The Weak and Lowly

It's Christmas time!  I can tell because there are lots of sparkly lights everywhere, the Wal-Mart parking lot is packed all the time, and my credit card balance is... up  (don't worry, we pay it off in full every month-- and we will this month too).  But that kind of gift-and-glitz holiday is not the Christmas we Christians really need.  That's just the Christmas we get caught up in-- the one causing me to bake dozens of sand tarts and peanut blossoms.

The Christmas we truly need to celebrate is the one where God became a man and walked among us.  He became somehow fully human even while He was fully God.  Emmanuel-- God with us.  A supernatural, supremely powerful, completely authoritative creator, and a radiant redeemer, all wrapped up in a tiny little package of a fragile vulnerable baby boy-- Jesus.

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you;

 he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: 

You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.  

Luke 2:11-12

God, in a helpless baby's body.  Incredible!  Why would He do such a thing?  I think one reason He would do this is so He can identify with the lowest and least of the people He created and loves.  God couldn't have chosen to become much lower than becoming a helpless baby born into scandal and abject poverty, forced to use an animal's feed trough for his first bed.

And things didn't get a lot better for him as an adult.

He was despised and rejected by mankind,

    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.

Like one from whom people hide their faces

    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.  

Isaiah 53:3

You see, Jesus was very familiar with pain and grief and suffering.  When we hurt and grieve and suffer, He hurts and grieves and suffers with us.  

Having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness,

 which stood against us and condemned us; 

he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.  

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, 

he made a public spectacle of them, 

triumphing over them by the cross.  

Colossians 2:14-15

2,000ish years ago,  it looked like Jesus had lost and Satan had won.  Jesus died a horrible death, being excruciatingly crucified on a Roman cross.   Then everything was turned upside down.  Satan's evil plan was thwarted.  Jesus didn't stay dead.  Not only did He rise from the dead, He's bringing every believing person with Him!  Did you ever notice how much God enjoys irony?  The story of Jesus gaining the greatest triumph the world has ever known after being brutally and  publicly executed is the ultimate plot twist.

God is still using irony today.  

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; 

God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.  

God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—

and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are.

  I Corinthians 1:27-28

I truly believe that one day Jesus is also going to redeem every degrading, impoverishing, humiliating, grievous, painful evil that happens on this earth.  He loves us and will never let our suffering or the suffering of those we care about to go unanswered.  He was born as a baby.  He lived, loved, rejoiced, laughed, suffered, wept and died like everybody else.  The difference is that He was not just human, He is God.  His motive is always love and His power is for redemption.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; 

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.  

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."  

John 10:10-11

Places the thief has come to steal and kill and destroy:  your own hometown; Newtown, Connecticut; Hakahana, Namibia...  But don't ever forget about the power and love and victory of the Good Shepherd.

Hakahana

Jesus knows what it's like to be one of the foolish, weak and lowly ones.   Take note of who and what He chooses...

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; 

God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.  

God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—

and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are.

  I Corinthians 1:27-28

Finish Stuff

I really like closure.  I like things to be wrapped up.  Completed.  Spick and span. (Guess what?  Here's the definition of "spick and span" from Wikipedia:

A spick was a spike or nail, a span was a very fresh wood chip, and thus the phrase meant clean and neat and all in place, as in being nailed down.

See?  Nailed down!  That's what I like.  This is easier said than done however.  I will cook and clean up-- to a certain extent.  I might just let a few dishes soak or drain in the sink.  Who wants to actually dry stuff and put it away?  If I leave those dishes there, I can go fold 3/4 of a load of laundry.  Or go through half the mail.  Or answer a couple of emails.  

I'm trying to be more cognizant of finishing one activity before I start another.  




This is how far I had gotten with folding three loads of laundry when I suddenly felt like I MUST move on to something else.  I wanted to take a walk (for exercise) and do something fun like blog.  And I was burnin' daylight just folding all those silly clothes.  But, I sucked it up and finished before I left the house.  Future Lisa was very happy with past Lisa for finishing something.

I have two theories about this.  1.  I intend to finish something, but don't because I get bored or distracted.  2.  I never did intend to finish something-- I just wanted to start it to make it look like I was accomplishing the task.  Did you ever leave a vacuum cleaner sitting out just so people would think you were in the middle of cleaning-- that's why things look dirty-- not because I'm less than diligent.

It's decidedly disheartening to start six projects in one day and not finish any of them.  Then things start to get crazy.  My new resolution for the next couple of weeks is simply "Finish stuff."  It's short and easy to remember which is crucial for an easily-distracted person such as myself.  And by "stuff" I am referring to even a small segment of a larger project.  After all, Rome wasn't built in a day.

I thought it would be a good idea to keep some sage advice in mind to help me in my quest to Finish Stuff.  Here's a helpful one:  "My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start.  So far today, I have finished 2 bags of M&Ms and a chocolate cake.  I feel better already."  --Dave Barry

Oh wait.  Maybe this one is better:  "Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."  --James 1:4

That works for me! 

Hey, I gotta go.  I have stuff to finish...

Just Follow Your Heart... Not Really.

How many times have you heard a character in a movie say that everything will be alright if the person in question just abides by the age-old advice, "Just follow your heart."  And it's not just screenwriters who think and say such rubbish.  Regular ole people say it all the time.  Should I take this new job opportunity?  "Follow your heart!  It won't steer you wrong."  Should I keep dating this person with anger issues?  "Follow your heart, sweetie!"  Should I get an iPhone?  "Oh my yes!  Just follow your heart!"

You can get the phrase on jewelry, plaques, posters, tattoos... you name it.

Every time we hear that phrase, my youngest daughter rapid-fires a Bible verse:  "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked."  

That's from the King James Version of Jeremiah 17:9.  Or as the Good News Version puts it:  “Who can understand the human heart?  There is nothing else so deceitful;  it is too sick to be healed."  Then there's another bit of wisdom from Proverbs 28:26: "Those who trust in their own hearts are fools, but those who walk wisely will be delivered."

So what should we do?

How about what Proverbs 3:5-6 says?  "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; and He will make your paths straight."  You don't need to place your trust in your own heart.  Your heart is quite capable of leading you astray.  Trust in God.  He is worthy of your trust and His guidance is based on sovereign, omniscient wisdom, not on the changable wind of your feelings.

Better yet, just memorize some scripture so you can shout back (in love, of course) at the screen that is telling you to follow your heart-- "The heart is deceitfully wicked!" and follow it up with "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean NOT on your own understanding!"

To Pie or Not to Pie

I get happy when I declutter my closet.  I also get happy when I buy something new and fun.  I am thrilled when the scales blinks a lower number today than it did yesterday.  I am also thrilled by the taste of a smooth, creamy slice of french silk chocolate pie. I enjoy living in a sparkling clean, freshly tidy house. But I find myself sitting in front of my computer even as the bathrooms cry out for attention.

Why do I sabotage myself this way?  Come to think of it, I think someone named Paul talked about this a long time ago.  In Romans 7:15 he remarks, " I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do."  Well, that's not exactly what I was saying, because I want to both lose weight AND eat french silk chocolate pie!

I think the problem is that I forget that I am making a decision each time I eat the pie, buy something, or google some obscure topic.  My actions show that I have decided to value those things more than losing weight, owning fewer things and cleaning my house!  Uh oh.  

Isn't it distracting to have that picture of the pie sitting there looking you in the face?  That is really making this discussion difficult.



Maybe tomorrow I'll remember what I will like bestest and longest before I choose what's only best for a moment.

Maybe I'll actually exercise...

Window Cleaning... Plus

My windows are really dirty.  I enjoy looking out of clean windows, but unfortunately we haven't discovered the self-cleaning variety!  Now a few of our windows were just installed last winter, but believe it or not they're dirty already.  It doesn't take long, does it?

This morning I decided to begin.  If I do a window or two every day (who am I kidding?  every week or month is more like it...) they will eventually get done.  The window above has been squirted with windex and is ready to have its former sparkle restored.

As I was rubbing away streaks and dirt, it made me think about the condition of my heart.  It gets pretty dirty too- and it's usually gradual and subtle and insidious, just like dirt accumulates on a window.  I could watch a window for an hour at a time and not be able to observe an accumulation of dirt.  Yet it appears over weeks and months!

Before too long, the eyes of my heart are so cloudy I can no longer see events or people clearly or accurately.  The dirty window above lets light in and lets me see the trees and grass, but without the clarity and beauty they should have.  People tick me off.  How dare she pull out in front of me like that!  Why can't they just put those dirty dishes in the dishwasher-- it's right there!  Seriously, that stupid dog cost me how much money at the vet?!  Well, you get the idea.  Pretty soon everything looks dim and sour and stupid.

Isn't that picture weird?  I tried out the "Polaroid" option in my Picasa photo-editing program.  Interesting.  Well, anyway, back to windows.  As they are obviously not self-cleaning, I have to make an effort to get them clean again.  It's not too hard.  Grab a bottle of Windex and some paper towels... and wipe.  That's it.  And God has made it pretty easy to clean up my heart too.  Jesus already did the hard work on the cross.  All I need to do is present myself to the Master Cleaner-Upper (some people would rather call him the Savior and Redeemer and I usually do too).  I can just show him my streaks and smudges and filth, admitting to Him how they got there.  He smiles, and lovingly wipes away every last bit of grime and restores me to renewed purity and clarity.

^{I John 1:8} If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

The concept is simple.  Confess then receive forgiveness.  We tend to make it harder than it has to be, when God has provided for us such a loving and absolute solution for our problem of sin.

I hope you'll offer up the windows of your heart for the cleansing power of Jesus today.  It's so worth it to have life's beauty and freshness restored!

Watch this.  I don't know anything about the singer or the artwork in this video, but it is an amazing tribute to our Redeemer (Master Cleaner-Upper).

I Know That My Redeemer Lives

Gird Up Your Loins, Girl! Part 2

I sure hope you read yesterday's post.  If not, go back and read it before this one.  In our household lately, we have been admonishing family members to "gird up their loins"-- meaning to strengthen their nerve to do something they dread.  This expression popped out my mouth the other day without even thinking about where it came from.  I knew it was Biblical, so I looked it up on old faithful BibleGateway.com, my favorite go-to online concordance.  Of course, I selected the King James Version, because I couldn't imagine my usual Today's New International Version to be using such words as "gird" and "loins."

But, let's detour for a moment.  What does "gird" mean?  Well, let's proceed to Dictionary.com to find out.   Gird:
1.  to put a belt, girdle, etc, around (the waist or hips)
2.  to bind or secure with or as if with a belt: to gird on one's armour
3.  to surround, encircle
4.  to prepare (oneself) for action (esp in the phrase gird up one's loins)

Ah ha!  I love it when I use a strange expression and it's actually correct! 

Now, what are loins, hm?  Back to the dictionary.  "Loins:  the parts of the body between the hips and the lower ribs, especially regarded as the seat of physical strength and generative power."

Also idiom:  "gird up one's loins, to prepare oneself for something requiring readiness, strength, or endurance:  He girded his loins to face his competitor."  So, apparently when you gird up your loins, you are wrapping a belt or sash around your waist.

I do admit that I have omitted some alternate definitions of loins which are not pertinent to our current discussion.  Just keepin' it clean here, folks.

Speaking of the Bible, lets get back to that.  I was shocked to find that people were girding themselves all through the Old and New Testaments!  And they were girding themselves with all kinds of things and for all kinds of purposes.  They girded on swords, sackcloth, strength, joy, gladness, righteousness, gold, leather and a towel.  Yes, Jesus Himself girded on a towel before he washed the feet of his disciples.

Here are just a few of the myriad Biblical references to girding.  All the scriptures are taken from the King James Version.  Alternate wording from the NIV is provided in some cases.  The Square Pink Marshmallows Bible Commentary follows each entry.

And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD's passover.  Ex. 12:11

(with your cloak tucked into your belt—NIV)

 1.  Make sure your loins are always firmly girded in case you need to make a quick get-away.

And Joab's garment that he had put on was girded unto him, and upon it a girdle with a sword fastened upon his loins in the sheath thereof; and as he went forth it fell out.  2 Sam 20:8

 2.  When you gird up your loins with a sword, please gird carefully.  How embarrassing to have your sword fall off! 

For thou hast girded me with strength to battle: them that rose up against me hast thou subdued under me.  2 Sam. 22:40

 3.  Don't worry if your own girding doesn't seem like enough:  God Himself will gird you with strength.

And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.  1 Kings 18:46

(…tucking his cloak into his belt…--NIV)

 4.  Again, always gird up your loins before you run, or you might trip over your cloak.  Very important.

Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.  Job 38:3 & 40:7

(brace yourself like a man—NIV)

5.  Men, don't be wimpy.  Gird up your loins!

She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.  Prov. 31:17

(She sets about her work vigorously…--NIV)

 6.  Women, don't be wimpy.  Gird up your loins!  If it was good enough for the Proverbs 31 woman, it's good enough for us!

She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.

7.  Yep, the Proverbs 31 woman even MADE girdles for other people to gird up their loins.  So make sure all your family and friends are properly girt, my friends.

They shall have linen bonnets upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat.  Ezekiel 44:18

8.  Only gird up your loins with natural fibers.

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;  1 Peter 1:13

(with minds that are alert and sober—NIV)

9.  Bet you didn't know that your mind has loins.  Well now you do, so you better gird them up too!

Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;  Psalm 30:11

 10.  Last, but not least, why not gird yourself with joy.

I'm stopping with ten, but please... feel free to gird up your loins and delve into this subject for yourself.  

Speaking of girding up loins, I'm still sitting here totally ungirded in my jammies.  This phrase still sounds rather scandalous in spite of all the above explanation... but anyway... I'm going to go gird up my loins with jeans and a belt so I will be ready for anything.