Why Lent?

I get questions from my non-Lutheran or non-Catholic friends about why we give something up for Lent. 

First off, it's a tradition, not a commandment.  I know, sometimes we act like we've got the two confused.  You'll never find the word Lent in the Bible, nor does our salvation depend on this or anything else we do or don't do.  But you will find over and over a call to repentance, self examination and cleansing.  Yes, we can do this at any time by ourselves.  But just like date night with a spouse, paying bills or checking the smoke detectors, without a set aside date, this important time gets put off eternally.

Our goal is not to clean ourselves up for God, but to allow God to show us where our spiritual blind spots are.  What character flaws, quirks and even sins are keeping us from fully glorifying God?  Sacrifice has a wonderful way of putting everything about us under a microscope.  It's not a pretty process as we spend time truly looking at what our sins have cost us.

For me, Lent goes something like this:  I give up all sweets, especially chocolate.  When I've got all my energy and attention wrapped around the imported French truffles I can't have, I suddenly realize how fragile and dependent I am.  Then some distressing family news comes along and suddenly I need comfort.  I feel angry that I can't have a caramel latte to soothe my nerves.  How long have I been depending on sugar rather than God?  In the midst of all this struggle, I become snarky with the electrician when he presents us with an unexpected repair bill.  Now to my list of shortcomings I can add rude and entitled.  And why is it so hard for me to ask God for help?  Hmm.  Add prideful to that list.  This spiritual house cleaning we call Lent is getting ugly.  This process happens every year. 

Then only two things can happen: either I will fail miserably and realize how devastating my sins are or I will succeed and realize that yes, all our good deeds are like filthy rags.  I can't win.  I find myself suffocating at the crossroads of both these realities and I can't hold myself up anymore.   I am at the end of my defiance, pride, willpower and determination.  All I have is myself, and I'm not much. 

Then the miracle of Lent kick starts.  At the end of me is the beginning of Jesus, the only one who can bring a healing balm to my sins and meaning to my sacrifices.  At the end of my failure is Jesus' resurrection.  I need to experience this truth every year.  When the resurrection finally arrives, I can fully embrace the joy of the empty tomb having stared in the face of every chain Jesus broke for me that first Easter morning. 

~ Denyse

Serving Him

What You Seek, You Find

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” ^{Matthew 5:6 NIV}

“Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find…”  ^{Matthew 7:7 NIV}

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is filled with some amazing promises. This one has to be one of the best:  If you are hungry and thirsty for the righteousness that God provides, you will be filled.

If you want righteousness, you can have it. Let me go out on a limb and make a bold statement. Whatever righteous thing you desire in the spiritual realm, you can have if you want it badly enough. I don’t think we appreciate the importance of that truth.

Most of us are about as close to God now as we want to be. We have about as much joy as we want, about as much peace as we want.

Abraham Lincoln said that “most people are about as happy as they want to be.” Totally true. We are the way we are because that’s the way we want to be. Either we’re happy that way or we’ve accepted that this is who we are and we’re not going to change. For the most part, you are where you are right now because that’s where you want to be. If you were hungry for something better from God, you could have it.

If you want it, you can have a close walk with God.

If you want it, you can have a better marriage.

If you want to, you can do God’s will.

If you want to, you can witness for Christ.

If you want to, you can learn to pray.

If you want to, you can grow spiritually.

If you want to, you can walk in the Spirit.

If you want to, you can become a man of God or a woman of God.

If you want to, you can change deeply ingrained habits.

If you want to, you can break destructive patterns of behavior.

What we seek, we find. This is true in every area and realm of life.

And what we seek, for good or for ill, we eventually find. 

And the reverse is also true:  unless we seek, we will not find.   ~pb

Portions from www.KeepBelieving.com

The Best Christian Financial Advice (in 300 words or less)

God’s wisdom transcends our present circumstances. It does not need to be changed when new tax laws are passed.  It can be relied upon by every generation, regardless of income or net worth.

At the core of all wise Christian financial advice are four principles. 

1)  Spend less than you earn.

“In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has” Proverbs 21:20

Financial success and peace require having a healthy financial margin, a positive difference between what we spend and what we earn.

2) Avoid the use of debt

“The rich rule over the poor and the borrow is servant to the lender” Proverbs 22:7

We can only serve one master.  If our servitude has been committed to a lender, we are not financially and spiritually free to serve Christ with all of our heart.

3) Build reserves

“Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest” Proverbs 6:6-8

Financial reserves give us the flexibility to respond to the unknown.  They do not represent a lack of faith, but a prudent response to planning for an unknown future.

4) Set long term goals

“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” Philippians 3:14

The first three principles are means to the end of accomplishing the goals that God in His wisdom has placed in our heart.  Applying these helps us to live more effectively for God in this life… using His blessings to accomplish powerful, long-term financial goals, as His Spirit leads us.

Lessons from Sea Turtles

My family and I got to spend all of July in an area of Texas along the Rio Grande Valley.  We served a mission church there and came back profoundly changed.  A month in a coastal town did wonders for my outlook on life, but not for the reasons you’d think.  It wasn’t lack of work.  My husband still preached every Sunday, led Bible study and prayer groups, elders and board meetings.  I still had laundry for five, a house to clean and three kids to keep one step ahead of.  To save money, we didn’t eat out until the family came to visit, so there were still dinners to make.  We still stuck to a reasonable, although not as strict, schedule.  So what was so different there?  How does the beach mindset translate to life in one of the biggest metropolitan in the country?  In the next few blog entries, I’ll be exploring the lessons we learned about work, family, nature and God. 

My first lesson came five days into the month:  setbacks do not mean you are not following God’s plan for your life. 

Although I grew up on the Gulf of Mexico, I never had the chance to watch newly hatched Ridley sea turtles crawl to the ocean.  One morning before dawn the entire family headed out to the beach to watch these two-inch creatures crawl to the vast ocean.  I was prepared to be in awe of God’s creation, but I thought it would be a simple, short event.  Let the creatures go.  Their instinct kicks in, they crawl to the ocean, and catch a wave into the rest of their lives.  Except that doesn’t nearly describe the battle these tiny creatures endure. 

Ridley sea turtles have to be released within hours of being hatched.  Since most hatches occur in the middle of the night, these tiny turtles must make their way to the sea around dawn, just as high tide is rolling in or just beginning to fade.  So the turtles crawl to sea, hit a wave, and get tossed right back to where they started, again and again. The process can take hours.  Eventually, they might actually make it out to sea, if they are not snatched up first by a natural predator.  Once in the sea, only a fraction of a percent will see adulthood.  Most will be eaten by sharks or fatally damaged by pollution. 

This truly surprised me.  Why is it so hard for them?  If God made sea turtles to hatch on land and make their way to sea to survive, why is the journey so difficult?  Even without human involvement, this is the classic uphill battle. 

Sound like modern life.  The more you try, the harder it gets.  Life is hard.  Marriage is hard.  Raising children who are anchored in Christ is hard.  No one doubts that.  But why does it get harder the more we try to follow God’s plan for our lives?  That’s a little more difficult. 

This is where the turtle cannot do something we as humans do.  The turtle cannot ask whether all these setbacks and obstacles mean God doesn’t want the turtle to crawl to the sea at all.  When it comes to the specific will of God, sometimes we misinterpret the setbacks and pitfalls for God’s warnings.  After all, if God truly wanted us to reach out to that family in need or start leading family devotions or spend some time helping others or lead a Bible study, wouldn’t He get rid of the roadblocks?  Stop the car from breaking down, make sure the money to do it is there, make a blank spot appear in our calendar?  Just part the obstacles like He did for Moses and the Red Sea?  Maybe this is God’s way of telling us we are going down the wrong path.

Yes, sometimes God immediately, decisively sweeps away every roadblock in the way so that we can fulfill His will.  Yet the Bible also gives us plenty of other stories where things get harder before they get better.  Think about all the years David spent running from Saul.  Samuel had clearly pronounced God’s will that David lead Israel as rightful king.  So why didn’t God make it easy for David to take the throne?  Why did he have to spend so many years running, and shed so much blood when a simple well-timed heart attack sent from God would have prevented so much destruction?  Or think about Gideon.  He finally finds the courage to follow God and strike down altars to idols and free his people from oppressive Midian bullies and what does he get for his efforts?  Criticism from just about everyone he knows. (Judges 7-9) For most of our Biblical heroes, the decision to obey God brought more hardship and setbacks than miraculously delivered moments. 

On the beach that morning I learned something.  God designed Ridley sea turtles to crawl to the ocean in their tiniest, most fragile state.  Yet He chooses not to make the journey easy for them, not to remove the fierce waves and predators all around.  Same for you and I.  God made us to do certain things to glorify Him.  The roadblocks and set backs are not signs that God wants us to stop what we’re doing.  Sometimes they are signs that we just need to swim harder and expect a few more waves. 

Bearing Burdens

Consuming or Creating?

For months I’ve been dreaming of a pearl necklace.  It appeared at my sons’ school auction, and I was completely smitten by its beauty.  Since the necklace was beyond my means, I gave up hope.  Then I had an idea.  Our insurance company gives cash awards for preventative health measures like regular exercise and recommended checkups.  If I fulfilled enough requirements, I could earn the money.  And since I wasn’t taking money out of our paycheck, I could feel good about earning my own jewelry.  But God’s been whispering to me lately, “don’t use this money to consume.  Use it to create.” 

I know what you are thinking.  This isn’t another post ranting about the evils of consumerism and materialism.  Instead, I’m talking about another way to grow closer to God that I often overlook.  God's very nature is as Creator.  The first three chapters of the Bible are all about God’s intensely creative nature.  You and I exist because of this nature.  We're talking about the same God who created the tiny bumblebee and the majestic whale, the endless sands of desert and the vast Amazon Rainforest.  And the best part is that He gave this creative nature to humanity. 

Think about it.  When’s the last time you’ve seen an animal sketch a painting just because the mood struck?  Or write a bedtime story for its young?  Only humans create anything for reasons beyond a physical need.  When we create, we are using a special gift God gives to us and us alone. 

When we create anything, whether it’s a photograph or a purse or gourmet dinner, we are creating an original, something the universe has never seen before.  Consuming is so boring by comparison.  When I go down to Target and buy a new bedspread, you can be sure hundreds, if not thousands of women have the same one I want sitting on their beds.  But when we create, we bring something into the world that it has never seen before. 

Of course, bringing to life a creation has its dangers.  Our creation can be mocked, ignored or destroyed.  In the blink of an eye, a box cutter can destroy a priceless Picasso.  Our most heartfelt creation can be misunderstood or dismissed by those whose opinions matter the most to us. But God took this risk to create us.  God has seen each of us mock, ignore and hurt one another, His masterpiece.  Still, when we conquer our fears and choose to use the creativity God gave us, we honor our Creator.  Even in this disappointment, we can turn to God knowing He's felt that sting before.

In today’s world, consuming and creating is not an either/or choice.  Some of my favorite things are reading a good book, taking a hot bath and eating fine chocolates.  But if that’s the only thing people remember about me at my funeral, I have failed my calling in life.  I was made to create something that reflects the awe and beauty of God.  For me, it’s a strong family, tasty, healthy meals and inspiring words.  For you it may be a lush garden, colorful needlework, new songs, or a lifelong love of reading through a book club.  

Whatever God has put on your heart to create, I can promise you that when you do, you will feel closer to God than you ever thought possible.  

~Denyse

NOTE:  I have felt God's calling to write more blogs that explore modern day faith in Jesus.  I have set a goal to attend a Christian writer's conference in 2014 with 50 devotions in hand.  Please pray for me.  I would also be blessed if you shared your honest feedback.  Thanks.