WIDDERSHINS

Oh Gee willickers! Dang! Sometimes I’m a knucklehead but that ninkompoop is worse! But fiddlesticks! It’s not just hunky dory these days. Things just seem to be moving in the wrong direction in our world today - more like counter-clockwise or in other words: Widdershins!

And yet, what an awesome, amazing, adventurous place it is! What a privilege we have to live, work and serve in such a broken world. We are the hands and feet of Jesus. The apostle Paul shared in Galations 5:13 that,

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.

I am a barefoot mamma who loves to kick off her shoes and walk in the grass in the summer. Then I think about my hands. Palms up - palms down, turn them over and hold them open. When I think about my feel and hands, it reminds me of how they have served me throughout my years. I’ve got bunions and callouses on my feet and my hands have wrinkles and are shriveled and worn, but both have helped me all my life.

My feel have carried me on sandy shores and rocky mountainous trails. They have dipped into the waves of the ocean and walked in a cold stream. They have kicked soccer balls in grassy fields and pedaled a bicycle along a paved path. I have stood on them through seasons of childbearing years sometimes endless nights pacing the floor with a newborn and at the hospital bedside of my loved ones.

These hands have written letters and books and trembled when I read my parent’s obituaries at their passing. They have held my children and grandson, consoled neighbors and friends, cooked meals for others and been clenched in anger at times when I didn’t understand what was happening.

Both hands and hands have been bent and broken, dry and raw, scarred and bleeding. Now that I am older, they still work but even though I’m not as nimble as I used to be, I can still clasp them in prayer and hold others in love, even if I have to stand on tiptoes to reach a hug. More importantly, these will be the hands that God reaches out to take me and the feet that will walk toward Him when he reaches out to take me home.

 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” Matthew 14:31

I don’t doubt for a moment that His nail-scarred hands hold me until then. I pray he is holding you.

chiliad

I have a thousand questions. Why do men take up swords to slay one another? Why do words pierce the inner fibre of our being? Why do flames devour, raging winds wreak havoc, and earthquakes create cracks to swallow the earth? Why does the beaming smile of a little child light up my world? Why does the string of a cello vibrate my innermost rhythms? Why is the church today more like a luxury liner instead of a battleship ready to fight for the souls of men?

Indo-European etymologists believe that the word “thousand” or “chiliad” in Greek means “swollen hundred.” There really was no word for “thousand” so it referred to very large numbers. In the Psalms, David makes reference to God:

He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac, which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute, to Israel as an everlasting covenant, Psalm 105:8-10 or perhaps:

For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night. Psalm 90:4

And Peter, Jesus’ apostle, gives us a true figure as well:

But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 2 Peter 3:8

And so, for thousands of years, the real purpose of the church is to bring unbelievers to Jesus. Jesus told his disciples, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned".” (Mark 16:15-16) Yet many Christians indulge in the peaceful comforts of the world. What would really happen if we looked squarely in the face of thousands of people on this planet “who are currently heading for an eternity in hell, while never having heard of Jesus? Would we decide it was time to move this ship back into battle, or would we continue to sit back on the pool deck while we wait for the staff to service us another drink?” - David Platt

Eternity is forever. I would rather live my life as if there is a God and die to find out there isn’t, than live my life as if there isn’t and die to find out there is.

Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. Rev. 20:6

Maybe it’s time to put on our armour and fight the real battle - the spiritual war that is raging across our nations. How are you sharing God’s love and promises in your life today?

solivagant

There are some days when I get the urge to hike high in the mountains, silently stride by the river, or briskly bike along a path. There are other times when I let my thoughts wander in different directions, but those inner thoughts eventually lead to some recent happening, worry or concern in my life. And so in my solivagant, or solitary wandering, I think about injustice and pain that others suffer.

Recently I watched the movie, “The Sound of Freedom” which is about a federal agent who rescues a boy from cruel and ruthless child traffickers. He finds out that the boy’s sister is still being held captive and he decides to journey on a mission to save her. He quits his job, dives deep into the Columbian jungle and puts his life on line to safe her. It tugged at my heart in so many ways and brought tears to my eyes.

“Typically, we want the persecution to stop. Typically, we want suffering believers to be rescued. Typically, we want the persecutors to be punished. Typically, we equate Western forms of democracy with the kingdom of God. Typically, we try to do with money what we should do with witness. And in those perfectly normal responses, we can find ourselves completely out of step with the purposes and plans of God. Much to our surprise, believers enduring intense persecution did not ask us to pray that their persecution would cease. Instead, they begged us to pray that they would be obedient through their suffering. And that is a very different prayer indeed.” - Nik Ripken

Which begs the questions, how are we praying? Are we being putdown for our stand regarding Jesus? Am I leading a life worthy of what I am called to do? There will always be thoughts to ponder. There will always be prayers to pray. There will always be injustice until Jesus comes to restore his kingdom and God will deliver justice to all. And there will always be questions. Keep asking them.

“Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” 2 Timothy 3:12

BIBLINE

Look at the world and see it is full of people. Look at the sky on a clear night and it is full of stars. Go into the forest that is full of trees. People can also be “full of themselves” and even our homes are full of stuff.

Many people watch Netflix or their lives are full of social media. Others are consuming culture, a cause or even food. Their journey in life is full of the world and all it has to offer. John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress is much like J.R.R. Tolken’s Lord of the Rings trilogy in that it is the journey of a Christian from the City of Destruction to the Celestial City.

The story is full of characters - Talkative, Giant Despair, Worldly Wiseman, Pliable, Formalist and Obstinate. Bunyan’s Prilgrim’s Progress is also full of reflections of a bible verse or passage from the bible. Charles Spurgeon, a great theologian once said, that “if you pricked Bunyan, his blood would be “Bibline”; or in other words, full of scripture. He, like Paul, read the Word until his soul was saturated with scripture. He was a living bible. What an example to us!

Recently, I started writing bible verses on index or recipe cards to keep in my vehicle. When I am waiting for someone, in traffic or at the lights, I try to memorize the scripture verses - line by line. Keep the Word of the Lord written on the tablet of your heart and stored in your mind for future reference. God will bless you when you speak His Word. What ways are you etching His Word into your life, your mind and your blood?

My son, do not forget my teaching,
    but keep my commands in your heart,
 for they will prolong your life many years
    and bring you peace and prosperity.

 Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
    bind them around your neck,
    write them on the tablet of your heart.
 Then you will win favor and a good name
    in the sight of God and man. Proverbs 3:1-4

cattywampus

I don’t know about you, but there are just some things in the world today that are cattywampus! Yes, this word says it all: something is off kilter or askew. Many theologians, philosophers and prophets have told us that we are to watch for signs of the times. Newscasters announce disasters and catastrophic events. Educators, medical staff and politicians communicate that the world is wacky these days. We even have Wacky Wednesday! You may be nodding your head in agreement!

Whether it’s wild, wacky or weird - there is an answer to what to do about it all and change those adjectives into wonderful, warm and welcoming. In 1904, a headline from the New York Times caught my attention:

Commuter Carred Victim and Guildty Secret to New York

Apparently, a New York business man from New Jersey had a number of pigeons, but lost many of them to vagrant cats. He became so aggitated that he lay in ambush with a gun watching for stray cats. Sure enough, one emerged with a pigeon in its mouth. He shot and the cat was dead. The problem was that he needed to dispose of the carcass. He first thought of burying it in the back yard, but the neighbors might see him.

He decided instead to wrap the cat in papers and throw it off the ferryboat that he took to cross the river. The next morning he took the train and then boarded the boat where he was greeted by a group of friends. He realized he would have to do some explaining, so his plan was deterred. He thought he would toss the bundle into a trash can on the way to the office but someone was always gazing in his direction, including a policeman.

He went all the way to the office and locked the dead cat in a closet, vowing that he would take care of matters on his way home. But once again, on his return trip home, he met more acqaintances. He boarded the train, laid the package beside him and tried to read the daily paper. Reaching his station, he took the package and went home defeated. When he got home, he handed the bundle to the cook and told her to bury the cat in the back yard.

She took the package but returned a few minutes later.

“There’s been a mistake, Sir. This isn’t a cat. It’s a nice leg of mutton.”

Evidently, the man had picked up the wrong bundle when he left the train. He hoped that the person who reached home with the dead cat didn’t learn his identity.

Thankfully, we have our identity in Jesus Christ as believers! We don’t need to hide anything and He wraps His arms around us in love and comfort.

1 Peter 2:9 ~ “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

Galatians 2:20~ ” I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

PLUVIOPHILE

The thunder resounded in the heavens. Lightning flashed across the skies in electric lines jagged and jarring. And the drops of rain pounded on the roof with a staccato of melody keeping the beat as the thunder rolled on by. Another summer storm on the prairies.

Our mother loved the rain - the smell of freshness, the baptizing of the trees, the sound of pattering on the window sill. She was a pluviophile - a lover of rain. What is it about the droplets that fall from the sky in torrents or drizzle across our window panes that makes us love precipitation from the heavens?

As humans, we always have questions: Will I find someone to love? What’s our purpose here on earth? Why do people die so young? We vibrate with unanswered questions even though we have access to information at our fingertips. Old tales tell that we all take a journey to discover answers to our questions - even with uncertainty. We step into adventure; embark upon the sea; take flight to the skies. There is something to discover, but even though there is discord or uncertainty, there is something to behold.

Joseph is a perfect example from the bible about uncertainty. I am sure he had many questions. Why did my brothers betray me? Why did I end up in prison for all those years? Did God forget about me? and yet through it all,

“The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master… so he soon made Joseph his personal attendant. He put him in charge of his entire household and everything he owned.” Genesis 39: 2, 4.

Even later, “But the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden… The warden had no more worries because Joseph took care of everything. The Lord was with him and caused everything he did to succeed.” Genesis 39: 21, 23

Joseph displayed his trust in God in the midst of his uncertain circumstances. The result was that even though he wasn’t where he wanted to be, he trusted God and as a result, God faithfully honored him. We would do well to trust in God despite all our questions and know that He is there to walk with us through whatever it is we are going through. Even the storm passes to give us sunshine. In the waiting, listen to the rain.