growing in christ

Choices

Every time my dog, Dixie, eats anything but a very specific type of dog food (and just a few very specific snacks) she gets sick. It’s inevitable. I’ve had many different dogs throughout my life but I have never had a dog with such a sensitive stomach. It’s so frustrating. She loves to eat…is obsessed even (as is typical for most Labrador Retrievers). And so before we can stop her, she scarfs down food left on plates on the kids’ table or scraps that fall to the floor from the high chair.

Last night Dixie ran to our basement apartment where my husband’s sister and family have been staying for a few days. Unbeknownst to us, she ate the dog food that was in a bowl on the floor for their dog. My sister-in-law mentioned this and my heart sank. When, in answer to my question, she assured me that it wasn’t the Purina brand of dog food I breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe she wouldn’t get sick. (Dixie seems to get especially sick with any food labeled Purina for some reason. My other dog lived a good long and healthy life eating Purina so no knocks on Purina. )

But, no, this morning I was rudely awakened by… well, you can only imagine. She got through the whole night but somehow couldn’t wait that extra few minutes for one of us to let her out. Ugh.

She made a choice to eat food that she shouldn’t have and, as always, she bore the consequences. And so did we. The consequences are never just hers alone.

But she loves, loves, loves to eat and so if food is available she will take it without care for the consequences.

Dixie is a dog. Of course, she has no process of logic or ability to think through what she is doing. She just does it.

But we humans–who do have this ability and can think logically– too often do this same thing, don’t we?

I ran into a friend recently who works for a charity organization. One thing she said has stuck with me: The people that need help are mostly in their situations because of their own bad choices. They are reaping the consequences of wrong choices.

And so are we all at some level.

Some kind of instant gratification comes from our choice to eat too much, yell at our spouse or kids, fill our minds with the things God hates, go places we know we shouldn’t go, buy that thing on credit that we can’t afford, or letting our kids spend hours and hours on tablets so they don’t bother us.

The problem is we’ve talked ourselves into the belief that there are no consequences for these choices. But that’s just not true.

An unkind word to our spouse or yelling at our children weakens our relationship; choosing to overeat on a regular basis yields an unhealthy life; filling our minds with the things God hates hardens our consciences and increases our love for the world that God says we are to turn from; lazily handing our kids a tablet instead of interacting with them will yield kids who are hampered relationally; and on and on this list goes. And these consequences often spill out on to others, making them pay for our bad choices.

Thankfully, God, in His awesome grace and abundant mercy, graciously keeps us from experiencing many of the potential consequences of our daily sinful choices. And so we don’t always experience the consequences we fully deserve. His faithfulness, despite our failures, is…well, it’s hard to express our gratitude for this, isn’t it?

But consequences are something we should always think about when we are making any choice, whether it be something that takes us weeks to deliberate (a new home or a career change) or it’s small (what we will watch tonight or how we will respond when someone in our family annoys us).

What is the potential consequence of my choice?

If you are like me, you are just not thinking about this question when faced with the daily choice of what to put in your mouth OR when you are feeling frustrated by someone and the words just come pouring out (or if you are the quiet type, the ungenerous and unkind thoughts fill your mind) OR when you feel exhausted and you just want to veg in front of the TV.

But as we mature in Christ, this should become something we ponder more and more. Particularly the aspect of how our choice will please God. Will my choice strengthen or weaken my relationship with my heavenly Father?

So much is clarified when we ask this particular question because I know that God hates when I treat my family unkindly or when I watch, read, or listen to something filled with the things He hates (and this is NOT just the things that are obvious but includes themes and ideology that are in direct opposition to scripture.)

As we head into a new year, I want to be more cognizant of my sinful choices and intentional about confessing them and asking God to help me. It is so very easy to fall into a status quo Christian life. This life is easy and demands nothing from us. But this isn’t really the Christian life that is in the Bible, where we are told to examine ourselves (2 Corinthians 13:5) and to prove or test all things (I Thessalonians 5:21).

This is not easy. Especially in a Christian culture that does not teach this. But, as Christians who want to live a life to please God, we must be intentional about these things. For they won’t just happen.

May we grow together in faith in 2024. Thanks for reading and being here for another year at Growing4Life!

Even the Smallest Choice

I was vacuuming before my guests would arrive for dinner when I saw the discarded band-aid lying on the floor. I hesitated for a brief moment before making the choice to sweep up that band-aid. That hesitation should have been the key to warn me. Just lean down to pick it up. But I was lazy and sweeping it up was just easier.

As soon as I did it, I knew I was in trouble. The vacuum started making a different noise. Somehow that band-aid had gotten caught in the tube somewhere. I stopped the vacuum, went and got a little tool, and tried to clear out the tubes to no avail at all. In fact, when I went to turn the vacuum back on it started to smell really hot. At that point, I handed it off to my “master-fixer” (my husband).

I thought about what an analogy this is for life when it comes to choices. I think so often we make choices that we know go against our better judgement but it’s just easier in the moment. But, in the long run, the choice leads to frustration and, sometimes, even heartache. The easier choice in the moment is rarely the better choice.

Even the smallest unwise choice can yield annoying and time-consuming consequences that affect both ourselves and perhaps those around us (as in the case of my choice affecting my husband and wasting his time.)

This is true about so many of our little choices, but as we approach the end of another year, I thought it might be good to turn our thoughts towards one specific choice that we Christians make every day: The choice to read and study our Bibles or to not read and study our Bibles.

What is the price we pay for making other things a priority, while ignoring the Bible? There are many but some of them are possibly: We grow comfortable in our habitual sins; our love for the world goes unchallenged; we are fearful and anxious as we face life’s circumstances; pride wells up in us; we lack discernment and accept anything that comes along and claims to be “Christian”. And–most importantly and almost epidemic in its proportions now–we just don’t really know our God which makes us so vulnerable to following a made-up (false) religion based on what we want God to be rather than Who He really is.

Studying our Bibles doesn’t mean that these things are automatically eliminated from our lives, for we will battle many of these things for much of our lives. No, rather, it is that the Bible consistently challenges us when we are tempted to fall into sin or into worldliness or into a status quo Christianity that isn’t pleasing to the Lord. The Bible sheds a brilliant light on false teaching and provides guidance for the small and large decisions we need to make as believers. And it provides comfort and peace through its many promises.

As you review your year, what does it look like in regards to Bible Study? Of course, we all have our challenges and trials that can make this harder at certain times of our lives (I’ll be the first to admit that operating as full-time caretaker for those first few weeks after my husband’s surgery exhausted me both physically and mentally.) But, taking these times into account, how did we do with the rest of the minutes, hours, and weeks we were given? Do we know God better than we did last year at this time? Do we know His Word more?

I know I’ve shared this so often but this has truly become why I write. I want to encourage my readers to study the Word of God for themselves. For most of my life I chose to read books and listen to people talk about the Bible. But a little over ten years ago, I started studying the Bible for myself. It was so life-changing that it has become my passion to encourage you, my reader, to start doing this for yourself.

Through simple Bible Study, in context and with a proper hermeneutic (method of interpretation) undisturbed by intellectual influence, we can get to know who God is and His plan for mankind. We see who we really are and what God has done for us personally. We begin to understand what we are called to as believers here in this life and become familiar with the many promises that God gives to His own dear children. Of course, we will come to passages that are puzzling. Not everything will make sense to our finite brains. God is God and there are things we can’t understand. But it is amazing how much we can understand, if we but give some of our time to this precious Book.

And, so as we approach the beginning of another year, I just want to encourage you to find some method of studying the Bible that you can stick with. Some approaches are overwhelming and so daunting that within a few weeks you just give up (I’ve started those!) I provide a plan for Bible study that might be helpful (find out more here) and I’d love to have you join me in reading the Bible this upcoming year. But there are many more options for Bible Study, as well.

The key is this: We take the time to consistently read and study our actual Bibles.

And, through our study, we will begin to know our God. Through His Word, He kindly reminds us of His many promises, gently (and sometimes not-so-gently) chastises and corrects us, and graciously provides all we need to live our lives for His glory.

There is no more important choice to make in the upcoming year as a Christian than this: Will we read and study our Bible?

Always More to Learn

This morning when I came downstairs, my dogs started barking as soon as they glanced out the side windows by our front door. I saw a township truck with a man setting out a flag that said “road closed”. I waited until he had gone and then left the dogs out.

Both started barking madly and rushing towards the sign which sat across the road. I shouted for them to stop and both did hold their ground (thankfully) but they kept barking at the big orange sign.

I told them just how silly they were. That it was just a sign. But the big dog just kept giving nervous glances and fierce single barks at the sign throughout her entire time outside. It was comical, really.

But it was such a great picture of what I’ve been thinking about over the past week or so.

Last week, I took my oldest grandson to Chocolate World in Hershey, PA for his “grandma day” (“grandma day” is my golden opportunity to spend one-on-one time with each grandchild who lives locally. So fun!) We wanted to do something Christmas-y but I was limited by a later appointment and I couldn’t find anything local enough that was open on a Wednesday.

While we were there, we decided to watch the new movie “experience” they have. While we stood waiting, Hershey facts flashed up on the screen:

Did you know 25 million Reese’s cups are made every single day?

Did you know 200 tons of Twizzlers are made every day?

As I pondered these unknown facts, I thought about how many things in this life I do not know.

This goes for me spiritually, as well. Through the years, I have had friends who have challenged me on different things and according to scripture. Things I didn’t realize were offensive to God. And, in this, I was not unlike my dogs. We both did not know an important piece of information. While, for my dogs it was the knowledge that the sign did not present any danger at all; for me, it was the knowledge that what I was doing (or reading or watching) did present a real spiritual danger.

Because there are just always things we don’t know.

I am so very, very grateful that God uses His Word and brings people and situations into my life that constantly challenge my status quo Christian life.

This happened to me again recently. Someone asked me a question and it has really gotten me thinking again about something I’ve always done. Forever. But… when I run it through the grid of scripture, I have to admit that it is not something that pleases God. I never thought for even a second of my entire life that there was anything wrong with this particular thing (and yes, I am purposefully being vague). But that question my friend asked just keeps coming back to my mind. And when I consider scripture and what it says, I know that I have been wrong in this area. Even though it was in ignorance, it was still sin.

Isn’t it so kind of our heavenly Father to conform us, bit by little bit, into Christ’s image? His lovingkindness is such a blessing. We could never handle it if it was done all at once. The realization of what it means to live a pure and holy life before God would be completely overwhelming and discouraging if we were to fully understand all at once.

I am so thankful that God so gently and so kindly transforms us, as we are willing to yield what we thought we loved and desired to Him. As I think about the things I have been convicted about over the years, I realize that I don’t even miss them. I’ve written about many of these here on the blog through the years. Giving up some of these things was excruciatingly hard. I didn’t want to do it. And, yet, as I look back, I realize that God changed my heart so completely after my obedience (sometimes obedience that was quite reluctant and took years!) that I don’t even miss these things I thought I couldn’t live without.

And, so, I am going to, in faith, step out in obedience once again and turn from something I have really enjoyed but that God has so kindly shown me does not please Him. Trusting that once I choose to obey, it won’t even matter to me anymore.

I am thankful that we can always be learning and growing. That we aren’t stuck in some stagnant place without hope. Of course, as we learn and grow, we also learn that we are further from God’s standard of perfection than we ever realized (and just how much we need Jesus as our Savior!!!) and we grow in our knowledge of the depth our own sinfulness and in our understanding of the awesome goodness and amazing grace of God.

I know one thing, I certainly look forward to the day when sin will no longer reign in this mortal body and that all I will do and want to do forever and ever will be to praise and please God without any flesh getting in the way. What a glorious day that will be!

The 2024 Bible Reading Challenge Is Up!

Ten or more years ago now, God opened my blind eyes to the importance of reading His Word. I spent most of my life listening to what other people had to say about His Word, in sermons on Sunday, through devotionals, books, and through radio programs (which was what was available then; these days, people get their theology from podcasts and Instagram reels).

But then some painful circumstances entered my life and, through these, God showed me the importance for a believer to actually be reading and studying the Bible for themselves. And, while I still look at that particular time in my life and consider it difficult and painful, I praise God for the fruit that grew from it, for He used that time mightily in my life.

Through these past years of Bible study, my awe for it has grown and grown. God’s Word is so consistent, so cohesive, so amazing. I had no idea before I began to study it for myself what an absolutely incredible Book I was just leaving on my shelf to gather dust between Sundays.

This is why I offer the Bible Reading Challenge. I hope I can encourage at least one of you to stop leaving your Bible on your shelf and begin to read and study the Word for yourself.

About five years ago, I changed up the Bible Reading Challenge to only focusing on one chapter per week. This has been revolutionary in helping me understand the Bible so much better, giving me time to dig and search and compare. Participants have shared with me that they feel the same way. And so I am going to keep to this same schedule. We have been systematically going through the New Testament books, with some Old Testament books/character studies added, as well.

I am excited to share the 2024 Bible Reading Challenge with you today. The schedule is up on the blog and the links for the workbook and the facebook group are available on that page. You can find all the details here at this page.

I hope that you will consider joining me in studying your Bible in 2024!

Diagnosing and Curing Itchy Ear

2 Timothy is the final book that Paul wrote before being executed under the evil rule of Nero. It is full of practical wisdom and much exhortation for Timothy and for any believer who would read it throughout the ages. In chapter three Paul describes what the last days would look like. This description was not about what we would see in the world but about what would take place within the professing church.

As he moves to chapter four, he continues to let us know what would be the natural response of those he is describing in chapter three:

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. (2 Timothy 4:3)

When true believers come to this passage we often shake our heads in agreement and feel deep sadness at all of “those” people who are doing this very thing. We see them everywhere.

But today I’d like to take a bit of a different turn and think through this verse with a different lens.

Have you ever talked with someone about something and came away thinking, “they are so blind!” This might be a godly person who really wants to live for the Lord. But, for some reason, they can’t see their own sinfulness in a certain area or the truth about a false teacher or some other truth that is clear. Could this be because they have a slight case of itchy ear?

According to 2 Timothy 4, verse 3, there are a few ways we can diagnose itchy ear. Let’s look at them now–

1. We won’t endure sound doctrine. If we aren’t willing to endure sound doctrine in any particular area, then we probably have at least a slight case of itchy ear. What exactly is sound doctrine? In this context, it is the pure teaching of the Word. If we aren’t willing to submit and obey the Word in all areas, it will lead to a definite case of itchy ear.

But this is not always as cut and dried as we’d like to believe. Many of us will gladly obey most of the Bible. But when we get to a part that convicts us of entertainment, the lifestyle of anxiety or worry that has become our normal, or of giving up that long-held grudge and forgiving someone who deeply hurt us…well, that’s just too much to ask. And so we won’t endure that particular “sound doctrine”. This is a sure sign of itchy ear.

2. We only want to hear things that match our own desires. And so if someone brings something to our attention that we don’t care for–perhaps about a false teacher we love or a sin that is firmly entrenched in our lives– we will respond in one of two ways. We will get very defensive and maybe even a bit angry. Or we will just ignore it and go on with life. However we respond, we certainly won’t honestly examine our lives in regard to what is being said. Because we will choose not to hear what goes against our desires.

3. We will only like positive, uplifting teachers. If someone dares to call out sin, worldliness, or a false teacher (by name) we get all up in arms, declaring them to be negative, judgmental, and all sorts of other awful accusations. How dare they?!? And we conclude they must be the most unloving and unkind person we know.

4. We will turn away from truth and turn towards fables. The Shack is a rather old book by now but it is the perfect example of this very thing. This book (and its subsequent movie) presented a fable about God. It was not truth, according to scripture. And, yet, because so many loved the god that William Paul Young presented in his book, they turned away from the true God (as described in scripture) and embraced this false god. They turned away from truth and turned towards a fable. This is just one example. There are countless others and countless more to come. Satan loves to fool Christians. And he does it in such a way that it looks so good and so…right.

Do you have itchy ear? Even a slight case? Perhaps we all do to some extent. We don’t like to hear what is uncomfortable and demands change, do we? Change is hard and ingrained habits are hard to break. Teachers are much loved and the loyalty runs deep. Following hard after truth is not for the fainthearted and weak. And, yet, God can turn a fainthearted and weak person into someone willing to stand courageously in His strength, through the power of the Holy Spirit. But how?

How do we cure our case of itchy ear? How do we become someone who is willing to endure sound doctrine, willing to turn from our own desires in humble submission to God’s desires, willing to hear both the positive and the negative as we listen to teachers, and willing to turn toward truth and away from fables? How can we be sure to be the kind of listener that benefits our spiritual walk and blesses a biblical teacher?

There are a few things we can do. It’s rather simple really. But we can’t miss a step.

First, we must pray and read the Word. Let’s bring a humble spirit before the Lord, asking Him to show us the truth and to help us be willing to change. And then let’s read and study the Word with perseverance and diligence, so that we can know our God and what He desires.

Second, we must be willing to examine ourselves in light of the Word. Many of us live in a superficial way because we are unwilling to do this. And, I must admit, it is much easier to just live day to day as we endeavor to complete our to-do lists and take care of the many things calling our names. But, without taking the time to examine ourselves, we are opening ourselves up to a severe case of itchy ear, for it will sneak up on us when we least expect it.

Third, we must be willing to turn from our feelings. For many of us (myself included) the temptation is strong to let our feelings drive our lives. And so we don’t read our Bibles because we don’t feel like it. Or we turn on the TV and waste hours of time because we don’t feel like doing anything else. We don’t feel like reading hard books that help us grow but we feel like reading easy novels that fill our mind with fluff (at best) or trash (at worst). We make choices about going to church (oh, it was such a late night, let’s skip), we make choices about music (oh, this has such a catchy tune), we make choices about our children’s entertainment (but I don’t want to upset my child and take this way from her because then she might be mad at me) all based solely on how they make us feel. This will almost always lead to itchy ear.

With God’s help, we must move from making decisions based on feelings to making decisions based on what will please God. For a genuine believer that wants to live out their faith, no decision escapes this examination. Am I choosing this because of how it will make me feel or am I choosing it because I want to please the Lord? (I am convicting myself here!)

Fourth, we must be willing to listen to biblical teachers that will preach the whole word of God instead of those who just give us the positive, uplifting messages that make us feel good.


If we do these things, then we will cure our case of itchy ear, whether it be a severe case or just the slightest case. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be walking around with itchy ear, spiritually sick and weakened, when God has made a way for us to live out a radiant, vibrant faith as we journey through this darkened world!

Do You Want to Feel Better or to See Better?

The other day I was listening to a Lamplighter Theatre story and the introduction had a young boy who was quite distraught over recent news. He had gone to visit an older gentleman to talk and expressed his hope that he would help him feel better. The man laughed and said this profound thing:

I won’t help you feel better but I do hope I can help you see better.

I have been thinking on this ever since. How many of us prefer to feel better than to see better? We’d rather be blind and feel good, than to have clear vision and experience some pain in the process.

The pastor’s job is to help his congregation to see better. He is to preach the word, in and out of season–

Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. (2 Timothy 4:2)

Many preachers (and authors and song-writers and popular social media personalities) refuse to do this because it is not what their listeners want. Their listeners want to feel good. Right now.

Paul tells us to expect that this time will come. Right after writing “Preach the Word!” in 2 Timothy 4, he writes this-

 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

He knew that eventually the visible church (as opposed to the remnant genuine church) would eventually turn completely apostate in order to take part in bringing in the antichrist. Paul gave us warning signs of what that would look like throughout his epistles. One of these warning signs is that people who claim to be Christians would be obsessed with hearing things that they want to hear; things that would make them feel better temporarily but that would be based on fables.

Instead of hearing the things that they needed to hear–things that would make them see better but wouldn’t necessarily make them feel better–they’d choose to believe fables and lies.

As we watch this happening around us–perhaps even in the lives of those we care about– it is important that we examine our own lives. What is our goal when we read the Word or listen to a godly preacher? Is it to feel better or is it to see better?

I think something really important to remember as we consider this is that, while we may not feel better in the moment, the good feelings will come. God promises peace and joy and these are not empty promises. When we surrender our will to God’s and when we choose to obey His commands in scripture, feelings of peace and joy do come.

As a friend once told me: Our feelings should function as the caboose and not the engine as we decide what will drive our decisions and choices. Feelings generally follow after our right choices.

We can compare it to a doctor who must administer bad-tasting medicine or painfully dig out an infection that has set in in a wound. These things do not feel good when they are happening but, in the long run, they make us feel so much better. What would we think of a doctor that just bandaged an infected wound, rather than to deal with the real issue? And, yet, this is so often how spiritual infections are treated by preachers and teachers. They don’t want to hurt or offend anyone so they never get around to lovingly telling their hearers the plain truth of scripture.

We may not like what we are reading or hearing from the Word and it may not make us “feel better” in the moment, but if we choose to submit to and obey God’s Word, we will see better. We will not only be given correct perspective but we will begin to understand why it is so important. And…eventually…we will feel better as we honor the Lord with our lives.

So what are you looking for when you study scripture or listen to a preacher? To feel better or to see better?

What matters to you most? That you are happy? Or that you are holy?

I am afraid many of the lies will reap eternal ramifications. We must pray for protection from the abundant lies around us that sound so very appealing. May we not grab on to any of these simply to feel better temporarily. For in the long run, an infection that is not cut out will kill you.

Tiny Seeds Yield Lots of Fruit

I noticed an interesting plant springing up in the midst of the impatiens. At the one end of this flower bed next to the garage looked like what would be some type of squash or pumpkin. I remembered that my husband had thrown an old pumpkin there at the end of the season and forgot to remove it until much later. Could it be from that?

Before I could decide what to do, my husband had pulled the plant out. After all, we don’t want a pumpkin growing in the midst of our impatiens!

But when another healthy seedling sprang up, I asked him if we could just leave it grow. I wanted to see what it was and what would happen.

And so this summer we have a giant pumpkin plant at the front corner of our home, growing like…well, “like a weed”. It’s enormous (as you can tell from the photo above). It has a bunch of flowers and early fruit on it and looks like it will yield much.

Isn’t that so amazing when you stop to think about it? A pumpkin was carelessly discarded and spilled out its seeds and then one of those tiny seeds grew into this enormous plant filled with fruit?

What a great reminder! Those little seeds we carelessly toss around will do the same. Whether they be seeds of kindness or seeds of discord; seeds of self-discipline or seeds of laziness or addiction; seeds of anger and grudge-holding or seeds of forgiveness; seeds of doubt or seeds of faith; seeds of gratitude or seeds of complaint; seeds of worldliness or seeds of godliness… whichever seeds we choose to carelessly sow will spring up and turn into a plant that yields lots of fruit.

One of the biggest problems with our current culture is our lackadaisical attitude towards our future. We think only of today. But those seeds we are planting today will yield fruit in our lives and the lives of those we love. It would be best to really examine what seeds we are planting today. If we are going to be stuck with an enormous plant full of fruit, may it be a thriving plant of good fruit.

God tells us in His Word that we will reap what we sow—

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. (Galatians 6:7-8)

Our lives and the lives of those around us tell us this truth, don’t they? You can’t escape the sowing of bad fruit. No matter how much we would wish to. Actions always have consequences.

But this principle also works in an opposite and wonderful way. If we sow good seeds, we will reap the fruits of righteousness and blessing.

The time to think about this is when we are young. Oh, we just have no idea how the seeds we sow will affect the rest of our lives and the lives of those we love. Many live with so much regret. But even as we age, it is never too late to start sowing better seed. It is just never too late.

Today is a great day for us to consider the seeds we have been sowing and to make a change. While none of us will ever sow seeds of righteousness always or perfectly, may that be our hope and may we work at this intentionally as we seek to walk with God.

(Update: For those of you who aren’t on Facebook, I just wanted to let you know that my husband’s surgery went very well. We are currently sitting in the hospital and as he sleeps, I decided to take a few moments and write. Thank you so much for your prayers!)

An Exercise in Trust

Ironically, I had just read a book that contained the account of a deadly ferry fire. All those on the ferry had perished with the exception of just a few. Granted, this had occurred back in the 1800s, when the safety of passengers was not of the greatest concern. But, still…we do hear of ferry tragedies today…

So while I thought the ferry would be fun, I did have this in the back of my mind. And the ferry to the island was fun. It was a beautiful ride in the summer sunshine. Dousing ourselves in sunscreen, we sat on the front deck, drinking sodas and lemonade as we watched boats of all shapes and sizes pass by us on the water. After a pleasant 45 minutes, we were at our destination.

After enjoying a lovely day on the island, we prepared to go back on the ferry. The first hiccup was the 7:30pm ferry. Our plan was to take this ferry back to the mainland. Unfortunately, we did not realize that the 7:30pm ferry only picked passengers up on the weekends. We had totally missed that fine print (we weren’t the only ones).

Disappointed but not disheartened, we walked to a park to wait for the 8:30pm ferry. Had we known we had that extra hour we certainly wouldn’t have wasted it in a park but such is life. Around 8:10 or so we headed over to the ferry dock.

As we watched the ferry move closer to us, it looked…different. Observing the amount of people that stood in front and back of me in line, I couldn’t imagine how this small boat would hold them all. The smallish cabin of this ferry was at one end, while the back end looked like…a road (photo above was my view as we chugged back to the mainland). I found out later that the regular ferry had broken down and this stand-in was a ferry used to carry tankers.

As we boarded, we quickly realized it was going to be an interesting ride. There were no announcements about life vests or safety or anything else. There were no warnings to stay back from the edge and away from the various holes, both protected only by flimsy, orange plastic fence. And staff were nowhere to be found. I was “unpleasantly” surprised and found myself growing more and more nervous.

We found ourselves on the lower deck (on the “road”), just standing there at the back. A kind couple had left us take a chair out of the back of their pickup for my husband because he is unable to stand for very long due to his bad back (an update regarding his surgery will be at the end of this post) and so we just stood there by him.

Well, that was until the ferry started its engine to move out into the open water. Oh, my, was that loud!! My daughter and I took her boys and moved to the front of the “road”, while my husband and son-in-law remained under those loud engines. As we stood there in disbelief, her oldest son had a look of stark fear on his face and said, “This is the worst thing on this trip!”

I couldn’t agree with you more, buddy! I tried to stay calm, but, all the while, my mind kept going back to that book I had just read. This just didn’t feel at all safe. This was going to be a longgggg forty-five minutes.

It did not help AT ALL that there was a huge NO SMOKING sign on the ferry and about halfway through our trip I saw an arrogant young man skateboarding his way across the deck while smoking a cigar.

That is when my fear reached an all-time high. I started dwelling on the what-ifs and if-onlys. Do you know what I mean? Have you been there? Maybe not on a ferry but in some other place or at some other time that plagues you with these questions.

At some point, I realized that sometimes God’s Sovereignty allows for terrible tragedies. And I asked myself: Would I still believe He is good even if this ferry did not reach its destination?

I know this probably sounds so silly and dramatic to some of you (a vivid imagination is definitely one of the hazards of being a writer!) but these were the thoughts that filled my mind as I found myself in that totally unexpected situation. And I realized that I needed to just trust God, no matter what. Whatever happened, He had not changed. He was still good and kind and sovereign. To live is Christ, to die is gain (Philippians 1:21).

As I thought of these things, I came to a bit of peace. I still was not enjoying it, but my fear settled down. As I hugged my grandson, who was crying, probably both from fear and exhaustion, I could honestly say that we would be alright, believing my own words.

Why did I happen to read that book with the deadly ferry fire right before that ferry ride? I think it was because I needed that exercise in trust. These kinds of situations test us and strengthen us for the moments that it becomes not an exercise but the real thing.

It reminds me of a soldier who will attend boot camp and drill practice to prepare for the real battle. Let us not waste these little, seemingly insignificant, moments in our lives for they are probably given to help prepare us for those inevitable battles that lay ahead of us all as we go through life. May we not waste even one opportunity God gives us to remember His loving Sovereignty in our lives (Romans 8:28-29). And may we not forget to thank Him when we come through a frightening experience safe and protected. :)

…..


Whenever I am afraid,
I will trust in You.
 In God (I will praise His word),
In God I have put my trust;
I will not fear.
What can flesh do to me?

(Psalm 56:3-4)


…..

TWO QUICK NOTES:

First, I still cannot email from my growing4life email address. I spent a few hours a few weeks back trying to fix this. I will work on it again to try to fix it, although at this point, I am not even sure where to turn… At any rate, I wanted to let you know that I SO appreciate all of you who have taken the time to write and encourage me and to let me know you will be praying for my husband’s upcoming surgery.

And, second, speaking of the surgery… a few of you have asked about the date. The surgery is schedule for this Monday, July 31. We are so grateful for your prayers regarding this. We so appreciate them!!

On the Way to the Cross

Today’s post will not be my typical post but will be rather be a collection of thoughts and observations regarding Mark 14, which we are currently studying in the 2023 Bible Reading Challenge*. This chapter is so full and rich with lessons and guidance as it describes the last couple of days before Christ’s crucifixion. It gives us so very much to reflect upon as we prepare our hearts and minds to celebrate Resurrection Sunday.

If you have a bit of time, I encourage you to read Mark 14 and then come back and read this post. I am going to share some reflections I had on this chapter. (If you are on the 2023 Bible Reading Challenge Facebook group page, much of what follows will be familiar to you already although I have expanded a bit here on what I wrote there.)

Mark 14 is 72 verses long. Those 72 verses are packed full with the events that happened the two days before the crucifixion. There is so much to take in but here are a few observations from my initial study of this special chapter–

— The woman who anointed Christ with precious oil was anointing Him for His burial and He commended her, although she was criticized as being wasteful in doing so. (v. 8-9) This is a good reminder that we must do what is right and what Jesus has called us to do, despite the criticism that may come to us.

— Christ clearly shows His deity when He gives the disciples directions for where they will have their Passover meal. He knows exactly who to tell them to follow and that a room would already be “furnished and ready”. (v. 13-15) But how did that homeowner know to set up his upper room for Jesus and the disciples?? I guess we will never know that. At least not on this side of heaven.

— Judas, the greatest TRAITOR ever to live, was also a DISCIPLE of Jesus (v. 10-11). He joined disciples in all of their conversations and activities and sat under the teaching of Jesus Himself as He prepared this special group for what lay ahead. Judas pretended to be genuine but he was, in fact, a liar and hypocrite. This is a great reminder that some people are geniuses at pretending to be someone they are not. We must not be gullible and naive as we navigate this current church age. Much prayer is needed as we seek to discern the wheat from the tares.

— I had the thought that v 23-24 very clearly shows that the doctrine of transubstantiation is absolutely false. For Jesus gave the first communion here and He was alive and well. Which shows that the bread and cup did not become His body or His blood. Beware the doctrines of men which are not based on scripture. Transubstantiation is found nowhere in scripture at all. This is most often recognized as a Catholic doctrine but I recently became aware that it is in the Lutheran church, as well, and perhaps others? And, once again, our own personal study of scripture will protect us as we seek to discern the true from the false. It is truly our greatest protection.

— Jesus told the disciples that they will all fall away. They all assured Him they would not. But they did. They did, indeed, all scatter or deny Him upon His arrest. (v. 27-31) And, while this is such a very sad chapter in the life of Jesus here on earth, it can also encourage us. For these disciples whose courage wavered during this trying time went on to serve Jesus well. Most went on to die for Him. This was but a small hiccup in lives given in service for their Master. Oh, the great grace and mercy of God that gives each of us a second chance when we mess up so abominably.

— Jesus sets a great example for those who would follow Him through the rest of the ages as He begs for the cup that He is about to drink to be taken away. He is in great agony of soul during this time and He recognizes that the Father can still remove this awful burden, for all things are possible with God. And, yet, He closes His prayer with this profound statement: YET NOT WHAT I WILL, BUT WHAT YOU WILL (v.36). As I read that sentence, I realized that this is what the prayer of any true follower Christ should–no, MUST–be. For that is what true faith looks like–yielding our will to God’s Will. Sometimes it takes us awhile to pray this prayer with sincerity of heart as we are human and still fighting our flesh, but this is where we should land eventually. Jesus chose to yield to God’s will in this matter of the Cross. And so we, too, must choose to yield to God’s will in both the small and large trials that God brings our way. May it be our heart’s desire to pray this same prayer in our own troubles that Jesus prayed in the midst of His incredible and unique suffering.

— I am grateful that God has not given us the foresight that Jesus had (v.32-36). Jesus knew full well what lay ahead in all of its facets–both the physical and emotional pain and, even more so, the sin of mankind that would rest upon His shoulders when He would breathe His last as a human. This was the cause of such tremendous agony of soul as He prayed at Gethsemane. Aren’t you so glad you do not know the future? The anticipation of an event can exponentially magnify the grief of a distressing experience. What a burden that would be.

— “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” (v. 38) Oh, how sadly true this is! Does this resonate with you as it does with me? Jesus says this to the disciples when they fall asleep while waiting for Him. Why can’t they stay awake? Oh, how I can relate. How often my flesh is so weak when I so long to do what is right. Again, the disciples offer comfort to our weary souls. If Jesus not only used these men but chose them, then there is hope that He can use us, as well.

— When Judas betrayed Jesus in the Garden, one of the disciples struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. (v. 47) Luke records that Jesus immediately and miraculously healed the servant (Luke 22:51). You’d think that some of those chief priests and scribes and elders would be having some doubts about their agenda at that point! But when wicked men set their hearts on doing evil, there is little to deter them but for direct intervention by God Himself.

— Jesus’s case was not cut and dry but was full of holes and false witnesses (v.56) And, yet, as so often is the case, because of the agenda of the high priests and council, these things worked to condemn Him. It is a reminder that life just isn’t fair. It is also a reminder that God, who could have saved His Son at any point in this farce of a trial, very specifically allowed Jesus to be crucified for the sin of mankind. This was God’s plan so that all who call on the Lord for forgiveness would be saved!

See the Sov’reign of creation, King of earth and skies,
All for sinful man’s salvation thus He dies, He dies;
Yet He lives, a mighty Monarch, reigns o’er every foe,
Causing mortal man to triumph over sin below.
**

— The final words of chapter 14 (v. 72) may be some of the saddest in the Bible. Peter knew just what he had done and he wept bitterly over it. Jesus had told him that he would deny Him and He had been exactly right. Peter had denied him. Not once but three times. And, once again, Peter is a source of much encouragement to those of us who would seek to please the Lord and then, in a moment of weakness, fail miserably. The forgiveness and lovingkindness God has for us when we fail is overwhelming. And Peter’s life reminds us that those failures need not keep us from living victoriously for Christ. We continue on, learning and growing from them. Oh, what a wonderful reminder.

There is so much in this chapter to reflect upon. We so often think of Jesus’s crucifixion in light of the day it happened and the days after it happened. It has been interesting to study the few days before it happened. I hope you will take some time on your own to read through Mark 14 this week. It is such wonderful preparation as we head into Resurrection Sunday.

* It’s not too late to join the Bible Reading Challenge! We finish up Mark this month and then will move on to Jonah for the month of May. Anytime is a great time to start this challenge! Find out more here.

** These lyrics are from the fourth verse of an old hymn called Crucified for Me, written by Barney E. Warren in 1911.

It’s All in How You Look at It

Do you remember laying on the ground when you were a kid and finding shapes in the clouds? Oftentimes, two people looking at the same cloud see two different things. One might see a dinosaur, while another may see a truck. That is because those looking have two different perspectives.

As believers, we should always have a different perspective than the world around us when it comes to the small irritations, the bigger frustrations, and even the great trials in our lives. But how often I fail at this very thing! I thought of this the other day when I took a quick trip to a store.

My eyes strained and tried to make sense of the words. But, as I stood in that toy store, I knew there was no way that I could decipher the small print on the box I had picked up. The words were just blurred blobs of black. And I have to admit that I sighed as I pulled out my reading glasses. The sigh indicated my frustration and my heart of complaint. Though I didn’t speak, my head was certainly thinking it and God knows my thoughts.

A few minutes later, this thought struck me: Have you considered just how many people in history never had the incredible gift of reading glasses to extend the usefulness of their eyes?!?

Whoah. As I thought through this, I knew it couldn’t have been but a few hundred years that they have been in existence. And, although literacy has not been in existence all that long and the need wouldn’t have been terribly great for reading glasses, I knew that it would have been frustrating to grow older and not be able to see anything close up.  All through history, women would have to have had to mend and sew and cook and bake and wash clothing. How frustrating it must have been for them as their eyesight failed and detailed work became impossible to do well–if at all.

And I was complaining? If even in my heart, I knew this was sinful. I had the wrong perspective! Instead of being thankful for God’s gift of eyeglasses, I was grumbling because I needed them.

As I intentionally turned my perspective right side up, my overall attitude changed. There is just not room for complaint in a heart that is filled with gratitude.

I wish I could say I am always so quick to see what is going on in my heart when I complain. But, alas, I am not. It’s like second nature for us all. It is the thing we turn to when things aren’t going our way. Sometimes we have the wherewithal to simply think it. Other times, we vocalize it. No matter how we express our complaining hearts, it is always sin.

The Bible says this in Philippians 2:14-15–

Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world.

There are no exceptions that make a complaining heart acceptable. No conditions or set of circumstances that give us a right to complain.

If we continue to read the verses, we can see that this is how we shine as lights in the world. Isn’t this so interesting to reflect upon? We shine as lights in the world by not complaining and arguing about everything.

This has to mean then that when we do complain and argue (dispute), our lights are dimmed. Perhaps even turned off.

Later on in Philippians we read the following–

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6)

Did you catch that word in there that keeps us from having a complaining heart? It is by bringing our requests to God with thanksgiving.

Complaints and thanksgiving cannot reside in a heart side-by-side. They are mutually exclusive.

So, practically speaking, how do we cultivate a thankful heart rather than a complaining heart?

Sometimes, we can just turn our complaint on its head and change our perspective, as I did with my glasses. When we are doing housework, we can instead thank God that we have a home. When we are taking care of the children, may we remember the tremendous blessing of caring for these precious souls. When our car breaks down, well, let’s thank the Lord for the car in the first place. You get the idea. This change in perspective can be a powerful tool.

But what about the things that happen in life that have no upside? The things that devastate us and are life-changing? How do we go from complaint to thankfulness then?

It is only through trusting God and His Sovereignty. Intentionally resting in His promises in scripture will enable us to endure and be thankful–not for them but through them as we dwell on His love, His grace, His mercy. Understanding and believing that ALL things work together for God’s purposes and for the good of those that love Him (Romans 8:28) –this truth can and will uphold us and carry us through the darkest days.

Yesterday, I was in the company of an elderly couple who has been through some very rough times in the past couple of years. Things are still frustrating and difficult for them. When I asked them how the Lord has helped them, the wife said something like, “He’s just been with us all the way.”

When she said that, I thought of these verses from Psalm 37 (vs 23-24)–

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,
And He delights in his way.
Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
For the Lord upholds him with His hand.

The Lord will uphold us, no matter what happens. And that is a reason to be thankful, no matter what we are going through.

Hearing this truth in the lives of those who have experienced it can be greatly encouraging. Even more encouraging is thinking back over our own lives and remembering the times we have been upheld. God won’t drop us now. We are His sheep and we can never be lost–

And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. (John 10:28-29)

So may we turn our complaints into gratitude today. May we remember God’s promises. May we look at things from an eternal perspective and, with a heart of gratitude, shine as bright lights in this very dark world!

 

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