TALKING TO DEATH

Have you ever been duped by a dog, out-witted by a rat, out-smarted by a snake? Just because God gave us thumbs, doesn’t mean we always have the upper hand. Case in point: We moved to Vancouver, WA in early August ‘07, and I was visiting my friend. I noticed colorful, plastic-cling floral decorations on a basement walk-out glass door. Though this may not seem out of the ordinary to you, in the elegantly tasteful décor of my friend’s home, these $1.99 florals seemed misplaced. Imagine my embarrassment when she noticed my ogling. “A bird,” she said, exasperated. “Every spring it slams into this glass unless I put those clingy things up.” So our first spring in Washington, imagine my surprise when a psycho bird found our house. (The bird in the pic above is NOT our robin, but proves there are other such psycho birds throughout the US, so beware!) A giant robin slammed into my sliding glass door one morning and nearly scarred me and my 80 lb. Rottweiler to pieces! It didn’t just hit the glass and fall or fly away. Oh, no. It hit the glass and clawed at it with its feet, like it was trying to get in! Yikes! I ran to the window and shooed it away. The retched thing sat on the fence ten feet away and eyed me. You know, with that beady little eye on the side of its head. I walked away, and it flew at the glass again. We played that little game all day! I pulled the blinds. Didn’t work. I shuttered the blinds. Helped for a while, but then it attacked the windshield of my father-in-law’s motor home. He put up his reflection shield in the dash, and it attacked my dining room window. I now believe that Alfred Hitchcock must have lived in Vancouver, Washington before he directed, “The Birds,” movie. And if a silly robin can be so crafty, can you imagine how cunning a Satan-embodied serpent could be?

THUMBNAIL SKETCH OF THE FALL
SERPENT: A hint of accusation that twisted the truth.
EVE: A righteous exaggeration that engaged the lie.
SERPENT: A direct contradiction that spawned the doubt.
EVE: A progressive rationalization that killed us all.

Gen. 3:1 – “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God really say, “You must not eat from any tree in the garden”?’”

• A hint of accusation that twisted the truth. Do you hear the veiled accusation against God’s character in the serpent’s question? It was true that God created one tree from which He restricted humankind. But all the other trees in the Garden were theirs for food (Gen. 2:9,16). But Satan’s lie held a kernel of truth – as is often the case. It’s what makes him so infuriatingly difficult to ignore, so impossible to overcome with human reasoning.

Gen. 3:2-3 – “The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, “You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.”’”

• A righteous exaggeration that engaged the lie. Though Eve sounds as though she’s disagreeing with the serpent, she’s doing exactly the serpent had just done. She’s twisting God’s Words, making Him appear harsher than He is. God never said they couldn’t touch the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen. 2:9,16-17 – see below) – only that they couldn’t eat of its fruit. Sometimes we, as human beings, place harsher rules on ourselves and others than God’s Word intends – much to Satan’s delight. And, by the way, there were two trees in the middle of the Garden. To hear Eve’s version, you’d think she only saw one. Perhaps she only focused on the one she couldn’t have.

Gen. 3:4-5 – “‘You will not surely die,’ the serpent said to the woman. ‘For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’”

• A direct contradiction that spawned the doubt. Before sin is borne, doubt is conceived. Satan’s first direct contradiction of God’s Word – “God is a Liar.” Notice he fuels it immediately, casting more suspicion on God’s character. Notice also the repeated seed of truth – their eyes would indeed be opened, knowing good from evil. Adam and Eve had been created in God’s image, but perhaps they saw this one area of knowledge that He’d held back from them, and they were discontent.

Gen. 3:6-7 – “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.”

• A progressive rationalization that killed us all. Using our “best” judgment, especially when it’s been influenced by twisted truth and manipulated motives, is not always “best.” Accountability. Counsel. Community. All crucial when wrestling with temptation. Eve’s community was admittedly small – Adam and God. But who else would she have needed? Eve listened only to her internal rationalizations.

Lord, sometimes I don’t ask for help because I know the advice will tell me what I don’t want to hear – and I want what I want. Sometimes I don’t ask because I’m embarrassed or afraid I’m an imposition. Give me the humility, the courage, the willingness to ask others for godly counsel. Give me wisdom to seek out those who will speak Your wisdom. Give me a heart that cries out to You for help, when I hear the first taunts of a cunning enemy.

SEEING DOUBLE

Okay, my workspace isn't that bad, but if you were to walk in my front door, you would see a messy computer armoire with a laptop snuggled inside it. However, I look at my cozy little space and perceive a place where God meets me each day. I see an electronic blessing that gives me hours of enjoyment that God used to clarify His calling in my life. Now, let me take you a little further into my home, just past and to the left of that messy armoire. There lies a tattered dog’s bed with a clumsy Rottweiler/pit bull mutt curled up on it. You might think, “Yikes! Kujo!” But wait! I see a precious, loving companion that God created just for me. He’s by my side all day – everyday – and he thinks I’m wonderful, even when I don’t wear makeup! One object or circumstance, dual meaning. Okay, let’s try something a little more generic – a remote control for instance. One object, dual perspective – depending on gender. The female representation of our species sees the little device as a tool, a piece of equipment to be used at a single point in time for a specific purpose. Its intended use is to change a channel, and then it should be re-placed on a flat surface until the next time its services are needed. Thus, the divergence in thought. The male species believes the remote should be held at all times and used frequently to change channels without any real purpose or pattern. There seems to be some covert quest to gain surfing speed, and when asked to relinquish control of the device – well, marital bliss is but a memory. To be fair, we should now turn our attention to the dual gender perspective on chocolate… On second thought, let’s move on to what God’s Word teaches about the double messages in God’s first Garden…

Gen. 2:18-20 – “The LORD God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’ Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found” (emphasis added).

• God had DUAL PURPOSE in bringing the animals to Adam for naming. God had already determined to make a suitable helper for Adam, but Adam needed to realize his need for a helper. Though God brought the animals to Adam in order for Adam to name them, God had a greater purpose to which Adam was oblivious. Adam knew ONLY the immediate purpose.

Gen. 2:21-23 – “So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called “woman,” for she was taken out of man’” (emphasis added).

• The creation of woman was a DUAL PROCESS (Yes, men. We’ve been complicated from the beginning of time). First God created her from man’s side, and then God gave her to Adam as a gift. God presented her to Adam. At that moment, Adam could have resisted, could have refused God’s gift. Instead Adam recognized God’s gift to him. God creates blessings. It’s our job to recognize them.

Gen. 2:24-25 – “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.”

• God made marriage for DUAL PLEASURE. Marriage in the Garden was all about perfect unity and the absence of shame. Can you imagine? Even the healthiest marriages struggle at some points with divergent passions and past baggage. But this verse gives us the bull’s eye, the mark for which we strive. It’s God’s perfect design for marriage – oneness and shamelessness.

Lord, I ache at the loss of Your marvelous Creation. I long to experience such purity and oneness with my husband. Your purpose and design for mankind and this earth were so perfect and good. I can only dream of a world so perfectly balanced and peaceful. Yet this one thing sustains like an anchor on a raging sea. One day – one day – You will restore it all, and I will be with You to see that day. Let it be so, Lord. Let it be so.

YHWH – MASTER GARDENER

(LORD God. “LORD” (Hebrew YHWH, “Yahweh”) is the personal and covenant name of God, emphasizing his role as Israel’s Redeemer and covenant Lord, while “God” (Hebrew Elohim) is a general term.[1])
[1]Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved

Do you enjoy gardening? Do you love the feel of the soil under your fingernails? Love to watch a seed grow from sprout to plant to flower or fruit? Not me. Hate it. Hate the bugs, the dirt, the sweat, the weeds, the waiting, the work. And the plants must sense it because as soon as a green plant enters my care, it turns instantly brown. Well, not instantly, but gradual instantly. Case in point. When we arrived at our lovely new Vancouver home, a whole troop of Multnomah faculty and staff joined us the next day to help unload the trucks (yep, not one, but two moving trucks – ugh). Two unfortunate things happened that day. One, Roy was stricken with a case of either food poisoning, flu or aversion to unloading (just kiddin’ Hon) – relegating him to a twin air mattress in the 6’x10’ master bedroom closet with a bucket, while everyone else unloaded all the furniture and boxes into the other rooms of the house. The second unfortunate event occurred when Multnomah’s Academic Dean’s wife showed up with a housewarming gift – the most beautiful potted hydrangea I’d ever seen. Resolving to turn my black thumb to green, I accepted the kind and thoughtful gift with high hopes of horticulture in my future. Within a week, the poor plant had gone from perky pink to dismal gray. I put it in the sun it drooped. I put it in the shade, it sagged. More water. Less water. Finally, a friend came to the rescue and said the poor little plant’s only hope was to be freed from my clutches and released back into the wild. She helped me transplant the pitiful hydrangea into the front flowerbed in the fertile Northwest soil. “A stick grows in this soil,” she said confidently. Well, she was right. Sort of. The hydrangea made it, but it truly looks like three sticks with a few leaves and a couple of fake little puffed flowers on the ends. My thumb remains black, and we can never invite the dean and his wife for dinner because the plant is right by the front door. It’s times like these that I wish I was a master gardener like my God – YHWH, Elohim, the Master Gardener…

Gen. 2:4-7 – “This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created. When [YHWH Elohim] made the earth and the heavens--and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the [YHWH Elohim] had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth and watered the whole surface of the ground--the [YHWH Elohim] formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”

• Until God’s breath was breathed into man, there was no one to plant and nurture “shrubs” in the fields – fields seemingly distinguished from ground and earth. God’s breath became mankind’s breath. Breathe in deeply right now. No, really, I mean it. Please. Breathe in deeply. Breathe in God’s breath.

Gen. 2:8-15 – “Now [YHWH Elohim] had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. And [YHWH Elohim] made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground--trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Asshur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. [YHWH Elohim] took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.”

• God made a place for mankind to nurture and watch the green plants grow just as God would nurture and watch His Creation grow. God and mankind shared not only the same breath but now also a partnership of purpose in nurturing Creation. Every detail of Creation was to bind mankind to God in relationship.

Gen. 2:16-17 – “And [YHWH Elohim] commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.’”

• What is a garden without roses? And what is a rose without thorns? God created mankind in His image, breathed into them His breath, shared with them His same purpose. Now, God bestows the ultimate transference of His likeness. He offers mankind the ability and opportunity to choose. The Master Gardener released mankind to tend God’s greatest work – mankind itself.

Lord, the beauty of Your Creation astounds me. The complexity of the human body is beyond comprehension. And the truth that You shared Your breath and Your purpose with us touches the deepest parts of my heart. But, Father, sometimes I wish I didn’t have to choose. Sometimes I think it would be easier if You could just make the choice for me. Then everyone could worship forever around Your Throne. But it would be empty, wouldn’t it, Lord? Empty compared to the worship of those who have chosen through pain and adversity and faith to worship a God we do not fully understand and yet we love with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength. I can choose You, Father…and I do.

CIRCLE OF LIFE

I’ve mentioned our nightmare efforts to fly to Australia for vacation in the midst of a winter snowstorm. But I neglected to mention the heroic efforts of our angel travel agent in Wisconsin and the way God used the situation to bless her in return. I’ve never actually met Julie in person. In fact, until the fateful day of Sunday, December 21, 2008, we’d never even talked on the phone. But that day our family awakened with our bags packed, ready to depart the Portland airport at 5:20pm, but there was snow and ice everywhere. At 7am, I had my first phone conversation with Julie. By midnight, Julie and I were seasoned comrades in our quest against the evil forces of airlines, cruise lines and Old Man Winter. We’d lost several battles and would miss four days of the cruise, but with Julie on a cell phone in my right ear and Alaska Air on the home phone in my left ear, we’d won the war – we’d secured flights for our family on Christmas Day to catch up with the cruise. Julie and I had laughed, cried, grumbled and prayed through the disappointments of the day, so just before hanging up, Julie hesitantly asked if I’d pray for her about a certain something coming up in her life. She’d been asked to sing “O Holy Night” for their church’s Christmas Eve service, and she was terrified! All her life she’d loved music, had been a voice major in college, and then sang for many years at church and civic functions. But a few years ago, she’d endured medical treatments that damaged her vocal chords, and she hadn’t sung publicly since then. Well, I promised to pray, and we said our good-byes, trusting all would be well with her song and our flights. Not so. Julie called us Christmas Eve day to say that she’d checked on our flights, and Alaska had somehow unbooked our four seats on the flight. Julie spent the entire day getting us back on the Christmas day flight, which meant she had no time to think about singing that night – or to practice with her accompanist. She called me just before walking out the door to church and said we were back on the flights and asked again for me to pray – HARD! Of course, we got on the plane the next day, not knowing how Julie’s song went, and by the time we’d arrived home from vacation, I had an e-mail telling me the Lord had done an amazing work in her voice, and she’d already sung at another church! The Lord works in mysterious ways to take our minds off our own fears and concerns, doesn’t He? Do I believe Portland had all that snow so Julie could sing beautifully for her church in Wisconsin? No. But I do believe that our God took a terrible situation, and cares about two women, who became friends because they endured difficult days and watched God do a mighty work in both circumstances. God is the Creator of all things, and He can work any situation together in a beautiful circle of life…

Gen. 1:24-25 – “And God said, ‘Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.’ And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good” (emphasis added).

• God SPOKE Creation into existence, but He often used the things He’d already created to create the next thing. He commanded the land to produce the living creatures in v. 24, just as He had commanded the land to produce vegetation in v. 11. God could have created spontaneously, but He valued connectedness and He used those things already present to enrich the new Creation.

Gen. 1:26-28 – “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground’” (emphasis added).

• The Father, Son and Holy Spirit – our singular God – determined to make humankind in His image, and His image and likeness was too magnificent for one human representation, so male and female were created to display the full illustration of God’s image. (We get the whole story in Gen. 2) Since sin marred the image God intended for us, we must reckon with death and its consequences, but it’s important to remember – to absorb this truth – you and I are still, as human beings, the bearers of God’s image (marred, though it may be). And if we are believers in His Son, Jesus Christ, we are TRULY God-bearers since His Holy Spirit dwells within us! How awesome is that?

Gen. 1:29-31 – “Then God said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground--everything that has the breath of life in it--I give every green plant for food.’ And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the sixth day” (emphasis added).

• There it is – the meeting of the circle. God did all the creative preparation of the other five days in order that on the sixth and final day of Creation, He could fashion humankind in His image and give every green plant for food. And the sky…and the seas…and the animals…and…and…and…each one enables the other. And humankind is to rule over it.

Gen. 2:1-3 – “Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”

• News flash! God did NOT rest because He was tired! On the sixth day, God stepped into the center of the circle of life He’d created and enjoyed every detail of each created item. But for one item, He showed special care. Imagine that you’re these brand new, adult human beings. You just arrived in this magnificent Garden, lush vegetation, paths crawling with living creatures, rivers and streams teeming with fish, sky filled with birds. And your first day alive is spent resting with God, enjoying His finished work. Can you imagine what that day of fellowship was like?

Lord, so often I don’t take time for that rest and fellowship with You – and that’s probably why I miss the connectedness of life and events. I know that when I slow down and spend time with You in Your Word and in prayer, things seem to add up, make sense, fall into place. Please help me to make rest and fellowship with You a priority, Father.

PREFERING PROCESS AND PATIENT PREPARATION

My family wanted a dog. I was the bad guy. However, my reluctance was not unfounded. We were terrible dog people. I mean, we loved dogs, but we just had a terrible track record of dog ownership. Our first dog was an adorable mutt that we chose from a barn litter of who-knows-what breed when we were expecting our second child. We just decided one day to go look at puppies. This little guy had giant paws – which should have been our first warning sign – and was the most playful one of the bunch – which should have been our second warning sign. We named him “Hondo” after Roy’s favorite basketball player of all time, and he was aptly named because he could jump higher than any fence Roy could build. We could have named him “Pavarotti” because he also had the loveliest singing voice, which he chose to use every night – in the middle of the night – that soon became the bane of our neighbors’ existence. Hondo found another family.

Five years later, we gave it a little more thought and decided a pound puppy was pretty cheap and a benevolent thing to do. This dog was a gift for our older daughter’s sixth birthday. “Molly” was an adorable, lovable border/schnauzer mix that potty trained easily and fit our family well. Three months after we adopted her, we were called to seminary and couldn’t find anywhere in Ashland, OH, that allowed pets on our shoestring budget. Amid weeping and gnashing of teeth, Molly, too, found another family.

Can you see why I was a little hesitant to get a dog in 1994, even when my family begged and pleaded for one? So I prayed (don’t ever do that unless you’re ready for God to take the other guys’ side). Roy was at least willing to stall the process and suggested that our daughters do some library research on what kind of dog would fit our family’s needs. Mr. Library Research made me look the books over, too. We decided on a sheltie – even though they shed like a snowman in Tahiti, they’re sharp as a tack (plus I knew we could never afford one). Four days later, my sister-in-law calls out of the blue and tells me that my mom mentioned we might be interested in a dog. She said her friends had a 3 yr. old sheltie they’d like to find a good home for. Ugh. Now, my wise husband wouldn’t allow us to rush right out and get the dog. He’d learned from our other mishaps that we must prepare for its arrival. We spent the better part of 2 weeks building a dog run for this animal – nicer play area than my children had at the time. Our girls helped paint the fence and spread pea gravel. And when “Princess” finally became a part of our family, all that preparation made the difference. (Roy in the 1994 picture above is in his favorite pose with his favorite 1980's purple sweat pants.) Our precious sheltie was with us for twelve wonderful years. Process, Patience, Preparation – these are words I don’t particularly like, but they’re words God has a special affinity toward – especially in His creative work….

Gen. 1:2 – “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”

• Why didn’t God create the earth formed and full? Why allow darkness? Why hover? Because from the very beginning, God chose PROCESS for Himself and for the heavens and the earth.

Gen. 1:3-5 – “And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light ‘day,’ and the darkness he called ‘night.’ And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day.”

• Notice God called light “good” before sin occurred and before light or dark contained any merit or evil from human interference. God then separated light, with its inherent goodness, in order to accentuate the difference between it and darkness. He was PREPARING Creation for the recognition of two essences – the knowledge of something good and something less than. Even before sin, darkness has been separate from light’s goodness. So why did God allow darkness at all? Perhaps so humankind would know the difference…

Gen. 1:6-13 – “And God said, ‘Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water.’ So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. God called the expanse ‘sky.’ And there was evening, and there was morning--the second day. And God said, ‘Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.’ And it was so. God called the dry ground ‘land,’ and the gathered waters he called ‘seas.’ And God saw that it was good. Then God said, ‘Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.’ And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the third day. ”

• God was PATIENT, waiting ‘til the second day to create the sky and a third day for dry ground. He spoke the vegetation into the ground immediately, but notice He made them seed and fruit-bearing, requiring time and PROCESS for them to reach full productivity.
  

Gen. 1:14-19 – “And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.’ And it was so. God made two great lights--the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the fourth day.”

• God went to a lot of trouble in this PROCESS of Creation to remind us daily of His distinction between light and dark, good and less than His best.

Gen. 1:20-23 – “And God said, ‘Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.’ So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.’ And there was evening, and there was morning--the fifth day.”

• All the water creatures and birds were spoken into being on the fifth day – more PROCESS and PATIENCE and PREPARATION for all God would create on the sixth day....

Lord, it astounds me that You PATIENTLY chose to make Creation a PROCESS of PREPARATION rather than speak it immediately, wholly into existence. What seems to me a painfully slow and meticulous delay was to You a labor of love for the precious Creation You knew would later betray You. Oh, what kind of love is this that gives so lavishly? I am humbled to reverent awe….

THE CENTRAL THEME

Every sentence, paragraph, report or story must have a central theme or topic – a golden thread throughout weaving together all the information in a lovely tapestry. The choosing of that golden thread is not for the faint of heart. It’s the key to good story telling. Well, our family has just returned from an incredible cruise adventure. My challenge is to decide which theme to weave through my story so you can enjoy it to the utmost. Should I simply list the ports of call? Let’s see, we started in Auckland, New Zealand on December 28 and proceeded each day to a different city in that country: Tauranga, Napier, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. The final day, we sailed through Fjordland’s Dusky Sound, Doubtful Sound and Milford Sound (Pix in the slideshow at the right). Hmmmm. That account seemed rather boring, didn’t it? And our cruise was anything but boring. So let’s try another theme. How about all that went wrong with our trip? We missed the first five days of the cruise – one of those days because of bad weather, the other four due to (at best) unhelpful, (and at worst) incompetent folks at our cruise line. We were then stranded in Auckland’s airport for more than three hours because Royal Caribbean’s rep. never showed up to meet us. When we finally got on the ship, a driving rain caused us to miss our first port altogether. The food was terrible – no lobster tails served the entire cruise. Four of the six ports were a 30-40 minute drive inland, and the cruise line shuttle buses were outrageously priced. Well, that theme is worse than boring. It’s ungrateful and depressing! So let’s try a happy theme: We arrived in Auckland a day before the ship docked, so we stayed in a fabulous 5-star hotel. Our girls base jumped from the Auckland Sky Tower (the highest bldg. in the southern hemisphere), and lived to laugh about it! We ate dinner each night with three wonderful couples, one Russian/Canadian, one Australian and one Israeli, who became dear friends. Roy won the ship’s ping-pong tournament (and got a gold medal) on his birthday! New Year’s Eve came twice this year – once New Zealand time and again 18 hours later as we watched the Times' Square ball drop on the ship's TV. We caught a glimpse of Sydney’s harbor before being whisked away to the airport. And most importantly, we spent 9 glorious, restful, uninterrupted days with our adult daughters and the precious parents-of-our-hearts in a fabulous part of the world we’ve never seen before. Doesn’t that theme sound better? And I could choose other themes and tell you much, much more, but I had to just hit the highlights.

As did the writers of Scripture. Those who wrote God’s Word wrote with one Theme in mind – God – and then they hit the highlights. As I read the introduction to Genesis in Eugene Peterson’s, The Message, it occurred to me that the reason Genesis reads like Swiss cheese (it has lots of holes – come on, keep up!) is that the author only included the information that was central to the theme of God. All those questions like: Who did Cain and Abel marry? Where do dinosaurs fit in? Where exactly was the Garden of Eden? Who were the Nephilim? don’t really matter in the central theme of the story about God. So the author left those details out! So move on. Get past it. Enjoy the story he DID write…

Gen. 1:1a – “In the beginning God created…”

• Right there it is. The author, probably Moses, tells us the theme of his Book. God. As Eugene Peterson said in The Message, “First God…If we don’t have a sense of the primacy of God, we will never get it right, get life right, get our lives right. Not God in the margins; not God as an option; not God on the weekends. God at center and circumference; God first and last; God, God, God. Genesis pulls us into a sense of reality that is God-shaped and God-filled.” Genesis is all about God because our lives are to be all about God. There was nothing before God, and everything after Him, He created. After Creation, we find God at the center of every reported incident, every life, every struggle, every victory.

Gen. 1:1b – “…the heavens and the earth.”

• Do you get a little squeamish when people talk about fortune telling and spiritual forces in the dark world? Let this verse calm all your fears. God is the ultimate Creator. Without His creative power, nothing would exist. In heaven above or on this earth or under the earth – our God reigns. He created everything human eyes have seen as well as the worlds science has not yet uncovered. He created the physical world that we taste, touch, see, hear and smell; just as He created the metaphysical world that is beyond our senses. But let there be no mistake. There is one God, and He reigns over His Creation – the heavens and the earth.

Lord, as I have come to know you as my Savior over the years, You’ve become my Friend and my Comforter. It’s been a blessing to know You more intimately each day, but with that intimacy comes a level of familiarity that threatens to diminish my awe of Your power. As I read Your Story, reawaken my awe at Your power and glory.

New Blog for Writers

Hey, writing buddies - and all of you closet writers out there! I just got news of a great blog that just started Jan. 5th, consisting of seven talented gals who have some exciting things to say about writing fiction.

http://www.novelmatters.blogspot.com

At Novel Matters they will discuss the art of fine fiction from the viewpoint of author and reader. They will talk about what makes good fiction good, and what writers can do to improve their work. Those of you who read lots of fiction can also be of help as you offer insight into what makes for the most interesting reading. It's a great blog for everyone, and you'll find a quick link listed at the bottom right of my blog - along with several other writers' blogs that might be of interest to you.

THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE

I’m guessing you’re familiar with the children’s fable of the tortoise and the hare. The hare (A “hare” is a rabbit – for those of you who missed the zoology portion of freshman biology) begins the long race fast and furious but runs out of juice and is defeated by the slow but steady pace of the tortoise. Well, I’m a rabbit, who married a tortoise. One of my husband’s mottos is, “Wait as long as you can and say as little as possible.” He believes if you sit back and wait, many things will ultimately resolve themselves. I, on the other hand, believe that situations are better dealt with immediately so they don’t have time to fester. As you can imagine, these opposing views on life and how to deal with it have given us many opportunities to…um…well…compromise. As parents of (nearly) adult children, I still want to be a rabbit-mom and rush in to give my opinion/aid/censure. My husband has taught me that a turtle-mom is much more effective. When a virus invades our computer (like happened to me last week), my husband is learning that rabbit’s get far less damaged than turtles by such rampant sniffles. I guess my point is that God created both the tortoise and the hare, and as is true with most things, it’s a lifelong process to discern the proper time to become the appropriate creature. In Ezra’s case, both were needed – first the rabbit, then the tortoise. But the most important thing to remember is that they finished the race set before them…

Just a reminder of what’s happening:
Ezra 10:5-6 – “So Ezra rose up and put the leading priests and Levites and all Israel under oath to do what had been suggested. And they took the oath. Then Ezra withdrew from before the house of God and went to the room of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. While he was there, he ate no food and drank no water, because he continued to mourn over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.”
Now here’s what those who took the oath did:
Ezra 10:7-11 – “A proclamation was then issued throughout Judah and Jerusalem for all the exiles to assemble in Jerusalem. Anyone who failed to appear within three days would forfeit all his property, in accordance with the decision of the officials and elders, and would himself be expelled from the assembly of the exiles. Within the three days, all the men of Judah and Benjamin had gathered in Jerusalem. And on the twentieth day of the ninth month, all the people were sitting in the square before the house of God, greatly distressed by the occasion and because of the rain. Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, ‘You have been unfaithful; you have married foreign women, adding to Israel's guilt. Now make confession to the LORD, the God of your fathers, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the peoples around you and from your foreign wives.’”

• Three days? Yikes! Short notice for people who had to travel on donkeys or on foot from up to fifty miles away through mountains and/or a wilderness. Why three days? Remember Ezra in Jehohanan’s room without food or water? Well, the human body can live without food for forty days before starvation begins to take its toll, but it can only survive for three days without water before severe dehydration sets in.

Ezra 10:12-17 – “The whole assembly responded with a loud voice: ‘You are right! We must do as you say. But there are many people here and it is the rainy season; so we cannot stand outside. Besides, this matter cannot be taken care of in a day or two, because we have sinned greatly in this thing. Let our officials act for the whole assembly. Then let everyone in our towns who has married a foreign woman come at a set time, along with the elders and judges of each town, until the fierce anger of our God in this matter is turned away from us.’ Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah, supported by Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite, opposed this. So the exiles did as was proposed. Ezra the priest selected men who were family heads, one from each family division, and all of them designated by name. On the first day of the tenth month they sat down to investigate the cases, and by the first day of the first month they finished dealing with all the men who had married foreign women.”

• Imagine the scene. Thousands of people seated on the ground in front of God’s Temple in a driving rainstorm, and Ezra shouting at them to repent of taking foreign wives. And the multitude cries out with one voice, “Huh? We can’t hear ya ‘cause of the rain, but we know we messed up. Give us some time, and we’ll fix it!” Now, Ezra seems like a rabbit kind of guy to me, but in this case, he must have had the patience of a tortoise to deal with God’s people. Sin seldom comes into our lives overnight, and oftentimes we must patiently, methodically overcome it.

Ezra 10:18-22 – “Among the descendants of the priests, the following had married foreign women: From the descendants of Jeshua son of Jozadak, and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib and Gedaliah. (They all gave their hands in pledge to put away their wives, and for their guilt they each presented a ram from the flock as a guilt offering.) From the descendants of Immer: Hanani and Zebadiah. From the descendants of Harim: Maaseiah, Elijah, Shemaiah, Jehiel and Uzziah. From the descendants of Pashhur: Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethanel, Jozabad and Elasah.”

• The priests are the only ones listed as presenting a guilt offering. Perhaps others did, and it was just assumed. Or perhaps because priests in the Old Testament were the people’s representatives to God, they had a greater spiritual responsibility, and thus a greater burden of restitution. Jesus’ death on the Cross made a “priest” unnecessary since we all have equal access to God through the sacrifice of Jesus; however, spiritual leaders today still have a heavy responsibility for those they are called to shepherd.

(Don’t panic at all the names. I’ve bolded the headings and two particular names I want you to focus on later…)
Ezra 10:23-44 – “Among the Levites: Jozabad, Shimei, Kelaiah (that is, Kelita), Pethahiah, Judah and Eliezer. From the singers: Eliashib. From the gatekeepers: Shallum, Telem and Uri. And among the other Israelites: From the descendants of Parosh: Ramiah, Izziah, Malkijah, Mijamin, Eleazar, Malkijah and Benaiah. From the descendants of Elam: Mattaniah, Zechariah, Jehiel, Abdi, Jeremoth and Elijah. From the descendants of Zattu: Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Jeremoth, Zabad and Aziza. From the descendants of Bebai: Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai and Athlai. From the descendants of Bani: Meshullam, Malluch, Adaiah, Jashub, Sheal and Jeremoth. From the descendants of Pahath-Moab: Adna, Kelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezalel, Binnui and Manasseh. From the descendants of Harim: Eliezer, Ishijah, Malkijah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, Benjamin, Malluch and Shemariah. From the descendants of Hashum: Mattenai, Mattattah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh and Shimei. From the descendants of Bani: Maadai, Amram, Uel, Benaiah, Bedeiah, Keluhi, Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Mattenai and Jaasu. From the descendants of Binnui: Shimei, Shelemiah, Nathan, Adaiah, Macnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, Azarel, Shelemiah, Shemariah, Shallum, Amariah and Joseph. From the descendants of Nebo: Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jaddai, Joel and Benaiah. All these had married foreign women, and some of them had children by these wives” (emphasis added).

• We can’t end this study without addressing the sad truth that these women and children were cast away from their husbands simply because they were foreign – they were not Israelite by birth. But once again, I beg you – place blame where it belongs. Are you thinking God is too harsh? Ezra too harsh? The leaders too harsh? Please go back and read all those names you skipped over, and realize that each one made a choice to disobey God and unite himself with a woman who observed the detestable practices of the foreign people of Canaan. Please lay the blame at the feet of all those difficult to pronounce names above. Remember that before Jesus Christ, God’s people lived by the Law and were required to follow it to the letter in order to receive forgiveness of sins. Then rejoice in God’s amazing grace that came through Jesus’ sinless life, sacrificial death and powerful resurrection. Now, we live by the law of the Spirit of life, in which God’s forgiveness is through faith.

Lord, two critters so different – a tortoise and a hare – equally precious to You, each giving us insight to our reactions. Two portions of history – the Old Covenant governed by the Law, prescribing death and separation for sin; the New Covenant governed by Grace, prescribing faith in Jesus Christ for forgiveness of my sin. Each plan is precious to You because each has its purpose – the Old foreshadowing the New. Teach me to value both the tortoise and the hare in my life, Lord, and discern which the better choice in any given situation is.

TOUGH LEADERSHIP

Which of these precious darlings do you think might have led their father to such drastic discipline...

Parenting ain’t for wimps, and my husband is one of the toughest dads I’ve ever met. Not because he’s terribly mean or strict, but because of his creativity in discipline. One of our daughters was a teenager, and she had crossed the line – more than once. It was the third time she’d come in past curfew, and we were out of ideas on discipline. Well, I was out of ideas. Roy was just getting started. He called the wayward offspring into the living room and seated her on the couch. “I’m going to punish you,” he explained, “by taking your punishment on myself.” I gawked at him, as did our daughter. He continued to explain, undaunted by our furrowed brows. “I’m going to deny myself something I value very highly, something I’ll miss dearly. Each time you see my sacrifice, you’ll be reminded to honor your curfew next time.” Our daughter’s face brightened, thinking she’d completely wriggled off the hook. Dinner came, and when it came time to pour the drinks, Roy refused the Pepsi we usually poured for him. “No thank you,” he said. “I won’t be having any Pepsi for a month.” That’s how long the grounding would have been for our daughter if we’d have implemented the rules of the house. She looked at her dad with daggers in her eyes, and poured his glass of water. After a week of pouring dad’s water at dinner and enduring his loving, sacrificial spirit, the grounding looked more and more appealing. Sometimes as a leader, we must suffer with those we lead. Sometimes they must come to their own conclusions. Sometimes they must ask for their own discipline…

Ezra 10:1-4 – “While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself down before the house of God, a large crowd of Israelites--men, women and children--gathered around him. They too wept bitterly. Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, one of the descendants of Elam, said to Ezra, ‘We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the peoples around us. But in spite of this, there is still hope for Israel. Now let us make a covenant before our God to send away all these women and their children, in accordance with the counsel of my lord and of those who fear the commands of our God. Let it be done according to the Law. Rise up; this matter is in your hands. We will support you, so take courage and do it.’”

• What a beautiful picture of leadership at its best. The shepherd burdened by the Lord, and the people receiving the same burden in prayer. The body coming to a consensus and then committing to act in support of the shepherd as he leads in that decision. Notice that the body encourages the leader when he despairs, and the leader trusts the direction of the people committed to God’s Word. Also take note that the people place ultimate authority back into the leader’s hands, offering their support and continued encouragement.

Ezra 10:5-6 – “So Ezra rose up and put the leading priests and Levites and all Israel under oath to do what had been suggested. And they took the oath. Then Ezra withdrew from before the house of God and went to the room of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. While he was there, he ate no food and drank no water, because he continued to mourn over the unfaithfulness of the exiles.”

• As the leader, Ezra secured the plans for action…and then he took his fingers out of the pot and empowered others to do the work. His job was to fast, pray, and maintain the fervency of the calling – even when he wasn’t involved in every step of the process. But don’t you imagine those doing the work noticed Ezra’s continued burden? Don’t you imagine they were inspired by his continued faithfulness in prayer?

Lord, it’s hard to allow others to do the work I feel so passionately about. Help me to be faithful in prayer and allow You to work in others’ hearts according to Your will and Your Word. Show me that putting my trust in You is sometimes lived out by trusting Your work through others.

IS GOD RACIST?

This is my sweet friend, Ve. God has given her the spiritual gift of bridge-building. From a very young age, she was placed in circumstances to open the hearts of white folks to black folks and vice versa. The love of Jesus mingles with her precious smile, and she shares her African American heritage in such a way that I am awed, intrigued and humbled. I used to think that NOT being prejudice meant I had to think people of color were the same as me. Ve has taught me that's not true. Some African Americans are very different than me. Some are more similar. Some, like Ve, embrace a rich African American heritage and revel in its uniqueness. I love that and I'm learning its nuances through the loving, patient teaching of my bridge-building friend. Ve is writing her memoires, and though racism is not the central theme, it is a golden thread that is woven throughout her lifestory. I'll let you know when it's published! Racism is the mistaken belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.[1] God chose a single race for His purposes, but God is NOT racist. He did choose Israel, however, to be the apple of His eye, to guard and retell His-story (history) in order that redemption could come to all people.

Ezra 9:1-2 – “After these things had been done, the leaders came to me and said, ‘The people of Israel, including the priests and the Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the neighboring peoples with their detestable practices, like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians and Amorites. They have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, and have mingled the holy race with the peoples around them. And the leaders and officials have led the way in this unfaithfulness’” (emphasis added).

• After the incredible joy and celebration of his successful journey, Ezra is almost immediately faced with a crisis of public rebellion to God’s command (sin) not only by the people of Jerusalem but by those in leadership as well. Notice that the scandal was not just that they had married the neighboring people, but that they had not separated themselves (remained holy) from these people’s detestable practices. It is not the people God hates, but the sin those nations represent.

Ezra 9:3-4 – “When I [Ezra] heard this, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down appalled. Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me because of this unfaithfulness of the exiles. And I sat there appalled until the evening sacrifice.”

• What do you think went through Ezra’s mind to cause this violent reaction? Why did those watching join him in this reaction? When was the last time sin (mine or someone else’s) affected you this deeply? Sin seems to have become the norm and obedience the oddity at which we marvel. Until we are reawakened to sin’s appalling affects on our lives and the lives of those around us – we can’t feel or communicate the desperate need for our Savior.

Ezra 9:5 – “Then, at the evening sacrifice, I rose from my self-abasement, with my tunic and cloak torn, and fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the LORD my God… (emphasis added).”

• Having a regular time of personal worship is essential to break the cycle of whatever has captured our minds – discouragement, sin, materialism, unreal expectations, etc. Even godly sorrow must end in order to move forward, and the personal discipline of consistent worship recenters our focus. It gives us the opportunity to voice upward all that churns inward.

Lord, some problems could overwhelm me. They’re too big for me to fix, too vast for me to feel any hope – until I break that cycle of hopelessness by coming to you on a regular basis and laying it at Your feet. Only there can these huge issues roll off my shoulders and into Your capable hands. My responsibility is to be obedient and faithful in my own attitudes and actions toward those around me. Let it be so, Lord, to Your glory.

[1] http://www.thefreedictionary.com/racism