Like mother like daughter.

As we approach Mother’s Day, I have spent the week reflecting on what joy my son brings to my life. I have thought about the best gift my husband gives me: the ability to stay home and raise our son. I have looked through pictures and smiled and laughed as I remembered those moments. I have also thought of my mother…many women out there tell me my son ought to have slept through the night consistently by now. But not so; William awakens at least four nights a week, wanting to eat, and wanting to be held. When he “sleeps through the night” he is up and ready for the day around 5a.m. (as was the case this morning). So I have thought about this season that will pass soon enough, and about my mom’s sleepless nights…And I am grateful someone wanted to hold me when I was so young and helpless. Her favorite picture of us is of the last time she was able to pick me up–how old was I? I don’t know exactly, but I’m thinking eleven!

What a joy to pick up and hold my son. What a blessing to know that my mom enjoyed holding me.

Though I don’t expect my son to grow up and enjoy fine china, gardens and birdwatching…I do hope he’ll grow up and enjoy holding his own children some day. So much can be communicated through physical touch: security, love, affection, comfort, delight. May all of us mothers ponder what an honor and privilege it is to hold our children, and communicate these things to them.

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After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying,

“Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”  And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,  saying,

“Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”

When the soul is caught in the deep night of despair, in the seemingly endless battle with self pity or bitterness or other malady that weighs it down, worship is sometimes the last thing we run to. But if we make it the first, the sun will again shine, and the rain will feel refreshing, and our strength will return. May our hearts sing the doxology as endlessly as the birds chirping through the rain; let your heart take courage, and sing!

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Beatitude, you say? Yes, a “blessing;” beatitudes are not just from the Sermon on the Mount.

Upon rereading chapter 22 today, I was struck by the beatitude found there, and I was struck with the beauty of God’s Word once again.

Not only was He so desirous to reveal Himself to us, and to reveal parts of His plans to us, but He did so with eloquence, with style, with beauty. Literary critics can certainly appreciate the details of each book. Herein I realized God used “bookends” or “parenthesis” to emphasize what our focus must be while we read this book.

Must be?

Can I really make that claim? Do I have the authority to make that claim? I think if you study the book, the Spirit will lead you to see that this is where God put the emphasis in this book. Man has sometimes tried to look at this book as a road map for future events. Sadly in reading thus, we miss what God  wants to reveal to our hearts. (Remember when Jesus said you could not know the times or epochs? Why do you think you can figure them out???)  This book has much more hope than doom and gloom; much more blessing than tribulation; much more to eagerly anticipate than to fear.

What are these bookends? I see two sets. The bookends of beatitudes, and the bookends of a Name or Title of God.

Revelation 1:3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.

Revelation 22:7 Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.

From first to last, our souls are to be uplifted and blessed by what we read in the book of Revelation. Have you ever read this book, chapter by chapter, wondering how these words could bless you? Has this book encouraged you, strengthened your faith, reminded you of your true hope?

Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Revelation 22:12-13 “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

As we read this book, the meaning behind the name “Alpha and Omega” should shape our understanding of who God is, and what He is doing or promising to do. This is a fascinating title to open and close a book with, the opening and closing letters of the Greek alphabet. There is no one before or after God, no one whose power can trump His plans, since He is the beginning and the end. There may be days where a title like this seems daunting; especially since all mankind has authority issues from time to time. But on a day when our focus is on “blessed is he who…” rather than on crazy unknowns, this title feels like a warm hug.

My God, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords; Creator and Sustainor of all; Majestic and powerful; Beautiful and Holy, Compassionate and Gracious, a Mighty Warrior…envelopes me with His words of blessing, with His assurances of pardon and hope, with his loving arms that no one can rip me out of.

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We see in Genesis that Adam and Eve have a son named Seth, sometime after they had been living outside of the garden. And during Seth’s lifetime, after he too became a father, and then people began once again to call upon God.  (Genesis 4:25-26)

What was that like?

Throughout the Old Testament, we learn that priests and prophets had two distinct roles to play–priests were to speak to God for people while prophets were speak to people for God. Prayer was offered up we can see especially in the Psalms, but oh how different than what Adam and Eve knew. So how did Adam and Eve, or Seth, or later generations, teach their children how to pray?

Fast forward a bit…When Jesus came, his disciples asked to be taught how to pray. Many of these grew up in the synagogue learning from the Scriptures; and perhaps even grew up in families that clung to the covenant teachings found in Deuteronomy 6:4-7; 11:19 (etc.)   Yet, they needed to learn. They spent three years watching Jesus find places of solitude to spend time in prayer, and for three years He prayed with him…and they were still in need of learning as seen at the garden of Gethsemane.

O LORD! Teach us to pray! We will be learning until we are in His presence… And lately, I’m learning once again what a privilege it is to be able to run to the throne of grace boldly, with confidence. Wherein does this confidence consist…my abilities? My fabulous ideas or requests? No, and definitely no. My confidence is in Christ, who has qualified me for this, and called me, and has gone before me. He has entered the throne room, and sits there now interceding for His own, and has given us access. In my Old Testament readings lately I ran across Jeremiah 17:12, and then Jeremiah 30:21. Only by faith can we say with Jeremiah that God’s throne is our sanctuary (read: our place of rest, refuge, safety, refreshment, peace…); and only by faith can we read God’s words “who dares to approach Me” and know that He is not speaking to me. I dare come, because my life is hid in Christ, and He calls me. He speaks, and His sheep know His voice, and we find rest for our souls, and we learn of Him. We find grace to help in times of need, because He has granted us access.  Phew.

I am told by a dear friend, that her son (8 months older than my son) runs to the window when daddy comes home from work, and then quickly greets his dad when he enters the door. My own son wiggles all his limbs and squeals with delight when dad’s truck pulls up in the driveway. I can only imagine what he will be doing when he can run! May this be a picture to my soul of my ability to run to the throne of God, delighting in His grace and the abundance of love I find in Him.

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It is only recently, in my study of Revelation, that my pondering of his childlike qualities took my understanding of these chapters further.

Take a look at Revelation 4-5.

At one point in life, I remember conversations with other believers who lamented that we would spend an eternity worshipping God. They equated worship to singing songs (much like during a Sunday morning service). Who wants to do that non-stop for an eternity?!!! Right?!

As my son is going through a struggle that every healthy baby goes through, the LORD is teaching me about my struggle in relation to Him. My son has developed such a bond of trust and love with us, and the belief that he is always accepted…so much so, that he does not want to be out of our presence. He will fall asleep ok at bedtime, but after waking up hungry, he only wants to be held. We love to give in! My husband held him for two hours the other night, and our son would wake up every time his dad attempted to put him in the crib. He does the same thing with me. We’re working on this–trying to teach him to sleep better. But this struggle was a very beautiful picture of Revelation 5 to me; and the heartbeat of every Christian (even if it is hidden at the moment).

My son wants nothing more that to always be held, played with, talked to, sung to, rocked…and held some more. He desires the pleasure of his parents company all the time.

Do we desire the pleasure of God’s company this way?

My heart was warmed when I thought of it this way, rather than in the stale “theological” language of “being in God’s presence for eternity.” Don’t get me wrong, I love theology, and will never tire of reading and discussing concepts even in that old language. But it was invigorating to picture the essence of Revelation 5 in light of my son’s thrilling laughter that I would be near him. While feeding him peas the other afternoon, we laughed back and forth over…nothing! For a very long time! How I loved it! Does our Father delight in us this way? And do we let ourselves believe we could enjoy Him as much?

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The sweetest answers have come in my life when I don’t have an answer in mind before I cry out to God. Sometimes a prayer offered up to God looks more like a grocery list, or a “to do” list, or a list of demands. We are not offering up our hearts, but rather our expectations. Our prayers can easily become a request for God to do one specific action, “or else…” Or else we don’t believe you exist. Or else we don’t believe you hear us. Or else we don’t believe you are good.  Everyone has an “or else” in mind sometimes. Mine too often has been that God does not want to act on my behalf, but is wanting me to clean up my own mess.

This is where John Bunyan enters the conversation. Yes, he has been dead for several centuries now. And yes, most only know Bunyan as the author of Pilgrims Progress (to this day, a best seller). I have been discovering that he led a life similar to any of us (who are willing to admit our hearts deepest longings, our shortcomings, our needs, etc).

The joy of owning a Kindle Fire, for someone like me, is being able to very easily read several books at one time. Without even setting the device down, I can be in one book, then another, then the Bible, then back to book number one… My scattered brain enjoys this very much! So, in my not-so-frequent free time these days, I have been popping in and out of Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, by John Bunyan. This is his personal account of his coming to know Jesus, and being transformed by Him. Amazing.

Upon describing a struggle with believing Jesus could continue to love him despite his desire to sin and the ebb and flow of his own faith, I realized Bunyan’s struggle was one I am recently ebbing out of myself. The way he describes it reminded me that God has been in the business of answering prayers personally, and continues to do so today. He was attending a Sunday sermon with five points about God’s love from Song of Solomon, and the fourth point really stuck out to him:

But I got nothing by what he said at present; only when he came to the application of the fourth particular, this was the word he said; If it be so, that the saved soul is Christ’s love, when under temptation and desertion; then poor tempted soul, when thou art assaulted and afflicted with temptations, and the hidings of God’s face, yet think on these two words, ‘My love,’ still.

Bunyan wrestled with God, wondering if he was in fact God’s love. Did God really look upon him and say “My love?” He describes how these words would not leave his mind, and how they began to take root in his heart “with power” and to make a “joyful sound within my soul…” He was filled with comfort and hope, and knew for certain that if he was loved by God in this manner, then surely his sins were forgiven (the question that plagued his soul, the cry of his heart to know, the prayer he offered up to God.)

He wanted to know forgiveness, and the LORD said to Bunyan (through His written word) “My love.” Bunyan did not have a preconceived answer when he cried out. Jesus told His disciples that one of the roles of the Spirit would be to teach us truth, to remind us of His words, and to lead us in truth. I think what Bunyan describes is just that, the Spirit bearing witness to him, and applying the truth to his heart.

My own journey is not so different; I too need reassurances of God’s love. I recently had several weeks wherein I cried out with the burdens of my heart. I was weighed down heavily with struggles that I did not know the answer to. I had ideas of how to selfishly respond, and had I cried out to some people I would have found justification to act upon my selfish desires. Ultimately, my heart wanted to know more about God’s love for me, even though my main cry was against some identity issues (who am I? Why is such and such important to me? why do I feel so lonely? Should I quit going to… or partaking in…?)

One dear friend was praying for me during this time, asking the LORD to reveal to me a name or a word (remember, “who am I?” was weighing heavily on my heart) that I could cling to. And days later, He did. While I sat alone. I would have missed it if I were praying in the “Lord, do this! Thanks, Amen.” fashion.  I’m clinging to that answer still, and delighting to see how often He reveals it in His word, confirming to my heart that He loves me, and that His love will never change. Ten years ago, I found myself in a similar situation; the LORD gave me a picture to cling to, a scene. His words came alive in my mind and I painted (well, finger painted if I am to be brutally honest) that scene. It will never leave me, and when doubts arise I recall the gift of God showing me His desire for me in that way.

What words has the LORD whispered to your heart? Have you ever wondered if within His word is something actually for you? I pray you will be adventurous in your prayer life, asking the Spirit to reveal great and personal things to you, from deep within the heart of God.

For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.  For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.  1 Corinthians 2:10-13

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They walked with God, they saw Him, and He gave them everything they could ever want or need. Want. Or need.

They had the perfect love. They experienced God’s love, and loved one another. Their love was full, satisfying, and not marred by selfishness, greed, envy, anger, self-protective ways (i.e. hiding feelings, building walls, cold shoulder, looking out for number one, fear, etc).

They never had to work in ways that felt like work. Their food had no adverse reactions in their bodies (no high cholesterol, no high blood pressure, no diabetes, no obesity…) Work was fun. Work was enjoyable, and shared, as they tended the garden.

There was no fear. Ever. Of anything. (not lions, tigers, or bears)

All through the OT, God addresses the longing inside man that wanted to return to Eden. Perhaps this is why Isaiah 51:3 has resonated in my heart for years, in which God promises to turn all our “waste places” like Eden. Total redemption, as He will make everything crummy in my life perfect and whole and beautiful (keep in mind that I am not saying this promise has been fulfilled in my life, but that I know it will be fulfilled one day).

How does God address this longing? What is the longing? Sometimes we have numbed our souls to the point of not noticing the longing, or believing that we long for temporal things (like food, a party, a promotion at work, a vacation, a new wardrobe, perfect children, a perfect marriage, the home all our neighbors envy…you know what you wish for, it may or may not be in this short list).

While reading through Revelation it hit me. The promise Jesus proclaims He will fulfill as He ushers in the new heaven and new earth is that He will be our God, we will be His people, and He will dwell among us. There will be no fear, He will grant the security we have always wanted. We will experience unbridled joy and peace, and will not know pain or suffering or hatred or anything else opposed to love.

He will dwell among us, and our access to Him will be continuous, it will be the full and satisfying relationship we have been made to enjoy. As I pondered this, I could not help but think of Adam and Eve, as they walked in the garden with God, and talked with Him. During some of the darkest times in my life, all I have wanted was to crawl up into my heavenly father’s lap, to speak with Him freely as Adam and Eve must have; and this is the promise that those longings will be fulfilled.

God with us.

Our hope, heaven; far better than a return to the garden of Eden. A new Eden.  One that can never be marred. With love that can never be ruined. When we shall see Him, and be like Him…

Does this encourage your soul? There are days when my honest answer to that question is “NO!”  We numb our souls, and the effect is to not know what we were made to enjoy. To not be able to hope. We hope in what is sure, not what we are not sure will happen. Hence this promise, all through Scripture…and finally here in Revelation Jesus tells us the fulfillment of that promise is coming soon…

So for some reading, check out this non-exhaustive list of places to find this promise in Scripture:

Revelation 21:1-4

Exodus 6:7, 29:45; Leviticus 26:11-13

2 Corinthians 6:16

Jeremiah 7:23; Jeremiah 11:4; Jeremiah 24:7; Jeremiah 30:22; Jeremiah 31:33

Ezekiel 11:20; Ezekiel 14:11; Ezekiel 36:28; Ezekiel 37:27

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Celebrating the Gift of African American Spirituals through Expressive Calligraphy

By Timothy R Botts

I love music, and meaningful songs. The LORD has oftentimes used music to draw me to Himself, to reassure my soul of deep truths, to grant me joy or peace during life’s chaos. So naturally, I jumped at the chance to read a book with both the beauty of song and of visual art. Accompanying each song and calligraphic art piece is also some Scripture or reflection that accentuates the theme of the song. The book is organized in four categories: The Bible Story, Times of Trouble, True Testimony and Heaven Bound. This is a delightful book to keep on hand for times of meditation, my little son even enjoys looking at the artwork while I sing the songs. The only complaint I have is that the music is not included. We are already steeped in a generation that is not learning how to read music (songs are often sung with only words flashed on a screen). So, unless you already know the tune to all of these songs you will not be able to sing them–you will be left to read them as one would poetry. The words will live on in this beautiful collection of songs, but the songs themselves will not be sung by future generations stumbling upon this book.

I would like to thank Tyndale House Publishers for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book.

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“See.” Isn’t that a curious word. I used this word in many of my papers written for classes in my Master’s program. Many times I was reminded by my professor, Dr. John Morrison, that I was using words like “see” and “show” incorrectly. To see is usually something we do with our eyes, to show is to display something for someone else to view with their eyes. Jesus did not often conform to this usage, much of our visual world He used as parable for the spiritual realms, the unseen. I’ve been hopping through the book of John, studying how Jesus spoke about His words, His Word, His teachings, His commands, the prophets and the law. This began as I was irritated by someone’s words about not wanting “doctrine, theology, Scripture…” but wanting Jesus. My heart sinks when people try to separate the Word of God from the Word made flesh. Unless you know Him, it makes no sense–but if you do know Jesus then you must admit He claimed to be the Word of God, He alone made God manifest to His people. Why does it make no sense? And why do we challenge it when we are in the midst of some of life’s troubles?

Without the light of Christ in our hearts, we are in the dark, we cannot see let alone understand. If we cannot see or understand, then our best efforts to interpret the world around us are in vain. Yes, we can understand how life seems to work; we have a sense of what ought to be but isn’t (“that’s not fair!” etc) and we have longings that lead us to believe life has a purpose. But in the dark, that is all we have.

“I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.” John 12:46

“Whoever sees Me see Him who sent Me.”  John 12:45

“For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:6

“And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts…” 2 Peter 1:19

To see Jesus, we cannot choose either side of the pendulum, this is what the Spirit reminded me of this week as I studied, pondered, and eventually let go of my pride (which I mistook for a desire to love what is right). One side says it loves the Word so much that our concern is for the Word; but they end up separating the words from their God, and worshiping their understanding of the words found in Scripture. The other side of the pendulum swing is to fight against the so-called-Pharisees who “love” the words so much by walking away from the Word. They want to hear from Jesus but demand to do so apart from His words. They crave experience and closeness and think it can only be had away from what they deem “head knowledge.”

To see Jesus is not to take either side, but to realize our God created us as rational beings with faculties for understanding knowledge and then Who spoke in understandable ways. We do well to read His words and cling to them, to hide them in our hearts, to let our mouths never be without them, to study them and meditate upon them and love the God who spoke to us in so many ways. To see Jesus we also need to admit humbly that without the Spirit of truth, we know nothing, and we will twist His words. He is at work in us to shed understanding on the words we read, to speak so lovingly to us in that still-small-voice of His as we pray; but never in contradiction or addition to His Word. We ought not to crave an experience more than we crave Him.

For a little light reading, I highly recommend a sermon by Jonathan Edwards, on “A Divine and Supernatural Light…” (free to Kindle users!). I cannot agree with his dualism, but this is a very encouraging read.

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The Battle for the Moral Heart of America

By: R. Albert Mohler Jr.

I was delighted to see this book offered by Multnomah Waterbrook Press. This author is very knowledgable, has a deep passion for both the Word of God and the people of God, and both of these traits come out in his writing. This book is no exception. He writes for the “common man” though, so this book is great for all ages, and for all who are seeking to learn about ethics from a Christian perspective. This isn’t your typical ethics textbook though, he tackles very up-to-date topics. Each chapter is on a different topic of interest, so the book does not necessarily have to be read from cover to cover. The chapter on the public school system piqued my interest, as a parent who will one day be making the decision on how to best educate my child. He covers such diverse topics as natural disasters and our response, political involvement, science, medicine, the beginning of life, the end of life, character, relating to people of other religions, and many more. This book will both challenge your thinking, enlighten you, and encourage you as you live your day-to-day life.

I would like to thank WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for giving me a free copy of this book to review as a part of their review program.

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