My friend, Patrick Heston, is a crafter of words. I always enjoy his insights and frequently find myself saying, “Yes, that is exactly how I feel!” but he articulates it so much better than I do. This morning as I read his words, I found it echoed in my heart. So I asked him if I could share his thoughts on my blog. He graciously said yes. So I hope this resounds with you as much as it did with me.
“The negro’s great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the . . . Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate who is more devoted to order than to justice.” (The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr.) I know MLK day is past, but this isn’t a post about MLK. This is not a political post, regardless of what some may think. This is a post about me. Whether it is a post about you . . . only you know. On my Facebook profile, I long ago described myself as “more conservative than most liberals like and more liberal than most conservatives like.” There is a word for that. Moderate. I like moderates. I like being a moderate. I haven’t always been one, but have been one for a long time.
In the city where I used to live there was a place near the business district that could really use some sprucing up. I was pleasantly surprised when I drove by that location one day and they had installed attractive concrete walls. By the next time I drove by, shrubbery had been added and everything looked very nice. But as time went on when I would drive by I could see all the shrubbery had wilted and died. You see, it had all been built on the remains of an old landfill and there was so much toxicity still in the ground from the buried garbage, that nothing could thrive in the area around it.
Jesus did not pull any punches with the Pharisees when he was speaking about them and in fact, while speaking to the crowds and his disciples, he listed seven woes and called the Pharisees hypocrites several times. Not only did he call them hypocrites, he called them blind fools, snakes and vipers!
This reminded me of a Scripture I read recently. Jesus was addressing the Pharisees and Sadducees in Matthew 23. Actually, he was predicting the woe that would come to them because they were so self-righteous. In Matthew 23:27-28 he says, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are filled with dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”
Recently I had one of those days. You know the kind. The kind where nothing has gone the way you planned–where because of Covid, you had to cancel an activity you were looking forward to, where something broke and you need to decide if you will replace it or fix it, where a friend found out they had cancer. Those are the kind of days a lot of people experience.
My list of disappointments can go on and on. However this is the thing–all of us can find all kinds of things to be disappointed about in life. And dwelling on our disappointments just magnifies feelings of anger, frustration, worthlessness, and bitterness.
The good news is that life’s disappointments do not define us and cannot defeat us if we hold strong to some tools for overcoming disappointments. One of my favorite verses is found in Philippians 4:8-9. “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me–put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
This evening will be bittersweet for me. I am going to the Alumni Homecoming banquet at the college I graduated from in 1974. (I know–I am truly getting old!) The reason it is bittersweet is that the college is in its last year of existence. When May arrives, the last graduating class will receive their diplomas and a school that has been in existence since 1956, will merge with another college. Like many Bible colleges the financial burden of staying open, the pandemic, and the lack of incoming students have created the perfect storm, causing hard decisions to be made.
Unfortunately I have seen several Bible colleges close in the last decade. I could cite a multitude of reasons why the majority of Bible colleges are struggling to remain open. Some of the reasons are valid, some of them are not. But that is not really the purpose of this post.
Sometimes it is difficult for me to find the words to say to convey a feeling or emotion so that it can be visualized and experienced the way it was originally. That is the difficulty I have now. During a recent time of worship at church we were led to the throne of God through musical praise. As the musicians prepared our hearts for time with our Creator, I found myself picturing what heaven is going to look like. As I sang Agnes Dei (by Michael W. Smith) with hands raised in worship and tears gathering in my eyes, I could only get an infinitesimal glimpse of what is in store when we reach heaven.
Today we celebrate America’s Independence Day with picnics, food, time with family, and fireworks. A multitude of people celebrate without recognizing the great sacrifices that were made in order to gain autonomy from Great Britain. We need to remember the lives that were given, the homes that were burned, and the families that were forever changed when America made her bid for independence.
While I love July 4th, today I want to talk about my own personal Independence Day. It is a day I still remember vividly even though it was many years ago. I came from a good home, but not a home where we learned about Jesus and made faith a foundation. My life changed when a neighbor volunteered to send me to church camp. I had absolutely no idea what church camp was, nor did I understand why I was chosen to be sent since there were six of us children in my family. But God had a plan for my life and he used MacGomery Christian Camp to set me on my path to independence.
I think somehow God wires our DNA with this hole in our hearts that can only be filled with him. So many people spend their whole lives searching for that one thing that makes them whole, while God is waiting and longing for them to let him be the one true way to peace and fulfillment. Deep inside of me was this longing for God. As I heard the Bible taught, as I listened to the prayers being lifted to the heavens, and as I experienced watching people living out their faith during my week at church camp, I recognized that God could fill that hole in my heart.
I don’t remember the exact words of the challenge to give my life to Christ, but I do remember the nudge of the Holy Spirit to take the plunge (literally and figuratively) that would make Jesus my Lord forever and give me my Independence Day. All of the sins I had committed, all of the shame and sorrow from being sexually abused, all of the past was let go the minute I confessed his name as Lord and Savior and was buried in baptism. That was my Independence Day.
I often look at Galatians 5:1 where Paul says, “It is for freedom that Christ has set you free (meaning free from sin and free from the Jewish law). Stand fast, therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.” I actually like the way The Message puts it: “Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.” It does my heart good to know the sacrifices that Christ made for my freedom. He left the glory of heaven when he came to earth and walked among man. Despite his miracles, signs and wonders, people still doubted him and mocked him. He freely gave his life on the cross, and took on all of our sins (that is a lot of sin and depravity) and shed his blood as the final sacrifice for us. The cost of our freedom was high so that I could have an Independence Day that set me free.
While I hope you have an awareness and appreciation for our United States Independence Day, I think the Independence Day given to us when we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is a true independence that will last forever. So what about you? Have you found your freedom in Christ? I hope so because I think the glories of heaven will far eclipse the awesomeness of fireworks here on earth.
When I was growing up my parents were not good at saying “I love you” or giving out hugs. It really wasn’t until my early 30s that I started hearing those words when I would come home for a visit. Do not misunderstand me—I knew my parents loved me, they proved it over and over by their actions. But they did not say it until I was older. I am not sure why it changed, but I remember being surprised the first time my mom actually said “I love you” when she hugged me goodbye. Those were words I treasured because I did not hear them very often.
When I was in high school, I remember going to my friend’s house and she would say to her mom, “I love you” and her mom would always reply, “I love you more.” I would longingly think how nice it would be to hear those words. They really were not a contest about who could love the most, but an affirmation that their love was deep and abiding.
the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness. “the often remarkable resilience of so many British institutions”
Today I was reading through the book Successful Women Think Differently by Valorie Burton. I sincerely wish I had been able to read a book like this when I was in my twenties (which is way further back than I like!). The chapter I read today was on resilience. As I read through the chapter I realized that resiliency is one key thing that makes all the difference in the world for people who have faced adversity.
Burton defines resilience as “the ability to bounce back from setbacks.” She further notes that “resilient people thrive and grow in the face of adversity, challenges and change.”1
While I was in the Ozarks I noticed that throughout the rocky ground, there was life. Bushes, trees and even weeds managed to thrive and grow despite their less than ideal environment.
Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning he said: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters–yes even his own life–he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:25-27. (NIV)
These are the words of Jesus to the crowd that was following him. It was not long before this that Jesus had fed loaves and fishes to the crowds. Most them following still anticipated watching him heal someone or waited to be fed. They listened to his words and parables, without fully understanding what he was saying. But when Jesus spoke his words they probably were wondering if he really meant what he said. He did.
Most people I know type in an address and their car’s navigational system gets them to their destination. I have heard that the GPS even talks. But for some strange reason, mine doesn’t. No matter what we do, no matter what buttons we click, my Google maps does not voice activate. EVER. I have had multiple techie people look at it, and in the store the voice will activate. But as soon as my car starts moving it quits. So I have learned to navigate the old fashioned way, by printing a map before I go anywhere. Or I can bring the map up on my phone, but I need to look at it frequently for directions. Neither solution works well for me since it is hard to drive and look at directions at the same time.
I was in the Branson area and needed to go to Walmart to pick up a few additional items. I was told, “Oh it is easy. Just turn left at the stop sign and turn right at the first light.” Somehow I missed my turn and unexpectedly found myself driving out of town on a small, two-lane highway. At first as I drove the hilly, windy road on my unexpected detour, I was tense, my shoulders were tight, and my jaw was clenched. As a person who sits short and cannot see over the hood of the car, getting to the top of a steep hill and then starting down can be scary because there is a moment when you can only pray that the road will be underneath you as you cross the hill.
Ordinary People Extraordinary God 