UNORTHODOX: not conforming to rules, traditions or modes of conduct REVOLUTIONARY: sudden, complete or marked change

Monday, May 28, 2012

Sing Against the Masses


My devotion this morning really resonated with me.  It’s from A Shelter from the Storm.  My husband gave it to me last month for my birthday.  We have needed shelter lately.  My parents have been having health issues.  I’m an only child so Todd and I are their main support.  I won’t bore you with the details, suffice it to say, it’s been a very emotional and difficult spring. 

But here is what I read today.  “If you bemoan your fate and feel that God has let you down, you simply join the mass choir that sings a song of woe about the unfairness of life.  And you only succeed in creating more misery and despair.”

If you know me at all, you know the very last thing I want to do is create misery or despair.  I much prefer to create smiles and encouragement.  And God provides a way to do that.  The author points out, “If the Eternal Spirit of the living Christ lives in you, He will prevent you from sinking into the quicksand of despair.  …Then you will be able to live creatively and courageously.” 

That reminded me of a worship time at a Women of Faith conference I attended.  A praise team of four ladies led about 12,000 of us in worship in a large arena.  As we raised our voices together, it was one of those times the song seemed to blow right through the roof and surely go directly to God’s ears.  And then, one of the worship leaders began to sing a harmony part instead of the lead.  That one woman, in a strong, beautiful voice sang her part, while all of the rest of us sang something else.  To me, it was jaw-dropping.  Singing is not one of the talents God blessed me with.  (All my friends are chuckling.)  Physically, I could never sing a part when everyone about me sang something else. 

But spiritually, I hope to do just that.  I have no intention of singing in a choir that spreads misery and despair.  I will sing against those masses in a voice of hope.  And Romans 5:8 says that hope does not disappoint us! 

Thank you God that you put your Holy Spirit inside us.  Thank you that He give us power to live in a way that pleases you. 

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Working Out a Life UNafraid


I read a Bible study on “Overcoming Fears.”  The book asks “What were you afraid of as a child?”.  Initially, the only thing I remembered was thinking that nighttime turned the neighbor’s bushes into big bears that were going to get me. (I eventually grew smart enough to know that it was only the wind making the bushes move.)  Then I remembered, as a child I was also afraid of messing something up or getting in trouble.   

I now find this realization curious, since I can probably count on both hands the times I actually got into any trouble while I was growing up.  Then again, I did have perfectionistic tendencies.  My first grade teacher told my parents that by the time I got my pencils arranged just the way I wanted them, most of my classmates were done with their worksheets. 

I used to think college knocked my perfectionism out of me.  I had realized that I could put pressure on myself and go nuts, or I could be a ‘B’ student and enjoy college.  I chose the latter…and only occasionally felt guilty for it. 

As it turns out, somewhere along the way “fear of messing up” morphed into “fear of not being good enough.” 

In my early 20s, I worked in a university Career Services Office for about six months.  Some co-workers were talking about students wearing black or navy business suits for their job interviews.  I proclaimed that I would wear my red suit to stand out from the crowd.  They rolled their eyes and told me that would be the wrong thing to do, but I shrugged it off.  I thought they were stuffy and I didn’t care too much about what they thought of me.

In my 30s, I again worked for a university Career Services Office.  This time it was for a prestigious graduate program and I was there for seven years.  I learned about resumes, making first impressions, and all the right things to teach our students.  Only this time, I grew paranoid about the stuffy black suits.  Instead of being confident that I could be myself, I worried that I had to be “polished” and make the right impression on everyone I met. 

I’m not blaming the job, in fact, it was my favorite.  I loved helping students and watching them succeed.  I realize now that I let knowledge instill fear instead of confidence in me. 

I was talking to my husband, wondering aloud where these fears came from.  He asked if I always needed to know “the why.”  I said, “How could I fix it if I didn’t know the why?”. 

In thinking about this, I felt like God was telling me to “Go back to the beginning.”  Not the beginning of my childhood, but of His Word.  I decided to read the first few chapters of Genesis in The Message for a fresh perspective. 

Right away, two things jumped out at me.  Genesis 2:25 says “The two of them, the Man and his Wife, were naked, but they felt no shame.”  Now granted, they were the only two people on earth, but they wandered around outside naked and felt no shame!  Can you imagine?  Even in our so-called “liberated” culture today, being naked in public is controversial, and depending on where you are, illegal. 

I believe Adam and Eve felt no shame in being naked because, as new creations, they were confident that they were as God intended them to be.  I’m not saying Adam had washboard abs or that Eve had a perfect figure.  I’m not saying that, because those are important to us, not God.  (That’s a whole other blog!)  My point is that when we are being who God intends for us to be, we have no reason to feel shame.  While we may not walk earth naked as Adam and Eve did, we can walk in the freedom of being a child of God.

Our choices however, can take away our freedoms.  In just seven short verses, Adam and Eve move from feeling no shame to hiding from God.  God said they could eat from any tree in the garden, except one – the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and –Evil.  There were many trees.  They had lots of good choices.  But Eve and then Adam chose instead to eat from the one tree God had said “no” to. 

A clever serpent tricked Eve, she ate and then she shared with Adam.  In Genesis 3:8 we read, “When they heard the sound of God strolling in the garden in the evening breeze, the Man and his Wife hid in the trees of the garden, hid from God.”  Bam!   The first recorded time a human being has attempted to hide from God because they did something wrong.

As a child, if I wanted to hide from you, I ran to the corner of a room and covered my eyes.  In my little girl mind I thought, “If I can’t see them, they can’t see me!”  Why I still bothered to run to the corner, I’m not sure.  But Adam and Eve’s hiding technique was about as effective as my childhood one.

Genesis 3:9-13 says “God called to the Man: ‘Where are you?’
He said, ‘I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked.  And I hid.’
God said, ‘Who told you you were naked? Did you eat from that tree I told you not to eat from?’
The Man said, ‘The Woman you gave me as a companion, she gave me fruit from the tree, and, yes, I ate it.’
God said to the Woman, ‘What is this that you’ve done?’
‘The serpent seduced me,’ she said, ‘and I ate.’”

Now we have the first recorded time a human being said they were afraid.  That’s the second thing that jumped out at me.  Adam was afraid because he knew he was naked – something he wasn’t supposed to know.  He knew that he was naked because he had eaten from the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and –Evil – something he wasn’t supposed to do. 

I think God sent me to the beginning of His Word to teach me that the only time I need to be afraid is when I disobey Him.  I think God sent me to the beginning to show me that being afraid and hiding don’t work.  

God punished the serpent, then Eve, then Adam.  I never noticed before that God spoke to them in order.  He cursed the serpent to slink on his belly and eat dirt.  He gave Eve the pain of childbirth and Adam pain in working the ground for food.  God still allowed Adam and Eve the power to create life – through children and the food necessary to sustain them. 

Then Genesis 3:21 says “God made leather clothing for Adam and his wife and dressed them.”   It doesn’t say how God made this clothing, but it would seem an animal was sacrificed.  Many think that this act in the garden is God beginning the pattern of a blood sacrifice to forgive sin.  Whether you believe that or not, it is surely an act of kindness by God to make clothing for Adam and Eve.  He did not force them to continue to hide or be ashamed. 

God is the same today.  He does not force us to hide or be afraid or bear shame.  Listen to a simple but wonderful truth.  “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son.  And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.”  John 3:16 MSG

The end of Genesis chapter 3 says that God expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden.  That appears to be cruel…unless you read the reason.  “God said, ‘The Man has become like one of us, capable of knowing everything, ranging from good to evil.  What if he now should reach out and take fruit from the Tree-of-Life and eat, and live forever?  Never – this cannot happen!’” 

God did not expel Adam and Eve from the garden to take away something good.  He expelled them to protect them.  Because Adam and Even ate from the Tree of Knowledge-of-Good-and–Evil, they knew more than they were meant to as humans.  If they also ate from the Tree-of-Life, they would have to bear that burden forever.  God expelled them from the garden to prevent that.

What God did for Adam and Eve, God will do for you and me.  He will forgive us, take away our shame, and protect us.  With God, you and I can live life, from the beginning to the end, unafraid! 

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Are you doing God an injustice?


My pastor said something this morning that caught my attention.  He’s been teaching the last few weeks on mercy.  Today was about how God loves us enough to not leave us where he found us.  He reminded us how discipline from God is not pleasant at the time, but we are thankful for it later.  And then Pastor said, “We do God an injustice when we run away from His mercy instead of trusting Him enough to run to Him.”

I have always been one that hates to admit when I’ve done something wrong.  With my loved ones, I shy away from saying something I fear may displease them.  I’m the same with God.  I know I can’t hide anything from God – He sees all the horrible things I do or even think before I can yank them back.  I think I feel that when I admit something, it somehow makes it worse, or more real. 

When I’m thinking clearly, I know that’s silly.  But now, I know it’s worse than that.  I’m doing God an injustice.  God has given me a multitude of reasons to trust Him.  He’s given me a whole Bible full of stories of people who have messed up and God has forgiven them and used them.  And when I don’t act like God is who He says, I shortchange Him and myself, and my witness to others.  I don't want to do that anymore.

I can trust in God’s mercy when I mess up.  I can trust that He is who He has shown Himself to be – a loving Father who wants the best for me.  Sometimes getting to the best comes through discipline or even pain. 

I often think of God as a wise coach.  As a sports fan, I can think of many examples of coaches that people thought were crazy until they turned out to be successful.  If you want a couple, see the classic sports movies “Hoosiers” or “Miracle”. 

I’ll share a personal example.  In college, I took a weightlifting class.  I know that’s funny, but it was a credit.  (For those who don’t know me, I’m 5’1” and at the time 100 lbs. soaking wet.)  I was doing lat pull-downs in the weight room.  My coach walked up behind me and pushed my elbows in to my body and held them there.  That made it a lot harder, but also a lot more effective exercise.  Coach D said “Don’t cheat yourself.” 

I’ve heard that in my head a hundred times since.  I think of it this way:  if I don’t do things the correct way, or to the best of my ability, I’m cheating myself.  If I don’t trust in God’s mercy, I’m cheating myself…but I’m also doing Him an injustice.  I don’t want that.  I want instead the benefit of the right relationship with God and I want my life to do Him justice so that others will see and also trust His mercy.