The Prequel to Family Forever

So this is what lead up to the previous post…

Some days, life is just hard.  “Lord, I need You more than ever.”  And He meets me where I am, comforts me, heals me, fills me back up.  It was one of those days.  He met me initially in Luke 22 & 23.  I was feeling really weary (…the details don’t matter so much, and I’m sure you have personal wearying things of your own…) and I needed time in my Father’s arms.  Here’s a window into what happened.  (Backdrop: Luke 22& 23)

My sympathetic high priest

Lord, You faced tremendous stress even from a human perspective, not to mention the fact that You were going to bear the sins of the whole world.  Humanly speaking alone, it must have been awful, knowing that one of Your own was going to betray You, totally stab You in the back.  And then the ones You had poured so much into, the ones who, on all the earth, were closest to Your heart and most understood Your ways, got into an argument about which of them was the greatest.  How incredibly discouraging after all You had taught them.  Then, to know that Simon Peter was going to deny You, not once, not twice, but three times before morning.  On top of that, You knew their lives were about to get much, much harder very soon.

Were they up to it?  NO.  Would Your power in them sustain them?  YES. 

You cried and sweat blood as You fervently prayed about what You knew was coming to secure our redemption.  Your best friends couldn’t even stay awake to support You.  Then Judas came, and Peter lost His temper with the sword.  The priests, who acted as mediator between God (not realizing it was You) and the people, rejected the God to whom they prayed when He (You) stood before them.  Your ears heard Peter insist He didn’t even know anything about You.

I look to You

Friend and foe alike piled distress high upon You.   Made fun of, beaten, put through sham trials, and turned over by a spineless Pilate to the Jews to be crucified, You took it all.  For me.  To redeem me.  So I could be Your friend.  (John 15:12-15)  So You could be my Father.

You emptied Yourself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.  You humbled Yourself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  (Philippians 2:7-8)

My Lord, I am going to fix my eyes on You, the author and perfecter of my faith, You, who for the joy set before You endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  I will consider You, who endured such hostility by sinners against Yourself, so that I will not grow weary and lose heart.  (Hebrews 12:2-3)

Thank you for reminding me that sometimes I, too, must go through hard times for a greater purpose, maybe known only to You for now.  Yet none of my troubles even touch the depth of what You went through for us.  You kept Your eyes on Your purpose, on the joy to come.  Help me to do the same.  I know You can understand anything I face.  You have been tempted in every way like I have, and You overcame.  You can sympathize with me, and You comfort me like the precious Father You are.  (Hebrews 2:18)  I will hold fast my faith.  I will hold fast the confession of my hope.  I will draw near to You, to your throne of grace, confident that I will find Your mercy and grace to help me in my time of need.  (Hebrews 4:14-16)

I will not lose heart

And I now have the words to the verses for a song I’ve been writing, though there really aren't words adequate to describe these two incredibly amazing aspects of His mercy and grace--refreshing forgiveness and free access to the Father.  (If you have my CD, you will recognize the words in the chorus.)

(Verse 1) Mercy, mercy for me, for me…

How can…how can it be…it be?

You covered my sin;  (Hebrews 7:25-27; 9:11-14; 10:10-18)

You took me in—to Your family.  (Romans 8:14-17)

Now I stand without blame;  (Jude 24,25)

You took my shame;

You see me holy, beyond reproach.  (Colossians 1:21-23)

(Verse 2) Mercy, mercy for me, for me…

How can…how can it be…it be?

Forgiven is just the start;

Now You fill my heart—with unquenchable joy.  (John 16:22)

Your mercy and grace

For each day of the race

Is my confident hope at Your throne.  (Hebrews 4:14-16)

(Chorus)  O Holy God, Your blood paid my ransom;

You mercy redeemed me; I’m forgiven and free!

Once and for all, your blood gives me life.  (Hebrews 9:11-12)

Your life indestructible lives now in me!  (Acts 2:24; Hebrews 7:16; Galatians 2:20)

(Tag) I will hold fast; I will draw near;

I put my hope in You, the ever faithful One.  (Hebrews 6:19; 10:19-23)

What about you?

Friend, He died and rose for you, too, to offer you legal status: forgiven and loving sonship forever!  Will you believe it?  If you want to know more, write to me at unsmotherabledelight@gmail.com.

Do you already know Him, but feel like your joy has been hijacked?  I can’t give you some pat answer formula because there isn’t one.  But we do have His word that He will hear you.  Use your words; pour out your heart before Him, and trust that He, the real and living God, will respond in just the way you need.  The fruit of His Spirit always has been and always will be joy and peace.

Trust in Him at all times, O people;

Pour out your heart before Him;

God is a refuge for us.

Psalm 62:8

It's Enough

In the darkest and stormiest of nights and the hardest of days,

the promises of God

give sure light, a steady anchor, and unwearying wings.

Well, the season is past, but I’m still pondering.  Incidentally, I seriously doubt that Mary was ever finished pondering as long as she lived (see Luke 2:19).

Can you get your mind around this?  It finally happened!  The most anticipated event in the entire history of the world finally happened!  The long-promised Messiah arrived in the flesh.

Just knowing He’d come was enough for Simeon (See Luke 2:212-35).  Seeing the Messiah was what He was living for, waiting for.  You see, the Holy Spirit had actually revealed to him that he wouldn’t die ‘til he’d seen the Lord’s Messiah.

I’ve often wondered what it must have been like when Simeon saw Joseph and Mary walk into the temple with Jesus.  Did the Holy Spirit whisper, “See that baby being carried in just now?  He’s the One you’ve been waiting for—there’s your Messiah, Simeon!”

However He did it, the Holy Spirit made it obvious to Simeon who Jesus was, and Jesus’ parents were absolutely amazed at what Simeon said as he held Jesus in his arms and blessed God.  

For Simeon, this was enough; there was nothing greater to live for.  He’d seen the Messiah, and even if he didn’t live to see how his Messiah would accomplish everything, he trusted what God had told him.  Everything would work out the way it should.  Everything was going to be okay.

Now I’m asking myself, “Do I have that kind of faith?”  I want to have that kind of faith.  I want to be like those spoken of in Hebrews 11 who—even though they didn’t see all the final fulfillment of God’s promises in their lifetimes—died in faith, seeing and welcoming His promises from a distance.

All His precious and magnificent promises (see II Peter 1:1-4) are true.  He is faithful.  Not one of His promises has failed.  All came to pass. (I’m thinking just now of Joshua 21:45 and 23:14.)

We can’t rest in those promises, though,

if we don’t know what they are.

It’s long past time for all who claim to be God’s to know what His Word says, to really know it— not just as second-hand knowledge, but because we’ve seen it with our own eyes, and we can’t get it out of our heads.

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for,

the conviction of things not seen.”

Hebrews 11:1

It’s enough for me to have met the Messiah.  (Have you?)

And I believe He will do what He has promised.  (Do you?)

~~~~~~~

(If you've never heard the song Captain's Anthem,
now might be a good time to pause to listen.)

Transcript Season

(Shared with the IAHE blog, too)

It's transcript season at our house, and I've been reminiscing.  One of my dear girls has started her last year of high school.  We have been through so much and learned so much together.  And most of it could never be reflected on a transcript.

Oh, yes, she has learned to balance chemical equations, to make bread and berry pie, to use imaginary numbers and subordinating conjunctions.  She can play the piano and tell you who Thaddeus Kosciuszko was.  But a transcript could never reflect who she has become.

In the progress of gathering up samples of her work for a portfolio, I came across a notebook wherein lay perhaps some of her most significant work.  It was work that went far deeper than history facts or geometry proofs.  It penetrated her heart and ignited something inside her.  This work hadn't been assigned for an official class.  It was what she had done during the time she devoted to God's Word at the beginning of the day during one of her school years.  The notebook contains the notes she made as she read through the Old Testament books of Joshua and Judges.

As I read through tears of joy, I saw that she had carefully catalogued, verse by verse, what was taking place, grouped the verses into logical divisions, and summarized the content.  She made observations on the overarching themes, and then applied them to her own life and the life of our nation with incredible insight.  God challenged her to align herself with His priorities, and she said, "Yes!"  He spoke, He revealed His faithfulness, and her faith grew.  And mine grew, too, as I read what the Lord had taught her.

Contrary to popular opinions of some, studying God's Word is no dry, meaningless, intellectual exercise; it has been a living and powerful shaping force in her life.  As I observe her attitudes today and hear her speak with passion, I know that the living God who revealed Himself in those passages has molded her faith with His own hand.

As we spend each passing day with our children, let's not forget that the most relevant things they will ever learn are the spiritual truths from God's Word that will anchor them long after they've left home and long after we have moved on to heaven ahead of them.

And more rewarding than anything that could be recorded on a transcript is knowing that our children's names are recorded in the Book Of Life.

". . . You know in all your hearts and in all your souls

that not one word of all the good words

which the LORD your God spoke concerning you has failed;

all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed."

Joshua 23:14b

Tell Me Again

There are days when I desperately need to be reassured of the Lord's love and care for me.  I think David must have had the same need, because I found a verse (Psalm 35:3) where he pleads with God, "Say to my soul, 'I am your salvation.'"  I am relieved to know it's okay to ask Him to tell me again. . . and again.

It was that verse, along with some others that reassure me of His love, that inspired the song lyrics below.

Though the music is recorded on my piano; I just haven't had time to record the words with it yet so I can share it.  But maybe you'd like to ponder already the words and the verses that inspired them.

May your soul, too, be made steadfast in His love.

Verse 1

Say it again to my soul,

“I am your salvation!”                Psalm 35:3

My only hope is in You, alone;   Psalm 62:1,2,5-8; Psalm 71:5

O LORD, be my helper.              Psalm 30:10

Chorus

Who is God, but the LORD?

Who is a Rock, except our God?           Psalm 18:31

You are God; there’s no one like you.   Jeremiah 10:6; Ps. 86:8

There is no rock like our God!               Isaiah 44:6-8

He rides the heavens to my rescue,

Through the skies in His majesty.         Deut. 33:26

Eternal Father, You’re my refuge,

And underneath are Your everlasting arms!  Deut. 33:27

              

Verse 2

Say it again to my soul,

“Cast your every care on Me.”        Psalm 55:22; I Peter 5:7

You’re never weak, never weary;    Isaiah 40:28

And I know you care for me.          I Peter 5:7

Chorus

Who is God, but the LORD?

Who is a Rock, except our God?           Psalm 18:31

You are God; there’s no one like you.   Jeremiah 10:6; Ps. 86:8

There is no rock like our God!               Isaiah 44:6-8

He rides the heavens to my rescue,

Through the skies in His majesty.         Deut. 33:26

Eternal Father, You’re my refuge,

And underneath are Your everlasting arms!  Deut. 33:27

              

Bridge
He bowed the heavens and came down;

Sped upon the wings of the wind…

He rescued me because He delighted in me!  Psalm 18:9,10,19

Copyright Carol Carpenter

              

Me Memorize Scripture? Yeah, Right.

" . . . I labor,

striving according to His power [italics mine],

which mightily works within me."

Colossians 1:29

Recently, I was inspired by a young woman we know who has memorized large chunks of Scripture.  Since the days of my more youthful brain are gone, I just assumed that I wouldn’t be able to memorize very much and that it certainly wouldn’t be easy at any rate.  That might have turned out to be true if my human ability were actually the determining factor in the case, but thankfully, it's not.

He always supplies the power to accomplish His priorities.  And I John 5:14-15 tells us that, when we pray according to His will, He hears and we have the requests that we asked of Him.  

So honestly, since when do our deficiencies inhibit His might? Aren’t we the ones who limit ourselves, while He has power of the same magnitude He used to raise Christ from the dead? Paul prayed that the eyes of his Ephesian friends' hearts would be enlightened so they would know "what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe"  (See Ephesians 1:18-21)   I think we are in need of the same enlightening.

" . . . not that we are adequate in ourselves

to consider anything as coming from ourselves,

but our adequacy is from God. . ." 

II Corinthians 3:5

So He helped me memorize the book of Colossians, and I originally wasn't going to tell anyone besides my family because I was afraid someone would think I was calling attention to myself.  But then I realized that, had I not known about our friend memorizing lots of Scripture, I might not have been inspired to trust God to enable me to do it.  It’s really all about Him anyway.  He says we should hide His word in our hearts and meditate on His word; He hears and answers requests in line with His will; He promises His power for His priorities.  

It is with the hope that you, too, might be inspired to trust Him that I risk telling you what He did for me.  He is more than able to help you, too.

P.S.  It does help to set a deadline and have someone to be accountable to.  Who will you ask?

Mama Bear Speaks Up: What's Wrong With "Contemplative Prayer"

Mama bears.  Describe their commitment to their cubs’ welfare as extreme devotion, and it would likely still be an understatement.  So when I tell you that the mama bear in me is rising up, this is serious.

And it is no time for silence.

Last week, my children were asked—in a setting we trusted—to participate in a pagan/New Age meditation practice.  Alarm sirens went off in each of our three children’s hearts because we have taught and warned them extensively about this, but what if they hadn’t known how to identify this apostate deception?

Our children were not the only children present, and I fear not all of those present were aware of the trap that was being set for them. Sadly, many of their parents likely do not know how to warn them.

Because it is imperative that we—and our children—know the truth and can discern truth from error, I write today with urgency.  Foremost to this context is an understanding of what Biblical meditation is.   Without a solid understanding of truth, we are incapable of recognizing blatant lies, let alone crafty and subtle error.

The Word ‘meditate’ is used multiple places in Scripture, especially in Psalm 1, 63, 77, 143, and 145.  The meaning of the Hebrew word translated ‘meditate’ in English is very telling.  It means to ponder and think carefully, to consider, to muse, and to remember.  It even includes the idea of an audible conversation with one’s self that involves a mind fully occupied with rational, conscious thoughts. According to Scripture, these rational, conscious thoughts are about definite content, specifically about the Lord Himself—His character, nature, and attributes, His Word, His precepts, His statutes, His wonderful works, His wonders, His law, His majesty, and His testimony.  In the context of Scripture, the goals and outcome of Biblical meditation are also clear, including understanding and insight that result in obedience to God.

In summary, Biblical meditation is practiced with an active mind, fully engaged in rational, conscious thought, carefully considering God’s nature, works, and revealed Word, with the ultimate goal of obedience to God.  This definition of Biblical meditation, by the way, is not some mysterious, confusing, or contested interpretation, but is derived from explicit Scripture verses and a standard Hebrew dictionary.

Unfortunately, what is so clearly specified in Scripture is being ignored by a growing number of people who are promoting pagan forms of meditation within ‘Christian’ contexts.  The pagan meditation goes by various inventive names, including, but not limited to, ‘contemplative prayer’, ‘centering prayer’, ‘breath prayer’, ‘the silence‘, listening to the silence’, 'listening prayer', and ‘being still before God’.    Though bearing new names, they are all essentially whitewashed transcendental meditation as practiced by Buddhists, New Agers, and other self-proclaimed mystics practicing nearly every religion on the planet.

Let me explain.  While there are minor variations, I found essentially the same technique described by thinly veiled Hindu transcendental meditation experts who claim to not be religious at all, by people who claim to be Christian, by Jewish Rabbis, Buddhists, and even Muslims.  Three basic steps of this kind of meditation are essentially the following:  (I will use the supposedly Christian version of the instructions.)

1.      Don’t think about God.  Aim to avoid any particular rational thought.

2.      Choose a ‘sacred word’ to repeat over and over for twenty minutes or so until the word becomes meaningless.       Examples given of words to use include ‘Jesus’ and ‘Abba’.  The alternative to repeating a word is to focus or concentrate on one’s breathing.

3.      When conscious thoughts break in, simply return to the sacred word or to a focus on one’s breathing.

The result of this kind of meditation is sometimes described as a kind of altered state of consciousness (though some deny this aspect and say they simply experience a calm or 'oneness' with God or with the natural world around them), a sort of inward, mystical, emotional high, described by some practitioners as “ecstasy”, that may involve, at times, tingling, bright lights, a feeling of weightlessness, a feeling of energy flowing through one’s body, or voices audible only to the practitioner.

Make no mistake!  This so-called ‘contemplative prayer’, which is actually pagan meditation, is nothing like Biblical prayer or Biblical meditation!  Step one above is clearly contradicted by Jesus’ instruction to His disciples when they asked Him how to pray in Luke 11.  As recorded in Matthew 6, the first words of His example prayer focus specifically on God, “Our Father, who art in heaven. . .”   Step two above is also clearly contradicted by the words of Jesus to “avoid meaningless repetition” in prayer.  (Matthew 6:7)

The contrast could not be more obvious.  This pagan form of meditation, which is being increasingly advanced in ‘Christian’ circles, is not focused on God, while Biblical meditation is entirely focused on God and His Word.  Pagan meditation is void of meaningful content and void of rational thought, while Biblical meditation is content-rich, rational thought.   Pagan meditation emphasizes silence and listening, while Biblical meditation is a more like a conversation that can even be spoken aloud.  Pagan meditation emphasizes union with one’s ‘divine self’, ‘higher self’, 'true self' or the 'unified field' (entirety of all matter), while Biblically informed meditation recognizes a very great difference between our nature and God’s—only He is God.  Pagan meditation’s goal is an altered state of consciousness according to some, and to others it is for 'entering into the ordinary', discovering their 'true selves' as they 'experience the presence' and renounce thoughts, while Biblical meditation leads to fully informed conscious obedience to God.

No matter what you name it, a pagan practice is still a pagan practice all the same, and one does not encounter God using pagan practices.  These insidious practices are neither prayer nor meditation by any Biblical standard.

Deuteronomy 18:9 makes it plain that God’s people are not to imitate the detestable things unbelievers practice.  I Timothy 4:1 warns, “The Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons . . .”  Tellingly, people who advocate pagan meditation, but call it Christian meditation, openly proclaim that their form of meditation can open up common ground among all faiths.  They say it will deepen your faith, no matter what your religion.  Hmmm, now how could that be. . .

Make no mistake—this is war!  We must be armed with a knowledge of the truth and be on guard against lies, so that we—and our children—may, as Jude 3 says, “earnestly contend for the faith”!