Putting aside idols

When the people saw how long it was taking Moses to come back down the mountain, they gathered around Aaron.  "Come on," they said, "make us some gods who can lead us. We don't know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt." -Exodus 32:1

Even as Moses was receiving the law from the Lord's own hand, the Israelites were rebelling against God at the foot of the mountain.  

How is it, we ask, that the Israelites could witness God’s incredible salvation - the plagues of Egypt, ending with death; salvation at the Red Sea; manna and quail from heaven to meet daily needs - and still give up on Him and Moses, asking Aaron to build them a golden calf to worship?  These people have no memory.  Surely we would not make the same mistakes. 

But of course the story of God’s people is my story as well.  How often do I fail to trust in the Lord, instead trying to build other gods – security, writing, my husband, work – into my life and worship them?  Not that I actually bow down to them, but idol worship can also be defined as giving them more time and energy than I give the Lord, and taking sanctuary in them instead of in the Lord Most High.  I must confess that I do this far too often.

Lord, I need - we all need - Your help to (1) SEE when this is happening – please put Your finger on it and say, Beloved, THIS is what you are doing, taking refuge in these instead of in Me. 

Next, we need Your help to (2) STOP this from happening and rededicate ourselves to You. 

Then please help us (3) SEEK Your guidance and direction in giving these things proper place in our lives, in subjection to You.  You must always be supreme in my life, supreme over these things... because that is Your rightful place, and because only in putting You first can there be peace and order in my life.

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need. - Matthew 6:33, The Message

What idols compete with God for your time, money, and attention?

Jesus loves me

Last night I went to sleep reading Brennan Manning’s Ragamuffin Gospel. Or at least the first few chapters of it, since that’s the size of the sample I downloaded to my Kindle.

Now I am going to have to buy the actual book because of its fresh perspective – actually, its fresh reminder – of the true message of the Gospel. As opposed to the message most of us think is the Gospel.

We Christians know that we are saved by God’s grace alone.  But most of the time, we live as though salvation depended on us.

Of course, that’s not the way we THINK we live.  Satan’s lies are much too subtle, because he knows if we saw them plainly we would recognize and reject them.

But when we "tsk" at the person who wears cutoffs and a tank top to a church service… when we feel a weight of guilt because we skipped prayer group and haven’t spent alone time in the Bible for a few days…when we are afraid to show our Christian friends who we truly are, but mask our struggles and our feelings and our hearts instead… we are living as if salvation depended on us, upon our good works. And that’s not the Gospel according to the Bible.

The message of the Gospel is not just good news. It’s great news. It’s the Best. News. Ever.

Even if I didn’t spend time in the Word this morning, or this week, or this year…
Jesus loves me.

When I lose my Mother of the Year award because I forgot to pick someone up from volleyball practice,
or played a computer game instead of doing the dishes,
or said things to my kids I swore I’d never say…
Jesus loves me.

When I choose to skip an opportunity to say something nice - or help someone who’s struggling -
just because I don't feel like doing the right thing,
Jesus loves me.

And He loves you too.

Even when you wear cutoffs and a tank top to church,
or a cuss word escapes from your lips,
or you’re just not sure about this Christianity thing,
or you’ve messed up so badly you are sure you can never be forgiven,
Jesus loves you.

How do I know? The Bible tells me so.


God demonstrates his love for us in this:
while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.
-Romans 5:8, NIV

I love the way the Message says it:


God put his love on the line for us
by offering his son in sacrificial death
while we were of no use whatever to him.

The message of forgiveness and freedom through Christ is not just for those who don’t yet believe.

It’s also for the broken and discouraged and sinful ones who sit in the pew every Sunday. The ones who think, if you really knew me, you wouldn’t sit so close to me.

In Christ we are all truly free.  So when will we start living like it?

Our dreams or God's dreams?

"I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better
life than they ever dreamed of." - John 10:10 (The Message)

This week I've been going through boxes in our basement, trying to clean up a bit.  Some of those boxes belong to my oldest daughter, an Army lieutenant who will be home for a few days next month before her unit heads to Iraq.  I decided to work on her boxes now to save her some time and also because I know it will be much harder for me emotionally to do this after she deploys.

Jess is a prime example of how God's paths for our children can be so different than our own dreams for them.  A lifelong musician, she joined the local National Guard band in high school because she loved to play and wanted to earn money for college.  She left for basic training two days after graduating from high school.  I remember begging God for nine weeks to "please let her survive Basic!"  She had never been an athlete, wasn't in prime physical shape, and had never expressed interest in military service before then.

Jess not only survived Basic - she thrived.  To my amazement, she fell in love with Army life during those nine weeks.  After returning home, she was bored at college and one day found the website for the US Military Academy at West Point, NY.  She became determined to get into West Point, and she succeeded.  She even met her future spouse there - a fellow South Dakotan - and married Craig on graduation day.

Now she's a lieutenant in the medical services branch, stationed at Fort Hood, TX, and heading to Iraq in August for her first deployment.  Craig's unit is also being deployed, and they hope to be able to share a CHU (housing quarters) or at least see each other now and then.

This is not the life I would have chosen for Jess.  I would have chosen a life of music, spent close to home, close to me.  God chose a life of service to country for her, service to soldiers as a leader, a life far from me.  Though it will not be easy, especially when she is overseas and in harm's way, I know His choice is the better one.

I have watched Jess blossom and grow these past few years.  She loves her husband, and he treats her like a queen.  She loves her job (a good thing, since she works 14-hour days) and is a fierce advocate for the soldiers in her platoon.  She has seen places I only read about (Egypt, Vietnam, Thailand, France, and soon Iraq) and lived experiences I can scarcely imagine (20-mile foot marches, throwing hand grenades and shooting rifles, even skydiving with a free fall!).  And when we talk, I hear her enthusiasm, her passion for life.

As moms we want our kids to be safe, to take the easier way, free of pain and sacrifice.  It's in our nature.  But when the Lord tells them, "Come, take My hand, and see everything I have in store for you," would we really choose instead to clip their wings and hold them close to us?

I'd rather have my daughter love her life and live out her dreams than force her to live my dreams for her.  Because this way, even if she is taken from us by an enemy bullet or IED, at least she will have fully lived.

Lord, help us to pray daily for our kids.  And let us pray not for our will to be done in their lives, but for Your will to be done.  Help us tuck them softly, confidently into Your loving arms, knowing that they do not belong to us, but to You.  In Jesus's name, amen.

The Crown of His Creation

"The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it." -Psalm 24:1.

We were blessed to spend a week in Hawaii earlier this month, and I was amazed in new ways at the beauty God has placed on earth.  I saw hundreds of plants I've never seen - evergreens with needles that appear to grow upside down! a flower that looks like an ugly ribbon! mango and pineapple plants! - plus birds I have never seen before.  I snorkeled near Black Rock on Maui and saw dozens of fish I had never seen before, each with its own particular beauty and design, the stamp of God's creativity.  The terrain was absolutely gorgeous - mountains and rivers and waterfalls and that azure ocean, light sands and volcanos - so unique, unlike anything I've seen elsewhere in the States - more like an exotic new continent!  And I marveled at the God who could pour all of this beauty into our world simply by His Words - "let there be..." - whose creativity is beyond anything we could ever master or even imagine.

And yet, despite the bursts of color and light and detail, despite the overwhelming variety and beauty of all these things He created, He calls us the crown of His creation?  Sinful man?  Lowly, sinful ME?  How can this be?  How blessed we truly are!

Lord, give us eyes to see anew the beauty of our world, the splendor of Your design, the vastness of Your creative heart.  Bring us to our knees in worship for the One Who created all of this, yet loves each of us enough to give Your most precious Son so that we could know You and love You and spend eternity with you.  In Jesus' name we pray.  Amen.

Not popular

My heart is breaking for my little one today. The one with the deep love for Jesus, with the bubbly laugh and tender spirit. The one so easily wounded by the words and snubs of her classmates, by her sister’s sharp tongue, by a stern word from her father. A tender spirit is easy prey, an endangered species in this harsh world.

School ends at noon today, and I’m picking up my girls (plus their desk contents) for lunch and shopping. But this morning I mentioned that if they get invited to go home with a friend, they can, and we’ll just shop another day.

“I’ll probably get an invitation from Sue,” said my oldest. “She always wants me over.”

“I’m sure I won’t get an invitation,” said my youngest. “Nobody invites me over.”

My heart clenched at the small, sad voice. It’s true. She’s got a great fifth-grade class with lots of kind, friendly girls. Much better than her third-grade classroom at a different school, where she was constantly bullied verbally, where I reacted with shock when her teacher described her as quiet. “Quiet?” I asked. “She has never been quiet.” Then the story came out, of how the other girls intimidated and mocked her on the playground each day.

We moved her from that school to the Christian school. Not because it’s perfect (kids are kids; we all have a sinful nature), but because character development is a greater focus there. If someone is picking on my child, I want that to be addressed, and not in a “toughen up and get used to it; that’s life” manner. Sin occurs in our Christian school, but the teachers deal with it, because Christ-likeness is the goal.

But although her classmates are kind, they have their groups. There’s the popular group, the go-getters who are always hanging out together and laughing. And there’s the other group – the three girls who wish they were in the first group, but aren’t. My daughter is in the second group.

So although we’ve had each girl over to our house for playdates several times, and they always seem to have fun (based on smiles, laughter, and effusive thanks when it’s time to go home), they rarely reciprocate. When a group of girls piles into a mom’s car to go over to one of their houses, my daughter is never in that group. And it hurts her. It hurts ME.

Growing up, I was not in the “in crowd,” though I was often on its fringes looking in, hoping to join. Most years I only had one friend, and some years, those friends were not very nice. It was a great relief when high school arrived: I found my role and talents and niche and stopped caring so much about popularity. It was great to move on, to leave behind that “not good enough” feeling.

I’m not someone who longs for the good old days of my youth, simply because each year brings new friends, new horizons, more opportunities, more joy. Sure, there are times I feel unpopular nowadays, when all the other mothers sit together at my girls' sporting events and hold vivacious conversations around me (but rarely with me).  But when that happens I just hold on to Jesus a little tighter and thank Him for the "loner" personality that He uses mightily in my writing.

I gladly said goodbye to my younger years, finding more riches in Christ each year, and hoped I’d never see them again.  Nobody told me that I would experience them again through the heartaches and sorrows of my children. Just one more reason to spend many hours on my knees before the throne of grace.

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. - Psalm 34:18

Don't make yourself comfortable

"God comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable."

Our church is seeking an associate pastor.  We've brought in two wonderful, godly candidates, and the search committee meets tonight to prayerfully select one to hire.  We've had several lively discussions about the strengths and weaknesses of each - not easy to determine, since the "weekend blast" visit format is a pretty artificial situation.

Each candidate has many outstanding qualities, and we definitely need the Spirit of God to clearly show us the best choice.  But I've been thinking about one quality that keeps being mentioned that is not (in my view) a good reason to hire someone...the "comfortable" quality.  As in "I feel very comfortable with this person," or "He's a great fit for our church family."

The more I think about this, the more I wonder....when did comfort level become a good reason to hire someone?  As near as I can tell, it's not a good reason to pursue ANYTHING within the Christian life.

God has not called us to be comfortable.  The Bible is not a book of stories about how God soothed His people with familiar situations or clear answers or the status quo.  It's the history of a people who were called to be set apart, different from the rest, relying on God for directions.  If you think about it, it's a book about God messing with the status quo, taking us out of our comfort zones.

The Lord doesn't call us to sit or lounge or stay or settle in.  He calls us to GO.  Leave the land where you know everyone and everything, where you are popular and accepted.  Follow Him to the land where you're surrounded with the unknown, with people you don't know, with stories you haven't heard.  Where you must rely on Him, and only on Him, for wisdom and direction.  Only then will you experience the greatness, the security, the overwhelming power and love of God.

Jesus certainly didn't concern Himself with the status quo.  He made people very uncomfortable.  Very important people, like the top religious authorities.  That's how He wound up on a cross.  Oh, God's sovereign will and mighty grace brought him there, definitely.  But the Pharisees didn't kill Him because of His popularity, but because they didn't like Him.  He didn't fit in with the ones in charge.

We serve an exciting God - a dangerous, loving God who will stretch and grow us - not a comfortable God.  It reminds me of a favorite quote from The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe:

Mr. Tumnus: [of Aslan] He's not a tame lion.
Lucy Pevensie: No... but he is good.

My prayer is that we never get too comfortable in our walk with Christ.

Questions for God

- What is the purpose of wind?  I understand why we have rain, and snow, and sunshine, but what does wind do?  More specifically, what is the purpose of South Dakota winds - the kind that are 30 mph, 45 mph, 60 mph? (Other than slamming the car door shut on legs and fingers, and scattering vital papers over a 30-mile radius?)

- Why did You create mosquitoes?  Do they have a worthy purpose in Your plan, or are they just instruments Satan uses to torture and harass us?

- Why can I remember useless things from years past - stupid poems I learned as a child, rock songs with unholy lyrics, mean things my ex-husband said?  And how come these foolish things take up precious brain cells and crowd out useful things I really should remember - my best friend's cell phone number, the name of my child's teacher, my wedding anniversary?  Does my brain need rebooting, or is it a permanent malfunction?

- I am slogging through menopause at the same time my daughters are entering puberty.  Is this some kind of punishment?  And can my husband survive the drama?

- Why is life so unfair?  My parents are dealing with multiple health problems and running out of money.  A couple I know has a child - their only child - who struggles with crippling seizures, and now the wife has cancer too.

- How is it that I can find time to read so many things - the newspaper, magazines, books, even food labels - yet struggle to faithfully find time to read Your Word?

Lord, I am so glad You know the answers to life's questions (humorous or serious), that You know the condition of every heart, that You promise to care for us and never to leave us.  Help me to put my trust in You, my hand in Yours, and let You lead me through this life, confident that someday I'll know the answers too.  Show me those in need and help motivate prod me to bless them, to be Jesus to them.  I pray this in Jesus' name.  Amen.

You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing.
-Psalm 145:16