"Alive with Works"

It was eight o’clock at night and I started up my car to drive home from my grandmother’s house. I looked beside me in the passenger’s seat and saw her laundry basket filled of dirty clothes. It was filled with socks, nightgowns and robes. I normally do not like to look at laundry. In fact, it’s typical that I will dread doing the laundry just like most people will feel. However, for some reason, I became emotional while looking at this basket of laundry. This basket reminded me of how much I enjoyed doing this work for my grandmother. I am actually excited to do her laundry whenever I get the chance. As strange as it sounds, I look forward to gathering up her clothes, making them nice and clean, and returning them to her with a clean fresh scent.

This experience really helped me understand the concept of works and how it is important in our relationship with God. We should not do works, because we feel like we have to in order to earn our salvation. It is written, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:8-10).” We are not saved with works, but we have been made to work for Him. As believers, we are working for Him out of love. We do not need to live in fear as we wonder if we have earned God’s love and have done enough to be saved. Works are a way that we can show our love to God and strengthen our relationship with Him.

As a child, I was not able to see my grandmother as frequently as I am able to now. I am blessed to see her because I live close to her and will schedule the time to make a visit. My grandmother is touched when I am able to help her and do her chores. However, this does not make her love me any more than she did before. I believe my grandmother loved me before I began to help her. The important thing to gather is that it has strengthened my relationship with her. I know that I do not have to do a single thing to earn her love. Although, I cannot help but do these things for her because I know that it shows her that I care and keeps our relationship alive. James 2:26 tells us, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” If we want our faith to grow and our relationship with God to be healthy, we need to keep it going and bring it to life. I truly feel that this is what God yearns from us. He wants us to understand His indescribable love. How will you keep your faith from fading?

"Calm the Storm"

Imagine you are riding in a small boat. Waves are tossing and turning around you. The boat rocks you up and down. Lightning strikes and heavy amounts of water come crashing into the boat. You are drenched. The waves do not seem to settle down. You panic and yell, “Please help me!” This is how the apostles felt when they were riding along the Sea of Galilee in a boat that experienced much turmoil along their journey.

I love to use guided imagery when I am studying scripture. When I use this technique, I close my eyes and try to visualize each verse from the passage. Finding imagery in Mark 4: 35-41 depicts how powerful and protective our Savior can be. To see his power, it is beneficial to compare the description of the sea with the description of Jesus. The sea is characterized as being “furious” and its “waves breaking over the boat (4:37).” Jesus is riding in this very boat. By judging his behavior, it is evident that he can conquer the storm. He is described as “sleeping on a cushion” in a boat that is swamped (4:38). Jesus has power over the storm, because he does not allow it to phase him. Furthermore, he actually calms it by his authority. After the apostles wake him, Jesus rises and says “Quiet! Be still (4:39)!” The apostles are left amazed.

As I visualize this passage, I am reminded that there is nothing on earth that Jesus has not conquered. He has overcome the world. Also, it inspires me to be strong and steady just like him in a scary situation. We may not have the power to calm nature, but we can learn from his example to be still in our own “storms.” In our world that currently seems to be filled with bad news, there are many opportunities to witness to others as we choose to stay calm.

I close my eyes and imagine myself holding onto Jesus in that rocky boat. He is soundly sleeping and his heart is at an even rate. He is not stirred or shaken. The closer we feel to Jesus, I think the closer we become to growing in his likeness. I want to have that part of him in my life. The part that calms me down and allows me to feel the power and love of Jesus no matter what surrounds me in life.

"Jealous God"

My father, better known as “Daddy,” always encouraged me and invested his time in me. We have always been very close and rarely there is a day that goes by that I do not talk on the phone with him. Since he lives several hours away, it is important that I keep in contact. At times he wishes he could spend more time out here and I am sure he can get jealous when he hears about fun activities that are going on with me or the family. When I think about these times, it helps me to remember that my heavenly father is certainly a jealous God. “Jealous” in the context of our time and love.

God has created us for himself and to have us in relationship with him. When we allow time with Him to slip away from us, He naturally can become jealous. “You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the LORD your God, am a jealous God (Exodus 20:4-5).” I think it is important to look at our parent child relationship with God. “Now we are children of God and what we will be has not yet been made known (1 John 3:2).” God hopes to spend time with us, because he is using every minute to form us into the creation He is planning us to be. It is really to our disadvantage when we feel that investing our time into things of the world will fulfill our needs.

My Dad is grateful that I have family, friends and hobbies that I enjoy. However, we both know that our relationship plays a big part in both of our lives. My Dad has instilled morals in me and has given me courage to believe that I am a confident and valuable person. This is the gift that God yearns to give us. He wants to mold us into His masterpiece. Remembering this, helps to remind me that spending time with Him should be a priority. I want to strive to have more than just a morning quiet time. I want to pray to Him throughout the day, wait in silence and always let Him know that I love Him.

He is my Father, He is my God. He deserves my time...He deserves ALL of me!

"Bad Knight, Good Knight"

A group of children used their imaginations to brainstorm about something they could draw on their blank piece of white paper. A boy came up to my desk and asked if he could show me his drawing. He drew a knight with full armor and weapons in hand. I explained, “I really like this drawing, but I will have to ask you to take away his weapons because it is against the rules to draw them.” He understood and came back with a new drawing. He drew another knight with armor, but this time he had no weapons. Instead, he wrote the word “knowledge” at the top of the page. The boy told me that this was his weapon. He said, “This is a good knight.”

After seeing this knight dressed in armor, I could not help but think of the armor of God that we are called to put on as believers in Christ. Ephesians 6 tells us, “Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. Take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (v. 13-18).”

I think it is easy for us to use the illustration of the armor as a way to automatically cover ourselves up. We may fall into a trap if we focus just on the armor and feel we must be strong and brave at all times. I have gathered that focusing on what we want to cover up is just as important as the parts we use to cover them.

It is when we recognize our weakness that we can believe that there is something far greater that can strengthen us. When we are broken, we are longed to be mended. Paul provides a fitting example in 2 Corinthians chapter 12. “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong (v. 9-10).”

If we are too quick to put on the armor without even recognizing why we need it, we may find ourselves pretending. I feel God wants us to recognize that we are nothing apart from Christ. It is then, that each piece of armor will make sense. We will know that we are replacing our weakness with something stronger.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).”

“The Second Shift”

These days it is not uncommon for women to be very active in the workforce along with being an involved wife and loving mother. Sociologist Arlie Hochschild researched this cultural change and noted that women are taking on a “second shift.” This means that not only are women thriving in the workplace, they typically also remain keeping the duties of cleaning the house and caring for children. This is interesting to me, because women are taking responsibilities at work and then coming back home and completing all the responsibilities that will always be there to fulfill. In addition, men can experience their own “second shift.” It all depends on how much responsibility you are choosing to have. So, what does this mean? These are answers that are specific to the individual and will work out differently for everyone's personal situation. They are not meant to be judgments, but a unique choice for each person. However, there is a message here that applies to everyone, males and females. I feel we need to examine how much we are taking on in our lives. How much we are putting on our plate and what is really important to benefit our walk with God.

This reminds me of the story of Mary and Martha. In Luke Chapter 10, Jesus and his disciples arrive at the home of Martha and are welcomed in by her. Martha's sister Mary, who was also in the home, sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he said (v.39). “But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha, the Lord answered, you are worried and upset about many things but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her (v. 40-42).”

Martha's intentions were nothing but of good intent. She is known for having a servant heart. I can identify with Martha at times when I often find myself saying yes to everyone who may ask for help, or volunteering my time when I know I do not have any more time to spare. Instead, I feel it is most valuable to me when I step back and ask God in what areas should I be serving and when and where should I do it. I feel Mary provides a good balance to Martha. She demonstrates the example of waiting and listening to the teachings of our Lord. I do not feel we need to look at this passage and believe that Martha had it all wrong. Her heart was in the right place, but it seems she was trying to accomplish too much at one time. When we look at the intentions of Martha along with the patience of Mary, I think it demonstrates a good balance and motivation to continue to work for the Lord. The work from God's timing and direction that He can provide.

I feel that throughout our lives we will always have this predicament with time. It is to our benefit when we keep assessing our lives and look to God's guidance. God yearns for our best and hopes that when we serve Him, we are genuine and are seeking Him wholeheartedly. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not men (Colossians 3:23).”

"Free From Enemies"

One of the great pleasures of working with children is that I often find myself learning from them. I believe that studying and interacting with children has had a huge influence in my development as a believer. Jesus instructs us, “Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:3).”

Recently, I have been intrigued by the way children handle conflict. I have been noticing that children can be easily upset. When things are taken away or when they do not get their way, they are so quick to verbalize their feelings. Some of my favorites are: “You're not my best friend anymore, I'm telling on you, and by far my favorite one is...”You're not coming to my birthday party!” These phrases are harsh and normally leave the child in tears. However, I have also noticed that children are quick to forgive. After a fight, a short period of time will pass, and suddenly it is as if the argument never happened. By some means it is resolved and children can go back to being best friends and be invited over to each other's houses all in the same day. Now we are left wondering...how do they do that?

Jesus encourages us to love our enemies. Matthew 8:44 tells us, “But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.” It is easy to love those who love us. Jesus emphasizes that even tax collectors and pagans do that (v. 46). Thus, the challenge is to go beyond that and show love to those who have persecuted us.

By no means should we refrain from standing up for ourselves. It is written that “All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness
(2 Timothy 3:16).” Although, if we prevent ourselves from pouring out all forgiveness for those in our lives, we are missing out on the challenge. Understanding forgiveness is apart of our completion as a believer (Matthew 8:48). “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins (Matthew 6:14-15).”

Two of the boys that I work with have been given labels by their peers. One is known as the “bad kid” and the other is known as the “slow kid.” The “bad kid” has used so many hurtful words to the “slow kid;” phrases that have damaged his self-esteem and has made it difficult for him to learn. However, one day, I witnessed the “slow kid” come up to the “bad kid” and help him with an assignment. He offered up his forgiveness and helped him complete his work. There were no negative words or reminders about the past. The two children played together for the rest of the day. This is freedom. A freedom from enemies. The freedom to forgive.

"Hear the Silence"

During a prayer meeting, our group decided to explore the practice of training ourselves to be silent. We all failed in the past on our own, but we decided to use our time as a group to experiment with using an opportunity to be still before the LORD. We wanted to see how this would strengthen our prayers and our connection as a group. Silence is important, because there is so much that can be revealed in that time. “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in all the earth (Psalm 46:10).”

We dimmed the lights, closed our eyes and became silent. Few words were spoken in prayer. I became very aware of my senses. I listened to the cars outside, which made me think of all the people we come in contact with on a daily basis. People who could hear the Word. I also saw a lot of imagery. It is very appropriate to visualize verses in the Bible. When I was silent, I was able to see an image with Psalm 61:1-4, “Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.” I could visualize being cradled by my Creator. I often try to feel this, and when we were silent, this image became more apparent to me.

As we were silent, my mind surprisingly did not wander. In the past when I have tried this, my mind would jump to things I had to do that day or fixate on pointless worries. This time was different, and I feel very strongly that power lies in numbers. Being united in a group, created a support to help us individually seek the silence. This allowed our group to find a more personal meaning to the verse, “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them (Matthew 18:20).”

As I drove home that night, I felt renewed. I reached for the radio to turn up the volume in the car, but instead I ended up turning it off. I decided to drive home in silence, because I wanted to carry on that beautiful feeling that we had just experienced. Practicing silence can be a challenge, but using the support from others can make it attainable and easier to accomplish on our own. “Let all the earth be silent before him (Habakkuk 2:20).”