treasuring the Word

In the midst reading Anne of Green Gables aloud to my daughter recently, I had to stop at the end of the following paragraph and sigh, so complete was my delight in reading such well chosen words that painted a picture of longing not only on my mind but also in my heart:

"The Barry garden was a bowery wilderness of flowers which would have delighted Anne's heart at any time less fraught with destiny.  It was encircled by huge old willows and tall firs, beneath which flourished flowers that loved the shade.  Prim, right-angled paths, neatly bordered with clamshells, intersected it like moist red ribbons and in the beds between old-fashioned flowers ran riot.  There were rosy bleeding hearts and great splendid crimson peonies; white, fragrant narcissi and thorny, sweet Scotch roses; pink and blue and white columbines and lilac-tinted Bouncing Bets; clumps of southernwood and ribbon grass and mint; purple Adam-and-Eve, daffodils, and masses of sweet clover white with its delicate, fragrant, feathery sprays; scarlet lightning that shot its fiery lances over prim white musk-flowers; a garden it was where sunshine lingered and bees hummed, and winds, beguiled into loitering, purred and rustled."

It reminded me of another paragraph that left me the same way feeling the same way in Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm:

"Mr. Cobb felt like a fish removed from his native element and left panting in the sand; there was no evading the awful responsibility of a reply, for Rebecca's eyes were like searchlights that pierced the fiction of his brain and perceived the bald spot on the back of his head."

As avid reader and aspiring writer (in my best daydreams), I love to soak up beautiful words.  Whether they are written on a page, spoken in a conversation, or launched from a pulpit, I tend to gather the ideas they express like precious stones to turn over in my mind that I may admire their beauty and take in the message they are meant to convey.  The best words speak not only to my mind and heart, but also to my soul, and they do not leave without transforming me into something I was not before I heard them.

But there is one Word that is like a diamond among pebbles, that is worth pondering and treasuring long after other words have ceased to work their wonder.  That Word is Jesus.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1)

Before there were words, there was the Word.  That Word spoke the universe into existence, breathed life into the first man, pronounced the curse on the first sin; directed, pleaded, promised, and warned through Israel's history, and then the unimaginable but wonderful happened.

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." (John 1:14)

That Word came to man by becoming man, and so brought redemption from the curse, kept every promise, pointed man back to God, and gave hope of future restoration.

This year, I want resolve again to marvel over this Word, collecting the treasures Jesus intended to convey in His coming to this world.  I trust by the end of this year I will not be the same person, but instead be transformed by the power of the message God sent in Him. Will you join me?

discouraged? take heart, the Lord is in it

There are many secret griefs in the inner heart that can never be truly shared with another human being, yet are laid bare before the eyes of a God who knows and understands us better than we know and understand ourselves.  So often we find ourselves in circumstances not of our choosing, learning nuances of things we hoped we would never have to understand, and burdened by weights we never hoped to bear. 

There are times I wish that I didn't have to think so hard about what kind of food gets placed on our table each day, when I long to be back serving in a ministry I dearly love, and when I could simply cast aside the lure of sin as if it were some light weight instead of the humanly impossible entanglement it can sometimes be when I neglect the strong power of Christ to overcome.  In short, I'd really like everything to be easier and a whole lot less painful.

"Practicing joy" is more than just a blog name for me; it is my goal.  Perhaps it is no coincidence that the words below came to me this week from a Bible teacher in the midst of a study on 1 Peter, the very same book with the verse on my blog header.  May this piece minister to others as it did to me!

This Thing Is From Me

1 Kings 12:24

My child, I have a message for you today; let me whisper it in your ear, that it may gild with glory any storm clouds which may arise and smooth the rough places upon which you may have to tread. It is short, only five words, but let them sink into your soul and use them as a pillow upon which to rest your weary head.

"THIS THING IS FROM ME"

Have you ever thought of it, that all that concerns you, concerns me, too? For "he that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of Mine eye." Zechariah 2:8. "You are very precious in My sight." Isaiah 43:4. Therefore, it is My special delight to educate you.

I would have you learn when temptations assail you, and the "enemy comes in like a flood" that this thing is from Me, that your weakness needs My might, and your safety lies in letting Me fight for you.

Are you in difficult circumstances, surrounded by people who do not understand you, who never consult your taste, who put you in the background? This thing is from Me. I am the God of circumstances. "Thou earnest not to thy place by accident, it is the very place God meant for thee." Have you not asked to be made humble? See, then, I have placed you in the very school where this lesson is taught; your surroundings and companions are only working out My will.

Are you in money difficulties? Is it hard to make both ends meet? This thing is from Me, for I am your purse-bearer, and would have you draw from, and depend upon Me. My supplies are limitless. Philippians 4:19. 1 would have you prove My promises. Let it not be said of you, "in this thing ye did not believe the Lord your God." Deuteronomy 1:32.

Are you passing through a night of sorrow? This thing is from Me. I am the "Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief." I have let earthly comforters fail you, that by turning to Me you may obtain everlasting consolation. 11 Thessalonians 2:16-17,

Has some friend disappointed you? Was it one to whom you poured out your heart? This thing is from Me. I have allowed this disappointment to come that you may learn that: The best friend to have is Jesus, He will hear you when you call, He will keep you lest you fall. The best friend to have is Jesus.

I want to be your confidant. Has someone repeated things about you that are untrue? Leave them to Me, and draw closer. unto Me, thy shelter, out of reach of "the strife of tongues." For "I will bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday." Psalm 37:6.

Have your plans been all upset? Are you bowed down and weary? This thing is from Me. You made your plans, then came asking Me to bless them, but I would have you let Me plan for you and then I take the responsibility, for "This thing is too heavy for thee, thou art not able to perform it thyself alone." Exodus 18:18. You are only an instrument, not an agent.

Have you longed to do some great work for Me, and instead been laid aside on a bed of pain and weakness? This thing is from Me. I could not get your attention in your busy days, and I want to teach you some of My deeper lessons. "They also serve who only stand and wait." I want you to learn to sing:

I am not eager, bold or strong, All that is past;
I am ready not to do, At last; at last!

Some of My greatest workers are those shut out from active service, that they may learn to wield the weapon of all-powerful prayer.

Are you suddenly called upon to occupy a difficult and responsible position? Launch out on Me- I am trusting you with the "possession of difficulties," and "for this thing the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto." Deuteronomy 15;10.

This day I place in your hand this pot of holy oil; make use of it freely, My child. Let every circumstance as it arises, every word that pains you, every interruption that would make you impatient, every revelation of your own weakness, be annointed with it. The sting will go as you learn to see Me in all things. Therefore, "Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day . . . for it is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life, and through this thing ye shall prolong your days in the land." Deuteronomy 32:46-47.

--Laura Barter Snow

no mirrors or smoke

Not long ago, our family sat viewing a 4-D film at Shedd Aquarium. Donning on 3-D glasses, we saw figures on the screen that seemed to leap out at us as if they were alive. Our faces were sprayed with water, our chairs shook, the air grew cold, and our backs were poked as we were led to believe we were about to be eaten by a killer whale.

The movie was a lot of fun, but in spite of many convincing special effects, we knew we had never left our seats. We could almost imagine what it was like to be there, without being literally transported to another place in the world where such adventure really happens.

We live in a world filled with virtual reality. From new 3-D televisions and video games, to reality TV, to forming profiles to display to others on the internet, much of our day is spent in a world that borders on but never completely transports us to reality.
I'm so thankful that for Jesus' followers, things were different.

"After (Jesus') suffering, he showed himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of 40 days and spoke about the kingdom of God." Acts 1:3

There were no special effects involved here. With their own eyes, the disciples saw and touched the tangible body of Jesus. They heard His actual voice, and observed undeniable proofs like watching Him eat. Over a period of 40 days, their senses took in the physical and spiritual reality that Jesus had risen in bodily form. As amazing and far-fetched as that seemed, it was all real.

I wonder if today, many lives are being lived with a sense of virtual reality. In such cases, life is robbed of meaning, and there is a sense of existence without purpose.

In the case of Jesus' followers, nothing is more real than His resurrection, or the promise He gave to return again for His own. He is our reality; living and acting on such knowledge of Him is the greatest adventure we will ever experience.

Sunday quote

"The message we are given to proclaim is not that God has come to make our lives better, more interesting, more influential, more virtuous, or more successful, but to bury us and make us truly alive...

...Christianity is for the weak and not for the self-confident individuals in their will to power.  But because he who was rich for our sakes became poor, he who was powerful for our sakes became weak, and he who was wise for our sakes became foolish, the meek "shall inherit the earth" in him (Matthew 5:5).  To healthy-minded optimists, Jesus announces that he has come for the sick, not for the healthy.  We need something more than chicken soup for our souls; we need to be transferred from the domain of sin and death into the kingdom of God's Son.  We need hope, and not the kind of hope expressed in the American Dream or in the vague sentimentalism of Jiminy Cricket's "wishing upon a star," but rather "a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek" (Hebrew 6: 19-20).

A Place for Weakness by Michael Horton

grace, marvelous grace

The Lord says, "I was ready to respond, but no one asked for help.  I was ready to be found, but no one was looking for me.  I said, 'Here I am, here I am!' to a nation that did not call on my name.  All day long I opened my arms to a rebellious people." Is. 65:1-2a

God reveals Himself in His word in a way we would never create Him ourselves.  In our own imaginations, we picture a God who stands aloof, with a capricious love that needs to be constantly placated.  Instead, we see the One True God with arms extended, grace offered, in love pursuing the sinner.

I want to weep when I consider how I often run from a God who offers Himself so lavishly.

this Good Friday

Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.  But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53:4-5).

The other gods were strong; but Thou wast weak.

They rode, but Thou didst stumble to thy throne.

But to our wounds only God's wounds can speak,

And not a god has wounds but Thou alone.

on eagles' wings

A winter with chronically ill children inspired this post.

"Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, 'My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God?'  Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom." (Is. 40:27-28)

As we walk along through life, it is easy at times to think that God has forgotten us.  Prayers go unanswered, problems continue with no obvious solutions, we find ourselves asking, "Why, Lord?"

In times like this, Isaiah reminds us to look to the character of God.  The eternal one, our Creator, who never grows tired and whose ways are beyond our comprehension, is at work and involved in the cause of His people.  We may not know why, but we can focus on Who.  His character is enough to see us through.  Do we really want solutions, or do we want relationship with God? 

"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." (Is. 40:29-31)

So often we want to throw off the burdens of life and soar.  God knows better.  He tell us to look to Him in faith for strength, and soar with Him right where we are.  Or run.  Or even just walk, taking one step of faith at a time.

Come again?

"Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?  Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance?"  Isaiah 40:16

Colossal Snowstorm Poised to Strike Mid-West.  At least one-third of our country has been watching the headlines as well as the skies over the past 36 hours, waiting to see if the predicted snowstorm would be as ominous as it sounded.  For the most part, it was.  Flights were canceled; roads, schools, and businesses closed; electricity went out, and life came to a screeching halt.

It is easy, when all is going on as usual, to get a high view of man.  We have successfully fought many diseases, built up wealth, acquired knowledge, and won wars.  But one snowstorm shows us how very little power we truly have.  Who of us can halt the storm?  Keep the roads clear?  Come on, it took 3 men just to clear the driveway across the street from our house this morning!!!

Colossal...to describe a snowstorm.  From whose perspective?  We need to look past the snow tonight up to the night sky.  "Lift your eyes and look to the heaven: Who created all these?  He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name.  Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing." (Isaiah 40:26)  We challenged our children today to take each snowflake off the picnic table outside our door (piled over a foot high with snow) and name them.  Not only that, study each individual feature well enough to tell them apart.  They laughed...who can do that?  Who indeed? 

What kinds of words can we use to describe God?  To whom shall we compare Him?  Small and powerless as we are, He knows our name and cares for the cause of His people.  Any questions about His willingness to involve Himself in the affairs of this world were answered at the cross.  Has He allowed something into your life lately so big, you have nowhere to look but to Him?  Is He the only authority of your life, or have you allowed other things to undermine His authority?  Have you considered how He cares for you?

Nothing and no one compares to God!

picture Him

Like most moms, I love to take pictures of my kids. I love to take them, but even more than that I love to look at them again and again. Why is this? And why would a mom spend an otherwise free evening and even a good deal of money on all kinds of little scrapbooking tools in order to preserve them?

I think the reason is this: each and every picture we take of our children gives us a unique glimpse into their personality in a way it has never been captured before and perhaps never will be captured again. The grin at a beloved pet, the joy of a moment at play, the disgust of that first bite of birthday cake all reveal a little more of who that child is. The parent of that child leans in closely to capture just a little bit more of the miracle God has given in this precious bundle of life.

 

I have begun to find reading the Bible to be a lot like looking at snapshots of my children. As God reveals Himself in Scripture, I have begun to lean in for better glimpses of who He is.   In the book of Isaiah alone, we have been given glimpses of many pictures of God.

The Father: a righteous judge, contrasted with that of a heartbroken parent (Ch. 1), full of wrath against His rebellious creation yet pleading with any who will listen to turn and repent, (umm...chapters 1-39?), Rock (Ch. 17), a refuge, shelter, and shade (Ch. 25), Holy One of Israel and Lord Almighty (so many times I've lost count), Upright One (Ch. 26), and the glorious crown and beautiful wreath of His people (Ch. 28).  Isaiah depicts God's wrath against sin as I've seen it nowhere else in the Bible, but I'm going to keep looking because every book reveals it in a little different light.

The Son: Messiah and the coming King, the Branch of the Lord (ch. 4 and 11), a Canopy (Ch. 4), Immanuel (Ch. 7), Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Ch. 9), the Banner (Ch. 11), and so many more!!!  It is no wonder we go to this book time and again as we celebrate Christmas.  His coming was promised and anticipated as the only hope for man, revealed in every chapter.

The attributes of God, pieced together throughout Scripture, make for a pictoral scrapbook unlike any other.  All it takes is some time, prayer, study, and meditation...and the God of the Bible is revealed in glimpses that are breath-taking and life-changing.

The next time you open your Bible, I hope you find some aspect of His character you've never noticed before, and see Him a little better.

fearing God

This summer after making the decision to visit the Creation Museum near Cincinnati, OH, we did something I will never regret. After paying an arm and a leg to get in to the museum, we gave another arm to see a planetarium show. Yes, it was expensive. No, we will never have quite that kind of experience anywhere else. This was space from a Biblical perspective!

The part of the show that will never leave my memory was when the narrator began to take us away from our solar system. I don't remember the details exactly (my memory, though certainly taken in by the scene, isn't that great) but it seemed as though every time we moved out, we did so by a power of ten--perhaps based on the size of our own galaxy. Galaxies, massive suns, and nebulae, an expanse which made my head spin, met our eyes again and again. Out further and further, to the very edges of the known (known!!) universe. Then back in again, by a power of ten each time. I lost track of counting how many times we moved in somewhere around 20.

How big is God? This is what I wonder every time I look up at the stars for any period of time. It is all there to see as much as we can with the naked eye--the massive expanse of space, and knowledge of an even bigger God who created it all. It is an amazing thought to consider that same God took on the form of a human body, a body He will retain forever, and entered into one time and one space through His Son to redeem the one thing in all creation that rebels against His authority: man. "What is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?" (Ps. 8:4)

A certain sense of that bigness of God will be with me now for as long as I live. But as I study the book of Isaiah this year, I'm challenged in a new way to consider the magnificent size of God. As He commands nations to accomplish His sovereign plans, as He gives His prophet a glimpse of His holiness, as He pursues His own people in mercy and discipline, as He promises the coming Messiah to take care of a problem so massive they can't fix it on their own, the size of God grows by powers of ten. And that is a good thing, as I come to fear Him by just barely learning to grasp God in my mind as big as He truly is in reality. It will take all eternity to stand in awe of who He really is.

A sense of the holiness and grand nature of God in any soul gives way for more of His authority, holiness, and reverence in a life that beholds Him. Not that that life knows much of this: for a quick glance at a holy God leaves one bowing, trembling, and sick at heart at the thought of being in the presence of such a Being as this. Only by the blood of Christ can such a glimpse give way to life and not death. Yet perhaps there is both: death to the horror of self and the sin that infects it, "Woe to me...I am ruined!" and life in this: "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."

I can hardly look, yet it's getting awfully hard to turn my gaze away.