Crossroads and a Tailspin

 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem.They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them;  but they were kept from recognizing him. Luke 24:13-16

I am at the crossroads, and I don't know which way to turn. Many things seem apparent, clear, and focused, but now, I am not so sure. I do not know why I am in this situation. I listen, remain compliant, and am faithful. So, I have showed up for an appointment, but no one appears to be here- sorta like the play, Waiting for Godot. Like  a dreidel spun in a child's hands during the Festival of Lights, which end is up? (That's a second blog to accompany this one, so hold that thought).

It's a test, but what kind of test is it? Y'Shua knew that two disciples from Emmaus were despondent and disappointed, so He waited at their crossroads of faith and doubt to reassure their hearts.  He invites Himself into their problem, by pretending that He knows nothing of their turmoil, but isn't it why He is there. He does the same for us today. He sees us struggling for the breath of faith, and He comes and offers spiritual resuscitation.  He asks the same question, "What are you discussing together as you walk along?" (v.17). And then He begins to walk with us, unraveling all our doubts and questions.

As I searched for a picture to accompany this blog, I found not only a picture, but some interesting words from another blog that confirmed what Holy Spirit was already showing me:' As David Runcorn points out in his book Rumours of Life; “The irony is that in the moment they decide to walk away from Jesus, Jesus appears to walk towards them…he deliberately seeks out to two disciples who are walking away from it all..and in drawing the story out of them, Jesus has the unusual experience of listening to his own obituary.”  The blog entitled, "Now you see Me, now you don't?" struck such a cord because it echoed this blog perfectly. When we are about to give up, Y'Shua shows up in the midst of our indecision or doubts of whether our faith in Him has been foolhardy.

See, according to verse 18, their very faces were downcast with their pain and grief, and even though, they could tell about Y'Shua's exploits, and even the report of his resurrection, they still questioned and struggled with the flesh and blood reality before them. Y'Shua rebukes them while on the road, but even his exhortations are not enough to dislodge their fear and despondency:

"He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself." (Luke 24:25-27).

How so like me; I can tell you great things about who Y'shua  is and what He has done for, but notice the disciple's words of doubt, disappointment, and perhaps anger at Y'Shua's reneging: "He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people" (v.18). Hey, I thought He was the Messiah, not just a prophet. Quickly they talked about what others have reported about Y'Shua not being in the tomb, but they do not  appear to be convinced, to hold any belief in what they have heard about Him being alive. When He does not arrive when expected, do I reduce my expectation? Am I afraid to boldly declare who He is for fear that He will fail me or that I will be castigated for making such bold claims?

 According to the same blog, "Oscar Wilde wrote that, 'Once at least in his life each man walks with Christ to Emmaus.'"   So very true. We will all be led to the crossroad of faith and doubt.Wherever you are now, beloved, trust Y'Shua to arrive.

"When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognised him; and he vanished out of their sight.”(Luke 24, 30-31).

Emmaus-bound,
M.J.

Wringing Out the Glory

Have you ever noticed, considered, or realized that God is not concerned with things with which we are concerned? I think His principle concern is wringing out every last ounce of glory for Himself. You might wonder how I came to that conclusion. Let's just see the Book of Exodus left some mighty large hints. I believe every plague, catastrophe, and nuisance was the rising action in the drama that God alone was directing.

One day, Pharaoh is going to release the Israelites, and the next day, He was not. All this back and forth, go to Pharaoh, tell him this and that says the Lord- all mounting action for the climax which would take place at the Red Sea. God knew that nations were holding onto the edge of their seats as Pharaoh's army of chariots and horses entered into the two standing gulfs of waters only to be seen no more.

I figure God thought this miracle tops all miracles and reveals to the nations that I alone am God. Unfortunately, instead of the denouement that leads to a wonderful conclusion, the nation of Israel doesn't live happily ever-after in the Promise Land because of their foolishnness, hard-headedness, and any other colorful adjective you would like to apply. Oh well, we're no better.

But please don't think any of that drama stopped God. He just hired a stationary cloud and a moving pillar of fire to continue to reveal Himself to the nations. He set up a tabernacle, organized his own priesthood, and finally gave the people a king that they could see. Did I mention incredible, impossible, inexplicable victories over their adversaries as well? Oh, yeah that too.

For you see God was interested in His glory being revealed so that He could mightily change the nations. God chose the smallest, the most despised, and least of groups. Israel, so that the glory would be His, not theirs. Deutoronomy 7:7 declares,"The LORD did not set his heart on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations!

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 Philistines would have clamored for attention; Goliath would have proclaimed his own might, posturing with great poise his enormous physique. Such a diva! Look at those biceps. God took one look at that picture, and He said find me  a scrawny, ill-respected Jewish shepherd boy; I will use Him instead, that way I get the glory. Director's prerogative.

So when we are tempted to think that is all about us- this plague of locusts, this storm of hail, this substantial loss, it could be it's all about Him. Ask yourself how can God get the glory? I have blogged before that God wastes nothing, those things we actually give Him. Every disappointment, wound, and loss, He will take a wring the glory out of it, if we let Him.

Listen, my father struggled with alcoholism for years. One year while serving a short stint in jail, He said God delivered him from the compulsion. He described it as being lifted into the hands of God and being wrung out look a towel has water wrung from its fibers. Never again did he struggle with the addiction.

I had the unique opportunity to share that truth at two prisons: one in Brazil and the other Kenya, Africa. Despite pain that the addiction cost my family, God used his story to redeem the lives of countless others. Fathers returned home whole; sons and husbands were restored to families. See, God was wringing glory out of my pain and my father's sin and hurt. He can do that you know, if you let Him.

I imagine my father in heaven now meeting men whose lives his testimony changed without him ever knowing it, or even better a child, a mother, a wife, a son thanking him for yielding his hurt to God.
Whatever is in your heart right now, would you give it to Him and let Him wring the glory out?


Here's to More Wringing,
MJ

POM WONDERFUL

Some think the pomegranate tree is not beautiful. I tend to disagree. Its fine branches filled with beautiful blossoms and its crowned fruit are lovely to behold. I hear and see God's beauty in its unique design. The pomegranate is a mysterious fruit associated with Greek gods, but the God of my life has been showing me truth through this fruit:"Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates With choice fruits, henna with nard plants" (Songs 4:13). God speaks to me: don't listen to detractors or admirers. Listen to Me, for I formed and made you uniquely for my pleasure and service.

I am the pomegranate tree. I have been hidden and covered for my own protection for the pomegranate easily yields to infestation and pest destruction, so it must be covered with unsightly paper bags. Still, the beauty of the fruit of the Spirit can be seen as I am crowned with honor and beauty in the same way the fruit of the pomegranate gains its crown in the summer.

Yet, if the fruit of pomegranate is not picked, it will wither and dehydrate on the branch or its sweet wine will become sap on the ground. Therefore, those tending the pomegranate must pick it from the branches, prepare it for consumption, and reseeding. 

The pomegranate is not cheap, but its every part is useful. Its skin is dried and pounded into a spice used in Indian cooking, the seeds also. Its juice provides healthy and necessary anti-oxidants to defeat the free radicals that age the body and cause disease. The seed is then planted to recreate this precious fruit whose worth is lauded in the Song of Solomon and whose shape was replicated on the hem of the High Priest's robe so that when he entered the Holy of Holies the bells would ring as he walked and allow the other priests to know that He was still alive in God's presence behind the veil. Solomon compares his brides temples to pomegranate halves hidden behind her veil. It is such a beautiful image of Jesus' view of His bride, for He entered the Holy of Holies one time so that we can have complete access to His throne.

To soften the pomegranate, one can rub it against a hard surface. These 44 years have included some hard edges that Jesus, with His gentle scarred hands, has softened through hard experiences and people. After softening the fruit, retracting the seeds is easy now. Softening makes it easy for Jesus to take out the spiritual seeds out of me and plant them in the soil where He chooses. Rabbinical teaching maintains that the pomegranate contains 613 seeds- one for every mitzvot or commandment found in the Torah.

I am not married, so my orchard does not include children of the flesh or a husband.  I have sometimes lamented that fact and been saddened.  Even as I write these words, tears of joy stream down my face as I meditate on God's mercy and grace. This week, I stood in my spiritual orchard with Jesus. It went so far into the horizon that I could not see the end to the trees, the lives, that God had impacted through me. There are trees from Rosenberg/Richmond, TX, Houston, TX, Sherman, TX.,  Evanston, IL., Williamstown, MA, Bowling Green KY, France, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, England, Germany, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Austria, Nicaragua, Uruguay, Paraguay, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark,  Luxembourg, Canada and Kenya.

Organizations, churches, schools and kibbutzim have been fertile soil into which to plant God's seed. Their names  echo in my heart as Reba Place, Christ Chapel, Terry High School, Williams College, Northwestern University, Wharton County Junior College, YMCA, YWAM, Servas, Girl Scouts, Chabad House,  Hillel House, Jews for Jesus, CEIA, Mama's House, Rosenberg Rehabilitation Center, Richmond State School, Cambridge Retirement Village, Fort Bend ISD, Lamar CISD, University of Houston System, Belhaven University, Kendall College, Austin College, Living Waters, Black Diamonds, Black Expressions, Fools for Christ, after-school tutoring, Praise Exultation, My Father's House Children's Ministry, Freedom and Destiny, Calvary Baptist, Glad Tidings, Mi Pequeña Luz, ...

When Jesus showed me the trees, I felt a bit like Johnny Appleseed- always on the move and dropping seed, tapping them securely into the ground, and then moving onto the next spot. Sometimes, I would remain in one spot for years and cultivate an orchard like I have done at my present school.
Schools, nursing homes, churches, homeless shelters, entire neighborhoods (Bowling Green, Curitiba, Rosenberg, Sherman), wherever He led me; migrant laborers, immigrants, abandoned elderly, and orphaned children, sexually confused, Jew or Gentile, whatever life He told me to touch - these became my orchard.

There are seasons of healing in our lives just as there are seasons in nature. In the spring, the blossoms from the pomegranate tree fall and provide a red beautiful bridal path. That is the season where I am presently. I have danced and sung my way across 5 continents. As I listen to Jim Croegaert's song about changes, it speaks to my heart. The lyrics say, "Sometimes, we may be lonely; it's hard job making us holy, but in the long run there will be glory, glory to reveal the sun." As I stand back and look over these years, I realize the truth in that song. To God be the glory.

Celebrating 44,
MJ

Give and Take

Probably one of the most famous statements in the Book of Job contains the words 'give' and take." Job announces that the Lord gives and takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord: Baruch Haba Ba Shem Adonai. Those words cut and heal at the same time. Today is my birthday, and I can clearly see relationships, opportunities, and connections that God has both given and taken away. Truly, "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD" (Job 1:21).

Loss of connection and relationship is quite painful and requires self-alteration. Even if the relationship remains, howbeit not in its original form, that also requires adjustment. This year has seen much change in my life. I am in the process of downsizing; that equates to selling my home, car, and most of my provisions to embrace change: full-time international missions.

In order to embrace a new future, I must release the past. But the past means leaving ten years at the same school, my family,  the church families, friends, and my home for ten years that has received much remodeling and work. Even here and now, things and relationships are changing. I am changing.
The Lord gives and He takes away. Blessed Be His name.

His timing is always perfect. When I lay broken on the cement patio in a friend's backyard,  as copious tears ran down my face as I poured out my heart,  God was giving me an inestimable gift, for He allowed me to grieve when my body still held strength. He knew that six months down the road I would be cut from one end to another in major surgery. My body and soul could not face two betrayals at one time.

What I could have perceived as bad timing and lack of care were just the opposite. Abba saw further down the road, and He cushioned the journey.

Beloved, we are all in a season in which God gives and takes away. May you be strengthened as Job was in the midst of his fiery trials to proclaim: Baruch Haba Ba Shem Adonai. Y'Shua says when He hears these words, He comes; He returns to His people, and He saves them.

Changing,
MJ

How is Ruth like Christ?

Ruth's sacrificial love looks so like Christ's. She walked foreign ground in a foreign
world. In the same way. Christ, walked the earth- an alien world. She became a servant, doing the humble task like Christ. "Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. (Philippians 2:7).

Ruth loved Noami back to her original purpose. Christ loves us back to our original position as children of the Most High. 1 CoCorinthians 14:15 declares, "So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being" the last Adam, a life-giving spirit."

She becomes least so that Noami can receive her covental rights- by lying at Boaz's feet so that Noami's rights are restored with her husband's portion. She helps reconnect Noami to the God of her fathers. She brings hope not only to Noami but to the community and joy to her husband. In truth, "For [we] did not receive a spirit that makes [us] a slave again to fear, but [we] received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father" (Romans 8:15).


Ruth must have felt like a dried up plant. She had so many reasons to be disappointed, but she moved past that to embrace her future. Fear and faith; fear and love; fear and hope- are hard to do. Somehow, she moved past her pain to embrace the future God had planned for her.

Trusting,
MJ

Your True Heart's Desire

It takes time and refinement for you to know what your true heart's true. What do you do when you have been given a promise, and it has yet come to fruition? In the process of teaching 10 years at the public school, I discovered that my true desire was not to teach at an university.Yet, I used to yearn for that very thing. See, when it says that God will give us the desires of our hearts, it means that there will be a refining process that will reveal the true desires.

Many times, we feel boxed in, but God has purpose for every assignment, even what appears as a lesser assignment. He gave Moses a shepherd's heart with real nasty sheep. God wastes nothing. He confirms our nature and personality to the nature and character of His Son.

We are in process. God loves process. Perhaps, I would never have known my true's heart's desire if I taught at the university. I taught as a substitute and an adjunct professor, and I discovered that my heart is set on creating a school for girls. He has used those years of teaching in the public school for His purposes, to further His kingdom. I realize that the only thing that is going to last  is what I do for God: spiritual collateral- those lives who are saved. No awards, applause, or praise of men will follow me. I have learned that if I am faithful in a little, He will make me ruler over much.

In Process,
MJ

You have Not because You ask Not

How many of God's daughters don't ask their heavenly Father for anything because of their experience with their earthly fathers' lack of care and interest? Don't answer that.  Many times, we, daughters of the King, stop short of what we need. However, we need to push forward and be bold. 

The Old Testament contains an interesting tale about six behold and asked for what they needed. These girls' father had died and left no male heirs. They asked for their inheritance, and God responded gave them, not only what they asked for, but changed how women were treated in Israel forever: “Our father died in the desert.  Why should our father’s name disappear from his clan because he had no son? Give us property among our father’s relatives.” So Moses brought their case before the Lord and the Lord said to him, “What Zelophehad’s daughters are saying is right. You must certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father’s relatives and turn their father’s inheritance over to them.

God moves the boundaries to bless all Israelite women: “Say to the Israelites, ‘If a man dies and leaves no son, turn his inheritance over to his daughter. If he has no daughter, give his inheritance to his brothers. If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. If his father had no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative in his clan, that he may possess it. This is to be a legal requirement for the Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.’”

God wants us to ask Him for our true  hearts' desires. He desires for us to trust Him to answer those desires. God does not always  answer our prayers when and how we would like, but He does listen; He does care, and He will answer.

Listen, I am encouraging myself in God's loving nature. I have prayed for 26 years for someone with whom to work in the ministry. I believe God knows the right time, the right person, and when I am ready to embark on this journey with that person. Keep knocking, asking, and believing.

Sometimes, God waits so that He can maximize His glory, so that He can prove the naysayers and the misogynists wrong. He did so with Zelophedad's daughters. Did Zelophedad wonder why he wasn't 'blessed' with sons? (You have got to give him credit for trying six times). God wanted to expand His glory, so that His renown as God of equity and equality would be seen through holy chutzpah of six women.

Just like Jesus would later do with Mary, Martha, and the Samaritan woman, God wrote women into the story in a culture and a time that doing so was unheard of or even imagined.

Here's to chutzpah,
mj