Today's post is a little unusual. I usually plan carefully, organize my thoughts, write, revise, edit...this time my emotions are just so full, I must share my heart. Today was a work day for the Women's Ministry. We cleaned the parsonage where our new youth pastor and his family will be living. I worked along side women who probably have NO IDEA how deeply I love and cherish them. And God used them to touch my life today. I was overwhelmed by their willingness to work so hard and so long on really big and really difficult tasks, dirty smelly jobs, as well as simple, little menial tasks. I saw women work even though it hurt. I saw women work until they were drenched in sweat. I saw team work and unity. I heard laughter. I saw love, and I saw servanthood. Some of the things I witnessed had me in tears as I ate lunch with my family.
Then after lunch I did some of my homework for Community Bible study. We're studying Philippians still, but we're only in chapter 2. We've already learned much about servanthood and humility and have talked much about unity. Today there was an added aspect for me. It was the depth of love Paul and his "fellow workers" and fellow "servants" had for one another. And in several passages within Paul's epistles, the talks about the "work" of the Gospel. I don't know if I'm making this all come together and make sense to anyone, but everything I read described so vividly what I experienced today with those six special women of my church. They were doing just as Paul longed for the Philippians to do. They were humble, willing servants - doing the WORK of the Gospel and God's Kingdom - doing it without arguing or complaining. They operated in unity, they were one in spirit and purpose. When I read the Scriptures in which Paul called other believers his fellow workers, I thought of them and felt honored to be called a "fellow worker" to these servants. I love them so much! I sincerely love serving our King with my fellow workers.
I have experienced Phil. 1:3 today regarding these ladies! Every time I tearfully remember them, I thank God for them. If any of you who worked with me today read this, thank you for being an example to me of humility, servanthood, unity, and love. You are a picture of Christ to me.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
No Broken Bones
Two Sundays ago I sat down at my dining room table to do my homework from Community Bible Study. It was just the first week of our study of Philippians. I was really touched by Paul's way of preserving unity within the Body of Christ. I finished my homework, closed the book, and within minutes the phone rang. My husband called to let me know our eight-year old son, Cameron, had broken his arm. I jumped into "mommy-mode" and was out the door to meet the rest of my family and race to the emergency room. As the events of that day progressed, God spoke much to me about unity in the Body of Christ...all because of a broken arm.
Cameron had been riding a Rip Stick, which is a glorified skateboard. Some have called it "Death on Wheels." Since Cameron is such a dare devil, I figured he'd been riding down some very steep hill to cause such a fall. The truth is, however, is was on FLAT ground! He hit a rock, flew off of the Rip Stick, and landed on his right arm. Once we had X-rays, we found out he had a Buckle Fracture in his right forearm. They wrapped it up in a sling, told us to keep his arm lifted up for a few days, then come back on Friday to get a cast put on for six weeks.
The whole time we were dealing with this, a verse kept running through my mind. It was Ephesians 4:3, which says to "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." Before long, I realized God was teaching me something. See, when a group of believers experiences a lack of unity, it's like a broken arm in the Body of Christ. It's a break in the unity. A broken bone is a very painful kind of injury. In fact, Cameron was in so much pain, that his face didn't even have its normal coloring. That took me right back to Ephesians 4. The chapter ends with verses 30-32, "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling, and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." When we engage in these kinds of ungracious ways, we grieve God's Spirit.
In addition to the pain, a broken bone also causes some debilitation. A break of unity in the Body debilitates as well. We were meant to be working, serving, reaching out to the lost and helping carry the burdens of the afflicted. The Body can't do that with a broken arm. Satan tempts us to enter into conflict with brothers and sisters in Christ to distract us and deter us. He desires to kill, steal, and destroy the work of God's Kingdom. A broken bone needs the immediate attention, care, and treatment of a physician. The patient must then follow the instructions of the doctor if he or she expects proper healing to take place. I have to wonder how many times there is a broken bone in the Body, but we don't take it to the Great Physician immediately for His care and treatment. We are like Cameron. We sometimes keep it all covered up, refusing to let the doctor touch it! And even if we do take it to Him, many times we fail to follow His instructions. That may be why we don't always experience the healing we so long for and that God desires. Without proper healing, the pain and debilitation don't really go away. We just get used to operating in pain and debilitation - and after a while it just seems like the normal way of doing things.
It's interesting to me that the only instructions we received for caring for Cameron's broken arm for the fist five days was to keep his arm "lifted up,", or elevated. That is certainly wise advice for any of us who sense a break in the unity of a group of believers. But what really struck me, was that this was the ONLY thing we were told to do for a while. I strongly believe that when we sense conflict, we should immediately lift it up in prayer and wait until God gives direction before acting on anything.
After the initial period of "lifting up" Cameron's arm, he now has a cast. Both he and my husband have asked me, "How does a cast cause a broken arm to heal?" Unless I've just misunderstood this, the cast DOESN'T heal the fracture at all! It only protects it while it heals...or rather, while God heals it. This reminded me of a common misconception about conflict and pain. Many times I've heard it said, that "time heals." But, no - time does not heal. Over time, if we cooperate with Him, GOD CAN HEAL. He can bring healing in any conflict, any relationship. If we don't let Him work as Healer, then over time the injury will only remain, if not worsen. So, what does the cast represent? I believe it represents grace. Ephesians 4:7 says that "to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it." He has work for us to do. Grace enables us to do that. When there's a break in unity, there is extra work to do. So, He apportions more grace. He surrounds those involved with the sufficient grace they need to follow His instructions in peacemaking. We are surrounded by grace. Grace to admit our own faults. Grace to forgive others' faults. Grace to heal. And even grace to protect the Body from further injury.
I had never heard of a Buckle fracture before now. It heals without having to be set or manipulated. It's a type of incomplete fracture found mainly in children, because their bones are still so soft. This really convicted me! This reminds us that disunity in the Body of Christ is a sign of immaturity! Ephesians 4:13-16 says, "...until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." It seems to me that if we follow this godly counsel, we will have practiced some safety measures to prevent broken bones in the Body. If we're mature, we'll speak the Truth in love, striving to build up and strengthen the body, not injure it by causing disunity. Cameron fell because of a rock in the path. Sounds like a "stumbling block," doesn't it? By acting immaturely, we can easily become a stumbling block. I realize that prevention can be very difficult, "expensive" even. But it's even more expensive when faced with the intervention! It wasn't cheap for us to take Cameron to the ER, and I'm not sure what we'll pay for this cast or its removal. A few pads and a helmet would've cost much less, I'm sure! In order to help prevent a break in unity in the Body of Christ, we will be asked to die to self - to crucify our flesh again and again. If we truly follow Jesus Christ, we will suffer for Him (Phil. 1:29). He asks that, "whatever happens," we live a life worthy of the Gospel (Phil. 1:27) and worthy of the calling we have received (Eph. 4:1). Indeed, "if it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone" (Romans 12:18).
"Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace" (Eph. 4:3), because the Body of Christ was never meant to have a broken bone! In Isaiah 52:13-14, along with much of chapter 53, God told us in advance, that Jesus would be raised, lifted up, and highly exalted. But first He would be beaten, pierced, crushed, and wounded until His appearance was disfigured and His form marred beyond human likeness. Yet we know from Psalm 34:20 and John 19:36, that in spite of all this brutality,
Cameron had been riding a Rip Stick, which is a glorified skateboard. Some have called it "Death on Wheels." Since Cameron is such a dare devil, I figured he'd been riding down some very steep hill to cause such a fall. The truth is, however, is was on FLAT ground! He hit a rock, flew off of the Rip Stick, and landed on his right arm. Once we had X-rays, we found out he had a Buckle Fracture in his right forearm. They wrapped it up in a sling, told us to keep his arm lifted up for a few days, then come back on Friday to get a cast put on for six weeks.
The whole time we were dealing with this, a verse kept running through my mind. It was Ephesians 4:3, which says to "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." Before long, I realized God was teaching me something. See, when a group of believers experiences a lack of unity, it's like a broken arm in the Body of Christ. It's a break in the unity. A broken bone is a very painful kind of injury. In fact, Cameron was in so much pain, that his face didn't even have its normal coloring. That took me right back to Ephesians 4. The chapter ends with verses 30-32, "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, brawling, and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." When we engage in these kinds of ungracious ways, we grieve God's Spirit.
In addition to the pain, a broken bone also causes some debilitation. A break of unity in the Body debilitates as well. We were meant to be working, serving, reaching out to the lost and helping carry the burdens of the afflicted. The Body can't do that with a broken arm. Satan tempts us to enter into conflict with brothers and sisters in Christ to distract us and deter us. He desires to kill, steal, and destroy the work of God's Kingdom. A broken bone needs the immediate attention, care, and treatment of a physician. The patient must then follow the instructions of the doctor if he or she expects proper healing to take place. I have to wonder how many times there is a broken bone in the Body, but we don't take it to the Great Physician immediately for His care and treatment. We are like Cameron. We sometimes keep it all covered up, refusing to let the doctor touch it! And even if we do take it to Him, many times we fail to follow His instructions. That may be why we don't always experience the healing we so long for and that God desires. Without proper healing, the pain and debilitation don't really go away. We just get used to operating in pain and debilitation - and after a while it just seems like the normal way of doing things.
It's interesting to me that the only instructions we received for caring for Cameron's broken arm for the fist five days was to keep his arm "lifted up,", or elevated. That is certainly wise advice for any of us who sense a break in the unity of a group of believers. But what really struck me, was that this was the ONLY thing we were told to do for a while. I strongly believe that when we sense conflict, we should immediately lift it up in prayer and wait until God gives direction before acting on anything.
After the initial period of "lifting up" Cameron's arm, he now has a cast. Both he and my husband have asked me, "How does a cast cause a broken arm to heal?" Unless I've just misunderstood this, the cast DOESN'T heal the fracture at all! It only protects it while it heals...or rather, while God heals it. This reminded me of a common misconception about conflict and pain. Many times I've heard it said, that "time heals." But, no - time does not heal. Over time, if we cooperate with Him, GOD CAN HEAL. He can bring healing in any conflict, any relationship. If we don't let Him work as Healer, then over time the injury will only remain, if not worsen. So, what does the cast represent? I believe it represents grace. Ephesians 4:7 says that "to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it." He has work for us to do. Grace enables us to do that. When there's a break in unity, there is extra work to do. So, He apportions more grace. He surrounds those involved with the sufficient grace they need to follow His instructions in peacemaking. We are surrounded by grace. Grace to admit our own faults. Grace to forgive others' faults. Grace to heal. And even grace to protect the Body from further injury.
I had never heard of a Buckle fracture before now. It heals without having to be set or manipulated. It's a type of incomplete fracture found mainly in children, because their bones are still so soft. This really convicted me! This reminds us that disunity in the Body of Christ is a sign of immaturity! Ephesians 4:13-16 says, "...until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." It seems to me that if we follow this godly counsel, we will have practiced some safety measures to prevent broken bones in the Body. If we're mature, we'll speak the Truth in love, striving to build up and strengthen the body, not injure it by causing disunity. Cameron fell because of a rock in the path. Sounds like a "stumbling block," doesn't it? By acting immaturely, we can easily become a stumbling block. I realize that prevention can be very difficult, "expensive" even. But it's even more expensive when faced with the intervention! It wasn't cheap for us to take Cameron to the ER, and I'm not sure what we'll pay for this cast or its removal. A few pads and a helmet would've cost much less, I'm sure! In order to help prevent a break in unity in the Body of Christ, we will be asked to die to self - to crucify our flesh again and again. If we truly follow Jesus Christ, we will suffer for Him (Phil. 1:29). He asks that, "whatever happens," we live a life worthy of the Gospel (Phil. 1:27) and worthy of the calling we have received (Eph. 4:1). Indeed, "if it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone" (Romans 12:18).
"Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace" (Eph. 4:3), because the Body of Christ was never meant to have a broken bone! In Isaiah 52:13-14, along with much of chapter 53, God told us in advance, that Jesus would be raised, lifted up, and highly exalted. But first He would be beaten, pierced, crushed, and wounded until His appearance was disfigured and His form marred beyond human likeness. Yet we know from Psalm 34:20 and John 19:36, that in spite of all this brutality,
NOT ONE OF HIS BONES WAS BROKEN!
May this be true in His Body today! May there be grace and peace and unity in the Body of Christ!
In closing, I'd like to thank our church family. As we headed toward the ER, many of our church family members called to offer their support. Three different people offered to keep our other three children while we went to the hospital, and one family even offered to pay our ER co-pay! Then when we got home, we had many phone messages and emails from the Body of Christ calling to let us know they'd been praying for Cameron. Thank you for lifting up the Name of Jesus on our behalf. He used you to surround us with His grace and love.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
He Hears our Cries
Last night at Bible Study I shared some of our adoption story. It's been a long time since I shared some of those details. It always amazes me how much emotion it evokes in me after all this time. I noticed that the few details I shared evoked a lot of emotion in the other ladies in the class as well. Today I just wanted to share some of a passage of Scripture that God used to comfort me during the seven years of waiting for Him to work out the details of our adoption.
While waiting, our adoption agency very wisely had us read up on the research about life in Chinese orphanages and the long-term effects on the children. We all know that most babies cry to communicate when they have a need. Mommy hears that cry and then comes to meet the need. This teaches the child, that when in need, he/she need only cry out. Babies in orphanages typically have a very different experience, however, from what I've read. I learned that after many, many hours, days, months of nobody coming to meet their needs when they cry, the babies usually lose hope of anyone coming to their rescue. So, they quit crying. This absolutely breaks my heart, because it means that in their little spirits- they have given up. They have no hope. It was especially hard for me to know that my baby girl was somewhere in China with nobody to hear her cry and come to meet her needs. The fear this creates in a child can leave effects for a lifetime! God used these verses from Psalms 10 to comfort me.
Psalms 10: 12, 14-15, 17-18: "Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless...But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless...You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, definding the fatherless, and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more."
Isn't God so GOOD! He heard Jenna-Hope (then called Mei Cong) every single time she cried! He knew her every need, and as she cried, He listened and He ENCOURAGED her and DEFENDED her! I believe He even "took" her "in hand-" holding her while He worked out the details to bring us to her.
Ladies, this is all true for us as well! He hears our cry! Every time! Psalms 56:8 even tells us that God collects our every tear in a bottle! We have never been overlooked, because He never takes His eyes off of us - He sees our trouble and our grief. He takes us in hand, too! He knows our needs and the desires of our hearts. He encourages His baby girls. Whatever happens, and no matter how long you feel your heart has been crying out to the Father, DO NOT GIVE UP HOPE! You are so dearly loved.
One last thing before I end for now. I'd like to encourage any mamas of young children. Sometimes it seems like those little ones cry SO MUCH! They cry at night, they cry when they're wet, cold, hungry, etc. Then later they cry when they don't get their way or brother/sister takes their toys. But please be encouraged that every single time you respond to the cries of your precious child, you are showing them the face of God! You are teaching that child the faithfulness and tender compassion of our Loving God! And every time they cry again, you can know that you have given your child hope. You are building trust and security in the heart of your child. What a high and holy calling! Don't grow weary of doing good, there is a HARVEST! (Gal. 6:9)
Please leave me a comment - I'd love to hear from you - my adopted sisters!
In His Amazing Love,
Tina
While waiting, our adoption agency very wisely had us read up on the research about life in Chinese orphanages and the long-term effects on the children. We all know that most babies cry to communicate when they have a need. Mommy hears that cry and then comes to meet the need. This teaches the child, that when in need, he/she need only cry out. Babies in orphanages typically have a very different experience, however, from what I've read. I learned that after many, many hours, days, months of nobody coming to meet their needs when they cry, the babies usually lose hope of anyone coming to their rescue. So, they quit crying. This absolutely breaks my heart, because it means that in their little spirits- they have given up. They have no hope. It was especially hard for me to know that my baby girl was somewhere in China with nobody to hear her cry and come to meet her needs. The fear this creates in a child can leave effects for a lifetime! God used these verses from Psalms 10 to comfort me.
Psalms 10: 12, 14-15, 17-18: "Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless...But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless...You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, definding the fatherless, and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more."
Isn't God so GOOD! He heard Jenna-Hope (then called Mei Cong) every single time she cried! He knew her every need, and as she cried, He listened and He ENCOURAGED her and DEFENDED her! I believe He even "took" her "in hand-" holding her while He worked out the details to bring us to her.
Ladies, this is all true for us as well! He hears our cry! Every time! Psalms 56:8 even tells us that God collects our every tear in a bottle! We have never been overlooked, because He never takes His eyes off of us - He sees our trouble and our grief. He takes us in hand, too! He knows our needs and the desires of our hearts. He encourages His baby girls. Whatever happens, and no matter how long you feel your heart has been crying out to the Father, DO NOT GIVE UP HOPE! You are so dearly loved.
One last thing before I end for now. I'd like to encourage any mamas of young children. Sometimes it seems like those little ones cry SO MUCH! They cry at night, they cry when they're wet, cold, hungry, etc. Then later they cry when they don't get their way or brother/sister takes their toys. But please be encouraged that every single time you respond to the cries of your precious child, you are showing them the face of God! You are teaching that child the faithfulness and tender compassion of our Loving God! And every time they cry again, you can know that you have given your child hope. You are building trust and security in the heart of your child. What a high and holy calling! Don't grow weary of doing good, there is a HARVEST! (Gal. 6:9)
Please leave me a comment - I'd love to hear from you - my adopted sisters!
In His Amazing Love,
Tina
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