When GOD shows up

There are times in my life when GOD shows up and it is unmistakably Him. It can happen in a conversation with someone (divine appointment), an answer to prayer, an idea, or a coincidence. Most recently, God showed up in the last days of my mother’s life.

Mom was 94 and had been in hospice for about nine months. Hers was a slow decline, which was both fortune and unfortunate: fortunate in that we had time to say goodbye; unfortunate in that we had to watch her decline.

In the last month of her life, there were times that she didn’t recognize me when I visited. One time, specifically, when I went with my daughters, Mom was hospitable but distant, simply humoring us–whoever we were–until we left. The last time I had lunch with her, a week before her death, it was different. She was awake, alert, and happy to see me. She recognized me and ate all the lunch (Arby’s classic roast beef sandwich) I’d brought for her. She downed a full Diet Dr. Pepper. We called my brother and the three of us had a nice chat–the first one in a while, because I didn’t call my brother when my mom wasn’t doing well or didn’t recognize us. It was just like pre-hospice times. In retrospect, I should have known that visit was a gift from God. One last chance to be with my mom before her passing.

A week later, she had the last of what had been several minor strokes. With each one, she’d bounce back in an hour or so but take a hit cognitively. I had no reason to think this one would be different until hospice called the next morning. She’d been unresponsive for sixteen hours. “This is the one we’ve been waiting for,” the hospice nurse told me. “She won’t come back from this.”

I spent that day in her room, first with my daughters and then with my husband. It was a Friday, and school had been canceled for the day because Houston was anticipating a freeze. Another God thing: my daughters were able to see their grandmother on the last peaceful day of her life. Mom didn’t move other than to make a face whenever they gave her what must have been very bad tasting medicine. When they roused her, I would talk to her and let her know we were there. One time I asked her, “Are you tired?” and she said. “Yes.” The last conversation with my mom.

Saturday, I knew when I walked in that day would be her last. Her breathing had changed. Gone were the restful snores from the previous day. I spent the morning in her room, just her and I. Knowing her love of music, I played hymns on my cell phone. The first one that came on at random happened to be her favorite. Another affirmation from God. I dosed in her reclining chair. At some point, my husband called me–I don’t remember why–and that woke me. After we got off the phone, I looked at Mom and knew it was time. I was there, awake, at her side when she left us. It’s funny how that is how I always pictured it, and it came to pass because God is good and knew that was what I needed. I would have missed it except for that phone call from my husband.

God was even in the funeral arrangements. Through a series of closed doors, recommendations, and cupcakes, I ended up in the right funeral home. Mom was buried at the National Cemetery in Houston on a lovely winter morning. That gift, was for my brother. He said afterward he couldn’t have handled a long, indoor memorial service.

Why am I writing all this? To REMEMBER. Much like the Israelites, who were instructed to place stones as memorials when God had done great things, I write this blog post to be a memorial stone. There are times when our faith is tested, when we might doubt if God is good, if He is there, if He cares. In those times, I look back to these times. It’s worth memorializing all the many ways He showed Himself to me.

Thank you, God. And tell my mom I miss her.

It was there at Gilgal that Joshua piled up the twelve stones taken from the Jordan River. Then Joshua said to the Israelites, “In the future your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Then you can tell them, ‘This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ For the Lord your GOD dried up the river right before your eyes, and He kept it dry until you were all crossed over. He did this so all the nations of the earth might know that the Lord’s hand is powerful, and so you might fear the Lord your GOD forever.”

~Joshua 4:20-24

I’m back

It’s been about 3 weeks since I’ve posted. (Don’t judge). Some good things have happened–I got a new Bible! But after 3 weeks of not being in the Word, things began to degrade in my spirit.

A feeling of unrightness.

A progressively bad attitude.

Depression.

Uncharitable thoughts which led me to a crisis of faith, not in God, but in leadership.

Fortunately, we met with some of our small group members yesterday afternoon, and I got clarity on the root of my issues. For me, it comes down to whether I can accept the limitations of others. The answer is that I can, once I realize what they are. Since I had no clue what was bothering me, I couldn’t make a conscious decision to let it go and redefine my boundaries. All vague, I know, but there you have it.

The biggest key, however, is refocusing on Jesus and getting back in God’s Word. A feeling of rightness restored. Peace in my spirit. An improved attitude. Hope. Charitable thoughts towards others.

Blessings on your day, my friends.

 

1 Kings 11: Jeroboam, rhymes with Rehoboam

Things that make you go hmmm…

Rereading 1 Kings 11 this morning, I realized that like David, God sent a prophet to Jeroboam to tell him he would become king of ten of the tribes of Israel (the northern ones). In fact, God made the same promise to him that he made to David and Solomon:

If you listen to what I tell you and follow my ways and do whatever I consider to be right, and if you obey my decrees and commands, as my servant David did, then I will always be with you. I will establish an enduring dynasty for you as I did for David, and I will give Israel to you.” v38

I always thought it was interesting that Jeroboam (king of the northern tribes) rhymed with Rehoboam, Solomon’s son and king of Judah. If for no other reason that it makes it easy to memorize. Who were kings when the nation of Israel split? Jeroboam and Rehoboam. Nice pneumonic there.

Unfortunately, neither -boam does a good job obeying God and so begins the end of the monarchy of Israel. It will take a long time to fall, but Solomon’s refusal to follow God with his whole heart was the beginning of the end.

What can we learn from Solomon, Rehoboam, and Jeroboam? For me, this morning, I think it’s to not squander the opportunities God gives us. Don’t spurn the blessings of obedience. What is God asking you to do today? Will you do it?

 

1 Kings 10: The Queen of Sheba

One thing I never realized until reading Tosca Lee’s book The Legend of Sheba: Rise of a Queen, was that historians believe Queen Balkir’s son was sired by Solomon. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, since he clearly had numerous wives and concubines, what was one more? And the romance…a dashing King, a legendary Queen…

But seriously. It is notable that she came over 1,200 miles to visit him for the purposes of making an alliance (between countries). Apparently, testing his wisdom was a way to determine whether a foreign monarch could be trusted to remain loyal and to make the correct moral and tactical considerations.

What is notable is that by visiting with Solomon, Balkir correctly recognized that it was God who provided wisdom to Solomon. As Dr. Thomas L. Constable observes, “In her visit we see Israel fulfilling its God-given purpose of bringing the Gentiles to Yahweh.” God set apart Israel as His holy people. It was by their example others were supposed to recognize that God was GOD and worship Him. Just like people are supposed to know God because of our words and actions.

Someone – I can’t remember if it was a pastor or a Christian radio DJ – put the question to his listeners, if someone were to hang around you for a day, how long would it take them to figure out you were a Christian without you telling them?

Be blessed, friends, and let God’s light shine through you in every word and deed as you go about your way today.

Psalm 136: His faithful love endures forever

 

I couldn’t get this song out of my head this morning while trying to read this psalm. And then when I did, I kept putting the words of the psalm to the song. LOL.

So enjoy this throwback for today.

Twenty-six times in Psalm 136 (once for every verse), it says

His faithful love endures forever.

Amen?

2 Chronicles 7: Why is it so hard to obey?

So God answered Solomon’s prayer with conditions. Much like we do as parents, God gave Solomon (and the nation of Israel) two choices.

1. Obey (or repent and obey) and things will be wonderful.
2. Disobey and serve other Gods and things will be horrible.

Easy, right?

Wrong. This is the same choice God gave the Israelites over and over in the Old Testament. “Serve me only and obey my commands.” Yet over and over again, the Israelites chose to disobey.

Why is it that it is so hard for people to choose the better option? I don’t think it’s that we think option 2 is better, it’s just that we can’t clearly see the consequences of our actions. I don’t wake up in the morning and say to myself, “Time to sin!” I just get busy doing things and forget about God. Or I fool myself into thinking I’m doing what he wants me to do.

I think this is the appeal of Amish fiction. (Stay with me here). For those of us who live in an age of technology and hedonism, the Amish way of life seems simple. I think in the back of our minds, we think that if life were less complicated, choosing option 1 would be easier.

I’m pretty sure it didn’t get any easier than the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve? They chose option 1. Which tells me we need to fight our human nature tooth and toenail, no matter what.

We still have two choices.

1. A relationship with Christ Jesus.
2. Burning in the pit of hell for eternity.

Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. ~1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

2 Chronicles 6: Hear and Forgive

Still reading about Solomon’s dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem. He prayed this massive public prayer (anyone notice that no one prays that long anymore?) and I thought what he asked for was interesting. This is the verse that first caught my attention:

May you hear the humble and earnest requests from me and your people Israel when we pray toward this place. Yes, hear us from heaven where you live, and when you hear, forgive. ~2 Chr 6:21

It grabbed my attention because Solomon is asking for God to watch over the Temple and listen to his requests and the requests of the people of Israel. I expected him to ask God to grant the requests, but instead the first thing he asks is for God’s forgiveness.

This request sets the tone for the rest of the prayer. Solomon asks God to

• Hear and judge (v23) – when someone claims innocence
• Hear and forgive (v25) – when Israel is defeated because the nation has sinned
• Hear and forgive (v 27) – when there is drought because the nation has sinned
• Hear and forgive (v 30) – when there is famine, plague, locusts, or the nation is besieged
• Hear and grant (v33) – foreigner’s requests
• Hear and uphold (v34) – when there is war
• Hear and uphold, forgive (v39) – when Israel is conquered and in exile

Solomon’s prayer is part prophetic because all of these things come to pass, and probably based on Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 where God delineates the punishments for disobedience.

It makes me think of how many of our prayers are “hear and grant” when they should really be “hear and forgive.”

1 Kings 8: Massive animal slaughter

When I read accounts from the Old Testament about offerings it makes me cringe.

There before the Ark, King Solomon and the entire community of Israel sacrificed so many sheep, goats, and cattle that no one could keep count! ~1 Kings 8:5

The the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices to the LORD. Solomon offered to the LORD a peace offering of 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep and goats. ~1 Kings 8:62

It seems like a waste that so many animals would be slaughtered. Today I went back to Leviticus 7 and read about peace offerings. I’m guessing these for the temple would fall under the heading of voluntary offerings.

If you bring an offering to fulfill a vow or as a voluntary offering, the meat must be eaten on the same day the sacrifice is offered, but whatever is left over may be eaten on the second day. And meat left over until the third day must be completely burned up. ~Leviticus 7:16-17

So really, the dedication of the Temple was a huge tailgate. Over the course of 14 days, all Israel gathered and had the biggest barbeque anyone could imagine in honor of the LORD. They ate some of the meat, parts of it went to the priests, the fat was burned up, the blood was spattered, and anything left over was completely burned.

A two-week national holiday where most of the food is supplied by the government sounds like the Super Bowl on steroids.

Isn’t it just like God to provide for us while we sacrifice to Him?

From now on when I read about animal sacrifices, I won’t see it as a senseless waste. Like tithing, these offerings were meant to support the priests (church) financially while also blessing the givers. A fiscal means to make God a priority in our lives. And like Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice, a means to draw us closer to God.

 

1 Kings 7 – The Molten Sea

Happy Easter Monday! Last week was crazy. I clocked 30 hours Friday-Sunday because I work at a church. It was a fantastic weekend, but busy, busy. I’m happy to have today off to do things like read the Bible, do laundry, and write. 🙂

I don’t have anything insightful to say today. I read about the building and furnishing of Solomon’s temple, specifically about all the things that were cast from brass. I was specifically intrigued by The Sea, or The Molten Sea, as some call it. It was 7.5 feet tall, 15 feet across, and the cup portion was 3 inches thick. It could hold ~16,500 gallons of water. It rested on the back of 12 bronze oxen. The priests washed in it.

The thing that is puzzling me: how did the priests wash in a basin that was at least 7.5 feet tall? Did they stand on the backs of the oxen? Did they have a step stool? I’ve spent a few minutes looking at pictures but no one seems to have addressed this issue.

The other thing I found interesting was the size of some of these brass-cast pieces. In addition to the gargantuan Sea, the brass worker Huram also cast two ginormous pillars for the temple – 27 feet tall and 18 feet in circumference (that’s a diameter of ~6 ft if I did my math correctly). He also made the wash basins in one piece. I would have liked to have watched him do that.

Just for fun, here is a short video on the casting process if you’re interested.

 

2 Thessalonians: Subliminal Messages

 

There are a lot of notable things in Paul’s second letter to the church at Thessalonika, Greece. He writes about hardship and suffering. He writes about events prior to Christ’s return. He writes about how believers should live.

The things that kept grabbing my eye as I read the letter today were Paul’s many references to what “God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” grant believers:

• Grace and peace (1:2)
• Justice (1:5, 6)
• (Promise of) Rest (1:7)
• Ability to live a worthy life (1:11)
• Power to accomplish good things (1:11)
• Grace (1:12)
• Love, grace, eternal comfort, a wonderful hope (2:16)
• Comfort, strength in every good thing (2:17)
• Strength, protection from the evil one (3:3)
• Full understanding/expression of the love of God, patient endurance (3:5)
• Peace at all times and in every situation (3:16)
• Grace (3:18)

Paul’s theology just oozes out of him when he writes. It’s like subliminal messaging. As he speaks about church issues, there’s this running reminder of all the things God is and does for us. And it didn’t escape my notice that grace made the list four separate times. 🙂