God

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Goodness Me

Last month, I wrote about how faith is an essential foundation for effectiveness and productivity, according to 2 Peter 1:3-8. Now I want to look at the second of God’s “Steps to Success”—goodness.

When I was growing up, my parents frequently commented on how “good” I was. It’s true that I tended to be obedient—and when I wasn’t, well, I was pretty good at not getting caught! But this isn’t the kind of “good” that Peter means.

While “good” can mean “satisfactory,” God has higher standards. I was a satisfactory child, but I certainly wasn’t good in the Biblical sense!

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Knee-Deep Farming

The cows are back!!

Well, technically they’re cattle… (in this case) cows and steers destined to be T-bone steaks and meatloaf. Forgive me if I call them all cows; it’s just easier.

For the past 18 years, we’ve lived on five acres just outside the city limits, across the street from a good-sized piece of undeveloped land. While our property is mostly Ponderosas with some grass, the spread we look out on is mostly short-grass prairie with a few trees. It’s been owned by a series of developers. I’m sure they have plans for high-density housing and strip malls, but one good side of the bad economy is that no bulldozers have yet arrived to spoil the peace and quiet of our country spot.

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Single-minded

May is migration month for many birds, and I’ve spent a significant amount of time outside lately, watching them fly north.

It truly is an amazing spectacle. I’ve seen tiny warblers (like the Yellow Warbler at left), five inches long and weighing about the same as a dime, who are working their way north from Central America to the boreal forest where they’ll nest and raise their families in the 24-hour sunshine.

Turkey Vultures soar along, perhaps from Texas or further south. Flocks of swallows return to build mud nests under our bridges and the eaves of our houses. You can see them filling intersections in town, swooping after flying insects.

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It’s All Good!

A week ago I wrote about our good friend who received an organ transplant. Much has happened since then, so I thought I should share the good news that God is amazing (just in case you hadn’t realized that yet).

Due to a series of delays, surgery didn’t begin until 27 hours after the phone call came alerting us to the possibility of a compatible donor. By the time the doctor finished at half past midnight, he (and we) had been up over 24 hours. (The same surgeon also removed the organs from the donor and accompanied them to Denver.) Finally, at 2:30 a.m. we were allowed to stop briefly in the ICU where our friend was somewhat awake and obviously in significant pain.

The next 48 hours were a struggle to find a balance between the much-needed pain medications and their side effects (primarily nausea). In addition, a nasal tube was causing gagging, intensifying the misery. Friends, family members, and others prayed earnestly for God to intervene. Things were so bad, an extra night in the ICU was added.

And then…

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Looking for a Sign

Last week I mentioned that I was trying to make a decision, but had no idea what God wanted me to do. A number of you gave me some excellent points to ponder, and I’ve been doing just that. Thinking back over all the hundreds of times God has clearly directed me, I’ve been trying to remember why I was so confident I was hearing his voice each time. Continue reading →

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Transplant

As I write this Thursday morning, one of our closest friends is being prepped for transplant surgery. After only eight weeks on a waiting list, the call came that somewhere in Colorado a young man had been critically injured in a car accident. He had signed a donor card and was a good match. What had until now been a theoretical, someday possibility suddenly became, “Let’s go, this is real!”

After talking to the transplant coordinator, our friend’s first reaction was to earnestly pray for the donor and his family. After all, we know from firsthand experience that God can bring to life even the dead, and this man was not dead yet. Our friend was more than willing to wait, should God choose to heal him. But an few hours later came another call—there was no brain function and the doctors were taking the man off life support.

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Should I Be A Quitter?

To quit or not to quit? I’ve been wavering between these two options for six months now, and I’m nowhere closer to a decision than I was last fall.

Without going into too much detail, here’s the situation. A decade ago, God led me to get involved with a wonderful group of people. I’ve been very committed over the years, spending a great deal of time and energy. As a result, I’ve contributed to a worthwhile cause, developed new skills and much-needed confidence, and seen relationships blossom. God has definitely used my involvement to both help others and to teach me and lead me in new directions.

Now, however, the situation has changed. Things aren’t so great. In fact, it’s so bad that we’ve lost close to half the volunteers we had a couple of years ago—over 50 people. No one wants to gossip (which I find both unusual and commendable!), but it’s pretty clear why people are leaving. They’re leaving for the same reason I want to leave. My question is, what does God want me to do?

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Mission Myth 4: Gimme Money

I’ve been commenting on an article by Shane Bennett that appeared several years ago in Missions Catalyst.

In his two-part post on Top Ten Myths about Missions , Bennett explained:

I want to understand how the average Lou and Sue, sitting in the pew, think about missions stuff. … From what I’ve seen there are some serious misconceptions floating around in our churches, at least some of our churches. We could call these collective assumptions, beliefs that simply don’t reflect reality, “myths.”

If you want to read all ten myths now, check out the article online. You can see my other articles on this topic by choosing God:World under “Categories” on the right-hand column of my blog page.

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God’s “Steps to Success”

On most mornings, I grab my breakfast and a cup of tea, open my Bible, and start the day with God…  so it happened that last week I, while munching on scrambled eggs and toast, I read 2 Peter 1:3, 5-8.

[Jesus’] divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness….

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I immediately fixated on that last sentence. Who wants to be ineffective and unproductive? The chart-topping sales of The Purpose-Driven Life tells us that this is a Big Deal for us believers. It is certainly a concern of mine. In fact, after our kids grew up and moved out I spent a lot of years wondering and praying about what God would have me do with the rest of my life. I felt very ineffective and unproductive, and it was quite depressing.

I should have spent more time hearing what Peter (and God through him)  had to say here.

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Thorns

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face.

Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”

John 19:1-5 (and I highly recommend
reading the rest of the chapter)

Easter Lilies have come to symbolize the resurrection of Jesus, but for Good Friday, I find the Crown of Thorns to be more appropriate. The pretty red flowers are deceitful. The rest of the plant is a collection of horrors.

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