The Rear View Mirror

 "I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all Your works and consider what Your hands have done." Psalm 143:5

    At my age, there's more ground in the rear view mirror than what yawns before me. What do I see there? A lanky, goofy, shy kid who was taller than others my age, who would rather be home playing with her cat than joining social circles. Home was the placenta of safety, unconditional love and care. My parents approached the throne room of the Almighty on my behalf, intervening into the spiritual realms, asking for protection as I journeyed. I didn't want to leave.

    A parallel place to my domicile in Grand River had stained glass windows, a robed choir and a larger family of folks who loved me and called me "Rae." At the time, I didn't see the larger picture of why my parents had me baptized and why I had to attend catechism classes, youth groups and Sunday School. They were introducing me to the Family of God, one of eternal impact, where our Father reigns forever and we are joint heirs with His Son, Jesus. 

    No matter where I go, the road is always blessed by my brothers and sisters in Christ. When I have had a disabled vehicle or have lost my way, there were others who served as the helping hands of God, getting me where I am today, praying me through one wreck after another. Providing a roadside picnic to strengthen me for the days ahead.

    My traveling days are not over. Looking ahead, I see my nieces and nephews and my granddaughter who will need mentoring, as well as a host of lost kids at the school where I work. When I meditate on all that God has done for me, I am thoroughly equipped to be a tour guide. My testimony is proof that nothing can ever separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus my Lord. (Romans 8: 38, 39)

"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should go, for to You I entrust my life." Psalm 143:8

    

In God They Trust

 "This is what the Lord says: 'Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: That they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight.'" Jeremiah 9: 23, 24

    If I were feeling down about something or too self-absorbed, my folks used to advise me to reach out to others, help someone in need, or observe those less fortunate. On Easter, due to a sudden death in our family, the grief was all-consuming. With the echo of my childhood teachings in mind, I plunked down with the remote to search for something edifying. What I found was so inspiring it was medicinal. 

    Franklin Graham stood at a podium in the heart of Lviv, Ukraine to deliver an Easter message. Before he began, he introduced a jubilant choir, mostly composed of refugees due to the Russian invasion of their country. Though these people had lost everything, they were far from poor for they retained the thing most valuable: Righteousness with the Living God. And, boy, did they let it show by their beaming smiles and utmost enthusiasm as they raised their voices in worship. 

    The next day, a newspaper report of the Ukrainian crisis served to seal my understanding of this Christian nation. Moscow had defiantly given a deadline to surrender, but the spunky Ukrainians rejected it, vowing to fight to the end. It was their president's Easter greeting that delighted me the most: "The Lord's Resurrection is a testimony to the victory of life over death, good over evil."

    Indeed! This is what a Christian nation looks like - one which boasts only in the Lord Jesus Christ. One which depends upon the testimony of a risen, living Savior who exercises the justice so sorely needed and, until that victory has been achieved, they will tell the world the reason behind the hope they have. 

    In God they trust.

"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God." Psalm 20:7 

    

The Power of Hope

 "I will sing of the Lord's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations." Psalm 89:1

    This morning, I made the grievous error of reading the newspaper before exploring my Bible. Grimly flipping the pages of vacant words and inane "news" of scary, six-foot Easter bunnies and plastic eggs that represent their empty philosophy, I was overjoyed to see a photo of a cross with these words emblazoned above: HE HAS RISEN. Finally, some good news!

    Within this column of community news, the author shared her personal testimony of her bout with cancer and her hope in the midst of crisis. As the seriousness of her situation enveloped her, a seed of fear began to grow within her otherwise optimistic heart until she saw that the demands of this disease exceeded her strength. In desperation, the hospital bathroom became her private prayer closet as great sobs wracked her weary body. "I cried out to God to help me and give me peace and hope." she recalled. "I asked Him to speak to my heart and let me know He was there and going to take care of me."*

    You may be wondering how this is "good news." I'll tell you: The Christian does not tread on rose petals down aromatic pathways, free from crisis. Rather, a Christian is often under fire more heavily than unbelievers because Satan wants to conquer that person like adding a scalp to his belt. If you are in a valley where one crisis heaps upon another, do what Satan hates the most: Fight back! Fire off Scriptural missiles and sing praises of worship to God, even if you don't feel like it. True-grit faith isn't based on feelings or circumstances, it's firmly rooted in the promises of our immutable God.

    Back to the prayer closet, the weeping author heard God say, "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21) Steeled by divine courage, she rose from her knees in the hope of the Lord, secure in the knowledge that, for a believer, it's a win-win situation. Then she went on to "make His faithfulness known," a beacon of hope in a secular periodical. 

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

"Hope in the Midst of a Crisis," by Barbara Hamilton, The Lake County Tribune, April 15, 2022

    

Easter Angels

 "Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and He will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? But how then would the Scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way?" Matthew 26: 53, 54

    While taking a walk last week, I saw a few Easter decorations in someone's yard. One, a little angel, gave me pause thinking that should be more of a Christmastime adornment until I remembered the Easter angels. When Christ was in great anguish in Gethsemane, an angel came to Him and strengthened Him. On their way to the tomb, the two Marys wondered who would roll the stone away from the entrance when they were met by an angel who had done it for them, giving them view of the empty tomb. 

    These angels were messengers sent by the Father to address imminent needs, but there were many, many more who were not dispatched, though they waited for the command. Jesus could have called for assistance, but He knew He must go through with the Salvation Plan.

    Ray Overholt, who was born in Michigan in 1924, took to music at a young age. He'd written his first song at age ten so his father bought him a guitar for three dollars the following year. After much success from performances and a television show, the effects of his success led him to a life of nightclubs until Ray found he'd become a profane man in need of a Savior.

    Vowing to clean up his act, he opened his Bible and felt inspired to write a song about Jesus. Perhaps you are familiar with "He Could Have Called Ten Thousand Angels?" It wasn't until after he had performed this song at a small church that Ray knelt at the altar and invited Jesus into his heart. "I knew I needed Christ," reflected Ray, "so I knelt there and accepted, as my Savior, the One whom I had been singing and writing about."

    In order to save people like Ray Overholt, Jesus would not save Himself. It was only His sacrifice on the cross that would enable Him to save us eternally. 

"He could have called ten thousand angels

To destroy the world and set Him free.

He could have called ten thousand angels,

But He died alone for you and me." - Ray Overholt

"The angel said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said." Matthew 28:5, 6

    

Waterworks

 "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, the living God. When can I go and meet with God?" Psalm 42: 1, 2

    When I went to work for the water company at age 25, I didn't even know what a water main was. Having grown up in a home with modern plumbing, I never gave a thought as to how fresh, potable water came from the faucet; I just knew that it did. As my education at Ohio Water Service unfolded, I learned that water drawn from Lake Erie was then sent to a filtration plant for treatment before it was pumped out across Lake County via water mains. Terms like ductile iron pipe, service lines, meter vaults and low strength mortar became familiar to me. Amazingly, this whole world of service to bring life-giving water to its customers had been unknown to me and quite taken for granted.

    Just as our bodies need water to survive, even more so do our souls. Sometimes, we spend more time working on our physical tent, neglecting the fact that our true being is dehydrated. We, who were created by God, need the nourishment He provides which can be found in the pages of our Bible. That's where we can go and meet with God.

    Imagine if you turned on your faucet and no water came forth? That's what it is like for many inhabitants of the world who have no Bibles. I was reading in the Voice of the Martyrs newsletter about a small church in Ethiopia who only had one Bible amongst them. Each week, the believers took turns taking that precious Book home with them, bringing it back on Sunday for the pastor to use. 

    In Iran, one thirsty family who had no Bible listened to God's word on a Christian radio station every day and jotted down the Scripture in a notebook, thereby making a collection of verses. 

    Many nations have declared the Bible to be illegal. A man who has been smuggling Bibles into hostile territories for the past 25 years said, "I am still astonished at the lengths to which persecutors will go to seek and destroy a book they claim to be fiction." Why such a drive to eliminate this Book? 

    Here's the reason: Within its pages God's Truth is found. Liars are threatened by the truth because it exposes their deception and Satan, the father of liars and author of false religion, hates it when we read our Bibles. That fact alone ought to propel us to "turn on the faucets" of living water and quench our thirsty souls. Never take your Bible for granted.

"As the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." Isaiah 55: 9-11

What's the Point?

 "'Meaningless! Meaningless!' says the Teacher. 'Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.' What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun?" Ecclesiastes 1: 2, 3

    Have you ever watched ants toil as they build their home? Push a few grains of sand back in the hole with your thumb and watch how tenaciously they scurry to fix it. Back and forth; up and down; grain after grain. Why bother? Does anybody care? What's the point?

    Every day, at the sound of the alarm, my feet tiredly swing toward the bathroom door. Wash my face; brush my teeth; put on my uniform. Like the ant, it's grain after grain.

    What drives people, especially those crazy Christians? Day after day, they read that Book, tune into those boring broadcasts, bow their heads talking to the air and repeatedly drive to that building with a cross on the peak. Day after day, grain after grain until, even like John the Baptist, we ourselves may ask of Jesus, "Are you the One who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" (Luke 7:19)

    Have you ever felt like that laboring ant, toiling toward some invisible end? What if it's not real and your faith is in vain? How do you know? Why did Noah spend 120 years building an ark, looking like a kook to his neighbors? What made the Magi (supposedly "wise men") follow a star in search of a baby? Why did seasoned fishermen leave their livelihoods among their nets to follow an itinerant Preacher? Why did Billy Graham leave his home, time after time, to traipse across six continents? What caused Mother Teresa to labor amongst the poorest of the poor? Why on earth did the Ten Boom family risk life and limb to hide Jewish people within the walls of their home? What's the point?

    I'll tell you: It's the empty grave! We serve a risen Savior who's in the world today. If Jesus had just been a good soul, a kindly preacher who helped people and was killed for his trouble, then why did his followers still keep spreading his gospel under the threat of death? Allow a Pharisee named Gamaliel to answer that: "Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail, But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God." (Acts 5: 38, 39)

    "Grain after grain." we don't labor in vain, rather we press on toward our heavenly prize: eternal life! We join beleaguered Job in proclaiming: 

"I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end, He will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see Him with my own eyes, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!" Job 19: 25-27

"Oh, there will be a day when all will bow before Him;

There will be a day when death will be no more.

Standing face-to-face with He who died and rose again;

Holy, Holy is the Lord!

And every prayer we prayed in desperation,

The songs of faith, we sang through doubt and fear;

In the end, we'll see that it was worth it

When He returns to wipe away our tears."

-Hymn of Heaven, by Phil Wickham 

No Saws in Heaven

 "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot...a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance." Ecclesiastes 3: 1-4

    Our lovely flowering pear tree had to come down. David and I knew it was growing too close to the house and its roots were a potential hazard; we both hated to lose it. Though I knew in my head this was meant to be, when I saw its hewn branches bearing buds that would not blossom, I was saddened.

    Life ends before we're ready sometimes. Last year, my sixtieth birthday ushered in new evidence of my eventual demise. Though death does not frighten me thanks to the hope I have in Christ, I don't relish the aging process. I want the dance to continue on winged feet.

    If we know we're dying soon, do we live with fewer regrets? Do we try new things with abandon? Extend forgiveness without being asked? If I had my life to live over again, knowing what I know now, I would have walked so closely to Jesus that Satan could not wedge between us with his evil ideas.

    A girl I remember from my Sunday School comes to mind. She always had a peaceful expression and a quiver full of kindness at the ready. Through my immaturity, I saw her as hopelessly square. Now, I wish I'd have been more like her. Perhaps I'd have avoided many scars. 

    Where Eden is restored, there flows a river of life which waters the tree whose leaves are for the healing of the nations. This tree will never be felled; it waits there for me to dance beneath its shady boughs with winged feet.

"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb, down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever." Revelation 22: 1-5

A Letter From Christ

"You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the Living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts." 2 Corinthians 3: 2, 3

    I have a compilation of writings in a binder. On its cover is this favorite quote from Ben Franklin: 

"If you would not be forgotten,

As soon as you are dead and rotten,

Either write things worthy reading

Or do things worth the writing."

    Since my suburban life in Ohio hasn't produced many glamorous things worthy of writing, I thought I would write things worthy of reading. When I die, my kids are going to be reading miles of writings for some time to come (unless they just throw them away.)     

    The verses above speak of a different kind of writing, not one of pen on paper but on the hearts of people. In this way, we can all be writers of things worth reading. What story is the Spirit of the Living God jotting down on your heart to be known and read by everyone you meet? 

    One key of successful writing is to speak from your true experiences. Do you have a grandchild to whom you may tell the many ways God has worked in your life? Does your spouse know how much you treasure them? Are you slow to anger, choosing words that edify your listener? Have you shared the love of Christ with someone? Does your family know where to find you on Sunday morning? Have you grasped the hands of the hurting in prayer?

    All of these prompts may seem like they don't add up to a Pulitzer Prize, but even the greatest novels were written one word at a time, beginning with a blank page. God is typing out a message to the generation which succeeds you; you are that blank page. How do others read you?

"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: 3, 4

     

Stinky Feet

 "After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to Him, 'Lord, are you going to wash my feet?'" John 13: 5, 6

    During recuperation following her hip replacement surgery, my mom could not reach her feet to maintain them. Seeing her need, I tended to them with water and lotion. She was so appreciative, thanking me several times, but my love for her would not allow me to do otherwise.

    In the Jewish culture of Jesus's day, only the lowest type of slave would have the job of foot-washing, so when His disciples saw Jesus stoop over their stinky feet with a basin and towel, they were incredulous. Simon Peter forbade it, not wanting their Teacher to be so abased yet Jesus humbled Himself before them, even washing the feet of Judas, the Betrayer. 

    In a devotional message I read on this passage, the writer probed the heart of his readers with this question: If your feet were in the hands of Jesus, what would be left unsaid between you? Close your eyes and imagine the King of kings bowing over the dirtiest part of you, silently cleansing your filth. What would you say? How would you feel knowing all your hidden secrets were laid bare before His holiness? Oh, Jesus, never look there, in that dark room where skeletons abide! And yet, when we were steeped in sin, He died for us. In fact, He became sin for us. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

    To be like Christ, we must emulate His actions. To wash my loving mother's feet was easy - a joy, even. But to humble myself as a servant to a former friend who threw me under the bus, could I do that in love?  If Jesus did, who am I to refuse?

"In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death - even death on a cross!" Philippians 2: 5-8