Jennifer L. Wright's Blog, page 8

In The Space Between Promises

As the Advent season progresses, I find my mind traveling to those ancient streets of Bethlehem more and more, to the beautiful story of the pregnant woman in the stable, the animals keeping watch as our Savior was brought into the world in the most humble of circumstances.

But every so often I have to stop and remind myself that this isn’t a story. Or, rather, that this isn’t just a story. This is real life. And these were real people in a real place in a real time, used by God in a very real way.

And perhaps that’s why my heart continues to feel for Mary the deepest. I, too, have been with child (though, thankfully, both mine were born in hospitals and not the floor of a barn!) I, too, experienced the thrill and fear of having a baby growing inside, excited for the unknown but fearing it all the same. That sensation of feeling physically drained but emotionally full simultaneously.

But, of course, Mary experienced all of these emotions on a heightened level. For hers was a child born of the Holy Spirit, one who had been promised to be called “the Son of the Most High” and be given “the throne of his father David” (Luke 1:32). When her son was born, a host of angels appeared and, later, a procession of wise men who called Him king. Her baby was like no other that has ever or will ever be born.

He was Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God.

And his mother?

Just a girl pregnant out of wedlock.

It was only the grace of God, moving the heart of her soon-to-be husband Joseph, that kept Mary from being stoned (Deuteronomy 22:20, Matthew 1: 18-25). But though He had saved her from death, that didn’t mean the whispers, rumors, and gossip suddenly ceased in Nazareth. It’s highly possible that Mary had to live with the stigma and public shame that went along with her unplanned pregnancy long after she put her metaphorical maternity clothes away.

She had been told she was “highly favored” (Luke 1:28). That her son would be special. That He was God’s own Son.

And yet it is within reason that, for many years after Jesus’s birth, His mother was treated as anything but.

What must that have been like for Mary?

In regards to her pregnancy, Mary knew she had not sinned. She had not been unfaithful to her betrothed, broken her engagement vows, or committed what amounted to adultery in the eyes of her culture. And yet she could not prove any of it. The angel had appeared to her and to Joseph alone; only they two knew the truth about where Jesus had come from and who He truly was.

During those days before Jesus began to make His identity known, I wonder if Mary secretly suffered. I wonder if whispers and stares followed her, piercing her heart and wounding her soul. Even with all her trust and faith in the Father, I wonder if she called out to Him in her weakest moments, asking for an end to her unfair societal condemnation.

Do you ever feel that way too?

As Christians, we have so many promises from God:

*Promises of Love (Psalm 89:38; Isaiah 54:10; Matthew 10:30-31; 1 John 4:9)

*Promises of Forgiveness (Psalm 103: 8-12; Luke 15: 3-7; Acts 10:43; Ephesians 1:7)

*Promises of Salvation (Isaiah 25:9; Acts 16:31; Ephesians 2:8; Hebrews 7:25)

*Promises of Everlasting Life (John 6:40; 10:28; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:17)

*Promises of Peace (Psalm 29:11; John 14:27; Romans 5: 1-2; Ephesians 2:4)

*Promises of Joy (Psalm 16:11; John 15: 10-11; Romans 16:3; 1 Peter 1:8)

*Promises of Freedom (John 8:34-36; Romans 6:6, 14, 20-22; 2 Corinthians 3:17; Revelation 1:5)

*Promises of His Presence (Joshua 1:5; Matthew 18:20, 28:20; John 6:37; Romans 8: 38-39)

*Promises of His Return (John 14:2-3; Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4: 16-17; Revelation 1:7)

But there may be times in your life–perhaps even right now–where the proof of these promises seems limited or even nonexistent. Yes, you have God’s Word, but the world doesn’t care. To them, you have no proof that what God has promised you is real; instead, a hostile culture mocks you day after day for clinging to ancient words when the evidence for why you SHOULDN’T believe is staring you right in the face. Mary may have been shamed for her perceived sin; you, perhaps, are being shamed for having faith at all.

Friends, can I just ask you, especially during this Advent season, to take heart? Our lives are being lived in the time between promises; while we have the assurance of the Holy Spirit living inside us, providing us what we need here and now, we have not yet arrived at the time of Christ’s Second Coming, when “every knee will bow before [Him]; every tongue will confess to God” (Isaiah 45:23). Much like Mary, we have nothing but the promises of God to refute the whispers, ridicule, and slander that may come our way. We may not be able to offer the kind of concrete proof that would soften the hearts of our mockers, but also like Mary, we have TRUTH on our side–and our so-called “foolish” ways will one day shame the “wise.” (1 Corinthians 1:27).

In the meantime, let us take our cue from Mary, counting ourselves like her as “blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished” (Luke 1:45).

Because it will, friends. It will.

“I’m an American; I have RIGHTS!”

In December 1941, President Roosevelt, praising “the great American charter of personal liberty and human dignity,” designated the first ‘Bill of Rights’ day by declaring:

“Now, Therefore, I, Franklin D. Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate December 15, 1941, as Bill of Rights Day. And I call upon the officials of the Government, and upon the people of the United States, to observe the day by displaying the flag of the United States on public buildings and by meeting together for such prayers and such ceremonies as may seem to them appropriate.”

The date was chosen as an homage to the day the Bill of Rights was ratified, which occurred on December 15, 1791. Troubled by Anti-Federalists, who sought to change what they saw as a “radically defective” Constitution that gave Congress “great and uncountroulable (sic) powers” it could use to “annihilate all the state governments and reduce this country to one single government” (according to an essay written by Anti-Federalist Brutus). Anti-Federalists called for a second constitutional convention to amend all that was wrong with the current Constitution.

Massachusetts proposed nine amendments. New York followed suit with thirty-one of its own, soon to be joined by North Carolina with twenty-six, and Virginia with twenty.

The Anti-Federalists hadn’t been able to prevent the Constitution from being ratified, but they were rapidly succeeding in sowing seeds of distrust and dissatisfaction with the document, creating a climate of opinion favorable to fundamentally revising it.

James Madison, who played an important role in drafting the Constitution and in pushing for its ratification as co-author of “The Federalist Papers” with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, proposed an idea that would give the appearance of appeasement to the Anti-Federalists while also maintaining the structural integrity of the Constitution: “in order to prevent misconstruction or abuse of its powers, that further declaratory and restrictive clauses should be added: And as extending the ground of public confidence in the Government, will best ensure the beneficent ends of its institution.”

These first ten amendments, which later became known as the Bill of Rights, was inspired by both the English Bill of Rights, which limited the power of the monarchy by giving more power to Parliament, and outlined individual rights such as freedom of speech; and the Virginia Declaration of Rights, which was written by politician George Mason in 1776, and stated that “all men are by nature equally free and independent,” and the “government is, or ought to be, instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security, of the people, nation, or community.”

The Bill of Rights Madison proposed, however, isn’t exactly what we find at the end of Constitution today. For starters, Madison’s list was originally a lot longer. The House agreed on a version of the Bill of Rights that had 17 amendments, and later, the Senate consolidated the list to 12 amendments. In the end, the states only approved 10 of the 12 amendments in December 1791.

Interestingly, one of two amendments rejected by the states was eventually ratified after a college sophomore named Gregory Watson wrote a paper outlining why Madison had been right in proposing that Congress couldn’t give itself a raise until after the next election, so constituents could decide whether or not the raise is deserved. While Watson ended up with a C on his paper, he became so passionate about the topic that he went on to lobby lawmakers, ultimately convincing 38 state legislatures about the need to restricted the ability of Congress to change the pay of a sitting Congress while in session.

It became the 27th amendment in 1992.

The other original proposed amendment not ratified dealt with the number of representatives in Congress, based on the 1789 population.

What’s interesting about Madison’s solution, however, is that not a single one of its ten amendments is actually an amendment. The Bill of Rights’ provides clarity; they spell out certain vital components of liberty. What they don’t do is amend, alter, or modify any of the articles of the Constitution. (The first real modification of the Constitution was brought about by the Eleventh Amendment, which restricted the scope of judicial power enunciated in Article III.)

And none of the structural amendments favored by the Anti-Federalists made its way into the Bill of Rights. As the political theorist Herbert Storing observed: “the primary significance of the Bill of Rights is seen most clearly in what it does not include.”

The Anti-Federalists were obviously irate. Aedanus Burke, a Congressman from South Carolina, complained the Bill was “little better than whip-syllabub, frothy and full of wind, formed only to please the palate.”

But Madison’s plan had worked. The people’s main concern had always been the protection of individual rights, and Madison’s had given them a document outlining exactly that. It was enough to smother the threatening flames of the Anti-Federalists and secure overwhelming support for the Constitution.

And far from being “frothy,” the Bill of Rights remains one of the most important documents in American history, reminding each one of us of our rights as American citizens. Can you recite all 10? (If not, no worries: I’ve outlined them below ).

Happy Bill of Rights Day!

Amendment I

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Amendment II

A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

Amendment III

No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Amendment IV

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Amendment V

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Amendment VI

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

Amendment VII

In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Amendment VIII

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Amendment IX

The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

When Glory Days Have Passed, THE Glory Does Not

When you hear the name “King David,” what do you think of?

Perhaps you think of the small boy who, in the strength of the Lord, defeated the giant Goliath with only a slingshot and a few stones. Or maybe you think of the strong, capable chosen man of God who could have easily overtaken the rejected King Saul…but chose not to. Possibly you think of a mighty warrior who time and time again defeated the enemies of Israel and secured peace for God’s people. You may also think of an adulterous king who, despite being a “man after [God’s] own heart,” still fell into sin. Or, despite these failings, you perhaps remember the hundreds of songs of praise written by David that bless the pages of our Bibles.

All of these thoughts would be accurate. And yet, I’m guessing when all these things come to mind, we’re all picturing the same thing: a strong, youthful, physically capable man in his prime.

But what about David’s later years?

Like all of us, there came a day in David’s life in which his physical strength and might–a trait synonymous with his name–no longer defined him. We find the passage in 2 Samuel 21:

“Once again there was a battle between the Philistines and Israel. David went down with his men to fight against the Philistines, and be became exhausted…Abish-ai son of Zeruiah came to David’s rescue; he struck the Philistine down and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him, saying, ‘Never again will you go out with us to battle, so that the lamp of Israel will not be extinguished.'” (v. 15-17)

David, the man famous for slaying the Philistine Goliath, now had to be rescued from the hands of his old foes.

The time of his peak physicality had passed.

He was, in short, too old and too weak.

Can you imagine what a blow that was to David’s ego? If you’re younger than thirty then no, maybe you cannot but, then again, perhaps you can. If you’re like me and have passed a certain age, you definitely can. Maybe you yourself are starting to realize physical or mental limitations in your own body. Maybe you’re struggling with a loss of certain characteristics–either from old age or disease–that once defined you. Your strong legs, quick wit, or inexhaustible energy. Or maybe it’s something more intangible–the loss of a name, title, role, or position.

And maybe, because of that, as yet another year winds to a close, you’re going through a crisis of identity. Things have changed. You have changed. And you’re struggling. Because, without xyz, who even are you anymore?

David could have easily felt the same way. Without his physical powers, which had been so useful to him during in his life, who was he anymore? More importantly, how could serve God without the very things that had defined his servitude thus far? He could no longer protect Israel from her enemies.

Was he no longer useful to God?

Perhaps you feel that way too. Perhaps the changes you’ve endured over the past year have left you feeling useless when it comes to serving the Kingdom.

Dear brother or sister in Christ, take heart. If 2023 has ushered in a new season of life for you–one in which the changes in your body, mind, environment, or circumstances seem too overwhelming to adapt–you can find encouragement in the words of one who went through the exact same thing.

When David became no longer physically fit enough for battle, he did not mope. He did not mourn. Instead, he spent his time pouring his faith and wisdom into those around him. He encouraged his fighting men–those who would now go into battle without him–by ensuring they were ready in skill and in number. He poured himself into his son, Solomon, making sure he was ready for his eventual kingship.

Most importantly, however, he continued to devote himself to praise. He wrote songs to the Lord, built altars to the Lord, and publicly professed his trust in God’s goodness. You see, David understood that while his days a warrior for God’s kingdom were over, his kingdom work was not finished so long as he had air in his lungs.

God’s work for him wasn’t finished; it was simply changed.

And, friend, so it is for you. If you suddenly find yourself in a season of change, where the old way of doing and being and serving simply no longer fits, it does not mean that God’s plan for you is through. No matter what, you are still His beloved child…and He still has work for you to do.

It may look different. It may feel different. But our God remains the same.

And He still counts you as an important and loved member of the body of Christ.

From the Back of the Bus to the U.S. Capitol

On Thursday, December 1, 1955, a 42-year-old woman named Rosa Parks boarded a bus to commute home from a long day of work at the Montgomery Fair department store.

Per Alabama law, the front of a Montgomery bus was reserved for white citizens, and the seats behind them for black citizens. At some point during the ride, a white man entered and found all the seats in the designated “white” section taken. The driver of the bus told the riders in the first row of the “colored” section to stand, in effect adding another row to the “white” section. The three others obeyed. Parks did not.

A standoff ensued and, eventually, two police officers were called to the stopped bus, assessed the situation, and placed Parks in custody, lightning a fire under the burgeoning civil rights movement–and making Parks an instant icon.

But there is so much more to her story than just the episode that made her famous.

According to history.com:

Rosa Louise McCauley was born in Tuskegee, Alabama, on February 4, 1913. She moved with her parents, James and Leona McCauley, to Pine Level, Alabama, at age 2 to reside with Leona’s parents. Her brother, Sylvester, was born in 1915, and shortly after that her parents separated. Rosa’s mother was a teacher, and the family valued education. Rosa moved to Montgomery, Alabama, at age 11 and eventually attended high school there, a laboratory school at the Alabama State Teachers’ College for Negroes. She left at 16, early in 11th grade, because she needed to care for her dying grandmother and, shortly thereafter, her chronically ill mother. In 1932, at 19, she married Raymond Parks, a self-educated man 10 years her senior who worked as a barber and was a long-time member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He supported Rosa in her efforts to earn her high-school diploma, which she ultimately did the following year.

Inspired by her husband’s activism, Rosa joined the NAACP herself in 1943, working specifically on criminal justice and its application in Alabama communities. In a city divided by Jim Crowe laws, blacks were segregated, mistreated, and often falsely accused of crimes. Conversely, many black women who were victimized by white men found it difficult to achieve justice for their attackers. Despite her husband’s fears for her safety, Rosa made these issues her priority, eventually becoming chapter secretary working closely with chapter president Edgar Daniel Nixon.

Hearing story after story of injustice and heartache solidified her heart for activism and, although the December 1 bus ride would be the catalyst that sparked a movement, it was not the first time Rosa defied the law in that particular way. In 1943, Rosa stepped onto another bus driven by the very same driver with which she would clash twelve years later, James Blake. During this incident, she resisted the rule that black people had to disembark and re-enter through the back door. She stood her ground until Blake pulled her coat sleeve, enraged, to demand her cooperation. Rosa left the bus rather than give in.

That would not be the case in 1955.

Word of Rosa’s arrest spread quickly and E.D. Nixon saw it as the perfect opportunity to mobilize an increasingly fed-up population of African-Americans. The plan? Having all black riders boycott Montgomery buses on the day of Parks’ trial, which was scheduled for Monday, December 5. By midnight, 35,000 fliers were being mimeographed to be sent home with black schoolchildren, informing their parents of the planned boycott. Although Rosa was found guilty of violating segregation laws, given a suspended sentence and fined $10 plus $4 in court costs, the boycott born from her burden was a roaring success. What started as a one-day event eventually ended up lasting an entire year and led to the creation of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) to manage it. Its leader? None other than a young newbie by the name of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Junior.

During the boycott, a lawsuit filed by Rosa and her family questioning the validity of segregation laws traveled through the courts, eventually ending up the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court. Despite harassment and violence and even the loss of her job, Rosa stayed strong, and on November 13, 1956, the Supreme Court ruled that bus segregation was unconstitutional; the boycott ended December 20, a day after the Court’s written order arrived in Montgomery.

Despite this, Montgomery remained a hostile environment and, eventually, Rosa and her family decided to move to Detroit. Rosa became an administrative aide in the Detroit office of Congressman John Conyers Jr. in 1965, a post she held until her 1988 retirement. In 1987, she co-founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development, to serve Detroit’s youth.

After her retirement, she traveled to lend her support to civil-rights events and causes and, in 1999, was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor the United States bestows on a civilian. When she died at age 92 on October 24, 2005, “the mother of the Civil Rights Movement” became the first woman in the nation’s history to lie in honor at the U.S. Capitol.

Happy Thanksgiving!

There’s no #historyfriday post this week to allow time for family and fellowship.

I’ll be back next week!

Happy Thanksgiving, and God bless!

The Ugly Side of Thankfulness

As we roll into the Thanksgiving season, I find myself once again trying to focus on blessings. It is true, no matter what season or circumstance, that God blesses each one of us “abundantly, so that in all things at all times, [we} hav[e] all that [we] need..” (2 Corinthians 9:8), and this time of year is the perfect time to remember all the ways in which God has provided for us over the past year. I usually try to make a list of all my blessings in order to come into Thanksgiving with the right heart.

The problem with that is….so does everyone else.

Social media is filled with “thankfulness challenges,” where people post one or multiple things every day for which they are thankful. The idea is good in theory, but doing so in such a public way can lead to unexpected consequences–consequences that can truly reveal the sinful nature of our “thankful” hearts.

As I was scrolling through Facebook the other day, I came across one such posting. Keep in mind, I had just finished writing in my thankfulness journal for the day, praising God for the blessing of a writing career–a job that not only allows me to help provide for my family, but also enables me to pursue my passion and share the gospel with a hurting world. I was feeling pretty good, basking in the warmth that comes from remembering God’s goodness in my life.

Then I saw this post: “I’m thankful my book became both an award-winner AND best-seller this year. God is truly blessing my dreams!”

Happy, contented feeling GONE.

I know there was nothing malicious in my friend’s post. She was simply celebrating a milestone in her career and rightfully praising God for it. My gut reaction to it shows more about the state of my heart than hers. And what I saw there was shameful:

Jealousy.

All this from a heart claiming to belong to God and which, just minutes early, was genuinely praising Him for His blessings. My circumstances hadn’t changed between now and then; I still had a career for which I was very much thankful. What had changed was that sneaky little trap of comparison.

My books sell decently…but they have never snagged that “best-seller” banner. They’ve never won an award. When it came down to it, my blessings didn’t look the same as my friend’s. Hers, in all honesty, looked better. And, next to hers, that sweet little blessing about which I’d felt so happy only minutes before no longer felt like a blessing.

It felt like a slight.

A few weeks ago, my pastor preached a sermon on Cain and Abel, whose story can be found in Genesis 4. Even those who don’t consider themselves Christians are probably familiar with it. It all begins with Cain and Abel, the sons of Adam and Eve, bringing offerings to God, Cain from “some of the fruits of the soil” and Abel “fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor.” (v. 3-5a) The jealousy Cain felt from this perceived slight leads him to murder his brother Abel in cold blood soon thereafter.

Much has been made about the causes of God’s apparent favor of Abel and not Cain (I even wrote a blog post about possible reasons), but that’s not where my pastor laid his focus. Instead, he focused on Cain’s heart.

You see, at first glance, we think it’s easy to pinpoint the source of Cain’s anger and jealousy. Abel was favored (or blessed) by God, and he wasn’t. But when we really dig deeper, we find the issue more complex.

Think of it this way: if Cain’s anger and jealous was truly directed at Abel, what could Abel have done to fix the situation? When someone hurts us, there is usually some tangible form of restitution or repentance that can be performed to heal the relationship. For instance, if you steal something from me, usually returning the item or performing some other act of compensation will suffice (maybe not to fix the relationship, if there was one, but at least to serve a sense of justice against wrongdoing). But what had Abel done wrong? What could he have possibly done to “fix” the hurt in Cain’s heart?

Nothing.

And that, my pastor maintained, was what made jealousy such a particularly dangerous sin. Because even though jealousy, at the surface, seems to be an issue between two people, it’s really an issue between one person and God.

In a sense, jealousy arises when we see something someone else has–a blessing or favor from God–that we believe we ourselves deserve. We may think we’re angry at that particular person, but really we’re angry at God for withholding something from us. No matter the blessings He may have already given us–and trust me, they are there, no matter what–we look at OTHER people’s blessings and wonder why ours don’t look like theirs.

By comparison, our blessings look pale and insignificant. By comparison, our blessings look weak. By comparison, our blessings look small.

And by comparison, the nature of our hearts is revealed.

We don’t really trust God.

Jealousy about a person’s perceived favoritism by God shows that we don’t fully trust His love. Shows we don’t really believe He is good and knows what’s best for us. If we did, we would be content with our blessings and not compare them others, knowing the blessings He has given us are uniquely situated to our lives, as well as His purposes for it. No, my blessings may not look like yours…but that doesn’t mean God loves you better or me better. It simply means that His plan for my life–and yours–is different.

And if I truly trusted God, I would believe that.

Ouch.

But if you, like me, have found seeds of jealousy springing up during this season in which we are supposed to be nurturing the spirit of thankfulness, take heart. The beauty of God’s truth is that, no matter how painful and exposed we may be, His healing hand is never far away. Repent of your jealousy and disbelief, laying it at the feet of the only One who can redeem and restore those broken, ugly parts inside.

And you will find you have yet another beautiful item to add to your thankfulness list.

No Room At the Inn…Again

In the autumn of 1898, two traveling salesmen, John H. Nicholson of Janesville, Wisconsin, and Samuel E. Hill of Beloit, Wisconsin, both arrived at the Central House Hotel at Boscobel, Wisconsin, for the night. The hotel was crowded, harkening back to a story with which the two Christian men were well-aware: “there was no room at the inn.” Though strangers, the weary travelers agreed to share the only room left and, during the subsequent forced togetherness, soon discovered their shared faith and decided to have their evening devotions together. During their prayer time, both felt a distinct tugging on their hearts to form an association of Christian traveling salesmen. Meeting together again several months later in May 1899, they decided the purpose of their Association would be to “band Christian commercial travelers together for mutual recognition, personal evangelism, and united service for the Lord.”

Only three men were present at the meeting in the first “official” meeting, held July 1, 1899 in the Janesville, Ohio Y.M.C.A.: John H. Nicholson, Samuel E. Hill, and another Christian salesman by the name of Will J. Knights. Hill was elected president, Knights vice president, and Nicholson secretary and treasurer. They then proceeded in prayer to determine the name of their newly formed association. After several minutes, Knights rose from his knees and said simply, “We shall be called Gideons.”

Gideon’s story could be found in the book of Judges. He was approached by an angel of the Lord during a time great hardship and persecution. The Midianites continuously decimated the Israelites’ crops, slaughtered their livestock, and ravaged their settlements. By the time we meet Gideon, the Israelites were impoverished, hiding in caves and mountain clefts in fear. It’s not surprise that, when the angel declared the Lord’s presence with him, Gideon responded: “But sir…if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and put us into the hands of Midian. The Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” (Judges 6:13-14)

In light of the plight and destitution facing his people, Gideon rightly asked where God was. He asked God to do something.

And God responded….by sending him.

Though Gideon’s clan was the weakest in Manasseh and himself was the least of his family (verse 15), Gideon stepped out in faith, following God’s instruction and delivering Israel from the Midianite oppression (you can read the whole story in Judges 6-7). As the newly formed Gideons organization later explained: “Gideon was a man who was willing to do exactly what God wanted him to do, regardless of his own judgment as to the plans or results. Humility, faith, and obedience were his great elements of character. This is the standard that The Gideons International is trying to establish in all its members, each man to be ready to do God’s will at any time, at any place, and in any way that the Holy Spirit leads.”

Membership in the Gideons began to grow, and the organization started to seek out ways in which their group could make a meaningful difference for God’s kingdom. Naturally, nearly all members during these early years were traveling salesmen, which was both an asset and liability for their cause. The men were spread out all across the United States, giving them a chance to spread the gospel from California to New York. But, the work was often solitary and lonely. It was hard to witness on an empty spiritual tank.

During a meeting in Louisville, Kentucky in 1908, one trustee brought up the idea of supplying a Bible for each bedroom of every hotel in the United States. The off-hand remark seemed crazy, not to mention impossible, but it quickly gained traction. What better way to strengthen and encourage the faith of traveling Christians–while also spreading the gospel to non-believing tourists–than by making God’s Word readily available on the nightstand of every inn?

Just two months after the 1908 Louisville Convention, Gideons National Secretary Frank Garlick and Mr. A.B.T. Moore attended a meeting of the Ministerial Union. There, Garlick delivered a short yet inspired speech advocating for the need of Bible distribution. At the close of his brief address, Mr. Moore’s own pastor, Dr. E.R. Burkhalter, arose and moved, “…that Gideon Bibles be placed in all local hotels and that the Ministerial Union be responsible for the funds.” The motion was unanimously carried and a committee appointed to allocate the cost to the churches, according to their strength.

“The Bible Project,” as it came to be known, was officially in full swing. And on November 10, 1908 the first Gideons’ Bibles were placed in the room of the Superior Hotel in Superior, Montana. Since then, over two billion bibles have been distributed not only to hotel rooms, but to members of the military of various countries, to hospitals, nursing homes, prisons, and students. Membership in the organization has surpassed over 250,000 and Gideons can be found in 200 countries. Even now, in a post-Christian world where people can carry a Bible on their phone or tablet if they choose, physical copies of the Bible–supplied by Gideons–can still be found in over 60% of hotel rooms across the United States.

Leaky Vessels

I inherited a lot of things from my mother.

I have her eyes, her nose, her smile. I even have her proclivity for puzzles and love for all things DIY.

I did not, however, inherit her green thumb.

Not saying I haven’t tried. Oh, how I’ve tried. I love plants, especially indoor ones. And I have exhausted my fair share of books, google searches, and Youtube videos in an attempt to keep said plants alive. Unfortunately, however, I’m just not very good at it.

Frustrated by track record of dead flowers, I believed I’d finally found the answer one day during my weekly strolls through Home Depot’s garden department: a self-watering pot.

It was perfect! So long as you kept the outside reservoir full, the plant would “take care of itself” by only drawing in the moisture it needed. No more over or under watering. Surely, this plant would survive.

I took it home, placed it on a table, filled the water container, and was prepared to be amazed at my beautiful new plant. But, when I got up the next day, I was surprised to find the water reservoir empty. Thinking the plant was just dried out from its lack of attention in the store, I refilled it and went about my business.

The next day: same exact thing. Empty water reservoir.

Refill and repeat. Again and again and again.

All the while, my beautiful new plant began to shrivel.

This scenario went on longer than I care to admit until I finally figured out what was happening. The magical self-watering pot had a leak in it. Little to no water was actually going to my plant, no matter how much I was putting in; the water was, in fact, dripping down the back of my table and onto the floor below. I had somehow, yet again, killed an un-killable plant.

See what I mean about having a black thumb?

But this little mishap got me thinking about Christians. We can go to church, sing the songs, read the books…and still be like that little dying plant on my table.

How?

D.L. Moody, evangelist and founder of the Moody Bible Institute, put it this way: “We’re all leaky vessels, and we have to keep right under the fountain all the time to keep full of Christ, and so have a fresh supply.”

In the book of Lamentations, the writer marvels at how “the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (3: 22-23)

That same promise is available to us. God’s love, mercy, and grace is available to us every minute of every day. It is unmeasurable and unceasing (just like the water I continued to pour in my broken planter). The problem is that, our sinful nature acts like a hole in the pot; we often let those precious gifts slip away, whether it be because of distraction, busyness, or shame. In short, no matter how much God pours into us, we are all guilty of letting most of it just leak right on through. That is why sometimes, even those of us who claim to follow Jesus find ourselves weary, burdened, and flat-out broken. The very thing we need to supply life is right there…slipping through the holes in our sin-wounded hearts.

This is why daily communion with Christ’s presence is vital for believers. You simply cannot live any kind of abundant life without it. Too many become “Christians” by reciting words from a preacher, never give another passing thought to Jesus, and wonder why becoming a Christian didn’t “fix” anything. Other Christians go to church on Sundays but live just like the world around them come Monday, and also wonder why their faith hasn’t made them feel better. Still others do all the “Christian things” with their minds but remain far from Jesus in their hearts.

Every single one of these scenarios is the result of the same problem: the problem of relying on the grace they received from God weeks, months, year ago–grace that has long-since unknowingly leaked from their buckets and has yet to be refilled by any kind of meaningful reconnection with the God who longs to provide it.

Accepting Christ into your heart is great, but it’s not a one-time occurrence. Going to church is wonderful, but it’s meaningless if the sermon is forgotten as soon as you walk out the door. Doing all the “Christian things” is fantastic, but it’s your love that God is really after.

In short, we need Jesus, every hour of every day, to continuously fill the leaky vessel that is our soul. Without a continuous supply of His “living water,” we will wither and die, no matter how good our deeds or shiny our labels.

Moody illustrated this very point by describing a farm he once visited in California. The crops and fields were a vibrant, thriving shade of green. Yet, just beyond the hedge, everything was brown, crunchy, and dried-up. Dead. Constant irrigation from a nearby water source had allowed the crops to flourish; those without it perished.

Thirst daily for God. Seek Him. And He will answer in abundance.

Constantine and the Cross

By the third century, the Roman Empire–the most powerful and wealthy empire the world had ever seen–was in a state of chaos.

Civil wars, invasions, and disease were rampant. Things were so bad, in fact, that historians would later refer to this period as “the Crisis of the Third Century.” Emperor Diocletian tried to bring order by distributing power to a four-ruler tetrarchy that would govern the four quarters of the empire.

His plan failed.

When one of these tetrarchs, Constantine I, died in A.D. 306, local troops decreed his son, also known as Constantine, to be emperor–not just of one quarter of the Roman Empire, but of all of it. He would spend the next 18 years battling his rivals to make this so.

One particular battle, however, would not just change Constantine’s life; it would change the world.

In October 312, Constantine’s forces met with those of his brother-in-law’s, Maxentius, near the Milvian Bridge, which spanned the Tiber River. According to Constantine’s biographer Eusebius, on October 27, the night before battle, Constantine and his forces saw a cross of light in the sky, along with the Greek words for “In this sign conquer.” That night, Constantine had a dream in which Christ reinforced the message, telling him to use the sign against his enemies. At this time, Christianity was still a fringe religion, frowned up at best, persecuted at worst. Yet Constantine relented to the vision, marking the Christian symbol of the cross on his soldiers’ shields. When he triumphed at Milvian Bridge, not only did he secure undisputed control of the western half of the Roman Empire, he attributed the victory to the god of the Christians…and things would never be the same.

A few months later, in A.D. 313, Constantine met with Licinius, the eastern emperor, and together they issued the Edict of Milan, which gave Christianity legal status and a reprieve from persecution. Though it did not make Christianity the state religion (that would come later, in A.D. 380), the edict–and Constantine’s conversion–caused viewpoints surrounding this new religion to change. Numbers of Christ followers swelled as Christianity marched across the continent, no longer suppressed by fear of Roman overlords.

Roman non-Christians, however, were less than thrilled with this change. Although Constantine assumed sole control over the empire in A.D. 324, tensions in Rome remained high between the city’s pagans and the Christian emperor. He left Rome for good and established Constantinople as his new capital in A.D. 330.

Though the Roman Empire fell in A.D. 476, the legacy of Christianity in Rome started by Constantine could not be contained by government boundaries. Though historians today now debate whether “the first Christian emperor” was a Christian at all (some think him an unprincipled power seeker or maintain that what religion he had, many argue, was at best a blend of paganism and Christianity for purely political purpose), one cannot deny the mark left on the church by his reign.

Hospitals, Rough Drafts, and God’s Calling

Back in the early days of the year-which-shall-not-be-named, my husband and I found ourselves, like many parents across the country, suddenly faced with the task of homeschooling our two kids.

It was not a pleasant experience.

(P.S. This is not a knock against homeschooling parents. Y’all are my heroes. It was just not a good fit for my family’s needs.)

Because both my husband and I were now working from home and sharing an office, we found it easiest to divide up the subjects. This allowed me to work in the morning while my husband taught math, science, and social studies, then my husband to work in the afternoon while I taught writing, grammar, and Bible. At the time, my son was in the second grade and just learning the basics of composition–beginning, middle, end. He was learning how to make the story flow from introduction to conflict to conclusion, as well as the process behind the story, including rough draft, editing, and final draft.

Just up this momma’s alley.

He did okay on the first draft. But, when we sat down to begin the editing process, he balked.

“I’ve already written the story! Why do I have to read and write it again?”

“To make the story even better. Trust me–this is what I do for a living.”

My son stared at me for a few moments in horror. “Ugh! WHY?!”

I think it’s safe to say we do not have another budding author in my family.

Although it’s fun to look back on this memory now, it brings to mind something that’s been on my heart a lot lately:

God’s plan for your life is not going to look like His plan for my life.

When God created you (and when He created me), He created you with your own unique sets of gifts, talents, abilities, passions, and strengths. These special characteristics are huge part of what makes you you. Not only that, he took all of those gifts, talents, abilities, passions, and strengths, and wove them into a unique plan for your life–a plan to do good works for His kingdom.

I’ll use myself as an example. I’m a word nerd (obviously). I have always been drawn to books and stories and, from a very young age, I always knew I wanted to do something that involved writing for my career. I had no idea God would use me as He has, opening the door to a career as a Christian fiction writer but, looking back, I can see how all my past experiences (as well as who I am innately as a person) were leading me toward this path.

On the other hand, I have always hated the sight of blood. Just going into a hospital often makes me feel queasy and light-headed. I squirm even talking about anything medical-related so I’m going to make this paragraph short and sweet: I don’t do bodily functions. It’s just not who I am.

So the same visceral reaction my son had upon learning about my job is what I have to people who work in the medical field. Their job sounds like my worst nightmare. And while I would never put my profession on par with theirs, I believe doctors, nurses, EMT’s, and other medical professionals–just like me–are in their careers because of a unique “calling” on their lives. A plan, if you will, from God.

My point is that, while every single person out there possesses a distinct plan, every single one of those plans is going to look different because God made each one of us as an individual. If God’s plan for my life had been for me to be a nurse, I’m pretty sure He wouldn’t have created in me such an aversion to blood. Likewise, if His plan for my son was for him to be an author, I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have nearly gagged during a simple line edit. (Granted, he’s still young so this momma has her fingers crossed that will change!)

Does that make one type of person or career better than another? Of course not. If you are walking in obedience, you are doing kingdom work. Period. I don’t care if you’re a lawyer, a store clerk, a delivery man/woman, or even a stay-at-home mom/dad. The work matters less than the one for Whom you’re doing it. The problem arises when we start to compare our work to others.

I am not immune to this struggle.

But, when I’m feeling this way, one of my favorite verses to turn to is found in the last chapter of John. After Jesus had arisen, He was teaching His disciples about what He had in store for them. He had just had a heart-to-heart with Peter, reinstating him after his betrayal and reminding Peter that his calling was to “take care of my sheep.” (verse 16). A little while later:

“Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them…When Peter saw him, he asked, ‘Lord, what about him?’ Jesus answered, ‘If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.‘” (verse 20-22, emphasis mine).

Peter had just heard directly from Jesus’s lips what he was to do with his life, and yet he immediately wanted to know what John was supposed to be doing. I’m projecting my own insecurities here, but I can’t help but think perhaps Peter was worried Jesus was going to have John do something better. Although he had just been forgiven and restored, I wonder if some guilt still niggled at his conscience, making him wonder if Jesus would hold back the biggest, most important work for another disciple. One who hadn’t abandoned Him at the cross.

With a gentle firmness that could only come from the Savior Himself, Jesus reminded Peter that John’s calling was not his concern; his only concern was to follow Him.

And it’s ours, too.

Remember, God created each one of us as individuals, uniquely equipped for the special calling He has on each of our lives. It doesn’t matter what He’s called my friend to do. It doesn’t matter what He’s called my spouse, my sibling, or my neighbor to do. There’s no guarantee that I’d be able to do what any of them were doing any way because I’m not them. I am me; I am fully and distinctly suited for the calling God has placed on my life. And no matter what that calling looks like, what matters the most following Jesus, wherever that path may lead.

I just really hope it doesn’t involve any blood.