Walking

When the image slams me yet again, it's always like a nightmare in roaring intensity and heart-pounding emotions.

The path lies before me, the way scrubbed neatly down to smooth dirt and gently winding through the meadow. But this meadow has been overgrown by weeds. Black jagged leaves hang along the path and determined vines creep along the edges.

As I walk, I hear toothy growls from the thick chaos along the edges, throaty snarls that threaten. I get a flash of a yellow eye, a white fang.

This path seems frightening. I'm like David, who wrote, "Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am weak; heal me, Lord, for my bones are shaking; my whole being is shaken with terror." (Psalms 6:2-3)

But I remember, as he remembered, that there are no weeds on the path. No monsters have pierced its walls. When I stay on the path, I feel the warmth of the sun and the sweet scent of blossoms.

David sorted this out, too. He wrote: "The Lord has heard my plea for help; the Lord accepts my prayer. All my enemies will be ashamed and shake with terror; they will turn back and suddenly be disgraced." (Psalms 6:9-10)

Our enemies can't enter God's path. We are safe in his presence.

The obvious conclusion: stay on the path.

Distracted?

It is extraordinary what an enormous power
there is in simple things
to distract our attention from God.

~Oswald Chambers~

Learning from trees and straw

There was nothing spectacular about the tree but that's why it held his attention. In the midst of winter, the tree was stripped of life. Yet Herman knew that when April rolled around, there would be green buds on the tree. The tree was waiting out the winter.

He hadn't taken time before but this day he knew he was that tree, dead and dry. And in an instant he grasped that God held the same hope for him. He was in the winter of his life but spring was ahead, because of God's grace. What was dead could come back to life.

That realization changed Herman's life. And ours as well.

We know Herman as Brother Lawrence, who provided the wisdom that we find in Practicing the Presence of God.

You can read his story here. Better yet, read his book here.

From the winter tree, Brother Lawrence grasped a love for God that governed his life. The key for Brother Lawrence was serving God in the common business of each day. Whether he was washing dishes or cooking the evening meal, he found God in his duties.

Don't we sometimes assume that God has a splendid task for us and we're disappointed that we haven't uncovered it yet? Brother Lawrence would tell us to look for God, not for the splendid task. And God can be found in our common business.

For Brother Lawrence, a lifetime of serving his fellow monks through kitchen duty was not a waste of time, but a wonderful opportunity to worship. "It is enough for me to pick up but a straw from the ground for the love of God," he said.

Think what we can learn from a man passionate about his Redeemer.

Squeamish faith

Part of following Jesus means to go down his path. But it makes us squeamish when it involves pain.

I’ve been following the Christian believers in India in the state of Orissa. Thirty-four have died because of their non-Hindu stance.

India is a federal republic, with 28 states and a population of 1.1 billion (as of July 2008).

Although their legal system is based on the English common law, separate personal law codes apply to Muslims, Christians, and Hindus. That may be where the rub is.

I have friends in India who report that the Orissa Christians are hiding in the woods now, away from the Hindus. At last report, 34 Christians have died because they are followers of Jesus.

Died.

Please read this update. And please take this seriously. Not only do these believers need our prayers, but we need to check our own attitudes. Can we follow Jesus if it means shedding our own indulgences and falling before him as faithful servants?

Where’s my satisfaction? And would I die for it?

For he has graciously granted you the privilege not only of believing in Christ, but of suffering for him as well

Phil 1:29

Making choices

Abi felt sweat trickle down his back, his teeth gritty from the dust off the hardened road. He shifted the backpack slightly and kept moving.

“All right, you fool, you done your mile,” a gruff soldier growled at him. “I’ll find another.”

But Abi shook his head. “Where are you going?”

“What game are you playing?” the soldier leaned toward him. “You are done! Don’t you know the law? It doesn’t matter where I’m going because you don’t have to go. Now give me my backpack and be off.”

Abi kept walking. “I’ll go on with you. I can carry the backpack another mile.”

The soldier shook his head. “You’re a fool.”

“Yes,” Abi nodded. “I am a fool.” They walked on and then Abi asked, “So where’s your home?”

“Near Rome,” the soldier said. “I’ve only been here a few months.”

They walked on, the soldier’s sandals crunching on the sand.

“Why are you walking on with me?” the soldier asked. “I don’t get it.”

“The first mile was your choice,” Abi said. “The second mile is my choice.”

“No other Jews do this,” the soldier said. “They want freedom, too.”

Abi smiled. “They don’t know Jesus.”

“What has that to do with carrying a backpack?”

“Jesus taught us not to put ourselves first, but to love others.”

The soldier stopped walking. “Even us?”

“Even Roman soldiers.” Abi shifted the backpack again.

“This is something I don’t understand,” the soldier admitted. “Tell me more.”

It is said that followers of Jesus can only do self-sacrificial work if a supernatural work has been done in their heart. It’s that hard to do.

Looking for any backpacks to carry today?

But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you
Matt 5:44

Free Range kids

When Nathan was 7, I stuck a $5 bill in his pocket and sent him to the grocery story for a gallon of milk. It was only a block away and we lived in the sort of town where, if he walked down the middle of the street to get there, any drivers coming by would have followed him with flashers glowing.

But the look on his face when he got home was priceless. "I felt so grown up!" he told me, handing over the milk and the change.


I thought about Nathan today when I heard about Lenore Skenazy. She gave her 9-year-old son a $20 bill, a subway map, a MetroCard and let him come home in New York City via the subway.

He made it, exuberant. But Lenore has been loudly criticized by the helicopter parents, who hover and rescue at every opportunity. It made me think. How would a follower of Jesus look at the issue?

I gotta be honest, I don't see our Heavenly Father as a helicopter parent. He could have dived right in when Eve talked to the serpent. He could have sent in a servant to block David's view from the roof of the palace. Jesus would have snagged the rich young man rather than letting him walk away.

God lets us make mistakes and then, in his mysterious and impossible way, molds mistakes into growth in our lives.

So what does that mean to us as parents? Lenore knew there were risks for her son. But she trusted his good judgment and ability to think things through.

"I trusted him to figure out that he should take the Lexington Avenue subway down, and the 34th Street crosstown bus home. If he couldn't do that, I trusted him to ask a stranger. And then I even trusted that stranger not to think, 'Gee, I was about to catch my train home, but now I think I'll abduct this adorable child instead.'" Lenore wrote.

Lenore believes we have allowed fear to paralyze us as parents - and to disarm our children in the process. She now has a blog to examine her ideas about Free Range kids.

This is an important concept to me as a follower of Jesus. I want my children to learn judgment, discernment and trust. I believe in allowing them to make mistakes and helping them sort through the pieces. This is not an easy world to navigate. Our children, if they are going to make a courageous walk with the Father, must know how to get along. And they must know we believe they can learn to do it.

Just as our Father does with us.

Palin on the scene

I was 23 at the time, a news reporter in search of a report on the Sheriff’s department drug bust last weekend. The sheriff was doing paperwork at his desk when I entered his office.

When he turned to me, a big grin burst over his face.

“I need to get information on that drug arrest,” I told him.

“You bet,” he said. “You ought to come on over here and sit on my lap while I tell you all about it.”

This was a long time ago, in a small town, and the idea of filing sexual harassment charges was not even on the radar. I simply stood my ground and repeated my request.

In most of my jobs, I have worked with men and enjoyed it. I have been generally treated honorably, as a team member pulling my own load.

I lived through the militant feminism of the ‘70’s, finding it too angry and extreme for my tastes. I have found much comfort in God’s presence, where I have felt what Paul said: There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Gal 3:28)

When I heard women rage against the sexism in this country in recent years, I saw their agenda of power overshadowing any concern for the individual woman.

Until Sarah Palin came on the national scene.

I respect Sarah. She bore a Down’s Syndrome son in an age that often considers a handicapped child too much of an inconvenience to deliver. She has five children, a supportive husband, and a vision to lead. She’s an evangelical with a fresh word and courage to stand up.

And I’m discovering that sexism has reared its ugly head like a snake in a garden. Criticism of her generally centers on her sex and not on her stand. Take a look at this blog to get a fuller picture of how the media and opposition are on the attack.

As a follower of Jesus, I want to live by Gal 3:28.

Tomorrow I’ll talk about what I’m going to do next.

The state of greed

Charles did enough international travel to be familiar with US customs procedures. So when he was pulled aside in Dallas for an interview and a search by a customs official, he was curious.

“Why did you pull me out of line?” he asked the official.

The man shifted a little uncomfortably. “Are you sure you really want to know?”

“I wouldn’t have asked,” Charles told him, “if I didn’t want to know.”

“Well, as you came through customs, I heard you say that you were a Christian. I find that Christians lie more often about what they bring back into the US.”

Ouch.

This is a true story. What can we make of it?

I’ve talked with waiters and waitresses who dread the Sunday after-church crowd for these are the most likely to leave a pittance for a tip along with a brochure on how to get to heaven.

I suspect a thoughtful tip might convey something of God’s love, too.

I know of churches who nurse along a healthy savings account, calling it stewardship when I wonder about their trust. For some reason, I think about five loaves and two fishes turning into food for over 5,000 – with leftovers. Couldn’t God re-fill the savings account?

King Nebuchadnezzar was reduced to an animal state because he used his wealth and power to live a life of ease, taking pride in his own abilities rather than submitting to God.

Are we a greedy group of followers?

Job said it well:

If I have made gold my trust, or called fine gold my confidence; if I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, or because my hand had gotten much... this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges, for I should have been false to God above.

Job 31:24-28

A heart checklist

When I wonder how I’m doing on my journey with Jesus, I sometimes look at others who journey as well. I can usually find someone who is stumbling more than I am, and then I can feel better about my own journey.

Have you ever done that, too?

I don’t think it’s wrong to evaluate my walk but I think it’s not helpful to look at others who are on the journey. I think I need a better evaluation tool.

Here’s what I came up with, out of the book of Romans. I think these are marks to compare myself to. These reveal my heart and show me where I need to grow.

I don’t think these are burdens we should place on those who are not following Jesus, as though checking off this list will make them followers. This list is for followers of Jesus, to check our heart condition.

See what you think of the benchmarks:

Is my love genuine?
• Do I hate what is evil?
• Do I hold fast to what is good?
• Do I love other with mutual affection?
• Do I outdo others in showing honor?
• Do I lag in zeal?
• Am I ardent in spirit?
• Do I long to serve the Lord?
• Do I rejoice in hope?
• Am I patient in suffering?
• Do I persevere in prayer?
• Do I contribute to the needs of the saints?
• Do I extend hospitality to strangers?
• Do I bless, rather than curse, those who persecute me?
• Do I rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep?
• Do I live in harmony with one another?
• Am I too haughty to associate with the lowly?
• Do I claim to be wiser than I am?
• Do I repay anyone evil for evil or do I do what is noble in the sight of all?
• As much as it is possible, so far as it depends on me, do I live peaceably with all?
• Do I seek vengeance or allow God to protect me?
Am I overcome by evil or do I overcome evil with good?

(Checklist courtesy of Romans 12:9-21)

Some stuff to climb over

Maria was supposed to have colon surgery the day before her graduation but she begged off. Instead, the morning of the ceremony, she was washing the plates and cups.

“You need to rest!” Harlan scolded her.

She smiled sweetly at him and sat down – until he wasn’t looking. Then she picked up the dish towel again.

After breakfast, she hurried downtown to pick up her book and then came back to try on her cap and gown.

Maria met Jesus about 6 years ago, to her husband’s anger. He kicked her out of the house then and eventually divorced her. She lived with a son for a while, but he tired of her talk about Jesus and sent her away.

So, with nowhere to go, she came to the seminary in Merida, Yucatan and helps with household chores in exchange for room and board. She took a full course of study at the seminary and on graduation day, she walked downtown to pick up her bound dissertation – a heavily footnoted study of God’s sovereignty.

A week before graduation, a doctor discovered she has colon cancer. He scheduled immediate surgery but she begged him to wait. She had to graduate first.

Maria runs the seminary bookstore, a tiny shop in the market that sells Christian books at a discounted price. The shop produces a minuscule income for the seminary but mostly provides good Christian books at a reasonable price.

Quietly, Maria goes about her day-to-day activities. Her son stopped by the bookstore on Monday after graduation and her face lit up with love and joy to see him.

“Gloria Dios!” She told me at every turn. “Glory to God!”

What else matters?

A small window

It’s hard telling what Ben had done, but he got to watch the whole program from the second floor through a small barred window. On the first floor, his buddies were learning a tricky game with hand motions. They got to sing songs and hear a story that made them laugh.

When the teenage girl talked about persevering, even in a hard place like this detention center, Ben could barely hear her words. But he pressed his head hard against the bars.

He’d gotten caught in a scuffle with some of the other boys and earned a few days in solitary. So he wouldn’t get any of the cake and soda brought in for the other boys.

Or so he thought.

For one of the men in our group noticed Ben listening intently at that tiny window. He scooped slices of cake onto napkins and wandered over to the guards standing together by the fence. They were happy to take a slice and then he came back with cups of soda.

He continued to hand out refreshments to all the guards and then, with one more set of goodies in his hand, asked if he could take some to Ben. They agreed.

So Ben got his cake and soda. But the man also prayed with him, shook his hand, and told him a little more about Jesus. You can do a lot through a tiny window.

Please pray for Ben. God opened a door that day and we may never know what will happen. But we trust God’s goodness.

He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength.

Isaiah 40:29-31

Top of the mountain, part 2

Yesterday's post described how we came up the mountain.

The graduation began shortly, but first we worshipped. With guitar, bongo drums, maracas and tambourines, they sang. Exuberantly. Joyfully. Eyes closed and heads leaned back.

With many hugs from family, the graduates were given diplomas. Once the ceremony was over, we realized that if we wanted an interview with the pastor, it had to happen now. The light was fading and we had no electricity for lights.

So we set up an interview site with banana trees as a backdrop to hear an amazing story about a pastor redeemed from voodoo (another story on another day). As we filmed, goats wandered into the background.

By the time we were done interviewing, the meal for the graduates and their families was taken away. We wondered if we’d go to bed hungry.

But many hands helped us tear down our filming equipment and then we were seated in the pastor’s home around a table heavy with food. We ate a common Cuban dish, white rice and black beans. There were fresh sliced pineapple, bananas, lamb, chicken soup, bread, fried plantains.

Once the pastor’s family had served us, and were satisfied we needed nothing more, they faded from the scene to let us eat. We tumbled into beds in three small bedrooms with hard mattresses and stiff lumpy pillows.

But we realized that we had displaced three families. We’re not sure where they slept that night, but they were up late to clean up our food and then up early to prepare breakfast.

We ate pineapple slices as we watched the sun rise, casting orange and purple through the mist of the mountains. We left the mountains tired, dirty, and nervous about the 15-hour drive ahead.

But we left knowing we had been treated like royalty, given the best they had by people who love Jesus and freely give.

They said we had honored them by coming, but we found new energy in their love for the King and their love to us. Coming to the mountain had changed us.

Top of the mountain

We had to shed a lot of baggage to get to the top of the mountain. Up there, life is simpler. There’s no electricity and no running water, unless you count the rain which cut deep ruts in the trail that wound around the mountain.

It was four-wheel-drive country and we had a minivan. Really, it was a horse or oxcart trail and most people came to the church on foot.

We drove across the island of Cuba – seven people and our filming equipment stuffed into the minivan. To go, we had to drastically trim our luggage.

We’d already done that once, leaving a third of our clothes and equipment back in Cancun. Now we sliced again, trying to anticipate equipment needs. We ended up taking two sets of clothes – the ones we wore and a clean set – for the four-day journey.

We walked the last half mile up the trail, allowing the minivan to lurch and bump its way without our extra weight. As we turned the final corner, we saw over 100 people in the clearing waiting for us.

A small group waited under a tree, gathered around an oxcart. Children were playing in the shadow of the church and knots of people stood near the parsonage.

The women came to kiss our cheeks and the men, after a quick handshake, took our bags.

We were whisked into the house for a cup of espresso – the cup of hospitality in Cuba – and allowed to change to fresh clothes.

“When does the graduation start?” I asked our director.

“Right now,” he said. “As soon as we get there.”

This seminary, tucked away in the mountains nearly 600 miles from the city of Havana, had instructed 14 students in Bible knowledge for three years. This was their first graduation and the mountains were alive with excitement.

They had waited for us, the church exuberantly decorated with flowers and ribbons.

Tomorrow: their sacrifice

Lukewarm

Hannah filled her clay jar with water from the aqueduct as her little brother pulled impatiently at her robe.

“I’m thirsty!” Eli exclaimed. “Why can’t I get a drink now?”

“You know why. The water has to cool and the hardness has to settle out of it. You need to learn patience.

Hannah began her slow dusty walk back to their home, keeping a watchful eye on Eli.

“Why don’t we go over there and get some cold water?” he pointed at structures on the horizon.

“Because it’s 10 miles away!”

“Their water is good. Uncle Nathaniel says so. He says our water is no good but they have cold water. It doesn’t need to settle.”

Hannah sighed again. “Next you’ll want to go see Julius.”

“Will not. His city has hot water. I can’t drink that.”

“Oh, Eli, those are hot springs. They don’t drink the hot water. But they can bathe in the springs. There are minerals in the water so it makes you feel better to lie there.”

“Can we lie in our water?”

Hannah laughed. “Most of the minerals settle out of the water before it gets to us.”

Eli pointed to the Roman-built pipeline. “There are minerals crusted all over the inside of it. It doesn’t smell good, either.”

“Well, that’s why we have to take the water home and let it settle before we can drink it.”

“Why is the water lukewarm?”

“It started out hot.”

“I wish it would cool down faster,” Eli said. “I am thirsty.”

“Well, right now our water is useless. That’s why we let it cool and settle before we drink it. Be patient!”

When Hannah later heard John’s letter to her church, she instantly understood his warning. For Colossae, down the road 10 miles, had renowned cold water springs. Hierapolis, across the valley, was known for its medicinal hot springs.

But Laodicea had only piped-in water which, by the time it got to the village, had encrusted the aqueduct with minerals and spewed forth a lukewarm broth that was not fit to drink. The water was ineffective, having neither medicinal nor drinking qualities. If taken directly from the pipeline, the water would make one vomit.

The Laodicean church had also become ineffective by John’s time, with a lack of fruitfulness that made God sick. His warning was not about their faith but that their deeds had grown useless.

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

Rev 3:15-16

Ministry Focus: Girls4God

Girls as young as 5 are lured by promises of jobs and a better life. In other words, they’re completely lied to before being stuffed into boxes and shipped to America to be used as porn models.

This is an ugly story and I won’t go on. Suffice it to say that many don’t survive the trip itself and many more don’t survive the atrocities they meet upon arrival.

All to feed an insatiable porn monster. Photos can be uploaded in 15 minutes and there’s a hungry audience waiting fresh meat.

God4Girls wants to provide another way for these girls, who live in Latin America. Using the motto, “From Exploitation to Empowerment,” the group establishes local programs to provide schooling and job skills.

Their four-point goals for programs are:

• Scripture – establishing a personal pattern for Bible reading, discipleship and prayer.
• Sustenance – providing food, medicine and essentials.
• Schooling – education in the 3R’s.
• Skills – training for a long-term vocation.

Author Patricia Hickman is part of a construction team going to Latin America to build training centers for girls there. Further information on her trip is available here.

Please pray for these girls as Girls4God works in Jesus’ name to give them freedom.

Galatians: Branded

If you’ve ever been around livestock, you’ve seen a branding. A branding iron, heated to cherry red, is pressed against the flank of the cattle, leaving a mark on the skin for life, identifying the owner of each calf.

Paul reminded the Galatians as he closed his letter that he, too, was branded. In Gal 6:17, he said that the stigma or brand-mark of Jesus was on his flesh.

The irony of that comment was that judaizers (Jews who were trying to lure the Galatian believers into obeying Jewish law over Paul’s teachings) were insisting that the Gentiles be circumcised. That was the mark on their body which identified them as set apart for God.

Paul’s brand allied him with Jesus’ crucifixion, not the old laws. He was marked for life, owned by Christ.

So he told the Galatians it was no longer necessary to be circumcised. What mattered, Paul said, was a new creation.[1] While the judaizers required circumcision to be set apart, Paul said believers were set apart as a new creation.

Today, we don’t see circumcision as a rite of being set apart for God. But we sometimes have other practices which may seem to make us worthy of walking with God. And we trust those practices rather than placing our trust solely on Jesus’ work of redemption.

While the new believers in Galatia were tempted to trust in Jewish law and traditions, Paul reminded them again that they were new creation, set apart by Christ. They had been set free, not to return to traditions, but to walk in the life Christ had given them.

Do you wear the brand-mark of Jesus?

Have you trusted anything besides Jesus’ death and resurrection to give you freedom?

How do you trust and celebrate your status as a new creation?

---

[1] Gal 6:15

Freedom Finances: an open palm

We’re shopping for a house. When the kids first heard, they panicked. “Are we moving?” We’re not moving.

But we’re looking for more passive income.

Passive income comes from places where I earn money without working. When I sock money into a savings account, I am earning passive income with the interest. (Barely, but that’s another topic.)

We’re looking for a rental property.

We’ve talked in Freedom Finances for several weeks about getting on the topside of interest. Instead of paying interest, earn it. Instead of spending every penny, save some.

More than once, Jesus spoke of investing money. The classic is the parable of the talents in Matthew 25. Although Jesus’ point was not investing, he didn’t condemn it but praised the two servants who invested while condemning the one who refused to invest.

For some Christians, making money through passive income seems vaguely wrong. Jesus didn’t have a savings account, did he?

No, he didn’t. But he had some finances. (Judas handled the ministry treasury.) And we know that some wealthy women followed him, suggesting they may have helped with the daily expenses. Certainly, wealthy people contributed to the apostles as they traveled throughout the civilized world spreading the gospel.

God needs followers in all financial classes. The issue for us as followers of Jesus isn’t accumulation of money, but how we use that money. If money is gathered just to make me comfortable and safe, then I’m wrong.

But if money is gathered so that missionaries can be financed, Bibles printed, widows assisted, then the riches are very helpful.

Investing isn’t wrong. God used investors to finance the outreach of the early church and to provide for Jesus’ followers.

Money, like all things, is not to be held in a clenched fist but in an open palm.

Losing it

Martin Luther King Jr. said:

I submit to you that if a man hasn't

discovered something he will die for,

he isn't fit to live.

Jesus said:

If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it.

But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life. (Matt 16:25)

Purpose

Abraham Lincoln said:

I want it said of me by those who knew me best that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow.

Jesus said:

The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all its fullness. John 10:10

Peer pressure

Margaret Thatcher said:

If you just set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything at any time,
and you would achieve nothing.

Jesus said:

They do not belong to the world,
just as I do not belong to the world.

John 17:16