:: In the Spirit of Grace ::

Have you ever felt like you were sinking?  Like nothing was going just like you thought and you can’t “tread water” any longer in the midst of all the turbulent seas surrounding you?  My guess is that you have felt this at some point in your life.  Yesterday, I was reminded of this feeling as I drove in the car and heard “Stand in the Rain” on the radio.

Scripture offers us help and hope in all circumstances.  It never ceases to amaze me that all of the answers to life’s victories and defeats - every situation we could possibly find ourselves in - is in scripture.  One thing that is constant, throughout scripture - no matter the circumstance - is that there is always hope to be found in God.

If you feel like you are sinking….take heart, and hold onto hope….you can get through this with God….

“Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck.
I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me.
I am worn out calling for help;
my throat is parched.
My eyes fail, looking for my God.
Those who hate me without reasons out number the hairs of my head;
many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me.
I am forced to restore what I did not steal.

But, I pray to you, O Lord, in the time of your favor;
in your great love, O God, answer me with your sure salvation.
Rescue me from the mire, do not let me sink;
deliver me from those who hate me, from the deep waters.
Come near and rescue me;
redeem me because of my foes.
I am in pain and distress;
may your salvation, O God, protect me.”

~Psalm 69:1-4, 13-14,  18, 29 (NIV)

We’ve heard it before - “winning isn’t everything” - but, there is still a fierce competitive nature in many of us - determined to win at all costs.  I’ve been giving some thought to this lately, (actually, not in a spiritual context, but, in a sports context) and have realized that althought we say “winning isn’t everything” - it’s a hard philosophy to actually walk.

There is a coach that is a Christian.  I have seen numerous scriptural and Christian references in his writing, and I have to tell you, until this past year, it gave me ease when thinking about who has influence on our children.  However, something changed in the past year.  I don’t know what happened (nor is it really any of my business), but, while the Christian references are still there, the actions of this particular coach are not showing signs of his faith.  Over the past year, somewhere, his philosophy has moved from character building and life-lesson learning to win-at-all-costs.

Now, I know that coaches are somewhat dependent on winning to keep their jobs (at least that is the case in this area of the world), however, isn’t there a line that we must not cross as Christians?

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“In the beginning God create the heavens and the eart. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. Then he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day” andthe darkness “night”. And evening passed and morning came, marking the first day.”

~Genesis 1:1-5 (NLT)

You know the story. You’ve read it a thousand times. God created the heavens and the earth. He created day and night, He created waters and sky, He created dry firmament (land), and vegetation, and the sun, and the moon, and fish and other life, and animals, and humans. Sometimes, I think we have a tendency to go on “auto pilot” when we are reading some of the most known scripture, and we forget to let God speak to us - even in those.

This morning, I was pointed to this scripture. It popped into my head as I was thinking, and wouldn’t leave me alone. So, I opened my bible and reread it. And, it spoke to me.

Why didn’t God create everything all at once? I mean, He is omnipresent, omnipotent. He could have just had it all done in one day, instead of taking 6 days to do all the work and a full chapter in Genesis to explain it. Yet, instead, He chose to make it 6 days of work.

I had never really given this much thought until this morning, as I searched for discernment of my own way, and was reading a note from a friend. And, then, as the Word washed over me, I realized something.

God could have done it all in one day.

But He didn’t.

He took it one thing at a time. One day at a time. Genesis 1 could have been only a few verses:

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I know there are people that are convinced that the only lessons God gives us are in scripture. But, I firmly believe that every situation we are in, every person we are around - and, yes, even nature can teach us something. Our God is just sooo awesome - and He loves us so much that He gives us the opportunity to learn about life, His nature, and so much more in every situation, from every creature, from every one of His creations.

Aside from that, I will reserve comment on this video. I encourage you to take a break, and quietly absorb this 8 1/2 minute video.

A man and his dog 

Before I begin tonight, there is a little bit of a back story.  I recently got involved in this “spin off” conversation about tattoos, and during the course of the conversation, I was led to comment on my experiences.

You see, before I was a Christian, I got a few tattoos (4, although one was covering another one).  And, after I became a Christian, I quickly found out that those LBC (life before Christ) marks were a problem for many Christians.  I was shocked and dismayed as I was totally shunned by some Christians because of them.

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You know, God amazes me every day - whether I’m working or just enjoying the company of friends and family.  He reveals so many truths to me in so many ways, some nights, my prayer simply consists of “I’m in awe of You”.  And I am - even when things don’t appear to be going as I think they should be.

As my long time readers know, I am an artist and run a business that the Lord has so graciously entrusted to me.  I am a member of a few different groups that spark my creativity or help me learn more about the business of business.  I’m always so deeply touched by the Lord putting me in these different groups, because even after being in business for years, there is always so much more to learn!  And, so many ways to learn it.

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I thought that would get your attention. I’ve been giving the following alot of thought and prayer for many months, now. I assure you, I didn’t really want to write about - been avoiding it, actually, but, as you and I both know, the Holy Spirit can be very insistent at times, and not heeding His urgings is a really, really bad idea.

There seems to be this overwhelming opinion among people who espose their Christianity that the “old testament” (which is usually referred to as such in sort of a demeaning or “lessening” manner - as if it’s “old” and doesn’t matter) is only good for the Psalms & Proverbs, and beyond that, it really doesn’t apply to them today. This seems particularly true when it comes to things that are inconvenient or otherwise sets us, as Christians, apart from the rest of the world.

One example that pops into my head is our choice in food. Do you remember this “inconvenient” scripture from the “old testament”?

“…Of all the animals, these are the ones you may use for food. You may eat any animal that has completely split hooves and chews the cut. You may not, however, eat the following animals that have split hooves or that chew the cut, bot not both. the camel chews the cud but does not have split hooves, so it is ceremonially unclean for you. The hyrax chews the cud but does not have split hooves, so it is unclean. The hare chews the cud but does not have split hooves, so it is unclean. The pig has evenly split hooves but does not chew the cud, so it is unclean. You may not eat the meat of these animals or even touch their carcasses. They are ceremonially unclean for you.”

~Leviticus 11: 2-8 (NLT)

Oh come on!, you say - Paul tells us it’s okay to eat pork (which seems to be the big objection to this passage for many Christians that I talk to). We will get to that in a minute, though. Let me share a story with you, first.

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“A final word:  Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.  Put on all God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.  For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities onf the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”

~Ephesians 6:10-12 (NLT)

Yesterday, as I was watching some coverage of the memorial services, and conservative commentary and interviews regarding where we were 5 years ago, on the “day America changed forever”, I heard a speech or interview that reminded me of a story I was first introduced to last fall.  I thought it appropriate to share it here today - although the attacks on September 11, 2001 were not directed at us, as Christians, specifically, we are directly affected by the attacks, and our ability to worship freely, as Christians, is also being threatened by these same groups.  (If you don’t believe me, take a look at some of the recent “speeches” some of these terrorists have given - urging us to “bow down” to them and to convert from our faith).

The story that I heard last fall was one of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste.  Interestingly, it was introduced to me because of my son’s choice of sports - and the story was what was used to derive last year’s theme for the team:  We will not be broken.

So, in the year of our Lord 320 (A.D.), Constantine was Emperor of the West and Licinius of the East. Licinius, under pressure from Constantine, had agreed to legalize Christianity in his territory, and the two made an alliance (cemented by the marriage of Licinius to Constantia the sister of Constantine), but  Licinius broke the alliance and made a new attempt to suppress Christianity.

He ordered his soldiers of the Legio XII Fulminata, also known as the “Thundering Legion” (side note - the way they got this name is really neat - click on the link to check it out at wikipedia - on that page, scroll down to the area that is entitled: “Defending the Eastern Frontier), to repudiate their faith on pain of death. In the Thundering legion, stationed near Sebaste in Armenia (now Sivas in Turkey), forty soldiers refused, and when promises, threats, and beatings failed to shake them, they were stripped naked one evening and herded onto the middle of a frozen lake, and told, “You may come ashore when you are ready to deny your faith.”

To tempt them, fires were built on shore, with warm baths, blankets, clothing, and hot food and drink close by. As night deepened, thirty-nine men stood firm, while one broke and ran to the shore.

However, one of the soldiers standing guard on shore was so moved by the steadfastness of the Christians that he stripped off his clothes and ran out to join them. They welcomed him into their company, and so the number of the martyrs remained at forty, and by morning, all were dead of exposure. (One source says that the few in whom a little life remained were stabbed to death at dawn.)

They were firm in their faith - refusing to bow down - even in the face of sure death.  And, while I may be called a fear monger, I suspect that this is a real possibility for us with these terrorists who are insisting that we “bow down” to them and convert to their religion.  It may not be today that we are faced with death for our refusal to stand firm, but, some day it’s a real possibility.

Yesterday, there were speeches claiming they will not let September 11, 2001 happen again - “not on my watch” - and I pray that this is true.  However, as Christians, we must remember the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste and loudly proclaim “We will not be broken!”

I urge you to continue to keep the victims, their families, friends, colleagues, and everyone else affected on September 11, 2001 in your prayers.  May God protect and comfort them.

May God be with you,

Dee

As a gift to myself, months ago, I bought a little bamboo plant.  I bought it mainly because bamboo filters the air really well, and also grows in low light (not to mention that it said all I had to do was keep it in about an inch of water) which meant that there was a slight possibility that it may thrive in my room.  There are “issues” with my room, being on the lower level of the house with only northerly facing windows, and plants don’t usually care for the conditions.  Needless to say, I was absolutely thrilled with the idea that I could have something green and living AND something that “purifies” the air so well.

It had been doing pretty well up until the last week of July.  I wasn’t sure it was growing, but, it wasn’t dying either!  It was still green and had sort of become my little green friend (I know, I need to get out more often)

Then, it happened.  I went away for the weekend, and a family member was supposed to come take care of my dogs.  I had left a note explaining what to do for my border collie (who is confined to my room at night lest she get into *lots* of trouble), including turning on the television so that she would have some company.  (she probably needs to get out more too)

Well, they followed the instructions to the letter, that is, of course, except for turning on the television for her.  So, being the dog that she is, she got bored one night and decided that my friendly bamboo plant that never hurt anyone looked quite tasty.  Yes, she tried to eat it!

It must not have tasted that well because she didn’t eat all of it - there were just a few gnaw marks on the stem and the leaves were pretty sad looking (and it was tipped over on my bed - a sure give away that she was bored and decided it looked tasty!)

When I got home, I was pretty worried about my friend, “he” looked pretty sick.  I figured Mr. Bamboo would probably die soon, but, I filled his pot up with water and watched over him every day.  Just this past week, I noticed that there were new leaves (several, actually) growing and the plant seemed to be thriving now.

The whole situation reminded me that even in the midst of hardships, there is always hope - and sometimes that being chewed on by a border collie (or anything in our lives) makes us stronger and helps us grow.

Remember, God doesn’t do accidents, and He always has our best interest at heart.  So, even when things are looking pretty grim and the going gets really rough, we can relax and trust that our Father is there, giving us our inch of water, making us stronger and helping us grow into the beautiful strong person that we are becoming.

May God’s grace & abundance surround you.

Dee

For the past year and a half - the “life” of In the Spirit of Grace, I’ve really made an effort to avoid certain topics.  As you know, I do write about things, on occasion, that are more “controversial”, but, I’ve made an effort to look at them constructively and/or as a learning experience, rather than taking a head on, no spin allowed view.  I’ve tried to avoid writing about current events or anything that could be “political” (although I have written about those topics on occasion).
As I was watching the news tonight, I was again reminded of how terribly wrong we, as Christians, are in so many of our views, and how far away from what God wants for us, and, more, *expects* from us, we have moved.  We have totally bought into so much propoganda that it’s a wonder we  all haven’t completely turned our backs on anything scriptural, and live lives of the flesh.

Oh wait, that’s right - many “Christians” have - and while not ALL have, it certainly EXPLAINS alot of things in the world, now doesn’t it??

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