Obedience

“And He said to them, My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch…Abba! Father! All things are possible for Thee; remove this cup from Me, yet not what I will, but what Thou wilt.” (Mark 14:34, 36)

Perfect obedience was perfectly demonstrated in the Garden of Gethsemane. The Lord’s soul was grieved to the point of death, because of the death He was about to face for me, for you, for all who would believe in Him. His distress was so intense that blood vessels dilated, ruptured and mingled with his sweat. Three times He asked the Father to take the cup He was about to drink away.

As intense as His distress, was His submission. He completely lay down His will before the Father. In Hebrews10:7b, it says, “In the roll of the book it is written of Me, To do Thy will, O God.” Those six words sum up the entire foundation of the Son’s place in the Trinity, the whole focus of His work here on earth, and the complete victory that are His in His cross and resurrection.

Such total obedience demonstrates His perfect righteousness, faithfulness, holiness, power, humility, reverence, wisdom, and love. The hands that had served the bread and the wine were pierced to serve our sentence of condemnation and death. His redemption of us, who are completely corrupt, releases us from the dead and futile life we had and frees us and-by His Spirit-empowers and equips us to become as obedient as He is.

It is easy to fall into the trap of the Pharisees, and be a rule keeper. That is not the sort of obedience the Lord wants from us. It is the obedience that flows out of love for Him, the love we are commanded to give to Him in Deuteronomy 6:5, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” The more we know Him, the more we learn He has done for us, the more we see our utter lack of worth apart from Him, the more our love will grow for Him. All that comes from time spent with Him in His word, and in prayer. As in any relationship, the more we put into it, the stronger it will be and the deeper our love will grow.

It is our obedience to the Word of God that will bring blessing to our lives and to the mission we have here on the earth, that those we encounter may come to know that He is the one, true God. Our obedience demonstrates our love for Him. In the book, That the World May Know, the author says something really profound. "Living by faith is not a vague, other-worldly experience; rather, it is being faithful to God right now, in the place and time He has put us."

I wonder, in the roll of the book the Lord speaks of in Hebrews, what is written of me?

The Standard

In Proverbs there is a verse that says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end of it is death.” There is a danger we all face in looking at the wrong standards to judge ourselves, our thoughts and actions. We have such a capacity to deceive ourselves, that we always have to be on guard with the truth of God's Word.

One lovely summer afternoon, I went out to the mailbox and pulled out a huge stack of mail. There was a large manila envelope with the name of our county printed on the return address. Not good.

I opened it up to see two photos of our van running through a red light. There was also a $75 ticket. I stood there in the sunshine and thought, “Dennis ran that red light! He is always in a hurry and am I going to give him a hard time about getting a ticket. What a lead-foot!”

When my dear husband got home a few hours later, I showed him the photos and the ticket. He listened in amusement. “Honey, look at the date there,” he said, “I was out of town that day. It is you who ran the red light!”

I sat there for awhile, trying to figure out when I could have run the red light. Where was I going? What was I thinking? Then I remembered! I had been running late for a doctor’s appointment. I had my “bluetooth” on and was chatting with a friend as I drove to my appointment. Lost in our conversation, I did not pay attention to the traffic light, but instead had headed on through the intersection with the cars on either side of me. Those cars were visible in the photograph of my van.

“Den, do you realize what I did?” I asked, “I was not looking at the light. I was using the cars next to me as my cue to go.”

We have the same problem in life when we judge our behavior by those of others around us, rather than on the Word of God. We have to hold fast to the standard revealed in Scripture. We cannot compare ourselves to others, it only leads to pride, and then our own stumbling!

Think about 1 Corinthians 10:12, "Therefore let him who thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall, " and remember that the one who fell was standing only moments before!

Willingly Cooperative, or Biblical Feminism

For a while, I had the distinct privilege of discipling four women who were all new to the Christian faith. We would meet around my dining room table once a week and work our way through a book study for new Christians and then through books of the New Testament. It took a lot of preparation, and sometimes only one woman could make it, but it was such a fruitful time for all of us.

As we worked our way through the book of Ephesians, I did not expect the controversy that ensued when we got to chapter five. These wonderful ladies had taken so many precepts from Scripture and applied them to their lives with real humility. I was taken aback because I forgot about Eve’s curse.

Way back in Genesis, when mankind fell into sin, it was Eve who was deceived by the serpent. Part of her consequence, passed down through the ages to every one of her daughters, is the desire to rule her husband. You can read about it in Genesis 3. It is part of Eve’s curse, along with pain in childbirth! Basically, we women want to have our husbands follow our lead, but that is not God’s design. (Please realize, ladies, that Adam was the head of the house before the fall. Male leadership is not part of the curse, our wanting to reverse those roles is!)

Anyway, back to the women’s study of Ephesians. You would have thought I had asked them to sacrifice their first-born, these ladies were so worked up! I finally had to ask them to not get hung up on the word “submit,” but rather to focus on what the Word of God was saying about their role as a wife. After all, following God’s standards for families will bring blessing and joy into our lives. I asked them to focus just on what Ephesians 5 addressed to wives and pray about it.

The next week came, and one of the funniest ladies of our group, whose husband was not a believer, sat down in a chair at the table and threw her hands up, “You know, I know if God says something just once I need to do it, and here He says it twice…but I cannot stand the word, “submit!” So I looked up the definition and found a way of saying it I can live with, “willingly co-operate,” I cannot “submit” to my husband, but I can do “willing co-operation!” It makes me nervous, but God has been true to His word so far. I have to trust Him here, too.”

We all laughed. I could appreciate where she was coming from. It is difficult for women to submit themselves to their husbands, even kind, godly men. I am sure that is why the Lord says it here twice in the same passage. You will often see Scripture addressing people where they are weak. Look, the men are commanded to love their wives, and look how they are commanded to love us-as Christ loved the church.

Why aren’t we women commanded to love? Because that is easier for us. Our sin nature is provoked, though, when it comes to the matter of “willingly co-operating” with our husbands. Turning the final decision over to my husband when I do not agree with what he is deciding, is hard.

The Lord gives us the example of Sarah to look at as our example of what biblical submission looks like in real life. Sarah was quite a beauty, even in old age it seems! When she and husband Abraham headed to Egypt because of a famine, he wanted Sarah to say she was his sister. He was afraid he would be killed if it were known that this lovely woman was his wife, just so that Pharaoh could have her.

It appears his fears were justified, even if the way he handled them was not, because sure enough, Pharaoh’s officials thought Sarah would make a great addition to his harem, and she was taken from her husband. Now Sara could have feared that all of the promises God made to her were in jeapardy. But 1 Peter 3 tells us that she was not afraid:

“For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands;
just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear. “

How did Sarah “obey” Abraham? She agreed to say she was his sister. And she ended up in Pharaoh’s harem. She was still waiting on the promise that she and Abraham would have a son. The potential for all of her hopes to be ruined by Pharaoh’s passion and her husband’s fears was very real. But Peter tells us that we women of faith will become her children if we follow her example, without fear. How could she have been without fear? Because she trusted the Lord to keep His word to her. And you know, He did. Sarah was saved from Pharaoh and she went on to become the mother of Issac, the son that God had promised to her and Abraham.

What does this look like in our times? In modern life? Well, it means that when my husband and I have a difference of opinion about something that is not clearly addressed in Scripture, I defer to his decision. And I have learned in our twenty-something years of marriage, that even if I am right, and he is wrong, the Lord still blesses my life through my “willing-cooperation" with my husband.

By the way, my funny friend went on to become an “expert” in biblical submission. And her husband has gone from being antagonistic about her Christianity, to crediting her faith with blessing their marriage. Each time I speak with her, he seems to have softened more and more towards the Lord. She surely is seeing the promise in the first part of I Peter 3 blooming in her life,” Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.”

Biblical submission is not subjugation. It is actually our greatest strength as wives. We have so much influence over the hearts of our husbands! Look at the promise of God above and let the surety of His word propel you to either love your husband into the Kingdom, or into a closer walk with the Lord. You can be his help, or his stumbling block. Give "willing cooperation" a real try and you will be blessed with the results in your marriage!

Billy-Bob and the Septic Tank

I guess you may have an idea what I am going to relate here just from the title. For the sake of the guilty, names have been changed. We have no child named Billy-Bob, and I mean no offense to any who bear that name!

There is a verse in Numbers, chapter 32, “…be sure your sin will find you out.” This is a very helpful truth for parents. I tell my children over and over, “Look, God is on my side; He will show me what the truth is regarding this situation.” And to be sure, He always does! Sometimes the way He reveals the truth can be humorous, at least in retrospect!

For a while I had suspicions that someone was taking candy from the candy jar, high in the cupboard. I would find small pieces of silver foil on the floor. However, despite discussions and questions, I could not ascertain the culprit, though I had a pretty good idea who it was.

While laying out the table for dinner one night, I was disturbed by shouting going on in the basement. I hurried down to find that sewage was coming up through the shower drain in the basement bathroom. I gasped in disgust as filthy water began seeping through the wallboards and onto the carpet in the room beyond. I called a plumber quickly and was relieved to find someone who would come right away.

Some hours later, after digging in the dark of the backyard to find the septic tank, the plumber knocked on the door, bucket in hand, “Here’s your problem, ma’am,” he said. He held the bucket out so that I could see the contents. Inside the bucket, covered with unmentionable muck, were candy bar wrappers. Lots of candy bar wrappers.

After some discussion about the proper way to clean up the mess inside the house, and handing over a check for five hundred dollars, the plumber and his crew left. Dennis and I cleaned up together and discussed how best to deal with the culprit.

We summoned “Billy-Bob” downstairs and began the process of interrogation. Now we all struggle with sin in our lives. At that time, Billy-Bob’s struggle was with lying. From our perspective as his parents, it seemed a battle that mostly ended in early surrender. The child would look at us with an angelic expression, straight in the eye, and lie convincingly. What followed was a result of much frustration on our part in dealing with lies, and being covered with the muck we had tried to clean off of the basement floor and walls.

Dennis held the bucket of incriminating evidence out and said, “I’d like you to look at this, son.” Billy-Bob peered into the bucket his father held, “I did not eat those or flush them down the toilet and you can’t prove that I did!”

A light gleamed in Dennis’ eye as he looked at Billy-Bob,“What you don’t realize is that I have a computer program that I can use to scan one of these wrappers . It can look for fingerprints and DNA and identify both. I have your fingerprints and DNA on file, along with your brothers' and sisters'. Are you sure that you don’t want to change your story?”

Billy-Bob shook his head, “I did not do that!” His tone was indignant.

Dennis took the bucket to the home office and closed the door. Billy-Bob and I sat down to wait. Within ten minutes the door opened, and Dennis came out. He handed me a paper that looked scientifically officious enough. At the bottom of the paper it stated, “Match with DNA and fingerprints 99.5% Billy-Bob.” I peered over the top of the paper and shook my head at Billy-Bob as I handed it back to Dennis.

“Well son, this test confirms to almost 100% that you were the one who ate these candy bars. Do you want to continue to deny it?”

Billy Bob looked stunned. His eyes shifted uneasily from side to side, “Well, I wanted them and you wouldn’t let me eat them, so I had to hide in the bathroom…”

Dennis’ eyebrows raised, “Are you blaming us for this?”

“No. I stole them out of the pantry when mom was upstairs. I hid them under the bathroom sink and ate them when I went in there. I didn’t want mom to see the wrappers in the trash, so I flushed them.” Billy-Bob looked fearfully at his father, “I didn’t think you would find out.”

As Dennis and I sat down to talk with Billy-Bob, I thought of the spiritual truths revealed through this situation. We can think our sin is hidden from others, from the authorities in our lives, but nothing is hidden from God. Our lies and schemes cannot hide the truth from His eyes. He needs no “computer program” or DNA to know the truth about us. He sees even our most secret thoughts. And the most amazing, incomprehensible thing is, He loves us anyway. He doesn’t wait for us to clean up our mess, to “flush it away” with good works or intentions. He has done it for us. He died for us on the cross while we were still sinners. He reconciled us to God the Father on the basis of His great love, not our goodness.

"For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him." (Romans 5:7-9)

I'm All Out of Rope!

When we have devotions together, my children share what they have read that morning and we talk about it. We then go over the memory verses we are learning and review ones we have already learned. This involves a lot of discussion, because I want to make sure that the children understand what it is they are learning in God’s word.

One day we were talking about II Corinthians 10:5b, “…taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.” To make it easier for the younger children to understand, I explained that it was like you capture the bad thoughts you are having, tie them up in your mind and take them to Jesus in prayer. You tell Him that you know your thought is bad and you want to think of something good instead, like one of the “whatevers” from Philippians 4:8 “…whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is excellent or praiseworthy…” The kids gave me examples of bad thoughts they might have and how they could take that thought “captive” to Jesus in prayer.

A few days later, Juliana was exasperated with the amount of schoolwork she had to finish before she could play. As I sat down at the table to join the kids, she closed her eyes and sat very still. I asked what she was doing.

“Mommy, I am tyin’ up a bad thought and givin’ it to Jesus.” She kept her eyes closed a little longer, then opened them up with a smile and began working. I smiled at her, happy to see the fruit of God’s word being born out in the life of one of my children.

Well, a couple of weeks later we came home from a homeschool co-op that we belong to. Quite a few families gather together for shared classes in art, science, PE, and English. I don’t see my kids most of the time while we are there, because I am helping in other classes.

I sat down with Juliana and asked her about her day. She is the youngest and smallest child in her class and sometimes has difficulty when they have PE. There are a couple of “bigger” boys who tease her.

Juliana described learning a new game that sounded like volleyball to me, but she couldn’t remember the name. Anyway, she kept catching the ball instead of hitting it back and two of the boys on her team yelled at her when this happened. I could tell Juliana was highly offended by the boys. She seemed to have problems with them each week.

I put my hand on her little shoulder and told her that I was sorry that happened. I said that it sounded like her feelings were hurt, but that it was important to forgive and not hold hard thoughts about others.

“You know what you need to do, honey?” I asked gently.

She looked up at me with her big brown eyes flashing, “Mommy, I am all out of rope!”

I couldn’t help laughing out loud. How honest! How many times do I feel like I am “out of rope” with people who continually offend me? All of us have at least a few of those in our lives!

I love the apostle Peter. He is so eager. Often in his eagerness, he puts his foot right in his mouth. He thought he was being generous when he told the Lord that he would forgive his offensive brother seven times. Jesus’ reply is not really a mathematical exercise, but a principle to learn.

“ Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” (Matthew 18:22)

The “seventy times seven” isn’t an amount to shoot for in forgiving others. The principle is that we are to forgive. Period.

It is easy to say. It is not always easy to do. How are we to forgive those who hurt us deeply? How about those who have committed grave sins against us? Those who have betrayed us? Harmed us physically or emotionally? How about parents that did not fulfill their obligations to us? Spouses that have deserted us? Children who have turned against us, rejecting the faith we have tried to share with them?

How do we forgive when it is hard? The only thing I can do is share what has worked for me. I try to take the Bible’s response to interpersonal sin. I go to the one who has offended me. Sometimes they are sorry and ask for forgiveness. And sometimes they don’t. But as a believer in Jesus Christ I am required to forgive my enemies…how much more my family members and friends?

I take the offense, the hurt, and the anger before the throne of my heavenly Father. I recognize that vengeance is His. I admit that I personally have offended Him, much more than the person I am discussing with Him. It sounds easy, but it is much more than words that you have to bring before the throne. You have to bring humility.

Sometimes I will list the ways I have rebelled against the Lord, in order to kill my own pridefulness and become soft in my heart. I tell the Lord that I chose to forgive and then remind myself that it is a choice not based on my feelings, but my will. Think about this command from the fourth chapter of Ephesians and ask the Lord to help you forgive others in the same way He has forgiven you:

“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”

Paradise Lost

“And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.” Genesis 2:19

Paradise lost. What this world must have been like before the Fall! I love how Genesis says that the Lord formed the creatures and brought them to the man to see what he would call them!

When I make something for Dennis to eat, or give him a special present, I love to look at his face to see his enjoyment. It gives me pleasure to see his surprise or delight. I imagine the Lord waiting expectantly to see Adam’s expression as he viewed God’s handiwork.

I wonder what exactly we lost in the fall regarding our relationship with animals? Adam was given the privilege of naming them, just as we have the privilege of naming our children. He and Eve tended the Garden, surely that included the animals he had named.

Perhaps some sort of communication was possible, because Eve did not seem frightened when the serpent spoke to her; she engaged it in conversation. That conversation opened the door of temptation, and our ancestors walked right through it, sinning against the Lord for the first time. I wonder if the relief that God covered their nakedness was met with horror, as the skin from an animal they had tended in the Garden was wrapped around them? Surely they must have regretted that all of creation shared in the curse of their sin.

It seems clear that from Adam until Noah, men were vegetarians. After the flood, animals began to fear man, because mankind was given permission to eat anything that moves (Genesis 9:1-4). So our relationship with animals changed again.

While we were on a walk one day last week, we heard a bleating sound. Kerry followed it through the muck in a boggy wood and discovered a fawn. It was so small; it couldn’t be more than a day old. The doe stood a ways off, watching us. The children carefully made their way through the wood to see the newborn.

It was so amazing for the children to see this fawn and pet it! It occurred to me as we walked home, that Adam and Eve might have been the “midwives” for many creatures. How awesome it must have been to dwell in the Garden with all of the animals, and walk with the Lord!

Surely we have a small taste of the fellowship we might have had with all living creatures in the pets we have now. And how wonderful that God promises believers a future where all that was lost to mankind will be restored, including the wonderful animals He created!

"The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them.
The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest.
They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. "(Isaiah 11:6-9)

Life is Messy, or Blowing Chunks and Soggy Carpets

One of the things I have come to expect in life is that when my husband travels on business, something always goes wrong at home. Children get injured, or sick, cars break down, plumbing ruptures, computers crash…I anticipate difficulties while he is away. Take this excerpt from my journal a few years ago:

“Today Dennis left on an eight- day trip to the United Kingdom. Both of our air conditioners are leaking water. Water is leaking from the attic into the ceiling upstairs and from the basement through the adjoining wall onto the carpeted floor. The repairman cannot come until tomorrow morning so we have been using the shop-vac to keep things under control.

An hour before Dennis left, Colin came down with a high fever. An hour after he left, Juliana graphically illustrated the term, “blowing chunks” for the family, as she hurled spinach soufflé and bagel bits onto the kitchen wall and floor. The bright green showed up well against the tan wall. She has a fever now, too. They are falling like flies.”

These things happen when Dennis is at home, too, but they are easier to deal with when he is here to help. The Bible says that two are better than one, for when one falls there is someone to help them up:

“Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor.
For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.
Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone?
And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart. “ Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Notice what the Bible is saying here. A companion increases the return we get from our efforts, helps us when we fall, brings warmth to our life, and provides essential help when we are under attack. I love that last bit about the three strands, because I believe it is pointing us back to the Lord-He is the third strand in that relationship!

It may be that you are single, but that does not mean you have to walk through this life alone. The truths expressed in Ecclesiastes here hold true for all healthy Christian friendships and relationships. The fellowship of friends is essential in living the Christian life successfully. There is no question about it; in this life you will face trials and adversity. You will face temptations. A good friend will stick closer than a brother and walk with you, helping you carry your burden when necessary. Look at the Lord’s commandment concerning how His followers are to relate to one another:

This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.
"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.
"You are My friends if you do what I command you. (John 15:12-14)

If we see something in Scripture, we know it is the Lord’s will and we can ask Him with confidence to provide that thing for us. So, if you have such a friend, thank the Lord, and if you don’t, ask Him for one!