“I am not enchanted with today”. They were the words a friend of mine posted on her facebook wall yesterday.
Before I even landed my feet on the carpet this morning my mind echoed that very thought. It wasn’t going to be an enchanting day. With the stubborn tenacity that has come to be my mainstay these last several years, I rolled over and place each throbbing leg on the floor and gingerly lifted myself up off the bed determined to not allow this disease to rob me of this day. I couldn’t help but muse “how old am I anyway? 80?” Then I was reminded of my mother who is 82 and springs out of bed ready for anything and I readjusted that to “ok maybe 90”.
I poured that crucial first cup of coffee and settled into the most comfortable spot commanded by my current condition. I heaved a sobering sigh as I thought of all the things that I had planned to do but knew would have to wait for another time. I have come to accept that when faced with this kind of day, agendas are going to have to be flexible. I’ve grown accustomed to those first several hours filled with confusion, stiffness and achiness that would override any schedule I might have and demand to be acknowledged. I have learned to adapt. While most days are walked out with a satisfying amount of productivity, there are these kind and they are less then enchanting.
As I sat sipping my coffee with my Bible opened in my lap, my mind started to flood with all manner of anxiety that I face when I am having a bad day. How will I get everything done now that I am behind schedule? Who will I have to disappoint today because I can’t come through for them? What if it isn’t only today? What if it gets worse? What if I am back in bed again like those days in the beginning? I have a tendency to escalate my fears.
It is then that I purposely reminded myself “it is sufficient”. I then pull out a worn index card and read, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matthew 6:34
There is a certain daily-ness of God that I have come to learn to appreciate. God tells us several times in scripture not to think about tomorrow but to focus on the day at hand. His desire is for us to walk with Him daily with our attention directed on what He has planned for us on any singular day. I think we spend too much time thinking about the future and not enough about the present or even more importantly the past.
Every year we celebrate Passover in our home. The Passover meal is central around the Haggadah. The Haggadah means “the telling” and it is a story that is retold every year. It tells of the miraculous works of God as He cared for the children of Israel in ancient times through His mighty deliverance of them from slavery in Egypt. There is one particular part during “the telling” that I particularly enjoy. It is called “Dayenu” and it means “it would have been sufficient.” The speaker reads a sentence and the rest at the participants shout dayenu. Let me share this portion of my Haggadah with you.
“If the Lord had merely rescued us, but had not judged the Egyptians,” dayenu
“If He had only destroyed their gods, but had not parted the Red Sea,”
dayenu
“If He had only drowned our enemies, but had not fed us with manna,”
dayenu
“If He had only led us through the desert, but had not given us the Sabbath,”
Dayenu
If He had only given us the Torah, but not the land of Israel,
Dayenu
But the Holy one, blessed be He, provided all of these blessings for our ancestors. And not only these, but so many more.”
(emphasis mine)
Can I draw your attention to the words that I have emphasized? I am always provoked by this part of the seder. If God had only rescued me from my past life apart from Him and made me His treasured possession, would that be sufficient? If God had only made me His child but not performed miraculous wonders would that be sufficient? If God gave me just enough grace for each day, would it be sufficient? Living in America, we can sometimes forget how much we have. We have more then enough but we often focus on what we don't have rather then what we do. I think that I sometimes fall into a spiritual greediness and find myself less then satisfied with what wonderful things God has already done for me and I direct my gaze at what I lack.
Jesus warned the disciples of this very thing. “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:19-20) Just as Jesus gave the disciples a wake up call, sometimes I need one too. God had done so much for me, so what if I have an occasional bad day. I need to be careful not to forget what He has already accomplished in my life and behave like a spiritually spoiled child of God.
It is early afternoon and I still haven’t gotten any relief. It is pretty much settled at this point that other then this post not much will get accomplished. I am ok with that. His grace is indeed sufficient. If He had more planned for me then there would be more grace. “Sufficient for today is its own trouble.” I think I could do some baking for my family though. With a houseful of men with an innate love for home baked goods, that would surely veil any inadequacies of productivity. Hmm the smell of fresh baked cookies. I think that could make the day a little more enchanting.
Dayenu!?
“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you may abound in every good work.”
2 Corinthians
Garden of the LORD
Showing posts with label Messianic Musings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Messianic Musings. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
Game On!
Ordinarily, I am not a competitive person. Quite frankly, any kind of rivalry rarely piques my interest. My family is filled with sports fanatics and competition can originate from almost any venue. From athletic exhibitions to grades to how much one can devour in a single meal. You name it and it can turn into a challenge of Olympic sized proportions. When these kinds of events start up, I generally shake my head and seek out a safe quiet place away from the bedlam. You can imagine my surprise when after reading an article last week in USA Today, that I felt the lure of the contest rise up in me.
There was an article that reported the results of a survey birthed by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. It was a test that measured the level of religious knowledge in the U.S, (September 28, 2010) and it was given to 3,412 adults with questions relative to the Bible, major religious figures, practices and beliefs. There were 32 questions on the exam and the average score was 16 correct.
Here are the test results for some of the major religious groups:
Atheist/Agnostic 20.9
Jewish 20.5
Mormon 20.3
White Evangelical
Protestant 17.6
White Catholic 16.o
White mainline
Protestant 15.8
Nothing in
Particular 15.2
Black Protestant 13.4
Did you notice who number 1 is? It seems that Atheists and Agnostics know more about the fundamental beliefs of most religions then we do. I thought to myself, how can I expect to reach people for Christ unless I am aware of what other belief systems are teaching?
Someone brought up an important point. They said that the Atheists/Agnostics are probably seeking and have studied and concluded that no religion (atheists) or all religion (agnostics) appeal to them. I have to be honest, I don’t like that this religious group knows more then I do about spiritual matters.
We as Christians are called to love God with our whole hearts, souls and minds. I was convicted by this article, in my pursuit to love God with my whole heart and soul have I neglected to give Him my mind as well? Have I yielded it to Him completely? Have I allowed Him to teach the things that He wants me to know so I would be better equipped as His servant? Or am I primarily focused on the things that minister to me alone? Both are important, but I need to keep it in balance.
Not long ago, I was praying and I felt God point me to a particular area that He wanted me to study in the Jewish faith. It would be hard and grueling and to be honest the thought of it left me exhausted. I didn’t tell anyone because they might, you know, keep me accountable. I put it on the shelf and never did anything about it. Last week, a friend of mine, who had no knowledge of this, invited me to a class on that very thing. Obviously, God was serious.
I will be taking that class. I think I want to be smarter then the average atheist/agnostic about other’s belief systems. I am feeling that competitive urge stirring up in me again as I write this article. Right now for me, faced with this kind of challenge, there can only be one response ‘Game On!’
There was an article that reported the results of a survey birthed by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. It was a test that measured the level of religious knowledge in the U.S, (September 28, 2010) and it was given to 3,412 adults with questions relative to the Bible, major religious figures, practices and beliefs. There were 32 questions on the exam and the average score was 16 correct.
Here are the test results for some of the major religious groups:
Atheist/Agnostic 20.9
Jewish 20.5
Mormon 20.3
White Evangelical
Protestant 17.6
White Catholic 16.o
White mainline
Protestant 15.8
Nothing in
Particular 15.2
Black Protestant 13.4
Did you notice who number 1 is? It seems that Atheists and Agnostics know more about the fundamental beliefs of most religions then we do. I thought to myself, how can I expect to reach people for Christ unless I am aware of what other belief systems are teaching?
Someone brought up an important point. They said that the Atheists/Agnostics are probably seeking and have studied and concluded that no religion (atheists) or all religion (agnostics) appeal to them. I have to be honest, I don’t like that this religious group knows more then I do about spiritual matters.
We as Christians are called to love God with our whole hearts, souls and minds. I was convicted by this article, in my pursuit to love God with my whole heart and soul have I neglected to give Him my mind as well? Have I yielded it to Him completely? Have I allowed Him to teach the things that He wants me to know so I would be better equipped as His servant? Or am I primarily focused on the things that minister to me alone? Both are important, but I need to keep it in balance.
Not long ago, I was praying and I felt God point me to a particular area that He wanted me to study in the Jewish faith. It would be hard and grueling and to be honest the thought of it left me exhausted. I didn’t tell anyone because they might, you know, keep me accountable. I put it on the shelf and never did anything about it. Last week, a friend of mine, who had no knowledge of this, invited me to a class on that very thing. Obviously, God was serious.
I will be taking that class. I think I want to be smarter then the average atheist/agnostic about other’s belief systems. I am feeling that competitive urge stirring up in me again as I write this article. Right now for me, faced with this kind of challenge, there can only be one response ‘Game On!’
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Happy New Year !
Today is Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. This day begins the High Holy Days for the Jewish people. The roar of the shofar marks the start of this holiday and its significance is a call to repentance. Likewise, the Jewish New Year is a time to begin introspection, looking back at the mistakes of the past year and planning changes to make in the new year.
I have been neck deep in commentaries preparing for our launch of a new Bible study season at our church. As I have been studying and putting together my opening day message on the book of Ezra, I am repeatedly confronted with the holiness of God and His call for us to follow that holiness. The relevance of which couldn’t be more timely.
God chose the Jewish people from all the nations on the earth to be His covenant ones. He designated them as a holy people. They were called to be witnesses to the world of God’s glory and grace. It was through the Jews that God would send Messiah, savior not just to the Jews but to the whole world.
I think sometimes words can lose their meaning when you hear them over and over again. I decided that I needed a fresh reminder of what exactly “holy” meant. I looked it up in my lexical aide and found it meant among other things “set apart”. As I thought about this I was reminded that I, as a Christian, am called to live a life holy unto God. I was confronted with the question “am I living a life set apart unto God”. Sadly I found more areas in my life where the answer would be no.
I look at my husband and I am flooded with conviction when I examine his life. He is what is referred in some circles as a completed Jew. Five years ago, he accepted Jesus as Messiah. To this day I believe I was drawn and attracted to the God in him even though he wasn’t following Him at the time. This past summer, he went to Haiti on a mission trip. That in itself is commendable but he did this after going on a different trip last year to the Galapogos Islands where he fell through a roof, in and out the hospital for three days after his return, followed by months of rehab. Most people wouldn’t do another trip. He didn’t care. While not even aware of it, he was making God recognizable.
Not long ago the company that my husband was working for was looking to be sold. One of the potential buyers was a group of Hassidic Jews. On a day when they were at the business checking it out, one of their cars was vandalized. My husband mentioned to the individual whose car was broken into that he should go in and the office would give him money to get it fixed. His reply gave my husband pause and myself wonder. He said “No I don’t need to do that. God allowed this to happen so I will praise Him and thank Him for it.” He made God recognizable.
We are called to live lives set apart for God for His purposes. The point of our calling is to make God recognizable to the world, so that they might want what we have. Do I live a life that is so distinct that people even notice? I don’t think so. I think I have more or less been absorbed into the culture of this day with its bent towards social networking sites, texting, twittering and iphone apps that I rarely even spend time communicating with others face to face to have the opportunity.
I am filled with sadness at what has been lost. A few years ago, this would not have been my problem. I was on fire for the Lord and I loved the radicalness of His agenda. I embraced it with fervor and a robust spirit that I find lacking in my walk today. How did this happen? Life happened. A prolonged season of illness and financial hardship happened. I became weak and lost my zeal. But what I found within the pages of Ezra gave me hope. Ezra is about restoration. In this book, God is restoring the Jews back to their rightful place in Jerusalem.
Our God is a restoring God. He delights in the repentant heart that truly wants to live a life set apart. With God there is always an opportunity for a fresh start. The chance to restore what was lost. The chance to start again.
There is a popular practice associated with Rosh Hashanah, it is Tashlikh ("casting off"). The celebrators walk to flowing water, such as a creek or river, on the afternoon of the first day and empty their pockets into the river, symbolically casting off their sins. It is a day of fresh beginnings. What a wonderful picture of leaving our past failures behind and starting a new.
God’s timing is perfect. His word and the traditions of the Jewish people remind me that there is always opportunity to start again. I think I will take Him up on it today with this beginning of a new year. I think I will go find me a river, I got me some pockets that need emptying.
L'shanah tovah! (For a good year!)
Shalom!!
“To be a witness does not consist in engaging in propaganda, nor even in stirring people up, but in such a way that one’s life would not make sense if God did not exist.” Cardinal Emmanuel Suhard
I have been neck deep in commentaries preparing for our launch of a new Bible study season at our church. As I have been studying and putting together my opening day message on the book of Ezra, I am repeatedly confronted with the holiness of God and His call for us to follow that holiness. The relevance of which couldn’t be more timely.
God chose the Jewish people from all the nations on the earth to be His covenant ones. He designated them as a holy people. They were called to be witnesses to the world of God’s glory and grace. It was through the Jews that God would send Messiah, savior not just to the Jews but to the whole world.
I think sometimes words can lose their meaning when you hear them over and over again. I decided that I needed a fresh reminder of what exactly “holy” meant. I looked it up in my lexical aide and found it meant among other things “set apart”. As I thought about this I was reminded that I, as a Christian, am called to live a life holy unto God. I was confronted with the question “am I living a life set apart unto God”. Sadly I found more areas in my life where the answer would be no.
I look at my husband and I am flooded with conviction when I examine his life. He is what is referred in some circles as a completed Jew. Five years ago, he accepted Jesus as Messiah. To this day I believe I was drawn and attracted to the God in him even though he wasn’t following Him at the time. This past summer, he went to Haiti on a mission trip. That in itself is commendable but he did this after going on a different trip last year to the Galapogos Islands where he fell through a roof, in and out the hospital for three days after his return, followed by months of rehab. Most people wouldn’t do another trip. He didn’t care. While not even aware of it, he was making God recognizable.
Not long ago the company that my husband was working for was looking to be sold. One of the potential buyers was a group of Hassidic Jews. On a day when they were at the business checking it out, one of their cars was vandalized. My husband mentioned to the individual whose car was broken into that he should go in and the office would give him money to get it fixed. His reply gave my husband pause and myself wonder. He said “No I don’t need to do that. God allowed this to happen so I will praise Him and thank Him for it.” He made God recognizable.
We are called to live lives set apart for God for His purposes. The point of our calling is to make God recognizable to the world, so that they might want what we have. Do I live a life that is so distinct that people even notice? I don’t think so. I think I have more or less been absorbed into the culture of this day with its bent towards social networking sites, texting, twittering and iphone apps that I rarely even spend time communicating with others face to face to have the opportunity.
I am filled with sadness at what has been lost. A few years ago, this would not have been my problem. I was on fire for the Lord and I loved the radicalness of His agenda. I embraced it with fervor and a robust spirit that I find lacking in my walk today. How did this happen? Life happened. A prolonged season of illness and financial hardship happened. I became weak and lost my zeal. But what I found within the pages of Ezra gave me hope. Ezra is about restoration. In this book, God is restoring the Jews back to their rightful place in Jerusalem.
Our God is a restoring God. He delights in the repentant heart that truly wants to live a life set apart. With God there is always an opportunity for a fresh start. The chance to restore what was lost. The chance to start again.
There is a popular practice associated with Rosh Hashanah, it is Tashlikh ("casting off"). The celebrators walk to flowing water, such as a creek or river, on the afternoon of the first day and empty their pockets into the river, symbolically casting off their sins. It is a day of fresh beginnings. What a wonderful picture of leaving our past failures behind and starting a new.
God’s timing is perfect. His word and the traditions of the Jewish people remind me that there is always opportunity to start again. I think I will take Him up on it today with this beginning of a new year. I think I will go find me a river, I got me some pockets that need emptying.
L'shanah tovah! (For a good year!)
Shalom!!
“To be a witness does not consist in engaging in propaganda, nor even in stirring people up, but in such a way that one’s life would not make sense if God did not exist.” Cardinal Emmanuel Suhard
Friday, July 23, 2010
Hidden in Plain Sight
I love the joy of discovery. I am just drawn to the thrill of finding something new and particularly unusual. There are several items that I like to collect and one of them is beautiful and interesting picture frames. One of my hobbies is stitching and I am absolutely obsessive about finding the perfect frame and doing the mounting and framing myself. No framing shop for me. I consider it a personal defeat if I don’t accomplish this part of the process on my own. I have found frames in out of the way stores, discount tables and garage sales. I have bought framed art and removed the work and kept the frame. What to you might sound like an awful lot of trouble is to me an adventure in discovery. When I find that perfect frame to the piece that I have just finished, I will immediately head over to Starbucks to pick up my triumphant cup of mocha latte to celebrate my conquest. I know what you are thinking, this girl needs help.
Every year, our family celebrates Passover in the typical Jewish tradition. While I am not Jewish, my husband is, and we have kept this celebration in tact over the years. Passover is my most favorite holiday that we enjoy each year and I do mean enjoy. Passover is meant to be a celebration and a successful seder (the meal) is marked more by laughter then by anything else. The Passover isn’t just a meal it is an experience. It is a time that we spend together to remind us of God’s mighty deliverance of the Israelites out of Egypt. Tradition teaches that in each generation, we must consider ourselves as having personally been freed from Egypt. It is accomplished mainly by re-telling this story every year through the use of a Haggadah (which means “the telling”). As we work our way through the Haggadah there are several opportunities to interact with the story. One is the Afikomen.
Midway through the story our attention is drawn to a plate on which rests three matzot. There are various explanations for this ceremony. The rabbis call these three a “unity”. Some consider it a unity of the patriarchs-Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. Others explain it as a unity of worship – the priests, the Levites, and the people of Israel. We who know Messiah see this unity as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. At this time in the seder, the middle matzoh is broken and wrapped in a cloth. The children are now instructed to cover their eyes as the leader hides the afikomen. You can easily see the parallel of Messiah in that broken bread and then hidden in a tomb.
But just as Messiah reappears, so does the afikomen. Near the close of the seder, the children are told to go look for the hidden matzoh and here is the point of this post…it is usually hidden in plain sight. We don’t want to make it hard for them to find, our desire is for them, to indeed, discover it. I think God is so much like that in our lives. I think that He is hidden in plain sight but my question would be are we seeking to find Him? Scripture says that when we seek Him we will find Him when we seek Him with all of our heart (Jer 29:13) I can guarantee you that these children are seeking out that afikomen with all of their hearts, because there is always a reward for whoever finds it. Oh how I love the rewards of discovering God in the midst of life.
So, how does my obsession with frame stalking have to do with this fun Passover tradition? Last Christmas, I was franticly trying to find the right frame for a piece that I had done for my mom. I was despondent (after all there was a deadline) and I thought I would never find one since it was of such an unusual size. When one day, I looked up and right there on my wall was the perfect sized frame for that piece. It was there all along…hidden in plain sight.
I believe that God is present in our lives whether we immediately recognize He is there or not. Why not ask Him to reveal Himself to you today?
Do you have a hidden in plain sight story?
Every year, our family celebrates Passover in the typical Jewish tradition. While I am not Jewish, my husband is, and we have kept this celebration in tact over the years. Passover is my most favorite holiday that we enjoy each year and I do mean enjoy. Passover is meant to be a celebration and a successful seder (the meal) is marked more by laughter then by anything else. The Passover isn’t just a meal it is an experience. It is a time that we spend together to remind us of God’s mighty deliverance of the Israelites out of Egypt. Tradition teaches that in each generation, we must consider ourselves as having personally been freed from Egypt. It is accomplished mainly by re-telling this story every year through the use of a Haggadah (which means “the telling”). As we work our way through the Haggadah there are several opportunities to interact with the story. One is the Afikomen.
Midway through the story our attention is drawn to a plate on which rests three matzot. There are various explanations for this ceremony. The rabbis call these three a “unity”. Some consider it a unity of the patriarchs-Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. Others explain it as a unity of worship – the priests, the Levites, and the people of Israel. We who know Messiah see this unity as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. At this time in the seder, the middle matzoh is broken and wrapped in a cloth. The children are now instructed to cover their eyes as the leader hides the afikomen. You can easily see the parallel of Messiah in that broken bread and then hidden in a tomb.
But just as Messiah reappears, so does the afikomen. Near the close of the seder, the children are told to go look for the hidden matzoh and here is the point of this post…it is usually hidden in plain sight. We don’t want to make it hard for them to find, our desire is for them, to indeed, discover it. I think God is so much like that in our lives. I think that He is hidden in plain sight but my question would be are we seeking to find Him? Scripture says that when we seek Him we will find Him when we seek Him with all of our heart (Jer 29:13) I can guarantee you that these children are seeking out that afikomen with all of their hearts, because there is always a reward for whoever finds it. Oh how I love the rewards of discovering God in the midst of life.
So, how does my obsession with frame stalking have to do with this fun Passover tradition? Last Christmas, I was franticly trying to find the right frame for a piece that I had done for my mom. I was despondent (after all there was a deadline) and I thought I would never find one since it was of such an unusual size. When one day, I looked up and right there on my wall was the perfect sized frame for that piece. It was there all along…hidden in plain sight.
I believe that God is present in our lives whether we immediately recognize He is there or not. Why not ask Him to reveal Himself to you today?
Do you have a hidden in plain sight story?
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