Reflections on Advent Part 1

We have arrived at that time of year when thoughts of Christmas and preparations for it have begun.  It is far too easy for me to get caught up in the pageantry of it all and to miss what God really has for me during this season.  It is for that reason that I have decided to embark on several short reflections of the advent season.

The word advent actually means a coming into place, view or being.  I often consider it a beginning point when I use it in regular speech outside Christmas.  The church calendar marks it as beginning the first of four Sundays before Christmas.  So if you're counting, I'm actually a little early with this post.  In my world (and I'm betting most of yours too) the Christmas season begins right after Thanksgiving.  That's when I give myself permission to start listening to the Christmas music I love and changing the decor of my home.  

Why do we all get so excited for the coming of Christmas?  The answer, I suppose, depends on your perspective.  Retailers love Christmas because it flips the books.  Unless you've had an absolutely horrid year all year and nobody is bothering to buy Christmas gifts from you now, it is the time of year you actually start making a profit that will carry you through until next Christmas season.  I worked in retail management for a number of years so I understand their fervor to a degree, though I wasn't an accountant.

Children (and probably most adults too) love Christmas because there is an expectation of gifts to be received.  And for many to be purchased and wrapped as well.  There is almost always joy that accompanies a gift - a good gift at any rate,  

Non-profits love Christmas because the joy of Christmas usually means the overflow of ministry coffers.  Joyfulness breeds generosity.

But why do Christians love Christmas?  We love Christmas because it marks the birth of our Savior.  We don't know the actual time of year, let alone date, that Jesus was actually born, but like our son Jadon who was assigned a birthday when he entered the orphanage in China, we celebrate the date that has been assigned.  It is believed that this time of year was chosen because celebrating Jesus entry into the world redeemed many of the pagan celebrations that were already occurring because of the Winter Solstice.  Isn't that so like Jesus, allowing his birth to be celebrated in order to redeem pagan holidays?

There are many thoughts swirling in my mind as I approach Advent this year.  My prayer is that God's redemption through Jesus will ring loud and clear and drown out all other loves.  I invite you to explore the glory of the gospel in the birth of Jesus this season with me.  May we redeem this holiday that has become so crowded with material gain and secular bling.  But most of all may we come into the joy of Jesus' presence because He is the greatest gift the world has ever known!  

The Growing Grace of Spiritual Relationship

I have the pleasure of serving as a host at the downtown coffeehouse called Fraser Street Commons our church operates...free coffee, tea and WiFi plus a casual place to meet friends and/or study.  I love doing this!  It has enabled me to meet a variety of people from the homeless veteran who needs a place to warm up, to the barista at a coffee shop several blocks away who appreciates a place to rest on her walk home, to the Penn State student looking for a comfortable place to study.  

Recently one such student came to the table where I was sitting and asked if she could ask a quick question.  I was more than happy to oblige.    "Well, maybe not that quick." she added with a smile.  Usually such questions have very simple and easy solutions.  Could you warm up my lunch in the microwave?  Could you get more toilet paper for the bathroom?  Things like that.  This time the question hung midair, a more substantial and enduring outcome desired.  "How do you develop a deeper relationship to God?"  Wow!  I wasn't ready for that.  "That's a good question," I replied.  "Let me think."  The very first thing to pop into my head was prayer.  I started to tell her how God had used that in my life to draw me more deeply into Himself.  But then other thoughts quickly emerged.  I gave her a roughshod answer but it really got me thinking and I knew I needed to blog.  How DO we develop a deeper relationship with God?

First we need to recognize that it is God who does this work.  Paul tells us in Philippians that while we are called to intentionally participate in this thing called spiritual life, it is God who  both directs and works out His will in this regard. Indeed, doing so gives Him great pleasure.  (Philippians 2:12-13)  Every effort of mine to increase my own godliness has failed miserably.  I can't do it.  Nobody can.  It is a work of God, a gift really.  So Janelle, I am changing your question slightly.  How do I intentionally participate in growing in spiritual grace and relationship with God? 

Prayer

When I was a child prayer was explained to me as talking to God.  In some ways this did me great disservice.  I wish it had been explained more as a conversation with God.  This, of course, gets a bit more complicated from a child's perspective.  Conversations are two way streets.  For it to be a conversation, I don't do all the talking.  Someone needs to speak back to me.  Children aren't always the best listeners.  Some adults have a difficult time grappling with this too.  In our social media lives we've learned to do all the talking!  But sadly, I am testament to the reality that difficulty listening existed this way long before social media became as big a thing as it is now.  

I remember working through Henry Blackaby's Experiencing God quite a number of years ago now.  I sat on my back porch, warm spring air enticing my senses.  I had done the greater part of that day's lesson when I got to the action step asking me to take a prayer walk.  I remember feeling that what I really needed was to just continue to sit on my back porch or take a leisurely stroll around my garden.  But it did say walk!   Now you must understand that in those days I was a hardcore walker.  Walking meant getting your cardiovascular system working!  So I obediently donned my walking shoes and started out.  As I hurried along I began talking at God. Yes, you heard me right.  I talked so much that I didn't give God an opportunity to get a single word in.  I must have walked a mile before I came to a corner that would either take me on a significantly longer walk or go nearly directly home.  What should I do?  I decided to stop a minute and see if God had any thoughts on the subject.  Did you catch that?  I stopped.  And God did have a thought!  He answered my question with a question of His own, "Why don't you just slow down?"

Slow down.  That became a life changing reality in my understanding and practice of prayer.  If I continue to hurry through life I am apt to miss God's speaking into my life.  The greater part of prayer is listening.  Perhaps that is what Paul is referring to when he tells us to "pray at all times" in Ephesians 6:18.  The picture in this particular passage is that of battle, specifically the clothing of oneself with spiritual armor.  This is armor that protects us from the evils and temptations of Satan and his minions.  I have discovered that being too busy to listen to God gets me into trouble!  Pause.  Rest.  Hear what God has to say to you.  And stay the course God sets.

Prayer also takes practice.  I didn't become a stalwart prayer warrior overnight.  I've made plenty of mistakes along the way.  I still do.  But God has me covered there too.   In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.  (Romans 8:26-27)  He knows what He wants for me and for every matter I bring before Him.  The Spirit will always pray what is right; I need to pray with my heart, expecting a response from the One who loves to answer when I call.  (Psalm 3:4)

A spiritual direction practice that may be helpful in getting started, and one I've used often, is called the prayer of examen.  Simply put, it is the practice of sitting with God at the end of the day (or the experience) and asking Him to show me how He intervened (or tried to intervene!) in my day.  Slowly consider each event of the day.  What happened?  What was my response?  How did I feel?  Where was God in this?  Looking back I can start to recognize the ways God interacts with me throughout each day and grow to recognize that interaction in the moment.

Bible Reading

John starts his gospel account with these words "in the beginning was the Word."  (John 1:1)  He is referring to Jesus.  The author of Hebrews tells us "for the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12)  It is Jesus who is behind and part of every word that comprises the Bible.  And that is precisely why consuming it regularly is so vital to spiritual growth.  If you want more of Jesus then contemplate and actuate more of what He says!

I am a Bible study-er.  I can get lost (literally!) for hours examining a passage, looking up the Greek words that are used and any cross references I can find (and sometimes even cross references to the cross references!).  When I study a passage I want to know it inside and out!  I love the insights I get into the original meaning that way.  But all that work isn't necessary in cultivating relationship with God.  In fact, it can get in the way.  If I haven't asked Him to be part of my study or I make studying too much about me guess who doesn't push His way in?  While studying deeply may be good, being with Him in His word is really what we need to experience life transforming relationship.  With Him.  Don't miss that!  I have sometimes taken breaks from hardcore study to just read the Bible.  I have been greatly encouraged by using a reading plan to read through the Bible in a year.  Or take two years!  It doesn't really matter.  What matters is setting aside time to spend with God in His word, each day, if possible.

Another spiritual direction practice may be helpful here as well.  It is called lectio divina or sacred reading.  An ancient way of listening to Scripture, it is meditation combined with prayer and Bible reading.  Prayerfully read a passage, or just a verse even.  It shouldn't be a long drawn out passage.  Just a few verses at the most.  As you read, ask God to direct your attention to those things He wants you to see.  It may take several slow, deliberate readings.  Or you may want someone to read them to you slowly while you just listen.  Hear what God is saying to you.  

The first time I experienced lectio divina was while I was at summer orientation for my son at Taylor University.  A couple of college veteran parents led us through this exercise with Ephesians 3:14-19.  What stuck out to me surprised me, brought me to tears even.  As verse 16 was read "that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man," the word that stuck out to me was "be".  As the passage was read a second time I waited for a different word to stick out.  But no.  This is what God had for me.  As I asked Him about it He spoke sweetly into my spirit, "Ruth, you are so busy with so many things.  All I really want for you is to just be...with me."  I had been doing so much scurrying with things I had given life and death importance when what really mattered was time with Jesus!  Sounds a lot like Martha, don't you think (Luke 10)?  Now you can see why the tears flowed!  In God's eyes it's not what I do that matters to Him but rather whose I am!  This is an incredibly important concept when I consider my relationship with Him. 

 Later others shared the words that stood out to them.  Their words were different.  God used that same passage to speak what they needed to hear.  Don't ever assume that God will only use His word to say just one thing.  His word is living and active; remember?   On the other hand, make sure that what you feel He is saying to you can be confirmed elsewhere.  Hint:  This is where doing a little study would be appropriate.  

Community

Perhaps one of the most overlooked components of a thriving relationship with God is community.  This should not surprise us.  God within Himself is a community.  Wouldn't it make sense that the only way to understand His character better is to experience it with others?  When I refer to community in this sense I am talking about the church, as in a local body of believers.  Community is a great place to share the things that God is showing you in your prayer and Bible reading.  God will often confirm the things He shows us through the community in which we live.  The author of Hebrews exhorts his readers: 

          Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good  

        works.  And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people 

        do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his 

        return is drawing near.    Hebrews 10:24-25 NLT

Apparently thinking that we can be lone rangers is not a new issue.  But it is still one that must not be ignored.  We grow best when we are with other believers.  And be sure that social media does not count as community.  Sure, I use it just like the next person to stay in touch with people I have a connection; however, I do not use it to replace the vital people of God in my local church.  I need that accountability.  Face to face.  And so do you.

There are lots of ways to build community.  Perhaps your church has a life group ministry.  Mine does.  As a matter of fact my husband and I host one!  If you happen to live near State College, PA you can check it out here.  Perhaps it doesn't.  That's not an adequate excuse. Join a Bible study.   Seek to meet regularly with other believers for the purpose of prayer and accountability (and maybe a sandwich or two!).  Start a practice of hosting a meal or meeting others at a restaurant for a shared meal where you can discuss what you see God doing in your life.  Be intentional.  Proverbs 27:17 tells us "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."  God created life to be done together.

While there are certainly other ways that God uses to grow us (and I'm sure I'll touch on them at some point) these three - prayer, Bible reading and community - seem to be the main ways in every day life that He uses to bring us closer to Him.  There was a time in my life when I had to do these things even when I didn't feel like doing them.  It was a struggle.  But I kept coming.  And asking God to participate with me, to show me more of Himself, to awaken life in me.  And guess what?  He did.  

Rest assured...  I am praying that for you as well!

Cultivating Thankfulness at All Times

Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing given and every 

perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with 

whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.  James 1:16-17 NASB

Like every good mother I  worked hard to instill habits of good behavior in my children as they were growing up.  One that was particularly important to me was ensuring that they developed a response to say "Thank you" every time they were given a gift.  And they became very good at it.  Their bedtime prayers were usually long lists of things they were thankful for.  I'm not sure it cultivated an attitude of gratitude or if they were just going through the motions at the time, but it did develop a ready response of thankfulness in them for sure. Now with the American holiday of Thanksgiving upon us I want to take a fresh look at thankfulness and why it's so important.  

James, the brother of Jesus, tells us that "every good thing and every perfect gift" is from God.  The word every in the Greek language is an emphatic all...nothing is excluded.  Each and every good thing...sunshine, clean air, a comfortable home, warm embraces from dear friends, good food, especially Berkey Creamery ice cream, and the list goes on and on and on...is ultimately a gift from our loving heavenly Father.  Always.  Without exception.  I may have done an exceptional job in teaching my children to say "Thank you" but if I haven't instilled this truth, that our good God is the provider of all good things, I have failed miserably.  It is to Him that our thankfulness belongs.  It is an act of worship.

 Now I think I did a reasonably good job teaching my children this truth, however, I know in my everyday life I sometimes forget. I know for sure when things don't seem to be going the way I want them to go I forget the simple truth that God is good.  That may be why James precedes his pronouncement of all good things coming from God with the precursor "Do not be deceived."  Our minds so readily run to ourselves instead of to God.  So easily.  In the context of these verses we see something that may be somewhat shocking to our comfort driven Western minds.  Good things won't always look good to us!!  These verses conclude the section that James starts with "consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials..."  Consider.  The Greek word means "lead the way."  In other words, head into suffering with joy.  And not just any joy.  The word "all" here is the exact same Greek word, pas, we saw translated "every."  To lead the way with joy, indeed non-exclusionary and overflowing joy, into our trials changes things a bit.  Wouldn't you say?

When we learn to be thankful even in dour circumstances it changes us.  I suffered from depression for a number of years.  The thing that helped me to start to turn that around was thankfulness.  I received a signed copy of Nancy Leigh DeMoss's book Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy as a Christmas gift from my sister-in-law along with an encouraging "I hope you find this book helpful."  She clearly saw what probably many saw; I was stuck in thanklessness.  Either that or God caused Nancy DeMoss to write just the right book at the right time for me.  That would be just like my dear heavenly Daddy!  As I started pouring through that book God showed me His way of joy - through being thankful.  My mind started to change as I practiced looking for things to be thankful for. They abound when you make the effort to look!!!  I became less focused on myself and everything that I perceived I lacked and became more focused on God and what He had already provided for me.  It was genuine change wrought by God's Spirit working through my efforts to change perspectives.  And change they did!  I no longer had to struggle to get up in the morning.  There were things and people and circumstances to be thankful for.  I began to see God differently as well.  I could really see Him as the Father of lights who gives every perfect gift.  Thankfulness opened my heart to be able to receive even greater gifts from God.  But that's a story for a different time!

It starts with a simple "Thank you."  Get specific with your thanks.  Take in a big gulp of crisp air and say "Thanks for the air You give me to breathe, God."  Simple, but specific.  Watch for graces in every avenue of life.  And be thankful.  It takes practice.  I am better at it some days than others.  This hasn't turned me into a sickeningly syrupy ball of cheerfulness who annoys everyone else because I only see through rose colored glasses.  I don't think I've ever worn rose colored glasses!  My husband, Alan will tell you that.  I feel as though it's given me the ability to impart the aroma of Christ however.  

               But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal 

               procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge 

              of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among 

              those who are being saved and among those who are perishing...

                                                                                    2 Corinthians 2:14-15

Trust me, when you can be the aroma of Christ to the lost and the hurting and when God gets the glory for it, there is absolutely nothing better anywhere!  Let it begin with thanfulness.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!!

Redeeming the S Word...

For many, if not most women, submission is a dirty word.  Just mention the word in a room full of women and you're liable to get bristling and glares.  I get that.  I used to be one of those women.  But that's because submission might be one of the most maligned concepts in American culture, even or perhaps, especially in the church.  Mention that "dirty" S word and images of a woman on the floor as a doormat being stepped on by her husband is likely to cross the minds of men and women alike.  In it's dirty context submission steals value from women.  However, a proper understanding of submission doesn't decrease value to anyone but rather elevates value to everyone.

I have been going through a study of 1 Peter with a number of women from my church. We recently came to the middle section of the letter where Peter addresses the elect exiles with this topic of submission.  It is the largest chunk of Scripture that does so.  Frequently what we fail to see is the larger context for this discussion.  

Peter has opened his letter reminding his readers that they have been redeemed, saved from their sin rather than their hardships.  Indeed, in the culture of the time belief in Jesus and His saving power was a risky proposition from a worldly perspective.  In some areas of the world it still is today.  So then, how is a Christ follower to live in the face of such opposition?  Peter's answer is submission.  Seems counter-intuitive doesn't it?  If my neighbor or my employer or the government comes down hard on me because of what I believe, I am to submit as long as what's being asked of me doesn't violate God's law. "What about my rights?  This hardly seems fair," you say.  It's not.  But Jesus is more concerned with what is God honoring than what is fair.  He is our prime example of this behavior.  In 1 Peter 2:21-25 Peter paraphrases Isaiah 53 which has come to be considered a Messianic text showing the Suffering Servant.

           For you were called to this,

because Christ also suffered for you,

leaving you an example,

so that you should follow in His steps.

He did not commit sin,

and no deceit was found in His mouth;

when He was reviled,

He did not revile in return;

when He was suffering,

He did not threaten

but entrusted Himself to the One who judges justly.*

He Himself bore our sins

in His body on the tree,

so that, having died to sins,

we might live for righteousness;

you have been healed by His wounds.

For you were like sheep going astray,

but you have now returned

to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.

*emphasis is mine

No one act in all of history has been more unfair. None. Jesus is Lord Sabaoth, the God of angel armies. He could have had legions of angels at His disposal instead of enduring the cross. It was His right as the God of the heavens and the earth. Yet He chose to submit to the Father's will that many might be saved. (Matt. 26:53-54) And so Peter reminds his readers, and yes, us, that we can submit because it's an act of trust that God is about the business of making things right. We can endure unfair treatment for now because our circumstances are in the hands of the God who redeems all things, even the good that we give up for ourselves when we submit to another.

Submission screams the gospel! The writers of the New Testament closely associate submission with the word honor (Romans 12:10, Romans 13:7, 1 Timothy 6:1, 1 Peter 2:17, 1 Peter 3:7). To honor someone is to give them value, to treat them as though they outrank you, and thus the connection to submission which means to willingly arrange oneself under another. Paul addresses this attitude in Philippians 2. He is basically telling his readers to submit to one another even though he never uses the word submit. And, like Peter, Jesus is his example.

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:3-11

We submit to each other, every one of us, men and women alike, because Jesus has shown us the gospel way. His way goes against every natural inclination of our hearts. And it shouts the gospel to those needy for more of Jesus to those around us.

       

The Light is On…

Yesterday was Halloween.  It is not a holiday I have generally been enthusiastic about.  When I was a high school student (ancient history for my kids) I heard a former Wiccan priest then converted Christ follower talk about the implication of Halloween to those in the Wiccan religion.  I remember it sounding like something straight out of hell itself.  Not wanting to even remotely associate with anything evil I decided then and there not to participate in Halloween things anymore.

Yes, I was the mother who didn’t let my children get dressed up in a costume and traipse around the neighborhood asking for treats.  Instead, we were in the basement of our home, but always with the lights on our front porch off.  It was neither friendly nor neighborly.  In our attempt to keep ourselves from even the hint of evil we alienated ourselves from the people who most needed the gospel, our neighbors.  I knew people who refused to give candy out but would grudgingly buy gospel tracts to hand out instead.  No wonder the people around me considered Christians spoil sports.  I thought I was being righteous but really all I was being was selfish and stuck up.  There was nothing righteous about what I did.

My attitude toward Halloween started to change when my daughter, Kirsten, who had never been trick or treating in her life decided to give it a whirl with a couple friends when she was in college.  I chuckled at the stories she shared about the experience.  It didn’t sound evil at all.  And what she did sounded like clean fun rather than evil.  My mind began to shift.  Maybe I’d been a little too cautious with Paul’s admonition to “abstain from every form of evil.” (1 Thes. 5:22)

Before we moved to State College, PA in the fall of 2016 I began to be convicted that I needed to “be Jesus” to those with whom I came in contact.  I bought lunch for the movers that packed our house in Eau Claire, WI and then sent my husband to get sandwiches and drinks for the movers who moved everything into our new home near Bellefonte, PA.  I tried to respond hospitably to people I was coming into contact with, often for the very first time.

Then in April 2017 our pastor did a series of messages on the Art of Neighboring.  He continued the neighboring theme over the summer with a series he entitled More Than I See.  Convicting and life changing sermons, to be sure.  I became more aware of my call to be a “front yard missionary” and being perhaps the only gospel my neighbors might ever read.  I did not want to be the stodgy, old Christian woman who kept Jesus to myself.

And so when our friends Tim and Nancy Suloff told us they would not come to life group on October 31^st because they wanted to be present in their neighborhood to welcome children to their door, I moved past any misgivings still noodling around in my head and decided to be present in my neighborhood as well.  What happened?  When I turned my light on my entire neighborhood came to me.  I truly enjoyed seeing the children graciously receiving their treats, some being coached by thoughtful parents using the event as a teaching moment to encourage thankfulness but many offering big smiles with their polite “Thank you’s” all on their own.  I couldn’t stop smiling all evening.  Not only did I turn my light on, I let my son Jadon go trick or treating with some of his friends.  He came home with a big bag of candy, including a very large treat bag filled to the brim with all sorts of wonderful goodies AND a gospel tract.  It warmed my heart to know that there were others besides me, with their lights on and their hearts full of the love of Jesus, being Christ to their neighbors.

So next Halloween guess who’s going to have her light on?