Condemnation and Grace

I've been taking an in-depth look at the book of Ruth for the past week or so. It's slow going, I have only gotten through the first seven verses. But, oh, what verses they are!

I found something that puzzled me a great deal and I've thought about it constantly for the past several days. Tonight, with the help of my former pastor, I had an "Aha!" moment. I literally ran out of the kitchen to write it down in my "Ruth" notebook so I wouldn't forget it. Since I found it so interesting, you might be interested in it as well. I'm going to do my best to condense this into one post that is not insufferably long.

If you have spent some time in or around church :) you probably know that Christ's lineage includes some rather, ahem, impure people. Namely, the women-Tamar, then Rahab, then Ruth. Tamar posed as a prostitute and got pregnant by her father-in-law. Rahab was a prostitute. And Ruth was a Moabitess.

It was Ruth's condition as a Moabitess that intrigued me the most. While researching the book of Ruth, I came across this verse:

Deuteronomy 23: 3-4

"An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the LORD forever, because they did not meet you with bread and water on the road when you came out of Egypt, and because they hired against you Balaam the son of Beor from Pethor of Mesopotamia, to curse you."

OK, pay close attention to the first part of that verse. A Moabite, and all descendants of a Moabite, are specifically prohibited from entering the assembly of the LORD. The verse specifies the tenth generation, but then goes on to say forever. Several different commentaries I have read indicate that saying "thus and such to the tenth generation" was an artful way of saying: FOREVER. In other words, the law was clearly prohibiting anyone who had a Moabite relative, anywhere in their bloodline, from entering the assembly of the LORD. Whew! Got that?

Now, with that in mind, think about this. I'm not going to type out the entire genealogy here, but in Ruth 4:18-22, we learn that Ruth, who we know was a Moabitess, is an ancestor of King David. And in Matthew 1:6-16, we see the genealogy of Jesus Christ traced all the way back to King David.

Uh-oh! Houston, we have a problem! How can it be possible that King David, God's anointed, has a Moabite relative, when Deut 23:3 clearly excludes him from even entering the assembly of the LORD, much less ruling the entire assembly?

Now that you have wrapped your mind around that, get ready for this--How can it be possible that Jesus Christ, THE Great High Priest, can have such an ancestor?

That is the dilemma that I have been chewing on for the past few days. I mean, why would God hand down a specific statute (law) through Moses that prohibited Moabite descendants from entering the assembly, all the while knowing full well that Jesus Christ was going to BE a descendant of a Moabite. It seems kind of contradictory doesn't it?

Now, before I go any further, I want to add a note here. I KNEW, even as I puzzled this over, that there was an answer to my dilemma that made perfect, pure sense. I just didn't know what it was. So, aside from thinking about it extensively, I looked through some books, and also talked it over with my husband. Then, I prayed that God would help me see the missing link that tied these two seemingly contradictory things together. I also knew that my former pastor was going to come over one night this week, and I figured I would pounce on him for some enlightenment.

So, it was during discussion with that same former pastor that He hit the nail on the head. Only I didn't realize it right away. I had to think about it until, of course, my hands were in a sink full of soapy water. Then, I saw LIGHT! Wanna know what it was? Well, I gonna tell you:

The purpose of the law is to condemn us.

Christ came to remove the condemnation of the law and extend grace.

Just to press home my point, I looked up a few scripture verses. To some of you, this idea of the law being for condemnation is perhaps new. To others of you, this is so familiar as to be boring. Well, I'm talking to both of you, so pay attention!!!

Galatians 3:10

"...Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them."

That sets a pretty high bar. If we do not do all things we are cursed. Don't even think for a moment that you are somehow capable of doing all things that are spelled out in the law. In Matthew 5:21-22, Jesus explains that even if you get angry with someone in your heart, you are guilty under the law of murder. God sees not just our actions, but our heart. And just our thoughts are enough to condemn us when compared to the perfect standard put forth in the law.

Yikes! Thankfully it doesn't end there. Otherwise we would be hopeless. But, as I'm sure you know, Jesus came and fulfilled the law perfectly. Then, Christ did the most amazing thing in all of creation.

Galatians 3:13

"Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us."

Christ came to extend grace to us, to free us from the impossible task of keeping the law. God, in His great mercy, knew that we could never do it on our own, so He did it for us.

Now, back to my original question. What does any of this have to do with Ruth being in Christ's lineage? I hope I've already made it clear, but in case I haven't, here it is:

Jesus could have an impure genealogy because His purpose was different than the purpose of the law. The law came to condemn us. Jesus came to redeem and extend grace to us. He also came to bring all tribes, tongues and nations to Himself. So not only is Ruth's inclusion a picture of God's grace, it is also a foreshadowing of the promise made to Abraham, way back in Genesis, in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.


Girls, you can't imagine how much better I feel to have worked that little puzzle out. Thanks for sticking with me as I explained it.

There is one more thing that I fail to understand though. All of this makes perfect sense in relation to Christ. But how do the Jewish people reconcile King David's mixed ancestry with the law in Deuteronomy? I really have no idea, but I am seriously considering calling up the local rabbi and asking him if he would mind talking it over with me. That is how curious I am.

Check Me Out!

Well, I went shopping, and instead of getting a new dress, I got this new blog design.

Which reminds me of a funny story a friend told about her grandmother, a beautiful woman who loved to shop. And certainly loved to shop more than her husband thought was financially reasonable. One day she came home wearing a gorgeous new dress, and said to her husband, "How do I look? Do you like my new dress?"

To which her husband replied, "Dear, how much did that dress cost?"

"Oh, probably too much, but look how pretty it is!" she answered.

"My love," replied the husband, "You must learn to say 'Get behind me Satan!' when you are tempted to spend too much money on clothes."

"Oh, I did say that," replied his wife. "And he told me that the dress looked even better from behind!"

Da da dum chiiiiii! (That would be the drum accompanying my punch line)

True Story.

Other Masters

Isaiah 26:12-14

"LORD, You will establish peace for us,
For You have also done all our works in us.
O LORD our God, masters besides You
Have had dominion over us;
But by You only we make mention of Your name.
They are dead, they will not live;
They are deceased, they will not rise.
Therefore you have punished and destroyed them.
And made all their memory to perish."



I am currently experiencing a fairly peaceful time in my life. I don't have any major crisis looming on the horizon at the moment. More important than my current peaceful circumstances, however, is the state of my heart. My heart is at peace. I have not always been able to say that. In fact, I spent many years of my life with no peace at all.

You might think the reason my heart is at peace is because my current circumstances are peaceful. But I know that's not true, because I know my heart well enough to realize that it would FIND something to be disturbed over if I gave it free reign. But you see, that is the secret. I don't let my heart go off on wild tangents anymore, wishing and seeking and desiring things that God has not given to me.

I can only accomplish that control of my heart because God has come in and established his authority over my life, thus removing my responsibility to satisfy myself. I know that whatever comes to me in this life, is God's perfect plan. And I also know that he only purposes good toward me. Now, God's good purposes don't always feel very good at the time I'm experiencing them, but I know that they are all for my good and for God's glory.


Verse 12 in the above Scripture passage says, "You will establish peace for us." God will do it! Thankfully, because I'm pretty sure we are inept at establishing peace for ourselves. The verse goes on to say, "You have also done all our works in us." An alternate translation offers, "You have also done all our works for us." God can and will do it, all of it, Himself. But there is another part of the equation that has to balance out first. That is the issue of authority, or masters, if you will.

You can see the confession in verse 13, "O LORD our God, other masters besides You Have had dominion over us." Umm Hmm. You all know what Isaiah is talking about. Ever had another master? How about wealth, or popularity, or physical beauty, or control, or relationships, or fear, or pride, or anger, or unforgiveness. I could go on. You get the idea.

There are countless things that we chase after and worship besides God. Or, that we cling to tightly and refuse to let go of, even though we know that we should. We can't help ourselves really, it is part of our nature apart from God's redeeming work in us. See for yourself in the next verse, "But by You only we make mention of Your name." Only by God's power do we even know enough to make mention of His name, much less cast of the oppression of other masters. How humbling is that!

And what about these other masters? When God gets to work establishing Himself as our authority and our master, what becomes of them? We can see clearly in verse 14, "They are dead, they will not live; They are deceased, they will not rise. Therefore you have punished and destroyed them, And made all their memory to perish." That sounds like a total victory to me.

So what do you do if you find yourself unable to stay in the place of victory? What if you find yourself creeping back under the authority of another master? Well, this very issue is fresh on my mind right now. One of the biggest victories God has ever given to me is control of my thought life. There are literally dozens of lies that I have overthrown in the battle to reclaim my thoughts, and it took several years for it to happen.

But this past weekend I found myself slipping back into a pit I thought I had sealed off for good. It wasn't a fun realization. I was so tempted to indulge it. Because in the short term, those other masters aside from God can seem like great fun. But in the end you always find yourself back in a pit, far away from the joy and peace that God promises.

What did I do? Several things. First, I pinpointed the lie that was masquerading as truth. Then I followed my sinful train of thought through to the ultimate conclusion it would bring. I prayed (many times) that God would take control of my thoughts again. I repeated the truth that spoke against the lie over and over in my mind. And, as a very practical matter, I spent time listening to Christian music, instead of indulging my thought life, even singing out loud if needed. So far it is working. I can't promise the thoughts won't creep in again. But when they do, God has armed me with the weapons to fight them.

There will never come a time in my life when I have it so together that I can stop guarding against sin. In fact, I have often heard it said that Satan will step up attacks when we are becoming a threat to him. Well, whatever, I don't know if that is actually true or not. But I do know that in the book of Job, we clearly see that even Satan must ask permission from God before He does anything. (Booooo Satan!!!)


Isaiah 9: 4

"You have broken the yoke of his burden
And the staff of his shoulder,
The rod of his oppressor,
As in the day of Midian."

Look, God has already done the defeating. There is no other master that can force you to stay under its control. God has broken the power of sin to hold you captive. There is only one Master, one Authority that you cannot escape, and that is Adonai, Lord and Master.

True peace apart from God is a lie. But true freedom, and peace, are found resting under the shadow of God's authority.

Ishmael

I went to tennis clinic yesterday. I've been playing at playing tennis for almost a year now. I'm not a serious player, or a good one for that matter, by any stretch of the imagination. But I enjoy the exercise and I've met some neat women on the courts.

We did a drill where one player stayed on one side of the court, and hit the ball against two players on the other side. The entire group rotated through the side with two players, while the single player stayed put. So basically, it was one person against everyone else. Don't worry, everyone got to have a turn being the singleton. Including me.

Near the end of my solo performance, I joked, "You can just call me Ishmael today!"

Yeah...nobody else thought it was funny either.

You all know who Ishmael is don't you? He is the son that Abraham had with the handmaiden of his wife, Sarah. God promised to bless Abraham with more descendants than he could count. But Abraham's wife, Sarah, was barren. So when Sarah decided that God was not going to make good on His promise, she took matters into her own hands and offered her handmaiden Hagar to Abraham. It was the custom of the day that any children born from Abraham and Hagar would be considered Sarah's children.


Emotionally, I have always had a hard time with the plight of Hagar. We see glimpses of her personality in scripture that are not very flattering. For instance, when she becomes pregnant, she gets all haughty and despises her mistress, Sarah. Being 21st century Americans, we have a hard time with this whole master-servant relationship. It seems very clear to us that all people should be considered equal; we look down on the idea of servitude. But still, in Hagar and Sarah's time, Hagar was behaving very badly to scorn Sarah and exalt herself over her mistress.


Even taking that, and other, bad behaviors into account, I feel so much pity for Hagar. When I first did an in-depth study that included her story, I was nursing my son, and no doubt had a heightened emotional sensitivity to her situation. One part in particular, still jars my heart.

Genesis 21:14-16

"So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water; and putting it on her shoulder, he gave it and the boy to Hagar, and sent her away. Then she departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba. And the water in the skin was used up, and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs. Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot; for she said to herself, "Let me not see the death of the boy." So she sat opposite him, and lifted her voice and wept."

It still makes me teary-eyed to read that. Can you imagine wandering around in the desert, abandoned, cast out, despised and rejected, with your helpless child depending on you, and being unable to provide? Its almost more than I can think about. Picturing her putting her son under the shrub, so she won't see him die, but unable to leave him alone, so she just goes a little way off, tears my mother's heart in two.

(Hagar and Ishmael come out OK in the end. God speaks to Hagar, and shows her a well of water. Ishmael goes on to father a mighty nation.)

If you thought that the Old Testament was dusty and yawn-inducing, you should seriously reconsider. It's got more twists, turns and tragedies than Days of our Lives. The people that God chose, and revealed Himself to, were far from perfect. They were deeply flawed, and not only that, but Scripture highlights their weaknesses instead of covering them up. You can look at that as encouragement for you and me, because we are deeply flawed too. But ultimately, what it really does is point to our need for one who is perfect--Jesus. All of the men who came before Jesus had failings, even the mighty ones like Elijah and Moses.

I wonder why nobody laughed at my Ishmael joke. You know...the name Ishmael...it means "Yahweh has been attentive to your humiliation."

Oh, you didn't know that? I thought everybody knew that. Huh. No wonder my joke was such a flop. Almost as bad as my performance at tennis.

My Beloved

Song of Solomon 1:16-17

"Behold, you are handsome, my beloved!
Yes, pleasant!
Also our bed is green.
The beams of our houses are cedar,
And our rafters of fir."

Today is my 9 year anniversary. I woke up this morning thinking about the morning of my wedding. It was not any kind of peaceful idyllic day for me. I was stressed out and a bunch of little things went wrong. One thing in particular makes for a funny story, but its too long to tell right now. I can even see the stress in my eyes when I look back at my wedding pictures. Its kind of a shame.

But, the good news is, the quality of my marriage has had nothing whatsoever to do with the quality of my wedding celebration. Despite my own being less than perfect, I love to attend weddings. I think I cry at every one of them. And I look at the new couple and think, "You have no idea what's in store for you!"

Overall, my marriage has been wonderful. It has improved dramatically over the years as we have both matured and developed. Sometimes its been difficult, sometimes its been hysterically fun, sometimes I've wanted to kick the kitchen cabinets (one time I actually did, but I was pregnant and having hormonal rage issues at the time, so I'm not sure it counts) and other times I've wanted to devour my husband with tenderness.

I would be lying if I told you that our relationship is perfect. We are both normal people, we have our faults. I know that he would like me to be a better housekeeper. I would love for him to deal with stress better.

In the earliest years of our marriage, I made many mistakes. I had it in my head that once we were married, my life would crystallize into perfection somehow. What a foolish idea! In retrospect, the more satisfaction and contentment I tried to suck out of my marriage, the unhappier I became with it. Because my husband, who I love and respect very much, is just a person. He can't possibly be all in all for me. When I realized that, and took him off a pedestal, and set him on level ground, our relationship dramatically improved.

Slugging through some very hard times together has also done wonders for us. In fact, the hard times have done much more to improve our relationship than any fun vacation or romantic dinner ever has. Strange, isn't it? You would assume it worked the other way around. (Don't go getting any ideas, honey, I'm still expecting dinners and the occasional getaway.)

But you know what has made the biggest impact? Grace. The same kind that God extends to us as His beloved children. I choose to admire and dwell on the things that are delightful in my husband: He works hard for our family. He has a very tender heart (shh, that is a big secret.) He loves our children. He is committed to me. He is growing and maturing as a Christian. He is viciously funny and we laugh together often. He is intelligent and interesting. He has lots of offbeat hobbies. He is sober minded and takes things seriously when the situation calls for it. He is firm and unwavering when he believes in something strongly. He is also willing to listen when I have advice to share. I trust him completely. He is ravishingly handsome (I think I'm very blessed to have him.)

I wouldn't trade him. In sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, in good times and in bad, I'm claiming my man. I'll take him any way God chooses to give him to me.

Song of Solomon 5:16

"His mouth is most sweet,
Yes, he is altogether lovely.
This is my beloved,
And this is my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem."

Song of Solomon 7: 11-13

"Come, my beloved,
Let us go forth to the field;
Let us lodge in the villages.
Let us get up early to the vineyards;
Let us see if the vine has budded,
Whether the grape blossoms are open,
And the pomegranates are in bloom.
There I will give you my love.
The mandrakes give off a fragrance,
And at our gates are pleasant fruits,
All manner, new and old,
Which I have laid up for you, my beloved."

Captivity

Isaiah 5:13

"Therefore my people have gone into captivity,
Because they have no knowledge;
Their honorable men are famished,
And their multitude dried up with thirst."

I have really enjoyed writing this blog. It has affected me in many ways. One thing that I didn't expect was the way other people would open up to me as a result of reading about my experiences. You can't imagine how eye-opening that has been for me. Girls, we all have so many things that we struggle with in private. Not a single one of us is exempt. Just when I start to think that I am the only person in the world who needs so much help, along comes someone else who wants to open up. And I'll cry sometimes and pray. But more than anything, I'll be encouraged to keep plugging along. Because there is a solution, an answer to all of those struggles. The answer is truth, God's truth, exchanged for the lies that this world grinds into our heads.

It really does matter what you believe. I have heard lots of people say things along the lines of, "I don't think it matters what you believe about God (in other words-theology), just as long as you believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins." OK, I get that. Yes, the most basic truth in the Christian faith is important, vitally important. You will never hear me say otherwise. But, listen, the rest matters too. What you believe has a direct impact on how you live your life, how deeply you enjoy God, and your ability to serve Him.

Let me give you an example. I spend some time reading blogs that are written by other women. One blog in particular always makes me cry, because the woman who writes it seems to have gotten more than her fair share of pain in this life. Recently she shared a story of a friend who did not believe that she was saved because she could not forgive someone who hurt her badly.

Would you be able to pinpoint the error in that train of thought? If a friend came crying on your shoulder with that dilemma, could you offer her real comfort? Comfort based on truth?

Yes, truth matters. Understanding the truth of God's written, revealed Word matters. The more I learn about God, through reading the Bible, the more deeply I am affected by Him. You can be a Christian and never bother with learning any more than the basics. But don't you want more than that? Don't you want to actually enjoy the power and promises of God? How would you like to live your life like this:

Isaiah 58:10-11

"Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
And your darkness shall be as the noonday.
The LORD will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail."

There is nothing I want more! And, there is nothing that I want more for other women. None of us gets to choose how we will serve God, or how He will use us for His glory. God is in complete control of that. But He has given me a passion for one specific thing--to show other Christian women the riches that are supposed to be their's in Christ. Some people have a passion for evangelism, others for hospitality or service. Me? I want to share the deep, abiding joy and passion that I have in Christ, specifically with women who are already Christians.


This statement is not meant to be applied to everyone I know. Forgive me for sounding arrogant if I do, but I see Christians all over the place who suffer from lack of knowledge about God. They are famished, and dried up with thirst just as described in Isaiah 5:13. They have no knowledge, or very little anyway. And do you know what you find every time there is lack of knowledge? Captivity. That is why truth matters. Truth is the only way out of captivity.

Isaiah 61:1

"...He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound..."

Did you know that reading this verse from Isaiah was Jesus first public declaration of who He was and why He came? You can find an account of it in Luke 4:18. Jesus proclaimed liberty. He opened the prison doors. Come on out.

Neither Poverty Nor Riches

Proverbs 30: 8-9

"Give me neither poverty nor riches--
Feed me with the food allotted to me;
Lest I be full and deny You,
And say, "Who is the LORD?"
Or lest I be poor and steal,
And profane the name of my God.

You should see the obvious application of this verse. It is good to have just enough; having too much is just as problematic as having too little. We all get that right?

Sometimes I think it is hard for us to see the evil associated with having too much. And if there was ever a culture that was drowning itself in too much, it is certainly us. I can't think of any other culture throughout the history of time as affluent as modern America is. I don't mean to imply that every one of us is rich by our own cultural standards. But the vast majority of Americans are terribly wealthy when compared to most of humanity throughout time.

We all have enough to eat. (Or, if we don't, there are dozens of agencies that will feed us.) Most of us live in comfortable, safe, modern homes with indoor plumbing (I hope!) and more than one bedroom. We have kitchens and refrigerators and microwaves. Our closets have more than two or three changes of clothes in them. You get my point. If you have never lived or traveled outside of the US, particularly to an impoverished part of the world, you might not understand this fully. If that is the case, just take my word for it.

The problem with wealth, as I see it, is two fold. First, it makes us think that we are doing just fine on our own. When you don't really need anything, it's hard to feel like you desperately need God. Plus, wealth gives us a false sense of security. Instead of depending on God as our refuge and fortress, our rock and high tower, we think about our finances as a means of protection.

Second, material wealth, and the pursuit of it, is a big fat distraction. I know because I spent so many years of my life longing for it, instead of for God. I've said this before, but it bears repeating. God showed me what a dissatisfied person I was in an interesting way. He pretty much allowed me to obtain every material thing I ever lusted after at a fairly young age. Now, don't go thinking wild on me here. I never did aspire too high, so getting there was not some kind of "rags to riches" drama.

But after I got to the point of relative financial security, I still had this consuming feeling that I was missing out on something. It was God that I was missing out on. I see so clearly now that no material thing would have been enough to satisfy me if I had not made God my soul's desire. Several years AFTER seeing that and understanding it, I went on a very nice vacation with my husband to New York City.

While I was there, an interesting thing happened. I got caught up in it. It being that feeling that I just had to have a certain kind of clothing, or shoes, or whatever. That somehow if I bought those things, I would be satisfied. And not only satisfied, but someone to be envied. I'm almost embarrassed to even admit this, but it happened all right. Marc Jacobs shoes. That is what made me see sense again. Those suckers cost an obscene amount of money. And I bought a pair. They were, of course, DEEPLY (I mean deep, deep, deeply) discounted, but still expensive.

What happened next is the crazy part. I wore those ridiculously overpriced shoes, and instead of feeling proud of them, I felt very self conscious. "Will people know I bought these on sale? Are these LAST SEASON'S SHOES????" Never did a stupider stupid thought cross my mind. It was at that point that I realized there was no end to the quest for satisfaction in things like clothing and shoes. So I made a deliberate decision to just check out of that rat race. I spent 3 month buying clothes off of the Target clearance rack, too.

I tell you that story to illustrate just how alluring material wealth, or the pursuit of it, can be. Even to those of us who know better. Maybe you are better than I am in this area. But we all have our potential disaster zones, things that have the potential to put us in a death grip of sin. So nowadays, when I start getting excited about a new pair of earrings (thanks for those, honey, by the way) I take a step back and remember that they are just earrings, they don't make me anything other than what I am, and they will never have the power to satisfy me.

Ecclesiastes 5: 10

"He who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver;
Nor he who loves abundance, with increase.
This also is vanity."

Isaiah 58:14

"Then you shall delight yourself in the LORD;
And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth,
And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.
The mouth of the LORD has spoken."

Earth Day

I'm kind of grumpy this afternoon. I am in serious need of a nap. Alas, the Earth Day Celebration, complete with a loud band, is being held in the park that is across the street from my house. Loud band equals no nap for me. I'm also having a hard time understanding how the Earth is benefited by the power sucking loudspeakers being employed. Like I said, grumpy.

It's making me so grumpy that I'm tempted to ride past the park, honking and waving out the window of my EVIL SUBURBAN. But I'll restrain myself.

In honor of Earth Day, however, you might be interested in reading one of my older posts, Old Like a Garment.

Enjoy!

Some Proverbial Wisdom

I've been reading through Proverbs lately. It really isn't well suited to a quick read through. Rather, I think Proverbs should be savored and taken apart slowly. But if I did that, I would never get through the whole thing, much less the whole Bible.

So here for your savory enjoyment are two small sections of Proverbs I want to explore. Not exhaustively, mind you. I wouldn't even begin to think I was qualified to do that. This is just MY little perspective.

Proverbs 25:20

"Like one who takes away a garment in cold weather,
And like vinegar on soda,
Is one who sings songs to a heavy heart."

This is something that we have all been guilty of. Even I have done it, and I know better from personal experience. What I am talking about is that incessant need we have to talk about the "silver lining" in whatever circumstance we or our friends face. You know what I mean. Those sentiments that begin with, "Well, at least....didn't happen." Let me give you a specific example.

When my first child was born, under emergency circumstances, and with some medical complications, people said all kinds of chipper things to me and my husband. I know that they were trying to make us "feel better."

The thing is, we were D-E-V-A-S-T-A-T-E-D. We were shocked and confused and angry and horrified. And it seemed like every which way I turned, some well meaning person was trying to put a smiley face on the situation. I just wanted permission to grieve and be confused. I just wanted a shoulder to cry on. Even those closest to me had a hard time letting me feel sad. Why is that? Why do we feel like it is our responsibility to make people cheer up?

Romans 12:15 says, "Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep."

Look at the words in Proverbs 25:20 again. When we try to sell someone a field of daisies as they are facing something really difficult, we are taking something away from them. We are stealing their coat when the weather is harsh and cold. Not only that, but we stand a pretty good chance of irritating them while we're at it. Kind of like vinegar makes baking soda get all crazy and fizzy. People in pain are not always rational. Its much better to express sincere sympathy, or if your relationship calls for it, just weep right along with them. Resist that urge to cheer them up.

Yes, as Christians we do not grieve as those who are without hope. (1 Thess 4:13) But we still grieve. And when we do, we need our friends to grieve right along with us. What we don't need is someone singing songs at us when we have a heavy heart.

OK, on to the second bit of wisdom.

Proverbs 19:11

"The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger,
And his glory is to overlook a transgression."

Somebody out there needs to be reminded of this. (OK, I need to be reminded too, but lets talk about all of you for a moment!) This proverb is not mean to be applied universally. There are certainly offenses that need to be dealt with. Those aren't the things this verse is talking about. I think this verse is referring to those minor things that really should be overlooked.

So you just remember that, first, you should be slow to get angry. And, second, if you do get mad, it is your GLORY to overlook the transgression. I think you'll appreciate some definitions of the word glory (tipharah.) According to Strong's, tipharah can mean ornament, beauty or majesty.

How about that? You can get prettier by overlooking an offense. Now that is a deal worth closing on every time.

The Kinsman-Redeemer

I've been itching to get a post about Psalm 103 up for what seems like forever. And I just kept finding other things to write about instead. So I finally decided to get it done, and as I started looking into the verses I wanted to expound on, I saw something even better than what I originally intended to write about.

But, I just can't leave these verses alone, so humor me and read through these few verses just to appreciate their beauty and richness. Then keep reading and I'll show you something that I thought was "cool" (as one of my children is fond of saying lately.)

Psalm 103:2-5

"Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits--
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems you life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's."

(Be sure to note the secret to eternal youth there in that last line. And here you were thinking it lay in Botox and plastic surgery!)

This is the part that knocked me over. I started looking at the original Hebrew language in these verses, and the word for redeems held a treasure trove of layered meaning. The word is gaal and here is the definition for it according to Strongs Hebrew and Greek Dictionary: A primitive root, to redeem (according to the Oriental law of kinship,) that is, to be the next of kin (and as such to buy back a relative's property...)

There are other Hebrew words throughout the Old Testament that are translated as redeems, redeemed, or redeemer, but this particular word gaal has a specific meaning that proves to be prophetic. How? Well, let me show you. To get a full sense of what I mean, we need to take a quick look back at some of the Levitical law that God handed down to the Jews through Moses. I know that the Levitical law makes many people hit the snooze button and roll over, but bear with me here, I think you will like this!

We see an example of this kinsman-redeemer principal in Leviticus 25:25,

"If one of your countrymen becomes poor and sells some of his property, his nearest relative is to come and redeem what his countryman has sold."

It is also one of the main plot points in the story of Ruth and Naomi. If you will remember, Boaz is the kinsman-redeemer who buys back a plot of land that Naomi has sold, and also acquires Ruth as his wife in the transaction. Part of the kinsmen-redeemer's responsibility was to marry the widow of a dead relative, and produce offspring through her, and those offspring would be considered the children of the dead relative. In that way, the dead relative's family line would still continue. That was extremely important to the Jews.

The basic idea of the kinsman-redeemer is that a brother, or the next closest male relative, would buy back, or pay the price required, for the relative to keep his inheritance. In that way, even if someone became poor or otherwise unable to keep his property, it would not be lost, because someone else would pay the required price. And not just any someone, but a close relative.

OK, got that? Now, check this out:

Romans 8: 16-17

"The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."

So, applying the principal of the kinsman-redeemer, let's look at our own situation for a moment. Mankind was created without sin, we were meant to inherit a perfect, unblemished relationship to God. But through the sin of Adam, all of mankind lost this inheritance. We became in a sense, the poor relative who was unable to buy back what was lost-perfect fellowship with the Creator, God.

Now, if we believe what we are told there in Romans 8, we will see that Christians are called children of God, and joint heirs (siblings) of Christ. Do you see where I am going with this? Jesus is THE kinsman-redeemer who paid the price and bought back our inheritance! We couldn't provide a way for ourselves, so our brother paid the ultimate price-the sacrifice of himself on the cross-in order to give us back what was lost. Like I said earlier, now that is cool!

Looking back at Psalm 103 for a moment, David was prophesying when he said about God in verse 4, "who redeems (as the kinsman-redeemer) your life from the pit." The italics is mine. And David probably didn't even realize it! The Old Testament believers did not have a clear understanding of what exactly God's plan was to redeem their lives. We, who live after the events in the New Testament, can clearly see the foreshadowing of the kinsman-redeemer throughout the Old Testament.

But there is the hand of God, creating his living and active word, the Bible, down to the last minute detail in the specific word that David choose to call God the redeemer. Because, like I said, there are other Hebrew words that mean "redeem."

It's hard to imagine that I ever thought the Bible was boring. And you know, even that confusing and archaic seeming Levitical law has some foreshadowing of Christ in it. God is certainly a God of details.

Things You Never Imagined...

were in the Bible. I saw this yesterday as I was researching my kinsman-redeemer post. It tickled me so much that I had to post about it. But it didn't quite fit with the whole feel of my kinsman-redeemer post, so here it is all by its lonesome, quirky little self.

If you open your Bible and read 1 Kings 16:11, you will probably see a verse that sounds like this:

"As soon as he began to reign and was seated on the throne, he killed off Baasha's whole family. He did not spare a single male, whether relative or friend."

But if you read that same verse in the King James Version (not the New King James Version, which is what I usually use) you will see this:

"And it came to pass, when he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne, that he slew all the house of Baasha: he left him not one that pisseth against a wall, neither of his kinsfolks, nor of his friends."

Pisseth against a wall? Well, I guess that is one way to describe a man! Can you believe this same phrase is found 6 times in the Old Testament? AND, it is the literal translation of the Hebrew!

The Bible never ceases to amaze me....

A Pig's Nose Ring

Proverbs 11:22

"Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion."

Ok, that verse just cracked me up this morning. I love it!

Discretion can and should apply to all areas of our lives, but one area that gets my attention is the way in which women choose to dress.

I happen to live a block away from a university, and the things that young women walk around wearing just shock me sometimes. I don't think I am a huge prude or anything. In fact, I'll admit that there have been some seasons in my own life where I dressed in a less-than-modest manner. But that was nothing compared to what I see parading down the street on a regular basis around here.

In case you think I am remembering my own indiscretion favorably compared to today's college students, let me just tell you. I don't think I ever wore glittery body gel between my boobs. And if I ever had, the whole world wouldn't have known about it! I also didn't take great delight in showing the top of my thong underwear peeking over my low slung shorts while my behind hung out the bottom. I am not making this up! In some cases, if you can't see the actual skin, you might as well, because the fabric covering it is so tight.

Ok, that is enough prudish ranting. I'll be serious for a minute. In the past year or so, God really convicted me about the way I present my body to the world in clothing. Ever since, I have been making a concerted effort to look nice, but modest. It wasn't even that bad to begin with, I would say that I dressed in a way that our society would deem normal-- body skimming clothes, maybe a bit of cleavage here and there, skirts just short enough, etc.

But I started to think that maybe what society calls normal is still too revealing. I'm not going to throw away the clothes that are already in my closet, but I'm only buying clothes that pass the new modesty standards from now on. And even though I haven't thrown them away yet, there are several things in my closet that I have tried on and had to take off again, because they just weren't quite covering enough.

Maybe all of you nice ladies figured this out a long time ago. But I'll let you in on a secret, just in case you haven't. When you see a girl, or a grown woman for that matter, walking around showing more of her physique than she ought, you can pretty much bet that she has body/self worth issues. I know from experience. The wonderful thing is, as I have learned to base my self worth on who I am in the eyes of God, I've spent much less time worrying about who I am in the eyes of every person I pass on the street.

So from now on when I go clothes shopping, which I absolutely love to do, instead of wondering how this or that makes my rear end look, I'm going to think to myself, "Now, does this make me look like a gold ring in a pig's snout?" 'Cause that's a look I want to avoid for sure!

I'm Sorry...(Yet Again)

I have been working with God on the problem of pride lately. This is sort of an ongoing struggle for me. I think its probably a common sin to get wrapped up in. But I don't want anything at all to do with it. So I try to keep a close eye out for ways pride might be creeping in to my life. I can claim some victory here, things are much better than they used to be. But still, some sins are just a life long struggle, and pride just might be one of my ongoing construction zones.

I had a victory this morning! Its a small thing really, but its the small things that lead to bigger things, so I'm going to celebrate where I can.

It all started about 5 or 6 weeks ago. I was at the grocery store, pushing a cart full of groceries, with two wiggly kids, heading for the checkout isle. I also happened to be in the midst of a horrendous sinus infection. So I was kinda primed to act not-so-nice. That is when it happened.

I was about one cart length from the end of the checkout line, clearly about to enter it. A woman with an equally full grocery cart approached appearing as though she needed to pass through the line and keep going. I politely backed my cart up and gave a little wave of my hand to indicate that she could cut through before I officially got in line.

To my great dismay, instead of cutting through and passing by, she stole my place in line! I couldn't believe it! I still can't decide if she was taking advantage of me or if she really thought that a hunched over woman, with two highly active kiddos, a cart full of groceries, and tissues in both hands really intended for a relaxed, well-dressed, no children luggin' woman to just go on ahead. Anyway, being the restrained southern belle that I am, I seethed and thought ugly thoughts at her instead of saying anything.

Naturally, by the time I got to the front of the line, it was time for the cashier to end her shift. So I had to stand there another several minutes waiting for the drawer to be switched out. The very friendly and polite check out woman gave me a big smile and said, "It'll just take a minute, I'll be right with you."

I scowled at her. Then I let out a big exasperated sigh to make sure she understood how displeased I was with this whole scenario. She got my drift. Her smile disappeared, she started moving very quickly, and she didn't say another word to me. The equally cheery bag boy gave me a big grin and said, "How are you this morning? Do you want paper of plastic?"

"Paper," I whisper-shouted, because I was pretty sick, remember.

"You sound terrible," he helpfully added.

I just glared and him and decided I had said enough. We walked tersely to the car and I drove away in a grumpy funk.

I hope I don't have to tell you that I felt bad about it, almost as soon as I got home. It has bothered me ever since. I hate it when people are rude to customer service employees. I've worked in those types of jobs several times, and I know the abuse that gets heaped on them. I didn't want to be one of those rude, angry customers.

But every week, when I have seen that same woman working in the check out line, I have deliberately gone through another aisle. I was afraid she would remember me as that mean, loudly-sighing woman. And I was too proud to apologize for my rudeness.

Until today. As I have been praying about keeping my pride in check and cultivating a humble heart, God kept pricking my conscience about that grocery store incident. It was a sort of, "how can you ask me to use you in mighty ways and root out the pride in your heart when you are too stubborn to even apologize to a stranger, much less someone who is close to you?"

So I decided to offer her an apology. I prayed that she would be working this morning. There she was when I walked in the door. As I wove through the grocery isles, I kept checking to make sure she was still there. She was. As I finished getting everything on my grocery list and headed to check out, I was all primed and pumped up to give her an apology. But suddenly, she walked away from her register!

Confused, I made a hard right back into the frozen food section and looked at some truly disgusting frozen stuffed mushrooms for a few moments. After reading the ingredients and turning the mushroom box around a few times, the cashier came back to her line. Whew!

As she was scanning my items, I did it. I offered her an apology. She seemed confused at first, but eventually she understood what I was saying. Of course she couldn't remember the incident, I really didn't expect her to. She said she always figures someone is just having a bad day when they act ugly. But she smiled and thanked me for apologizing. I had shared with her that I was sick that particular day.

Right before I walked off, she asked, "Are you feeling better now?"

"Oh, yes," I answered. In more ways than one.

Proverbs 29:23

"A man's pride brings him low,
but a man of lowly spirit gains honor."

El Shaddai (Updated)

This is a post that I have been thinking over for many weeks. I've finished reading through Psalm and I'm getting ready to dive into Proverbs. But I feel like I can't leave Psalm behind without sharing a few more thoughts.

Aside from being the name of my favorite song of all time (as sung by Amy Grant) El Shaddai comes in a close second as my favorite name of God. First place without question is El Roi, The God-Who-Sees.

I actually think that El Shaddai, which means The All-Sufficient-One, is an amazing companion to El Roi. There is so much in this world that is terribly hard to understand. So much suffering and pain and tragedy. Because God is El Roi, we know that He sees all of it, the good and the bad. But because He is El Shaddai, the All-Sufficient-One, we can run to Him for comfort when the difficulties of this world become overwhelming.

El Shaddai is also translated as Almighty God. Apparently there is some debate about which is the clearer translation, so I thought I'd let you know about both of them. I'm not scholarly enough to know which translation is more appropriate, but the one that I love is The All-Sufficient-One.

Here is a quote from The Names of God by Andrew Jukes:

"The thought expressed in the name "Shaddai"...describes power, but it is the power, not of violence, but of all-bountifulness. "Shaddai" primarily means "Breasted," being formed directly from the Hebrew word Shad, that is, "the breast," or more exactly, a "woman's breast."

Hold up! Are we talking about boobs here? Why yes, we are indeed, but only in the purest way possible.

If you are a mother, particularly one who has breast-fed an infant, and particularly if you were successful at it, you will get this connection instantly. Imagine the tiny squirming infant, wailing and helpless, unaware of anything besides the need to be soothed and filled with life-sustaining milk. That squalling, thrashing infant is you and me.

Now, imagine as the mother tenderly takes the infant in her arms, pulls him close to her skin and offers her heavily filled breast. A mother's breast milk is the perfect provider of everything that the infant needs. It lacks nothing, it is completely sufficient to meet every need of the infant-nutrition, liquid, warmth, tenderness, contact, and soothing.

Don't worry, I'm not going to suddenly diverge into a discussion of the divine female or anything. But you get my point. God is the provider of everything that we need. There is not one single thing in the entire universe that we need, which God is unable to supply, and supply abundantly.
You think of it, He can provide it when necessary.

I know a woman who loves to discuss the idea that God has very intentionally created us and our relationships with other people, to point back to Himself. I think this concept of El Shaddai as the All-Sufficient (breast) is a perfect example of this. The mother who provides for every need of her distressed infant helps us to understand the God who provides for every need of His distressed children.

Here is the first time we see the name El Shaddai in scripture, as it was revealed to Abram, in the same encounter in which God changes Abram's name to Abraham.

Genesis 17:1-2

"When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am El Shaddai; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.""

Did you notice the part about "multiply you exceedingly?" I think that the "woman's breast" aspect of El Shaddai is reinforced by the way in which this name is first revealed to mankind.

Another passage of scripture where we see the name El Shaddai and the idea of "being multiplied" occurs in Genesis 28:3, when Isaac is sending his son Jacob to find a wife.

Genesis 28:3

"May El Shaddai bless you,
And make you fruitful and multiply you,
That you may be an assembly of peoples."

See what I mean?

You might be wondering what any of this naming of God in the book of Genesis possibly has to do with anything in the book of Psalm. I'm glad you asked, because I see El Shaddai all over Psalm 131, a very short Psalm, that has recently become one of my favorites.

Psalm 131

Simple Trust in the LORD
A Song of Ascents. Of David.

LORD, my heart is not haughty,
Nor my eyes lofty.
Neither do I concern myself with great matters,
Nor with things too profound for me.

Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul,
Like a weaned child with his mother;
Like a weaned child is my soul within me.

O Israel, hope in the LORD
From this time forth and forever.

It is the part about a weaned child with his mother that made the connection for me. Only after you have come to know God as El Shaddai, The All Sufficient One, will you have a calmed and quieted soul. Only after you have climbed up in the lap of Abba, Father, who is also characterized with motherly love and provision here in Psalm 131, will you have a soul like a weaned child.

A weaned child has passed the stage of infancy. He has taken what was given and it has not only become a part of his physical being, but has also caused him to grow and become strong and mature. That is exactly what I need when I have spent too much time thinking about all of the sin and darkness that El Roi has witnessed in this world. I need time of close contact and nurturing from El Shaddai. And then, only then, can I sit and be calmed and quieted.

I also don't think that understanding El Shaddai as the All-Sufficient-One takes anything away from the translation of Almighty God. Both translations encompass the power of God and His ability to provide and accomplish whatever He desires. But the idea of sufficiency ties in so well with the picture of the woman's breast, that I can't help but prefer that first definition.

***I meant to add this part yesterday but forgot:

There is another verse in Psalms that immediately makes me think of the woman's breast reference in El Shaddai.

Psalm 81:10

"I am the LORD your God,
Who brought you out of the land of Egypt;
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it."

One of the commentaries I looked over talked about the image of a baby bird with its mouth agape waiting for its mother to drop food inside and satisfy its hunger. But, once again, if you have ever nursed a very young infant, another image may come to your mind like it did mine. I remember this reflex so clearly showing up when my oldest was in the hospital. Although she never did breastfeed, it wasn't for lack of the rooting reflex, where an infant turns her head to one side and opens that little mouth as wide as possible, trying to find a source of food-the mother's breast.

The context of Psalm 81, is that God is commanding Israel to turn away from all foreign gods, and worship Him, the only true God. He is warning them that no other idols or gods will be able to provide for them. Only the LORD can fill their waiting mouths. And He wants them to open those mouths WIDE so He can fill them.

I can look back at so many times in my own life when I felt like I did not have everything I needed. So many years of feeling as though my needs were not provided for. Now that I have a little bit of perspective, I have come to realize two things. First, most of my felt needs were not really needs at all. God did in fact provide for all of my needs, just not necessarily all of my wants. And second, in almost every single instance, I was not turning to God as a helpless child, totally dependent on Him, with a mouth wide open and waiting. I was doing exactly what God warns against in Psalm 81, I was chasing after useless idols.

Psalm 145:4

Talk about getting a full dose from one Psalm. Psalm 145 is packed so full of good stuff that my mind was jumping from one line to the next and just trying to keep up this morning! I want to unpack a single verse of the Psalm that really got my attention.

Psalm 145:4

"One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts."

If you have kids, and you are a Christian, I'm willing to bet that you have read at least one Christian parenting book. There are lots of good ones out there. Some better than others. And maybe this idea that I'm about to explore has already been written about extensively and I have just managed to miss it somehow. I'll admit that my husband is the avid reader in this household. I'm an obsessive reader, which means that I am practically unable to put down a book once I have started it. This causes all sorts of problems, so I save my reading for blocks of time when I can really indulge. If you have preschoolers like I do, you know that those blocks of time are few and faaaaar between. Anyhoo...

I'll be blunt. One of God's mighty acts has been redeeming me from the pit of destruction. If you are a Christian, you should be able to say the same thing. Now, we've all been pulled out of slightly different looking pits, but the bottom line is that all of our pits involved the biggest sin of all--loving self more than loving God. (Matthew 22:37)

On top of that most egregious sin, we have each managed to heap up all sorts of muck, mire and slime that God had to pull us out of. (Psalm 40:2) For some of us, the muck is harder to see outwardly, but you can bet it has manifested itself in our hearts. For others, well, they may never get to the point where their public sins are completely forgotten by those around them.

But, whether our sins are in our heart or in our actions, we have this cultural pressure to hide them away and never speak of them again. Why is that? I know that there must be a healthy balance between declaring the mighty acts of God versus pulling out our filth for the whole world to gawk at. And specifically, I wonder if we should be more open and honest with our children.

Psalm 145:4 is specifically talking about generations. One generation praising God's work to the next generation. Naturally that includes all of the famous mighty works, the stories in the Bible. But there are mighty works that are personal to our families--the change that God has brought about in each of us because of His great power to change, restore, redeem and recreate. And that makes me wonder if our cultural tendency to present ourselves as untarnished pillars of righteousness (particularly to our children) is perhaps misplaced?

I'm not talking about glorifying our sin. And I certainly realize that every disclosure and interaction with our children MUST be age appropriate. But isn't there a way to declare the mighty acts of God in our lives to our children without stepping over that line?

I don't know the whole answer here. My kids are still little ones. Some of you have raised up children that have gone on to start their own family. What do you think?

**If you don't have kids, this concept can still apply to you in the way you interact with fellow believers and the world at large.

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