Tag: Fear the Lord

A season of change

If you are paying attention to world events, it is easy to get discouraged. We have unparalleled division. We seem to have an inability to meet in the centre. We don’t even use the same tools and language to formulate our ideas. It can be overwhelming and even depressing.

But…

If you are also paying attention to the theological and philosophical discussions, it is incredibly encouraging. We are in a major shift. I may be wrong, but I don’t see it as similar to the shift of the prewar era of the 1930; as I’ve heard others surmise. I believe we are in a change like the Reformation. How people think is changing. How we process information is changing.

I have long thought that the internet is the impetus for this change. A new technology that is revolutionizing how we process information. But something else happened in the mid 20th century. Something easy to ignore. A discovery that seems of interest only to a few academics. The discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls.

These texts are revolutionizing the way scholars are reading the Bible. There is a correction coming. It is slowly seeping out of the halls of academia and moving into the world at large. This is where the internet will play a part. This information will spread further and faster thanks to our current technologies.

It is an exciting time to be alive. If you aren’t already paying attention, start!

Isaiah 14: 27 For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?

Who’s in charge

My kids are getting old enough to make plans. I’m no longer solely in charge of the family schedule and events. It is fun to watch them take ownership over their time and space. They are more involved in what they want to eat, how their room should look, who they play with, and other aspects of their lives. They are moving from childhood into adulthood. They are learning to control their own world.

In the past my children went where I planned, on my schedule. I, like most good parents, planned events that were age appropriate and that I thought they would enjoy. They had complete trust. They had little or no idea what each day would bring, but they trusted me to work it out. Most times they were happy with my choices.

Maybe this is what Jesus meant when he told us to be more like children. I need to wrestle with my own sense of control and give my life over to God. I need to let him schedule my life and chart my course. I should be like my own children used to be, a happy passenger. Humbly letting him lead.

It’s a struggle. But it is a worthy struggle.

Matthew 18: 2-4 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.
And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children,
you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”

Be brave

As a young woman I was exposed to the flavour of my age, through education and popular culture. While the values espoused in my home were very different, I could not avoid these great cultural influences. Much of this was communicated through education, particularly in my University English Literature classes. The view pushed was to see the past through the lens of feminism. The Bible could not be avoided in these classes as it is a perennial and important source throughout Literature. But it was represented as patriarchal and repressive. Our duty, as modern students, was to shake the shackles off and evolve!

Even when I was young I saw this as a lack of knowledge. The people voicing these opinions likely had little knowledge of the text they were abusing. They were making assumptions without full understanding.

Look at Moses, one of the great patriarchs. Proof of the dominance of men in the Judeo-Christian viewpoint. This man sent by God to free the people of Israel from bondage. And yet he doesn’t exist without brave women. Midwives who refuse to kill the male babies born to Israelite women. A brave mother who risks her life and that of her family, by hiding her male infant. Even Pharaoh’s daughter, who recognized the baby she found as a Hebrew baby and who decided to keep it against her father’s orders.

All of these individual acts set up and enable one of the greatest triumphs in the Old Testament. None of these women could have imagined what their small contribution would allow.

So today, when we are called upon to do things, great or small, remember we have no idea what God has planned. Male or female he can use us for His good.

He is righteous

We are conditioned from an early age to perform to a list of expectations. Schools use tools like curriculum and grading to help students understand how well they are doing. In our jobs we have to fulfill the job description and criteria. Often we have yearly reviews to evaluate our performance.

When I had my first child all of this was pulled away. I didn’t have any external way of evaluating my success… until I had the first visit with the health nurse. I was then introduced to all the physical and mental markers that my child should be hitting by certain ages. We even set standards for that.

Given this training, how do we cope with religion? I’m afraid we do the same thing. We set standards of morality and markers, so we can differentiate ourselves from those who don’t believe. This is a human instinct that the biblical writers warned against it. Learning we can’t earn our way to God.

The way it works in the world is that the harder you work the more likely you are to succeed. Therefor, those who are successful can be proud of their wealth and position because they have indeed earned it. This may be true – here. But the grace that God offers is unattainable, even to the most determined and perfect of humans. We can’t be proud of our own righteousness, but we need to rely on His.

It goes against the grain. If we are doing it right it should change the measure stick with which we judge ourselves and others. We should not be envious of those who have more stuff or position. We should not yearn for the ease of life and lack of trouble in our world. We should indeed embrace the path that leads us to acknowledge our own inadequacy.

It isn’t an easy task. It means changing how we see the world and how we see ourselves in it. It means trying to view things in the way God does. No small task.

Romans 4: 1-3 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according
to the flesh, discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works,
he had something to boast about—but not before God. What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

A friend of God

I have been thinking about what it means to be a friend of God. This term is used several times in the Bible. Abraham is described as a friend of God. It says Moses talked to God as a friend. And then there is Enoch who “walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.”

What would this look like now, in our day and age? Can we be a friend to God.

I was puzzling over this idea yesterday and couldn’t wrap my head around it. But this morning I understand. Why?

I was driving my husband to work, my strong, intelligent husband, who can no longer drive because of the stroke. He doesn’t have much in the way of worldly wealth or prestige. People pass him by, he is unimportant and undervalued. He is soft-spoken and reluctant to push himself forward, but his mind is always full of ideas and potential. He has the most optimistic soul. In fact, he doesn’t care what other people think, he isn’t in the game of ‘impressing.’

I have been driving him to work this week. He likes to ride his bike, more independence from the old wife. But last Friday a car turned in front of him, and he was thrown from his bike. Thankfully he is just bruised and battered. This morning he sits beside me in the car, while I’m stewing and angry about all the ‘slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.” My resentment building over all the difficulties we have faced.

He calmly says, “You know, I was thinking. It was such a good experience for me to have a paper route when I was a kid. It taught me so much.”

My jaw dropped and I felt ashamed of my own anger. This is the best man I know.

He is straightforward and honest and always hopeful. I believe this is what it means to be a friend of God.

Micah 6: 8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

God wins

“The best laid plans of mice and men can still go wrong.” A translation of the famous quote from the poet Bobby Burns. He needed a translator as he didn’t speak English, he was Scottish (I’m joking – wink wink).

I had a visit with a friend yesterday, and she expressed concern about everything going on in our world. If you are paying attention and listening to voices outside of the official televised opinions, it is not hard to feel this way. It seems like we are in the middle of Tolkien’s final battle scene. The forces of evil are being marshaled against the good. The battle is beginning and those on the side of right haven’t pulled their team together. It’s terrifying really.

But then we have the story of Esther. The simply written, beautiful story of Esther. A woman who found herself in a position of great influence, “for such a time as this.” Esther’s bravery and intelligence are of course at the heart of this story. But as you read this book it isn’t really about Esther. She is an instrument. The real conflict is between Mordecai and Haman.

Haman has all the official power. He has all the clout. A large gallows is erected at his command. His plan is ready and all he has to do is bring the pieces together. Haman is confident in his ability to see his plan through. He plans the demise of Mordecai and all his relatives. But he is unaware of all the connections behind the scenes. He doesn’t realize Esther’s connection to Mordecai.

No human has access to all knowledge. No one person can see all the inputs that can affect a situation. We have an illusion of control, but in reality it can slip through our fingers without warning. Haman ends up being hanged by his own gallows.

The Jewish people still celebrate this great turn of events. A constant reminder through the generations that those who go against God and his people will come to ruin.

Remember when it feels like we are up against it, there is One who does see all and know all. There is One who cares that good wins. God wins!

Esther 9: 28 These days should be remembered and observed in every generation
by every family, and in every province and in every city. And these days of Purim
should never fail to be celebrated by the Jews—nor should the memory of
these days die out among their descendants.

Finding an old acquaintance

Last week I was reminded of the great poet John Donne. My experience of his work was narrow. A few sonnets and poems covered in entry level anthologies. I remember loving his visual imagery and use of metaphors. It was a fleeting introduction. I didn’t study any of his works after that.

I moved on to study other great writers. In fact, I was so unaware that I didn’t know he had a body of sermons and meditations. I was so ignorant that I thought the phrase “for whom the bell tolls,” was a title of a Hemingway novel. That is true, but he got it from somewhere – John Donne.

I was listening to this recording on YouTube. At one point in this reading John Donne makes a comparison. Imagine you own gold or silver bullion but are not able to use it because it’s not shaped in the currency of the lands in which you are traveling. He then suggests that suffering is the same. It’s value does not get paid out in earthly currency. We start to understand its real value as we get closer to our real home.

This is such a stunning metaphor. I guess it goes back to the “storing up our treasures in heaven” idea. But with a twist. I love that our suffering isn’t pointless. This has been one of the biggest myths created by the materialist. We live, we suffer, we die. No purpose to any of it. Nature and evolution march on.

If this is true, then the suffering of man is of the greatest evil. The gazelle in the savanna dies a horrible death at the hands of the pride of lions. But, her death feeds that family and allows them to continue on, there is a purpose. Man is not afforded that if there is no afterlife, no reward for suffering.

Take some time and listen to this, it is worth the time.

John Donne ‎– Sermons And Meditations (1956) Caedmon ‎– TC 1051 – YouTube

All good things

I love the Sonata Pathetique, it is likely my favourite piece of music (hard to be definite as there are so many options).

It begins stormy and unpredictable. Sometimes moody, sometimes playful, sometime aggressive. I used to play it. I wasn’t blessed with hands large enough to play it well enough. I like to blame the small size of my hands, not my lack of practice. Most times you can’t get away with it, but with Beethoven you can. His hands must have been huge. I used to say that the greatest satisfaction in life was to play brilliant music badly. I was joking! The biggest satisfaction in life is to listen to wonderful music played brilliantly (not by me – ahem!).

And then the second movement comes. Out of the storm like a shaft of light. There is something in its wistful strains that evokes a sense of longing. Its happy, hopeful and just out of reach. In this second movement Beethoven brings me to a stop. No matter what I am doing I pause mentally and absorb the notes. It is breathtakingly beautiful.

God gave us this! All good things come from God. The work of this man’s hands only point to ultimate beauty, the beauty of God.

When we listen to great pieces of music, we connect with the ‘Father of the heavenly lights.’ That feeling you feel way down inside, that is the spirit of the divine.

James 1: 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the
Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Daniel Barenboim plays Beethoven Sonata No. 8 Op. 13 (Pathetique) – YouTube

Mother’s day

We need ideals. We need something to aim at. Of course having down-to-earth and encouraging relationships is important too, but we need something to look at, something to follow. Like a star guiding a sailor home to port. A guiding light in the dark.

Happy Mother’s Day to my own mother and to all the women who have guided me through the darkness of life. You are more precious than rubies to me.

Proverbs 31: 10-31
A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.
Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.
She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.
She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants.
She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.
She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.
In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.
When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.
She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.
She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.”
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Friday morning thoughts

I went for a walk with my husband and my dog. We drove over to the off leash park and walked along the river. The dog ran and sniffed and explored, while we walked along holding hands. Occasionally I had to loosen my husband’s grip. He is strong and sometimes he holds my hand too tight. He always apologizes and we laugh about it.

The path way is lined with people walking their dogs. Lots of smiles and hellos and “what breed is your dog?” conversations. The answer is a mutt, in case you were wondering. My mind drifts back a couple years. A young boy, a recent émigré, would come talk to Willis and me after school. He more than once asked if my dog is a mongrel. It’s such an uncommon word for Canada. This lovely little boy wanted to be a vet one day, I wonder idly if he still does.

The sun is almost hot enough to make me take my hoodie off. Spring has arrived in Calgary. My spirits are lifted. God’s sun is shining on me. This park with all the happy dog-people has been a respite from the craziness of the world we live in. I am never sorry I chose to go (well except that one time when my idiot dog started a fight with a young border collie).

Fear leaves me when I rest in God’s presence. When I slow down and let the sun touch my skin I forget to be afraid of the world around me.

Malachi 4: 2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves.