God's Amazing Patience

    There are countless songs about God’s amazing grace, as well there should be for His grace is truly amazing.  I have to say that God’s patience with children is equally amazing.  Maybe it takes that holy patience before we find our way to His amazing grace.  As one who probably tests His patience regularly I am grateful for the loving patience He shows toward me.

   There is an example of His patience in scripture that blows my mind and I ask myself, “am I ever that stupid?”  Notice that I ask myself rather than God or someone else.  I don’t really want an answer.  Maybe that is a bit harsh.  Maybe I should say “am I ever that clueless?”  That sounds a little better a little less judgmental. 

   Here is the background.  In Genesis chapter 19 some bad things are about to happen.  Some angels, sent by God visited Abraham’s nephew whose name was Lot who lived in Sodom.  They asked him if he had any relatives in the city.  They warned him that if he did he had better get them out now.  This is what the angels told Lot:

Verse 13: “For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the Lord and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” 

  It was a pretty clear message. I think I would have been heading for the door.   From this message we learn a couple things.  One, that God’s patience does have a limit, and two, going past that limit is not a good thing. 

   I am very curious about that “outcry” thing.  I know that God sees all and knows all.  He is aware of every tear we shed, and I know that when Cain (Adam’s son) slew Able (Adam’s other son) God said to Cain, “What have you done?  The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.”

  When you consider all the sad desperate mournful cries that go to God’s ears no wonder He desires to hear our expressions of praise. No wonder it is dear and refreshing to Him.  I don’t know if angels were taking messages to God from Sodom or if it was the prayers of someone.  God told Abraham that he would spare the city if there were ten righteous people living there.  Evidently there were not.  So I’m not so sure about anyone praying about the evilness that was taking over.

   This outcry regarding the evilness is a mystery to me that causes me to ponder.  I don’t know how the outcry got to God, maybe nature itself speaks to God, but I know God heard the outcry and I know that God acted because of it.  I wonder if there is always an outcry that accompanies evil.  If God’s patience with those people lasted until there were not ten righteous people left that is amazing patience.

   We see His patience again in verse 16.  It says that the angels, knowing what was coming, knowing what their assignment was, physically grabbed Lot and his wife and daughters and brought them out of the city. They told Lot, “Escape for your life!  Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain.  Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.”

  Now, here comes my idea of stupidity or cluelessness.  Lot says, “Please, no, my lords!  I know that I have found favor in your sight, (let me ask a little more favor) and I know that you have shown mercy and have saved my life here,(let me beg a little more mercy) but I can’t go to the mountains, because some evil may overtake me and I might die. Let me stay in this small little town here on the plains.” (I’d rather take my chances among the fire and brimstone) Words in parenthesis and sarcasm are mine not scripture.  If an angel told me destruction was coming go to the mountain I don’t think I would be bargaining with him for more mercy, grace and patience with me. I would be finding that mountain.

  Well, more favor was shown to Lot and he was granted permission to go to the small town of Zoar and that small town was spared.

  I was amazed at Lot’s words regarding the mountains.  The angels designated it as a safe place.  Lot explains “some evil may overtake me and I might die.”  Hmmm, he was living in a place where evil was taking over, that’s why it would soon be raining brimstone.  I don’t think Lot knew what evil looked like. Maybe it was a case of political correctness slowly going to seed.  It begs the question, are we losing our ability to recognize evil?

  I wish I could ask Lot, what “evil” lurked in the mountain that was a worse evil than the evil he had been living amongst? 

   There is a chapter two to this story.  In verse 30 scripture goes on to say: Then Lot went up out of Zoar and dwelt in the mountains, and his two daughters were with him; for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar.  And he and his two daughters dwelt in a cave.

   It is not a good thing when we lose the ability to know when a thing is evil and will bring destruction.  If you want to know what is evil search out what God says is evil.  If the government says something is legal but God says it is evil we are in trouble.  God is amazingly patient but…….I don’t want to be around when it runs out.

A Picture of The Bride

     Last Sunday we discussed a woman named Milcah in our ladies Sunday school class.  She is one of those women mentioned in the Bible that we really don't recognize right off if at all. But, I thought there was a lesson to be gleaned from this obscure life.
   If you follow down through the ancestry of Shem (One of Noah's sons) you will eventually come to a guy named Serug. If you are at all like me, you may be thinking "who in their right mind would name a child Serug?" I don't think they had the same baby name books we have today.  That was a time when you were not apt to find an Aidan, or Liam or Olivia or Sophie. 
   Serug was the chosen name for that particular child. It meant something like "branch or twining". It did not mean "see rug, clean rug".  Moving along to the connection to Milcah, and there really is a connection.  Genesis 11:22-29:  
22 When Serug had lived 30 years, he became the father of Nahor. 
23 And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

24 When Nahor had lived 29 years, he became the father of Terah. 
25 And after he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

26 After Terah had lived 70 years, he became the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran. 

27 This is the account of Terah’s family line.

Terah became the father of Abram,(later called Abraham) Nahor and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. 
28 While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, in the land of his birth. 
29 Abram and Nahor both married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah; she was the daughter of Haran, the father of both Milcah and Iskah. 
   Why, you may ask, do I go back as far as Serug in this little trip down ancestry lane?  My answer: partly because I find it interesting and partly because I wanted to go from the unrecognized to the more familiar.  I apologize if It seems like a couple of generations too many.

   Milcah, our lady of discussion, was the daughter of Haran who was a brother to Abraham and Nahor (her husband). In our culture it is not customary for a man to marry his niece, (in fact it is quite creepy) but in those days it was within customs and was a way of keeping the family away from the worship of other gods.  It is also believed that genetic imperfections were not an issue like they would be today.

    Milcah came from a very influential family and had, within the religious world, some very famous relatives, but she herself was just a regular girl.  She did not have the acclaim that came to others in the family, like Abraham and Sarah.  She and her husband Nahor were not among those who traveled with Abraham to the promised land that God led him to.  They weren't there when God made promises to Abraham to bless him.  God told Abraham, "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you:  I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.  I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."  Wow!  That is huge. All the people on earth will be blessed through you. Something good is going to come thru that linage just you wait and see.  God said so.  And meanwhile, back in the homeland, Milcah goes about her "out of the limelight" life.
   Let me interrupt this story for a commercial break.  For the last six months or so, I have been giving piano lessons to my little granddaughter Ella. Tonight she is going to come to my house (along with all her relatives) to have a year end recital.  It will also mark the end of Granny as her teacher.  I learned pretty quick that she has a natural gift and leans towards playing by ear and she will need someone better equipped to guide her with this gift. I think I am more excited about tonight than she is.  I am so proud of her.  There is nothing quite like watching your child or grandchild accomplish something good. Some day I anticipate I will be in an audience, or congregation somewhere and I'll be grinning thinking...that's my Ella playing that piano.
  Okay, back to my story.  Abraham goes on with his life and eventually has the promised miracle son Isaac with Sarah in their old age.  Isaac grows up and it is now time for a wife for him.
  Abraham wants the best for his son.  He sends his servant back to the homeland to get him a wife.  The servant went and came to a well and prayed that God would help him know which was the right girl. Genesis 24:15 ;  And it happened, before he had finished speaking, that behold, Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, came out with her pitcher on her shoulder.  Well, well, well, Milcah had a lovely granddaughter.  A granddaughter who would have a very important place in the scheme of things.
   Rebekah was to become the bride of Isaac, but also this bride was to be a picture of another bride.  A picture meant to teach something that God was telling mankind.  You see God speaks to us with similitudes.  Hosea 12:10 tells us that.  He uses circumstances to make a picture to help us understand His love and His plan.
  In this picture, Abraham symbolizes God the Father.  Issac symbolizes Jesus Christ, and Rebekah (Milcah's granddaughter) symbolizes the bride of Christ which is the church.  The whole world really has been blessed (just as God said) thru the offspring of Abraham then Isaac, then Jacob, then on and on until a Savior was born who provided redemption for mankind. 
   And now God will provide Jesus, His Son with a bride. We, the church are the bride of Christ.  One day, maybe soon, like Rebekah was brought to Isaac the bride of Christ will be brought to Him.  And I have a feeling when we get to Heaven and are enjoying the wedding feast of the Lamb, there will be a little lady named Milcah going around to welcome everyone and telling the story of how her granddaughter was the picture of the Lamb's bride.  Blessings to you.

Mrs. Noah

  Last Sunday we talked about Mrs. Noah in Sunday school class.  We decided a couple of things right away. One, she didn't have it easy and two, boy did she pick the right man.  Does that mean women should keep their eyes open for a man with a good boat? Well no, not necessarily, however if you like to fish it might not be a bad idea.
  That catastrophic world wide flood that Mrs. Noah went through was a one time thing. That particular time of judgement has come and gone.  We even have rainbows to remind us that there will never be a world wide flood again. You women now need to keep your eyes open for a man who knows about the next judgement.
  No, our dear Mrs. Noah didn't have it easy.  Those rainy days cooped up in a rocking sea vessel with all those smelly animals, three daughters in law, (hopefully all like Ruth) and four possibly sea sick men.  Does it get any worse that that?  Yes, those dark rainy days were undoubtedly some of the dreariest known to man, (and women). 
  This ark which carried Mrs. Noah and her family took anywhere from a few years up to possibly seven years to build.  It was about 450 ft by 75 ft. by 45 ft. had similar proportions of a modern ocean liner, but trust me this was no Carnival cruise. After that door was closed and locked by God Almighty and the rain started falling,  I can imagine that the cries of the people on the outside could be heard by those on the inside who were powerless to do anything.  Every friend, every family member not on board, every acquaintance, every man woman and child perished.  Gloom and grief  and maybe fear, were the companions of those eight persons on the ark. There had to be a measure of comfort in knowing that they were in God's safe place because of faith in what God had said.
  There was no TV and no internet aboard the ark, no I phones and I'm guessing not even any books. They were in the ark for approximately one year.  Think how we react when it snows and we are snowbound for a few days.  Enough said.
  These people, this ark, this event, these were all very real.  But this bit of history was also a picture.  That ark was a place of safety and security from the judgement God brought upon the earth and all the inhabitants. It is a type of Christ. A picture of Jesus.  There will be another time of judgement in the future.  Jesus Christ is our ark.

Romans 3:23-24 : For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 

Romans 12:5 So we being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

II Cor. 5: 17-19:  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!  All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:  that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.  And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

Colossians 1:13-14:   For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves, In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Romans 8:1: Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:38 for I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

  One more thing I want to mention about Mrs. Noah.  We don't know her name.  In fact we don't know much of anything about her except she was there.  She did not have a long list of attributes and accomplishments that bought her passage on that ark.  It was provided in return for her faith.

  I don't have to have a list of accomplishments or a famous name. Maybe you don't either. God has provided a way for us to be in the next Ark of safety.  This passage also comes thru faith.  Faith in believing that Christ died on a cross to take the punishment for my sins. With His blood, I am clean and can enter the Ark.

  Kudos to you Mrs. Noah you are an inspiration.  Don't you just wonder how many times Noah got asked "Are we There yet?"

And God Created Them Male and Female

    God told the first couple (and no I don't mean Barack and Michelle) you must not eat of the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden.  Because if you eat of it you will surely die.  I think that implied that God did not want them to die.  He wanted them to enjoy a really good life in the garden where He walked and talked with them.
   But then the enemy came along and said, "Really? God told you that you would die?  That's ridiculous you won't die.  God just knows that you'll be like Him if you partake."  
   Well the deceiver was wrong and God was right.  They ate and they died.  On top of that, so has or or so will everyone else that has ever been born.  (Well except for Enoch and Elijah but that's another lesson.)   Maybe it is a good and wise thing to believe what God says.  He knows considerably more than we do.
   For any unbelievers out there that think Adam and Eve were fictional characters please go to Ancestry.God  (in the pages of scripture) and discover they were indeed real people who did these real things that we are talking about.  I am certain that all educated folks realize that Jesus was a real person.  What you believe about Him may vary, but he was real indeed and documentation from many sources verify this.  
   In Matthew chapter 1, scripture records the linage of Jesus' earthly parent's all the way back to Abraham. (common sense says that all those people would also have to be real.)   Most people believe that Abraham was not fictional. He has way too many decedents to have been fictional. Stay with me.   In Genesis chapter 11 scripture provides record of Abraham's linage back to Shem. (One of Noah's sons.....Yes Noah was also real) Amazing isn't it?  It would have to trace back to one of the three sons of Noah because all other humans were destroyed in a flood and surprise, surprise, it does. (Common sense says that all those people would also have to have been real, and they were.)
    Genesis chapter 5 provides record of Shem's linage back to Adam and then it stops.  Hummmmm. Interesting huh?  Just threw all that in for any unbelievers.  Now to continue.......
   Here's another thing that God has, in His wisdom, let mankind in on.  Genesis 1:27:  So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.  Truth bomb here....there are only two choices.  By God's plan and design there would be male and female, boy or girl.
  Well, along comes the deceiver (the same one from the garden) and says, "You can be whatever you want, you don't have to be a boy, or you don't have to be a girl."  Just because your DNA is that of a boy, it doesn't mean that you are really a boy. "Did God really say?......"  The deceiver says, "You can be what you want to be."  
   So, now we can flood your body with foreign hormones and do surgeries on you that give you the appearance that you are not what you are.  You are now a counterfeit, and society is foolish enough to believe that sinister voice that beckons you away from who you are.
  Maybe, just maybe that person who is confused about their gender identity has some deep rooted conflicts.  Maybe they need to sort some things out.  There could have been some deep wound inflicted by someone in their life that causes an unconscious revulsion so strong that they don't want to ever be like that person, even to the point of not wanting to be the same gender as that person. 
    Might it be possible for a child to hate a parent, or sibling, or even a stranger so much that they cannot stand to see themselves as the same gender as that person?
   Is it possible that a young boy out there might have heard his mother speak constantly about how horrid men are as he grew up.  Words of how men are all useless and stupid.   The continual message that she has no use for them.  Do you think that little boy is going to want to grow up to be a man if his mom expresses such disdain for men?  Is it possible he might start thinking he wishes he was a girl.
   And girls, who witness or endure continual abuse at the hands of a mean, angry, selfish man; might they decide in their little noggins that being the weaker sex has too much pain involved? Many things can plant seeds of confusion.
  If gender confusion can come from such things as these, we have to ask, is marching them into operating rooms to change their bodies going to fix anything?  I doubt it.  It will probably create more confusion, and drag down society in the process.
  Occasionally birth defects happen where a child might be born with both male and female organs, but this is rare and this is not what is causing society to go insane and demand that we allow children to  relinquish the gift of their God given gender.  
   This is not kindness to those confused individuals. This is abuse. This is not the thing that will bring wellness and joy into their lives.  

Is It Bigotry?

   I think there is something that the general public does not understand about this conflict concerning Christians being asked to provide service for the marriages of same sex couples.  I have heard of no Christian business owners such as retail stores, donut shops, or gas stations etc. who hesitate to sell their wares to homosexual persons.
    If you notice it is only those whose businesses provide products or service for the marriage ceremony in some way.  It requires an entering in to the occasion.  If these same business owners sold tacos or hot-dogs on the street corner these same sex couples would be sold tacos or hot-dogs.
  Let me explain why there is this difference when it comes to weddings.  In scripture the mysterious relationship between Christ our Messiah and the church is typified by the marital relationship between a man and his wife.  Men are instructed to love their wives as Christ loves the church.  Christ is the protector and provider of His "Bride".
  Revelation 21:8 says:  Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, "Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife."
  For Christians, that relationship between the Lamb (Christ) and the bride (us) is a holy thing not to be messed with.  Entering in to a marital relationship with two males or two females distorts this holy picture given in scripture.
  It is NOT bigotry.  It is ....don't mess with this holy picture that we believe God gave.  If you have an alternative lifestyle, it is your life to do with as you wish, but don't ask us to cross a boundary of our deeply held religious beliefs.  This inability to participate in same sex weddings is not about you.  Like I said it is not bigotry, it is about not offending our Bridegroom.

Worship the King

I went to the church to worship the King, but this is what I found:

No preacher preaching, nor grand choir singing, just children standing round.

On the left, some sparkly angels with sweet and nervous faces,

On the right, small shepherd boys were trudging to their places,

And in the back were wise men, with paper crowns upon their head;

And, down in front, is Mary by a little manger bed.

Oh my, look, a tiny shepherd boy has nodded off to sleep.

Giggles are heard, but grandpa steps up, to help this child keep

His place on the stage, and his part in the telling of this vital story,

Of the babe who came to bring men peace, all the way from glory.

So, from the first warbled notes of Silent night,

To the wise men’s tale of the star so bright;

From the inn with no room and a cold manger bed,

All the way thru, til the last lines were said,

The man carried that boy where the shepherd boys went,

To every place that those shepherds were sent.

And so the story was once again told, for every ear to hear,

The message proclaimed for one more time, “O men be of good cheer”.

For a Savior comes to redeem mankind,

And in the manger you will find,

A King wrapped up in swaddling clothes

We tell it now so that each man knows.

Well, That tiny boy has played his part, even sleeping sound,

For twas love that caused the dear old man to carry him around.

Twas love that caused the Christ to come and in a manger lay,

Twas love that caused that Christ to take, our every sin away.

I went to the church to worship the King and this is what I found:

No preacher preaching, nor grand choir singing, just children standing round.

Standing round a manger bed to tell the tale and sing.

And all together we joined hearts and worshiped our great King.

A Broad Spacious Place

Psalm 18

     I am going to take a break from the full and empty series.  I have something else on my mind today.  It probably stems from the mini mission trip to the prison I made last week.  A few of us from church went and did a chapel service for the inmates at Cummings prison in Southern Arkansas.  

     I have to admit I was hesitant at first to participate in this outing.  The thought of clanking doors locking behind me played with my tendency to feel a little claustrophobic at times.  I could picture myself in a panic not able to breathe making quite the fool of myself.  

    I'm not sure why I changed my mind.  Maybe the good Lord had a hand in that and I am quite sure He gave me added strength and stability to meet the challenge.

    While I was there I thought about the hurdles these men would face in putting their lives back in order.  Having a record tagging along with you can't be easy. I wondered about the shame factor. I wondered how hard it would be to get past the stigma of having been a prisoner.

      There are many things in life that can lock us into a flawed mental picture of ourselves.  Messing up, breaking laws, failing to live up to our own expectations, or someone else's expectations of us. There is an endless list of circumstances that can narrow our own view of ourselves.

    Having parents that leave us, or parents that can never be pleased no matter how hard we try. Having a spouse who walks out.  Having a child that wanders way off the beaten trail.  Making bad choices that land us in jail or rehab.  All these things have the power to shrink how we see ourselves into a person of that one circumstance.  I am a failure in this area thus I am a failure.  This person does not accept me probably no one will accept me, I'm unacceptable.  My father left me maybe everyone will leave me.  I'm not worth hanging with.

   Why have I titled this little talk Psalm 18?  Because it is filled with good stuff to counteract narrow vision.  I was doing some major struggling with father/daughter stuff and found much help and strength in this Psalm.

   I love, love, love this song written by David.  David had struggles and battles, failures and regrets, but one thing about David he was real before his God. He did not let his failures, his sin, or other people's view of him steal away his relationship with almighty God, or limit what God had planned for his life.
     God gives us our value.  In the first three verses David identifies his God as: my strength, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my shield, horn of my salvation, and my stronghold.  God was real and personal to David and David knew that He is worthy to be praised.  After the words detailing the role God played in his life, David goes on to document all the ways that God had been faithful.   Right about in the middle of all this recounting, praise and acknowledgement of God's wonderfulness is a rich nugget.

   Verse 19 says: He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.

    This may have been a military situation for David, I'm not sure what the broad place represented in Davids life, but I could tell that a broad place is a good place.

     I had put myself into a very small place.  It was a place controlled by how one person treated me. This wonderful little verse reminded me that's not all there is to me.  In reality how God sees me is the real thing.  When I became a child of God, He brought me out into a broad place.  I'm not just a "cast aside" daughter.  I'm a wife, a mother, a grandmother.  My broad place began to get broader and broader. I'm a sister, an aunt, a friend, a Sunday school teacher. The paralyzing emphasis I had been putting on one painful area of my life started to shrink. 

  With the wonderful reminder that God delights in me it became easier to put things into perspective.  The sting of rejection, the shame of mistakes, the weight of regret can cause us to not be able to see past those circumstances.  God delights in you and He has a future and a broad place for you.  Blessings.