. Then, I was up at 8:30 or 9 AM to homeschool. That's right, I was an overachiever. And not a very good one. I was exhausted (read: short-tempered and selfish). I never said "no" when Mom would show up an hour into our school day "just to talk"; I hated the things she said about people who didn't do things her way, and I certainly didn't want her saying those things about me. So, my children suffered. After she'd leave I'd browbeat them into getting their work done before I ran them to karate and hockey and dance and whatever else they wanted to do. I let them skip assignments and take extra days off -- just because I didn't want to hear them complain and just because I felt so guilty I couldn't do it all. I vacillated between permissive and irate. I had no clue how to set boundaries for myself or for my children. I wanted to enjoy being a mother, and sometimes I did, but I constantly second guessed myself and always measured myself against the other moms. I always felt as though "the best of my ability" would never be good enough. I was right.

Fast forward to today. I am not the same person I was. Solely, because the Holy Spirit has had His finger on my entire life. There are blessings I have received simply because God loves me and blessings I have received because my behavior is not what it was years ago -- blessings of better consequences, you might say. I have had hardship and pain, and plenty of those head-scratching moments -- all because He is working to transform me, teach me, prepare me, and make me look more like Christ, my Namesake. As a result, the things I do today, I pray, I do not to the best of my ability, but by the strength of the Lord. (Twenty years ago, I would have had no idea what that meant. These days I can almost feel it when I've gone from AutoPilot ☝ to "let me have a crack at it.") 

I often wonder how differently things would have turned out had I welcomed the Holy Spirit into my life when I was my raising children, and it grieves me. I have apologized to my children. I have apologized to my ex-husband. I have apologized to myself. And I have apologized to the Lord. But the regret is there. I wish I could go back and do it all again. I wish I could go back and be the person God is making me, for those who were in my care back then. But I can't. And I don't usually write things like this. I don't usually talk about regrets and simply leave it out there, but someone needs to hear this. Someone needs to know it's not too late. Someone needs to know the transforming power of the Holy Spirit is real. Someone needs to know that when we follow Jesus, the only regret we have is not doing it sooner - before the marriage ended, before the words were said, before the children were grown, before the bridge was burnt, before it ended in a guilty verdict. Today, the Holy Spirit put this burden on my heart, and He knows who you are. I pray you do life by the strength of the Lord.