essays 155-165

1. #165 Prayer is more than Tech Support
2. #164 I am a cling-stone peach
3. #162 That's not what your armor is for!
4. #163 Will it Hurt Terribly?
5. #161 Wipe Your Feet!
6. #159 For Such a Time as This
7. #160 Simon Says, "Take one Baby Step"
8. #158 Crayfish in the Bathtub!
9. #157 Honey, I killed the Garden!
10. #156 Still Playing Charades?
11. #155 The Way Back to Emmaus

#164 I am a cling-stone peach

(The title is not to be confused with JFK's infamous "I am a jelly donut"!)

#162 That's not what your armor is for!

It had been a busy Saturday morning for me--baking bread, doing laundry, trying to stay ahead of the clutter. So at dinner, when my husband began, "You know what you should do?" I gave him a dirty look and bristled! But then he finished the sentence, "It is such a nice day--why don't you go to the State Park and walk on the trails. No need to hurry home--take a book along to read." Boy, did I misread him! (I went, by the way, and had a lovely time.)

I think we do the same sort of thing with God--He says "You know what you should do?" and we bristle. We get defensive and make excuses; we mistrust His motives. In fact, we tend to put our armor on at the wrong times! We should be putting on our armor to defend against Satan's attacks, we should come before the Lord with our guard down. But we do just the opposite. I think that we need to dig out those instructions for our armor again (see Ephesians 6:10-18). You see, it isn't that we don't have the armor; we just are confused about when to use it:

Satan suggests a temptation: armor? What armor? Nah, I don't think I'll really need it this time. I'll be OK.

But let the Holy Spirit mention an opportunity to serve: Zip! on goes the armor (Wow--I didn't know I could get dressed that fast!)--fully protected now!

Why don't we trust Him? Why don't we respond in love? Deep down, we must not believe that God really has our best interests at heart-- how that must disappoint Him! He's planned such lovely surprises for us and we turn them down immediately; we don't even give Him a chance to finish the question.....

Two days before my 9-yr.old son had to go to the orthodontist, he kept asking me that same question-- 3 or 4 times. "Will it hurt terribly?" Poor guy--he needs major orthodontic work. His mouth is a mess: teeth too large in a mouth too small--severe overcrowding with teeth zig-zagging all over the place! Yesterday was D-day #1. He had his first appliance put in--an extender for his lower palate. It was sore--for about an hour. I asked him later and he said it didn't "hurt terribly"--at least, not nearly as much as having his teeth pulled (that was last month). And the final results will be worth the discomfort (they had better be, at the money we are shelling out!) Now, as far as our son is concerned, his crooked teeth didn't bother him a bit--not nearly as much as the straightening process. We aren't having his teeth straightened at his request! We are having it done because he needs it.

It would be nice to be born with the genetic tendency toward perfectly straight, brilliantly white teeth. Doesn't happen often, though. Most of us are not that fortunate. But who can make the crooked straight? (look at Ecclesiastes 1:15. Must not have had orthodontists in Solomon's time.) Check out the answer to that question in Isaiah 42:16 "I will make...crooked things straight."

It would be nice to be able to grow tall and straight in Christ without any of the growing pains. But that isn't likely to happen either. Perhaps you have an ego too large in a soul where the things of God are getting crowded out. You may need some major work done as well--even though you probably won't request it. And it will cost something. It may even "hurt terribly". We want the end results: patience, spiritual maturity, wisdom, endurance, etc. but we don't want the pain; we don't want the trials. We want the beautiful teeth but not the braces. God, however, is looking toward the final result. We tend to focus on the (painful) process.

We all have some crooked places that He needs to make straight. Follow His instructions--don't fight them. Our son was given strict guidelines on how to take care of his appliance (and later, his braces) There are certain foods he is not allowed to eat, he has to brush often and carefully. If he doesn't follow the instructions, bands can break, teeth can be stained or even ruined, and the time he needs to wear his braces will be extended.

Same goes for us. If we are careful to follow God's instructions, maybe we'll get the end results a bit sooner. Maybe we'll be able to learn our lessons the easier way. God doesn't inflict pain on us because He likes to see us get hurt. He doesn't like to see us suffer.

God didn't like watching His Son suffer, either, but He allowed it. Jesus "hurt terribly" for us--all because He loved us (he didn't need any spiritual orthodontic work done--He was already perfect!). And Jesus will be there--for us and with us--in the midst of our pain as well. He knows what it is like to hurt. Yes, He knows what it is like to "hurt terribly."

We have an unwritten rule in our family: when you come inside, you take off your shoes. Now, you couldn't even call me an adequate housekeeper but I can't abide having dirt tracked in. When my sons play outside barefoot, they know they need to wash their feet when they come in. Last night, one son accused the other of going to bed with dirty feet (a capital offense--and it was true!). "Can't you just bring me a washcloth, mom?" No, I marched him to the bathtub and made sure those feet were spanking clean.

But we make a mistake when we apply that "wipe/wash your feet" principle in coming to Christ. We make a mistake when we feel we have to try to get ourselves cleaned up before God will have anything to do with us. The procedure is different here: you come to the door with dirty feet (not pretending they are clean) and let Jesus wash them for you. But that takes humility, doesn't it?

I wouldn't be happy if you dropped by my house at this very instant. I don't want you to see the dirty dishes in the sink, greasy cookie sheets on top of the stove, bbq potato chip crumbs under the table, library books all over the couch, shoes and balls strewn across the floor, etc. etc. I'd be embarrassed if you saw how messy things really are around here. I'd like some advance notice so that the house could at least be presentable.

What about you? Is your house clean but your life is a mess (or maybe both are a mess?) Don't be too proud to let God clean you up; He knows you are a mess, anyway--it's not as though you can hide anything from Him! The tragedy is in denying that you have any problem, not in admitting it and asking for help.

Don't try to wash your own feet--let Him do it.

(However, if you come to our house, leave the mud outside!and now, I think I have some Saturday housecleaning to do......)

#159 For Such a Time as This

We had been studying the story of Esther recently in Sunday school. Can you hear Mordecai's gentle rebuke in this answer to Esther in chapter 4 and verse 14:

Don't fail to take action, Esther--who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for exactly this purpose--"for such a time as this?" For this time and this purpose. How about you? No, you'll never be queen of the Persian empire, but maybe you have come to your particular station in life "for such a time as this". God can use you right where you are; there is a good chance that He has placed you in your situation for His purpose and His glory--but what are you doing? Are you balking, as Esther did at first? Or do you have the faith and courage that she showed after Mordecai's warning:

Esther said the following after asking for prayer and fasting and doing the same herself: "..and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish."
--Esther 4:15

Are you standing up for what is right? Are you allowing yourself to be used of God, even in seemingly little, inconsequential things? Remember Zechariah 4:10--

"For who hath despised the day of small things?"

Look around to see where God has placed you. If it isn't obvious, ask Him to show You! Is the Spirit prompting you to "speak a word in due season"? Is there someone you should be encouraging, lifting up? Are you standing as a pillar of truth and integrity in your job? Do you give 100%? Maybe your part for today is as small a thing as a smile or a pat on the back--or just a listening ear. Maybe it is something much bigger. The important thing is to let God use you. Keep on moving; God will steer you in the right direction. Just be willing to be used--in a small way or a great way.

Esther was!

One other thing: did you ever notice that the reward for faithful service is not a vacation but rather increased responsibility? Check out those parables of the talents and pounds! (see Matthew 25:14-30 for one example)

#160 Simon Says, "Take one Baby Step"

Do you remember playing "Simon Says" as a child? Any command prefaced by "Simon Says" would have to be obeyed, but woe to the one who moved when Simon didn't say! Sometimes, "Simon Says" take 3 giant steps, sometimes it is just one baby step

We all like to make progress; we like to improve, to "get ahead". This goes the same for our spiritual life. But sometimes it is all we can do to take that one "baby step". But even a baby step in the right direction is a start!

I was thinking about this when I felt overwhelmed by the housework that has piled up for the past two weeks during Bible School (and all of our problems with the well and septic system). I looked at the house--the dirty dishes all over every inch of kitchen counter, the clothes hampers overflowing with dirty clothes. I felt like crying! I didn't even know where to start--the mess was so enormous. So I started with one little corner of the counter and stuck with it until it was clean. I tried not to look at the rest of the mess. And little by little, things got clean (of course, with three boys in the house, it doesn't take long for things to get messed up again!)

Little by little. Reminds me of Isaiah 28:9-10

"Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? Them that are weaned from the milk....for precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line, here a little, and there a little"

Do we desire to "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ"?
--II Peter 3:18

We don't get instantly "zapped" with that kind of grace and knowledge! That is something that accumulates slowly (although sometimes more rapidly with one of those sweet moments of insight). We just keep on keeping on; we read the Word, praying for understanding and a willing heart to obey what we read. And then, slowly but surely, God can mold us into the person He wants us to become--if we let Him. One baby step at a time....

#158 Crayfish in the Bathtub!

"But now they desire a better country, that is , an heavenly..."
--Hebrews 11:16

My three sons were fascinated by all the water pouring into the catch basin at the end of our lane; there was plenty of water from the 5 or so inches of rain we'd had last week. Pretty soon, they came back up to the house, all excited about the baby crayfish they'd found.

"I know they're crayfish, mommy, because they look just like miniature lobsters!"

I watched the boys head down the lane once more--with a butterfly net and an old plastic juice pitcher. I followed a few minutes later. They proudly showed me three little crayfish crawling around on the narrow bottom of that pitcher. Their next brilliant idea was to carry the little crustaceans back home. Somehow during the moving process, two of the critters escaped.

Soon, I heard water running in the bathtub--there in the tub were two of my sons and one very small crayfish. "Look how happy he is, mommy! Isn't he cute?" ("Cute" is not exactly the word I would use for a crayfish in my bathtub!) But all I said was, "You'll have to get him out of there before daddy comes home." As it turned out, I ended up being the means of transportation for the little creature ("After all, mommy, we are clean now and we don't want to get dirty in the ditch again") So, I took him back home--to the ditch, where he belonged. It is obvious that a bathtub is not a crayfish's natural habitat!

Sometimes I feel as out of place here on earth as that crayfish in the bathtub. I want to go home.... It's OK here but it just doesn't quite feel like home. I feel homesick because my heart is in another place. One of these days, I know Jesus will come back and pick me up out of this "bathtub"--this temporary dwelling place--and take me home. Maybe sooner than I think! But in the meantime, I need to learn to be content....I need to find that "joy in the journey".

One more thought: when I deposited that little crayfish in the catch basin, he landed upside down in water too shallow for him to right himself. I found a stick, leaned over the edge and flipped him right side up. He crawled into deeper water and went swimming away. All he needed was a little nudge from me. Have you ever felt like life dumped you upside down, flat on your back and all you could do was wave your arms and legs about? (my, that looks pitiful!) That is when you need a friend, a brother, to help you back on your feet again. Or, as it says in Ecclesiastes:

"For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up."
--Ecclesiastes 4:9,10

So if your brother is down, don't give him an extra kick--help him back to his feet!   Don't wait for someone else to do it.

#157 Honey, I killed the Garden!

Another true story that I wish I had made up! I've not even changed the names to protect the guilty...

I didn't kill the entire garden (although I easily could have). I only killed all 14 rows of sweet corn--my husband Stan's pride and joy. The garden is really his project, anyway. I only help out a little--with the planting...and the spraying. Back to the sweet corn...it was some of the tallest in the neighborhood--6-8 inches high or so. It had been very healthy-looking as well--until the flea beetles came. Stan was concerned about those beetles. He bought some new insecticide and asked if I would spray the next morning.

Well, I killed those pesky flea beetles all right! I was proud of myself for getting up early and getting everything sprayed before it got windy. The day was going great--I'd even managed to give my three sons much needed haircuts. I greeted my husband at the door with a smile. But he gave me a funny look and asked if I'd checked the sweet corn. There was something in his tone of voice which should have warned me....

I walked out the back door...No, it couldn't have been a freak windstorm that knocked down those rows of sweet corn. And I surely would have heard a steamroller. But the corn was flattened--just flopped over, like it had gasped its last breath and then collapsed. What could have happened??

Stan asked me,"How much insecticide did you use?"

"2 Tablespoons per gallon, just like it said!"

Or did it? Now I wasn't sure that I'd even looked at the label--that was just the usual amount for all of our other sprays. I went inside and checked the bottle: 2 TEASPOONS per gallon. I'd tripled the dosage by mistake and killed the corn along with the beetles! I confessed my mistake--but oh, how I wish I could have blamed the spray manufacturer instead!

How could I have been so careless? If only I had read the instructions!

Carelessness--an innocent sin, isn't it? We didn't mean to:

let that juicy bit of gossip slip from our lips
neglect our daily devotions--or church attendance
forget to pray for that person as we'd promised
look at (or listen to) things that are not wholesome
tell that lie to cover up
etc., etc.

We had good intentions, didn't we? I had good intentions when I killed our garden, too! Don't ever let down your guard! Hardly any believers deliberately set out to disobey God but a gradual accumulation of carelessness can yield the same results. We don't "look both ways" anymore but simply run out into traffic and hope for the best.

Be on your guard today; don't fall into serious sin because of neglect or carelessness. Walk circumspectly, redeeming the time. (And always, always read those labels--trust me on that one!)

You have probably played the game, Charades--or at least you know what it is. In Charades, one player acts out something without using words and the other players try to guess what you are describing. You say you don't play Charades? Are you sure about that? Have you ever thought that you could be playing Charades in real life? Do those around you have to try to "guess" what you are?

Before I was converted, I was good at "acting" the part of a Christian. Friends from my church knew I was not saved but outside acquaintances were often fooled. And although I even tried to fool myself (after all, I read the Bible and prayed and went to church, didn't I?), deep down I knew that there was something missing.

Acting like a Christian no more makes you a Christian than imitating bird calls makes you a robin (or warbler, or whatever!). Even if you go to the additional trouble of perching on a branch or telephone wire with those feathers sewed to your clothing (don't try this at home kids), you are still not going to pass for one of our genuine feathered friends. No one would be fooled. Why, you'd look downright silly trying to pull that one off!

So we'll assume that you are not going around pretending to be a bird. Maybe you are doing something less obvious but more eternally perilous. Maybe you are going around pretending to be a Christian. How about it? Are you a genuine Christian or just a good actor? If there is any hesitation at all in your answer, you'd better get back to the basics: repentance toward God and faith in the blood of Christ. And there has to be more than mere mental acknowledgement of the basic facts of Christianity; there needs to be a change in your life. Is Jesus truly the Lord of your life (or just Lord of a few hours on Sunday?)

Maybe you passed the doctrine test--maybe you are a genuine Christian. Great! But do you live like one? Not just act like one, but live like one? Nobody said that it would be living the Christian life (there are those verses about bearing your cross, tribulations working patience, etc.), but it is a lot better than just pretending to be a Christian....especially when hard times come. It is nice to have that "solid Rock" underneath you in times like that. (And those wings of His to keep you safe...)

Luke 24:13-35

Have you ever been disappointed? Things didn't work out quite the way you expected? You are not alone. Look at that solitary pair--Cleopas and his companion--trudging back home to Emmaus. Their voices are filled with pain, their feet shuffle slowly along the dusty road. Their hopes had been dashed; their spirits crushed:

"We trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel." You can hear the plaintive tones--the audible disappointment. They had such grand plans; when He rode into Jerusalem on that colt, they were sure that He was the One! The Messiah! Their "strong deliverer" who would set up the kingdom again! They misunderstood His mission this time around....somehow, their timing was off. And so, they let go of their dreams and left Jerusalem. They headed back home.

And yet...all was not lost. They were wrong--but not completely. What about that Stranger who joined them in their sad journey? Didn't their hearts burn within them as He opened up the Scriptures to them? When He explained things, it all started to make sense. They had been seeing things "through a glass, darkly". But now....! He broke the bread and they knew--they knew!

Watch them now as they turn around and head back toward Jerusalem--joyfully! You can almost see them skipping along, a song on their lips! Their hearts are light and they have the energy to go on. What made the difference? Their circumstances hadn't changed but their understanding and attitude had. Their disappointment changed to joy and praise.

So can ours....just remember, His ways are not our ways, His thoughts not our thoughts. Or as this verse states:

"Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord?..."
--Romans 11:33,34