THE MOST REMARKABLE THING

Repost from 2013

Around this time of year we are drawn to think of the death of Christ.  Without that death there could be no triumphal resurrection morning upon which we base our beliefs and our hope.  That death was one of the most gruesome known to mankind.  A friend in her research found a full description of the Roman process of crucifixion in dreadful detail.  While others were subjected to such torture, the death of Christ was all the more poignant when we consider that he was innocent of the charges against him. 

This week I have been impressed by something which seems more important to recognize:  The most remarkable thing about Christ’s death is that he submitted to it.

Christ, being fully man, felt every blow and insult, and being fully God, could have stopped each one.  That means that unlike the other helpless beings subjected to crucifixion, Christ received each wound knowing he had the power to put an end to his torture and destroy his tormentors.  He was the Lamb, laying down his life, but he was also the Lion, relinquishing his power. 

This is a model of submission that we must never overlook.  When the Word speaks of submission it asks Christian men and women to lay down both their lives and their power in obedience to God for the sake of another.  REMARKABLE!

@Tina Green, 3/27/13

Watching God

Watching God

I enjoy watching God.  His ways are so unpredictable that I am often amused by my own narrow perspective as compared to His. Turning us around and letting us briefly face ourselves must be one of His favorite things to do. It is even more delightful to watch Him work in someone else’s life. 

Recently a friend was faced with a job change that plunged her unexpectedly into the raucous world of young unbelievers.  She was offended at every turn by language, music, dress, lifestyles, attitudes, and work ethic.  She truly believed she could not survive in this setting long enough to complete her assignment, citing headaches, work interference, back pain, and other symptoms of stress.  She reported that the Lord was openly mocked and His name was repeatedly used in vain.  Having always worked for herself or in Christian settings she could not believe that God would want her to stay in such an environment, and talked constantly of leaving.  However, she could not quit without jeopardizing her employment and her livelihood. 

So often when we find ourselves in darkness we believe it is a mistake. This woman and I began to pray for relief, but we also prayed for the grace to endure this challenge.  The prayers became very specific, praying for the needs of individual co-workers and individual circumstance as they arose, praying to be a light in this dark place.

God would show her how attractive He could be to them through her.  Her “ministry kit” includes a sewing kit, a first aid kit, tissues, hand lotion, cough drops, mints, aspirin, handiwipes and spoons.  She shares fruit and healthy snacks when she has them.  Her unconditional love, acceptance and service, a timely word, hug, or prayers have set her apart as someone who receives appropriate respect and gratitude.  As she reflects on who she is today she can hardly recognize the woman she has become, blessing those she would have avoided, embracing those she would have judged.  She can see this leading to deeper, wider ministry as God guides her path and causes her to grow into the woman He wants her to be.

Just watch God!

Readers: I am posting this today to offer a new perspective on the work of Martin Luther King and the legacy he has left us.

Dear Dr. King

---

 

You were right. You prophesied, “If today’s church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will . . . be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the 20th century.”
But we have lost more than a sacrificial spirit. One of your prophetic heirs, Carl Ellis, has made clear that many black and white churches have become “irrelevant social clubs” because they have lost the God-centered, Christ-exalting, Bible-saturated gospel. God has been sold for good agendas.
There are times I wished you had made the biblical gospel clearer. But I am sure you would agree that the power you wielded was rooted in God.
Today, as I look at the gospel-weak white and black churches, I would say that both need a transcendent reference point in the sovereignty, supremacy, and centrality of God, expressed supremely in the gospel of Jesus Christ. God-centered, Christ-exalting, Bible-saturated churches where the gospel is cherished — these are the birthplace of the kind of racial harmony that give long-term glory to God and long-term gospel-good to the world.
Again you were right about the folly of passive waiting. Biblical waiting is not passive. It does not compromise. Nothing that needs changing changes without effort.
Some may have quoted, “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14)? But this call to wait for the Lord never meant stop doing what he commanded us to do in the pursuit of holy goals.
Waiting for the Lord means our action is essential, but his is decisive. The farmer must wait for the harvest. But no one works harder than the farmer.
Thank you for your sacrifices. May our Lord Jesus hasten the day when the terms “white church” and “black church” will be unintelligible.

---

This letter from John Piper is published as part of his chapter in the book Letters to a Birmingham Jail: A Response to the Words and Dreams of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,

Read and Share

Our Job Description

On November 23, 2015, the International Day of the Bible, it was recommended that we read the Bible and share what we read.  Now that my internet has been restored I would like to share what I read. 

And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. - 2 Timothy 2:24-26

Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. - 2 Timothy 3:12-13 ESV

So, this is a job description. And yet I wonder how many would apply for this job, how many would qualify? Is this really what is being asked of us who desire to serve.  In today's national climate we can see how far we are from fitting the bill for this job.  It goes against our natural impulses to do what Paul asks. Without help it is just too hard.

1. Don't quarrel  2. Be kind (to everyone?)  3.  Be able to teach (the truth)  4. Patiently endure the evil of others  5. Correct opponents gently   6.  Allow God to decide the fate of others  7. Endure persecution as part of your divine assignment, not wishing to enjoy the comfort of the wicked because they are headed for destruction.

It really helps to remember what God intended from the beginning. These remarkable passages are intended to guide our thoughts, actions and attitudes today, right now, in the mean, ugly environment we wake up to everyday.  Accept that what you think on any given subject may be wrong, based on God's job description. Each day we have to decide if we can do the job we signed on for without being tainted by the self-protection and self-gratification that tempts us as we see our rights challenged by the enemies of God and his Word.  We must keep this list close by so that we proceed only as He intended.

My Walk: Sovereignty

Sovereignty, Revisited

“Our Heavenly Father, in His wisdom and power, is concerned with everything concerning us.”  As Christians, we all affirm that statement. This is His sovereignty.   And yet, when we experience hardship we rarely think those words.  We think many other things because it “messes” with our theology to see a loving God in our pain. 

 It is just difficult for us to accept the same God who is able to heal our infirmities, may not.  So many of us who encourage one another with “God is good!” may find it hard to attribute to Him “No trial has overtaken you that is not faced by others,”  and then to wait months, perhaps years for the out-working of the rest of that passage, “God is faithful: He will not let you be tried beyond what you are able to bear, but with the trial will also provide a way out so that you may be able to endure it. “ (1Cor. 10:13 NET) This is His sovereignty. 

 In my foolishness we gave Him charge over my life.  Then He allows in my life those things that will bring me to the place of wisdom and faith where he wants me to be.  I start having temper tantrums, thinking something must be wrong for me to be here in this pain, this failure, this humiliation, this ordinary existence.  I can do better all by myself!” But that is no longer one of my choices because in my foolishness I gave Him charge over my life.  I have to grow up and accept the wisdom He gives those who follow this path.  This is His sovereignty.

An Examined Life

Why Examine your Life?

It was several years after I had begun my serious walk with the Lord. I was walking to the grocery store and talking to God.  I know I have cleaned up pretty well on the outside, I told Him, but do you really care how I look on the inside?

At that moment I entered the store and stopped short behind a elderly woman using the ATM as though she had never seen one before.  I waited as she took several tries at extracting her money.  She finally moved on and I was able to use the machine.  I took off to get the few things I needed. I soon encountered the same woman blocking the whole cereal aisle with her cart, searching shelf by shelf on both sides to make her selection.  I waited until she finished with my annoyance mounting, then dashed away to complete my errands. 

When I got to the 10 items or Less line, there was my favorite shopper digging through her change purse to find buried treasure.   I realized what was happening.  I had to fight hard to stifle my laughter.  In only a few minutes God had shown me how He saw me.  My question was answered. It was then that I began my process of examining myself and allowing God to reveal the areas of my life that still needed serious cleaning.  This is the course from which we never graduate because there is always another exam.

Why Wives?

A wife of noble character who can find?
    She is worth far more than rubies.
 Her husband has full confidence in her
    and lacks nothing of value.
 She brings him good, not harm,
    all the days of her life. Proverbs 31:10-12 (NIV)

A while back I wrote to you about resetting your relationship (April 25, 20215) with your husband.  One woman who read it before it was posted asked me why it always fell to the wife to create the atmosphere for a talk to help to improve the marital environment.  I have heard this question many times before, though I have never asked it myself.  I have never asked it because my own dear husband would suffer in silence forever before he would raise the issue for discussion.  Why? Because he has very little talent for that sort of communication.  He depends on me to keep our home comfortable physically and emotionally.  I am his helper, and that is the help he needs from me. 

Husbands are often aware of the tension in the air but don’t know what to do to make it better.  They are unlikely to read an article like this.  They also find our emotional lives very confusing given the hormonal changes (they think) we experience.  Another reason that wives may be the ones to initiate change in the home is because we are more likely to recognize the need and believe that something should be done.  We are far more hopeful that change is possible (even if it isn’t). 

Scripture may give us the third reason that wives usually initiate attempts to improve their relationships.  Proverbs 14:1 states “The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.” (NIV)  The Easy-to-Read Version (ERV) puts it this way, “A wise woman makes her home what it should be, but the home of a foolish woman is destroyed by her own actions.^[a] I believe God gives woman the wisdom to know how to build and protect her emotional house.  We are admonished not to allow it to be destroyed by foolishness. 

Sometimes it is wise to remember that “wife” is a job title as well as a relationship description.  We have accepted the job of wife for which we have been carefully designed.  Do not allow your frustration with your husband or the struggles you face cause you to neglect the work that is necessary to keep your home strong and healthy. May God be pleased with your service.