The Secret .

Philippians 4:11-13

11. Not that I complain of want; for I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content. 12. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound; in any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and want. 13. I can do all things in him who strengthens me.

Paul was imprisoned numerous times because of his faith. He really knew what he was talking about when he said he knew how to be abased and to face want. He actually rejoiced each time he was persecuted and hungry! Persecution was the measuring stick Paul used to determine if he was doing all he could to advance the message of Jesus Christ! Less is more never applied so aptly than in this man’s life after he was converted!

I’ve never been imprisoned. Although in my youth, during the Vietnam War, I thought it would be cool to be arrested at an anti-war protest. Actually, I still do think that’s pretty cool, but I like my creature comforts way too much now and have some health concerns . . . yeah, I know . . . Paul’s point was that he was living for the next life! This life was just the trial run. This life was intended to prepare us for heaven. Carrying that logic forward, the more hardship, suffering, etc., one endures as a disciple of Christ the less refining is left to be done. More is better in this context.

One thing God revealed to me throughout the past eight months of our adventures in unemployment, underemployment and losing and finding jobs is that money makes a big difference. I don’t mean money makes a difference in whether you live in a million dollar house or a rented apartment. I don’t mean money makes a difference in whether or not you order prime rib at an expensive restaurant or “dine in” at a fast food restaurant. Having money matters when you look to your future needs. Being able to pay your bills is not a “given.” It is a luxury and a blessing. Knowing your future is secure financially is a gift! Yes these things take planning and work. But they are also by God’s grace.

Fortunately, we never dipped below the poverty line. We had savings we could draw on when needed. Many do not have that cushion built in. What I realized is that being in want is really scary. Being hungry is an uncomfortable feeling if you’re not sure when you’ll have your next meal. Being in want is a constant stressor and strain on your relationships and in your life. We realized some other important things throughout these past months. We didn’t have enough life insurance. The main reason for this is that we had both worked for many years for employers who provided at least a minimum level of life insurance.

Now that we are “older” we need more life insurance, because neither of us wants to work until we die at 90! More than that, we realize that is a responsible thing to do. We are now aware that life insurance is a luxury that many working poor, and even middle class workers, don’t have. It’s expensive. We’ve decided to bite the bullet. Being assured neither of us will lose our house or our lifestyle is a tremendous comfort and relief. I didn’t realize that not having that safety net was a “background stressor.”

We knew that our reduced income was a temporary situation. But my eyes were opened to a whole way of living that I didn’t really comprehend before. If you never expect to have enough, or a little bit more than enough, that’s really tough. That reality shapes every decision you make in your life. That is a difficult way to live and I have deep compassion for the working poor on a level I could never really understand previously. I have been given a vision of what the future would look like if we never did find jobs that afforded us a good income. I have spent time reflecting upon what years of joblessness might look like and how it must feel to be on welfare.

We’re evaluating our lives and our lifestyle in a whole new way now. One way we managed our money differently than we would have several years ago is that we never stopped our tithing to our church. We didn’t reduce our weekly offering to our church even on the weeks we had literally no income. It didn’t even occur to us. We never discussed it. A few weeks ago it hit me that we hadn’t even had a conversation about it. It didn’t make me feel prideful or boastful. It made me realize in a very personal and absolute way that God has been providing for us and we expected that provision. Somehow He has helped us see that our faith in Him is all we need to survive—and to thrive.

Money is not the root of all evil. Love of money is. Lack of money can be, too. Another lesson we have learned is to be content in whatever state we are in.

My prayer today is that you trust in God and His promises. And that you rejoice, knowing you can do all things in him who strengthens you.

Mary

Labels: faith, God, tithing, trials, trust

  ¶ 7:43 PM

  Bitter for Sweet .
Isaiah 5:20,21 NIV

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.

I am pretty blown away as I read these verses. As you know I haven’t been posting devotions with any regularity for some time. Some of the reasons are obvious – a new job that begins at 7 am (yikes!), and some other family life situations. Other reasons are not as obvious – a type of spiritual readjustment. I’ve been in a limbo type state for several months, as if I had lost my direction spiritually. I’m beginning to feel as if I’m back on track. This is thanks almost completely to my best friend, who has not relented in her asking me the “hard” questions about my spiritual life and my husband who listens endlessly to my ramblings and is able to support me, usually by his silence, without fail. God has blessed me, indeed!

Anyway, I’m blown away because I have been researching and writing about the 2008 Presidential candidates. I’ve also watched with growing concern and dismay at the choices the American people will apparently have in the upcoming election. Actually, not much choice is involved! Those who might actually be candidates who most closely line up philosophically and politically with my vision don’t have a chance – even I recognize that. Most of the mainstream candidates have already begun to falter. They are becoming more moderate in their statements. They are beginning to position themselves to become “the candidate of choice” by their party.

I am realistic enough to understand why all this goes on. I really have figured out that in politics, as in all other arenas in our lives, we are required to settle for “the best we can get” instead of the demanding the best. Lately I’ve refused to do that. I’m just really tired of people being less than forthright. I want to say I’m disillusioned, but that happened a long time ago. What’s different now is that I’m taking a stand. I am making my yes mean yes and my no mean no. [James 5:12].

That might sound a bit scary. That’s why I struggled so long and hard with the decision. It is. But having made the decision, and really live into it, it’s become the only option. He hath shewed thee, O man, what [is] good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? [Micah 6:8] God requires us to walk humbly with Him. He requires it of me as a regular old person living in the suburbs of a large metropolitan area in the United States. He requires it of our elected officials. He especially requires it of our President.

Life is less complicated when we speak the truth, keep our promises, and refuse to settle for less. What happens is that we begin to hold ourselves up to this mirror of being created in God’s image. That makes us very humble. I won’t judge the heart of any of the candidates running for President. I will judge their words, though. I will judge their past voting record and I will judge how much they change their positions on some of the “hot” issues. In fact, I’ll judge them based on what they define as the most important issues

Beyond that, I have a great deal of work to do on myself. I’m going to vote for the candidate who ends up making me feel the least like a sell-out. That’s what it’s come to right now. I’m also going to begin praying about and seeking out ways I can make a difference in the politics of America. Don’t worry I’m not going to run for any offices! I’m just going to see if there’s anyone out there I feel I can support and campaign for in the next presidential election and in upcoming local elections.

My prayer today is that you walk humbly with your God. And that you always call evil evil, and good good.

Mary

Labels: election, evil, good, president

  ¶ 6:18 AM

  In Him We Have Our Being .
Acts 17:27-28

God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.'

My household has clung very tightly to the truths revealed in this passage throughout the past several months. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being’ describes and explains how our life has been throughout the past 8 months. To say we’ve been in turmoil and had our world fall apart, built-up, fall apart, built-up . . . well, it’s kind of an understatement.

My husband lost his job in September. He was well-paid and working in an industry he had become quite expert in over the years. A series of circumstances led to his being let go. Not his fault, just the way of the world these days. I didn’t panic. Well, I did panic a little, because I had left my good-paying job several months earlier to pursue my interest in writing on a full time basis. But we remained optimistic and resolute. We continued to trust in God and His provision for us and our family.

Weeks passed. Months passed. I took a part time job and continued writing. Several more months passed. Hot dog! We hit the jackpot. He got a job offer. It was in a brand new arena for him, working as a salesman. Okay. I went back to work full-time while he began his adventure in commissioned sales. We agreed it would only be until he was able to bring his income back to a particular level – not the level it had been, but to a level that would allow us to live modestly but comfortably. We remained faithful, resolute, and completely trusted in God.

This job turned out to be dreadful in every way! “God, we trust you, but what’s the deal?” was an ongoing question raised on high. He stuck it out, certain that there were lessons God wanted him to learn – and us to learn as a couple and a family. Months passed. He continued to search for other work. The job got worse and we began to notice a strain on our marriage. My husband implemented what he calls the “screaming prayer” during this time. ‘GOD, I LOVE YOU AND TRUST YOU BUT I NEED ANOTHER JOB—NOW!” I am certain many of these prayers were more ardent, direct and probably a bit colorful!

Wonderful! A new job! He was very happy, though salary remained substantially less than it had been in September. But it was fun, he enjoyed it, learned a lot, had a great deal of freedom. You name it, he had it going on! Two weeks ago his boss flew into town to tell him the company had decided to “go another route” and that they were letting their regional sales reps go, effective at 5:00 pm on that day. By this time, we were pretty much shock proof. I immediately said I thought this latest job was merely a stop gap to get him out of the toxic job he so desperately wanted rid of. We still kept the faith.

Next Wednesday, my husband starts yet another new job. This one has the potential to bring his salary up to the “last September level.” I’m not quitting my job yet. We’re still keeping the faith. We have learned to seek God and to rely upon him alone through all of this.

We felt we were faithful and faith-filled. The past several months have shown us what it really means to rely upon God and the promise of His provision for us. Throughout all of this we have continued to feel blessed and cared for and cared about.

I write this not to focus on our faith and our trust in God. I write it to offer hope to those who may be experiencing a bump in the road, or a curve in the road, or maybe even a huge earthquake in their previously comfortable, satisfactory life. I write this as a caution to those who have begun to feel self-reliant and self-realized. Don’t be fooled for one minute. Without God, nothing we have in this world, nor anything we do on this earth makes a bit of difference. God is the source of everything. Not man. Not money. Not power or wealth, and certainly not you or me.

It is God and God alone in whom we live and move and have our being. My prayer today is that you never stop seeking after him, and reaching out for him. And that you find him in your coming and going, in your living and your doing.

Mary

Labels: faith, job, work

  ¶ 7:38 PM

  Better Than I Used to Be ,
2 Peter 1:5-8 KJV

And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I’m better than I used to be, but not as good as I will be. For some odd reason this statement has been running through my mind for the past day or so. This scripture expands upon my seemingly idle ramblings. It is never wise to “rest on our laurels.” That’s one of those sayings I’ve heard forever and never really knew the origin of it, though I understood the general terms what it meant. I looked it up this morning, and found this: to be content with one's past or present honors, achievements.

So just because we’re better than we used to be, we shouldn’t stop working on ourselves. We will never reach the perfection of Christ on this earth, but we are to continually and diligently strive for that goal. We are to look at our lives and then look at the world, and figure out how to act in ways that will improve both. The practice of recycling is more common now than it was a few years ago. Our family recycles a lot. As I’m typing this it occurs to me that our way of taking the next step is to also consume less.

That’s one example of how we can continue to strive to be better citizens. We can do something similar as Christians. We can take a bible study and really read the entire assigned lesson. We can spend time in prayer about how what we read applies to our lives. We can ask God to guide and direct us in applying the lessons learned.

Babbi Mason is a Christian singer who has a voice that is as big as heaven. The title of one of her songs is “I Will Be The One.” She sings, “I will be the one God is looking for . . .” In the simplest terms, that’s how we live out the instructions in the scripture. Be the one God is looking for. Step out. Step up. Take a stand and stick to it. Do more than is required. Be more than you have to. Get better and better every day.

Get up early and spend that time with God. That’s what I’m reintegrating into my life. I’ve had some time to adjust to a new work schedule – early, early mornings. But if I sleep until the last minute, I won’t hear those birds outside chattering away. I won’t see the sunrise. I won’t get better than I used to be!

My prayer today is that you continue to strive for perfection in Jesus Christ. And that you never rest on your laurels when it comes to your faith.

Mary  ¶ 5:57 AM

  Fearfully and Wonderfully Made Psalm 139:14

I will give thanks unto thee; For I am fearfully and wonderfully made: Wonderful are thy works; And that my soul knoweth right well.

This is a copy of a posting I orginally made at orble.com on March 26. Regular readers will realize I have gone from making a daily posting to once or twice a week . . . to weekly . . . to seldom. I don't know exactly what that's all about. Well . . . I guess in all honesty I've been "busy" with the business of living. I told my husband last night that in spite of revelations over the past several weeks, I have refused to succumb to seeking God first AND last. I made a promise to myself and to God, but have broken it over and over again. I know I have suffered physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually because of my disobedience.

Thankfully, I worship a God of second chances, third chances, forty times forty chances. I'm starting over today. Here's where I am -- again!

A little over a week ago (mid-March) I sat in a doctor’s office with some hard-to-identify illness. There was discussion of white count and IV antibiotics and hospitalization. I was alternately stunned, numb, terrified at the thought that I might not be able to live out my life as I had seen it unfolding for me in the past several months.

The ultimate diagnosis indicated a condition that was serious but not life-threatening. The wake-up call, however, was undeniable In the midst of all the testing and poking and prodding I made a promise to God: regardless of diagnosis or prognosis, my life changes today! I realize now that I could only make that promise, more than a promise – a covenant – because God has been preparing me for this lifestyle change for a long time. I had, in fact, begun the preparation before I ever knew I would care or need to know how to accomplish my goal.

My weight is out of control and has been most of my life. While that was not the cause of the illness for which I am being treated, I know it is a symptom of a greater illness—impacting everything else in my life—an illness of the heart.

I had lost weight before only to gain it back – the yo-yo effect everyone talks about and so many have experienced. I know what to eat, how to eat, how much to eat, when to eat and in which combination foods are to be eaten. I know because I’ve read all the books, researched every new and better plan, done all the dieting, and learned all the scientific evidence behind why every diet “works.”

I’m ignoring it all! I’m not on a diet plan now. I’m just eating properly and exercising. I don’t know how many pounds I’ll lose, though that’s not the point. I know I will feel better, have more energy and stamina and creativity. This time it just feels different.

The difference this time is that I have a reason to be healthy and whole beyond my own selfish desire to look better and feel better: to do the work God designed me to do. It is to live out the plan he has made for me. God has indeed been preparing me in many ways for this turning point. Many of the events in my life have served to shape and mold, refine and redefine who I am at my core. God has been busy within me—in my mind and my heart and especially within my soul. So this time things are different.

The difference this time is that it is not about me and what I want and what I feel I’m depriving myself of by not eating the food I am so addicted to, or my eating because of what I feel so deprived of otherwise in my life. This time it is about God’s desire for me to be the person He sees me as. This time, I want to be the whole, healthy, energetic, dynamic person he sees in his mind’s eye – and I cannot be that person with my current BMI, at my current weight, with my current eating habits, and in my current job.

When we talk about needing to set our mind on something – like losing weight or quitting smoking or giving up another addiction – it’s really missing the point. We need to set our hearts on it. We need to surrender our own will and our own desires to God. The past 50 years have borne out the fact that I am incapable of doing what I need to do to be healthy and whole on my own. It is now clear, in no uncertain terms, that God must be the key ingredient.

Vocabulary changes once God enters into the conversation.

“I’ll go to the gym if I’m not too exhausted after work,” becomes “After I go to the gym I’ll have more energy and feel better. I also won’t be as hungry for junk food, and will want healthful foods for nourishment.” Each of us can substitute the vocabulary for his own stronghold and replace it with a new vocabulary that contains God-filled, God-centered words of renewal and rebirth.

This is about more than my desire to lose weight. My weight is the last stronghold in my life, the last vestige of my own attempting to be in charge of myself and my life. I have used food as an excuse to not be the person God made me to be. I don’t even like most of the junk food I’ve been medicating myself with all these years! I am a defiant and rebellious child, petulant and ego-centric.

What is so breathtaking to me is that God doesn’t care how much I weigh. He doesn’t care what I look like. He doesn’t care what clothes I wear, or where I live. He doesn’t love me less because I have built this wall of food addiction around me. He doesn’t try to knock down the wall, because he knows he could at any time. But he hasn’t done so because He wants me to be the one to punch a hole in the brickwork and walk on through to the other side.

Of course, God wants me to be healthy and happy and whole. I don’t speak the truth when I say he doesn’t care. God cares very much. He cares so much he hung on a cross for me. He hung there, by choice, to show me how very much I mean to him. What I meant to say is that God is not distracted or deterred in his love for me by appearances or circumstances.

God cares so much that he wants me to be healthy and whole and to grow into the woman he designed me to be, with a specific purpose and a gift to give the world.

Labels: faith, God, health, trust, wholeness

  ¶ 10:42 AM