essays 106-

1. #123 Respecting the Unrespectable 1-29-98
2. #115 (was 122) To stand, or to lean?
3. #114  Get a grip!
4. # 113 As the Egg Falls
5. #112 Maze Frustration
6. #111 Say "Ah"
7. #110 Worth the wait
8. #109 Locust years
9. #108 Everywhere a link, link
10. #107 It builds character
11. #106 Splash-back!
12.  

    

#123 Respecting the Unrespectable 1-29-98

I admire gracious Christians. They seem to have a special knack for putting those around them at ease; they are approachable. I feel better just being around them. Gracious Christians neither disdain those of low estate nor fawn over those of higher station. What a gift! They know instinctively how to treat everyone with respect; even those who hold opposing views, or those whose own conduct is reproachable. And in so doing, they never lower their own high standards.

	"And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth..." Luke 4:22
	"The officers answered, Never man spake like this man." John 7:46

	"speaking the truth in love..." Ephesians 4:15
	"Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man" --Colossians 4:6
	"If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: "But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors." --James 2:8,9

"Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." I Cor. 10:12

"...Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth. And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know." I Cor. 8:1,2

#114 (formerly #121) Get a grip!

(January of '98)
Our roads are icy today...it made me think about spiritual slipping and sliding...

Do you have trouble sometimes maintaining a firm grip on life? Maybe you even feel like bald tires on a sleet-frosted highway. You can't seem to stay in the middle of the road; you just keep sliding around (& heading for the ditch!) Now, you know that is a dangerous way to live--especially when you are driving so fast. (Slow Down! And watch out for that tree!) I don't think that is the way God wants you to live. We are talking about a basic lack of traction. What's the solution? Steel-belted radials, front-wheel drive, and a few 50# bags of salt in the trunk. That's a good start.

Be careful; if you are sliding around through life--selfish, self-confident, and stiff-necked (or maybe a bit too carefree and nonchalant)--God may throw a little something in your path to slow you down a bit and increase that traction. He may spread some sand or gravel in the path before you. All that dirt may not look good on that fancy new paint job but it is for your own good. You were losing your grip and He wants to bring you back to Him; even if it means some rust-inducing salt splashes.

If you are losing your grip, check your focus. You got sidetracked again, didn't you? I know it is easy to do, but that's no excuse! Remember "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness"? I like to read the Psalms every day to help me maintain my grip. Look at these verses:

God can keep us from slipping around by adding some studded snow tires or even chains if that is what we need to maneuver safely on these icy roads. Stay close to Him and seek His counsel. He is just waiting to help you.

Keep wearing those nail-studded sandals of peace! (the nails go down, not up)

For those of you in warmer climes, use your imagination on this one.

Lori Fiechter
January of ‘98

# 113 As the Egg Falls

Poor old Humpty Dumpty; all eggshells and goo. Life gone to pieces. Have you ever felt like that? Or maybe you've "had a great fall" and you have neither the strength nor inclination to pick yourself up again.

Cheer up! You have a greater Resource than king's horses or king's men. You have the King himself and He is willing and able to help you. Did you ask Him? He can pick you up and restore you but you have to ask; that takes humility and faith. He may not fix you up quite the way you expect but He will get the job done. (The results may surprise you.) Remember, He is the only One who can "unscramble" that eggy mess of yours.

God gives:
Grace for today
Hope for tomorrow &
Forgiveness for yesterday

(By the way, Humpty, what were you doing sitting up on that high wall in the first place?)

Lori Fiechter
February of ‘98

#112 Maze Frustration

Do you enjoy mazes? Those paper 2D mazes are bad enough; they hurt my eyes and make me dizzy. But 3D mazes really give me a headache! I played a 3D computer maze game once--talk about frustrating! Just when I thought I'd found the exit, I'd run into another dead end. I kept going around in circles, with occasional run-ins with brick walls. Life is like that sometimes, too...

Have you ever had "one of those days" (or weeks, or years) when Murphy's famous law seemed to have been written especially for you? Everything goes wrong--and at the worst possible time. You see the end is in sight; you feel you are "almost there" and then, suddenly, the whole thing falls apart. I've been there.

I'm not a calm, "take life as it comes" sort of person anyway; a few frustrating days in a row are enough to drive me crazy. The last time this happened, I had the sense to pray, "Lord, use this for my good. Show me what you want me to learn from this frustrating situation." And He did. (Why am I surprised?) I learned that God is always; even in the midst of a really dark and confusing maze. We can be so wrapped up in our circumstances that we don't even notice Him. But He is still there!

Check out the Bible for some examples of people who were really frustrated. How about David in Psalm 13. Or Moses in Numbers 20:10, 11? He was so frustrated with the Israelites that he disobeyed God and struck the rock rather than speaking to it. Actually, Moses was frustrated quite often (who wouldn't have been?) Look at Numbers 11:10-15.

Many of the prophets were frustrated with the people to whom they were sent. Well, wouldn't you get upset if you kept telling them "This is what God says" and no one listened to you? A few years of that and I'd be looking for another job!

But David had the right attitude; look back again at Psalm 13, this time at the end. He says,

David got his eyes off his circumstances and back onto God. That's not bad advice for any of us.

Lori Fiechter, February ‘98

#111 Say "Ah"

I remember tongue depressors--bleah! I can still hear my old pediatrician telling me, "Open your mouth wide and say 'Ah'". Or perhaps even worse: the dentist's terse "Open wide, now." We have all seen pictures of hungry baby robins with those pathetic little gaping beaks--trying eagerly to get some of that juicy bit of worm that mamma robin is dangling over their heads. Do you get the picture now?

Do we hold our mouths open to God for Him to fill, trusting Him the same way those baby birds trust their mother? God wants to fill us with His good things: love, peace, joy, wisdom, grace, patience, etc. He will give us, day by day, exactly what we need for that particular day. But it is difficult to feed someone who has clenched his teeth, pressed his lips together, and turned his head away. (Picture a mother trying to coax her stubborn tot to open his mouth for some "yummy" strained vegetables.) That is just how we act sometimes; as though we are afraid that God is going to sneak some lukewarm strained spinach into our mouths! "No, thanks" , we tell Him. "I'll scrounge up something myself." Come on--trust Him! True, God won't feed you a steady diet of candy and soda pop--no good parent would do that. But neither will you fare daily on bitter herbs.

The Psalmist had it right, "Taste and see that the Lord is good." Remember, God won't force-feed us; we have to open our mouths wide. What are you hungry for when you don't know what you're hungry for? If you are not hungry for God and His word, maybe it is time to retrain your palate.

Lori Fiechter, February ‘98

#110 Worth the wait

Have you ever made pizza crust from scratch? (Chef Boyardee doesn't count!) I have two recipes that I use; one is fast and ends up having the consistency of old shoe leather. The other one takes more time (in my bread machine), but the end result is well worth it. Even my sons finally decided that they could wait for the "good" crust.

I don't like to wait at all; it is one of my major flaws. But some things are indeed worth waiting for...

God's blessing on a particular project or course of action is definitely worth waiting for. Don't try to second guess Him; you remember what Isaiah wrote in chapter 55 about God's thoughts and ways as compared to ours. You also want to wait for God's perfect will. Sometimes you'll get His permissive will instead-- because you've been so stubborn about wanting your own way.

Some of us like to bound ahead of God; we're like hound dogs on the scent of a rabbit. Others of us usually lag behind; we are like that same dog when he is been dragged to the car on a visit to the vet's office. The key is to be sensitive to God's timing (of course, you have to be quiet enough to hear Him!)

I tend to bound ahead when I find something I want to do and I drag my feet when I don't want to. That is why I am thankful that we have a God who is merciful and longsuffering toward us. But maybe today--with His Spirit's help, just for one day--I'll try to make His job more enjoyable. Maybe today I'll seek His guidance, His timing, and His prompting before I go off and muff things up again. Simple in principle; so hard to carry! (sigh)

I think the pizza's done by now....

"Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD." Psalms 27:14

"My times are in thy hand..." Psalms 31:15
Lori Fiechter, January '98

#108 Everywhere a link, link

Not Web links, not golf courses, either. We're talking about chains.

We'd had a couple of sermons recently comparing individual church members with chain links. And, as everyone knows, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Our minister painted a word picture of a heavy duty chain hitched up to pull a truck out of the mud. When he said "But when you have a weak link here, and a weak link there...", of course, my mind filled in the blank: "here a link, there a link, everywhere a link, link." Perhaps that was God's way of making the message stick in my mind (it worked.)

So, what makes a link weak? Maybe a barely perceptible crack or flaw? If the link were obviously bad, we would notice it and have it repaired or removed. But those tiny cracks don't become apparent until the pressure is applied.

Are you one of those weak links in the chain? Do you justify yourself, thinking, "why does it matter how I live? I don't have a visible office or ministry. What I do is my own business; it won't affect anyone else."

Wrong. Really wrong. It matters a great deal what you do. Think about it; even if you never before noticed that weak chain link, everyone will certainly notice when that link causes the whole chain to snap. The truck is still in the mud while you are repairing that chain.

There are no unimportant links, only weak ones and strong ones. Be a strong one, OK? The rest of us are depending on you.

"Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:"
--I Corinthians 12:22
Lori Fiechter
January '98

#109 Locust years

"And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten..." Joel 2:25

If you are anything like I am (let's say, older than 20 or 30) you have had some regrets for wasted years. It can be discouraging to look back over some of those years. You may chide yourself, "Why didn't I make them count for Christ?" You recall years when you were too busy to give a lot of thought to God and his purpose for your life; years when you put Him on the "back burner". They seem like lost years.

But this verse in Joel gives us a wonderful promise. To a certain extent, God can restore those lost years. We don't have yesterday, but we do have today. We can serve Him today with our whole heart. It's not too late to seek His face and His will for your life right now. Ask forgiveness for those locust years and pray for a new beginning.

Aren't you thankful for new beginnings; new days as well as fresh new years? I'm so glad that God divided time into manageable units for us. It makes life more bearable. "Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning". I'm grateful that God promises us grace for each day--if we ask Him. We have today and it is enough.

No more locust years--please, Lord!

"behold, now is the acceptable time..." II Corinthians 6:12, quoted from Isaiah 49:8
Lori Fiechter
January '98

#107 It builds character

When I was growing up, I often balked at doing things that I didn't want to do. However, I was constantly reminded, "Do it, Lori, it builds character". (I never made the connection how eating liver could possibly build character.) Just about anything that was boring supposedly built character...as well as any particularly disliked household chores (like spring and fall house-cleaning). I'm now at the ripe old age of 37 and you'd think that I'd be chock-full of character! (Alas, I'm not.) So, what happened?

I finally figured something out...doing things that you don't want to only builds character if you have the right motives--and can somehow internalize the character lesson. Otherwise, you look good on the outside ( well-mannered, hard-working, kind, thrifty, etc) but the inside is just as self-centered (and in my case, as lazy) as ever. Character, to truly be character, has to be more than skin deep.

But I may have an idea on how to make duties add up to Christian character: to always remember and apply that verse "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;..for ye serve the Lord Christ."(Colossians 3:23,24)

If you can't do if because you should, if you can't do it for someone else, maybe you can do it for Jesus. After all, look at all He's done for you! Even that is more easily said than done; and it apparently hasn't helped a bit yet with my own sons. I guess they'll have to figure it out for themselves someday!

so, go ahead:
eat that spinach,
take out that smelly trash,
be nice to your overbearing Aunt Agnes (she means well)
your character muscles are rippling!
Lori Fiechter,
January '98

#106 Splash-back!

I was cleaning out the refrigerator--a long overdue job. I dumped all of the fruit and vegetable scraps, plus a jar of runny applesauce into a large bowl. Then I trudged out to the barnyard to give the slop to our landlord's hogs. The bowl was brimming with the unappetizing swill. I should have used a bucket. The over-sized mixing bowl was awkward to carry and heavier than I'd expected. I reached the fence and.....I'm afraid that I didn't heave the contents quite far enough. As soon as the slop hit the cement, some of it splashed back onto my boots and pants. I didn't expect that! But at least the kind of slop I threw could be easily washed off. I've thrown other slop too; at people, not hogs. I've thrown the slop of unkind words

Have you ever thrown "slop" and then wondered how your own clothes got so dirty? If we throw slop--anger, resentment, criticism, gossip, back-biting, belittling, or even just giving someone the cold shoulder--we shouldn't be surprised if we get splashed back by some of it ourselves.

If we throw things like encouragement, smiles, hope, love, including others and accepting them, those things often come back as well. Kind of like casting your bread upon the waters--it comes back eventually. (Ecclesiates 11:1)

Let's toss bouquets and not slop buckets!