OUR BROKENNESS FOR HIS GLORY

My eyes can't believe the heartbreaking pictures I'm seeing of the apartment collapse in Surfside, Florida. The 'after' pictures of devastation - pancaked floors and mountains of rubble – are impossible to reconcile with the 'before' pictures of the beachfront condo. The twisted rebar and dangling sheetrock strips away all illusions of safety in things made by man.

It's not the first time our illusions have come crashing down and it won't be the last. Yet, we continue to see things as we want them to be, rather than how they really are. And each time, we are left flailing and grasping for air.

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I'm in the middle of the book of Job. (God's timing, huh? 😬) I usually speedread through this particular book. I mean, who wants to read about a guy covered in sores who is trying to convince his friends that he's innocent after everything but his nagging wife has been taken away? But I'll be danged if the Spirit didn't decide to flat out wreck me with these scriptures, showing me how delusional our illusions have become.

We typically view the story of Job as a complex lesson in suffering, which isn't entirely wrong... suffering is indeed complex. We are escorted into a world of suffering the second we leave the womb. Suffering is inevitable, no one escapes. But in God's plans, suffering is a means to an end. The overt lesson of Job is not about suffering... it's about SOVEREIGNTY.

I get it. I understand why Job and his helpful friends spent days questioning God's purpose. I might even know *ahem* someone who has indignantly demanded answers from Heaven for perceived injustices. That same *ahem* person may also be guilty of arrogantly offering suggestions for running the universe to The Very One Who Put The Stars In Place.

In our humanity, we cry out for a rational understanding of an Omnipotent God. It's hard to reconcile the Creator of hummingbirds with the same God who allows incomprehensible suffering to innocent people. But He is the same. We are told so in the very first chapter of Job. Not one thing happens on this planet that God has not allowed. We serve a sovereign God.

It is in our suffering that we are most likely to forget His Sovereignty. In our brokenness and despair, we need to be reminded that His ways are not our ways... His thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8).

All we can know is what He wants us to know.

Read that again. It's a difficult concept to those searching for eternal meaning in a broken and finite world.

We would rather trust in the things we can see. Things like 12-story buildings. Politicians. A 24-Hour News Cycle.

God couldn't be trying harder to show us how far from Heaven our trust is misplaced. In fact, His Word tells us that we can only be certain of things we DON'T SEE (Hebrews 11:1). It is our faith that makes the unseen things real. And sometimes, when it looks as though things are falling apart... that same faith ensures that everything will eventually fall together.

And though my human knowledge and reasoning are pitifully inadequate, this I know for sure... that “the same Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living me” (Romans 8:11). That same Spirit convicts me to trust beyond human reasoning that all things WILL work together for GOOD, because I love Him. (Romans 8:28)

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We may never understand why bad things happen to good people, at least not on this side of heaven. But we can be certain that God will meet those good people in the midst of their suffering, just as He did with Job.

Maybe we're asking the wrong question in the first place. When bad things happen, instead of asking “Why?” perhaps our first question should be, “How?”

How will God use our brokenness for His glory?

SURRENDER

Surrender.

This is my word for 2021.

Besides surviving the pandemic, some of you know that our family went through another crisis of sorts last year – our oldest son's marriage was ended. Watching him face such a devastating trial with faith and perseverance taught me much about surrendering to God.

So many have experienced or are in the middle of the fiery embers of divorce. I truly believe that destroying marriages is one of satan's favorite pastimes. In doing so, not only is he able to turn two souls against one another, but he also leaves behind a lifetime of pain and confusion in the hearts of the children of divorce. They are the ones left holding the tattered pieces of a shattered promise made without their consent.

I know there is someone out there right now, who is contemplating divorce. You're tired. Miserable. You feel that life would surely be better 'if only'...

There may be someone reading this who is just ready to give up, period. Life is too hard. There's no meaning or purpose. What's the point of continuing?

But if you feel like giving up on your spouse, your parents, your siblings, your best friend or even yourself, God has one word for you: SURRENDER.

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I grew up as most of you. saying this prayer at bedtime:

“Now I lay me down to sleep

I pray the Lord my soul to keep,

If I should die before I wake

I pray the Lord my soul to take.”

With my Mama bending over me and my hands around her neck, I remember rushing through the 'dying before I wake' and the Lord taking my soul part. I disliked it so much that when I had my own children, I only taught them the first two verses. In their sweet little boy voices, the prayer sounded something like this:

“Now I lay me down to sleep,

I pray dalormysoullakeep. Aaaaaa-men.”

But you know what? I was wrong.

I should've taught them the whole prayer. I should've been as bold as the ancient Jewish Moms of long ago...

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Psalm 31:5 is one of the Hebrew Prayer Blessings that has been prayed by Jewish families for thousands of years:

“Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.” (KJV)

Think about it. Every single night, those tired Jewish Mamas would lean down as their sleepy babies pulled them nose to nose...

And committed their spirits to the Lord.

You might recognize the first words of that verse. They are pretty much the same words Jesus said on the cross. His final words on the cross:

“Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I COMMIT my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.” (Luke 23:46)

Instead of "commit" some versions say “commend” or “entrust”. The Greek word is "paratíthēmi" and it means to give something to another for safekeeping. In His final moments on the cross, Jesus was entrusting His Spirit – His Lifeforce – to His Father.

Our Father wants no less from us.

Life IS too hard... relationships ARE too complicated... if you don't commit them to God.

Entrust Him with your heartaches and worries. Give Him your life for safekeeping.

SURRENDER.

And when you've gotten yourself all surrendered and commited... go and teach your children. Let's raise up a generation of children and grandchildren who will fearlessly pray ALL the verses of that bedtime prayer.

Because all our souls have always belonged to Him... 💗

ARMOR UP!

I will never forget being a brand new Mama spending the afternoon with my 5 month old baby Lucas when my soap opera (General Hospital) was interrupted with the breaking news of the assassination attempt on President Reagan. I can remember the horror and fear that flooded my heart and the insecurity I felt about the crazy world into which I had brought my son.

Fast-forward 40 years and I'm really grateful that I could not have imagined just how much more crazy and evil our world would become. It feels closer, now. I mean, ever since God placed the serpent in That Garden and the apple on That Tree – sin and evil have always been within an arm's reach. But the darkness is ubiquitous; it's as though a curtain is being pulled back to unabashedly reveal what was once hidden. Evil on parade. In high-definition.

A few days ago, I was having a discussion with a young Mom who was concerned about the future of her babies, anxious to find a way to instill strength into their young souls – to teach them how to be unafraid when she sends them out into the world.

Even though I have six precious G-babes... I don't think I can truly imagine the overwhelming struggle of young parents who are raising kids in today's dark and destructive climate. But I do have 40 years of faith and God-given wisdom to share...

And this is the three-fold message God put on my heart for that sweet Mama:

1.  Satan is the enemy.
2. The battle is spiritual.
3. We have the Armor of God.

■SATAN IS THE ENEMY. We wrestle NOT against flesh and blood. The enemy is not your spouse or your ex-spouse or your uncle or your congressman or even the used car salesman who sold you a clunker. If that were true, we could go toe-to-toe with our enemy and end the fight with a mean right hook. But satan fights dirty. “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

■THE BATTLE IS SPIRITUAL. The darkness and evil that is happening on our earthly stage is being cunningly and skillfully produced in a spiritual realm directed by satan. “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not carrying on our warfare according to the flesh and using the weapons of man.” (1 Corinthians 10:3)

This 👏Is 👏 Why 👏 We 👏 Need 👏 God 👏. He is the Only One who can defeat our spiritual enemies.

■WE HAVE WEAPONS!! These are difficult days, but God hasn't left us defenseless... far from it. He's given us His Very Own Armor, the same Armor He wore in Isaiah 59:17. There were no Roman soldiers when Isaiah wrote these words. But about 700 years later, the Apostle Paul remembered them as he sat in captivity surrounded by Roman soldiers and gave us this message:

“Therefore put on the FULL ARMOR OF GOD, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to STAND your ground, and after you have done everything, to STAND. STAND firm then, with the BELT OF TRUTH buckled around your waist, with the BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the GOSPEL OF PEACE. In addition to all this, take up the SHIELD OF FAITH, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the HELMET OF SALVATION and the SWORD OF THE SPIRIT, which is the Word of God.” (Ephesians 6:13-17)

[Notice that the SWORD – the WORD OF GOD – is the only defensive AND offensive weapon in our arsenal. What a weapon! “For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and DISCERNING the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12-13)]

Sweet Mamas... you're not just raising helpless mortals. You are raising SPIRITUAL SUPERHEROES. Empower them. Teach them how to ARMOR UP. In a world that seems to be falling apart, teach them to STAND.

And know this: There are armies of us “seasoned” women who have been where you are and are willing to stand in the gap whenever and wherever you need a mentor or prayer warrior.

We've got this, Mamas. ⚔

CHOOSE LIFE

As I was finishing up paperwork at my Octogerian patient's house today, I offhandedly asked him what his profession had been. He told me he was a preacher. Preached for over half a century... still preaching. We chatted a minute about the Bible and I asked him if he believed we were truly in the 'Last Days'. He nodded his head emphatically and said, “Most certainly!” He explained that America today is just like Israel in the OT... filled with lost people in search of an earthly king who will give us what we think we WANT, instead of a Heavenly King who gives us exactly what we NEED. He quoted Deuteronomy 30, where Moses – in his final speech – told the Israelites to “Choose Life” so that they would receive all the promised blessings from God.

Coincidentally (?) I had just finished Deuteronomy. It's a tough, book for me – it swamps me to read about the death of Moses. I can't deal with all the feels when God takes Moses up to Mt. Nebo to view the promised land. I cry every time, imagining the profound sense of accomplishment Moses felt after 80 years of service finally culminating in the deliverance of God's people; joy that the Israelites would finally be “home”; sadness in the prophetic knowledge that his "stiff-necked" people would eventually lose their homeland and be dispersed all over the world because they chose the curse instead of the blessing.

Today is my Daddy's birthday. He would be 87. To me, he is perpetually 64 – the age he left this earth. Several years ago I wrote this birthday tribute to him which popped up on my FB memories:

“It's been 15 years since my Daddy held me safe against his big ol' chest while I snuggled in, getting high on the scent of Old Spice. There was magic in that Old Spice. One whiff and a hug from my Daddy was all it took to make everything okay. I'm missing him more than usual. Maybe it's because the world seems to be going crazy and Tina Turner was completely wrong: we DO need another hero. He was mine.”

Undoubtedly, the world has become even uglier and crazier in the decades since my Dad found his way to heaven. We are surrounded by chaos, still searching for a 'king' to make everything better.

Life is hard and uncertain. Our hearts are troubled. There's not much I wouldn't give for one of my Dad's magical hugs...

But while he was my hero, God is my salvation. He reminded me of that today. His messenger was a tired, old preacher who believes without a doubt that he is still here for a purpose: to encourage others to Choose Life.

I'm thankful for men like him... beyond grateful for the modern-day Moseses who continue to lead lost wanderers into the Promised Land.

(Also, I'm pretty sure the Promised Land smells like Old Spice... 😉

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TABLE OF NATIONS

Noah’s Ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat in Turkey (previously known as Asia Minor). Josephus, a first century Jewish historian, wrote of ark remnants still in that area in AD 100. All serious archaeological evidence points to this area in Turkey being the origin of the second civilization after the flood.

At that time, all of the descendants of Noah spoke one language. Noah lived another 300 years after the flood – long enough to see a vast repopulation of his great and great-great grandchildren. They began to migrate east to the land of Shinar (Mesopotamia). In Genesis 11, the descendants of Noah and try to build the Tower of Babel and are stopped by God when He confuses their language. From that very location (the city of Babylon), they are divided into 70 nations and sent off in different directions.

Genesis 10:32: "These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, by their nations; and out of these the nations were separated on the earth after the flood."

From Noah's sons (Shem, Ham, & Japheth) and their descendants come all the peoples of the earth: 26 nations from Shem, 30 from Ham and 14 from Japeth. The list is probably not complete, but we get a concise picture of the division of race based on these 70 nations.

In general, the descendants of SHEM stayed in Mesopotamia (Middle East) or headed southeast; the descendants of HAM went southwest (Africa / India) and the descendants of JAPETH went north (Asia / Europe). Not all of the various nations have been identified.

Simplified, the descendants of HAM include: Egyptians (origin of the Philistines), Africans, Ethiopians, Canaanites, Phoenicians and Hittites... pretty much all the villains of the OT!

The descendants of JAPETH (after the languages were confused) spoke what we classify as Indo-European languages, including: English, Spanish, German, Latin, Greek, Russian, Armenian, Persian.

SHEM is the guy to keep your eyes on, though. He was blessed by Noah above his brothers (Genesis 9:26–27), and it is through his lineage that the promised “Seed” will eventually come. Shem lived to be 600 years of age (Genesis 11:10–11) and most of his descendants are well documented. They include the Hebrews, Persians and Assyrians. The descendants of Shem (Shemites) were termed “Semites” in the 1770's. Today the term “Semite” refers to speakers of the Semitic languages (i.e. Jews/Arabs). [The term “antisemitism was derived from “Semite” to refer to anyone who discriminates or is hostile to Jews, in particular.]

Genesis 10:21 tells us that “Shem was the ancestor of all the sons of Eber”. This is important because “Eber” is the origin of “Hebrew”.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM GENESIS

All through the Bible God relates to His people through a “covenant” relationship. Understanding the covenants (or promises) God makes with His creation helps us to see the 'big picture' of the Bible. Simplified, these covenants between God and mankind contain promised blessings for keeping the relationship along with curses for breaking it. And those curses ain't no joke, y'all... 😳

Genesis 6:18 is the first time the word “covenant” is mentioned in the Bible. But to fully understand the covenant between God and Noah, it's important to go back 10 generations to the Garden of Eden and re-read one of the most foundational verses of the Bible. In Genesis 3:15, God says to satan: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” [The “Seed” of The Woman (indicating a virgin) is none other than Jesus Christ (1 John 3:8).] Many scholars recognize God's promise as the first covenant... the “Adamic Covenant”. In this covenant, God prophesied about a “Seed” who will destroy the curse of sin. After Adam & Eve's screw-up, God didn't throw in the towel but He did throw down a gauntlet of consequences. From that day forward, He proclaimed that men and women would both endure death, sorrow and “painful labor”... man, by the sweat of his brow and woman, by the sweat of labor pains, i.e. pushing a watermelon out of a keyhole. (See Genesis 3:16-19, with a bit o' paraphrasing. 😜)

From this point on, the rest of the OT is pretty much an outline of God's plan to bring forth the promised “Seed”, while dealing with all the bone-headed antics of His creation.

Which brings us to God's covenant with Noah. A mere 1,650 years after God created man, the world had grown evil beyond belief. Although He was filled with regret and grief for His creation (Genesis 6:6), God's promise to Adam and Eve remained. When God shut the door to the Ark, He was protecting His plans for the Seed. And oh, the symbolism! Just as the Ark delivered Noah through the flood waters into a new life, Christ delivers Believers from sin to salvation through baptism.

FUN FACT:

Noah’s name means “rest and comfort.” When he was born, Noah's father (Lamech) prophesied that Noah would "comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by THE GROUND THE LORD HAS CURSED.” (Genesis 5:29). This refers back to the very same curse of Genesis 3:17-19. After the flood, Noah presented God with a burnt sacrifice and God said in His heart: “Never again will I CURSE THE GROUND because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.” (Genesis 8:20-21).

ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN

Today is an important day.

Not only is it National Cheese Lover's Day 🧀 but our new president just declared it a National Day of Unity. What do you wanna bet that there were a whole bunch more Americans eating cheese than practicing unity, today?

While I agree that National Unity is a noble goal to which every American should aspire, I'm afraid only a miracle could make it happen this side of heaven.

Though I will never stop praying for peace and unity, my focus is on God's side of heaven.

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Have y'all noticed all the postings of The Lord's Prayer on FB recently? Don't know about you, but I find it to be a nice reprieve from political memes and casserole recipes. [I AM NOT dissing your recipes... but if I put on any more weight, my full armor of God ain't gonna fit over my hips. 😲]

No doubt some of y'all are posting The Lord's Prayer as an act of defiance against the suppressive turds running FB (I'm looking at you, Zuckerburg). But it really is the perfect prayer for times such as these.

In the past, I have been guilty of saying this prayer by rote, mindlessly repeating it instead of offering each word to God from a humble heart. But now I have come to a fuller understanding of The Lord's Prayer, how it calls down the promise heaven and yes... eternal UNITY.

In Matthew 6, one of the Apostles asked, “Teach us how to pray like you, Rabbi.” In response, Jesus offered this beautiful prayer which has remained sufficient to all Believers throughout the ages. Particularly powerful are these three petitions:

■Hallowed be Your name

■Your kingdom come

■Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

When we ask these specific things of God, we are literally asking Him to move heaven and earth. We're petitioning for citizenship in heaven. Let's break it down.

■ HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME ■

Hallowed means “to make holy” and interestingly enough, is used as a verb in this verse. As an imperative statement, the translation becomes: “Father in Heaven, MAKE your name Holy!” In the Old Testament, Ezekiel tells us that when THE KINGDOM COMES, God's name will be vindicated and HALLOWED. God will ultimately be proven holy when His people are redeemed.

■ THY KINGDOM COME ■

Are y'all looking as forward to heaven as I am? Man, I can't wait! It'll be Cheese Lover's Day there EVERY day and I just know there will be buckets of M&M's and rivers of Blue Bell ice cream. Heaven is coming. Soon, all the fraudulent kingdoms of this world will be vanquished and there will be a New Kingdom. How do we get to be a part of that Kingdom? By spiritual rebirth (John 3:5). And there is nothing that pisses satan off more. He and his stinkin' demons continually test us and try us and divide us in an attempt to take our focus off Heaven... the place of true UNITY. In God’s kingdom “there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and IN ALL.” (Colossians 3:11.)

■ THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN ■

Another request for the Kingdom... do you see it? When Jesus returns and establishes His Kingdom here, His desire will be done on Earth AND in Heaven. Every time you speak these words, you are aligning your heart with the heart of God.

So you see, this isn't just any ol' prayer. When Jesus taught The Lord's Prayer, He was directing his disciples – and us – toward Heaven... to the final manifestation of God's Kingdom.

That's the unity we all should be praying for. 💙