Nancy Wilson's Blog, page 24

He is Risen!

 

After the glorious Resurrection Sunday worship service in the morning, and after  feasting on grilled lamb on the Merkles’ front porch, and after the grandkids hunted eggs in the yard, and after the guests left, and after Shadrach konked out for a nap in the stroller (can you see his feet sticking out from under the blanket?), and after everyone was a little bedraggled from all the festivities, we posed for a family photo! (Thanks Elizabeth Sensing!) Hope you all had a very blessed Easter celebration! He is Risen!

March 29: Dying Well

As we commemorate the death of our Lord, there is so much to take in. I am way over my head to even speak about it, much less write something about it. Nevertheless, it is Good Friday, and I have read over the Gospel accounts of this portion of the Gospel story. I was wondering, does Jesus show us how to die? Though none of us will die as He did, for the sins of the world, can we learn anything from the way He approached death? Can we imitate Jesus as we face our own mortality?

First of all, we should consider how Jesus resigned Himself to His approaching death. He asked God to take the cup away, but submitted to God by saying, “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will: (Mt. 26:39). We can see two things here. One is that it is lawful for us to beg God to extend our lives. We should pray for healing and deliverance. Secondly, we are to submit to His will just as our Savior did.

The next thing to notice is Jesus’ calm spirit. Once He had resolved this issue with His Father, he was met by His betrayer and the multitude who laid hands on Him. He not only remains calm, but He remains in charge. He is giving instructions to His disciples, and He addresses the multitude, pointing out the fulfillment of prophesy. He understands the moment, sees the big picture, and is not distracted even though He knows He is just a few hours away from death. He is not just navigating His own journey, but leading His disciples and pointing out to the unruly crowd that God is doing as as He said.

Third, He kept silent (Mt. 26:63, 27:12,14). Only when the high priest put Him under oath did Jesus respond, “It is as you said” (vs. 64). And when the governor asked Him if He was the King of the Jews, He replied, “It is as you say” (vs. 11). He had control of His own spirit and chose not to respond to His accusers or mockers when they blasphemed Him (Luke 22:65).

Fourth, He was forward looking. In response to the high priest he says, “Hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” He was looking past His death to the glory. When the women were mourning and lamenting as he walked to His death, He spoke to them about the future judgment, not about Himself. (Luke 23:28). And in John 19:25-27, Jesus tells his disciple to look after His mother. In all these things, Jesus was looking ahead, not behind. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, despising the shame.

Given His example (and of course much more could be gleaned than these few points), we can pray and trust that we will live well and die well, imitating Jesus in it all.

March 28: Light and Life

Jesus is our life and our light. He is the light of men. He is the brightness of God’s glory. He is the Word of Life. He enlightens the eyes of our hearts so we may worship Him by faith.

As you prepare for Resurrection Sunday, consider these introductory verses from three first chapters in the New Testament. They will give you plenty of material to use as you meditate on the glory of Christ our Savior.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men” (John 1:1-4).

“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they” (Hebrews 1:1-4).

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (for the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) that which we have seen and heard declare unto you, that ye may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:1-3).

 

 

March 27: Table Fellowship

In Acts 2, Luke  describes the results of Peter’s preaching at Pentecost when three thousand souls “gladly received his word and were baptized” (vs. 41). In verse 46-47 he says this about their hospitality: “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”

Matthew Henry says this about first-century Christian hospitality: “They brought the comforts of God’s table along with them to their own which had two good effects upon them: It made them very pleasant and enlarged their hearts with holy joy; it made them very liberal to their poor brethren and enlarged their hearts in charity. They welcomed the poor to their tables, not grudgingly, but with all the hearty freedom imaginable.”

I love the idea of importing God’s hospitality to us at His table into our own homes. God is the author of all hospitality, having called us to sit down with Him as we celebrate the Lord’s Supper. And what a good connection for us to make when we are welcoming others to our tables, especially when it is our own family members.

God prepares for us, invites us, provides for us, and welcomes us to His table. When we have a sense of the inestimable gift He has given us in Christ, it transforms our perspective on our own table fellowship. It enlarges our hearts with holy joy, liberality,  and charity.

The new Christians in Acts 2 ate their meat “with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God.” They were happy guests, eager and grateful, rejoicing around the table. They had, as Henry says, “hearty freedom” and enjoyed unity and peace with one another which spilled over into praise to God. Sounds like the perfect table to me.

Hopefully, we can all relate to this, and we’ve enjoyed such “hearty” joyful fellowship around our own tables. But if not, what hinders us? How can we get there? We should start back at the beginning. How are we enjoying our fellowship with God around His table? Are we reluctant? Do we draw near fearfully? Do we feel unworthy and so pull away? Do we go too hastily and forget what we are about?

God calls sinners to Himself. We are, as it turns out, sinners. Christianity is the religion for us! We confess our sins, and we come. Do we confess them perfectly? No. But (as my husband reminded us in last week’s sermon), Jesus has repented perfectly for us in His baptism by John the Baptist. Our repentance is pretty lame, but we look to Jesus who repented for us perfectly. In Christ, God accepts us, receives us, and adopts us as His own.

The Lord’s Supper is not a reward for being good. It is part of our privilege as redeemed sons of God to sit down with Him and enjoy fellowship with Him. Our joy at being included on God’s guest list results in us throwing a party to celebrate. Every day. Our gratitude spills over to our own tables as we welcome our toddlers and teenagers and parents and siblings and guests to sit down with us. We receive one another; we serve one another. We break the bread, we drink the wine. We love one another with lowliness and singleness of heart.

 

March 26: Rubbing Shoulders

What does Christian fellowship look like? It isn’t simply limited to official “fellowship meetings.” When we live in community, we rub shoulders in many ways.

“Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others” (Phil. 2:1-4).

Fellowship is characterized by like-mindedness. What does that mean? Does it mean we have to agree on every little thing? No. It means we all have the same mindset of lowliness and humility. But we should agree as much as possible!

We must look out for one another, and we should not limit ourselves to our little tight circle of friends. We should draw the circle larger to include more and not keep drawing it tighter, exlcuding more and more until we have our little group of three. We should include the weak and the strong, the old and the young, the newcomer and the old-timer. We should have fellowship with them all.

Fellowship is characterized by warm affection and love for one another.  How do we love one another?

Viewing your concerns as more important to me than my concerns.

Listening and being sympathetic.

Praying with and for one another.

Being ready to jump in and help.

Having a generous spirit and being open-handed, not afraid to give.

Working together, grieving together, rejoicing together.

Spending time together.Eating together, visiting around the table, enjoying being together.

This kind of fellowship is only possible as we walk together in Christ.

“These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you…these things I command you, that you love one another.”

March 25: Comfort of Love

What are some of the things that can hinder the fellowship we have with one another?

“If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (I John 1: 6-7).

Fellowship can’t be faked. Real fellowship is light, but if we are just pretending, it’s darkness. So think about your brothers and sisters in Christ. Do you have good fellowship with them? If not, what is the hindrance?

1. It could be you don’t think you need fellowship. You may think that you’re fine and don’t need anyone else. But when you think you can be autonomous or self-reliant, you are being deluded by pride. God put us in a body that has many members.

2. It could be you think you need solitude. You may feel more spiritual when you are alone. But the Christian faith is not a hermit faith. It is a communal faith. You are made to be in community, not in isolation. You live out our faith in relationships to others.

3.You may be too shy. But shyness can be a form of self-absorption or rudeness. Get over yourself and be friendly. You can’t apply the golden rule all by your lonesome.

4. You may think you don’t have anything in common with these people. They are not like you. Are they forgiven sinners? Does Jesus have fellowship with them? That should be enough for you.

5. Discord and strife breaks fellowship. Have you let hurt feelings, old grudges, evil speaking, slander, envy, competition, or lack of forgiveness destroy your fellowship? If so, put those things way. Leave them in the grave! Cultivate fellowship.

Remember what God has done in Christ in order to have fellowship with you. Strive to imitate your Father in heaven. “Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit….” (Phil. 2:1-4). Fellowship is a comfort and consolation the world knows nothing of. It is our privilege and duty to enjoy it.

March 23: Down and Outers

One Saturday when the kids were still youngsters, my husband got a call from someone telling him that there was a homeless guy living in a cardboard box under a bridge and that he (my husband) should go check on him.

So, my husband got his jacket and headed out the door. My first (and very fleshly) impulse was something like this: Oh dear! I hope he doesn’t bring him to our house. I have little kids, and he is probably dirty and smelly.

Now of course it was no time before I was convicted that I was not being the good Samaritan but one of those evil guys who crossed over to the other side of the road. They didn’t want to get involved with the “down and outer” who was lying in the ditch. Neither did I. I knew I had to get my heart right, and I did. I remember putting on the coffee pot and  earnestly hoping and praying that Doug would bring this poor man home with him so I could show God that I was truly repentant for my initial reluctance. But the sad ending to the story was that Doug never did find him.

So now I’m going to come at this from another angle. God is the Good Samaritan, and we are all the down and outers, living under bridges in cardboard boxes. God didn’t walk by on the other side of the road. He wanted to have fellowship with us. Us! He was not put off by our sin and filth and shame. He saw us in our helpless condition, and He had compassion on us. He bandaged our wounds, took us in, and paid our way. He brought us to His hearth, to enjoy His fire, His presence, His table, and His food. This is our remarkable God: He loves the down and outer.

God initiated. He sought us and found us. He called us, and we have been brought into fellowship with Him by means of the cross of Christ. Our fellowship with God is the basis for our fellowship with one another. We are all guests at His table, brought near to our good and gracious God by the blood of His Son. Because we are gathered into one body in Christ, we extend the joy of this fellowship to one another.

“That you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3).

 

 

Bossy Food

This is something that should probably be titled “autobiographical fragments.” I’m not wanting to make an argument, and I do know that many of our readers are interested in, and serious about healthy food. That isn’t what I want to talk about, although it is. What I want to do is just tell a story from a perspective that some of you may not have. I’m sure that you have picked up on the fact that we are not into “health” food. Not that we are opposed to all of it, and not that we eat unhealthily, just that we are strongly antagonistic to a lot of things that are all about health. I’d like to take a shot at explaining that in a way that I am not sure we have ever made clear.

First off, I have a strong instinct for when I am being bossed around. This has never been in my life a problem with legitimate authority. I am not, and have not ever been a rebellious person. I imagine that this is a result of both nature and nurture – as my mom tells a story about me firmly telling Mr. Rogers off. She had turned on a show in the hopes of making bread in some kind of peace, and she heard me, at the age of three, telling him, ” I DON”T WANT TO BE YOUR NEIGHBOR.”  This is a characteristic that I share with many in my family, actually probably all of them.

Now – back to food. This means that the question that is often overlooked by people is the main hang up for me. “Who is this person, and why are they telling me what to do?”  This is why much of the current food frenzy is so distasteful to me. I cannot watch a documentary about the evil practices of some cow farmer somewhere and not want to see a statement of faith from the producer. Why? Because the cows are not my responsibility, but who I listen to is. If I were a cattle rancher, the treatment and well being of the animals would be right up there on my responsibilities. That would be my problem, because the sin would be my sin. When someone who supports the slaughter of babies in the wombs of their mothers tells me about humane cattle practices, I am morally obligated to not let them take authority in my life. They are saying, in effect, “Listen to me as I tell you what is evil and what is good.” For me to listen to them is for me to give them an authority in my life that they have no right to.

Now I know what many of you are thinking. You are thinking that if there is this evilness going on in the farms, then it doesn’t matter who told us about it, we need to not be hypocrites and acknowledge it. And I almost agree with this. Except I don’t. First of all – when people do this sort of thing, they are not the cattle ranchers, and we are not the cattle ranchers. They are asking us to listen to them as they sit in judgement over someone else. My problem is not with admitting that things are probably going wrong. Of course they are, because this is a fallen world. But our job, as Christians, is to fight sin with the tools that God gave us. This means that the sin that is happening in our own little cow farms is the sin that we ought to be up in arms about. Have I been unkind to one of my children? Have I been snarky at my husband? Have I been uncharitable, gossipy, rude, selfish, consumed by fear, envious, vain, or lazy? Is my farm honoring to God?

The people who are driven to expose the sins of farmers somewhere are people who are consumed entirely by their own sin. When they want to bring us along to expose the sins of others, we absolutely must say no. They are not the judge of the earth.

So why is it that this appeals so much to us? Why would we like to “ethically” source our meats? I’m sure I don’t know many of the reasons, but at least one of them is that it appeals to us to think that we could. We think that if we find a farm that is heaven on earth for cows, then we have done something right. But here is a sad reality. The heart of man is corrupt. A “happy” farm could be run by a man who abuses his wife. “Ethical” meat still comes to us by means of people, and people are always full of sin.

Now, I am not opposed in any way to the actual betterment of farming practices. I simply think that we absolutely must begin that by taking responsibility for our own sins which are right in front of us. One of those sins is letting people who hate God tell you what is good, what is true, and what is beautiful. God told us to not worry about whether or not the meat has been offered to idols before we eat it. Ok then, should we listen to Him? But wait! Has God seen the documentary? God has seen much more than the documentary – He sees our hearts. He sees the lives of all the animals in all the farms in all of the world, ever. God knows. Listen to Him.

I hope you can see that this is a different discussion than which foods are good for us. It is a discussion of who you are letting have authority over your consciences. Who tells you what is good? Who tells you what is beautiful? Who tells you what is true? Are you more comfortable with the ethics of the pro-abortion God haters who don’t use pesticides than a third generation Christian farmer who drives the truck with the huge eerie green tank? Then repent. Are you more comfortable exposing the sins of chicken farmers with people who think boys should marry each other  than you are eating a antibiotic riddled steak with people who love God? Then repent. Are you more interested in dealing with the sins of someone you don’t know than you are in confessing your own? Then repent.

As Christians take responsibility for the sins that we are sinning ourselves, things will change. Because we will become leaven in the world, not the antibiotics we so detest. When we worship God, love our neighbors, and eat with gratitude, the world can not be unchanged. When we go out on crusades to change the world, led by whoever, we are changed ourselves – and not into the image of our Savior, but into the image of our new leaders.

 

March 22: Titus 2:3-5, to the older women

The older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things— that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,  to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.

Second, to the older women. These young moms are so busy – they get together in play groups, and they talk to each other about their problems. You might think that it would be nice if they came to you sometimes. If they really sought you out for advice. And while I think that this could be a great thing, I don’t think that it is at all what this passage implies. This is not a formal course. This is not a classroom one on one situation. This is the natural way that things happen in community.

My mother (I think you know of her), taught us much growing up. This is the way it ought to be. My sister had four children already when I got married, and her fifth and my first, and Heather’s third were all born within a few weeks of each other. I gathered a lot of insight and support from them, and I am certain that this is the way it should be. But does this mean that I didn’t need this Biblical mechanism of older to younger in the broader church family? Of course not.

I have learned so much from the older women in our church. Not in a classroom – but by going to their houses for a baby shower, for dinner, for a psalm sing. I have learned about loving families from older women who brought food to us when our babies were born, from women who tell you in passing at church that this is the sweetest time, and to cherish it. I have learned from older women who put their houses together beautifully – who obviously love their homes, and then invite us all into it. I have learned from them as they gracefully travel through a hard illness, or as they face cancer armed with the peace of God.

The scope of what the younger women need to learn cannot be communicated in words. It is action. It is an older woman who bakes beautifully, whose garden is spectacular. It is the kind of thing that faithful living communicates. It encourages younger women more than you can know – it gives hope towards the future, it gives ideas and inspiration for what kind of women we want to be. But it gives it in a way that is discreet, that encourages without pressuring. It gives it in a way that is not an invitation to complain about your life or fuss about your children. It is encouragement in the best way, encouragement by example.
So older women – if you feel like you have not had a chance to talk to younger women – open your home, or take them a meal. Fulfill your own duties to your own family and in your own home in a way that overflows into the community. You don’t need to teach with words, although you can. You can simply teach with your gifts. Teach with what you love – teach with loving it still, teach by sharing your love with others.

March 21: Titus 2: 3-5, to the younger women

The older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things— that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.

There are just a few things that I would like to bring out of these verses. I think that Titus 2 has long been heralded for women as a passage that explains how women are to go about getting knowledge about what they are doing at home. Let the older women teach the younger how to do this.
Now understandably this often comes off to women as a sort of unattainable ideal. First off, you have to have the older women, and in many churches the older, qualified women are somewhat detached, not readily available to teach. In some cases they probably do not want to – having learned the hard way that they did some things wrong. They may not feel like they have much of value to contribute – like the younger women would be better off without their input.
But the second problem is when there are younger women who don’t seem to want the input. They think they have it all handled already – they know how to do everything, or at the very least they already just ask their circle of younger friends.

So often this makes women of every age feel unwanted and all alone. The older feel like they aren’t needed and the younger feel like the older women aren’t interested in them. And everyone feels sorry for themselves, and no one is encouraged towards more love.
I’d like to look at this little problem in a couple of ways. First off – to you younger women. Just because you can imagine a
world in which a mother like character would come help you figure stuff out doesn’t mean that you are being cheated. Everyone is older than someone. If you don’t have this character in your life, you need to consider the reality that you are going to need to be it for someone. Think of your daughters. Who are they looking up to to learn how to love their children, love their husbands, love their homes? Who is the older woman in their lives? That’s right. It’s you. So turn this charge around and see what it says about who you are to be when you are old. Note that there is no “unless you found no mentor” escape clause.
This also clearly means that they are learning from you in the normal. They are learning from you as you go about doing it yourself. So make sure that you are yourself being the kind of woman who is qualified to teach. Just because you feel young and helpless doesn’t mean that you aren’t the older woman in many situations. So the charge to the young women is not to usurp the position of the older women, but to be faithful in your own work  as time makes you into one of the older women yourself.