Days of Our Lives

Everyone wants to be remembered. No one wants to think of their live as  a story that is merely written in the dust of time simply to be forgotten. However, Jeremiah 17: 13 says that those who do not trust in their Lord are ultimately writing a story that will soon be forgotten: one that is written in the dust and sands of times.

LORD, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust.

In order to have a memorable a story, a story that leaves an inheritance for others, one simply can not afford to live for one's self. One must live beyond the pages of the banality and mundaneness of life. To escape the meager offerings of everyday existence, one must collaborate with a Being with a higher purpose and greater initiative. We must leave off the writing to God. We must surrender the pen to His hand, to His plan, to His foresight; in other words, we leave our story to His divine script and rest in the promise that what He does with the pages of our lives will have  meaningful value in the present and eternal value after we die.

Who best to write our story than the author of our lives? God writes every day of our lives, from the moment of conception to our dying breath: "Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be" (Psalm 139:16).   Psalm 56:8 testifies that "You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book."

No one wants to think that their existence has no value- that they are simply dis-remembered once they are placed into the ground, once dust has returned to dust. One wants to believe that one's days have had significance and worth and value, but how can one be sure that is the case, how can one leave a lasting legacy? Simply, by resting and trusting in the truth that God's plan and hope for a future which He promises in Jeremiah 29:11 is a reality.  It  is not a bogus promise on which He has no intention of keeping.

My heart overfloweth with a goodly matter; I speak the things which I have made touching the king: My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. (Psalm 45:1). The psalmist is able to proclaim that God's praises are the only things he needs to inscribe, for he truly believes that goodness and mercy shall follow him all the days of his life as He dwells in His King's presence (Psalm45:1).

The psalmist is not in denial: Indeed, You have made my days as hand breadths, And my age is as nothing before You; Certainly every man at his best state is but vapor. Selah.(Psalm 39:50. Selah means pause and think on these things. He is inviting the reader to recognize the brevity of life and its indeterminate length. All that remains of consequence is what we have done for others and our God.

A striking story of Jesus finds him stooping low one day to write in the dust (John 8:6). Some people think that He was cataloguing a list of the offender's sins- those hypocrites who dared stoned a woman for committing adultery, but who conveniently left the man alone. But what if Jesus was writing done all the hopes and dreams that the Creator had for these men, for that solitary woman; what if He were chronicling the story of their lives in the dust?

Adam in the Hebrew means earth. From the earth we have come and to earth our bodies return for  awhile, but our souls, the eternal parts of us live on. Our lives can tell a precious story if we surrender the pen to our Creator.

Still Being Written,

MJ

The Miserable Glorious Donkey

The Tale of the Miserable Glorious Donkey

We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what’s enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the longer we become” (Romans 8:25).

We continue to shout our praises even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate p[patience in us and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do net” (Romans 5:3-4)

A story is told about a pitiful donkey that one day fell into an open well. The donkey was merely traipsing about as was its routine until one hoof connected with a large stone, and tumble after tumble it landed in a deep well.

When his master, the farmer, came upon the downtrodden creature held captive in the well’s mouth, he tried immediately to free him, but after numerous hours without success, he decided to call his neighbors and friends for additional assistance in the hopes of freeing the miserable unfortunate creatures, all without success.,

Seeing that the donkey was old and almost infirm, he reckoned that making the well his tomb was his only option. He could always get another donkey and dig another well, but another back, one simply couldn’t get.  So he now decided to enlist the help of his neighbors and friends as cohorts in the sad burial and funeral of the poor animal.

After hours of listening to it piteous moans and braying, it seemed cruel not to put the animal out of its torturous existence. So, one by one, shovels of dirt fell upon the broken animal’s back. At first, the creature knew not what to make of the earth landing in clods and lumps upon it, but soon realized that the dirt was meant to harm, not, help its estate.

Brought back to his senses, the donkey began to shake the dirt from its dusty coat.  Still, more and more gravel landed upon its already injured body and soiled his coat. This too, it shook off again and again. Bit by bit the dirt began to fill the well, and with each shovel-full, the donkey would take a step up and closer to the well’s mouth. Eventually, he emerged triumphant from his make-shift tomb while the stupefied neighbors and his master shook their heads in utter disbelief.

I fully understand and commiserate with the plight of that donkey. I admit that at times I must shake off disappointments and disillusionments hourly, certainly, every day like the donkey.  Yet, like the donkey, I refuse to give up, to merely play dead and roll over. Life will attempt to suffocate you with deferred dreams, broken promises, and failed and relationships and commitments. It is up to us to shake of the fistful of debris, even when the next second, your back is once again covered in grime. It becomes wearying, but shake we must if we are not to be overwhelmed with despair and simply collapse under the weight of disappointments.

 

Faith is not simply a patience that passively suffers until the storm is past. Rather, it is a spirit that bears things- with resignation, yes, but above all, with blazing, serene hope- Corazon Aquino

 

Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken form you- Oscar Wilde

 

I've got life on a string

Some people appear to be simply stringing it together, life that is, as they go alone. They have no plan or course set. Instead, they merely amble through their days.  God promises that a man plans his way, but God directs his path (Proverbs 16:9). The Bible declares that there is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is death (Proverbs 14:21).

Some people seem to take great joy in stringing others along, like collecting fish on the end of  a line, they collect mates, kids, and possessions with little thought to the effect that they have on these persons. They merely focus on meeting their needs in the present moment.

You have heard the expression, stringing people on; it means to cheat, lie, and feed people false hope. Thank goodness God never does that to us. He doe not see us as a list of possessions that proves His value and worth. He doesn't make promises which He has no intention of ever keeping. No, He pulls us tight and draws us with the strings of love kindness: "I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love!" (Hosea 11:4.). He declares,"The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness" (Jeremiah 31:3).

Instead God considers us pearls, a treasured possession, which He places lovingly around His neck to display His glorious splendor to the world: "For you are a people holy onto the Lord our God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the nations" Deut.7:6). We are his treasured possession" (Deuteronomy 7:6; 14:12; 26:18; Psalm 135:3; Malachi 3:7).


Some people seem to have a string of hits in their live versus the one-hit wonder. No matter, in the end, what counts is to whom you have attached the end of your rope.


Held by Ties of Love,
MJ

The Simple String

Two people can accomplish more than twice as much as one; they get a better return for their labor. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But people who are alone when they fall are in real trouble. And on a cold night, two under the same blanket can gain warmth from each other. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. (Eccl. 4:9-12)

What ability does the simple string possess? It has so many uses. It can keep items that are destined to fall apart from doing so, at least for a season. It brings two disparate parts together. I have seen it hold a car together. Leave those strings untied, and a frightful stumble is likely to happen as one walks about. 

The ubiquitous string. A jack of all trades, but it can so easily be misapplied. When you think of a string, probably the first thing that comes to mind is your shoe. We are taught from early on that independence resides in our ability to come out of the Velcro-strap shoe and tie our own laces. When we achieve this feat of individualism, we are quite proud. Likely more proud than we would have been if we had learned our alphabet. A singular triumph, the tying of one’s shoes reaches in our minds at least, past that of saying, “Mama” or ‘Papa.” But the above passage implies life is not done alone, but in community.

Genesis 38 talks about a scarlet thread; Rahab used it to show the Israelite spies where she lived, and thus spare her life and that of her family. Sometimes, our lives seem to be tied with a scarlet thread of shame. We seem to be damaged and cannot escape our past. Much like Esau felt I am sure. When he came from the womb, he was tied with a thread to show that he was the firstborn, but in the end, he lost his inheritance and the blessing (Genesis 25:21). Isaac was the child of promise, but when Abraham bundled together the wood for sacrifice, it likely seemed that his future was not assured. What He needed to remember was that God was ultimately holding the strings. No matter who or what appears to pulling the strings in our lives so to speak, God will always have the final say: Not sickness or disease.
 

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^[neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:37-39).

I have a  not-so simple question for you: what string is holding your life together? Is it a solid string, three-cord stranded; how is the knot tied? And frankly, who tied it and to whom is it tied? Are you willing on wealth, 501K, an inheritance, a good education, a well-placed match of a marriage, to get you through life?

Any pioneer worth his salt refused to go on the trail without salt and string. If you are on the trail without either on those two, stop, turn around and start over. Make sure that you have tied yourself securely to the immovable Rock, Christ. Like a hiker scaling mountain, you need a sure hope that when you tumble, the one holding the other end will keep you from falling off the cliff's side. No one but God can make such a promise. He has told us that He will make feet like hind's feet on the mountains that stand before us, and He will.

 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights (Psalm 18:33).

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
It is always good to have a traveling companion, but the best and most surest friend, is found in God himself.   The verses above promise that those who choose their companions wisely will find compounded dividends in the areas of security, labor, and companionship. So, again, I ask you, with whom and to what have you lashed your anchor? Will that anchor hold in a storm? Even God worked in team to create Eden; Elohenu Ehad, the Multiple One, always chose a team. Be mindful of who you invite to scale the mountain of life with you and make sure your partner can hold both your weight and his own.

Roped to Christ,
MJ 

A Dream Deferred



Hope deferred makes the heart sick; But desire fulfilled is a tree of life (Proverbs 13:12)

What happens to a dream deferred? These famous lines come from a Langston Hughes poem. However, they have their origin in the Bible. A dream deferred might dry up; it might explode with anger. When I met Vanessa, she was sitting in the gutter waiting for someone to buy her for an hour. In her, I saw a picture of what my might girls might become, if not for intervention. No job; no education; forced to sell themselves simply for something to eat.

But, I am assured that Vanessa did not wake up one morning and decide: I will simply prostitute myself for anything that anyone will give me. I will give up my youthful beauty. I will destroy my health for no better reason than simply I want to do so. No, I believe like every young girl, Vanessa, (and so many of the women in South Africa and most of the world who feel that they have few or any options), had a different dream, a different aspiration, a different hope for their lives. 

But somehow, those dreams got deferred. I believe that God's plan for a hope and future, which He promises all of us in Jeremiah 29:11, is what He fully intends for us to experience. But lack of education, lack of  a good home, lack of parental care, all of things come into destroy the dream that God has.
And so it gets deferred. Poverty defers the dream. A lack of a quality education defers that dream and hope slowly begins to dry up until one is left simply existing, merely taking up space in the universe. Not living out one's God-given potential- not achieving the goals, the end, the future hope that God had originally planned.

So what do we do when we see a dream being deferred? Do we simply shake our heads and say that's rather tragic?  Or do we intervene; do we actually push the pause button on our own dreams, on our own hopes, to help someone get out the gutter and begin to walk into the future and plan God has for them?

Jesus did that for us. He left heaven, its purity, perfection, and glory and came intervened in our hopeless situation. He pushed the pause button for thirty-three years and walked among us. As Emmanuel, He touched our broken places and felt our wounds (Isaiah 9 and 53). In fact, He took our transgressions and infirmities, so that we might have life. He proclaimed in Isaiah 60, that the Spirit of the Sovereign was upon to Him to set at liberty the captives, recover sight to blind, and declare the acceptable year of the Lord. If Jesus pushed the button for more than thirty years, maybe I can push it for a few minutes each day and help a captive walk free.

Pushing the Pause Button,
MJ

Master Repairman

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10

God sets out to repair us. He does not merely tinker. I have firsthand knowledge of the work that goes into repairing an instrument. You see my friend of thirty- two years needed a major overhaul.  I could tell that Clarissa wasn’t her normal self; she squeaked and squawked like she had a bad cold.  At first, she had to have her cork refitted, but it soon became apparent that after a more serious investigation, thorough repairs were necessary. So, I decided to have her overhauled when I returned home to the States.

I first tried an Internet company, but when she was returned to me she was worse than before I shipped her. So, I sought a local remedy- a real pro and thus my lesson began. This search led me to the home of a master repairman.

The master repairmen took off the keys and polished them one by one. Cleaned inside the holes. This was done meticulously. He examined each wire and tightened it precisely, and after an hour, played on her perfectly. I was direly afraid she would never sound as she had the first time my eleven-year old fingers caressed her ebony wood, but there it was, as a brilliant as the day the craftsman pieced her together, a clarion crisp sound.

I am a lot like my clarinet. I need a real specialist to examine every nook and cranny, to find out what is out of alignment and fix it completely and properly. Sure, I can go on the Internet, some self-help, or dating game show, but only a master repairman can put things to right. God, our maker, is that master repairman.

It may seem scary and crazy to allow someone to get that close, that all up into your business, looking at the scarred and broken pieces of your life, barely held together by a worn piece of cork, but let the repairman touch and feel those places, play those notes that are brooding in your heart. Otherwise,  you will never be quite right, something will always be off- the lower octave does not sound as resonant as it should, something is not quite right in the upper register. Hum. Best let a pro examine it.

I know; I know; all that poking and prodding is so darn uncomfortable and intrusive, but someone has to get down to the nitty-gritty of our hearts. Why not the one who made it in the first place?

Being Fine-tuned, MJ

 

Sitting Pretty

Watching the cat lazily rest on its haunches gave me a picture of complete serenity: no cares, worries, or anxieties, nothing to fret about. The cat simply was. I want to be like the cat, blissfully unaware of problems, people, and situations that seek to threaten my peace of mind, push into my quiet place, and disturb my rest.
Jesus said, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28). The word shalom in Hebrew means completeness and wholeness spirit, soul, and body. In fact, shalom is the same word for maturity or perfection. God calls us to rest on Him. He invites us to even rests between His shoulders. He offers to carry us when we can't walk: “Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders”  (Deuteronomy 33:12). When I watch an African lady carry her baby, she bundles the baby with clothes to her back and tightly in front of her chest, and the baby sleeps safely and peacefully in the cradle made of her flesh and bones. I want to rest in God's presence, for in His presence is the fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11) in the same way, lulled to the drowsy rest of a baby.

 Jesus invites us to cast "the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully" (I Peter 5:7). To be free of are and anxiety requires that I trust in Someone bigger and stronger than myself to take care of me. The cat doesn't worry when she will eat, whether she will be cold, or where she will sleep. She simply trusts that her master will care for every need, and thus she can relax and be at rest. Jesus knows that we will have troubles and trials in this world, so He promises that after we "have suffered a little while, the God of all grace [Who imparts all blessing and favor], Who has called you to His [own] eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will Himself complete and make you what you ought to be, establish and ground you securely, and strengthen, and settle you" (I Peter 5:10). That is what I see when I see the cat: at peace no matter the turmoil and confusion surrounding her.

On the day I took that photo, there were half a dozen people in the room, but the cat continued to doze contentedly.When we are settled in who we are and whose we are, we can rest no matter what.

I can focus on what is making me crazy or I can rest in who God is: my safe place.

Resting,

MJ