Kelly Minter's Blog, page 10

My 5 Favorite Go-To Recipes

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend. I had my family in town, meaning pure blissful chaos. It was the first time all four siblings and in-laws had been together in a while, so we ran around town, herded the kids, and ate entirely too much food. (I wish we had a better word for in-laws. I love, and like, my sister and brother in-law way more than that word implies. Can we coin a new term?)

Brad, Katie, Me, Megan, Megen, David. With the LifeWay building in the background

Women, the Tomb and our Value to Christ

Their teacher had been crucified. The One to whom they’d looked and followed was unfastened hand by hand off a shameful cross and laid in a tomb; His body, lifeless. The Man who’d understood them unlike anyone they’d ever known was now gone. The Advocate who’d defended Mary of Bethany after she’d broken open her expensive alabaster jar of perfume in worship, the Savior who’d cast the seven demons out of Mary Magdalene, had been arrested, crucified and buried.

“As the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to view the tomb.” Mt 28:1

They and a few other women were stirring, rustling themselves awake from fitful nightmares of their Lord being taken from them, if they’d slept at all. They had work to do. Gathering their spices to anoint His body they set off. They wouldn’t think of letting Him go without paying tribute, without one final touch.

On their way to the tomb “They were saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone from the entrance to the tomb for us?’” Mk 16:3

A good woman, who loves her Lord, never lets an immovable, impossible obstacle from halting her journey toward Him.Click To TweetA good woman, who loves her Lord, never lets an immovable, impossible obstacle from halting her journey toward Him. The truth is, they had no idea how they’d get a stone like that moved out of the way. But they were women who’d walked with Jesus. And a stone standing in the way wouldn’t keep them from making their way. They’d keep walking toward Him with their spices, with their heartache, with each other, on a mission. That stone would be taken care of one way or another.

“They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. They went in but did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.” Lk 24:2-3

That impossibly heavy stone, the one that could have kept them under the covers wrapped in thoughts that they and their spices would never get inside anyhow, had been moved. But there was another very big problem, one they couldn’t have foreseen coming, the biggest heartbreak yet that turned out to be their salvation. Jesus wasn’t there.

“Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” asked the angels. “He is not here but has risen!” Lk 24:5-6

How many times have I looked for life in places where only dead men live? I’ve peered into the tombs of fame and wealth, stepped into caverns where the powerful and popular presided, carried my offerings to the pleasures of this world, looking for life. And then the whisper that cuts with the tip of a sword slices through, why are you looking for life here? Look for Jesus. No life is life except the life He gives.

Of course in the case of these women they were looking for Jesus—they were just in the wrong place. They’d misunderstood. Or maybe they hadn’t heard all the way. Perhaps they’d forgotten. The angel stood to remind them.

“Remember how he spoke to you when he was still in Galilee, saying ‘It is necessary that the Son of Man be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and rise on the third day’?” Lk 24:6-7

  “And they remembered his words”. Lk 24:8

What words of the Savior have you forgotten? What of His promises have you not taken Him up on? What commands are you leaving un-obeyed? What truths have you relaxed for a more convenient alternative? In the meantime, missing it. Go back to His Word this Holy Week and remember. Because it’s in the remembering that we know where to find Jesus.

The men finally came to the tomb, as heartbroken over the death of Christ as the women, but they dealt with their grief differently.  As men and women so beautifully and uniquely often do. After Peter and John found the tomb empty, they went home.

“But Mary stood outside the tomb, crying.” Jn 20:11

Sometimes I wish I’d just wait a little longer in my grief. Stay in my tears a few more minutes instead of rushing away from a painful sight, or brushing off appropriate mourning for something more pleasant.

Mary sat with her tears long enough to peer into the tomb and see something the men hadn’t seen. Angels.Click To TweetMary sat with her tears long enough to peer into the tomb and see something the men hadn’t seen. Angels. They asked her why she was crying. She gave the most telling answer.

“Because they’ve taken away my Lord.” Jn 20:13

Not The Lord, or the disciples’ Lord, or Israel’s Lord, but my Lord. Mary Magdalene was close enough to Jesus to tell an angel that He was hers. And then when another Man, whom she thought was the gardener, asked her the same question, she told him to tell her where he’d taken Jesus because she wanted His body. This is intimacy with the Savior. This is familiarity. This is familial closeness and comfortability and ownership. Mary Magdalene shows us something about how close a woman can and should be to Christ.

That Man whom she thought was the gardener revealed Himself to her as Jesus. He did this by simply calling her name.

“Mary”, Jn 20:16. 

Hear her name.

Hear your name.

Then, let us do what she did. Fall at his feet and worship.

After Mary and the women heard the news about Jesus’ resurrection they were entrusted with the good news of the Gospel. Jesus appeared first to a woman. And it was to women that the privilege of being the inaugural carriers of the Gospel was given.

“But go, tell his disciples…” Mt 16:17. 

This is what the angels said to the women. Just this morning I prayed that the Lord would help me be a more effective goer and teller. To put my lamp on a stand, to keep my salt salty. Men and women alike have been charged with sharing the Gospel. But see this list of women who first went and told—even to those who didn’t believe them at first. Are you going? Are you telling about the preciousness of not just the Savior, but your Savior?

“Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them were telling the apostles these things. Lk 24:10.

This Holy Week. These days leading up to Easter. I pray over you, dear sister, that as women we would take our unique place with Jesus. That we’d rustle ourselves out of bed a few minutes earlier to meet with Him. I pray we won’t let what are factual, immoveable obstacles keep us from journeying toward Him—trusting that, somehow, He’ll take care of the impossible. I pray we’ll stop looking for life among the dead, rather pursue it in the person of Christ. I hope we’ll remember the Lord’s words when times get hard, that we’ll take Him up on His promises. Do you need to mourn something a little longer, instead of brushing it aside for the easy distraction—long enough to get a Word? To hear your name called? And as an absolutely, one of a kind, uniquely gifted disciple of Jesus, to whom can you go tell the good news of the Gospel?

I love being a follower of Christ with you. I love being a woman with you. Happy Easter.

 

Four People Jesus Loved

In these days leading up to Easter it’s hard to write about much else besides Jesus. Even the season speaks of Him as new life punches through the hard soil beginning to thaw. The dormant seeds that were held in darkness’ grip and winter’s bite have sprouted and burst into view. The generous showers of spring’s sky pour forth. Easter is near. The sun’s rays cast their glow deeper into the evening. Death, where is your sting?

As we approach Resurrection Day I’ve been thinking about the types of people whom Jesus loved. And just as true, whom He still loves today.

#1 The Sinner

The day Jesus called Levi to follow Him, a tax collector —a profession characterized by extortion and dishonesty—He dined that evening at his home. The Pharisees accusingly asked Him why He would dine at the home of a sinner, along with guests who were sinners. Jesus’ words reveal the beauty of His character toward us: He’d come to call sinners to repentance, not those who thought they were righteous and therefore had no need of Him.

If you, dear friend, find yourself mired in addiction, if you’ve returned to that selfish sin for a time too many to count, if you’re so over your pride, jealousy, misery, repent—Jesus loves the sinner.

#2 The Religious

As you make your way through the Gospels it’s clear that Jesus stuck it to the religiously self-righteous. He took every opportunity to expose the backward nature of a person trying to clean up the outside while the heart looked otherwise. Even so, think of Nicodemus, the religious Pharisee whom Jesus spoke with late into the night about the need for rebirth. Think of the Apostle Paul, one of the most religiously decorated Jews, to whom Jesus appeared on the road to Damascus, showing him the light of the good news of the Gospel. Jesus loved the sinner but He also loved the religious, those who were sinners in a different way.

How easy it is to fall into the trap of thinking we’ve got this Christian thing down. That we can manufacture our own goodness. That we can do this thing with a few behavioral modifications. If you’re tired of even your best efforts, the burden of legalism and getting it right, repent—Jesus loves the religious.

 #3 The Sick

One of my favorite things about Jesus is how the sick gravitated toward Him and He gravitated toward the sick. Whether it was Peter’s mother in-law with a fever, Jairus’ daughter who’d died, the blind men calling out to Him by the roadside, the lame man by the pool of Bethesda, the woman who’d been bleeding, the lepers or the demon possessed, Jesus loved and healed the sick.

My prayer today is that if you’re sick you will sense the love of Jesus. You are not out of His sight or care. He is acquainted with your suffering. No one knows it more deeply than Him. And as He pursued the sick when He walked on this earth I believe through His Holy Spirit He pursues you today. How much Jesus loves the sick and suffering.

#4 The Ashamed

Shame has always been prevalent, and no less so today. I meet many women covered up in their shame, whether as a result something they’ve done or something to no fault of their own. Jesus had a special place in His heart for those who didn’t belong, those who were religiously unclean, the foreigner, poor and outcast. Think of Mary of Bethany whom Jesus defended after she’d anointed Him with oil. What about the woman caught in adultery whom He protected and forgave? The Samaritan to whom He revealed Himself, a woman scorned by Jewish society? What about the lepers who were religiously unclean? How about the poor who had no standing, those He called His followers to love and care for?

Whether the shame of being a Samaritan, a leper, a foreigner, a poor person, or an adulteress, Jesus pursued those bearing shame because He bore it for us. Whatever the shame of your past, there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. He delights in taking away our disgrace and covering us with His love. Yes, He loves those living in shame, desiring for you to bear that shame no more.

As we continue our journey toward Easter, hundreds more examples of Jesus’ love for certain individuals could be cited. These are but a few fresh reminders. My prayer for you this week is that you’ll spend time in the Scriptures, remembering precisely the people Jesus loved and loves this very day. And that you will find yourself among them. Because He loves you so.

 

 

 

The post Four People Jesus Loved appeared first on Kelly Minter.

4 Reasons Comparison Thinking Is Harmful

Last weekend I spoke in Phoenix at a LifeWay Abundance Event  (subtle plug for this event if you haven’t been to one—see how I just did that?). Just before I was about to speak I had a new, old feeling hit me. New because I hadn’t felt it in a while; Old because it’s one of those familiar feelings I know well.

I was the last person to speak so I’d witnessed a parade of really gifted people go before me. One who runs a large company, another who’s personality and warmth is bigger than Montana (Montana is my favorite state metaphor), a young woman whose spoken word left the crowd in a standing ovation, another who oversees a super successful online ministry (I’m still trying to understand Instagram Story). Not to mention the gifted singers and players… I could go on.

May I introduce to you the spirit of comparison thinking.

I realize this can be a prominent trap in a setting like the one I was in, but comparison thinking can hit us anywhere—work, school, at a party. It festers on social media like bacteria in a petri dish. We can be totally minding our own business when we happen upon a post or feed that suddenly makes us feel small or left out, or like we don’t measure up.

My new friend Lisa-Jo Baker of Incourage says that when this happens it’s like a comparison drive by shooting. When you’re just doing your thing and—bam, bam, bam—you’ve been nailed by someone more in the “in” than you, maybe someone more talented, someone doing really big things—bigger than Montana. So I’d like to introduce a comparison thinking bullet proof vest, via 2 Corinthians 10 (it’s actually not called that in any translation of the Bible, but go with me.)

1. Comparison Thinking Is Unwise

The Apostle Paul says in 2 Cor 10:12, “For we don’t dare classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. But in measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves to themselves, they lack understanding.”

When you start heading down the comparison road, turn around as fast as you’re able because this is never a wise move. Or as the CSB puts it, when we do this we lack understanding (CSB is a new bible translation I’m enjoying.) Comparison thinking doesn’t produce anything positive, which is one of the reasons it’s not a smart use of our time. We either feel self-righteously smug, if we think we’re better than someone; Or needlessly small, if we feel like we don’t measure up. Never does it produce the fruit of the Spirit.

2. Comparison Thinking Is Based On A Fluctuating Scale

Whenever we compare ourselves to others we put ourselves up against a fluctuating standard. Think of how quickly styles change—we run out for those shoes or that sweater and 6 months later we’re SO behind. What about the things culture values? One day you’re supposed to have lots of stuff, the next it’s cool to be minimalist. What about in the church? I’ll be around someone who’s just adopted a child and think—yes, that’s what I need to do. Then I’ll be around a family and think—well, maybe marriage is the answer. Goodness, we can drive ourselves nuts trying to keep up with an ever moving standard if not for this next part of Paul’s letter.

3. Comparison Thinking Tempts Us To Live Someone Else’s Assignment

Paul says in verse 13 that he was only going to boast about the ministry assignment God had given him. One way we can protect ourselves from the drive-by comparison shootings is knowing what God has given us to do and who He’s called us to be. Do you know He has a unique work for you to do? Do you know He’s appointed you to bear an enormous amount of fruit in your life (John 15:15)? But we can’t find this out by comparing ourselves to others. We discover it by spending time with the Lord through prayer, His Word, keeping in step with the Spirit and being with other believers.

4. Comparison Thinking Promotes Boasting In Ourselves, Not The Lord

Paul says in verses 17-18, “So let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. For it is not the one commending himself who is approved, but the one the Lord commends.”

When our focus is on Jesus and the ministry He’s called us to we’ll boast in Him; We won’t feel smug or small, only worshipful. Another way we can dodge the comparison bullets is by keeping our focus on the Lord’s approval. I remember being left out of something that deeply undercut my confidence as a teacher. I remember thinking, “what will this person think?” or “that person when they find out I wasn’t chosen?” As clearly as I know the voice of the Holy Spirit He asked me, “What about what I think of you?”

I felt the Lord’s love for me and His approval in that moment. I was reminded that He had a ministry field for me and His plan hadn’t been derailed. I was also grateful to realize that His approval was more meaningful to me than that of the people I was looking to. This was a blessing to discover.

My prayer is that you’ll know the Lord’s love for you and rise to the challenge to which He’s called you. I pray you won’t be swayed to the left or right by ever-changing standards. When you’re tempted to compare yourself with others, remember that what you’re really longing for is God’s approval. And when you receive His commending, you’ll be so content that you won’t be threatened by the blessings of others; rather you’ll rejoice in them. And this is very wise.

***If you’re looking for more on this topic you may want to look at Kelly’s All Things New: A Study on 2 Corinthians

The post 4 Reasons Comparison Thinking Is Harmful appeared first on Kelly Minter.

How To Be A Deliverer Instead Of A Judge

I wish I could begin with something nobler about my heart but sometimes I want to be a judge more than I want to be a deliverer. This realization came to me one morning while reading Scripture, you know, minding my own business. I was on my living room couch reading Stephen’s speech of Israel’s history in Acts 7. I could see the little petunias spilling out of my window box on this serene morning; steam swirling upward from my coffee. In other words, I wasn’t looking to be convicted. But Stephen stuck it to me at Moses’ part of the story, anyhow.

Now some of you remember Moses as the one who endured plagues, parted a sea and carried the Israelites on his back through the desert; you remember him as the great deliverer. But did you know he was a judge before that? I didn’t know this.

Moses Made Himself A Judge; God Wanted To Make Him A Deliverer

Before God visited Moses through the burning bush—way before that—Moses saw an Egyptian and a Hebrew fighting. He looked a couple directions and then killed the Egyptian, buried him in the sand, and did it all in the name of protecting his fellowman. The next day Moses saw two Israelites quarreling, stepped in, after which one of them lashed out, “Who made your ruler and judge over us?” The answer is that Moses had made himself judge and this hardly ever goes over well. I’ve tried it a couple times.

Our flesh is prone to judging though, isn’t it? We like to draw our lines in the name of ‘righteousness’ and keep these people who we like and agree with “in” and put those people who live contrary to our worldview “out”. Life is so much more comfortable and safe when we can just lop people off, which is why judging feels so good. And at times, deceivingly, right.

So word had gotten out about Moses’ tiny, little killing, and you know the story: he fled to a desert in Midian for forty years until the Lord appeared to him from a burning bush where He sent him back to rescue Israel from the hands of the Egyptians. At this point in Stephen’s speech my coffee was still hot. I was still delighting in the flowers. And then somewhere in this bubble of Christian bliss, Acts 7:35 happened: “This is the same Moses whom they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer.” This was revelation for me.

God hadn't called Moses to be a ruler who judged but one who delivered. Click To Tweet God hadn’t called Moses to be a ruler who judged but a ruler who delivered. Apart from this being somewhat prickly for me, because I had to take an honest look at my heart, this was the greatest news ever. Ever. God hadn’t sent an Old Testament judge to Israel; rather He’d sent a rescuer. He didn’t tell Moses to go bury a bunch of sinners in the sand.

No, no, no.

He sent him to liberate a nation. And this whole rescuer notion didn’t originate with Moses, it was God’s idea. Our merciful God’s idea. It was a plan that took forty years in a desert for God to work out in Moses, because going from being a self-appointed judge to a God-appointed deliverer takes some serious humbling.

I thought about a family I’d met who wasn’t living in what you’d call a biblical setup. I’d developed a friendship with them. At some point I realized that part of me cared more about them getting their lives all cleaned up than I did about investing in their souls. It would have been easy to leave them in the sand where they “deserved” to be, because after all, they’d made all these wayward choices. But the Lord was speaking to me. Like Moses, God was sending me to deliver them into truth, not a judge who left them separated from it.

And then I really started thinking…

Judging is quick, clean and easy (kill, bury, walk away.) But when you’re a deliverer you’ve got plagues to face, Pharaohs to contend with, big seas you have no power to part. You’ve got to roll your sleeves up and sometimes water turns to blood and flies and frogs take over and the people you’re trying to rescue, curse you. Judging means you only have to consult yourself, while delivering means constant interaction with God—think of all the dialogues God and Moses had over the course of rescuing Israel. (Think of the amount of conversations Moses had with God when he killed the Egyptian: zero.)

Judging Is Quick And Easy, Delivering is Ongoing and Requires Your Heart

Judging takes five seconds and none of your heart. Delivering is ongoing and means you actually have to care. Judging others makes us feel good about ourselves in a false, Pharisaical way. Rescuing people will always reveal to us how truly weak and incapable we are. Rescuing requiring us to rely more wholly on the Lord—the way Moses did at the edge of the Red Sea while a host of chariots tore after him. The truth is, Moses only needed the strength of his hand to kill the Egyptian, but He’d need the power of God to part the Sea and deliver Israel. 

The truth is, Moses only needed the strength of his hand to kill the Egyptian, but He’d need the power of God to part the Sea and deliver Israel.Click To Tweet

I think my fleshly propensity to judge is often because rescuing people requires more than I want to sacrifice. When I bury someone under the sand of my judgment, they’re so much less of a hassle. But when the Lord says, look at that person, he or she needs rescuing, then my very being is required. This is true because judging moves us away from people while delivering draws us toward them. We might get inconvenient phone calls and someone might actually need us, but this is when our small sacrifices remind us of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The one who actually draws near to us as both Judge (John 5:22) and Deliverer (Mt 1:21). He’s the only one who can be trusted with both offices, the only one worthy of each. Because of Jesus, I wonder what would happen if we—His Bride —began moving toward our relatives, neighbors, enemies with a heart of deliverance instead of moving away from them in judgment. To humble ourselves before God, take those who need rescuing by the hand, stand beside them at the point of their need (and ours), and like Moses, say…See the salvation of the Lord. (Ex 14:13).

The post How To Be A Deliverer Instead Of A Judge appeared first on Kelly Minter.

Don’t Give Up Praying For Your Loved Ones

Some of you may be wondering if the prayers you’re praying for your loved ones are effective. Does God hear you? Will He act when the ones you’re praying for are willingly going their own way? Can your petitions outweigh their defiance? Do your prayers make a difference? This morning I was reminded of how refreshing Abraham and Lot’s story is. Especially as it relates to the effectiveness of our prayers for our wayward loved ones. For those who aren’t even pretending to try to be all that lovable.

 

When God called Abraham (then Abram) out of his homeland in Genesis 12, he took his wife Sarah and his nephew Lot with him. Lot ended up complicating things a bit, as family members can do at times. Both Abraham and Lot grew into substantial families with increasing amounts of servants and cattle causing fights to break out between the two groups. Abraham realized that the land could no longer sustain both families. The best thing to do was separate.

Graciously, Abraham let Lot choose were he wanted to live and Lot chose what appeared to be the best land for himself. (This is a blog for another day—the blog about how hard it is to give up your rights.) (And how much God blesses it.) Time passed and the city called Sodom, where Lot was living, was attacked and Lot was taken captive. Abraham heard the news, deployed his fighting men and rescued Lot from captivity. (This would be another blog about helping people who don’t deserve it.)

Here’s where we narrow in on the part about how God hears our prayers and the part about how desperately our loved ones need them. Even the ones who don’t want them. Who don’t think they need them. Fast forward to Sodom and Gomorrah becoming so evil that the Lord planned to destroy it. Abraham approached the Lord and asked Him how many righteous people would have to live in Sodom for Him to spare it?

“Will 50 do it?” Abraham asks.

“Yes, I’ll spare it for 50”, the Lord responds.

“What about forty-five righteous?”, he prays.

“I won’t destroy the city if there are 45.”

Abraham’s petition continues to 40, then 30, then 20. Finally he finds the courage to get the number down to 10. If the Lord can find 10 righteous people He’ll spare the city. I have to believe that when Abraham was pleading with the Lord to spare Sodom and Gomorrah, he wasn’t so much begging for the city as much as he was begging for his nephew, Lot. He had one loved one in mind.

The angels of the Lord found Lot sitting in the gates of Sodom, a picture indicative of how Lot’s heart and affections had become firmly set on worldly pleasures and darkness. A sordid incident followed where Lot stepped outside his home and offered his virgin daughters to an aggressive band of men who were trying to break the door down. The Lord’s angels grabbed Lot and whisked him back into they house. They warned him of the impending destruction of the city and told him to get out as fast as he could, and take his family with him.

Lot hesitated.

This is the point in the story where it’s easy to be done with Lot. After all the mercy, the grace, the second chances, the resources Abraham had expended, those angels. Lot hesitates?

Even there the Lord’s compassion meets him—at the very place of his hesitation (Gen 19:16).

The angel grabs Lot’s hand, his wife’s hand and the hands of his daughters—what a stunning, tangible picture of rescue—and brings them out. This is undeserved deliverance at its finest.

As the city burned and the smoke swirled skyward, Abraham watched from the place where he’d prayed to the Lord to spare the city. Apparently there must have been less than 10 righteous people in the city, Abraham must have thought to himself. As he looked out over the plain and took in the sobering sight, we get one of the most telling verses about the effectiveness of praying for our wayward loved ones in all the Bible.

“So it was, when God destroyed the city of the plain, he remembered Abraham and brought Lot out of the middle of the upheaval…” (Gen 19:29).

I was so prepared for the verse to read that in all the upheaval God had remembered Lot. But when Lot was in trouble it wasn’t Lot the Lord remembered; it was Abraham. Abraham had prayed for God to spare the city because He wanted God to spare his nephew. He didn’t stop petitioning at 50, not at 40, not even at 20. And when he trembled too much to ask for 1 righteous, maybe even throw out the possibility of there being zero in the city, still the Lord remembered Abraham. Because He’d heard his prayer.

God rescued Lot because He remembered Abraham (Gen 19:29).Click To Tweet God rescued Lot because He remembered Abraham. In other words, Lot was spared because we serve a compassionate God, but also because Abraham dared enough to pray for him. I know it can get discouraging at times but let’s keep praying those we love back into the obedience of Christ. Let’s keep petitioning. I believe the Lord will hear our prayers on behalf of those we love so dearly.

And do that thing He does so well—remember and rescue.

The post Don’t Give Up Praying For Your Loved Ones appeared first on Kelly Minter.

The Best Soil For Abundant Life

Matthew 13:8 “Still other seed fell on good ground and produced fruit: some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times what was sown.”

A few years ago I built 5 raised beds in my backyard and started a vegetable garden. I’m no expert. I’m not even decent really. But I enjoy it and every year I grow all manner of tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, squash, cucumbers, tomatillos, peppers and a frenzy of diseases. I’ve also spent enough on this whole gardening ordeal to buy groceries for a lifetime, but I can’t get picky about this. Something I’ve always been jealous of though are those sophisticated gardeners who grow their own seedlings indoors. They start thinking about their summer gardens in the frostbitten grip of January. When the rest of us have our hearts set on casseroles, they’re dreaming of heirloom melons.

As gardening fate would have it this past Christmas I was speaking at a church in California where I met a woman who worked for a seed company. The next evening she brought me a bag brimming with seed packets like I was Joel Salatin. I’m talking seeds for people who know what they’re doing. For a gardener it was a dream; for an amateur like myself it was a bag of pressure.  These seeds have been staring at me since Christmas. How could I bear the guilt of not putting such a remarkable gift to good use?

Fast forward to this past weekend where I turned my office desk into a seedling workbench–this is as classy as it sounds. I assembled two light stands, hung adjustable lights, filled my seedling cells with soil and began sifting through my seeds and plotting out my plan. (Never mind that from the outside of my window this all looks like a rather questionable operation.)

Being the seed-starting novice I am, I invited two very helpful assistants over who happen to travel in car seats. Harper filled the containers with soil and Will wrote out the identification tags. Apparently “San Marzano” and “Gilboa Peppers” haven’t shown up in his kindergarten curriculum yet—what do these kids do all day in school? Growing seeds is a fussy process in many respects I’m realizing. The soil needs to be moist but not overly wet or dry for the seeds to germinate. My next purchase is a spray bottle. A plastic lid is needed to protect the seedlings from disease while being transparent enough for the florescent light to penetrate. Most seeds need to be dropped 1/4″ below the surface—not too shallow, not too deep. I found this all a little stressful.

The timing of this experiment was particularly interesting to me because I happened to have just heard a powerful message on Jesus’ parable of the sower. In Matthew 13 Jesus’ teaching is quite straightforward, simple enough for Will to understand:

The seed is God’s Word.

The soil is our hearts.

The seed goes into the soil when we hear God’s Word.

The harvest depends on the soil.

We might be tempted to think that if our lives aren't producing the abundant harvest of God’s Kingdom that something is wrong with the seed. Click To TweetWe might be tempted to think that if our lives aren’t producing the abundant harvest of God’s Kingdom that something is wrong with the seed. (This is exactly what I’ll blame things on if my seedlings don’t sprout.) But Jesus’ teaching is always good seed. It contains everything necessary for life and producing an extraordinary harvest. If we’re having problems it’s our soil that’s the issue.

Soil Too Shallow For Roots

Jesus begins by describing seed that’s cast on a well-worn path. The soil in this case is too hardened to receive the seed so the seed lays atop the path only to be carried away by birds. Jesus explains that this soil reflects the heart of those who hear Jesus’ teaching but before the Word sinks in the enemy snatches it away. (Notice that hearing God’s Word is present in all 4 examples). 

Soil Deep Enough For Shallow Roots

This second example of soil is slightly better than the first in that the seed can actually nestle itself beneath the surface. The unforeseeable problem is that bedrock lies just beneath the soil. In this case the seed sprouts and shoots up with wild determination. But when the sun’s merciless heat is unfurled the plant withers and dies. In this parable the sun’s heat represents the difficulties in life that come as a result of following Jesus’ teaching. The soil in this parable reflects the heart of someone who hears Jesus’ teaching with joy but never grows roots deep enough to sustain it.

Soil That Grows Both Plants and Thorns

The third soil appears to be fertile enough to grow plants but with the added presence of thorns. The seed germinates and develops roots in this soil but other players are also present. The thorns of worries and wealth grow up around the good seedling, eventually choking it so it never bears fruit. This reflects the heart of the one who hears Jesus’ teaching but falls prey to the deceit of materialism and empty promises of money that can never satisfy.

Good Soil

The last example is of seed that falls on good soil. It’s loose enough to envelop the seed; Deep enough for the seed to develop roots without the threat of bedrock; Clear of weeds and thorns. Here Jesus is portraying the heart of a person who hears His teaching and understands it. Or as Luke 8 says, who receives it with an honest and good heart–holding onto it with endurance.

Friends, what is your heart’s soil in relation to Jesus’ teaching? Just because we’re hearing it on Sunday or hearing it in Bible study or even hearing it when we read our Bible, is it falling on good soil? Are you receiving it with a willing heart, free of hardened stubbornness and choking cares? Hearing the Word is not necessarily receiving it any more than tossing a seed into a pot and walking away will ensure its growth. My prayer for us this week is that we’ll stop blaming the seed and take an honest look at the soil.

God’s Word is always good seed, every time. And when it falls on good soil it’s been said to yield some 30, some 60, some 100 times what was sown. Because good seed plus good soil bears an abundant harvest. The Sower promises it.

The post The Best Soil For Abundant Life appeared first on Kelly Minter.

Will You Join Me In Preparing For Easter?

I first remember hearing of Lent in high school. A few of my friends were talking in the hallway about giving up things like chocolate and soda for the 40 days leading up to Easter. What a strange religious practice, I thought. Why would anyone willingly give up sweets? I did a little asking around and was SO relieved to discover that my non-denominational bible church didn’t observe such a tradition of sacrifice—praise the Lord for not having to give anything up. Raisinettes anyone?

It wasn’t until later in my twenties when this practice of Lent became not only meaningful to me but dare I say life saving. The end of this decade was overwhelming for me. The world and all its desires and pleasures were shooting off like firecrackers everywhere I turned. My dreams of a music career had become an idol and I’d put people so high on pedestals they had no choice but to fail me. I wanted to follow the Lord but I was a slave to whatever made me happy. I was literally gripped by desires I couldn’t get a hold of.

And then one February morning I walked into an historic home one block off Main Street in a town outside of Nashville. I sat down on an uncomfortable couch not because the cushions were stiff or sagging but because baring my soul is always awkward. Across from me was a gentle man, a wise believer. After sharing my heart and struggles with this near stranger he asked me one of the most anticlimactic questions a counselor has ever posed to me, “Have you practiced Lent before?”

My mind reeled back to high school and I thought—he’s gonna ask me to give up dessert for the next 40 days; I can’t believe I drove all the way down here for this.

“No sir, I haven’t”, I explained.

“Well, I think this could be a wonderful journey for you.”

Lent Creates Space for Something New to Grow

He then proceeded to explain that when we set something aside, whether food or drink that routinely comforts us, nightly television, social media habits, perhaps even a regular social gathering, we create space for something new to grow. I had never thought of it that way before. I didn’t just need a break from some unhealthy attachments and old patterns; I needed Jesus to plant something new in those places.

Lent isn’t so much about what you give up; rather it’s about what will grow in its place.Click To Tweet
Lent Creates Space for Solitude

When I was in the Amazon jungle last week I heard a Brazilian missionary speak on the essential discipline of solitude. He likened our times of quiet before the Lord, in meditation on His Word and in prayer, to the tent Moses set up outside the camp. He asked us, “where is your tent”? Where is the place you do business with God that’s away from the hustle and bustle of distractions?

He then went onto say something I’m certain I’ll never forget. The context of his point centered around ministry leaders needing to hear from God for themselves through times of solitude but also for the sake of their people. He explained, “Our people don’t need to know what we already know, they need to know what we don’t know.”

In other words, the people we’re leading, anyone who depends on us really, need us to be sitting quietly before the Lord and learning of His heart so He can show us the things we don’t know. The 40 days of Lent leading up to Easter is an especially fitting time to begin this practice of solitude. We may just find out something we don’t already know.

Lent Primes us for a Special Focus on Christ

Because Lent leads up to the day when we celebrate Christ’s resurrection (as well as other special days we observe the week before Easter), we’re naturally thinking about Jesus already. Whether you’re going through a Lenten devotional book or methodically reading through one of the Gospels, this is the season to enjoy solitude with Christ. It’s the season to spend your newly acquired space that’s come as a result of something from which you’ve fasted with the person of Jesus.

Think of how much better we’ll know Him and appreciate Easter morning if we march toward this wonderful day having spent daily time dwelling on who He is and what He’s done for us.

Lent is a Personal Marker in our Journey

I would strongly recommend keeping a daily journal beginning with Ash Wednesday, March 1 through Easter, April 16th. The Lenten journey leading up to Easter can be one of the most precious and spiritually intimate seasons of our year if we’ll make a plan and stick to it. Let’s seize the opportunity to set something aside so the Lord can’t plant something of His own sowing in its place. Here are four things that will help us do just that:

Ask the Lord what He wants you to lay aside and commit to fasting from it over the next 40 days.
Ask the Lord to grow something new in the space you’ve created.
Focus on the person of Jesus in your time of solitude through a Lenten devotional, reading through a Gospel, or through portions of the epistles that describe who He is and what He’s done.
Journal your daily experience.

Let’s set some things aside so the Lord can do a new thing in our hearts. Let’s commit to some solitude. Let’s focus on Christ and write about it. Would love to know how this experience goes for you. May we see and hear much during this reflective season.

The post Will You Join Me In Preparing For Easter? appeared first on Kelly Minter.

Finding Joy That’s Better Than Grain and Wine

“You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and new wine abound.” Psalm 4:7

When I was dreaming of all the places I wanted to travel to and what I longed to accomplish and who would make me happy in this life, the 6th Annual Jungle Pastor’s Conference on the Amazon River never crossed my mind. I had fancier plans, you know. More along the lines of whatever would bring me “grain and wine”, as the Psalmist referred to in Psalm 4:7.

On the joy hunt I was after the standard fare: People to make me happy, a fulfilling career, a decent helping of money, a little fame sprinkled in there, plus a good measure of comforts and pleasures. I’m not saying I didn’t love the Lord or the things of the Lord, but as far as what would satisfy the longings of my heart—what would bring me some serious joy—I had my own ideas of how this could be secured.

I couldn’t have imagined that a gathering of men and women who own but a couple outfits each, sleep in hammocks that hang from huts without electricity, and often struggle to put food on the table for their families, would be the ones not only to teach me joy but also to share it with me.

Fast forward to last week where I gathered with 59 jungle pastors and their wives at Justice & Mercy International’s Jungle Pastor’s Conference. I went with 21 teammates from America and England to encourage and equip these pastors, although as it always goes they teach us far more than we’re able to teach them.

Joy being the biggest lesson they present, without even realizing it.

Where we tend to rely on the joy that springs from the stuff of grain and wine, theirs is the kind the Lord puts in their hearts. The same joy He put in David’s heart.

Angela Thomas Pharr, Aurea, me, Cosme, my Dad on the last day of our conference
Pastor Cosme

I sat with pastor Cosme who told me that when he was first called from the city of Manaus to the interior, there were many days where food was scarce for him and his family. One morning he took his son into the jungle where he’d pick fruits from the treetops and drop them down to his boy. Cosme would scale his way up the tree until he couldn’t hoist himself any further upward. Running out of strength and wherewithal he’d burry his head in the branches and begin to cry. Had the Lord forsaken him? he wondered.

“Daddy, keep climbing!” his young son jolted him from his sadness as he yelled from the ground, “I’m hungry!” Digging deep Cosme would climb a little higher, twist the fruit from its stem as his own heart had been twisted, and feed his family for the day.

When you ask Cosme why he sacrificed so deeply and why he stayed in a village that floods every year, he says with a visible gleam in his eye, “Because there are lives there.” And he tells you this with joy because it’s a joy that comes from the Lord, which is greater than the variety you get from grain and wine. The kind that’s here today and gone after consumption or a bad draught or treacherous flood.

Pastor Euges

I met Pastor Euges who told me his testimony of how he’d come to know Jesus. He’d been trafficked to work in a marijuana plant having been told it was a passion fruit field. He escaped from his traffickers by fleeing into the jungle in the cover of night—getting caught meant getting killed. He spent 6 nights in the jungle, gave his life to Jesus on the first one—thinking I would have too—finally emerged into a village, returned home, joined the church and is now a pastor. He walks 90 minutes one-way to the congregation he serves multiple times a week.

The Lord didn’t only save Pastor Euges from trafficking and a week on the run in the jungle, but also out of alcoholism. Now he ministers to addicts of all kinds putting his arm around their necks and saying, “This life wasn’t good for me and it’s not good for you. Jesus wants to save you.” Pastor Euges’ life is hard and filled with challenges. For instance, the snakes he contends with on his walks through the jungle to his congregation. And yet his smile nearly splits his face in half like a seam about to burst. All because He’s found the source of joy that’s better than when the wine and grain is bursting forth, the Lord Himself.

My friend Steve Guthrie said the most profound thing while we were there. It was something to the effect of, “We always come back from these trips saying, ‘the people are so poor but they have so much joy.’ If we listen closely to ourselves what we’re really saying is that in order to have true joy and happiness we must have material possessions.”

In other words, we’re surprised when jungle pastors—who are persecuted in their villages for sharing Jesus, live in obscurity, are extremely impoverished—are genuinely happy. Perhaps it’s because we’re relying on our grain and new wine for our joy when David tells us that the Lord gives us greater joy than what can come from material abundance.

The question is, do we really believe this? I just spent several days with a jungle full of pastors who’ve staked their lives on it.

 

The post Finding Joy That’s Better Than Grain and Wine appeared first on Kelly Minter.

Valentine’s Day From A Single’s Perspective

 “…I’ve been pouring out my heart before the Lord.” 1 Sam 1:15

I’m pretty sure the only people who hop up and down about Valentine’s Day are the newly infatuated. Married couples seem generally annoyed by the pressure to participate in some way and those without significant others are reminded they have no one to participate with. This is why I happily head to the Amazon Jungle the week of Valentine’s Day.

Actually I’m not this cynical—truly. It just so happens that every year Justice & Mercy International’s Jungle Pastor’s Conference happens over February 14th. Still I’ve found that no matter how deep into the jungle you go, the one thing you can never escape is a date on the calendar. So… for anyone whose loneliness or longing is elicited by this particular holiday, here are a few things that have helped me along the way.

Acknowledge The Longing

We’re really good at invalidating whatever we don’t have—if we’re without a soulmate on Valentine’s Day we can’t just let the day be in all our pleasantness. No, we have to talk about how ridiculous of a day it is, how it’s made-up for the sake of commercialism, how if we had someone to share it with we’d boycott the fancy dinner. But that doesn’t change anything about our longing for a significant other. It only redirects that longing toward denial and maybe a teensy bit of self-righteousness.

What if we did something different this year? If Valentine’s Day churns up sadness or loneliness or even a hint of anger in your heart because you still haven’t met the love of your life, or because you found him and lost him, or because you have someone you feel positively stuck with, instead of spending all of February 14th invalidating the holiday, what if you acknowledged your longing and laid it before Jesus?

Don’t let me lose you here. I’m being so serious.

I think of Hannah in 1 Samuel 1:15 who poured out her heart to the Lord over the grief of not being able to bear a child. What if you poured your heart out to Christ this year instead of letting cynicism rule the day? What if you told Him all about your loneliness and your deep desire for someone to have as your own? What if you let that ache hang out there for a bit and let Him tend to it?

Press into Your Community

When we’re sad or lonely we tend to isolate. This is where our church community is essential, both married and unmarried members. I’m so grateful for my married friends because as a single woman I need the validation of both husbands and wives. Their affirmations are different and how they see and value me is important to me as a woman.

I’ve had older married women tell me over the years how they’re praying for a husband for me or that they don’t understand why someone hasn’t “snatched me right up.” Anyone? But when I hear something similar from a godly man his words have a different affect on me. I need both male and female reflections in my life.

There’s no formula for how this looks, but what I’ve needed in addition to my single friends is a community of married friends, both with and without kids. Having men and women and children around me in varying stages and seasons of life helps me know who I am and that I’m not alone. In very real and tangible ways the local church has been this to me, but only if  I choose to press in on the days I don’t feel like it.

Push Outside Yourself

The message of the day is to shower with love and adoration the person who makes you happy, the one who completes and fulfills you. But the love of Christ compels us to love others even when they’re not making us happy, when Cupid’s not shooting arrows all over our relationships. One of the gifts of being at the Pastor’s Conference over Valentine’s Day is the opportunity to serve others. This is not my basic nature I assure you. But when I let the Lord lead me into meeting the needs of others I find it to be a soothing heat to the coolness of my self-pitying. He’s surprised me in the most shocking of ways—off the top of my head: spending Valentine’s Day in the Amazon jungle and loving every minute of it.

Dear friends, this isn’t a cheerleader post on how to love Valentine’s Day as a single woman. Our longings are infinitely deeper than that. Which is why I hope you will pay attention to them this week. I along with you want to acknowledge the voids in my heart and put them before the Lord. Because He knows; And don’t forget for a moment He cares. I hope we’ll reach out to the local body of Christ, very much including our married friends, which will keep us from becoming cynical or cold to the beauty of marriage. And always I hope we’ll remember that true love is not found in someone completing us and making us happy every second of the day, but in giving our lives away.

If you’re still looking for something a little more tangible, I’d recommend escaping to the Amazon.

 

The post Valentine’s Day From A Single’s Perspective appeared first on Kelly Minter.