A Utensil for God...

When I was preparing one of our holiday meals, small though it was this year, I polished silver and got out the good china. I particularly love my china because it was my grandmother’s. Pulling it out reminds me of holidays long past, when others used these same dishes to serve me—when I didn’t have a clue about how much work went into setting a beautiful table and cooking a plethora of delicious homemade concoctions.

My guys don’t really care for the “good stuff;” they think the glasses don’t hold enough water. They don’t like how I yell and scream when they heat leftovers on the good china and cause fireworks in the microwave.

In a wealthy home some utensils are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive utensils are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use. If you keep yourself pure, you will be a utensil God can use for his purpose.

Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the master to use you for every good work.

2 Timothy 2:20-21 NIV

Once upon a time, I believed that a valuable person was one whom God made into an expensive utensil. You know, fancy. The kind of person you might rub elbows with on special occasions. My boys have provided me with a different perspective with their penchant for plain. They love the reliable glasses and dishes we use every day. Nothing fancy, but they’re clean and serviceable. They hold plenty of water and they never require the use of a fire extinguisher when microwaved.

Second Timothy doesn’t quantify the value of fancy and plain, it just says a pure utensil is one that God can use. It isn’t about how much you sparkle. Oh, I love my good china. But the thing that serves my family best is the everyday dishes. Morning, noon, and night they sustain us. As you begin your new year, would you pray about allowing God to have His way with you?

Maybe you’ve been thinking you have to be fancy or teflon coated to be useful. Maybe you think you cannot be serviceable until you become virtuous. It doesn’t really work that way. If it did, who could serve? Maybe this next year you might just notice what I suspect others already see in you - your capacity for lovingkindness. Rare is the human who did not come pre-wired for lovingkindness, seeing as how we bear the image of God and all. May you see that in yourself today!

Dancing with God

Recently, I received a phone call from someone who wanted to make a donation to our ministry. He reminded me of the time we met, as strangers, in a line waiting for a flu shot. I had spoken at an organization he is a member of and he had taken offense at some of my statements. Once he had me as a captive audience in a long line, he let loose. Here’s a recap of the old conversation.

“You said something that really bugs me. It is the way you talk about community.”

“Yeah? Tell me more.”

“Well, you know, you make it sound like if we don’t have a community of people that we hang with, we’re missing out. Listen, little lady, I used to go to church. What a bunch of hypocrites! I suppose you’re going to tell me that your place is different.”

“No, I can’t say that it is. We’re messy as can be. Just this week I heard yet another story of how one person in our community got their feelings hurt by someone else. And within a few hours, I heard yet another story that hurt MY feelings. It’s a terrible mess.”

That slowed him down. “Yeah, well, you’re probably going to do something about that, aren’t you? That’s what you minister types do—meddle. You’ll make everybody kiss and make up, right?”

I laughed. “Are you kidding me? I am one of the mad ones who has my feelings hurt. I think it might be counter-productive for me to meddle, plus, I’m not really interested in kissing and making up.”

“Hmmph. I bet you’ll send some deacon over there to fuss at them, and if they don’t straighten up, you’ll kick them out of the church, right?”

“Ha. You’re too funny! If we kicked out everybody who acted badly in our community, none of us would show up on Saturday nights and Sunday mornings. Frankly, this is such a big problem that I don’t know what to do about it. Plus, we don’t have deacons. We’re not that organized.”

It turns out that as a result of somehow managing to survive for all these years without deacons, lots of squabbles and hurt feelings and no wildly successful fundraising efforts, we helped one of his grandchildren find resources to help her explore sobriety. Today, he wants to help us out with a gift. Isn’t that lovely? And isn’t it lovely that he is willing to invest in a ministry that does NOT have its act together? Isn’t it sweet that he wants to give us a donation even though he thinks I’m a crackpot?

We ask you—urge is more like it—that you keep on doing what we told you to do to please God, not in a dogged religious plod, but in a living, spirited dance. God wants you to live a pure life.

1 Thessalonians 4:1-3 The Message

While you’re making that list of New Year’s resolutions don’t forget that it isn’t about figuring out some way to be perfect; it’s so much more about dancing with God, allowing Him to lead you through the messes. If we get confused and think a pure life equals a life with no boo boo’s, we’re barking up the wrong tree.

Using Your Gifts...

I hope you’re setting aside some time to inventory this past year. In fact, take some time today and reflect back on the ways God showed you compassion this year.

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Matthew 9:35-38 NIV

If your time of reflection yields a healthy list of God’s compassionate giving to you, then let me ask you one other question: how might you take those gifts and use them to equip you to become one of the workers Jesus has asked us to pray for? I ask because obviously Jesus saw a need for workers.

“As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.”

Matthew 10:7-8 NIV

I hope that soon, very soon, our nation will be coming out of the pandemic. We will know this when our hospitals are back to normal and people are not getting sick at alarming rates. When we know this, as we return to a life that is not limiting contact for the safety of us and others, there will be much work to be done.

Because of economic uncertainties and illness, political and societal unrest, and our inability to control our daily lives in the habitual ways we once were, folks are going to be less well, less robust, less mentally fit. We’re going to need some folks who have used this year to prepare to be helpers to step up. Could that maybe be you?

The Blessings of Obedience

I want to say a dirty word…ready? Obedience.

Who likes to hear that? I hang out with people predisposed to saying “No!” when a “Yes” would have served them better. For some reason, I’m attracted to people who like to color outside the lines, break rules, and generally mess with authority figures. I’m not saying this is good or godly, but it is what it is.

Most folks who know my husband today like him better than they like me. It’s true. He’s quiet and kind and funny - and that ability to be quiet in sticky situations makes him seem smart. (OK, he is legit smart.) But I have to confess, I fell in love with him because, having known him for 50 years (gasp), I know he likes to color outside the lines, break rules and generally mess with authority figures that he feels are knuckleheads. For an introvert, the guy certainly could distract a teacher with his antics in our youth. One of our favorite stories about Pete happened soon after he arrived at our school as a transfer from Maine. We had a cool math teacher that we loved and Pete was in a small computer class taught by this same guy. Filled with guys, this small group was known to push the envelope and enjoyed bantering with their teacher. One day Mr. Crane had enough. “The next person that curses in this room gets a demerit!”

“Why the h-e-double hockey sticks do you want to do that?” answered my future husband. Pete had some explaining to do when that demerit notice showed up in the mail. (To fully appreciate this story, you have to know that this man never ever curses, and often chides the rest of us for what he perceives to be “loose lips.”) I suppose that’s why, years later, Pete couldn’t say but so much when our son brought home a note on his report card that said, “Could you please talk to Michael about not distracting me in class? He gets me laughing and this gets the entire class off track!” The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree! Pete and I put on our serious parental unit faces and spoke to Michael about the need to behave in class. It was hard, but we did it. Afterwards, I realized that it shouldn’t have been hard to tell our son this important truth.

Obedience may sound like a dirty word to those predisposed to wanting our own way, but it isn’t. It’s a beautiful word. The discipline of obedience brings with it all sorts of blessings. Disobedience may get us a few chuckles, but it probably won’t build character. Obedience isn’t something we do to avoid punishment; it’s a skill set we develop so that we might become people of character. There are limits to obedience, however. When we are asked to obey someone or something that stands in opposition to the God of our understanding, we do not obey. We resist. But cussing in class does not count as civil disobedience in deference to a higher call.

To obey is better than sacrifice…The holidays are wrapping up, and a new year filled with potential beckons. Is there anything related to “obedience” that you’ve been resisting? Is it holding you back from bigger and better things?

Resolutions and Purpose...

Did you get everything you wanted for Christmas this year? Are you satisfied, yet? Anyone drink too much at a family gathering and insult a guest or a sibling? How well did you eat? I’m not referring to how much; I’m talking about how well? Did you pig out on stuffing and sweet potatoes, pecan pie, and coconut cake? Have you started to think about how big your charge card bill will be when you open it in January?

Did the coronavirus, or fights over the Presidential election at Thanksgiving, change the composition of your holiday invite list?

Are you beginning to bargain? Are you promising yourself next year will be different? More controlled? Fewer regrets?

“My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.”

Isaiah 46:9-11

I hear people say all the time that they’re done with making resolutions; no more for them! What I suspect they mean is that they’ve lost hope of finding solutions to their problems. Past performance demonstrates that nothing will ever change, so they stop trying. I want you to know that simply because you haven’t found a solution in the past does not mean there isn’t one. If you have some area in your life that you know is incongruent with God’s big dream for you, then I promise you: a solution is available. God’s purposes stand. He purposes and plans for you to have a decent life stands. If you’ve got something that’s holding you back, find someone who once had the same issue and ask them to share their experience, strength, and hope. Then do the next right thing.