An Update / Bearing Each Other's Burdens.

I am spending time writing and revising a book proposal for a possible book deal. All is tentative. So I have not written in a very long time. Today is Good Friday. I think about Christ on the Cross and how he bore the sins and burdens of the world. I think of the burdens that I bear for others, how I take many with me to the throne of grace through prayer and how there are a few good souls that pray for me. Sometimes I get overwhelmed but the sheer number of difficulties and burdens that others around me bear and whose burdens I seek to bear (bear one another's burdens...). But then I was thinking. If we all bore each other's burdens like we're supposed to, then no one person would be overwhelmed.

The problem is that some of us make up for those who should be bearing burdens by bearing too many and too much. So let us do what the body of Christ should do, bear each other's burdens! That way some will not get burnt out and we'll be living in obedience. A simple observation I think, but with profound implications. And if you're reading this remember that Christ through the apostle James tells us to confess our sins to one another that we may be healed. Let us give thanks to the Lord for bearing and forgiving our sin and let us give thanks for those in our lives who joyfully come alongside us. Are we coming alongside others in a healthy way?

What is that to you? The Folly of Envy

“What is that to you? You must follow me.” -- John 22:21

Hebrews 12:2 tells us to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Yet at times during the race, we take our eyes off him. What diverts our attention from Christ? Sideline distractions? Other participants?

Imagine running a race and then suddenly hearing the quick strides and controlled breathing of another runner. As the runner approaches, you sneak a quick peek to determine the runner’s proximity to you and whether or not you recognize the face. And then it happens: in the split second it took you to turn your head you drifted off the path, tripped and fell into a ditch. You’re livid. There’s no use getting up now. The other runner is way ahead. You’ll come in last for sure. So you lay there, staring at the sky, sulking in the ditch, bitterly complaining to the Lord, “Why’d you let me fall? You could’ve prevented it. You could’ve made me faster. It’s not fair that so and so is ahead. So and so is always getting ahead of me.” You grow angry at and envious of so and so. As you fume in the ditch, runners pass by. A few slow down, beckoning you to get up and keep running. You ignore them. You’d rather stay wallowing in the ditch of dejection.

In John 21:15-20, Jesus identifies Peter’s calling and reveals details about Peter’s death. Yet Peter didn’t ponder his calling or the specifics of his death. Instead, his first impulse was to turn when he noticed John and ask, “Lord, what about him?” (John 21:21). Peter wants to know what the Lord plans on doing with John’s life and how John would die. Jesus gently rebukes him, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me” (John 21:22). In essence Jesus was saying, “Peter, don’t concern yourself with John, concern yourself with me. Keep your eyes on me, fulfill what I’ve just commissioned you to do and leave John’s life in my hands.”

Do you get tripped up because you’re too busy focusing on others instead of Christ? Do you compare and then become discouraged because of their abilities, beauty, or accomplishments? Do you question God about your own pace and wonder why he hasn’t given you the opportunities he has given them? When you do that, bitterness towards God and envy towards others creeps into your soul. Your race comes to a screeching halt. You’re in the ditch. In the sin filled ditch of envy, we project our values on God acting as if he values the object of our envy and the role he has ordained for him or her to play more than he values us. However, it is we who place a higher value on that person, not God.

When we do this, Jesus says to us, “What is that to you? Follow me.” Jesus did not let any person or thing deter him from accomplishing what he was sent to do.

“Envy is the ulcer of the soul.” --Socrates--

Monk Habits for Everyday People

I just finished reading Monk Habits for Everyday People by Dennis Okholm. My husband picked it up for me at the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological/ Philosophical Society in Providence, RI. It is a very insightful book. In it, Okholm demonstrates why Benedictine Spirituality (St. Benedict's Rule) should be appropriated in the Protestant context. I remember reading through St. Benedict's Rule in seminary and I found it very helpful. Okholm does a good job of persuading the reader of the benefits of following Benedictine habits. These habits are nothing new, they are habits that I believe should be part of the everyday Christian life--thus the title.

Thank you Dennis and thank you Roman Catholic brothers and sisters for showing us another way in which to follow Jesus more closely.

Intentional

Here is a simple reminder to myself and readers. We have to be intentional about following hard after Christ. Intentional about taking up our cross and following Christ, about taking every thought that raises itself against God captive. To continue on the journey to Zion, we must look to him and focus on him.

Angels Demons & the Supernatural

We forget that we're not battling against flesh and blood alone. We Christians live as though the supernatural doesnt' exist as if we don't have an enemy. I heard Erwin Lutzer, a pastor at Moody Church in Chicago say, " Imagine if you were in a war and didn't know it . . . you'd be in trouble right?" Right. We are oppressed sometimes by the evil one and his minions. God tells us to be vigilant lest we be devoured by our enemy who has come to steal kill and destroy. Lets not forget that.

Full of Glee!

"You still the hunger of those you cherish . . . ." Psalm 17

This is a continuation of my last couple of posts. In our family we are hootin' and hollerin' and leaping for joy. We are filled with glee. The Lord has come through big time. He's more lavish than we even imagined. He has provided in a supernatural way. He has made the impossible reality.

I will post more about this soon. But these few words are a testimony to the greatness of God. Shawn and I stumble in our ability to express our thanks and gratitude. Our souls dance with pleasure before God's throne.

Wealth . . . Gratitude . . . It Ain't So Bad

"Be anxious for nothing...give thanks... Philipians 4:4-8"

Today I told God that the one prayer he hasn't answered concerns wealth: We still have very little money, just enough to get by day to day but in the hole (because of school loans and car repairs and medical bills) even though my husband and I are highly educated. But then the Lord graciously told me that I am wrong. In fact, I am basking in wealth.

He said, "the earth is yours, I have given it to you for your enjoyment." He knows the deep pleasure I have in stepping outside, curiously observing the activities of his creatures around me--how my soul bursts with delight at the sight of rocks and trees and skies and seas--the wonders his hand has wrought. How I imagine the creatures and sights I've only read about when I am trying to fall asleep at night. He knows about my fierce desire to drink in the beauty of places I've only heard of. He knows about my fascination with trees and water. He has given me the beauty of the earth.

He said, "you are wealthy beyond measure in your relationships." I am married to my soulmate, to one who understands me like none other, like none other ever will. I didn't deserve him. No. Shawn is more than I could ever ask for or imagine (Eph. 3:18-20). God graciously gifted me with my husband. I thank the Lord for him every day. Not everyone has such a relationship.

I have four friends (aside from Shawn) that I can bare my soul to, six if I include my brother and sister. It is a measure of wealth to have one such friend.

He said, "I allowed you to attend a wonderful seminary and gain friends for life." I thank him regularly for Northeastern Seminary. Since childhoold I had dreamed of getting an M. Div.

He said, "I gave you a lifelong family at Rochester Christian Reformed Church including the youth group and pastors such as Russ Palsrok and Carl Tuyl." I have a place to call home. I know that they love me and my family. I can be myself. There I am known and appreciated.

He said, "I gave you Iliana--a beautiful healthy child. You will learn of my love for you as you love her. Children are a blessing from me." She was a seedling of our love born into a human being. And I am grateful that she has the best daddy in the world (she is truly fortunate). She delights us all the day.

He said, "I gave you my word. I gave you books. They instruct you and teach you. What knowledge, what joy you receive from your many books." I said, "this is true."

He said, "I saved you from yourself, from the mess you made of your 16th-20th year." I said, "Blessed be your name O, Lord. You have rescued me from the pit, from the pit of hell."

He said, "I gave you your parents and your dear abuela." Abuela was my dear treasure. I still mourn her death. But oh what joy, what comfort I gained from her. Not everyone has an abuela.

He said, "In 7th grade you mentioned in passing that you wanted to go to the Holy Land and to Asia. It wasn't even a prayer. I took note of your fleeting thought and turned it into reality four years later. You were in India and Israel."

He said, "I made Real-Radio reality. You couldn't have done it yourself." I said, "I know. There's nothing much I can do myself."

So I realized that I am wealthy beyond measure. I mean it. Now having little money seems like a drop in the ocean compared to everything else I do have. I'll have to recall this conversation to mind when I am tempted to bemoan our lack of money. The conversation itself enriched me even further.