Chosen by God: Living as one who is holy and loved

God chose you. What does that mean? How should we respond?

A good friend of mine takes care of the décor of our church. She wanted to buy a picture to hang in our entrance; however, when she went back to the website on which it was for sale, the artwork was no longer available. I told her, “No problem. I can make that.” Now that VBS is over for the summer, this became my new project. We’ll print it out on poster-sized paper and adhere it to palette wood. I haven’t actually done that part yet but this will give you an idea of the look…

I’ve looked at this passage a lot this week as I worked on the layout and design. It’s not surprising but there’s a lot of good stuff in it for us.

God Chose You

“Therefore, God’s chosen ones, holy and loved…” (Colossians 3:12).

He created the universe. He gave up the glory of heaven to live among us. He resurrected Himself from the dead. He promised to return in all power and authority to establish a world-wide kingdom of peace. No one else can make any of those claims. They all testify to His power, authority, glory, honor, and just plain old awesomeness.

He’s the One who chose you. He scanned eternity, saw your place in it, and said, “I choose her. She’s one of Mine. I’ll give My life to make her holy and set her apart unto Myself. I can’t help but do so – I love her.”

A Different Lifestyle

I think that kind of love and devotion from One so worthy warrants a response on our part. Sure, we can accept the love and blessing God bestows on us without allowing a transformation within ourselves. We can even choose to reject the love He offers – many do, sadly. However, when I take a moment to consider who God is and His desire to choose me, I can’t help but think my life should look different in response.

Heartfelt Compassion
Mercy, tenderness, and affection should well up deep within us and overflow to the surrounding hurting world. We can’t step over the homeless person asleep on the street. We can’t remain indifferent to the slaughter of the unborn and the subsequent trafficking of their organs. We can’t ignore the struggles of those persecuted for believing the same message of hope in which we believe.

Kindness
Ours should be a life lived with moral integrity as we focus on the good. Not only should an effort to do what’s good mark our lives, but we should also extend that effort to others. We must do what’s right in a given situation.

Humility
The world seeks to promote itself; the follower of Jesus seeks to promote Him. We recognize how awesome He is – I talked about that a little at the beginning of this article. That recognition helps us understand our lower place in the whole scheme of things. Life is no longer all about our power, our glory, or our honor. We now understand it’s all about Him.

Gentleness
Life’s hard; the world is harsh. Into that unforgiving environment, God gently brought a message of grace. He doesn’t beat us up with His Word. He doesn’t torture us until we convert. He comes to us lovingly, quietly, and stirs in us a desire to extend that gentleness to a world already beaten and bruised by their own behaviors.

Patience
Our tendency is to get angry when things don’t go our way. We fly off the handle when people make us mad. But you know what? Those things are always going to happen. Living as one chosen by God means we persevere through those times with a constancy and endurance not seen in those of the world.

Accepting One Another
Did you know that if you want to be a Rockette you have to be a certain height, certain weight, and have a certain leg length? They want all of the dancers to be exactly the same size. God doesn’t choose people who are all exactly the same, however. We come with different backgrounds, personalities, experiences, dreams, and every other descriptor. Sometimes our differences make it hard but God chose others just as He chose us. Our response should be to accept one another – even the different ones.

Forgive One Another
Yeah, He said it. It’s there – and it’s hard. We need to forgive each other. Think about how much God has forgiven in your life. He has forgiven just as much in the lives of His other chosen followers. It’d be pretty messed up of us if we can’t forgive them too. After all, their offense before sinless God is much greater than any offense they’ve made against us. And yet, He’s forgiven all of it.

Love
God’s love is unfathomable. I’m not even going to try to describe it because words can’t describe it. It’s enough that He couldn’t stand an eternity without you. He looked down from glory into our pit of sin where the nastiness of death bound us and suffocated us and said, “I’ll take her place. I’ll go into the pit so she might join Me here.” That’s love. Part of our response is to make every effort to love that way in return. We’ll never fully accomplish it but we can sure spend a lifetime trying.

Peace
Our natural tendency is to war against God; our nature is to rebel and fight His perfect plan. On our own, we’d never live in peace with Him. On the flip side, He never would have granted us peace either except for the sacrifice of the Prince of Peace, Jesus. I don’t think it’s too much to ask, then, that we also live in peace with one another.

Be Thankful
A little gratitude goes a long way. Remember where we started this article – the glorious, eternal, powerful God of all chose you to spend eternity with Him. Then He endured the greatest of torments to make it happen. Take a moment to respond with a “thank you.”

Gay Marriage: How should I respond?

I know; I’m a little late to the game. Every organization under the sun has already responded to the Supreme Court’s recent decision regarding gay marriage. I think some of them must have prepared their response ahead of time since they had their posts and comments up so quickly.

I like to process and analyze information. I’ve found my responses are better if I take time to prayerfully think things through.

So here goes…

Two Different Issues

We have blurred the lines in the current debate but it actually addresses two separate issues. The first one is a gay relationship and the resulting behavior between two individuals; the second issue is what many are calling gay marriage. Two issues require two different responses.

Gay Relationships

These types of relationships are sin. To deny that is a gross distortion of God’s Word. However, before you start yelling that in someone’s face, remember that all sexual relationships outside of a husband and wife are sin. Our society – even our church society – seems to forget that.

They are also no more sinful than lying to your boss, having a prideful and arrogant spirit, failing to trust God can take care of you, or being stingy with your time and resources. We can’t demonize gay relationships when we are so willing to overlook what we like to classify as “lesser” sins. They’re all the same because they all separate as from a personal relationship with God. And we’re all guilty of them. I encourage you to read Romans 3:19-26.

Some people like to say gay relationships aren’t sin because they’re listed in the Old Testament Law and that doesn’t apply today. Yes, we praise God for the life and death of Jesus who provided us with a New Covenant that no longer requires the sacrifice of animals in an ongoing inadequate attempt at being made right with God. However, the Law still defines sin for us (Romans 3:20). All those things listed in its pages are still sin. We now rely on Jesus’ sacrifice as the final and eternal atonement for our sin rather than the blood of animals that could never accomplish the job. I encourage you to read Hebrews 9:1-10:18.

Some people like to say gay relationships aren’t sin because Jesus never addressed them directly. Jesus is the Word made flesh, however. You can’t separate the “words in red” from the whole of Scripture. You can’t decide the words He spoke while on earth are truer than all the rest of the words from Genesis through Revelation. I encourage you to read John 1:1-18.

Gay Marriage

Gay marriage can’t exist. A civil union can but not a marriage. The state can recognize a civil union; both God and the state recognize a marriage. God will never recognize a marriage between two gay individuals. It has nothing to do with whether you think He should or what it means if He does or doesn’t. I base the rejection entirely on the fact that God said a marriage is between one man and one woman. Any variance outside of that is sin which takes us back to my earlier points. I encourage you to read Genesis 2:20-25.

I didn’t make the rules so I can’t change them. In fact, none of us did so none of us can change them. God made the rules and we don’t get to change them just because we don’t like them. We can choose not to follow them (again, sin) but we can’t change them.

So how do I respond to this change in our nation?

It was a sad day for me when the Supreme Court announced this decision. Others rejoiced. My sorrow and their joy have nothing to do with who’s right or what’s right. But we’ve already discussed that.

My initial response – like many who hold to the truth and authority of God’s Word – was the concern of a coming judgment on our nation. After all, our courts have decreed that God is wrong and they know what’s best. God doesn’t take too kindly to that kind of self-exaltation. I encourage you to read Isaiah 14:9-15 to see how that attitude worked out for Satan.

On the other hand, I realized, our courts decided it was ok to abort unborn children over forty years ago. It’s a similar situation where the Supreme Court decided they knew better than God as to the creation of human life. So far, our nation hasn’t seen a fire and brimstone response to that decision. We’re missing approximately 53 million of our citizens who would be my age and younger which is a reason to mourn. I know our nation would mourn them if they had died in a natural disaster or war. Yet, because we slaughtered them in the womb, we don’t mourn their absence. But I’m getting off the point which is that God hasn’t struck down our nation because of that Supreme Court decision.

Then I remembered a Bible verse. “And just as it is appointed for people to die once – and after this, judgment – so also the Messiah, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him” (Hebrews 9:27-28).

Here’s the connection – God’s Word promises a judgment of death for those who sin. However, that judgment doesn’t come in the moment of our initial sin. For example, God doesn’t strike us dead the first time we lie to our parents as a child. Our sin guarantees the coming judgment but God withholds the judgment until a certain time when we die once because of sin. Ideally, in that intervening time, the offender will recognize their sin, seek God’s forgiveness and readily available grace, and accept Jesus as the source of salvation from the judgment for their sin. If the offender never seeks that forgiveness, then the judgment of death is certain.

I think this applies to our nation – and any nation – that exalts itself above God’s Word and authority. We sinned as a nation in 1973 when we decided it was ok to kill our unborn but judgment wasn’t swift and immediate. We sinned again as a nation last week when we decided homosexuality is ok and is included within the definition of marriage. We’ve probably sinned other times in our history but I’m focusing on these two here. God’s judgment of our nation may not be swift and immediate but it is certain unless, as a nation, we humble ourselves before God and seek His forgiveness. His grace is ready and waiting for our nation as much as it is for the individual. If we choose not to seek it, however, judgment awaits. I encourage you to read Psalm 9.

How should I live as Christian in this nation?

The Supreme Court’s decision didn’t change the answer to this question. We live the same way now as we should have been in the past.

We love our neighbors which has nothing to do with whether or not you agree with their sin of choice. After all, we all sin (Matthew 22:39).

We extend grace to those who sin because God has done the same thing for us (2 Corinthians 1:12).

We should show love and good works, come together in worship, and encourage one another (Hebrews 10:24-25).

We should act justly, love faithfulness, and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8).

We should love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44).

We should rejoice in persecution as we suffer as did Jesus, our Savior (John 15:20).

I could go on but the list would be extensive. None of it would include a call to hatred or condemnation on our part, however. I encourage you to read the New Testament.

I'm Too Busy: How will God view our excuses when eternity comes?

The church is full of hypocrites.

A God of love would never send people to hell.

Everyone has their own truth and their own path to God.

My teacher told me God doesn’t exist.

I went to church when I was little so it’s all good. Or, I’m a member of the local church so it’s all good. I’m covered.

I’ve done too many bad things. God doesn’t want me.

I’m a good person. God will let me in.

I can take care of that some other time. I’m too busy right now.

I don’t feel like it.

All that Bible stuff is too hard. I’ll just wing it.

I went to church but someone there made me mad. I won’t go back.

I’d go to church but someone already there hurt me. I’ll never go somewhere where he/she is at.

They are just after my money. They don’t care about me.

We’ve all heard these excuses for why people reject Christianity. We’ve probably even said or thought some of them ourselves.

I’m not even going to offer a rebuttal to them. Instead, I’m going to skip the debate and go straight to the point. I’m going to focus on the heart of the issue. These are all excuses we use so we don’t have to face the truth. However, when the moment of truth comes, our excuses won’t matter one single bit.

I’m not going to sugar coat this or try to make it politically correct. I’m going to put it out there and leave the rest up to you.

You will stand before God at some point. He’s not going to consider your excuses and make allowances for them. God won’t say, “Yes, I know. The church was full of hypocrites so I understand why you didn’t go. Please, enter into eternity with Me.”

You’ll never hear, “Your teacher told you I don’t exist so it’s not really your fault that you rejected Me. We’ll blame your teacher instead. Heaven awaits you.”

God isn’t going to look at the calendar on your smartphone and reply, “Wow, you’re right. You were really busy with your career and your children’s activities and civic responsibilities and taking care of your home and still trying to fit in some fun stuff. I can see why you never took time to learn about Me. Sure, we can make an exception. I have a spot prepared for you in heaven with Me.”

Do you see where I’m going with this?

We throw out excuses for our rejection of God’s truth as if they’ll make a difference in our eternal outcome. We actually think God will consider those excuses as valid “Get out of jail free” cards in a cosmic, eternal Monopoly game.

I mean, after all, God is love and His is a message of grace, right?

This is God’s Love

“God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10).

God is a God of love. As Creator of the universe, He has the privilege of defining love. He defined it as a sacrifice made by one person for the benefit of another person. He played it out by sacrificing Himself to pay the penalty for our sin so we might receive the benefit of forgiveness and eternity in heaven.

This is God’s Grace

“Since by one man’s trespass [Adam], death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. … But where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness, resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 5:17, 20-21).

God is a God of grace. Grace doesn’t make excuses and exceptions to get around the truth. That’s called lying and deception and they’re trademark signs of Satan, not God. God’s grace recognizes our sin for what it is without excuse. Instead, He forgives it completely and totally because of the blood sacrificed by Jesus.

A difference exists between excusing an offense and forgiving one. To excuse an offense means to pretend as if it wasn’t actually offensive or didn’t hurt you. To excuse an offense gives power to the offender. To forgive an offense means to recognize that the person’s action was wrong, it did hurt you, but you choose not to hold it against them. To forgive an offense gives the power to the one offended. The latter is God’s grace.

No one will hold your hand

When that moment comes and you stand before God, I won’t be there to hold your hand and offer false promises of security. Your excuses won’t be there still promising false justification. That moment will be between you and God alone; all that will matter is what you did with the message of love and grace offered by Jesus. Did you accept it or did you excuse it away?

Please click here to read a full explanation of what it means to accept Jesus’ gift of love, grace, and salvation. It’s eternally significant.

Take that Step: Healthier, stronger, and moving forward

Jimmy recently downloaded a fitness app on his phone. Among its many “smart” capabilities, it tracks the number of steps he takes each day. I guess we can add pedometer to the list of many gadgets now replaced by smartphones. The health and fitness app guided him through setting up a series of health goals, including how far he’d like to walk each day. He set the goal at 10,000 steps/day.

Health and fitness aren’t going to just happen in our lives. We won’t wake up some morning and find we’ve arrived at a certain weight, cholesterol level, or body mass index unless we take regular, active steps to make them reality.

We all know walking is a good, safe option to help us achieve our desired health and fitness goals. As we walk, we become stronger, healthier, and reach our destination.

I started thinking about these three outcomes that walking has on our lives after I posted last week’s article, Don’t Stand Still. The American church is familiar with a phenomenon we call pew sitters. They are people who come to church, sit in the pew for the sermon, and leave again with no real impact on their lives. Well, last week I classified another group of us – the standers. We’re involved in a few activities, have some Christian influence outside the church building, and try to live a fairly good life.

Maybe you read that article. Maybe you thought, “Isn’t that what we call the Christian walk? Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do?” Maybe you’re right.

But I think there’s more.

Think about that app Jimmy downloaded on his phone. After several weeks of use, yesterday he finally reached his goal of 10,000 steps in one day. It didn’t happen because he sat at his desk all day nor did it happen because he stood around talking. He reached that goal because he was up, moving, getting things done, and being active.

When we walk, we become healthier, stronger, and we move forward. That’s why I see a difference between those who are spiritually standing still and those who are spiritually walking. I see lots of us doing a lot of Christian things each day but we’re not becoming healthier, stronger, or moving forward.

Healthier

We all deal with stuff; you know, the baggage we carry around due to bad experiences in our past. We have those experiences because we live in a messed up world that does everything it can to fight God’s design.

God’s Word doesn’t lay out a twelve-step program for overcoming drug addiction. It doesn’t give us three steps to recovering from divorce. You can’t turn to a certain page and find out exactly how to deal with various forms of child abuse, depression, or negative self-image.

But, if we’re walking with God – rather than sitting or standing still – then we’re going to become mentally and spiritually healthier as we learn to let go of the baggage that weighs us down. We’re going to be in an active, growing relationship with the one who can bring health through prayer and an understanding of various Scriptures. We’re going to see truth in His Word come to life in a way we never would have believed possible.

Stronger

We’re all unsure; we all have doubts. We all look at the path that lies before us and feel inadequate to the job. Our weakness overwhelms us.

The Bible doesn’t give us a mathematical formula to incorporate faith into our life. It doesn’t promise trust will come to those who say a certain prayer. The Bible doesn’t give power to those who at most skim through its topics.

But, if we’re walking with God – rather than sitting or standing still – then we’re going to become mentally and spiritually stronger. We’ll see God work in our circumstances even in the midst of our hard times; our faith will grow as we realize His strength will be sufficient for us in future trials. We will face impossible situations with the recognition that our only option is to trust Him. It will make us almost sick to our stomachs as we empty the situation of our own ability and trust completely in Him. And yet, we’ll look back and know that is when the trust in our relationship grew stronger. We will face insurmountable odds; rather than become weak and overwhelmed, we will remember a Bible verse we studied and claim its power and authority for that moment. We will see the power of God work mightily in our lives to conquer and destroy that which would hold us back from all God desires.

Move Forward

We all want to stay where we are because everything is safe, secure, and familiar. We know what to expect and how everything works in our current location. It’s easy to stand still because it doesn’t require us to stretch ourselves or step out into the unknown.

But, if we’re walking with God – rather than sitting or standing still – then we’re going to move forward. We’re going to look back 5 or 10 years and realize we’re closer to God now than we were then. Our spiritual illnesses and weaknesses will be fewer and farther behind us than they once were. We’re going to look forward with excitement, trust, and faith at where God might lead us. We’ll look forward and see that God didn’t seem as far away as He once did.

Take that Step

God gave us everything we need to start a revolution of love… an overflow of hope… an explosion of faith. But we’re not going to see any of it until we change some things in our own lives. God gave us a message of faith, hope, and love with which to transform the world, starting with ourselves. We won’t have the privilege of seeing that message go anywhere until we stop standing still and start walking – to become healthier, stronger, and closer to Him who gave His life to deliver us.

Loving the Unloved: Life's lessons outside the classroom

One of my teenage daughters had a story she wanted to tell… so I’m giving her a platform to do it. I hope you enjoy but even more I hope we can learn as adults what she’s learning as a teen.

A few months ago I went on a service day trip to a local Christian school for underprivileged kids with my small group from school. Being a first year school, they had one kindergarten class of 14 and they plan to grow one class per year. This trip opened my eyes to the poverty in our own community, not just third-world countries.

When we arrived, they put us straight to work cleaning three of the classrooms. They didn’t have time to clean them since they only have 5 or 6 regular staff members, so we jumped at the opportunity to help in this area. Once we finished cleaning the rooms, it was close to lunch time so three other girls and I went to prepare lunch for the kids. However, we didn’t know we would be able to actually eat with the kids!

After lunch was ready we went into the cafeteria to wait for the kids. I sat at a table with some friends and we talked about our experience until the kids came. After a few minutes, the kids came running in with huge grins on their faces. You wouldn’t even know these kids lived rough lives at home by their expressions when they saw us. The three kids with us at our table were Kistin, Markiel, and Brendan. Kistin and I sat together and talked the most. She was the kindest, sassiest, funniest little girl. About half way into lunch she turned to me, took out one of her hair clips - a navy bow - and said with a smile, “You are awesome, take this and keep it!” I later heard her telling one of my friends about how that was a good bow, not a cheap one. Even a girl who had so little was so generous with what she did have. I still have that hair clip and always will.

After lunch we went outside for recess. This was my favorite part of the day. The kids had little bikes they would ride down the hill. Daniya asked if she could ride down the hill with me. So – keep in mind that I’m about 5’9” – I sat down on the tiny bike that didn’t even come up to my knee. Daniya climbed on my back and we rolled down the hill together at least 5 times. But it was totally worth the awkward discomfort of a tall girl on a short bike to see the smile on that girl’s face and hear her beautiful laugh. To most people, this may seem like a common thing. I mean, she’s a little girl; of course she’s going to smile and laugh all the time, right? That’s what I thought too until I saw her crying inside one of the tunnels on the playground. I figured she had fallen or something. I went in to try to calm her down and I asked what was wrong. She said, “I’m just having so much fun here with you and all your friends and I don’t want it to end because I know what’s going to happen when I go home.” I was brought to tears. Right then and there I knew why we were sent there – to love the unloved. I had noticed before how skinny and possibly malnourished she was, but I didn’t think too much of it until she said those words. “What’s going to happen?” I wondered. I could only fear the worst. I wanted to scoop up her little body right then and there and take her home with me. The people who seem happy all the time still have struggles and pain in their lives. The people who smile the brightest are usually the saddest; that’s why it is such a beautiful thing to see them laugh.

The kids showed us how to whip and “nae-nae,” play basketball, and ride a bike. They also made us “salads,” and some even gave us parting gifts. They impacted our lives so much and they don’t even know it. I can only hope we impacted them as well and they remember the 12 girls that love them and will always have them in their hearts and prayers. Even more, I hope they remember that God loves them with a never ending love.

Just imagine how all of those kids are treated at home: neglected, abused, starving. They are beautiful children who don’t deserve any of this. If it wasn’t for the wonderful ladies and volunteers that teach, cook, and clean to make the school possible, they would be in that environment all day, every day. Instead, they are taught the alphabet, counting, and shapes at school. Some kids came to the school not even knowing how to spell “cat” and now they can read and write sentences as kindergarteners!

It’s been awhile, but I contacted all the girls that went on the trip and asked them what they remember most about the kids…

“They were so lovin’ and sweet and I remember one saying, ‘Come at me, I’ll beat you at basketball!’ and another one saying, ‘I love God and the world.’”

“I thought it was cool how the school leaders said the kids have such hard lives but you wouldn’t know it by how they act and by their innocence. Their sweetness was so genuine.”

“The thing that stuck out the most to me was Daniya talking about her abusive life and everything going on in her life.”

“I mostly remember the fun times we had just playing with the kids and letting them forget everything that has happened in their lives for a little while. I remember them saying they didn’t want to go home and even one child whose parents sold all her stuff so they could pay their bills.”

“I remember playing with them at recess and eating lunch with them. That was a party! Then I remember my girl Armya saying they took her daddy and her other daddy and then they took her stuff like her fishing pole. That’s what I remember and seeing the beautiful innocent little face she had. It’s making me almost cry thinking about her; I don’t know what’s going on in her life but I’m praying for her.”

Sometimes we have to get out of the classroom to learn the most important lessons. My day with these kids helped me realize that poverty isn’t only a third-world problem. It’s right here with us. We think we have so little when we actually have so much. If an underprivileged kindergartener can be generous with a hair bow, how much more can I give to others? If they can be happy in such a hard place in life, then I can be happy in the circumstances my life has given me. Finally, it’s easy to love those around us in our normal life. Most people are scared or don’t think they can love people who are different or in not-so-easy lifestyles. It turns out it’s easy to love those in different places and conditions. All you have to do is love like God loves – by loving the unloved.

Priorities: My Children aren't that Important

You probably think my title is an attention grabber to pique your curiosity. Sorry, that’s not the case. My kids really aren’t that important.

Let me explain before you skip the rest of the article to leave me a nasty comment. But before I explain, I want to share some of this year’s Mother’s Day moments.

Fourth Child

My youngest is a pure expression of creativity. Her unique views of the world never cease to amaze. Many people create acrostic poems for Mother’s Day – even the well-known Proverbs 31 passage is an acrostic! Leave it to my youngest, however, to make an acrostic based on the second letter of each word. Maybe I’m wrong, but I think that’s kind of impressive for her age.

Third Child

My younger middle child thrives on the beauty of musical order. She mixes structure with creativity and rhythm with emotion to bring music to life. She’s had a song in her heart since the day she was born. No wonder that she shared her feelings in poetry.

Second Child

My older middle child gets it – whatever “it” is. Her quick mind, sharp wit, and logical comprehension not only make her hysterically entertaining but also provide a deep understanding of situations. She was the first to find me Mother’s Day morning to share her love. Also no surprise that she was the one that turned to social media to further share her feelings. Yeah, I know, I need to work on my "duck face."

First Child

My firstborn and I have something I’ll never have with my other daughters. For her first years, it was her and I each day. She’s always been a daddy’s girl but we made many memories those first years before my second daughter joined us. Her independence level will soon take a final giant leap as she branches out into God’s plan for her life. However, we still remember those first days together; they influenced her gift this year.

My Korean Daughter

She’s been with us for two years and, God willing, she’ll be with us two more. She’s part of our family, though. She’s the one to take care of what needs done – how else could her grades average 100% for all classes while learning in a second language? No surprise, then, that she found time and opportunity to buy a card. She’s also as sweet as she is smart as you’d see if you read her message inside the card which began, “Dear My American Mom.”

How can I say they aren’t that important?

They’re amazing – beautiful, creative, intelligent, compassionate, expressive, and all the things we hope for in children. I love each of them to the moon and back.

But they aren’t the most important.

God is. I love Him more.

I’ve been seeing these cute little graphics on social media recently. They say things like,

• “Your children are the greatest gift God will give to you.”
• “Children aren’t a distraction from the most important thing. They are the most important thing.”
• “The most magical day of my life was the day I became a mom.”

They all seem pleasant and sweet on the surface but lies, failures, and disappointments hide in the details of each one.

Greatest Gift
My daughters are each a great gift, but they aren’t the greatest. My husband is a great gift, too. He ranks right up there with my girls. I won’t insult him by saying they are a better gift than he is. Even he’s not the greatest, though. Only one of God’s gifts is the greatest – that of His Son. That’s the only gift in my life that covers all my inadequacies, forgives all my mistakes, and keeps giving grace and love no matter what situations come.

Most Important
They are each so important. God created them unique to fulfill a role in His kingdom. I know He has an incredible plan for each of them – just like being their mom is part of His incredible plan for me. However, being Jimmy’s wife is also part of His plan for me and it’s every bit as important as them. Only God’s plan is the most important; I’m blessed that He chose to include them as part of that plan. His is the only plan that can meet the needs of a hurting world, bring salvation to the nations, and give us significance and importance through serving rather than exaltation.

Most Magical… or Amazing
God doesn’t work with magic, so let’s use the word “amazing” instead of “magical.” I think it still fits with the original intent. I clearly remember the moment each child lay in my arms for the first time. All four were absolutely amazing. They were incredible. But they weren’t the most amazing moments of my life. I remember standing at the front of a church, facing Jimmy as we promised our lives to each other. That was pretty amazing. I remember the moment each daughter accepted Jesus as her Savior. Those moments of spiritual birth were even more amazing than the ones of physical birth. My own personal moment of spiritual birth was amazing as well.

In fact, every time I consider God’s offer of grace and expression of sacrificial love through His Son, I experience the most amazing moment. I’m amazed that the Creator of the universe could love us so passionately that He couldn’t allow sin to separate us from Him. I’m amazed that God the Son lived in holy, perfect beauty with the Father and Spirit and yet chose to leave heaven to come to this dirt-clod we call earth. I’m amazed by His power that willingly laid down His own life and defeated death by resurrecting back to life. I’m amazed by His power to someday return to the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem with footsteps that will split the mountain in half. Jesus is the most amazing moment.

Finding Balance

I love my girls… they are a great gift, they’re important, and they’re amazing. However, only God is the greatest, most important, most amazing part of my life.

I base my identity on my position as a child of God, not on my position as someone’s mother. My success in life is loving and serving Him, not my ability to bear or raise children.

As women, we have seven different roles. We stay busy as wives, mothers, businesswomen, friends, servants, and homemakers. They’re all important but none of them is most important. Can we say an unmarried woman is less because being a wife isn’t part of her roles? Are women without children less because they’ve never birthed or raised a child? Are women who don’t engage in the workplace less because they don’t earn a paycheck? Are women with a messy home less because they don’t live in spotless perfection? Of course not!

Only the seventh role is the most important – our role as the beloved daughter of God Most High. It’s the umbrella that covers, protects, and sustains the other six. Then we can say, “Many women are capable, but you surpass them all! Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised” (Proverbs 31:29-30).


For more on finding balance and women's roles, please check out Seven Roles, One Woman: You Expect Me to do All That?

Peace and Equality: Can they really be found?

150 years ago, almost to the day, our nation’s bloodiest war came to an end. On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomattox Courthouse. Within a few days, President Lincoln was assassinated; by May 9, his presidential replacement, Andrew Johnson, declared an end to all hostilities.

In the midst of this 150 year anniversary, our nation once again struggles to remember that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” In one of the largest riots in decades, violence broke out on the streets of one of America’s oldest cities – Baltimore, Maryland. According to reports, by the end of the night police had arrested 235 people while 20 officers required medical care from assaults by rioters. Reports also indicated one person was in critical condition due to a building fire. Rioters burned more than a dozen buildings and over 100 cars. Looters destroyed even more businesses as they busted through doors and windows, clearing shelves of food, alcohol, and anything else they wanted.

During it all, I sat securely in my home watching news coverage throughout the evening. I prayed for my cousin and her husband who live within blocks of the riots. I asked myself, “Has our nation come to this? Civilians throwing rocks and bottles at those assigned to serve and protect? City officials blatantly lying on television so those behind them may break in to another man’s business and take whatever they want? When did our society become this?”

Like the Civil War, the tensions were attributed to unequal treatment of black individuals. I’m not sure how rioters rationalize that burning a neighbor’s vehicle or place of business will bring peace and equality to race relations. Seems to me, those rioters are more interested in an opportunity than a civil rights issue.

Peace and Equality

However, not everyone is taking illegal and violent advantage of an opportunity. Many want their voices heard as they non-violently engage in dialogue and peaceful activity. They desire to bring peace and equality to their local community.

Where do we find peace and equality?
I attended my daughter’s spring choir concert last night at her high school. The school’s different choirs performed throughout the evening; at one point, I did a little mental math as I watched. I determined that over 40% of the choir was of a non-white ethnicity. Together, they represented multiple countries across Asia and Africa.

I listened to the voices sing last night and thought, “Our school has made this work.” Throughout the school, all is peaceful and all are equal. I have to believe that’s mainly due to their goal to inspire kids to realize their God-given potential through Christian training. Their goals don’t specify racial equality; however, inherent in the belief in God-given potential and a call to Christian training is the philosophy that all are equal. Racial equality is a natural outcome for those who honestly seek to live according to the Christian teachings of God’s Word.

I know. All kinds of racial groups have used God’s Word to justify all kinds of racial hatred through the centuries. I acknowledge that sad reality.

But what does the Bible really say?

Our Humanity
We’re all made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). He made us all equal in His own creative image.

We’re all descended from Noah (Genesis 10:32).

The evil within us leads us to distinguish and discriminate between people groups (James 2:3-4).

All people need to be told the message of Jesus (Matthew 28:19-20).

Jesus' Death
God loves all of us – the entire world (John 3:16). His death makes salvation equally possible for every single person on the planet.

Jesus’ death united all ethnicities and brings them back to peace (Ephesians 2:13-15).

All are one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).

Relationships
God asks all of us to love others just as much as He loves them (John 13:34).

Those who harbor hatred toward anyone aren’t living as followers of Jesus (1 John 2:9-11).

God also calls us to be kind and compassionate with all people (Ephesians 4:32).

What I know and what I don’t

I don’t know how a black man living in downtown Baltimore is treated. I don’t know if racial discrimination is rampant throughout their city government. I don’t know how many people there are trying to find solutions to a serious issue and how many are taking advantage of a bad situation to spread violence and promote hatred.

I do know a few things, however. I know that we’re all messed up pieces of the human race. Our common ancestor, Adam, passed down to each of us a genetic bent to sin. And I know that regardless of how much we let that sin control our relationships with each other, Jesus still died to restore our relationships with each other and even more importantly, with Him.

I know that unity through Him is the only thing that will ever bring true peace and equality to the human race.

Courage Until the End: Utilizing the power in our words

Encourage – to fill someone up with courage.

Discourage – to take any shred of courage they have and throw it in the trash.

We wield a lot of power when we choose whether to encourage or discourage another believer.

God has worked with me a lot on the power and necessity of encouraging words over the last few years. A lot of it has showed up on here…

Handling Discouragement

Don’t Diss Someone’s Courage

Encouragement in the Last Days

As we draw nearer to Jesus’ return, it will become almost impossible to maintain our courage. God knew that when He inspired the writer of Hebrews to say, “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today,’ so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness” (Hebrews 3:13, emphasis mine). Did you catch the word “daily” in that verse? We may have been full of courage yesterday, but today it’s zapped. Gone. We need a daily fill up of courage to keep believing, keep loving, and keep serving. Later, he also wrote, “Let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works, not staying away from our worship meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:24-25). As the time of the end draws near, we have to get together and fill each other with courage. Otherwise, we won’t be able to serve as God calls us – by loving and doing good works.

I’ve written a lot about how to deal with the discouragement so prevalent in the last days…

My Peace I Give You

A World in Chaos: What can I do?

Where is God in a Tragedy?

Life Sucks

The Hand of God

Finding Good Things in Bad Times

Encouragement in general

Jesus may return tomorrow or decades from now; either way, we must keep our courage level full. Our enemy doesn’t want us showing true love or serving in a real way; he knows those things will witness to the world of God’s awesomeness. Our enemy knows if we do those things, people might catch a true glimpse of the Savior of the world. He wants to keep that from happening at all costs. He will do everything in his power to keep you from loving and serving in the same way that Jesus loved and served us. He succeeds when we become discouraged – when our level of courage zeroes out.

I’ve written a lot about the necessity of encouragement in general…

Spark: Five ways to renew the light within you

The God of Peace

Bible Band-aids

Thankful for You: Finding ways to appreciate each other

And yet…

So, like I said, over the last few years God has really been teaching me the importance of encouragement. Even still, the other day someone said something to me that totally discouraged me. In the day that followed our encounter, I felt completely drained. I didn’t want to pray, study, or write. I didn’t want to serve in other areas – forget responsibilities at home, quit on projects at church. As I look back, I realize now that the words of discouragement left me without the courage needed to love and serve in the ways which God has called me.

I tried praying – more out of discipline than anything else. It helped because God is always faithful to hear us when we call out to Him. It wasn’t complete, though. I knew something else was still missing. I knew griping to a friend or my husband wouldn’t help – been there, done that, doesn’t work.

I saw the person. We talked. We worked it out and reconciled the situation. Grace was required on both sides; forgiveness was present. We parted ways once again in unity as fellow believers in Jesus. Once again, I was encouraged.

What’s the point?

Life’s hard and it’s going to get harder. We can’t let little differences keep us down. Sometimes we have to talk to others and work out our problems. They can’t rob us of the courage needed to love and serve God through difficult times.

God says a lot in His Word about pouring grace out all over the place, sacrificing ourselves with unconditional love, humble forgiveness that looks to the other person first, and complete service that gives until nothing’s left to give. We can’t live that way until we have the courage to do so – courage that comes from the power of words poured into us by our fellow believers.

A Christian Hijab: Two signs that show you follow Jesus

I ran several errands in my local community the other day. While out and about, I noticed several women wearing a hijab (Muslim head scarf). My Christian friend wears a hijab since she lives in a Muslim country and works among Muslim people. She wears it as a sign of respect to their culture.

 

However, a woman only wears a hijab in the heart of Midwest America if she’s Muslim. She may wear the hijab out of a sense of obligation or the force of habit but – rather intentional or not – if she wears a hijab in my local culture, she is proclaiming her religious beliefs.

I stood in line at Target, considering one such woman in line behind me. I wondered to myself, “If I had to consistently wear something that so publicly declared my religious beliefs, would I do so? What would I wear?”

Would I wear my Christian hoodie with the clever tagline? Would I wear a cross necklace?

 

Would I wear it if my religious system made it a requirement? After all, I'm not very good at following the rules. Tell me I have to do something; it’s a sure fire way to keep me from doing it.

Here’s the reality, though. Following Christ doesn’t require any outer sign on my part. I don’t have to wear a head covering, fix my hair in a certain style, make any marks on my skin, or perform any other outer religious modifications to who I am.

I can be me.

You could place me in a line up with several other women and you’d see no distinguishing marks of my decision to follow Christ.

During the times of the Old Testament, God did require an outer mark – circumcision. “This is My covenant, which you are to keep, between Me and you and your offspring after you: Every one of your males must be circumcised” (Genesis 17:10).

Even during that time, however, God said that sign would eventually change. He later wrote of a then future time when “The Lord God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love Him with all your heart and all your soul so that you will live” (Deuteronomy 30:6). We’re living in the midst of that fulfillment now, but that’s another article.

This verse from Deuteronomy sums up a lot about signs of our relationship with Jesus. We base our relationship on two signs – an inner circumcision of the heart and a little thing called love.

Inner Circumcision of the Heart

Paul recalled Moses’ words from Deuteronomy when he wrote, “circumcision is of the heart – by the Spirit” (Romans 2:29). A cross around our neck isn’t a sign of our salvation; the sign is the presence of the Spirit of God within us. “When you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed in Him, you were also sealed with the promised Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 1:13).

He marks us as a follower of Christ in a way that’s more impacting and permanent than any tattoo could ever be.

Going back to the idea of placing me in a line up to pick out the Christian… The presence of the Spirit of God within us isn’t very visible to the world is it? That’s where love comes in.

It’s all about love

God left us with another kind of sign. This one also comes from inside us – love for God and for each other.

Jesus emphasized this transition from outer signs to inner transformation when a Jewish rabbi asked Him which command from the Old Testament is the greatest. He answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and Prophets depend on these two commands” (Matthew 22:37-40).

Christianity doesn’t require me to wear a certain headscarf or any other outer modification or adornment. It asks that I love God. People aren’t able to see that one quite so easily, though, so it doesn’t end there. Jesus made it really clear when He said, “By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). When you look at love in the Bible, you quickly realize that God’s kind of love looks a lot like service and sacrifice.

It flows with generosity.

It aches with compassion.

It's exhausted by perseverance.

It dares with kindness.

What’s my sign?

Wear a cross necklace if you want. Enjoy your Christian t-shirts with clever taglines on them. But those things aren’t going to reach the world. Your waitress or store clerk might give you a little, “Hey, I like your shirt” quietly indicating that they are a believer as well. That’s probably all your outer sign is going to accomplish.

The world is changed and lives are transformed when people see us serving and sacrificing – in short, loving – in a way that’s only possible by the presence of the Spirit of God in our lives. The sacrificial love of God will mark us as different.

Generations: Valuing the legacy of a godly heritage

December may be the month we celebrate Jesus’ birth, but apparently it’s also the month of death.

The passing of four people in my life have warranted mention on my blog – all of them died during the month of December. Perhaps the glow of Christmas lights on homes and trees paled in comparison to the opportunity to experience the enveloping and penetrating light of the glory of God. Perhaps heartfelt tender Christmas carols dulled when given the chance to hear the angelic choir of heaven. I’ve shared the passing of all four with you because each one had a profound spiritual impact not only on my life but on the lives of hundreds around them.

Each one had a story – a reason for which I shared their life with you. For one, her life was a testament to Christ’s power in breaking us free from the confusion of abuse. For another, his story reminded us that the hope of heaven reunites us with loved ones. The third revealed lessons learned from one who lived life serving God.

Yesterday I attended the funeral of Jimmy’s granddad.

None of us are born holy; Granddad was no exception. In fact, quite a few of life’s years passed by for Granddad before the message of God’s salvation started to pierce his soul and transform his life. Somewhere, someone reached out to him as a young man and shared the message of hope.

 

Granddad later became a preacher himself; I would venture to guess that his fifty years behind the pulpit have changed thousands of lives. But even that isn’t the impact I want to share with you.

As I’m spending time with Jimmy and his family, I see a different kind of lasting impact – the impact of a godly heritage. It may not extend far but it runs deep. Granddad was already married when he humbled himself before God to receive forgiveness for his sins. He and Granny would have raised a family, worked their jobs, and lived their lives even if Granddad had never accepted Christ. It would have looked different but they would have made it happen.

But Granddad’s life changed when he accepted Christ. He studied God’s Word so he knew its message and power for his life. He shared God’s Word so others may know that same message and power. He prayed God’s Word because he knew therein is our power.

He studied for, shared with, and prayed for his children. His influence led them to accept Christ as their Savior. The transformation of this one man spread to the lives of his two children.

It led his children to find godly spouses when they grew up and create Christian homes of their own. Within time, four grandchildren were born and raised in godly homes. What was one became two and then doubled to four.

God decided one of the granddaughters could come to heaven early; her short life ended in her teens. Even in the midst of such a painful tragedy, however, the message of the gospel promised the hope of resurrection and eternal life for the young girl. Salvation was already a truth in her life, despite her young years.

The remaining grandchildren grew to adulthood, married Christian spouses, and started families of their own. One man’s influence became two, which doubled to four, and now has grown to ten great-grandchildren. All ten greats (as Granddad always called them), are being raised in three different godly homes where they also are hearing the message of salvation and the importance of a life transformed in service to God. One by one they are responding to that message. While some are still babies and toddlers, almost all of them have claimed the name of Christ and accepted His salvation in their own lives.

My oldest daughter was the first of that generation. Granny and Granddad drove halfway across the country to visit her when she was only a few weeks old. He held her in his arms and spoke that he never expected her to remember him. He thought God would call him home before she would form any memories. Yet, God blessed him with a long life. That same great-granddaughter is now 16. She wrote on her Facebook wall when she learned of his death, "Today my Great Granddad got to go to heaven. He was the one person who no matter how he felt would always have something to say about God's grace and how much he loved his family. Though I don't have many memories with him, because of long distances, I can't wait to make some with him in heaven. Have fun Great Granddaddy. Love you!"

If Christ waits a few more years before His return, who knows what might happen from those ten greats. Will they all accept Christ? Will they begin ten different Christian families of their own? What impact will they leave on the world? How will God answer the powerful prayers of the Great-Granddad who left a legacy of a Godly heritage for them?

In our instant society, we want to see results now. We want to see broad impact. But let us not forget, we do some of the most important ministry in the home to an audience of our children.

"Know that Yahweh your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His gracious covenant loyalty for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commands” (Deuteronomy 7:9).