Take God's Prescription!

Do you find yourself being anxious?

Most of us at one time or another are anxious. Some of us choose to live in a constant state of anxiety. I think there is a difference between the two. Being anxious is a momentary state of worry that comes and then goes. Anxiety is when one has let the state of being anxious become the center of our vision.

The other word that goes along with these is uncertainty. There seems to be an air of uncertainty that is dominating our world. We are uncertain about the economic future. There is uncertainty about jobs. Some are uncertain about their relationships. Others find their health is be more fragile than they ever dreamed. In every one's life, there are points of uncertainty.

Which leads us to our next word in the chain, control. I have always maintained that the one who holds the remote to the television is the one who controls the house. For some control is what life is all about. You can identify these folks easily if you go somewhere--they always want to drive. Or if they are not driving, they are quick to point out the deficiencies of the person that is driving. As a person ages, one of the most critical issues in life is the loss of control. Someone will tell us where we live, when we get up, etc. Then we lose control of our own bodily functions.

And we find ourselves back at square one--the state of anxiousness...

In the world of theology there are two prescriptions God gives to us. The first is called prevenient grace. This is the knowledge that where ever life leads us--despite our human errors in choice--God is at work for good in our life. It is not that we lose our free will and it is all planned out just for us to accept. No indeed. God is weaving lives together urging choices to be made by all that bring goodness and mercy to all.

The second prescription is assurance. This is the choice we have to be assured that God loves us and God is at work for goodness in our life. It is the hope that is unseen in worldly terms but very real in our faith perspective. Fanny Crosby speaks of this faith when she wrote the hymn, Blessed Assurance. She speaks of submission, delight, and rest not because all of life is a cakewalk. Remember that she is blind! But it is her story to praise God at all times because of this assurance.

The assurance of God's presence is greater than anything life has to throw at us. Maybe you need God's prescription in your life today!

Do Not Get Weary in Doing Good

This past week I had one of those days. You know those days. It is when everything seems to go wrong. Even when you are trying to help, it just is not easy.

My mother in law's doctor told her to not do anything for a while. She had just had a procedure that just required rest. If she did not rest, permanent damage could be done. We knew she would not listen. She thought she was being sneaky. Busted!

She had been wanting to plant a garden. She had bought everything she needed to plant. But then the procedure had interrupted her plans. The garden would have to wait.

My mother-in-law lives next door to her daughter. My brother-in-law knew of the plans to plant the garden. So one day, he looks out and says to himself, "I will help my mother-in-law by tilling the soil for the garden. Then when she is able, the soil will be ready for her to plant." So he goes out and tills the garden area. About the time he is finishing, he looks up to hear his mother-in-law shouting at her loudest. He can not make out what she is saying as the tiller noise drowns her out. He thinks she is thanking him although the expression on her face is not one of gratitude. Finally through, he turns off the tiller and goes to where she is standing.

Getting closer he realizes that she is not happy. Then the confession comes. She had sneaked out when no one was around and violated her doctor's orders. She had planted the garden that he had just tilled up.

Well, the other day I visited my mother-in-law. Her garden is blooming although everything is in quite disarray. You have a plant of peas right next to the tomato. There is no semblance of order that her garden usually has. I guess that is the kind of garden you get when you do not do what the doctor says!

Now the brother-in-law did not stay in the doghouse long. However, he has made it clear that he will not help anymore without asking. "I was just trying to help!" was his defense.

Life is like this more than we realize. Doing that which is good and honorable sometimes becomes more complicated than we want. Then there is the temptation to stay in our own little world which is not at all what God would have us do.

Do not grow weary in doing good. The world needs more people who are willing to help one another. The world needs more gardens in disarray.

Mother-in-laws should do what their doctors say as well!

Use All the Crayons!

There is a wave in our culture that is capable of doing great damage. It seems to be more prevalent during the political seasons. But it rears it ugly head more often than we think. The wave seeks to destroy at any cost that which is different. Those with different opinions or thoughts are demonized.

At the heart of this disease is the arrogance of being right.

Now before we all start pointing fingers let us confess that there is a time when we all find ourselves wanting to prove we are right. There is something in our human ego that feeds off of this. But being right is not all it is cracked up to be. And if there is a choice between being right and mercy in relationships, Jesus of Nazareth would choose mercy.

Demonizing those who are different from us empowers us to think we can do anything necessary. After all it would be faithful to dispose the world of these demons. But even more dangerous in this process of thought is that demonizing people means that I no longer have to treat them as a real human being. Their humanness is of no consequence to my actions or thoughts. Their feelings or ideas become irrelevant.

This is a great loss to us whether we realize it or not. It would be like trying to color a beautiful picture using only one color. The diversity of thought and ideas offers us the ability to be more creative and more understanding. The ability to listen and appreciate one another in our differences is the key to making our world a better place. It opens the world to the power of God to unite us in our uniqueness.

So what is the next step that God would have us do?

O Dean Martin was a preacher that changed my life when I was young. His preaching is still a part of my life because he made great sense. In one of his sermons, he said we do not need a revival. What we need is a new understanding of what revival is. And he offered this definition of revival.

Go into a room. Make sure no one else is in the room. Draw a circle. Get in the circle. Kneel before God and ask God to change everyone is that circle. That would be a living revival of the faith.

Jesus invites us to live in contrast to the culture--to be different. Resist the world's insistence to make demons of those who hold different ideas or opinions. There are enough demons in this world. We do not need to create more.

Learn to color with all the colors in the crayon box God has given us!

Hope Was Born!

She is guilty! The court rang out. Although it is not he judge who is saying this or even the jury. It is the spectators in the court. Guilty as sin!

There were folks who had their rocks in hand as she lay on the ground. She had been stripped of her clothes. Her nakedness was not about her physical being. It was her soul that was naked before all. She had no standing. She had been abused and used in every way. Any notion of self love had left her long ago.

There was a part of her that wondered why in the world she had been dragged into the public arena. As she looked around the crowd, she knew many of them. She could tell stories about many of them. It seems so much easier to proclaim the sin of others than to confront your own shame.

Then he appeared. He looked at her in a way that others did not. He did not look at her very long before turning his eyes to the ground. But that glance somehow comforted her in the midst of the angry crowd. Who was he? Why was he not like the others? He was supposed to be a religious man. But he was different.

The next sound was rocks falling to the ground. She had not heard what he said. But it disarmed them all in an instant. Although their eyes were still filled with hatred, they were turning around to leave. The rocks that were so lethal were now harmless. She looked up only to find her alone with this man.

He looked into her eyes again. That look was filled with an understanding that told her she was not guilty anymore. His face was gentle. It invited her to be safe in a way that she had long forgotten.

"Where are those who would condemn you?" The answer was obvious.

"Go and sin no more."

She had never heard those words before. All her life she had been condemned. All of her life she had known no hope. Yet she heard these words, her heart was changed. Her mind was changed. Her understanding of life and its possibilities were changed in an instant.

She gathered her clothes and walked away. But she walked away a different person. She did not understand what had happened. But she did understand that she would not live as she had. When she turned to look at the man, he was gone. So was her guilt and shame.

Hope was born.