Happy, Holy, Healthy

With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints... Ephesians 6:18 NASB

Praying for others...

May they be
Happy, Holy, and Healthy
in
Spirit, Soul, and Body.

Happy in Spirit.
Full of joy.
Happy in Soul.
Full of peace.
Happy in Body.
Full of energy.

Holy in Spirit.
Pure motives.
Holy in Soul.
Pure thoughts.
Holy in Body.
Pure actions.

Healthy in Spirit.
Right understanding of God.
Healthy in Soul.
Right relationships with others.
Healthy in Body.
Right care of self.

Desert life

Exodus 6:2 (NASB) God spoke further to Moses and said to him, "I am the LORD..."

This place in northern Kenya was desolate. The ground was dry and hard. Vegetation sparse. A small crowd gathered to welcome the boxes of booklets on the backs of camels and to dedicate the newly translated Bible portions of Genesis and Exodus. The singing began and the dancing started. Mothers with infants sat under the whispers of shade given by a lone acacia tree.

I looked around at the level land stretching farther than I could see and considered the stories now available in the tribal language. Moses, herding his flock when a burning bush caught his eye. Joseph, left for dead in a pit in the desert. The children of Israel wandering and wandering, year after year in the wilderness. At that moment I considered how I must use my imagination to picture each of those events, but how familiar these stories will be to the camel-herding nomads of eastern Africa. They will know parts of God’s goodness and character that I, from my university-trained, interstate-laddened western perspective, will never quite comprehend.

Later other books of the Bible will be translated and they will learn of David the shepherd and Jesus the Christ. But for now they will know of the God who created the heavens above their heads and the earth beneath their feet. And who travels with them across the deserts of land and life.

The Body...Broken

I took the communion wafer, sipped the wine and turned to return to my pew. Looking around the congregation of people whom I know and love, I saw the body of Christ.  The lady there, digging through a divorce, the young man on the left desperately seeking a job, the great-grandmother in front, diligently praying for her young loved one addicted to drugs, the child born with fetal-alcohol-syndrome squirming in the back. And I am here too, frail, finite, fallen...forgiven.

The body of Christ...broken.  Broken like shattered glass in a multitude of colors and hues and shapes and textures.

"The Body of Christ, broken for you and for many." Could it be in the death of Christ God sweeps up our brokenness along with his Son's broken body, and in the resurrection we see the glorious stained-glass creations He has made from our lives, alive and brilliant as His redemptive grace shines through them?

Ill Fitting

Don't lie to one another. You're done with that old life. It's like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you've stripped off and put in the fire.  Now you're dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Colossians 3:9-10 (MSG) 

My husband has lost over 100 pounds in the last few years. Throughout those months we began to notice that his clothes weren't the right fit anymore. They were made for the body he used to have, not the one he was beginning to have. And now NOTHING fits -- not even the underclothes. Since we haven't been able to fully replace the wardrobe,  he keeps wearing many of the things he always has and  sometimes looks like a child wearing hand-me-downs, several sizes too big.

The Scriptures remind us that we too are changing as we mature in our faith. The ways we used to act or talk or think no longer fit the person we are becoming. And yet often we keep 'wearing' the same 'garments' that we did before we were changed -- but now they are 'ill-fitting.'  They belonged to another person and another era.

Further, we are told that the old garments are not only are ill-fitting and outdated, but they are filthy. Scripture instructs us not to give them away, but instead they are to be burned, so no one else is subject to them. And in their place we are given new garments -- not the store-bought kind, but custom made by the master tailor for our unique new natures.

Related previous blog: The perfect fit

Hidden Gems #2

This is the second blog in which I share with you the 'hidden gems' I have quarried from the Scriptures -- profound truths that are not often preached on or quoted or memorized, but when discovered they have brought great treasure to my life.

Consider these:

Daniel 11:32 b,New American Standard Version:
"...but the people who know their God will display strength and take action."

Lamentations 3:39, New American Standard Version:
"Why should any living mortal or any man offer complaint in view of his sins?"

Psalms 50:21b, New American Standard Version:
God says:  "...you thought that I was just like you..."


Click here to go to Hidden Gems #1.

Growing

Fear of the LORD is the foundation of true wisdom. All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom. Praise him forever! Psalm 111:10 (NLT) 

You know the experience. You look in the mirror at some point and think, "Wow, I need a hair cut!" Or for some of us the revelation comes through a nudge from spouse or sibling, "Hmm. Time for a trim, eh?" The fact is, you never really s-a-w the hair growing, even though every moment of every day it was. While you were busy tending to the rest of life, growth happened.

Spiritual growth can be like that too. Someday we have an encounter and think, "Ah. I don't get frustrated with that person like I used to," or, "I'm looking forward to reading the Bible these days." Or someone else comments, "You sure seem to be more at peace."

Like with my hair, I'm not responsible for my spiritual growth. The Holy Spirit does that. But it is my job to do the things that encourage growth and to be sure I don't impede it. So, I just as I help my hair stay healthy by washing it regularly, and not putting harsh chemicals on it, for my spirit's well-being I avoid things that stunts its growth -- deterrents like gossip, bitterness, grumbling, isolation, and unbelief. Instead I participate in the things that foster spiritual growth: worship, obedience, confession, service, thanksgiving, partaking in the sacraments.


PS -- Happy Birthday to my precious one whose spirit (and hair!)  is growing more and more beautiful every day.

Not quite dead

So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you.  Colossians 3:5 (NLT)

My cat brings me dead things. Lizards, moles, snakes, rats.  She brings them to me to demonstrate that she has been the conquerer. She has put to death the pests lurking in my yard.  I tell her I am so proud of her and together we celebrate.

But sometimes she brings me almost-dead things...still squirming, sometimes squealing. It's not pretty and I'm not proud.

And then I have to wonder, what sinful, earthly things lurking in me have I taken to God to say, "Look, victory" only to see Him point out that it is not quite dead.

The waiting room

I sit down comfortably in the familiar chair for the daily appointment. The room is filled with many others I know well. We imagine what things will be like when our problem is solved, our burden lifted, our request fulfilled. We sit waiting quietly, expectantly, with full confidence in the one on whom we wait.

To my left is the prayer about the friend's son struggling with drug addiction, to the right the prayer for my daughter's job needs. I nod across the room at the long standing prayer for a loved one who has forgotten how much he is loved. And here I sit ready to present a few new prayers to join these and others, in the waiting room.

Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly. Psalm 5:3 (NLT)

A Re-do

 A Re-do (with apologies to St. Paul).  

 Portions from Ephesians 4:1-32 (NLT) 

Lead a life worthy of your calling,  [WHY? for you have been called by God.] Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. [WHY? For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.]

Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by 1) lust and 2) deception.  Live no longer as the Gentiles do,  [WHY?  for they are hopelessly confused.]

• their minds are full of darkness;
• they wander far from the life God gives [WHY? because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him.]
• They have no sense of shame.
• They live for lustful pleasure
• and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.
• influenced by people who try to trick with lies so clever they sound like the truth.

Don’t be immature, like children, tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching.

Instead, be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

Don’t be a thief; quit stealing.

Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need.

Don’t use foul or abusive language.

Instead, let everything you say be good and helpful  [WHY? so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.] 

Don’t lie.

Instead, speak the truth in love. Let us tell our neighbors the truth. [WHY? for we are all parts of the same body ever since you heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him.]

Don’t let anger control you and don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry. [WHY? for anger gives a foothold to the devil.] 

Instead, be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults. [WHY? because of your love.]

Don’t hang on to

• bitterness,
• rage,
• anger,
• harsh words,
• slander,
• all types of evil behavior

Instead

• be humble
• and gentle
• be kind to each other,
• tenderhearted,
• forgiving one another [WHY? because God through Christ has forgiven you.]

In summary,

Don’t bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live.

Instead, remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

IF you are

Matthew chapter 3 begins with God's declaration that Jesus is His son.  In Matthew chapter 4 the devil challenges that: "Jesus, IF you are the Son of God then prove it by doing things my way." But Jesus didn't have to prove He was the Son of God.  God the Father had already declared Him to be so. God's word, God's testimony, was enough.

Sometimes I join in the accuser's chorus, by demanding that Jesus prove himself to me.  My verse to that song goes, "Jesus, IF you really loved me you would..."

But Jesus doesn't need to defend his love for me. God the Father has already declared it.  "For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son that those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life."