Be Still

I've seen it over and over and over again this week. "Be still and know that I am God." It comes from Psalm 46:10. I have heard it in various devotions, Christian songs, even a Facebook memory where a friend shared a Jesus Calling devotion with me years ago on that very subject. It got to a point where I said out loud, "OK, Lord, I get it. I get it. I'm not spending enough alone time with you."

Anyone who knows me knows "being still" is not my gift. I like to keep busy. That's not to say I'm always running around, but I'm not one to sit still and do nothing. I'm pretty much always doing something, even in those sitting-still moments. So even during my devotion times with God in the mornings (after reading Scripture or while walking), I'm doing a whole lot of talking to him. To "be still and know" requires blocking out external influences and really listening for God. I suppose that's why I'm drawn to the beach so often ... you do a lot of sitting and "being still" there in awe of Him.

But recently, I found myself going full force first thing in the morning, forgetting to just be still and know Him. I'd walk into my office and see my Bible and journal sitting there on the pink bed and do an "oh yeah, I haven't done that yet. I'll get to it" wave of the hand before going about doing want I thought I needed to do first. I was pushing what should have been my first priority of the day to the side. And you know, when I do that, it seems as if my day gets out of whack pretty quickly. When the Lord keeps putting "be still and know" in front of you countless times in one week, you figure He must have something very important He needs to share with you, convict you of, teach you and/or nudge you to do. Or maybe, just maybe, He just wants to spend time with me.

My daughter calls me every single morning, except Sundays when she's worshiping. On her 25-30 minute drive to work, she calls. We chat about the previous day or the day ahead. We talk about things we're struggling with, joys we're experiencing, adventures we hope to have and funny stories along the way. I look so forward to speaking with her each day, that oftentimes I'll drag myself out of bed after a late night just to be sure I'm up to receive her call. And if I miss it, I feel like I've missed out on a truly precious moment to start off my day.

Now look at it from God's perspective. Look at the above paragraph as if God wrote it. If I love it when my daughter takes the time to call each day, how much more the Father must love it when we take time to "call." God was missing my calls. If Ayla let five days go by without calling, I would miss her so very much ... and frankly worry that something was wrong. Knowing this, I don't want God to miss me. I need Him in my life every single moment. And honestly, when I'm not going to Him, something is wrong.

The moment I sat down to have my quiet time with God this morning reading through my chronological Bible, I thought, "I've got to write about how important this is." So I read my Bible, wrote a prayer in my journal and immediately sat down to write this. So while I read and prayed, I really have not listened as much as I should have just yet. I do believe the Father inspired me to write this for His glory ... but now it's time to be still and do some listening.

Scripture Prayer Beads

When I went on the Walk to Emmaus years ago, one of the pieces of agape love I received was prayer beads. Similar in look and function to Rosary beads, this piece was to encourage prayer and confession. I thought it was beautiful ... then immediately took it apart. I wanted to take this concept and make something different.

It has been my heart's desire for a long time that people know the Bible and understand the Word. I believe it holds within its pages the secret to life ... both earthy and eternally. Commonly referred to as God's Love Letter, this book tells the story of His passion for His creaction, His unconditional love for us ... a love so deep, that seeing our sorrowful state, He knew the only solution was to die in our place. I am overwhelmed by that love. And who wouldn't want everyone to know about that? So how to learn? After being introduced to the Lord through the love of another, get a Bible and dig in. Whatever it takes to learn about our Father ... reading the Word every single day, over and over again, memorization, recitation. Learning it and living it.

I am always looking for new ways to teach Bible learning. So my new creation from these stripped beads would be an aid in teaching and praying the Word. I decided to create Scripture Prayer Beads. My first attempt at it is above. Incorporating verses that honestly should be memorized, each bead represents a piece or concept of Scripture. Holding this in your hands, it will remind you of the road to salvation, the Beatitudes, Ten Commandments, spiritual armor, the Gospels, promises and what God requires of us, among others. I started making them as gifts for friends and family over the years as going-away, confirmation and baptism gifts. Over the years it's been tweaked a bit. I have it down to a science now so that typically directly across from the empty cross is the butterfly which represents us as a new creation in Him.

Recently I gave six of these as gifts to the precious women who hosted a bridal shower for my daughter, Ayla, Each of these women means so much to me, so I tailored each SPB to their likes. One, a geologist, has beads that are mostly stone. One, who loves brown and is named Krystal, had more brown and crystal beads than the others. One, who loves the beach as much as I do, had seashells, seablue beads and dangling yellow butterfly in memory of her father. I wanted each lady to know theirs was special and theirs alone. I've made manly ones of darker stone beads for guys and ones all in white for baptisms. It's a fun hobby all the while making sure people know what is in the Bible.

And I want you to know also. You want me to make you one, let me know. I will get right on it. You want to learn how to make one yourself and could use some tips, again, let me know and I'll clue you in. My friend Debbie, has already started making some for her family and friends as gifts.

Below is the script that goes with the beads. So have it.

Learn the Word. It will truly save your life in every way possible. And if a handful of strung beads helps you in that ... praise His name!

Scripture Prayer Beads

Two Large Beads: The two greatest commandments: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind.” Deut. 6:5; and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Lev. 19:18

Six Gold Beads: Salvation texts including the Roman Road. If you plan to evangelize to someone about salvation in Jesus Christ, these Scriptures are the backbone.

1) Romans 3:23: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

2) Romans 6:23: “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

3) John 14:6: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except by me.”

4) Romans 5:8: “But God proves His love for us in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us.”

5) John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.”

6) Romans 10:9: “If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe with your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Large Round Separation Beads: Nine total, one for each of the Beatitudes in Matt. 5:1-12

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

9 Coral Beads: Fruits of the Spirit as found in Gal. 5:22

          Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, generosity and self-control.

10 Gray Stone Beads: The Ten Commandments as found in Ex. 20:1-17

1) You shall have no other God’s before me.

2) You shall not make any idols or images of God.

3) Do not use the Lord’s name in vain.

4) Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.

5) Honor your father and mother.

6) Do not kill.

7) Do not commit adultery.

8) Do not steal.

9) Do not lie.

10) Do not covet.

Four Seablue Beads: Four things Scripture is good for according to 2 Tim 3:16-17: “All Scripture is God-inspired and is useful for teaching, reproof, correction and training in righteousness, so that man may be equipped for every good work.”

Two Gold Crystal Beads with Butterfly between: The two beads are for the Old Testament promise and the New Testament promise. The butterfly is for 2 Cor. 5:17: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone. The new has come.”

O.T. promise: Gen. 12:2-3 “I will make you a great nation. I will bless you. I will make your name great and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and I will curse those who curse you. And all people on earth will be blessed through you.

N.T. promise: John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.

Three Pink Beads: For the Love Chapter in 1 Cor. 13, specifically verse 13: “Faith, hope and love, abide these three, but the greatest of these is love.”

Four Blue Beads: for the four Gospels and key verses in each:

Matthew 28:19-20: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the end of time.”

Mark 9:23: “If I am able?!  Everything is possible for the one who believes.”

Luke 9:23: “If anyone should become my disciple, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me.”

John 1:1-14 “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God … The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We have seen His glory and glory of the One and Only who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Three Purple Beads: For the three things the Lord requires of you according to Micah 6:8: “He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy and walk humbly with your God.” 

Six Silver Beads: For the six pieces of armor we need to put on daily as described in Eph. 6:10-17: Belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, Good News evangelism shoes to spread the Gospel of Peace, shield of faith to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one, helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.

Six Green Beads: For the six verses of Psalm 23

1. The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want.

2. He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

3. He restores me soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

4. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and thy staff, they comfort me.

5. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows.

6. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

The Empty Cross is for the resurrected Christ who makes it possible for us to live with our Father forever.

Colorful Metaphors

I remember the very first time I cussed. I remember because I was in high school next to a friend of mine in the hallway. I don't remember the circumstances, but I do remember deliberately using the word to watch for her reaction. She reacted as I expected - startled that a word like that could come from my mouth. As my childhood neighbor, I wonder if she was thinking, "What would your mother think of you using that word?" But she never said anything. Just wide-open eyes that said it all. But I don't remember feeling ashamed. Instead, I felt empowered. I remember that evil feeling very, very well.

I mention it because once that door is opened, those cuss words just flowed out. And I could cuss like a sailor. I don't say that with bravado, but with shame. See I hear young people cussing all the time now. I imagine, like me back in high school, they feel empowered by the words. To cuss, one pretty much has to make a conscious choice. It's not natural for it to come out (and if it is, it's time you reexamine your heart).

Recently I visited with someone who cussed up a blue streak. F-bombs mostly. This was a young lady and I can honestly say I cringed every time she spoke it. Did she feel empowered to say it? Was it cool? Cause from my end it reeked of trashiness. But here's the thing about cussing: it's addicting. After being around this person for a few days, the cringe-worthiness wore off, and I found myself easily dotting my speech with what Spock in Star Trek IV called "colorful metaphors." I could feel my insides scrunching, like an evil waking up, desiring to grow. Since it's a conscious choice, I remember each time I thought - yes, thought - about what I could/would say. It made me sick to my stomach to hear me say anything.

Cussing is ridiculous. It really is. You sound crude, disrespectful, unintelligent and shallow. And the Lord has plenty to say about it. Jesus says in Matt. 15:10-11 "And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” Jesus' brother James writes: "From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so." Prov. 4:24 says: "Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you." In Prov. 8:13, Solomon writes that God hates "perverted speech." Paul writes to the Colossians in 8:3, "But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language from your lips." And of course, God is very much against using His name as a cuss word, making that one of the Ten Commandments, adding in Lev. 22:32: "Do not profane my holy name, for I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites. I am the Lord, who made you holy."

So it is pretty clear how we are to talk. We are to edify one another, open our mouths with wisdom and kindness, speak commendably, be self-controlled, be a person of dignity, integrity and sound speech, be righteous, transformed, good and acceptable. And honestly, this isn't difficult.

The Lord tells youth through Paul in his first letter to Timothy, 4:12: "Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity."

These are not just words for the youth, especially if adults are setting the example to start with. Recently I heard a pastor cuss (no, not my husband). He was referring to a parishioner, calling the person a cuss word (normally used to describe a donkey) because of some ridiculous comment they made about his sermon. I was taken aback. He giggled when he said it, even surprised by my comment that I'd better leave his company before he made a poor influence on me. They say the last word pilots say on the black box recordings if their plane is crashing is a cuss word. And in a moment of surprise, it may also be the first word out of your mouth. But it sure isn't what God wants.

In Prov. 10:18 the Lord calls a person who cusses "a fool." He is listening and tells us we will be accountable for every careless word we speak ... even as it is in my case to dysfunctional inanimate objects.

I would ask that you would truly listen to yourself speak and refrain from foul language. If I hear it, I am going to call you on it, and I would like you to do the same for me. There is no excuse for it. None. And as vast as the English language is, surely we can find something beautiful or creative to say in its place. It would be a corn-swabbly shame if we didn't. See what I did there? Fun.

Noah: Fiction is Stranger Than Truth

The truth is stranger than fiction, it's said. However, I just watched the movie Noah last night, and after that, I'm going with "fiction is stranger than the truth." I had heard mixed reviews about the movie, so I waited until it came out on DVD before watching it. I also heard it was off the Biblical target in a huge way and to just enjoy it as a special effects-filled movie adventure. So I went into it with that attitude. It didn't help. At one point I found the plot so ridiculous, that I walked away to fold laundry.

The story of Noah is fascinating. Moses tells in Genesis about the story of the flood, a tale found in many cultures throughout the millennia. Noah is described in Scripture as "finding favor with God," "righteous" and "blameless" in his generation. Everyone else is described this way: "Every inclination of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually." Yikes, that's a lot of evil. So God decides to wipe out every living thing on the earth, except for Noah's family - Noah, his wife, three sons and their wives - and two of every animal on earth, except for clean animals of which there were seven pair (one of my favorite trivia questions). It takes Noah 100 years to build an ark (think long floating, waterproof box) to house everyone for the more than a year they were on there. It had three decks, and its dimensions were similar in proportion to dimensions of our great ocean liners today. You can read about Noah's story in Genesis 6-9, from the material he used (gopher wood - unknown today) to the rainbow found at the end of the story that came with God's promise to never destroy all flesh again by flood (which by the way still leaves a bunch of other options).

It's a wild story, but Darren Aronofsky's was wilder. [Spoiler alert - if you haven't seen the movie and want to, plot revelations ahead] Rock giants that were fallen angels; a nasty stowaway on the ark; Noah abandoning an innocent girl to be trampled to death; no wives for two of Noah's son's who were already over 100 years old at the time of the flood; Noah wanting to kill his granddaughters; putting all the animals to sleep during floating time; both Shem and Ham wanting to kill their dad; an adopted daughter; Noah's dad Lamech getting murdered (he actually died in the year of the flood if not in it, along with Noah's granddad, Methuselah, the oldest man who ever lived); and on and on it goes. So when I say fiction is stranger than truth, in this case, it truly is.

I am not sure why Hollywood insists on altering stories in Scripture for what they may deem is drama or advancing the plot, but the stories in the Bible are so amazing, it seems like needless change and enhancement to me. 

A friend commented to me yesterday when I told her I was going to watch the movie that she hoped it inspired people to go to their Bibles to read the actual story of Noah. I agree with her, that is my hope, too.Otherwise the movie is a huge waste of anyone's time.

Noah is not a story of a vengeful God wanting to wipe out the children He created, but rather a merciful God, patient enough to give us all a second chance. I have to say, there is one thing that movie reinforced for me, and that is the notion that our all loving God is also almighty, holy and just. It embarrassed me to think about how pathetic we are as humans to contend with the Creator, dismiss Him and disobey Him. Who do we think we are?

So as for the movie Noah: the special effects are cool. That's about the only redeeming factor. I feel like I wasted my time. I've read the story in Scripture many times and never felt that way. It's another case of "Read the book. It's better." Fabulously so.

Makes me wonder what Hollywood will do with Exodus: Gods and Kings coming out Dec. 12. If "Gods" is any indication, I may skip it altogether.

Best Kind of Bible

A week ago, on our way to Garden City Beach, S.C. for vacation, Brad and I stopped in Atlanta to see the Passages Interactive Bible Exhibit. I'd heard of the exhibit earlier this year and hoped I'd get a chance to see it before it ended June 30. The exhibit is in part of a stripmall across from Perimeter Mall in Atlanta. Inside the building is a maze guiding you through history in the creation of our Bible ... and it's fascinating. You learn about the original manuscripts; people who translated the Bible into Latin, German and English; the progress from painstakingly handcopying the Bible letter-by-letter to mass producing the Bible on the printing press; beautiful artwork inside and outside of these many Bibles; errors in printings that cost some folks their jobs or even their lives (especially the fellow who accidently put "Thou shalt commit adultery" ... oops); and the price so many paid to be sure the common man/woman could hold in their hands a copy of the Word in their own language.

Take William Tyndale for example, who during King Henry VIII's reign, translated the Bible from its original Hebrew and Greek into English. A harmless and even commendable endeavor, it threatened the religious leaders of the day. He was arrested and charged with heresy (coincidentally after writing a paper opposing Henry's recent divorce) and executed by strangulation with his body then burned at the stake in 1536. King Henry VIII four years later asked for an English translation of the Bible, based entirely on Tyndale's work. Nice.

The fact that our Bible has survived history with so many manuscripts to back it up and with such accuracy in the copies and translations over time is itself a feat. The fact that what started out as oral tradition is now in printed form in every room of my house and in my car, is just mindblowing. I am blessed indeed.

This exhibit made my husband and I appreciate our Bibles all the more. How can we, holding in our hands a copy of this beautiful love letter from our Father, not read our Bibles when so many went to such extremes to see to it we have one?

I have met many folks who have told me that don't read the Bible because they are pretty sure they'd never understand it. Well, that's just piffle (just discovered this word and had to use it. It means "nonsense.") There are so many translations and commentaries out there you can most certainly understand the Word. It's the Holy Spirit who reveals to us the meaning of the Scriptures anyways (John 16:13, 1 Cor. 2:10-13). Read it. Read it again. Make a habit of reading God's Word everyday and then watch as the Spirit teaches you something through it in a powerful way.

Interestingly, there are many languages yet without a copy of the Holy Bible. The Seed Company (a non-profit organization that translates the Bible) estimates over 2,000 languages as yet are without translation of the Word. They have set a goal to see to it every language in the world has a copy of the Bible within the next 20 years. I will be praying for their success. To help them, go to www.theseedcompany.org for more information.

In the meantime, pick up that Bible that you've been blessed to have - yeah, the one under your bed covered in dust - there it is. Now blow the dust off it, crack it open and start wearing out the pages. I tell my Sunday School kids all the time the best kind of Bible is a well-read one. Make yours the best.

Divine Providence?

"I see a blog coming out of this," my husband said as we were walking. I had just been sharing my thoughts on my visit to see our daughter in Rhode Island, explaining my shock at the lack of outwardly expressed Christianity in Providence. Our daughter has lived there for a year and has had trouble finding a church home, thus has no spiritual support group or accountability. There are no FM Christian radio stations in Providence. When I asked for a recommendation for a good church, one woman said, "There's a pretty cathedral down the street." Seriously? I didn't want pretty. I wanted Jesus.

I'm not saying Jesus wasn't in Providence. I'm just saying in my week there, I didn't see Him in the faces and places.

It made me long for home, where I was surrounded by Christian friends, could listen to Christian music whenever I wanted, could worship with my church family and didn't get sideways glances and raised eyebrows from folks who were offended by my "Exalt His Name" T-shirt. It was the strangest place I have ever been to faith-wise. And my heart ached for my daughter. Ayla epitomizes the Phil 2:15 verse which tells us to "shine like stars in the universe," and I felt because of her location, that her star was shining less brightly. It was a sad gray world (of course it was cloudy most of the time, so that didn't help). I felt I was given a tiny glimpse at what the endtimes will look like when people squelch faith. It is one of the emptiest feelings in the world. And my daughter is there all the time, every day in this tiny area of the country that Satan seems to have built a wall around. I told my husband, "Satan doesn't have to work hard here at all. He's got it taken care of already."

Yet, it's probably the best mission field I've ever been to. Countless souls for Ayla to touch in Jesus name, sharing about God's love and mercy in salvation through His Son.

While visiting with a group of Ayla's co-workers, one fellow commented how much he liked my shiny gold boatshoes. He said, "I enjoy reading your Facebook statuses because you put things on there like, 'Thank you, Jesus, for my gold shiny shoes,' and you mean it." I nodded my head and said, "I certainly do" and dropped the conversation. I missed an opportunity there to share more about Jesus with this young man. I only hope Ayla is given the chance to share more with him since I dropped the ball.

I have a friend named Cindy who constantly wears Christian T-shirts. Before I met her, I had a few, but taking a cue from her, I've upped my wardrobe of Christian T's for testimony purposes. When you see me, I want you to see Jesus. I want it to inspire others to dig into the Bible, to ask me questions about my faith and bring souls closer to Him. I wish I'd have brought more of those T-shirts to Providence to wear.

Knowing Ayla is not receiving much in the way of Christian feeding, I am going to do all in my power to be sure she is getting Jesus. My efforts will be limited to reminder calls for devotions, sending Christian CDs, encouraging Bible reading, sending her study materials, jotting down the occasional Bible verse on the back of an envelope and praying for and with her. And perhaps I will get her several Christian T-shirts to wear around town. Providence may not be showing any outward signs of Jesus to Ayla, but I'm praying Ayla will show outward signs of Jesus to Providence.

"Divine providence" is defined as God's activity in this world ... hoping I see more of that in the capital city named for it.