Snuggling When You're Not Sick

When my children were little, getting them to sit down and snuggle was a next to impossible. Filled with boundless energy, they had people to see, things to do, places to explore. So any moment where they might actually want to sit next to me and cuddle, I delighted in it. And typically anytime they were ill was the most common time for that cuddling. With little energy for anything else, we'd sit on the couch together and snuggle, reading books, talking or watching television together. It may sound twisted since my children were ill at the time, but I loved those moments.

I have noticed on my spiritual journey that I am much the same as my children. When things are going well, when I'm too busy, I have a tendency to not find my quiet alone-time with God - to "snuggle" with the Creator, as it were. And inevitably when I am ill, whether physically or spiritually, I'm all about the snuggling. I wonder if God wraps me up in His mighty arms, me sitting there ill on His lap, and if He smiles, thinking how much He enjoys this time with me ... and wishes it were more often.

I'm thinking God doesn't deserve that. I think He deserves the well me and not just the sick me. He is so special, important, awesome and loving, that I should be able to cozy up to Him every day to talk and read His Word. I work my schedule around many ridiculous things, truly, like some insignificant television series for example. Surely I can fit snuggling with God in there. We could talk about what I'm up to, what I need to fix, needs of my friends and family and how I could serve His children better. And what better time to do that than when I'm healthy!

I'm feeling pretty good right now. I think I'll go thank Him for that.

Solomon Syndrome

Imagine being unfathomably wealthy. Imagine being better than everyone else at what you do. Imagine being edified, even idolized, for it regularly. Imagine not having a single need that you cannot meet yourself.

I'm not talking about Solomon, as the title of this implies. I'm talking about Tiger Woods.

These last couple weeks, Tiger has had something of a public relations nightmare as rumors have circulated about his infidelity which he confirmed in his own statement about taking a leave from the sport which has graced his life. When this all came out in the news my son said, "Why has this happened? Tiger had everything: money, he did what he loved and was good at it; he has a beautiful wife and children. Why would he do this?" I just looked at him and said, "It's the Solomon Syndrome."

As Solomon is one of my son's favorite Biblical people because of his wisdom, this resonated with Anton. Solomon had everything: wisdom, wealth and honor to the point where God says "no other king will compare with you." (1 Kings 3:13) On top of all that, Solomon had God. He not only had the teachings and life lessons of his father, King David, but he had direct contact with the Father through a dream where God told him in 1 Kings 3:14 "If you walk in my ways, keeping my statutes and my commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your life." Later God reaffirms and enhances this in 1 Kings 9:4 "As for you, if you will walk before me, as David your father walked, with integrity of heart and uprightness, doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my ordinances over Israel forever, as I promised your father David saying: 'There shall not fail you a successor on the thrown of Israel.'"

Biblical history tells us Solomon didn't do as God commanded. He married countless women, many who worshiped idols, prompting Solomon to worship these false gods. As a result, Israel was divided and the kingdom collapsed. Solomon wrote a book on his vanity called Ecclesiastes, having learned that finding joy in accumulating things of the world is akin to "chasing after the wind." He ends his book with these words: "The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments; for that is the whole duty of everyone. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every secret thing whether good or evil." (Eccles. 12:13-14)

When Tiger made his most recent statement, Miami Heat basketball player Dwyane Wade said, "One thing people don't understand is that we're human. You're not born with a menu on how not to do things wrong. You going to make mistakes like every human being."

But Dwyane is wrong. We are born with a menu that tells us how not to do things wrong. It's called the Bible. It's just we choose to do wrong anyways.

God knows what we have to deal with as humans. For heaven's sake, he was one in Jesus Christ and dealt with every temptation we did (Hebrews 4:15).

We can do the right thing. We can. Tiger said in his most recent statement "I need to focus my attention on being a better husband, father and person." He does. We all need to focus on that. The issue is, what are you using as your guide to do that? Where is your focus? Scripture (Joshua 1:8) tells us Joshua was encouraged by God to "meditate on [the book of the law] day and night, so that you may be careful to act in accordance with all that is written in it."

When the news of Tiger first came out, my husband asked: "Do you think Tiger has Jesus?" I said I didn't know, but thought perhaps he should try to contact him to tell him. My husband laughed, seeing that task as next to impossible. But somebody needs to.

Our family is praying for Tiger. We're praying if he doesn't know Christ, he finds Him. We're praying he find Scripture and reads it thoroughly. We're praying he acts in accordance with all that is written in it. We're praying he becomes that better husband, father and person he wishes to be.

Imagine a Tiger Woods, with all the blessings he already has, filled with the Holy Spirit? What couldn't that man accomplish in Christ's name? How many could come to know Christ through him?

Imagine...

[Wise Solomon painting by Lars Justinen]

Winning in the Unseen World

Anyone who has been called by God to do a great thing for the Kingdom of Heaven better get ready for a battle, because Satan will try his hardest to shake you and make you second guess yourself. He will try to find that spot in you that you think is strongest to make it weak. He will try to find that place where you feel peace and joy and bring it sorrow and grief. Whatever he can do to derail the Lord's plans for you, he will attempt. Sadly, oftentimes, he succeeds.

I have a friend going through a spiritual battle. And I'm not even sure he knows its a spiritual battle as of yet. He is doing great things for the Father, bringing so many of God's children in a closer relationship with Him. So as a result, he is going through many trials of late: physical, emotional and vocational. It's not fair, all he's going through. But I'm not surprised. If I were Satan, I would be working extra hard to try to stop him, too.

Reading "The Screwtape Letters" by C.S. Lewis is a fictional account about how Satan's army of demons can work on unsuspecting humans. It's eye-opening to anyone who doesn't think these battles take place in an unseen world. But Scripture backs it up. In Daniel 10, we see a weary Daniel waiting weeks for the answer to a prayer. When an angel finally shows up with the answer, he explains he was late because he was doing a spiritual battle and couldn't get away until the archangel Michael showed up to help. In 2 Kings 6 we see Elisha begging God to open the eyes of his attendant who was fearful of an attacking Aramean army. When the attendant feared the worst, Elisha said, "Do not be afraid for there are more with us than there are with them." After Elisha's prayer, the attendant saw the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. This was a spiritual battle.

James tells us to "consider it nothing but joy" when we face trials of any kind for the testing produces endurance, maturing us in the faith (vs. 2-4). When you're in the midst of these trials, it sure is hard to find joy. But perhaps there is joy in this: if you are going through some ugly right now that just doesn't seem to make sense or is almost overbearing, it could be you are doing something so wonderful for God that Satan's just working extra hard on you. Check out Job's story for example. Glory to God! You must be doing a good job, or Satan wouldn't be wasting his time.

Persevere, saints. Don't give up. Keep praying. Keep reciting Scripture. Keep glorifying God. We know the victory is already won ... and already His.

Worthy

I read something this morning in World magazine that dug deep into my heart to the point of causing me to tear up. The story [The Death Of An Archdeacon, Nov. 7 issue] told about the increasing death toll in southern Sudan. While a peace agreement has been in place since 2005, the government there continues "its forced Islamization and Arabization" with little patience for Christians. One such Christian was Archdeacon Joseph Mabior Garang of the Episcopal Church of Sudan. One late August morning while leading a prayer service, the militia attacked his town, killing 43 people and injuring 62. Mabior was one of those who died. Mabior was shot twice in his legs. The part that got me was what happened after he was shot.

Writer Faith J.H. McDonnell says "30 men and women from the church and town, including tribal chiefs, soldiers, a university student and other youth leaders, and several of the town's oral historians, covered Mabior with their own bodies. All 30 gave their lives in their effort to protect him. Mabior died two hours later."

I called to my husband who was reading in another room to tell him about this and said, "I don't think I even know 30 people in one place who would do this for me." Imagine 30 people jumping in the line of fire to protect this man. Imagine him watching as each was killed in his place. My heart just aches thinking of it.

How awesome a man he must have been that they went to protect him. How much they must have loved him, a man worthy of giving their lives for.

We have one who seeks our life because of our love of Christ, and not our earthly lives so much as our eternal ones. Beth Moore once wrote of him: "We have a powerful enemy who - let me say this clearly - absolutely hates us." Peter tells us he prowls around like a lion seeking to destroy us: our adversary, the evil one, Satan.

While Satan attacks on a regular basis, it's important to remember Jesus already stepped in the line of fire for us. He died to save us, Romans 5:8 explains.

I try to visualize Satan coming for me again and again and watch as Jesus steps right in front of me. I see him hanging on that cross in utter agony for me. It's a powerful image, one that drives a person to their knees to beg for forgiveness.

What's so amazing about this is Jesus did this for every single person, every single sinner. Some don't acknowledge it; some don't absorb the depth of it; and some don't even know about it. Sadly, some think they are too unworthy to have had Christ die for them.

Well, we all are unworthy sinners, but God certainly doesn't think so. He apparently finds us worth dying for. He must love us very much.

I pray everyone comes to know and understand this.

And I pray for the people of Sudan.

[Photo shot by Rev. John C. Daau as found on www.theird.org]

Out of Context

I got up early to watch the sunrise over the gulf waters. I quick tied on my shoes, grabbed my camera and headed east along the Ft. Walton shore toward the pier to capture the glowing salmon-colored sun rise above the clouds sitting on the horizon that morning. It was gorgeous. As I walked toward the pier, a woman came out of her condo and started walking behind me. I noticed she stopped every time I did so she didn't walk into the photo I was taking. Since we were keeping pace with each other, we started talking. She'd been coming to the beach there from Michigan for 30 years and had many tips on what to see and do in the area.

After walking and talking awhile, I pointed to the hotels and condos along the beach and asked: "Is there a building code stipulating that six to seven stories is as high as they can be built? They're all the same height." She said she didn't know then said, "Sometimes you'll see a crane on the beach."

Now, since we'd just been speaking about the buildings on the seashore, I thought she was talking about mechanical cranes for construction and heavy lifting. Then she continued with her sentence pointing to a building to my left ... "They fly over from the Gulfarium right there." The Gulfarium is a facility for rehabilitating injured marine animals. They also do dolphin and seal shows.

I thought it was funny that until she completed her sentence I was thinking of a mechanical crane. Out of context, I was thinking of the completely wrong thing and the thought of it flying was pretty comical to me.

The same is true of taking Scripture out of context. So often people will take one verse out of Scripture and run with it, forgetting to read what is written before or after. For example I had an atheist youth tell me Christians were murderers breaking the Ten Commandments anytime we kill an animal for food based on Isaiah 66:3 which reads: "Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who kills a human being." The youth took this verse out of context. This section of Scripture is reminding us to be humble and reverent before the Lord, otherwise our outward rituals are just for show and even an abomination to our Father. Likewise, often women balk at the "Be submissive to your husbands" verse in Ephesians 5:22 forgetting that just one verse before Paul says, "Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ." He even continues on to instruct husbands to love their wives like their own bodies and as Christ loves the church, willing to die for it. Within context, the verse makes divine sense for an ideal marriage of unconditional love.

We need to be careful as Christians to not take what someone tells us is in Scripture until we look it up ourselves and more importantly read what comes before and after it to see what the Holy Spirit is instructing here. Otherwise we could be missing the point.

Imagine a mechanical crane flying over the gulf ... ludicrous, yes, and sure doesn't have the same grace at all as the waterfowl. Likewise, neither can a verse of Scripture when taken out of context. It's often misconstrued ... and is certainly without the same Grace.

All The Waving

I'd forgotten about the waving. When we lived in Georgia I was surprised by the number of people who waved at you. Total strangers waving as you walked or drove by. It surprised me because in other locations I've lived, people just kind of ignore each other as they walk or drive by strangers. Not to be rude. We just don't know each other after all.

I had a friend in Tennessee once tell me that he waves to everyone. He said, "What if I get a flat tire some day? They'll remember I waved and stop by to help me." He said it jokingly, but his intentions were true ... "I'll make every stranger a friend."

When I lived in Georgia I wrote a weekly column, and one column was about the waving and my surprise with it. It just seemed so odd to wave to someone you didn't know. People would wave at me and I'd think, "Do I know that person? Nope. So why are they waving?" A different culture, that's all. But I'd forgotten about it after moving from that region.

Our family moved to Alabama in January and since then I think just about everyone in town has waved to me. Complete and total strangers wave every time they drive by me as I walk. At first I'd think to myself, "Yes, hi, how are you? I don't have a clue who you are, but I'll just wave anyways." But then I got to thinking, this may be my brother or sister in Christ! Or may be one who needs to know the love of Christ. When I get to Paradise and my life is flashing before me, do I want to be the person who waved or the one who looked away? An Our Daily Bread devotion I read this morning by David Roper (09-26-09) quoted a man who said, "When I stand before my Lord, I hope He'll say of me that I've loved too many, rather than too few."

I'm back in the habit of being the first person to wave, verses the one waving back. And it's so surprisingly comfortable. No, I don't know these people any better than I did before ...but I hope to someday.

Mushrooms

Lately we've had a lot of rainfall in Alabama. And anytime that happens, up come the mushrooms. I have never seen so many different kinds of mushrooms in my life. Not just the wide-topped brown mushrooms or tiny white ones I'm used to seeing, but tall white ones and some tan ones with cauliflower looking tops. I've seen lawns full of these various kinds of mushrooms. I actually think they are kinda cool looking, but my guess is they are not a welcome sight to homeowners, as often I'll see the mushrooms tossed into the curb and shriveled.

My daily flip-a-day inspirational calendar had a quote recently that made me think about the mushrooms. It said, "God is often more concerned about your response to the problem than he is in removing the problem."

See, the lawns are lusher and greener than ever with all our rain, but with those blessings to the lawnscape comes the unwelcome mushrooms. Could God prevent the mushrooms from popping up? Sure. But He doesn't.

It's the same with our spiritual journeys. Some are misled to believe that once you've become a Christian, all the world is a happy place. Your lawn is green and lush forever. However, this is not the case, at least not on Earth. Mushrooms pop up all the time, smack dab in the middle of the lushest and greenest of times. You can try to yank those mushrooms up if you want, but that doesn't necessarily prevent them from coming back, and sometimes more plentiful.

So how do we react to those times? With God as our anchor, sustainer and guide, with grace we can handle anything unwelcome that pops up in our lives. And if the problem doesn't seem to be going away any time soon, we can delight in knowing God is in control of the situation and maybe just wants to grow us a bit ... make us a hardier lawn, so to speak.

In the meantime, it doesn't hurt to take good care of the lawn, fertilizing with a good solid dose of the Word ... the best weed killer there is.