Hammer on Anvil '

To begin today's blog,  let's look at the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. The first part of the chapter is the parable of the foolish virgins who are not prepared to meet the Bridegroom when He comes. Then Jesus says:

It’s also like a man going off on an extended trip. He called his servants together and delegated responsibilities. To one he gave five thousand dollars, to another two thousand, to a third one thousand, depending on their abilities. Then he left. Right off, the first servant went to work and doubled his master’s investment. The second did the same. But the man with the single thousand dug a hole and carefully buried his master’s money.

After a long absence, the master of those three servants came back and settled up with them. The one given five thousand dollars showed him how he had doubled his investment. His master commended him: “Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.”

The servant with the two thousand showed how he also had doubled his master’s investment. His master commended him: “Good work! You did your job well. From now on be my partner.”

The servant given one thousand said, “Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.”

The master was furious. “That’s a terrible way to live! It’s criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest.”

“Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this “play-it-safe” who won’t go out on a limb. Throw him out into utter darkness.”

Yikes. It's hard to read these words without asking yourself, Am I one of the "play-it-safe" servants? And I must confess that yes, I have spent a great deal of my Christian life playing it safe.  

Addressing the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30, J.I. Packer says the following:

“For what Christ has given us to use must be put to use; it is not enough simply to hide it away. We may apply this to our stewardship of the gospel. The truth about salvation has been made known to us, not for us simply to preserve (though we must certainly do that), but also, and primarily, for us to spread. The light is not meant to be hidden under the bushel. It is meant to shine; and it is our business to see that it shines. He who does not devote himself to evangelism in every way that he can is not, therefore, playing the part of a good and faithful servant of Jesus Christ.”

Yikes again. If we hide our light under a bushel, if we do not devote ourselves to sharing Jesus in every way we can, we are like the "play-it-safe" whom the master throws into utter darkness. And I don't think this applies only to sharing our faith. God has given each of us gifts for the sole purpose of furthering His kingdom. If we don't utilize those gifts, we are not faithful servants.

If you're not sure what I'm talking about when I say we have all been given gifts, read 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12. They both mention different spiritual gifts and how they are to be used to build up the Body of Christ. Peter tells us, "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms" (1 Peter 4:10).

I'd like to challenge you today to meditate on the parable of the talents. Which of the three servants best describes you and your walk with God right now?

We all stand in need of improvement. If you've never even thought of yourself as having any spiritual gifts, ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes. Ask Him how you can be of service to Him and the people He has placed strategically in your sphere of influence. I guarantee He will use you. All He needs is a vessel yielded completely to Him.

It's 11:26pm Thursday evening. I am just now beginning my Friday post.

Oy.

I don't really know where to begin. Life has been so crazy lately. Satan is on full attack of my family and while most days we are held afloat by prayer and God's mercy...some days we're just bobbing for air. The beauty of it all is that the more crap satan throws at me and my family, the more drawn I am to my Savior. This wasn't always the case with me in the past...I've had my tantrums, my fits, my complete withdrawals and depressions. And by His grace, they have all prepared my heart for such a time as this (Esther).

Thank you, Jesus, that you never give up on me.


The Bible says that in this world we will have troubles. Yeah you right. You have probably seen troubles of your own...maybe you have some now. Yet even though we will live a life in this fallen world where we will experience loss, sickness, rejection, pain, heartache, and sorrow...Jesus offers joy.

What? Joy in my suffering? That's crazy talk.

It is...no doubt...crazy sauce. But my Jesus is a little crazy like that. He takes what you think you know and flips it on its head. I love that about Jesus.

My Jesus has joy.  In every tempting from satan, in every persecution, in every circumstance, Jesus persevered. Jesus, who for the joy of redeeming a lost people to the Father endured the cross (Hebrews 12:2).

And he graciously offers that same joy to us, his friends.

John 15:9-13 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

So on this busy, exhausting, worrisome, complicated day...I choose joy.

Nehemiah 8:10 Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

Being a parent has taught me a lot about the character of people and big things in life, but what it has taught about the Heavenly Father is life-changing.

God wants a personal, unique relationship with you. He doesn't want you to be Beth Moore or Billy Graham; He already has relationship with those people. He wants a relationship with you.

Last week I had the honor of going to see Macklemore and Ryan Lewis preform at MSU. I admire Macklemore's words and the album "The Heist" has brought more truth into my life than the last 10 years of "Christian" albums combined.

Now, before you get all hot and bothered about me saying God spoke to me through a "secular" artist, hear me out. God made a burning bush (Exodus 3) and an abused donkey (Numbers 22) speak His message. He says He will make the very rocks cry out to praise Him if we don't (Luke 19), so what makes you think God can't use Macklemore's words to speak truth into my life?

Heavy burdens. We are all called upon to carry them at different times in our lives. What may seem like a light burden to us may seem like a crushing one to others. And what we might deem a crushing burden may have others scratching their heads and saying, "What's the big deal?"

One of the most solid and steadfastly faithful people I know is Scott. He and his wife, Jodie, have a teenaged son who has had cerebral palsy from birth. Scott, though fairly small in stature, has to lift Connor and carry him around. He takes him to school and to regular doctor appointments. I get worn out caring for my two preschool-aged granddaughters four days a week; I can't imagine how exhausted Scott and Jodie must be after working their jobs and doing all the other things they do to care for Connor on a daily basis. Scott's daughter, Lindsay, shot some video that shows what an average day is like for their family. Grab the tissues before you watch.



I wanted to share this video because it really helps me put my life in perspective, and I'm hoping it will do the same for you. When you feel like the earth is opening up and swallowing you, and you are tempted to despair because your stress level has hit maximum, remember Proverbs 18:10: "The name of the Lord is a strong fortress; the godly run to Him and are safe." When you run to the Lord and find shelter in His presence, He will help you put your circumstances in perspective. You may see, as I have numerous times, that your "trials" aren't so bad after all.

We have a dear friend who is only in her 30s and is fighting breast cancer. A friend of our niece's is barely 40 and has been diagnosed with stage four colorectal cancer. Besides these situations that are very close to home, I try to remember and intercede for world concerns: our president and others who lead our country; young children being forced into sex trafficking; survivors of terrorist attacks like the one in Boston last week; Christians who are being persecuted and tortured and killed for their faith; young kids in inner city neighborhoods who are left to fend for themselves and end up in gangs; children who are physically and verbally and sexually abused. The list goes on and on.

Proverbs 17:22 says, "A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." By now you might be thinking, How am I supposed to have a joyful heart when you just mentioned all these horrible things that happen in the world? Excellent question. The answer is that when you truly intercede and gain the mind of Christ about the ones for whom you pray, He will take the burden and help you carry it. That's precisely what Matthew 11:29-30 means. Verse 28 is familiar to most of us, how we need to come to Jesus if we are burdened, and He will give us rest. But it's not complete without the next two verses: "Take My yoke upon you. Let Me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light."

See, it's not us carrying the burden alone. A yoke is meant for TWO. One ox wouldn't be able to carry a yoke without the other ox. In the same way, we are not meant to carry burdens without being yoked to Jesus. If the weight you carry seems more than you can bear, it is probably because you haven't yoked yourself to Jesus.

If you are feeling particularly burdened right now, dear friends, cast your cares upon the Lord. He really does care for you (1 Peter 5:7).  And if you have a burden you would like to share with me, feel free to do so. I would love to pray with and for you.

I really enjoyed Hannah Jones' recent blog about rest. It sort of goes hand in hand with my subject today: simplicity.

It blows me away that our huge God, who created a universe beyond our wildest imagination, is all about simplicity. It grieves Him to see His children running themselves ragged, living at breakneck speed, thinking that if we do more and get more and BE more, we will somehow be fulfilled. Sometimes we are so "busy" that we don't have time for God, and that is tragic.

Why are we all in such a hurry? Remember Jesus' admonition to us in Matthew 6:33? After He tells us to not worry about what we will eat or drink or wear, He says:

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

There you have it. We are not to worry about anything, because God will take care of our every need (Philippians 4:13). In fact, that's what Jesus meant when He said we need to become like little children. Do children worry about what they're going to wear or where their next meal is coming from? Do they sit around and fret about whether their mutual fund is going to lose money? Do they worry that someone else is going to swoop in and take their job away? Of course not, because they're children. But the point remains the same: whatever is important to us is important to God. He tells us to trust Him like little children trust their parents to provide for them. Our part is to seek His kingdom and His righteousness.

Did you ever notice that a lot of the people Jesus took note of were what we might call "simple"? He cared not for the rich or famous. Instead, in the gospels our attention is drawn to:

• the poor widow who gave all she had (Mark 12:44)
• the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4)
• the Good Samaritan (Luke 10)
• the woman with the issue of blood who pushed through the crowd to touch Jesus because she knew He could heal her (Mark 5)
• the men who dug a hole in a roof because it was the only way they could get their sick friend to Jesus to be healed (Mark 2)

As I read about these otherwise unremarkable people, I realize that though they were simple, they demonstrated great faith. Can you imagine being so determined to get your friend to Jesus that you put a hole in the roof of somebody's house? Can you imagine having been sick for over a decade and crawling through the crowd on your hands and knees, because you know if you can simply touch the hem of Jesus' garment, you will be made well?

Then there's the Samaritan woman. It was unheard of in Bible times for a Jew to even speak to a Samaritan, yet Jesus spoke to her. This woman always came to the well alone, because nobody wanted to acknowledge her existence. They knew her past, checkered with multiple marriages and sexual indiscretions. When she encountered Jesus at the well, she no doubt expected a lecture about her morality. Instead, Jesus instantly recognized her real thirst. She was parched not just for the water she drew out of the well. She needed a Savior. Jesus offered her compassion and a way out of her messed-up life, because He cared enough to look beyond what everyone else knew about her.

Jesus is not interested in how many church boards you are involved in, or whether you teach youth or give money to charities -- if you are not first rightly related to Him. Very simply, seek Him first. Trust Him to provide for all your needs. Come to Him as a child comes to a loving parent -- with no doubt whatsoever that your Father knows your every need, and has your best interests at heart always. Will His decisions  always coincide with what YOU would like to have happen? Probably not -- but remember He is GOD, and He really does know what is best.

I'm working through a Bible study with an amazing group of Jesus-loving folks. Seriously, I adore these people. We meet in the home of the teacher and his wife. I love everything about their home...the aesthetics, the coziness, the evidence of toddlers found in every corner of a room, and the very foundation on which it was built -- Jesus.

We are a diverse group of various ethnicity, churches, and backgrounds yet have everything in common in Jesus. We represent a people who have stepped out in obedience to answer God's call to the Harvest (Matthew 9:37).  Jesus calls his people to be disciples who make disciples (Matthew 28:19). Our time together is rich, God-breathed, and sacred. The Bible says that when two or more gather together in the name of Jesus, He is also present (Matthew 18:20).

Several weeks into this study now and we have found ourselves in the deep waters of the Scriptures (aka Holy Bible, the Word, the Gospel). God's Holy Word -- God-breathed, sacred, mysterious, revelation and Truth. Hebrews 4 says that the Word of God is alive and active. Amen. We are learning how to share God's Word with others in a more authentic, personal, and loving way. It is evident that when sharing the Gospel with others it is imperative to interlace our own experience of Christ's power in our lives with the Scripture truths.

For me, sharing my past struggles helps me relate to the other person. It lets her know that she is not alone in her pain. My vulnerability encourages her to be vulnerable before the Lord because He is a safe place to find refuge. He is mighty to save (Zephaniah 3:17). This kind of relational evangelism is displayed for us in the life and teachings of Jesus. He is a personal Savior.

Jesus showed us how to share our scars with others in a very literal, authentic, and practical way. After his resurrection, Jesus appeared to the disciples. He greeted them, "Peace be with you!" (for Jesus, the Prince of Peace who had paid for our sins and conquered death, was now with them) Then he showed the disciples his scarred hands and side.

Just like that.

His scars (stripes) on full display. Oh my soul, I want to be that type of Christian! What an impact we could have on the lost if we all lived so transparently. People need to know that even though we will suffer injustice in this life...painful, unbearable, hurts...Jesus has overcome. The worst of pains...even death...will be only a scar if we surrender it all to the power and authority of Jesus Christ. In Him alone we find a hope and a future.


My paraphrase of John 20:19-29...

"Peace is with you now for I am the Prince of Peace! I have gone through the worst torture and death for you. So what may seem so unbearable and heartbreaking in your life today, know that I have conquered it. I am the Resurrection and the Life. You will live beyond the pain of this circumstance. See my hands...my side? There is hope. Disciples...my dear, doubting Thomas...believe in me, your resurrected Savior. There is hope."


Ask God to reveal to you who needs to see your scars. Relieve them of their loneliness and doubting. Lead them to the Gospel of Truth...to a hope found only in the Savior Jesus Christ.

Yesterday my wife looked at the tumblr account "Reasons My Son Is Crying." Our Facebook friends kept posting it so we finally bit and took a look.

If you haven't gone over to see it, google it. Better yet, just click here. But make sure to come back and finish this post. Thanks.

For those of you who haven't taken a look and wont google or click, let me explain (The rest of you can skip this paragraph). It's a tumblr account filled with pictures of a little boy crying and underneath each picture is a description of why he started crying. Things like "We wouldn't let him open the hotel room door and run naked through Time Square."

My wife and I laughed a lot looking through those pictures. Mostly because we have been in many of those same situations where our 2 year old cries hysterically because I wont keep switching the TV between Word World and Thomas after 2 minutes of each one.

Then as tends to happen I started thinking about lessons to write or blogs to post and those pictures came to mind. Then I thought, "Why did Jesus cry?" So here is a list of moment when Jesus cried.

When Lazarus died we are told Jesus wept. (John 11:35)

He wept over the city of Jerusalem thinking about its future destruction. (Luke 19:41)

Those are actually the only two recorded places where Jesus cries.

The first is over the loss of a friend. In the verses that follow we see that Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. So why would He cry? I like to believe He sees the pain in Mary and Martha's faces. He feels for them. Lazarus was a friend to Jesus, and he had passed away. That is heart-wrenching.

Then when Jesus weeps over Jerusalem he is thinking of the chaos and turmoil that will be experienced in the years to come. He feels the pain of others.

I know empathy doesn't come easily to some. Jenny and I used to regularly watch Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. We would call it our weekly cry (I know...I'm painting a very manly picture of myself right about now). I feel for other people. When I see pain in their faces, it breaks my heart. And I think that's good.

I'm not telling you to cry more or even to get all touchy feely with everyone around you. But it is good to put yourself in someone else's shoes. See what they see, and sometimes try to imagine what they feel. When we slow down and take time to do that, it will provide great opportunities for us to share Jesus with them.

See, Jesus does understand what people are going through, but they don't know He does. They can't know it unless they see that care in the people around them. God uses us to show His love to others.

So look at those around you. Is there someone going through a painful situation? Instead of telling them to just suck it up and move on (Jesus could have raised Lazarus immediately but wept first) take time to put yourself in their shoes. And if the situation calls for it...cry with them.

Psalm 127:2 says, "It is useless for you to work so hard from early morning until late at night, anxiously working for food to eat; for God gives rest to his loved ones."

Next to sewing and writing, napping is one of my favorite activities. My baby book is filled with my over dramatic nature and photos of all the bizarre places I have laid my head:

Awww, look at that little 4 year-old, narcoleptic Hannah.

Potty Chair? Phffft. Napping for amateurs.
Under the dresser? Of course.
Dryer? Fresh, warm snuggles.
Toy bin? Well, it's not a good choice until you've slept on it, I say.
Plate of mashed potatoes? Oh, you better bring it.

Although, I do so enjoy a timely nap, the ease of falling asleep has often been my enemy. The truth is, I usually can't fight falling asleep. It's been quite irksome. I have slept through family events, fun times and even important moments. I imagine that I look like how the disciples felt during those crucial moments before Christ's betrayal. In Mark 14:37 Jesus asked Simon, "Are you asleep? Couldn't you keep watch for one hour?" Yikes. Can you imagine their guilt? As a middle schooler, I hated this sleepiness so much that I began to memorize Proverbs about sluggards and hoped that I would not be known as some lame and lazy complainer. But fight as I may, Mr. Sandman loves to party around my face and I am left being a sleepy Simon.

By high school, it was evident that I couldn't duel the drowsiness and win. And it was also clear cut that finding me curled up, sleeping somewhere was not chiefly considered as cute anymore. Eventually, I was given the same diagnosis that my Dad has - I am borderline narcoleptic. This means I can usually feel when sleepy time creeps up on me, but there isn't much I can do about it. If it's getting bad, I can get up and move, and that will stall the fatigue, but when sleepy time approaches, you best watch out. I am coming for your shoulder, or that couch, or, well, anywhere, really. I am just going to need to sleep.

It's safe to say that the only way to keep functioning is for me to shut down for a few minutes. My Dad and I call these shut downs "power naps," and if I can take as little as five minutes even of a solid doze, I can be good to go. Yes, this sleepy time feels a tad intrusive, but this is how my body works. This is how I take care of it.

So why am I telling you about which one of the seven Dwarfs I am most like? Because I feel our culture doesn't respect the importance of rest. Yes, rest is important. In Japan it is considered an honor to find your employees asleep, because it means they have been working hard. In traditional Italian towns, the stores still break for a few hours in the middle of their work day, just to take a few minutes, eat something, and simply rest. Friends, by failing to rest, we are rushing ourselves into the grave.

"But Hannah, God hates laziness," you say. Believers, the Lord worked real hard for six days and then He rested. I am not sure when or why, but somewhere we decided that the act of resting, or taking care of ourselves, is somehow a selfish act. There is a huge difference between taking time to rest and just being lazy. For me, I have the extra help of feeling like I need sleep, but that doesn't negate the fact I am a human and I need rest. We all need rest.

So what is rest? Is it always sleeping? I don't know. I know there are lots of things my friends consider as restful activities, but I find scary ... like bike riding. That does not appeal to me in the least, but I doubt sewing a spring dress with embroidered grass and stitched on gnome would appeal to them either, so you know, whatever is restful for you, do it. Take time to rest.

And yes, there are people that will abuse the idea of rest, but here's a news flash: People are jerks. We will abuse anything and everything. That's why it's crucial that we learn self-control. To know when to say when, essentially. God  intended us to have balance in our lives. Work hard and rest well; that was the example He gave us from the beginning.

Your body needs rest. If you go too long without recharging, you will grow weary. Are you growing weary in your life? Do you need to take some time and take the Lord up on His gift of rest?  Maybe you don't need physical rest, but rather mental rest from the stresses of your life. Jesus beckons to us all, "Come all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." Matthew 11:28-29.

Find rest and renewal from our Lord. He wants to give you rest, because He loves you.

Want to know more about how our busyness is bothersome to the Lord? Read what Jesus has to say to the two sisters in Luke 10:38-42.

I have 2 children. One is 2 1/2 and the other is 9 months and they are both awesome.

Its so fun for me to watch the two of them interact. Aaron can't walk yet but he wants to do everything that Noah does. He wants to be everywhere Noah happens to be. So he will crawl around after Noah. He pulls himself up to where Noah is. Sometimes he crawls on top of Noah because (I think) he literally wants to occupy the same physical space as his brother.

Noah has varying opinions on his younger brother. Sometimes he loves him to death, giving him random hugs, kissing him, or calling him to follow. Other times he believes Aaron is out to ruin his life.

He will start calling "help, help...Aaron!" We (my wife and I) rush to find out what is the matter and see that Noah is sitting on the couch and Aaron is just standing the the floor on the other side of the couch. But in Noah's mind, Aaron is out to get him or he wants to take whatever Noah has in his hand.

This made me think about our interactions with other people. I hear so often things like, "Well that person just did that to get attention." or "They don't really care about such and such, they are involved for this or that reason." We pretend we know that intentions of others.

I hear these comments a lot when it comes to our comments about politicians, but it doesn't stop there. We see someone in the neighborhood and we pass judgement.

Everyone on State or Federal assistance is out to work the system.

The guy raising his hands in worship is doing it for attention.

That mega-church doesn't care about the poor or they wouldn't have all that stuff.

All liberals want to run this country into the ground.

All conservatives want to hold this country back from being great.

And it goes on and on! We look at someone's past or even a small part of what they do and what they're involved in and immediately pass judgement about their whole lives. We decide who they are before actually getting to know them.

The Bible lets us know that Jesus could actually know what someone was thinking, or what was in their hearts. We are instructed to be like Jesus but unfortunately we will never be so like him that we can see into someone's heart.

The only way we can even get close to knowing someone's intentions is by actually getting to know them. That's what we should be doing anyway. Instead of standing in a corner and looking down our noses at people (as the Pharisees did), we should be going out and mingling with the broken, those with messed up perceptions, the sinners. We all have a need for Jesus, including them.

Instead of standing back and judging, let's get our hands dirty and mingle. Its a lot harder to make up intentions for somebody when you are showing them love through words and action.

"For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow"
(Ecclesiastes 2:18).

As I read in Ecclesiastes last week, this verse really hit home. The study notes in my Bible confirmed that it means precisely what it says:

Wisdom is a mixed blessing: to gain wisdom and understanding is to gain a clearer view into the tragedies of life in a world marred by sin.

When you're a child, you want to at least dream that the world is a beautiful place. Even if you were raised in a less-than-ideal family situation, you dream of the day when you can get away and THEN the world will be beautiful.

Yes, God has made extraordinarily wonderful creations in this world we live in, and their beauty daily compels me to thank Him and give Him praise. But this world is marred by sin. I have seen and heard far more in my lifetime than I ever thought I would, and it would be easy to be hardened and cynical and devoid of hope -- were it not for Jesus.

Jesus saw the ugliness of this world from a much more horrific standpoint than any of us ever will. And the fact that He was sinless must have made the ugliness all the more abhorrent. Because of the wickedness in my own heart, I can understand and sympathize with sinfulness. But our precious Savior never sinned -- in thought, word or deed.

Philippians 2:6 tells us that though He was in very nature God, Jesus did not use that position to His own advantage. Rather, He emptied himself and took the form of a servant. Imagine that. One so holy that His eyes are like fire -- One so pure that our eyes cannot even behold His glory -- became a servant to people like us. He left His home in heaven to walk this earth, among people who expressed their gratitude by nailing Him to a cross.

But see, that's where our hope lies. Had Jesus called for legions of angels to come to His rescue, we
would all be doomed to spend eternity outside of His presence. Had He demanded respect from people because of who He was, God's stupendous plan of redemption would never have been carried out. Instead, He humbled himself and submitted to His Father's will.

When I am tempted to despair because of the wickedness in the world, I remember these words of Oswald Chambers:

Our Lord trusted no one, and never placed His faith in people, yet He was never suspicious or bitter. Our Lord’s confidence in God, and in what God’s grace could do for anyone, was so perfect that He never despaired, never giving up hope for any person.

If someone as holy as Jesus was never suspicious or bitter, then surely we who are sinful can follow in His footsteps. Think about the people in your sphere of influence today. Are there some you have deemed hopeless causes? Before you utter the damning words, "He'll never change," think about the mire from which Jesus reached down and redeemed you. Pray for the "impossible people" to be convicted of their need for a Savior.

Back to today's Scripture. Yes, much wisdom brings much vexation, and increased knowledge brings increased sorrow. But allow God to use that sorrow to break your heart. Allow Him to drive you to intercede for the lost, and for your brothers and sisters in Christ. It is more comfortable to not think about the ugliness in the world, but we are called to be redeemers of life. Let's remove the blinders and be light and salt to those around us.