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You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
– Matthew 5:13
Imagine a world without salt.
An elderly man sat in the doctor’s office, scrunched into the little room with the formidable exam table, equipment, the doctor, and two doting family members. The doctor studied the computer screen for a moment and then asked him how much salt he ate with his meals.
“Too much,” replied one of the family members.
“But eating salt is Scriptural,” he protested.
Yes. Amen. I believe.
Try, if you can, to imagine a world without salt. It would be a sad, sad place. It’s hard to conceive of a movie without buttery, salty popcorn turning your fingers gold and puckering your mouth until you must buy that large pop for $29.95. Do you really want to exist in a backyard barbecue without sour cream and cheddar potato chips? Without salt, life would be so, well…
Tasteless.
Although in modern countries salt is plentiful, in ancient times, it was so valuable it was used as money. While too much of it can be detrimental, salt does have some redeeming qualities:
*It has antiseptic properties.
*It is necessary for life.
*It is a preservative.
*It makes us thirsty.
*It enhances the flavor of food.
It’s not hard to see why Jesus called His people the salt of the earth. It’s His plan for us to exhibit these same qualities. We’re called to be a cleansing, preserving force in the world. We’re supposed to provide what’s necessary for life to those who are dying. We should make others thirsty for the living water. We have the power to share our joy in the journey.
Pure salt can’t lose its flavor. Only salt that’s contaminated is tasteless. Jesus said salt in that state was useless to Him, fit only to be tossed out onto the footpaths.
Church, it’s time to seize the flavor. Toss out the fillers. Go to the source and get pure again. Be strong. Be purifying, preserving, cleansing, life-giving, and joyful. Let’s quit being tasteless.
Make ‘em thirsty.
Slightly Obsessed #102: Seize the Flavor, Church
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Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
– Romans 14:4
They are legion.
Opinions on every imaginable subject multiply daily in the primal soup we call the Internet. Cloaked in the mantle of free speech and safely walled off from real life, WHAT I THINK emerges from the muck of an uninhibited stream of consciousness. It is crowned in the soft glow of the computer screen, and it feeds the narcissism running rampant through our society.
The ability to hurt or encourage others with our words is a powerful feeling. This is never more evident than on social media sites. It’s fun to post things that make us laugh or stir our spirits. It’s great to reconnect with old friends and make new ones.
But why do we think the world needs our opinions? Why is it okay to make loud and rude comments online that we would never make to a person’s face? Here, it seems, anonymity emboldens us and breeds a strange contempt for others.
The coveted “Like” button has grown from the benevolent click of agreement into a scepter bestowing approval or sentencing a post to an obscure death. We can show our distain for someone simply by withholding that precious moment of validation.
Conversely, we can’t help but check throughout a day to see if anyone noticed our post and if the right people thought it was okay. We subconsciously gauge our sense of self-worth and even our relationships by our status on social media.
If we’re honest, it boils down to one word: control. We “like” control. We don’t like feeling vulnerable or as if we’re being instructed. We instinctively compare ourselves to others and sometimes feel the dirty, secret need to see successful people fall flat on their faces.
We expect this stuff in the world. How it must hurt God’s heart to see Christians acting this way.
As with all our other social interactions, our online speech should be covered in grace. Our words should bring life to others. God works best through us when we follow in the steps of Christ, who was “full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14). Truth is centered in God’s Word. Grace is the outflow of His unconditional favor to an undeserving heart.
God doesn’t need us to straighten people out.
He wants our obedience to His Word, measured out with heaping servings of a generous spirit.
When you fire up your computer today, breathe a prayer for those you will meet. Be discerning. Be kind. Be full of grace and truth.
Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.
– Colossians 4:6
Slightly Obsessed #101: God Doesn’t Need Our Opinions
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For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.
– 2 Timothy 4:6-8
I awakened with a heart fill of complaints tucked away in the back pocket of my attitude.
My body groaned as I rolled out of bed. I stretched, trying to unkink my muscles for the long day ahead of me.
I padded downstairs in my polar bear robe, put on the coffee, and took the dog out for her morning walk. There was still a chill in the air, but spring was trying to shame winter into hiding behind a stone-gray sky. Bits of green grass erupted beneath the dead weeds on the hillside, shading it in a day-old leprechaun beard.
Back inside, with my bowl of cereal in one hand and a cup of fresh coffee in the other, I slouched into my office and fired up the computer. I plopped into my ergonomically designed, padded chair and sighed.
Some days were so tough.
I totally planned on feeling sorry for myself that day. But when I opened the day’s news, one image before my eyes blasted my pity party to dust.
On the shore before a dull gray sea knelt twenty-one men in the white sand, dressed in orange jumpsuits, hands bound.
Behind each prisoner stood a terrorist swathed in black and armed with a knife. The prisoners were singled out for execution for just one reason: They wore the name of Christ.
I stared, transfixed, at the picture. I studied their faces. What goes through a man’s mind when he is about to give up his life? A few stared stoically ahead. Others hung their heads in resignation. Perhaps they filled their eyes with the last images of life on earth. Surely they grieved for their loved ones and the heartache of leaving them alone in such a cruel land. They must have been praying for strength, for it to be over quickly.
According to news reports, the men were ordered to lie down. Simultaneously, twenty-one martyrs for the Lord Jesus Christ were beheaded for their faith. The earth received their offering as their blood poured out into the pristine sand beneath them.
I sat in my chair with my lukewarm coffee and my tears, ashamed of my own poor attitude. These men and their families had given everything for Christ. From the moment I had awakened, I had only given Him complaints and an ungrateful heart. Their lifeblood was their offering to God.
What could I, the petty one, give a King who inspires such devotion?
Praise for another day of life and safety would be a good start. Seeing others face death with such courage, I could try living with joy. I could offer thanks for the gifts of eyes to see my world, feet to walk through leprechaun grass, and the good health to enjoy it all.
Most of all, I could give my life as a sacrifice to the worthy One. Like those before me, I could reach for the crown of righteousness, dying to sin and watching always for His coming.
I could live to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. By the grace of God, I will.
Slightly Obsessed #100: When Perspective Shatters Our Pettiness
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You have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’
– Romans 8:15
The child in the old black-and-white print can’t be more than several months old.
Wisps of blonde hair frame a cherubic face. Her wide, toothless grin lights up the room. She is perched on someone’s lap, her fat little hands clutched around the tanned, large fingers steadying her. Her eyes, focused adoringly on the face beyond the camera, say it all:
My Daddy.
For more than sixty years, those same hands never let her go. They steadied her as she took her first steps, propelled her down the country lane on her first bike, and released her to her groom. Her daddy stayed up evenings helping her with her homework, and he stayed up nights watching until she made it home safely. He took on any errant teacher, bus driver, or bully that dared to hurt his little girl.
He cried the day he walked her down the aisle. He proudly pronounced each new grandchild the perfect addition. Over the decades he abundantly lavished his prayers, finances, and time on his beloved family. He cheered every victory and grieved over every heartache as if it were his own.
Besides my husband, this man has been my refuge, one who makes me feel safe and cherished. I still run to him when I’ve fallen and skinned my soul.
The little girl is now old and gray.
But my earthly daddy is still here, teaching me the meaning of true fatherhood.
Bible scholar John MacArthur wrote that Abba, the informal Aramaic term for Father, denoted a sense of tender dependence and safety, like the English word Daddy.
Glenn T. Stanton of Focus on the Family recently challenged the association of the term Abba with “Daddy.”* But his objection appears to be with the nuances attached to the word “Daddy,” rather than its description of a loving relationship with our heavenly Father.
When a child sees her father, she doesn’t agonize over the subtleties of his name. She recognizes the face of someone who loves her. She rejoices in who he is. In arguing the linguistic origins of the word Abba, we may strain out the gnat only to swallow the camel. In our haste to ensure we haven’t muddied the name of the Father, we may relegate a beautiful English word picture to a shallow grave out of fear of being irreverent.
Our Father in heaven loves us. He loves who we are, just as we are.
Every pure action we attribute to our earthly fathers has its origin in Him. Whether we call Him “Father” or “Daddy,” we owe Him our complete respect and absolute adoration.
I don’t call my dad “Daddy” anymore. But when I’m with him, I still see the same unconditional love that captured my heart as a child. In the same way, my love for God has grown and matured through the years. But He’s still Abba, Father.
My Daddy.
*http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/factchecker-does-abba-mean-daddy
Slightly Obsessed #099: A Daddy’s Love
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The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him,
And rescues them.
– Psalm 34:7
The images were surreal, as if replayed from a Hollywood movie.
But the mayhem, blood, and horror were very real as a French SWAT team stormed a Parisian shop and freed the hostages taken by a terror group affiliated with Al Qaeda. News outlets repeatedly replayed the video of people bolting to safety under the watchful eyes of the police.
There are so many things to fear in our world.
Many of us fear death, or at least the suffering that precedes it. Most of us are afraid of something. But God has commanded us to live fearlessly. How is that possible when we are trapped in seemingly hopeless situations?
In all things, we are promised God will give us a path to victory. Below are five powerful ways to fight back fear when it lurks at our doors:
Believe in His Word.
Platitudes and positive thinking won’t rescue us from danger. We need to know He will do what He says. Key to this is to read His Word and make it a vital part of our being, so when we get into trouble, His promises are already stored up in our hearts for easy access.
Trust in His power.
It’s not up to us to solve every problem. Success does not depend upon us, nor do God-sized burdens belong on our shoulders. Our job is to do what we can and actively practice God’s words to “Cease striving and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10) when darkness threatens to overtake us.
Understand how much He loves you.
That’s probably impossible on this side of heaven, but it helps to contemplate the great sacrifice Jesus Christ made for us. The Bible says God counts every hair on our heads (Luke 12:7) and He saves up all our tears (Psalm 56:8). His thoughts toward us are more numerous than the grains of sand (Psalm 139:18). That’s limitless love.
Know what to fear.
Repeatedly in the Bible we are encouraged to fear only God. We are to acknowledge His greatness and give Him the reverence He deserves. Nothing is greater than Him. Nothing.
Practice His presence continually.
Because He lives in every believer, there is no one closer to us than God. He already knows all our fears, doubts, and mistakes, and still—amazingly—He stays with us. It’s okay to open up to Him and enjoy the constant fellowship available to us. He wants to comfort and guide us through our tragedies and joys. Why would we choose to suffer alone, when our Father is here to walk with us?
Fear is a powerful emotion. It takes courage to pull away from its clutches and watch the skies instead for the Comforter, the Deliverer, the One who can calm our raging souls with a single command:
Peace, be still.
– Mark 4:39
Slightly Obsessed #098: Five Ways to Fight Fear
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I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.
For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
– 2 Timothy 4:1-5
He sits on an old sofa, his gun nestled against his arm. He is pale and sweating.
He doesn’t look like other terrorists we see on t.v., although he dresses like them and sports a beard. In this video, recorded before his death by suicide bombing, he rambles for the camera. One moment, he delivers a fiery threat to the west. The next moment, he preaches a recruitment message. Behind the bravado is a man struggling with fear as he tries to convince himself that his sacrifice is a righteous one.
His face fills with dread. Sadness. Hate. He speaks an awkward mix of English and Arabic, mirroring his misery as an American Muslim growing up in middle-class America.
His mother is American. His father is Palestinian. He grew up in Florida, earned a high school degree and attended college in the States before dropping out and traveling to Syria.
There, on May 22, 2014, Moner Mohammad Abusalha, the man who grew up in two worlds, became the first American suicide bomber in Syria. He was 22.
Before he died, he spoke about life in his native America:
“I was never happy. I as always sad and depressed…I had to walk from work home. I begged Allah, I cried, ‘Allah, get me out of this land.’ All you do is work forty, fifty, sixty hours a week. And then you go waste it on garbage. This is what you do your whole life.”
Abusalha lost his own life and committed a heinous act of murder in his quest for fulfillment. His story is our solemn reminder of an empty generation around us. Earning money and buying things doesn’t satisfy them. They don’t know why. It’s up to us to tell them that they are made for more. There is something to live for.
If you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you know this.
And if we let fear, complacency, personal bias, or political correctness keep us from sharing the truth with others, they are lost and we are responsible.
We may never know if anyone gave Moner Mohammad Abusalha a chance to find salvation and something for which to live.
I hope someone tried.
Slightly Obsessed #097: Who Will Tell Them?
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Loneliness is about the scariest thing out there.
– Joss Whedon
Jesus said to the twelve, ‘You do not want to go away also, do you?’
– John 6:67
I sat at the back of the church next to my friends, basking in the glow of a beautiful Sunday morning service.
At the front of the cavernous sanctuary, the worship team played softly under the dimmed lights. The pastor prayed over the communion plates before they were passed across the rows of people gathered under this one roof.
As he held up the communion wafer and cup of grape juice, the pastor quoted the familiar charge by Jesus to His disciples on that last fateful Passover before His sacrifice: Eat My body. Drink My blood.
None of us think Jesus wanted His disciples to be cannibals. He meant that He alone contains all we need for life. He wants us to hunger for Him, to take Him in as seriously as we fill our bellies. In communion we identify with His sacrifice and our redemption.
But two thousand years ago, when Jesus introduced this principle to humanity, this made no sense. His words shocked his followers. Had they given up their lives to follow a madman? They grumbled among themselves. People walked away.
Suddenly the crowds that had eagerly followed Him hoping for food or healing were gone. Jesus turned to the twelve who were left and asked them if they were going to desert Him, too. His words, piercing as always, reached out beyond their frustration to touch what was left of their faith.
Peter replied, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life.” (John 6:68)
The road to eternal life is narrow, often so much that only one at a time can pass over the treacherous waters that threaten to drown our faith.
Loneliness haunts many of us. At times, God takes us down a path devoid of companion or explanation. Other times, our stand for the truth leaves us in the dust of the crowd’s discontent.
God knows how we feel. It is in the hour we comprehend Him the least that we must trust Him the most. When we are misunderstood by others, we can cling to His hand and rejoice in knowing that God promises to strongly support those whose hearts are completely His (2 Chronicles 16:9).
As Jesus stood in the crowd, He must have longed for someone to love Him enough to trust Him, even when His words didn’t make sense. How He must have yearned for them to believe at least in His goodness, if not in His sanity. Today, He still longs to find those who will make the effort to get to know Him, to understand enough of His nature to realize He will never forsake those who love Him. He is perfect. He is wise. He is always here, waiting to fill us again.
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/loneliness_2.html#XG3bEigdd5CZ6xiK.99
Slightly Obsessed #096: Are You Haunted by Loneliness?
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Relient K – “MMHMM” 10th Anniversary Tour – FULL SET
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You do not have because you do not ask.
– James 4:2
The big box stood conspicuously in the airport.
Shaped like a large present but sporting a huge monitor, it displayed a cheery message inviting airline travelers to the screen to swipe their tickets there. People like me who are naturally suspicious would have walked by, never knowing what one airline at Canada’s Hamilton International Airport had in mind for its passengers.
People stopped by individually and as families, swiping their tickets and delighting at the Santa figure that appeared on the screen. He played the jolly elf, calling them by name and asking what they wanted for Christmas. Some went large, asking for a new phone, camera, or big-screen t.v. One man shrugged and said he needed new socks and underwear.
As soon as the passengers boarded their plane, airline employees went feverishly to work with the passengers’ wish list. They bought the gifts, wrapped them, and delivered them to the destination airport.
A beautiful surprise awaited the arrival of the passengers, who disembarked without incident and made their way to the luggage carousel to claim their baggage.
Then the fun began. Instead of suitcases coming down the conveyor belt, a stream of wrapped and tagged gifts piled at the feet of the passengers.
In confused wonder they sorted through them and found that each had a gift. A boy shouted, “No way!” as he opened his smart phone; a woman cried when she unwrapped her camera; a young pregnant couple rejoiced over their big-screen t.v.
The man who had asked for socks and underwear grinned sheepishly at his gift. I couldn’t help but wonder if he secretly wished he had asked for more. Maybe that’s all he really needed. Or maybe he didn’t think what he needed mattered to anyone else. Perhaps he didn’t believe Santa was going to deliver. Probably no one thought their wishes were going to be filled in such a glorious way.
It made me wonder why I don’t ask for more from God. I’m not talking about asking God for more stuff. He’s not Santa. The Bible warns against greed.
You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives.
– James 4:3
If I really believe that my prayers are communication with God, though, why do I often think so small? Why are so many of my requests the socks-and-underwear variety? Am I afraid to pray bold prayers for fear of being disappointed? Am I jaded because past prayers were not granted in the way I hoped? Is it disbelief or disinterest or mistrust?
In the last couple of weeks, a couple of barely breathed prayers of mine have been gloriously answered. It makes me wonder what I’ve been missing in my communication with God.
Bold prayers give God a chance to reveal Himself in His majesty and power.
I don’t want to miss anything on this journey of faith. There is still so much more of God’s riches to discover. He longs to grant us provision and strength and wisdom and healing. He doesn’t always give these in the way we expect or hope, but He always gives the best gifts.
What are we missing? Maybe we should find out.
Call on me in prayer and I will answer you. I will show you great and mysterious things which you still do not know about.
– Jeremiah 33:3 (NET Bible)
Slightly Obsessed #095: The Best Gifts
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The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
– Matthew 13:45-46
Throughout the ages, the lure of finding fabled treasure has captivated the imaginations of men.
The hope of a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow drives everything from buying lottery tickets to exploring the depths of the seas in search of riches.
Ironically, history is full of stories of people who lost their lives, families, and fortunes in the vain pursuit of a golden dream.
And yet, God commands us to be treasure hunters. In the thirteenth chapter of Matthew, Jesus compared the kingdom of heaven to buried treasure and a pearl of great value. In both cases, the man who found this treasure joyfully sold everything he had to obtain it. He realized nothing else he possessed could compare with the riches of this discovery.
What is so valuable about the kingdom of God?
For one thing, there’s forgiveness. Walking in the freedom of a pure conscience is priceless.
And there’s eternal life. In the new kingdom, we have life lasting forever. Jesus’ sacrifice did that for us. With His blood He paid the impossibly high debt we owed, released us from a prison of our own making, and restored us to our Father.
Being freed from an eternal death sentence is enough to inspire our allegiance to Him. The promise of eternity in a new body in a world without decay is a hope that should keep us in continual worship of this amazing God.
But that’s not all. That’s not even the half of it. We get to live with our Father and know the endless wealth of His majesty. We get to be in His presence, unsinged, unafraid, and beloved. I believe when we stand before Him on that great day, our eyes will be filled with the completeness of His glory.
Salvation is so much more than a get-out-of-hell-free card.
It’s more than cheating death. When we find the pearl of great price that is the Savior, we’ve only just begun to discover the riches of God. We have time without end, beginning today, to learn to love our Creator. And there’s so much to love.
Two thousand years ago, a king gave up the riches of His kingdom for something He thought was worth more. He purchased, at a huge cost, an entire world for the treasure it held. Buried in the dirt, covered in the dust of humanity, He found a pearl of great value.
That treasure is you.
They will be Mine, says the LORD of hosts,
On the day that I make them My jewels.
– Malachi 3:16-17a
Slightly Obsessed #094: Pearl
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And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.
– Acts2:44-47
This week God did something outrageously generous.
He didn’t have to do it. It was provision we hadn’t dreamed He would make, totally unexpected, but very much needed.
Abundant. Overflowing.
Just like the good Father He is.
I don’t even remember if I had prayed about the situation beforehand. But He knew anyways, like He always does.
Although He knew what we needed, He used some very special people to be His hands and feet in getting the job done. These people listened to God and put their own interests aside to help. As important as the gift was, what really mattered to us was knowing someone saw and cared.
This is the Body of Christ functioning like it should, taking care of itself and listening to the commands of the Head. It only makes sense, after all. If our feet are cold, don’t we cover them? If our stomach is growling, don’t we feed it? If we hurt anywhere, we should all be hurting until the wound is healed.
The Church is not a building or a group of people with a certain doctrine.
Church is not where we go. It’s what we are: a living organism infused with the breath of God. We may be made up of millions of individual cells, but our DNA is imprinted with a holy code that proves who our Father really is. One great heart beats to supply every part of His Body with everything we need to grow into all we are meant to be.
What a beautiful thing.
Tomorrow, as we give thanks and dive into food and football, I’m especially thankful for the gift of fellowship. I’m so glad God made you, Church, and I’m honored to be part of you as we walk this earth together in this moment in time. I thank God for you. You know who you are.
Over the years I have worshipped with people in different denominations and buildings. I have a local group I fellowship with on Sundays. Today I realize I’ve found the right Church. And I’m there every time I’m with you, wherever you are.
Slightly Obsessed #093: Is It Possible to Find the Right Church?
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You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.
– Acts 3:15
The call came one evening, while we were at work.
We rushed to the nursing home and found her in her room. Her eyes were open but fixed on some spot beyond us. Her brow was furrowed in an anxious frown. The skin on her legs was mottled. That told me her organs were shutting down.
The nurse said her heartbeat was still strong. With my mother, it could be no other way.
She loved life, and she fought hard for it to the end, through a series of strokes that took a devastating toll on her body. She battled for five long years against increasing disability and pain.
Now, through the night, her body began its journey home, ravaged beyond man’s ability to bring her back. Someone brought us chairs and stale coffee for the vigil. We softly sang her favorite hymns around her bed. We read her favorite Bible verses to her, the ones she loved over the years. We held her hand, stroked her clammy forehead, prayed together, and told her she would soon see the face of the Lord she loved so much.
It was mid-morning when her breathing became erratic. Not in a frantic way, but gently, reluctantly, the sighs of someone who needs to leave but doesn’t want to say goodbye. Then, as we huddled around her in a gray room under a gray May sky, she left us.
We grieved our loss. We rejoiced she had been united with the Author of Life.
It was the day I saw firsthand that life doesn’t end. It returns to the God who gave it.
God isn’t a distant benefactor caring for us on our trip through this realm. He created the processes that maintain life. He gives us every breath. It is His infinite knowledge and imagination that crafted the world we live in.
He wrote the book on life.
On that awful day outside Jerusalem when Jesus allowed His creation to kill Him, He was writing a new chapter for us. His death ushered in an alternate ending for every person who has walked this earth. We don’t have to live in hopelessness. We are not defeated, after all, if we choose life.
Because of His sacrifice and resurrection, that night in the nursing home wasn’t the end for my beloved mom. It was a change of address, a move into the presence of the one who made her, loved her, and promised those who love Him will never die.
Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; the one who believes in Me will live, even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?’
– John 11:25-26
Slightly Obsessed #092: The Author of Life
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The prayer of the upright is His delight.
– Proverbs 15:8
It’s with you day and night.
It’s always there for you if you are in trouble or just need to talk. It’s as close as your fingertips and you never go anywhere without it.
I love my cell phone, too.
How did we make it all those years before communication was this easy? So many of life’s daily problems could have been easily solved, if only we’d had the ability to call others while on the move.
Decades ago, there was more than one time that I had to accept a ride with a stranger or had my flat tire changed by someone I didn’t know. Then there was the time my daughter had to sit and cry on our front steps after getting off the school bus, because I had no way of letting her know I’d been held up at the doctor’s office and would be home soon.
There were all those nights my husband drove home in bad weather from a construction job while I spent hours worrying if he was okay or not.
All it would have taken was a quick call or text to ask a favor, send assurance, or get help quickly.
Technology has created instant communication with others. But I know if I send a text or email to someone, I may not get the response I want or need. And I know it isn’t the fault of the phone if the person on the other end doesn’t answer or tells me something I don’t want to hear.
I love getting messages and calls from people I care about. Often, it’s just a quick text; other times it’s a long talk. Sometimes I need to just send along some information. At times I need to hear the voice of someone I miss desperately.
This is communication. It’s not magic.
Neither is prayer.
Prayer is a message we send to heaven. God doesn’t need satellites or phone lines to receive our prayers. But in much the same way as these, our thoughts and voices reach the heart of God. Sure, He hears those long, involved lists of needs. But He also hears our silent groans and sees our tears in the night.
Prayer is not a formula for getting the ear of God. Prayer “works,” because its only job is communication.
Through it, we can talk to our Father in heaven; our heartaches, fears, joys, and needs instantly transported to the most powerful person in the universe.
According to Proverbs, God is delighted with the prayers of His children. I know it delights me when one of my kids call me. God loves to hear from us in the same way. He may or may not answer our prayers in the way we want. After all, He chooses what’s best for us. But whether He says, “Yes,” “No,” or “Wait,” He is filled with joy when we talk to Him.
This holiday season, you should talk to your mom. And your dad. And your Father. They’ll be delighted to hear from you.
Slightly Obsessed #091: Does Prayer Work?
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It is good to give thanks to the LORD, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High.
– Psalm 92:1
When you see Christmas coming…
The well-known Bible commentator Chuck Missler once said, “When you see Christmas coming, you know that Halloween is almost here.” Every year, nearly as soon as the new school year begins, the stores initiate a frenzy of holiday merchandizing. In some stores, the poor workers take down the Halloween displays as boxes of Christmas decorations sit in the aisles waiting to be unpacked. If you hunt hard enough, you might be able to find a few paper plates and napkins depicting a turkey or cornucopia—the marketers’ passing nod to Thanksgiving.
Uniquely an American tradition, the first Thanksgiving was celebrated by the Pilgrims in 1621. Set aside by President Lincoln in 1863 as a national day of giving thanks to our Creator, “Turkey Day” has largely become a day of gorging, lounging, and football.
But don’t get me wrong. I love gorging, lounging, and football.
I love the pregame chatter and the warm smells of turkey and all the trimmings emanating from the kitchen. Once the gang gathers around the table and the blessing is given, two days’ worth of preparations are consumed in twenty minutes, just in time for the kick-off. The day is festive and fun.
It’s one of the things I’m thankful for this season.
Thankfulness is a big thing with God. The Scriptures repeatedly entreat us to be thankful. It’s not that God needs to be praised. He knows thankfulness is good for us. A heart full of gratitude has little room for envy, jealousy, and strife.
Praise guards, guides, and strengthens us.
Praise honors our Father. It purifies us and draws others closer to our precious Lord. Living in an attitude of praise frees us and draws us upward out of the clutches of our own deceitful hearts.
This Thanksgiving season, I will awaken and thank God for the gift of life and good health. I will ask God to help me pray more for those who are suffering.
I will eat turkey and thank God for the gifts of my home and a full refrigerator. I will ask God to help me be more generous, so others may not know hunger and cold.
I will watch football and thank God for the gift of my family. I will ask God to help me be more loving to them.
I will go to church and thank God for the gifts of freedom and fellowship. I will ask God to help me be a better citizen and sister in the Lord.
I will look beyond my window and thank God for His creation. I will entreat Him to teach me how to be a better ambassador to His hurting world.
This Thanksgiving, I will give thanks. And I will ask God for the grace to live every season with gratitude, to offer a lifetime of praise.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
– Philippians 4:6
Slightly Obsessed #090: A Day of Turkey, a Life of Praise
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For the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth, that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.
– 2 Chronicles 16:9
One of my best friends proudly wears the nickname “Mama Bear.”
She’s one of the most loving people I know. She quietly endures the occasional gossip and rude remarks directed to her with much grace. She doesn’t care what people say about her.
But don’t hurt someone she loves.
No creature may display God’s protective nature toward His children as well as a bear. Mother bears are legendary for their fierce anger when their cubs are threatened. Stories abound of hapless hikers who have accidently come between a female bear and her offspring and paid a gruesome price for their blunder.
I have a hard time comprehending this depth of God’s protective love. I believe God loves me, but in the heat of daily battles I often give in to the feeling God is either an angry father waiting to discipline me, a distant benefactor, or just too busy running the universe to worry about me at all.
This is far from the truth. God loves us passionately, completely, and yes, even fiercely. Jesus warned his enemies:
Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea.
– Matthew 18:6
God’s commitment to us is so strong He is heartbroken when we turn from Him. He cried out to the wayward children of Israel:
My people are bent on turning from Me…
How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I surrender you, O Israel?
…My heart is turned over within Me,
All my compassions are kindled.
…I will encounter them like a bear robbed of her cubs….
– Hosea 11:7a, 8; 13:8a
You can almost feel His tears.
God loves us passionately. He invades time and space for us. There is nothing He hasn’t sacrificed for His kids.
We are in His heart every moment, no matter how lost we feel.
He loves us intensely. He protects us fiercely. It doesn’t matter if we’re living in victory or huddling in despair. It has nothing to do with our worthiness.
In the mud or on the mountain, He finds us.
It’s not based on who we know, who loves us, or who hates us. Doctrine doesn’t save us, and positive thinking doesn’t deliver us. We are safe because we are His kids. We wear His name. We carry His image. We can face today with hope, for He has promised to always be with us.
I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.
– Hebrews 13:5
Slightly Obsessed #089: Fierce in Loyalty
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The woodcarver… cuts down cedars or retrieves a cypress or oak. He lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a laurel, and the rain makes it grow. It serves as fuel for man. He takes some of it to warm himself, and he kindles a fire and bakes his bread; he even fashions it into a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it. He burns half of it in the fire, and he roasts meat on that half. He eats the roast and is satisfied. Indeed, he warms himself and says, ‘Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.’ From the rest he makes a god, his graven image. He bows down to it and worships; he prays to it and says, ‘Save me, for you are my god.’
– Isaiah 43:13-17 (Berean Study Bible)
The tree thudded to the ground.
The woodworker wiped the sweat from his face and looked it over. It was a beautiful tree, solid and strong. It would do just fine.
One half of the tree he chopped into firewood for his home. The rest of the tree he kept in one piece, though. He had something special in mind for it.
Later, he began work on the piece he set aside, carving an image into the beautiful wood. When it was finished, he set the carving upright in a shrine in the house.
It was a chilly evening when he stirred the embers of the dying fire. A fine roast sat on a spit. He pulled a fir log from the new pile of firewood and set it under the spit, careful not to stir a plume of ash into his dinner. He settled down by the fire and pulled a generous chunk of meat from the roast. The ache in his muscles began to ease as he feasted on his meal and warmed himself at the flames, content with all he’d accomplished.
***
As the sun broke over the hill, the woodworker trembled in the chill of a new day. His carved idol stood in its place in the shadows of a red dawn. He admired his handiwork. It really was a beautiful piece of wood. He set his offering at its feet on the floor and fell on his face before it, as a thousand heartaches flooded his heart. He felt helpless against the suffering his family endured, unprepared to face another day. He needed help. He needed advice.
He needed deliverance.
A groan escaped his lips. He gazed in reverence at the wooden statue he made with his own hands. “Deliver me, my god,” he whispered to his creation.
Oh, the irony.
Mankind naturally searches to satisfy the instinctive need for a realm higher, mightier, and wiser than himself.
Apart from direct revelation from God, man is left to fill that need with gods of his own making.
The Creator makes the dirt from which the tree springs. He sends the rain and the sun that warms and waters it. He forms the seed with the specific genetic properties that will make it a tree. God makes the tree and the man who worships it.
The book of Genesis tells us about a bitter dispute that arose between Abraham’s wives, Sarai and Hagar. Finally, Hagar ran away to the wilderness, where God found her huddled in despair.
After instructing her to return home, God blessed her and encouraged her. In awe she called Him Elroi, meaning “a God who sees.” This was no chunk of wood she met in the wilderness, but a living being. His image was not carved into a tree but emblazoned upon her soul. She learned that He hears, sees, and speaks to us because He is real. Heaven and hell can’t contain Him, yet He lives in our hearts. He sees our pain, and He hears our prayers.
He can, and He will, deliver us.
The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous,
And His ears are open to their cry.
The righteous cry and the LORD hears,
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
-Psalm 34:15, 17
Slightly Obsessed #088: The God Who Sees
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Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and spoke with me, saying, ‘Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.’
– Revelation 21:9
The pain in their eyes is indescribable.
It is a suffering worse than death, because it is one they must live it out every day. There is no resolution, no undoing the affair. Their faces tell it all:
Shame at being disgraced by a spouse who has left them for another
Loss of trust
Heartache at knowing the intimacy they once knew has been shared with someone else
Anger at being betrayed
Devaluation of their own personhood
Sadness at facing the future alone
I’ve never experienced the betrayal of a spouse, but I’ve seen the destruction adultery has caused in the lives of others. I’ve wept with them as they were split in half by the news, prayed for them as they bled from the open wounds, rejoiced with them as they found healing in God and moved onward in their lives.
A friend whose parents divorced when she was a child once told me that watching her parents split was worse than having them die. A person doesn’t usually choose to die but choosing to leave one love for another tells the whole family they are not that important.
In Jewish tradition, an engagement was considered as binding as the marriage ceremony.
This is why Joseph considered quietly divorcing Mary when he learned she was pregnant. Though they were not yet married, it took a divorce to break the engagement. God assured him Mary had not committed adultery but was with child through the power of the Holy Spirit.
If you are a believer, you are engaged. The Lord Jesus is your Groom. He takes His commitment to you seriously, and He expects His Bride to return this love and devotion.
Every act of adultery breaks our marriage vows and destroys our relationships. There is no small way to break our vows. Adultery is not an “indiscretion” or a “mistake.” It is a selfish act that devalues everything we hold precious.
In the same way, when we commit acts of immorality, we commit adultery against our beloved groom. And it breaks His heart. Knowing ourselves just how much pain it causes, how can we do the same thing to Him?
He has given everything He has for us. All He wants our hearts in return. All He asks is that we look to Him for love and fulfillment, leaving the idolatrous liaisons of this world behind.
He’s worth it. He deserves no less than our complete devotion.
Is He your one love?
Slightly Obsessed #087: One Love
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I will remember my song in the night.
– Psalm 77:6
It could be a story in the news anywhere in the world today.
This event, however, occurred two thousand years ago in the city of Philippi.
Two Christian men were on their way to pray with other Christians when they were attacked by thugs. The men were taken to the Roman magistrates in the city, where they were condemned and beaten.
According to the account in Acts, they had done nothing worse than free a young slave woman whose fortune-selling talent had profited her masters. For this sin, they were dragged before the authorities and thrown into the stocks of the inner part of the prison, probably because it was the most secure.
The men were the apostle Paul and Silas. The date was the first century after the appearance, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
For all they knew, they would be there until they rotted. As the night deepened around them, they could do nothing buy lay wounded in their chains in the bowels of the earth. As midnight approached, they were too miserable to sleep. They couldn’t even escape for the few brief hours dreams could afford.
But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them; and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened.
– Acts 16:25-26
How did the men react to injustice? In the depths of the night, they sang. Chained in the heart of their prison, they sang. To the Lord of Light, they sang; the Voice of God reaching out in that hell-hole to the men in the other cells. They listened raptly, accustomed to the sounds of cursing in that place, but not to the sacred sacrifice of worship.
Someone else heard, too. God heard their voices lifted to Him, and He answered them out of the night. With a mighty earthquake, He shook the place, opened every door to every cell, and unfastened every chain. The jailer and his entire family were saved that night, and a prison full of dazed prisoners were released by the grace of God.
Praising God despite our circumstances frees us.
The enemy has no hold on a person whose heart cannot be chained by the indignities of life. That man is truly free.
When you are chained by circumstances beyond your control, you only have one thing to remember in the night:
Sing.
Excerpted in part from the book Song in the Night by Pamela Thorson
Slightly Obsessed #086: Song in the Night
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Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
But to Your name give glory– Psalm 115:1
“Here’s how to stand out in a noisy world,” the ad in my inbox promises.
Like many writers, I’m regularly bombarded with advertising for the newest tips or book or webinar that will surely teach me how to be heard above the crowd. And that’s the goal, right? Isn’t that what every musician, speaker, author, and teacher really needs?
Or is it?
You could argue it’s useless to spend time, effort, and money on something no one will see, read, or hear. Self-promotion for most artists is expected. In our culture, it’s also become a driving force behind such social media sites as Facebook and Twitter.
We need to be heard. We need to know someone thinks we’re important. We need to know our lives count to somebody. So, we try to get everybody to look at us.
When Jesus walked the earth, He often went to public places to tell His message. But He shunned the limelight.
His mission was to save a planet. But His goal was to please the One who sent Him.
And while the world busied itself with living and the angels watched in shock, Jesus Christ hung on the cross and lifted His eyes to His Father. To God, whom He obeyed all the way to the grave, Jesus gave every drop of His blood.
His resurrection and ascension were carefully orchestrated to be revealed to a select group of believers. No media caught the action to broadcast to the world. So how did the message travel so quickly?
God gave it power. God protected His Gospel and revealed it to the world through those who were changed by it. That’s the message He wants the world to hear.
Jesus never shied away from the public arena when it served the purposes of His Father. But neither did He seek out attention, and at times He purposely kept a low profile. His all-consuming goal was to faithfully complete the assignment given Him by His Father in heaven.
He served at the pleasure of one king, an audience of one.
God did the rest.
This is our example. God has placed His message, His mission, in each of His people. He promises to lead us each step of the way. How and when that message reaches others is up to Him. We may be noticed by others. We may not. That’s not for us to worry about.
We serve an audience of One.
Slightly Obsessed #085: An Audience of One
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Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is
and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
– Hebrews 11:6
Remember when you first discovered God?
Remember praying for the streetlight to change or the car to make it to the gas station? I remember praying as a young girl for God to help me find a cheap ring I had lost. I immediately found it after praying and was sure I had witnessed a miracle.
And I had. I had experienced my first baby steps in trusting God. These early simple lessons give us the foundation to fall back on as the trials get harder and God pulls us deeper into the mysteries of His love.
But God doesn’t intend for us to splash in the shallow creek of faith forever. Walking with God is a terrifying and exhilarating adventure that begins with training wheels and ends in the rarefied air of the heavenlies. Often, along the way, there will be many treacherous crossings at the abyss of despair, heartbreaking treks along the valley of Baca (weeping), and lonely journeys through the shadow of death.
In the beginning, God doesn’t give us more than our new natures can handle, just as we don’t allow a child at the controls of a plane. But as we grow up in Christ, God begins to take us up higher into new and more difficult territory. With each step toward Him, we wind up throwing away the baggage hindering the climb. This includes our own pre-conceived notions about Who this God is.
God intends for the true believer to grow in faith.
Since faith is, by definition, believing in that which we have not seen, the only way to grow in faith is to be pushed beyond what we know.
As we grow up in God, we begin to understand His personality, His ways, His expectations. We learn to recognize the sound of His voice. But if that is such a large step for us, it is but a baby step for an infinite God. He always has a new adventure of faith to reveal to us. The riches of His life are unfathomable for us, and completely unsearchable.
We don’t even know how to begin. And we are always surprised when He brings us to the next door of growth and we discover that it involves a greater exercising of our faith, more walking blindly toward His voice.
Like the early pioneers to America’s West, we find ourselves lurching along in the heat and desperately pitching the beloved remnants of the old life that we tried to bring along with us.
And that involves pain.
In the middle of nowhere, when we can see neither beginning nor end of the trail, we forget that we truly are heading somewhere, and it’s easy to lose both our heart and our trust.
But God is never confused, lost, or uncaring. He knows the end from the beginning, and He knows where we are headed. His timing is impeccable. He does everything perfectly, even when we haven’t a clue what is happening. Once again, God surprises us with deliverance, and our trust in Him is renewed and strengthened. We learn more about Him; we lose some unnecessary baggage along the way; and we get a bit closer to Home.
Excerpted from Song in the Night by Pam Thorson.
Slightly Obsessed #084: At the Edge of Faith
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