Hammer on Anvil '

Holy week... my absolute favorite holiday season. I can’t get over it. The Easter story. My Jesus.
I just can’t get over it.

Holy week is a Christian reference to the last days in the life of Jesus. It begins on Palm Sunday
with the Triumphal entry. Jesus rides into Jerusalem seated on a humble donkey while crowds
gathered waving palm branches and shouting, “Hosana! Hosana! Blessed is the king who comes
in the name of the Lord!” Yet he was not the kind of king they imagined.

On Monday he enters the temple area to find money changers and loiters. He was outraged. He
overturned their tables and drove them out with a whip saying to them, “It is written, ‘my house
will be a house of prayer for all nations, but you have made it into a den of robbers’” (Mark
11:15-17). Jesus cleansed the temple. He can cleanse your soul.

Tuesday Jesus curses a fruitless fig tree as a demonstration of the great faith he calls us to have
(Matthew 21:18-22). He teaches in parable about obedience (Matthew 21:28-32) and the eternal
bounty in heaven God has prepared for us (Matthew 22:1-14). Jesus wants us to get it. We are
called to a life of abundance, of faith, that points souls to their Savior.

Jesus preached his last sermon on Wednesday. He warns the people, “Keep watch, because you
do not know on what day your Lord will come” (Matthew 24:42-44). What do you believe about
a Creator? A Savior? Eternity? What do you believe about this Jesus?

Jesus is betrayed. Judas conspires with the chief priests to arrest Jesus. In other words, Judas
sold his soul to the devil. (Luke 22:1-6) Who owns your soul?

Maundy Thursday. Jesus and his disciples celebrate the Passover, a traditional Jewish feast,
in what will be known as the Last Supper. Jesus, the Servant King, humbly washes the feet of
his disciples. He encourages them to love one another through acts of service (John 13:1-17).
Beautiful, radical, servant love.

Good Friday. Jesus the Messiah, King of the Jews, is arrested, brutally beaten, and hung on a
cross. As the guards beat him and spat on him, he loved them. As they nailed his hands and feet
to a cross, he prayed to God for them, “Forgive them Father. They know not what they do" (Luke
23:34). He loves us so much and wanted nothing more than to do the Father’s will – to reconcile
a fallen people (Luke 22:54-23:56).



I just can’t write about it. I don’t have the words. I’ve agonized for hours trying to finish this
post. The beauty of Good Friday, the cross, and the sacrifice of my Jesus…it’s just too much for
my soul. I can’t get over it.

And it doesn’t end on Friday. God’s plan is not carried out in full until Easter Sunday (Luke 24).
I pray as you read this Gospel of Jesus Christ, you never get over it.

Sometimes being a Christian and being a liberal makes Facebook feel a lot like an abusive relationship. For the most part that's why I try to avoid posting anything that will spark debate. I've learned my lesson to watch myself around believers that enjoy Fox News and spend more time on the the web than in the Word. Ya'll go for the throat, and for that reason I will choose peace over posting my opinion any day.

Have you ever been frustrated that you don't seem to be progressing in your spiritual life? I know I have. Sometimes I feel as though I take a giant leap forward in my walk with God, only to subsequently take three or four steps backward. I feel like I must be the most obtuse, rebellious child God has ever had to discipline!

Last week a verse from James came to my attention over and over again: "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (4:7). I have read this verse and heard it many times, but the Holy Spirit kept speaking it to me last week. It became obvious as time went on that I needed to do some major housecleaning in my soul, and I set out to do just that.

In previous blogs I have confessed to having a problem with anger. Extreme vulnerability and helplessness from the time I was very young caused me to erect barriers of anger. You see, when you are angry, you don't appear to be so vulnerable. It's a defense mechanism that I learned to master for my own survival.

I know anger itself is not a sin, but rather a God-given emotion. Feeling anger is not a problem. But if you suppress it (as I did for years) or do not learn to express it in a healthy way, it can take over your life. When God showed me that's what was happening to me, I knew something had to be done. But what? I have known Jesus for decades, and still struggled with this issue.

The answer came as I was reading Annie Chapman's Letting Go of Anger. First, I was reminded of a very important truth:

Absolutely nothing, including that which stirred up a fierce anger, can touch me without first passing through the filter of His loving hands. God wants to use everything that comes into our lives to conform us into the image of Jesus.

Yes, everything. And Annie should know. She was cruelly raped by one of her father's farm hands when she was five years old. Fewer things inspire rage like the brutal robbing of a child's innocence and trust. Yet Annie has worked through her anger and now helps others to do the same -- including me.

The statement God used to pierce my heart was this one:

As long as we hold on to things like anger and our perceived "right" to be accommodated, we will never progress in our spiritual life.

There it was in black and white. I asked God why I didn't seem to be progressing, and He showed me through this book. When I read this statement, He reminded me again of the verse from James, and told me I had not submitted to Him completely. He showed me I have not learned to trust Him, because I still feel the need to protect myself from being vulnerable. Though I knew the anger was wrong, I had no idea how to be rid of it. I had used it as my suit of armor for decades; wouldn't I be vulnerable again if I removed it?

Yes, I had tried "resisting the devil" so he would flee. But that's another important lesson I learned from Annie's book. Notice in James 4:7 the specific order; first you are to submit yourself to God, and then resist the devil. If you try to come against Satan without having first submitted to God, you'll end up like the seven sons of Sceva:

Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?”  Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).

I realized something today... a revelation, if you will.

My boys were being rowdy as usual and upsetting their Father who was trying to rest. As I escorted the boys out of the room, I felt an unfamiliar wave of peace wash over me. It has literally been years since I have held my tongue or tamed my temper. At first I blamed it on pregnancy hormones, then exhaustion once my youngest was born. Then I blamed my behavior or my hard-wired upbringing. And hormones. And exhaustion. And lack of exercise. I pretty much blamed everything and everyone instead of taking responsibility myself. Honestly, I was beginning to believe that this is just the way I would feel until my kids grew up and I wasn't being pulled in a zillion directions. I half-heartedly prayed that God would relieve me of this thorn in my side -- the thorn that I am. But in this moment of unfamiliar calm...it all made sense.

Once more Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly. Mark 8:25

All this time Jesus was shaping me. He shown light into dark corners of my selfish, prideful heart that I didn't want to admit existed. He pruned my fruitless limbs down to a stump with little more than the root system in tact. He poured mercy on me, relentlessly loved me, spoke gently to me, and even kicked my butt when I more than needed it. He never gave up on me. Now I see.

Jesus is calling me to rise up.

He commands me to rise up and live into the roles He wrote for me as wife and Mother. To open my eyes and SEE what He says is important and worthy and righteous. And in his amazing grace, He longs to pour strength, peace, and patience over me if only I would draw near to Him...fix my eyes on Him.

His Spirit ministered to me today in a way I had never before experienced. My eyes were opened. Sneakers in the middle of the living room floor do not warrant a full-blown fit... sibling quarrels can be diffused with a gentle word (or shiny distraction)... laughter really is the best medicine... these toddler years do fly by and are so precious... laundry can wait... and Jesus should be rightly placed at the center of all we do as a family.

The days of untamed tempers and selfish motives are over. I behaved so foolishly. I was so blind.

God forgive me.

In high school I met a guy, we dated for almost three years. We went everywhere together, including my family's VW bus road trip to the beach. We made plans for life after high school; however, not too long after graduation, we broke up and I was in absolute disarray. My whole life was planned with this guy in mind. For days I sat in my room and played the Smashing Pumpkin's version of Landslide on repeat and wrote tragic poetry. My parents were growing weary of always seeing me mope around and they asked often if there was anything they could do. I just quoted Over The Rhine lyrics to them and went back to moping, writing and lamenting. I was embarrassingly sad.

 Eventually, I began to open up about the hurt and disappointment I had felt. My friends and family listened and tried to comfort my crazy, but I was so wrapped up in my own problems that I lost sight of who I was and what I was becoming. I let hurt turn into bitterness and I was becoming a terrible example of the joy we should have in the Lord. My dad suggested that perhaps I should remove myself from my own dark drama and plug into something that is more illuminating.

These kids were probably fine five minutes later.

That week at church, there was a desperate need for nursery and children's church workers. I signed up and I was promptly placed on rotation to help teach.

My first day on the rotation, a little three-year- old was amazed at the "shine-ees" on my face. He loved to point out my facial piercings and he told me often that he "liked me anyway." I needed to hear that.

The next time I was placed with infants. I snuggled up to a cranky little guy that I was determined to soothe. I prayed, swayed and sang for an over an hour, and eventually he cuddled himself into a nap on my shoulder. I needed to feel that peace after some big fussing.

On my next rotation, I was leading praise for the preschoolers. We set out a box of tiny instruments and we sang, marched and made noise for the Lord. At the end of one song, a robust four-year-old ran up, almost knocking me over. He enthusiastically hugged me and thanked me for being "fun."  When it was time to go, he excitedly told his Mom, "Miss Hannah makes loud like a kid, because she loves Jesus a lot." I needed to hear that Jesus could be seen through my joy and silliness.

During one stormy night at VBS, there was a tornado siren blaring. Instead of panic and chaos, a group of six-year-olds huddled around me and asked if we could pray. We prayed and then lights flickered before going out. A little girl spoke up and said, "Well, since we've already prayed, can I sing you a song I made about a Popsicle? It would be funner than just waiting in the dark." I needed to see that faithfulness in action and joy through patience.

The times I wasn't working, I spent praying and on a mission to renew my spirit. I prayed for fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and hoped that working with these little kids would make me overflowing with childlike faith. Kids, however wild and crazy they can get, are still more loving, joyful, gentle, thankful, patient, peaceful and kind than 90% of the adults I know. Sure, some of them need to work on self-control, but really who doesn't? When they are upset or hurt, they get over it amazingly quick. They do not mope for days. They get up and do something about it. They are resilient like nobody's business. They aren't ashamed to seek help. They don't let disappointment turn into bitterness. If they hurt someone, they are quick to apologize. They are amazed by things we adults scoff at and they find hope and have faith for all things. Even during the roughest times, children will find something to be cheerful about ... and this is the message I needed to witness. This is what Mark 10:13-16 illustrates so clearly. Jesus said we must become like children. At the end of each shift I left thinking, Man, I've got a lot of work to do.

Now, I am still learning to be both mature in faith and childlike in hope, and I still have mopey sad times, but Proverbs 26:11 has already called me out on that. The Proverb says, "As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool returns to his folly." Ew. I want to be fun like a child, but I am real tired of acting like a fool. This is  why I still volunteer for children's ministry at my church and precisely why I cherish it so dearly. It also may stand to reason, also, as to why I tweet so many of my children's, The States', quotes. We all have a lot to learn from children.

So here's your mission, should you choose to accept it: Whatever you are going through, whatever is happening in your life, I want to encourage you to remove yourself from your drama and plug into the Lord. Find something else to do that isn't sitting around and pouting about how things did not turn out the way you had planned. It's fine to feel sad sometimes, but don't be high school Hannah. Find something to be cheerful for, friends. Get out and do something different. I mean, if it is making you so mad/sad/bad and indifferent, change it. And if you can't change it, find something else to focus on.

Friends, you cannot control what happens to you, what others do, or the success of your plans, but you can control your attitude. Today, pray that the Lord ignites childlike faith, wonder and hope in your life.

I would love to hear from you! Have you been renewed by removing yourself from the focus? Do you have verses that helped you through a time you needed hope and peace? Let me know! I would love to rejoice and praise God with you.
 

I heard someone say recently, "If we don't have a good A/C working in the sanctuary people may come for a couple weeks but then they will stop coming." That one comment has been on my mind a lot since hearing it a few weeks ago.

What does that say about our faithfulness to Christ? The Church is the bride of Christ. He loves the Church so much that He died for her. So for Christians to say, "I love Jesus but I hate the Church," it doesn't make sense. If you told me you hated my wife I would terminate our friendship.

My husband and I just returned from a much-needed week away in the Phoenix area. It was a blessed time of relaxation and enjoying treasured family relationships.

Our flight back to Springfield left at 7:25 in the morning. As the flight attendant began her spiel about emergency exits and the like, I was a bit taken aback when she said they would be serving alcoholic beverages. Excuse me? Alcoholic beverages at 7:30 in the morning? I could understand if it were an evening flight, but should it even be legal to offer alcohol at that hour of the morning? I was pretty sure nobody would take her up on that offer, but I was wrong.

The man across the aisle from us bought a can of beer. And it must've been one whopper of a beer, at $7 a can! Before the flight was over, he had ordered another beer.

Two beers consumed before the hour of 10 a.m. My heart ached for this man, and I wondered what his life must be like. I remember all too well sitting at the breakfast table with my father when I was a teenager. His unusually tall glass of orange juice was actually vodka, with the juice added for color. He thought he was fooling us, but he wasn't. On one occasion when I angrily hurled a bottle of his booze across a field, he threatened to wring my neck.

I confess that I used to view addicts with contempt. In times past, I would've looked at that man across the aisle in the airplane and despised him in my heart. I was one of those "holier than thou" Christians who had a list of "pet sins" that I was sure God thought were much worse than any of MY sins. But when He showed me a healthy dose of the wickedness in my own heart, I began to let Him teach me about compassion. About loving "the least of these." About not being quick to condemn just because maybe I hadn't fallen prey to a particular sin myself.

My long-suffering husband and I have been through some very turbulent waters in our nearly 35 years of marriage. When we share our story of how God has redeemed our marriage, sometimes the first thing people think is, "Oh...surely that must have happened before you knew the Lord." Wrong.

It drives me crazy that when you share something so wonderfully redemptive, people can't simply rejoice with you. They have to know immediately if you were really a Christian when you:

• had an abortion, or
• had an affair, or 
• used an illegal substance, or 
• viewed pornography, or 
• dabbled in homosexuality, or
• ________________ (fill in the blank)

What is it with that? Do people who ask this question really think that Christians don't sin?

I am so grateful for biblical accounts of David and Samson and Jonah and Peter and many others who blew it big-time. It is obvious when I read about these men that, yes, it is possible to be even "a man after God's own heart" and yet allow sin to lure you away. Peter walked with Jesus for three years, and yet denied Him in His hour of need because he allowed fear to grip his heart.

Please, my friends, before you quickly look down your nose at someone who has committed a sin that you can't imagine committing yourself, remember that very likely you have committed sins that the other person hasn't. Don't condemn a brother's homosexuality and then gossip about him to everyone you meet. Don't be critical of a sister's addiction to alcohol and then eat yourself into a model of American obesity. Don't be properly horrified to learn someone has abortion in their past, while you privately view pornography because "you're not hurting anyone."

It is time for us to be real about the ugliness in our own hearts, dear ones. If you have become hardened about the shortcomings of others, ask God to circumcise your heart. Ask Him to allow you to see others through His eyes. Ask Him to show you how far short YOU fall, and be repentant. Remember Jesus' wise words to the accusers of the woman caught in adultery: "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone."

A few weeks ago an atheist friend of mine posted an image on Facebook with words that read, "The Lord is not my Shepherd, because I am not a sheep."
"1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever."

My wife and I have been watching The Bible series that's currently airing on the History Channel on Sunday nights. We have really enjoyed it.

Yes, I know they have not showed all the stories. Yes, I know not every single detail is exactly correct. But think about the opportunity it now provides you to have those conversations with people in your community who may not go to church but who watch TV!

Anyway, last night Jenny and I were talking and she started sharing thoughts about how she felt some people in the OT had to have some strong faith.

Abraham had God speak directly to him. He heard God's voice, so either he could have thought he was going crazy, or he needed to follow God! But all those people who followed Abraham never had God speak to them. They just had to have faith that Abraham knew what he was talking about.

Isaac had a connection with God similar to his father's and Jacob did as well. Joseph could interpret dreams. But everyone else had to trust that this family wasn't just being egotistical, but that they actually heard God and wanted what was best for everyone.

Think about that happening today. Most of the time we would brush somebody off. "Well how come God hasn't said anything to me?! What? You think you are more special than me?"

I'm sure some felt that way, but they still followed! It didn't make sense. It was against the norm. They never heard the audible voice of God. They still followed!

We have the very words of God written out for us. Any instructions we need are in the pages of the Bible. He speaks to us. Often calling us to a life that doesn't make sense. A life where we have to step out and trust that God isn't going to let us fall. It reminds me of this:


Following is hardly ever easy. It often makes no sense. Sometimes we don't even have all the details ("Go to the land I will show you" "Um God where is that?" "I'll show you later...just go."). Other people may think you are crazy for following with such passion. But God will reward it.

God loves us and will always take care of us as we live out our faith. So don't let your fear stop you. Take your leap.

Did today's title grab you? It's all I could think of -- and seems to best describe the nature of this blog.

My four-year-old granddaughter, Lael, loves to dance. All you have to do is put on some good music and she's off -- nowadays closely followed by her little sister, Evie. Since Lael expressed an interest in ballet, I bought her a DVD where an instructor is teaching the five basic positions and barre exercises.

Though she seemed interested in the DVD at first, it didn't take long for Lael to express her impatience. "Grandma, I just want to DANCE! I don't want to do all this stuff!" Ah...out of the mouths of babes. In that one sentence, Lael encapsulated what many of us struggle with as Christians. We want to BE Christians, but we aren't interested in the daily practice sessions.

Recently I was crying out to God about my own "lameness," for lack of a better term, when the Holy Spirit reminded me of Lael's words. Busted. He showed me how I am just like Lael and her desire to be a ballerina. I want to be a super Christian, but often am less than interested in the discipline it takes to get there.

When Paul addressed the Corinthians about the workings of the body of Christ, he says that "if one part suffers, every part suffers with it" (1 Corinthians 12:26). For a long time, I have thought of that verse as mostly a call to compassion. You know, if a sister gets breast cancer, you cry with her and support her through it, and thereby "suffer" with her.

But I think this verse also points to the seriousness (or lack thereof) of our walk with God. If we do not give ourselves totally to Him and allow the Holy Spirit to do major housecleaning in this "temple" called our body, everything we do is tainted. When people meet us, they encounter not the living Christ, but a much less powerful being. Instead of the fragrance of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:15), they may smell something much more noxious and offensive. Instead of beholding crucified flesh in which Jesus is having unhindered access, they see pride and selfishness.

A friend of mine who came out of the homosexual lifestyle and is now serving God around the world once said about his struggle: "I just wanted God to ZAP me, but God is much more interested in the long-term results." Indeed. Who of us wouldn't prefer to have God simply zap us? We would instantly be exemplary models of the faith we profess. But alas...it would be such an empty faith. A faith devoid of power and passion, because we took a shortcut rather than allowing God to hammer us into His image.

Jesus didn't take any shortcuts. He died a horrific death so that we would not spend eternity in hell for our sins. He prayed for the cup to be taken from Him, yes, but ultimately prayed for the will of His Father to be done. If we hope to be genuine followers of Christ (and not merely "fans" as Kyle Idleman describes in his wonderful book Not A Fan), we cannot take shortcuts, either.

Being hammered on His anvil is not pleasant, but I know when it's happening that I am being formed more into His image. And that's worth the pain, isn't it?

I am one of those people who tend to see spiritual application in everything. Once, I based an entire sermon on one of those cans that holds springy snakes favored by practical jokers. Seriously.

Recently, I watched Wreck-It Ralph and found myself boohooing something fierce at its core message of being happy with who you are and where you are in life.

Wreck-It Ralph is a Disney/Pixar movie about a video game villain who is tired of being the bad guy. After 30 years of arcade infamy, and a particularly rough day, Ralph leaves his game and searches for the opportunity to finally be the hero. Trouble ensues and adventure is surely found, but the theme comes back to the affirmation that you learn about in one of the first scenes of the movie: The Bad Guy Affirmation. It's a simple thought that Ralph and other "villains" chant at the end of their Bad-Anon meeting. It goes like this:
"I am bad, and that is good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There is no one I would rather be than me."

This affirmation has become the official chant of my self-esteem/depression/pride issue. I have had to learn to be content with who I am so God could more effectively use my life. Admitting what you are and what you are not is not the problem. The problem is when you think about yourself all the time. For years I have struggled with crippling low self-esteem and dangerous depression. When I was a child I was told by the church that it was "New Age," "prideful," and "evil" to have or show self-confidence. I was tricked into believing that by hating myself I was "boasting in weakness,"  and that somehow God would be glorified by the horrible things I thought of myself.  I was stuck in this self-hatred rut and the worse my esteem got, the more my walk with the Lord stalled. Truth of the matter is that by thinking such awful things about myself I became so burdened that all I did was sit around and think about myself. That's self-absorption and self-absorption is pride. You see, by believing low self-esteem is humble or godly, we have created another monster that, sadly, is still so full of pride.

 After my daughter was born, I had the stark realization that she will learn to love and treat herself by the example that I live. Essentially, if I want to raise a confident woman of God, I need to be a confident woman of God. Liking who God created me to be is the best way to show others that I feel loved and cherished by my Lord. And once I got counseling and some much-needed medication, I was able to get over myself, move away from the depression and better serve the Lord. Honestly, this is the happiest I have ever been. My joy is in the Lord, because my thoughts are not always about me. Friends, I am in my 30s and I am just now getting this. I like who I am, because I know who I am. Yes, I kinda look like a Muppet, and yes, I dress a lot like an eccentric high school art teacher, but that's okay; I like who God has shaped me into. That's not pride, that's admittance and  finally moving on from Sad Pants Boulevard and the pity party parking lot I have been living in for the majority of my life.

Let's read that goofy affirmation again, but this time, get out your Bible and ask the Lord to speak to you and prayerfully read the Scriptures. I get that this is silly, a whole topic on a Pixar film, but indulge me here. Sometimes God can use silly to speak to your sad heart.

I am bad. (Romans 3:10)
And that is good. I will never be good and that's not bad. (2 Corinthians 12:9)
There is no one I would rather be than me. (Psalm 139:13-14)

Friends, I want to encourage you that depression is a real and often devastating medical condition. If you are struggling with self-loathing, self-harm or big hurts that you feel are consuming you, I urge you to seek help. Have your elders pray for you and seek medical advice and wise counsel. You can love the Lord all the day long, but if you don't like you, you aren't going to get very far in your personal walk. Admit it or not, but your depression and self-esteem have left you naval gazing on the roadside. It has been a stopping point, a distraction. It's time to get that out of the way. I have been there. But I write this to say you can get out of this trap. I look at my life and all that I have been given and I know God has placed me here, with this testimony, for such a time as this. God can use your depression, your weaknesses, to glorify His name.

It's time to tear down the hurts and move past this detour. You are not good, and that is not bad. Knowing that you will never be righteous should be a relief. The Lord knows you can't do this without Him, but you've got to get over yourself so you can get to where God is leading you. Yes, you. Get up, tear down this hurtle and move along. Or you can stay and worry about how your stomach isn't flat anymore. It's your choice, really.

As for me, "I'm gonna wreck it!"

Earlier this week I went to a Beta performance at the local high school. It was their run through performance before taking it to the Beta convention this weekend.

As I watched, I thought about all of the time and effort these kids put into making this production happen. They have worked long hours, sometimes on weekends (and other times during youth group...but that's another problem for another time) to make it good enough to perform and compete.

This got me thinking about all the stuff we put effort into because we want to be good at something. If we want to run a marathon, then we practice running all the time.

Diets require a full commitment.

Learning an instrument demands our time.

Becoming a better writer takes a lot of effort.

Anything we want to be good at or see improvements in takes time and effort. We know this and often apply it.

But when it comes to our walk with Christ we just expect to be better at it. We go through life thinking we can live the same way and one morning we will wake up able to fight off temptation or face persecution with ease.

We see the lives of "strong Christians" and we think to ourselves "man, I wish I had that kind of faith," but then we do nothing to ensure our faith grows.

Our walk with Christ is the most important relationship we have! It's also the most fulfilling. Some of our endeavors may land us a better job or help us look better or even bring us some happiness for a time. But God brings us salvation! We have true life in Him! Our walk with Christ should require the most amount of attention and effort of any other part of our lives. And not just today...but for the rest of our lives.

In high school I was on the Cross Country and Track Teams. I could run a 5K in 17:30 consistently and I could run a mile in under 5 mins. But once I stopped running on a regular basis I stopped being able to attain those times (I am way slower than that now!).

Our walk with God is the same. Unless we put effort into it every single day to read His word, talk with Him, worship Him, meet with others to encourage and challenge each other, our faith will grow smaller instead of bigger.

So fight the fight....run the race! Its a challenge but there is no reward like the one we receive from God and it is definitely worth it!

A couple of weeks ago on this blog, my friend Hannah shared about a crotchety older man she had encountered in a parking lot. He had taken note of an arm patch on her coat that says "Satan Sucks." He asked her if the patch was intended to be a testimony to the Lord, but when she began to explain, he cut her off rudely. Bottom line is that he didn't care what she had to say. He was offended by the patch, and in no uncertain terms let Hannah know she was a "poor testimony" to the Lord. This man had never met Hannah before in his life (which is probably why he was so grouchy), yet he had the audacity to insinuate that she wasn't as holy as he was because she wore a patch that said "sucks."

And he wasn't even theologically correct in his arguments. He suggested that perhaps calling Satan a "rascal" might be less offensive. Excuse me? Calling the enemy of our souls a mere "rascal" doesn't do him justice. Satan comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy.

My theory is that this man's faith is so marginal that, to him, Satan is nothing more than a rascal. You see, if your "faith" consists of attending church three times a week, and not cursing or drinking, you aren't much of a threat, and Satan leaves you alone.

If, however, you seek to honor God in all that you do, and daily offer yourself to Him as a living sacrifice, you can bet on a battle. John 16:33 says "in this world you will have tribulation." James says we will face trials of many kinds. In Ephesians, we are told to stand against the devil's schemes by daily clothing ourselves with the armor of God.

The day after Hannah's blog posted, I read something in my daily devotional (Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest) that reminded me of what she had experienced:

Abandon to God is of more value than personal holiness. Personal holiness focuses the eye on our own whiteness; we are greatly concerned about the way we walk and talk and look, fearful lest we offend Him. Perfect love casts out all that when once we are abandoned to God. 

What a perfect description of Hannah's encounter. The man was obviously focused on his own whiteness. Had he really cared about Hannah and what her patch meant, he would have engaged her in conversation and let her speak. But every time she tried, he interrupted. It was clear that his opinion was the only one that was valid. A word he deemed inappropriate blinded him to the wonderful truth that Hannah could have imparted had he given her half a chance.

I told Hannah about a similar experience our son, Josh, had with an elderly man several years ago. Josh and some of his friends were hanging around the square downtown, when this man confronted them and basically told them they were all going to hell because of how they looked. He was so offended by tattoos and piercings that he couldn't see straight. He angrily told Josh, "If God would've wanted us to have tattoos and piercings, we would have been born with them!" Josh remained calm as he replied, "Really, sir? Were you born with those glasses?" Touché! The man was so flabbergasted by Josh's logic that he stomped off. It's hard to argue with intelligence when you are being so ignorant.

Brothers and sisters, abandonment to God is infinitely more precious to Him than our vain attempts at holiness. Hannah exudes that abandonment, which is probably why the man she met was so hostile. When genuine love for God meets up with ugly legalism, a clash is inevitable.

Let us endeavor to not be so priggish about how others express their faith. The patch that Hannah sports is dear to her because it is accurate. She has been through stuff that has earned her the right to say "Satan Sucks." Let us ask God to help us see others as He sees them, instead of through our prideful arrogance that wants to believe we're always right. Above all, let us live the Jesus Creed -- loving God and loving others.

I realized a few days ago that although we have some awesome posts so far on this blog, we don’t yet have a post that is simply about the good news of Jesus Christ.  It’s time to change that.  This is the Christian story in a nutshell.  (There’s a whole lot more to the story, so check out your Bible if you’re curious.  Or hey, you could always post questions in the comments and we’d be happy to do our best to answer them.)

The Bad News

Okay, so here’s the deal.  In order for the good news to make sense, you have to know the bad news first.  Here it is:

Do you know that you and I have been given permission as sons and daughters of God to draw on the same power Jesus used to calm a raging storm? Are you a raging storm like me? Or has a storm brewed up in your life that has you franctic with worry? Call on Jesus, my friend. Call on his power.

If you re-read the story in Luke 8, Jesus says to the disciples, "Let's go over to the other side of the lake." That is a promise worth holding onto, friends. With Jesus, we WILL get to the other side...of any circumstance, of my sinful rage, of your whatever. What Jesus did NOT say was how the journey would go.

Jesus, give us the faith to trust you to be all that we ever need at any moment in any circumstance. Amen.