One; All Alone

It started with one; all alone. Then there were three and the next time was five. Who knows how far it could go.

I recently attended the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writer's Conference.  On the scale of conferences for Christian writer's, this conference is as big as its name is long.  Its large size is a blessing as it is able to reach out to authors of many different genres.  However, many of the masses are fiction writers and a large portion of the remaining population write articles and non-fiction books.  Bible study writers make up a small percentage of the conferees. 

This was my second time to attend the conference.  Both experiences have taught me a Bible study writer can easily feel they are one; all alone.  Each time I have learned we are not alone. On this trip I found myself sitting at dinner with Andy and Katy, both fellow Bible study writers.  After an excellent conversation regarding our respective ministries, we decided to meet for breakfast the next morning. We wanted to discuss the future of women's ministry and Bible study groups for the millenial generation.



Another group of conferees enjoying meal time together;

photo courtesy of Mary Denman

Our breakfast meeting found five Bible study writers at the table, not three.  Two of us had each found another Bible study writer feeling that they were one; all alone.  The next morning we were six and could have been eight if I had invited the two more study writers God brought into my path that day.

As I am processing through all of the information from the conference, I realized a correlation between those meals and the everyday life of a believer.  Bible study writers were feeling alone and isolated; no one understood who they were as a writer.  The three of us who had grouped together knew we had something to offer that would fill their need.  So we invited others to join us. 

How many people in our everyday lives are feeling like they are one; all alone?  How many are feeling isolated and misunderstood?  Here's the deal:  believers in Christ have the answer.  We have a message, a place of belonging, and a relationship that the world can't offer.  But they will never know unless we invite them to join us.

“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?

And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?

And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?

And how can they preach unless they are sent?

As it is written,

‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’”

(Romans 10:14-15 NIV)

Not My Way

We schedule, we coordinate, we plan and arrange.  Sometimes, though, God has other plans.  Last summer I set a goal to have my next Bible study written by January 31 of this year.  I calculated the dates I would need to complete each lesson so that the final one would be done by that date.  Knowing an accountability partner would help keep me on track, I emailed my schedule to a trusted friend and asked her to contact me at each due date.  I gave her full freedom to hold me to my schedule.

Within a couple of weeks, that same friend did contact me.  However, it wasn’t to make sure I was on schedule with my writing.  She works in the office of a local Christian school and they were in a situation where they needed someone to help out for a couple weeks, three at the most.  I knew the extra money would help us through a financially difficult time so I agreed.  After all, my girls were done with their home school lessons for the summer and a couple of weeks wouldn’t mess up my writing plan too much.  Nine weeks later, I finished working at the school.  I had only a few days to prepare for our own new school year before classes started up again.

Everything was okay, however.  I reassessed my writing schedule and extended my deadline to the end of February.  My goal was to have the study written before a writer’s conference that I planned to attend in May.  I knew this would still give me time to finish, edit, and submit it to the publishers before the conference.  I also knew I would be able to dedicate every Tuesday to writing.  For the first time, all four of my daughters would attend their weekly home school group that day and my time would be free. 

Last fall I was presented with the opportunity to lead a mission trip to an orphanage in Haiti in January.  I had always wanted to visit my friends at their orphanage there and also, I knew God was calling me to obey in this area.  The organization of the trip, combined with the holiday season, destroyed much of my writing time and I fell hopelessly behind.  Although I made a little progress, by the time the trip was over, I knew I had no chance of finishing the study by the end of February.

I gave up my schedule and committed the whole thing into God’s hands.  I had no other choice than to trust Him for the time to write the remaining lessons.  Free from due dates and deadlines, I plugged along through the rest of winter and early spring.

This past Tuesday (remember, that’s the day I set aside for writing) was the last day that my girls would be gone all day.  It was also the last Tuesday before the writer’s conference.  I didn’t stress or skim over sections.  I simply sat at my desk and worked.  I finished the book fifteen minutes before I had to leave to pick up my daughters from their last day of school.

Looking back, I see that God had the whole thing planned out from the beginning.  He knew my friend would need help in her office for a few weeks.  He knew I needed to be at an orphanage in Haiti.  He knew both of those things would change my life in ways I never would have imagined before they occurred.  Changes I never would have experienced if I had held tight to my own plans and schedules.  He also knew I would have enough time to finish the book later.

Now, as I look forward to the future, I don’t even venture to guess what God plans to do with this new study.  His ways are not my ways, and that’s a good thing.

Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass.

Commit your works to the LORD, And your thoughts will be established.

Psalm 37:5 and Proverbs 16:3 NKJV

Do You Recognize Me?

My daughter finished her spring soccer season this past weekend.  Soccer is a popular activity for many of the young families in this community of 90,000 people.  If you visit a local store or restaurant on any given Saturday throughout the season, you are bound to see a child in a soccer t-shirt.  You recognize them by their jersey number in a distinctive font on the back of their shirt.  Quite often, one of their parents is wearing a matching shirt distinguished by the word “COACH” above their number.            

This last weekend of the season was the tournament.  Many families were out and about as they waited between the games of the different rounds.  My husband, always friendly and talkative, struck up conversations with some of them.  At lunch on Saturday, he asked some how they did in the first round and encouraged them as they went into round two.  On the second day, as many families were waiting out a thunderstorm at a local pizza restaurant, he asked around to see if anyone had heard yet if the games were going to be cancelled or postponed.  He then passed the information along to other families.

As Christians, we don’t have distinctive numbers on our back to let others know we are part of the team.  Instead, Jesus left us with some qualities and behaviors that should be evident in our lives.  “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).  Our love is the mark of His presence within us; it is the distinctive emblem showing we are part of the team.  Love is displayed by how we treat others.  Your actions toward others are evidence of your faith and membership in the kingdom.  (Read James 2:14-26; Matthew 25:34-46; and John 14:8-14.)

Returning to the soccer story, my husband is one of those parents with the word “COACH” on his back.  As part of that role, obviously, he stands on the side lines of the field and instructs the girls when and where they need to be on the field, how to play the game, and cheers them on when they make a goal.  This weekend, though, he took the coaching role off the field and out into the world.  He encouraged kids whom he recognized as players, even though they weren’t on his team.  He passed along information to other families because he knew it would help them. 

In our Christian lives, being a “coach” is also evidence of our relationship with Christ.  As we grow in our understanding of Him, it is our responsibility to teach and encourage others who are spiritually younger in the faith.  We help them grow in their knowledge of God and know how to live a lifestyle honoring to God.  We cheer them on in the process.  Like my husband displayed this weekend, this doesn’t just apply for those on our personal team.  All believers, the world-wide body of Christ, are all playing the same game.  We all need to learn, grow, and be encouraged together as we wait for the return of Christ, “and all the more as we see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25).

Handling Discouragement

The last few days I have been somewhat discouraged.  No specific reason for my melancholy spirit; although a lack of spiritual food is usually an accomplice to the problem.  With that said, as I recognized the onset yesterday, I immediately shifted my thoughts to God.  I prayed for encouragement and focus.  Immediately I thought of a message I gave a few weeks ago at a women’s conference at a local seminary.  Many of the breakout sessions of this particular conference focused on pouring ourselves out into the lives of others…praying for others, women’s ministries, girls’ ministries, teaching others, reaching different generations, etc.  I was asked, however, to speak on inpouring; specifically, ways we can fill ourselves up so we are then able to pour into others.

My points from that message were what God chose to bring to mind when I found myself in need of a little inpouring.  John 13-17 tells the story of the last moments Jesus spent with His disciples before being crucified.  The words He spoke in those hours are the ultimate inpouring as they had to get the disciples through what may have been the hardest three days of their lives, and then sustain them after Jesus ascended into heaven. 

Jesus intention wasn’t for the disciples to keep His words to themselves.  They poured His message into those they came into contact with and the message has trickled down now for two thousand years.  In light of that plan, I want to pass on some of the key points to each of you as well…

TRUST ME – John 14:1

KNOW ME – John 14:6-10

BELIEVE ME – John 14:11-14

LOVE ME – John 14:15, 21-24

BE HATED FOR ME – John 15:18-25

REMAIN IN ME – John 15:1-8

TESTIFY OF ME – John 15:26-27

Hover your cursor over each Scripture reference and you will be able to read the passage.  I could write so much about each one of these but there isn’t room for that here.  For now, just take a moment, read the verses, and let God speak to you through His Word.  Hopefully you’ll be encouraged and empowered to keep on serving Him.

The Tomb isn't Finished...Yet

Last week I wrote Visiting the Mount of Olives and the Garden Tomb because visiting those sites in Jerusalem had an important spiritual impact on me.  I didn't write much about the Garden Tomb; however, after I posted it I spent some time thinking about that experience and trying to come up with some words for it.  While doing this, I had a new insight into the Garden Tomb that I am so excited to share with you!

Before I go there, however...

At church yesterday, my pastor spoke on "The Whole Package."  The focus of Easter isn't just the crucifixion and it's not even just the crucifixion and resurrection.  The whole package of Easter is believing in the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.  I won't go into the importance of all three here, but we must recognize that you can't pick to believe in one or two.  They all go together. 

His sermon also focused on believers being spiritually crucified, buried, and resurrected with Christ.  "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?  By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?  Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.  If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.  For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin--because anyone who has died has been freed from sin." (Romans 6:1-7)

Which brings me to my insight regarding the Garden Tomb...

The Garden Tomb has different sections as you can see in this picture showing the blueprint of the tomb.  Visitors are only allowed into the Weeping Chamber (6).  From there, an iron fence has been added to separate you from the loculi, or the places where the bodies would have been laid (4 & 8).  I say bodies because the tomb was hewn to hold two bodies.  Matthew 27:59-60 records for us that Joseph of Arimethea asked for the body of Jesus after He had died on the cross.  Joseph wrapped the body in cloths and placed it in his own, new tomb.  At the time of our visit I joked that the Unfinished Loculus (8) must have been meant for Mrs. Joseph of Arimethea. 

The Finished Loculus

This weekend, as I thought about the distinction between the finished and unfinished loculi, I remembered Jesus' words as He hung on the cross.  "It is finished" (John 19:30).  My next thought was this - the loculus for the bride wasn't finished.  That was my light bulb moment.  Joseph of Arimethea may have planned the tomb and had it hewn in his garden but he and his bride were never buried there.  The tomb was Jesus' tomb; the unfinished loculus is for His bride.  His bride isn't finished yet.  "'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.'  This is a profound mystery--but I am talking about Christ and the church" (Ephesians 5:31-32).

For two thousand years, many of us have spiritually shared in His crucifixion, burial, and resurrection.  Our work isn't finished though; more are still to be called!  The bride isn't complete.  Once the bride is complete, those of us who have spiritually shared in His death, burial, and resurrection will also physically resurrect.  "But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?  If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.  And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith (1 Corinthians 15:12-14).

For me, this thought challenges me to help get the work done! 

• What area of my life do I need to work on to become more like Him?
• Who can I share His message with so they may put their faith in Him and help bring the Bride to completion?
• Who can I disciple that they may grow in their faith and knowledge of Him?
• What ministry can I support so that others may share the Word of God with those who haven't heard?    

Perhaps there are others...what areas can you think of where we need to help get the work done that the Bride may be finished?  Please leave a comment!

If you want to read more about the our spiritual and physical resurrection with Christ, you can read Romans 6 and 1 Corinthians 15.

Visiting the Mount of Olives and the Garden Tomb

Isn't it amazing how a certain physical location can effect you spiritually, even years later?  While traveling through Israel in 2008 I had not one, but two, such experiences.  This weekend we celebrate Passover and Jesus' resurrection and I am once again reminded of that trip. 


Notice my clenched lips (trying not to cry)
and the Temple Mount in the background.



I remember standing on the Mount of Olives and becoming too emotional to continue singing praise songs with our group.  Throughout our trip many of the locations we visited were probably where a biblical event happened.  "We think this is where the angel visited Mary."  Or, "This might be where Jesus taught the Sermon on the Mount."  However, when we stood on the Mount of Olives, I had no doubt in my mind that Jesus had spent some of the last hours of His life in that location.  Jesus spent the night before His crucifixion eating the Passover meal with His disciples.  Scripture tells us that after the meal was finished, "When they had sung a hymn they went out to the Mount of Olives" (Matthew 26:30).  It was there that He said, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death" (Matthew 26:38).  In those hours He prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me.  Yet not as I will, but as You will" (Matthew 26:39).  It was on that ground that He knelt "and being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground" (Luke 22:44).  On that mount, the spiritual battle was fought and won to bring salvation to mankind.  From this point forward, Jesus was resolute and focused as the physical battle was fought in His death on the cross.  Standing in the location of those moments should have been enough to bring me to tears.  Indeed, recognizing my own sinful state before Holy God and the gravity of His sacrifice has brought me to tears many times.  However, on that chilly, windy day on the Mount of Olives, after I had reflected on the history of that location, it was the future that humbled me to tears.  "On that day [the day of the Lord], his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south" (Zechariah 14:4).

I was standing in a spot where prophecy had been fulfilled and was still going to be fulfilled.  For me, I became part of the plan in a very real way. I was standing between two defining moments of history.  I saw that I have a part to play in the here and now, in the gap between His sacrifice two thousand years ago and His return sometime yet future.

The second physical location which impacted me spiritually was the Garden Tomb.  I've had four years to mentally process that moment and, even as a writer, I have yet to think of words to describe it.  I walked through the stone opening with a high level of cynicism from the high number of religious sites we had visited thus far.  As I entered the natural sanctuary, though, my heart was hushed and my spirit humbled.  Someday, perhaps God will grant me words to describe it but for now it was a holy moment between Him and I.

Despite their differences, these two locations had a common outcome.  God never called me to worship the places; He used them to draw me closer to Him.  They became a pathway to worship, not the object of worship.  They were a sign of our relationship; not a source of relationship.

I'm sharing them with you today because both places are part of the reason we celebrate this weekend.  Jesus spent the hours before His crucifixion on the Mount of Olives and the days between His crucifixion and resurrection in the tomb.  Not just history but all of eternity was changed in those days.  Access to the Father had been denied for all of humanity from the time Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden.  With the death of Jesus, access was restored.  Death was swallowed up by life, the condemned were set free, the vile and wicked can be pure and righteous.

I Was on the Inside

Below is a guest blog by a friend of mine.  I can’t share her name with you or even where she calls home, other than it is in northern Africa.  However, her heart for the Lord, her desire to grow spiritually, and her perspective on life make her one of my favorite people in the world.  She sent the following to me via email; once I read it, I had to get her permission to share it with all of you.  May you be as blessed by her experience as I was…

I needed to see a doctor, so I went to a new non-profit hospital.  After the main road, we turned onto a hard dirt path that forked and weaved in-between sparsely situated homes and buildings.  It seemed we were in the middle of nowhere, but then the low wall of the hospital appeared.
 
Behind the wall was the large sandy courtyard where a throng of people had gathered to wait since dawn in hopes to be seen by the healer.  On the other side of the courtyard, another wall, much taller than the first, separated everyone from the entrance gate to the hospital.  After my appointment, where wisdom and skill shined way beyond the rudimentary resources available, I went to pay my fee.  That's when a realization struck me – stopped me.

I was on the inside.  Just meters in front of me the entrance gate was filled with people, grabbing, smashing themselves up to it, clamoring to be seen.  It was loud; it was desperate.  A male nurse had a stack of papers, and he was calling out names, "Mahmood? Mahmood?"  When Mahmood squeezed his way through, another male nurse pulled out a set of keys, unlocked the gate, and allowed him a small opening to go through.  Then the crowd swelled back in close again.

I felt myself stop all thoughts.  Our days here have not been easy.  It's hard living here.  Too many interactions with others seem to involve deceitful motives.  

But I saw it.  There are those that are being called out by our Father from the utter ends of the earth.  They will hear His voice and will come and be healed.  Restored.  Atoned for.  The renown of His name will be throughout the earth.  I was able to close my eyes for a moment and ask, "Okay, show me.  Show me who you are calling."  

Let the peoples praise you, O God, let all the peoples praise you.  Thank you, Father, for showing me that you are our Hope.

“The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10: 3-4, 9-11)

Are you, like my friend and myself, "on the inside?"  We're in; we got to see the Doctor who gives spiritual healing rather than physical healing.  We have been restored, our sins atoned for.  Let's work together to see who else God is calling through the gate.  Pray, as my friend did, for God to show you who He is calling.  I then challenge you to reach out to the person He lays on your heart.  Maybe you'll be the one to help them come in and see the Master Healer who gives new spiritual life!

“I will praise you forever for what you have done; in your name I will hope, for your name is good. I will praise you in the presence of your saints.” (Psalm 52:9)