One Spoken Sentence

One Spoken Sentence

The word universe means one spoken sentence. “And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light. (Genesis 1:3)

The one, true, perfect God of the universe created man in His image(Genesis 1:27), but lacking His ultimate power. In place of that, He totally provides all that is necessary for life to His creation. To man, He gives free-will and, originally, only one rule - “but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it, you will surely die.” (Genesis 2:17) How did He impart this rule? He told them. He communicated with them. They knew each other.

Even though physical death became part of human destiny, Adam and Eve managed to produce a multitude of offspring. Unfortunately, only a noted few walked with God as their ancestors did. “Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence.” (Genesis 6:11) Fewer and fewer people chose God out of their own free-will. He floods the earth, but spares Noah and his descendants.

A later, noteworthy deliverance involves those who continued to acknowledge the creator God, the Israelites. The masses got to ride the coat-tails of the ones who continued to seek Him. Moses pressed into God's explicit directions and led an entire people group out of slavery. In their Exodus, they are utterly dependent on his mercy and provision. He has to get more specific with his rules. Now, there are ten. The very first commandment (Exodus 20:1-3) is prefaced with “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.” Just a reminder of the most important thing. The other nine commandments are for protection and so that life may be well. The need for these “rules” points to our inclination toward using free-will for selfishness instead of for worship, relationship, or obedience.

At this point, the people have rules, and eventually need rules to follow when they break the rules, in order to reconcile with God. He responds to an established sacrifice system in order to commune with His people. It is costly, but He is Holy. The Temple,the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, Feasts, Festivals, altars, garments, animal sacrifices, offerings, I could go on...and it would still pale in comparison to perfect righteousness. He knows.

As time moves on, the system becomes the focus instead of God. It becomes a ritual of tradition. Actions motivated by the mind instead of by the heart. The very people who claim the Creator of Heaven and Earth as their master, adopt outside cultural icons and pagan practices into their religion. Clamoring for a king within their ranks instead of worshiping the King of the Universe.

Still, there exists a continuous voice. Prophets who can hear from God. “Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, 'Now I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.'” (Jeremiah 1:9) They remind the people who God is, what He can do, and that He is capable of wrath and/or compassion. “For I am the Lord your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you; Do not fear; I will help you.”(Isaiah 41:3)

Isaiah foreshadowed a new plan of reconciliation. The Messiah. The once and for all sacrificial lamb. He would be “despised and rejected by men” (Isaiah53:3) Interesting. He would be “pierced for our transgressions”.(Isaiah 53:5) Ouch. Jesus is recognized and embraced by the weary and those burdened by the law. He is scorned and renounced by the power-hungry religious elite who are unwilling to, ironically, acknowledge the will of God.

John told everyone he could. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”(1:14) “I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God.”(1:34)

Who else could endure the cross? He did so without sinning, and even forgiving those who betrayed him, insulted him, spit on him and brutally nailed him to it. Appointed kings, anointed prophets, nor anyone in the old testament ever came close. This is the difference between being made in the image or being the son of God. They didn't have “what it takes”. God-power!

Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice. The old system is dead. He is the “tree of life” (Genesis 3:22), so to speak, and your choice dictates your eternity. Even your ability to choose is God-given. He is worthy, mighty, holy, awesome, and He loves us all. (2 Peter 3:9) Believe it!

The Gift

     Recently, my six year-old daughter has been really mischievous. Honestly, I feel like she is gas-lighting me. (Driving me to the brink of insanity.) Her latest incident involved using half of a brand-new bottle of bubble bath on one Barbie's hair. The highly perfumed lilac scent gave her away. The whole house was getting a buzz from the strong smell wafting out of the basement play area.

     She came to me complaining of feeling dizzy. She's blonde, you know. I'll leave it at that. (ha ha) Here comes the shame on me part---I was mad. Extremely upset. Probably a cumulative effect of the kitty litter fiasco from the previous day, plus all the other make-up, sharpie marker, and finger nail polish debacles. Furious, I tell you.

    Was I really that angry about wasted bubble bath? What is wrong with me?
Fast forward---today I was bathing the youngest two girls using some of the remaining bubble bath. A 1yr. old and a 4yr. old can really enjoy a tub full of toys and suds. That made me happy.

     I recalled one Christmas or birthday present that I received from my friend, Crystal, while we were in elementary school. It was a "six pack" of bubble bath. They looked like soda bottles in a cardboard carton with a handle. Three of them were pink and three of them were blue. I remember how much I loved getting that gift! To me, it was a very generous gift. I was not expecting to get anything which made it even more special and memorable. What little girl wouldn't appreciate that perfect gift?!? Merely recalling the whole thing still brings me joy!

     As I wax introspective for a moment---I am going to say this is one of those profound things of life that help shape our personality. Because my friend's generosity brought me such joy, I was inspired to try to bring others joy through giving.

     Now, my analytical side comes into play. I am going to go on and on about bubble bath for a moment. I would like to say that I enjoyed many wonderful bubble-filled baths during my childhood, but I didn't. I hoarded that stuff. It was "special" and "wonderful". I only took regular baths because they were just regular days, not special days. Also, if I really peel away the layers of this tail, I would have said the gift was probably meant for a special and wonderful person, but I was neither of those.

     When I moved out of my childhood home, I found them covered with dust in the top of my closet. Five of them unopened. I felt a pang of regret. That was wasted bubble bath.

     This may be one of the reasons my girls get so many bubble baths! Yes, it is frivolous. Yes, it is a luxury, but I want them to know they are special and wonderful. In this way, the kindness of a simple elementary school gift has inadvertently made a positive impact on the next generation!

      I always feel like everything has to do with everything else, so I try to figure things out---especially God. Why would God do things this way or that? How is this making any sense?

     There is a passage of scripture that tells about a woman who broke a jar of expensive perfume open and anointed Jesus' feet. The disciples were upset because it seemed to be wasteful. Jesus silenced their objections by basically saying---this is between her and I. That perfume pouring out was extravagant. She wanted Jesus to know He was worth that to her. Of course He is.

     He wants us to know what we are worth to Him, as well. No more animal sacrifices or burnt offerings on the altar, no need to wait in the outskirts of the temple, or even talk to some priest. Jesus communicated to us that we are loved so much He would die for us .His blood extravagantly pouring out on display for all to see. "Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." (John 15:13 NIV)
     I had a hard time accepting that I was worthy of bubble bath, let alone someone willing to die for me. It's not about our perception of ourselves, though.
     Gifts are freely given, undeserved, ---from the heart, with love, to make us feel special and wonderful. Check out John 3:16, it's amazing!

    

The Door

  I had a really interesting dream last night...I'm not sure I can properly articulate it through words, but I will give it a whirl.  Even as I think about it right now, it doesn't make for a good story.  I can only say that it really made sense when I woke up.

  In my dream, I was really concerned about the journey your soul takes when you die, and why it is important to believe in God, and more specifically, Jesus.  I wasn't dead, I was just along for the ride.  (well, you know how dreams are, I'm not sure if I was dead or not) Anyway, I was living life minding my own business, and then I knew I was on the track that takes you where you are supposed to go when you die. Ahead of me I saw a door, and off another direction was another door. The path to my door was like a glowing line.  There was no path to the other door, it was just out there, like if you weren't following the line, you would just end up there. The other door was plain, with no windows, and I knew that it went into a dark room and that was it.

  The door that was in front of me looked very plain, also, except it had windows.  I have seen doors like it before...lots of houses have doors like this...it looked like woodgrain with three rectangular windows near the top set at an angle and one right on top of the other.  I could see light behind that door because of the windows, and although I didn't get to open the door, I knew it wasn't a finite room.  I knew that if I opened that door and crossed the threshold I would be whooshed up into the atmosphere... there would be other people I knew there and that didn't cause me any fear whatsoever. I woke up at this point.

See, short dream, not much story.

  The take-away, I guess, is that believers pass from life through death into eternal life.  This can actually be found in the gospel of John... John 5:24
 “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life."

 And non-believers pass from life to death...

So my contemplation begins...I know people who just absolutely do not believe in the Supernatural aspect of God or Jesus.  Yes, I talk to them, they are funny, nice, intelligent, generally have a good sense of humor, posess good character traits, and perhaps some bad character traits (nose-pickers ha!).  I am not ashamed of the Gospel, but I personally don't think jamming Jesus up in someone's face is the best form of evangelism. It tends to tick people off.
 Still, I continue to ponder, why exactly, do I think everyone needs Jesus?  Well, I only know why I need Him, and I only found that out through my own personal ups, downs, ins and outs...and I can't really explain it other than to say I had a supernatural encounter with the Almighty.  I do my best to live out these tenets of my faith: Love the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind and strength, and Love my neighbor as myself.  This is not as easy as it sounds, and sometimes I fall short, that is when I need Him the most.  During my personal encounter with God...I asked why I was experiencing such pain and heartache, since by most standards I was a "good person." He answered me in a similar way as in my dream... like he just put the understanding in my head, without having to hear it spoken or see it written. The invitation to commune with God is for all..."Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." Matthew 7:7-8
 

 

The Tithe Story

Top Ten Percent

                I was asked to write about my favorite tithing story…no problem, it is fresh in my memory.  When I sat down to write this recollection, however, I felt like some explanation of a tithe needed to come first.  A simple definition: ten percent of your income earmarked for the church.  More than that, though, it is a test of our obedience and faith, as well as an opportunity to join in the work God is doing and being blessed by what can happen when we allow our little droplet of money to jump into the pool of resources destined for bigger impact.

                A general memory of tithing dates back to childhood, hearing and seeing my parents (both of them worked) getting their tithe together, writing a check and sticking it in the envelope for the offering plate.  No grumbling, no worries, it was a given.

 Before my husband was “saved” (another story for another time) our church attendance was sporadic and I’m pretty sure George would not have known or cared about the “ten percent” thing.  We were definitely living paycheck to paycheck, and easily blowing ten percent on non-essential junk.

                After 2002, however, lots of things changed around here.  The man who previously wouldn’t care to read any book dove head first into the Holy Bible and …Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover.  This combination of reference materials meant tithing was now a part of our family’s existence.  It wasn’t an optional, casual thing.    It was very important to him to tithe because his newly found faith in Christ was changing things for the better, and God seemed to be pouring out the grace.

                Here’s the story part:  We planned a trip to Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park one weekend.  We rented a cabin for 2 nights which meant we wouldn’t be at church to drop off our tithe.  George realized this when we were in Henderson gassing up the vehicle, so he insisted that we put the tithe check in the mail before we go any further.  Of course, I reasoned that we could just write a check for 2 weeks next time and call it a day.  He said that wouldn’t represent first fruits if we spent money on lots of other things, and even received money again before giving to the church.  He said that God would know his heart on the matter and to just mail it regardless of all the logistics like when the church would get it, when they would cash it, etc. So, I mailed it...there was a big mailbox nearby.

                Our cabin at the park was one of several others that were occupied by an apparent family reunion…we were the only ones on this particular stretch that “didn’t belong.” Slightly awkward, but we just went about our fun on the paddleboats, at the pool, walking around the lake.  The second day we were there, a water pipe to all of our cabins broke, and we were without water.  That was unfortunate, but they said they were working on it and it didn’t bother us as we were going to Eddyville to play at Venture River Water Park that day anyway. We ate a wonderful supper at the lodge and returned to find that we still didn’t have water, so we took a chlorine bath at the Lodge Pool.  That evening…if I have my timeline correct, they managed to get the water going again, but only to our cabin, debris was clogging the line to all the others.  The reunion group was very unhappy and said they were leaving, but before they left, they gave us quite a bit of their food, since many wouldn’t be there to cook it or eat it.  People from that group kept bringing us food they didn’t want to have to take with them, one person after another brought sweet corn, bread, juice, eggs, cheese, ice cream all kinds of stuff.   It was actually much more than our family could eat.  This reminded George of the verse in Malachi where he says something like…see if I will not throw open the floodgates and pour out so much blessing that there will not be enough room for it.  What a blessing indeed!  When we went to check out, the desk clerk apologized for our inconvenience and gave us a percentage off discount, which was another blessing.

                We call this our tithe story because everything was just so obvious that it couldn’t be mistaken for anything other than a lesson from God.