Cars & Faith

Barbara Kain Parker Biblical Insights, Inspirational , , , , ,

What could cars and faith possibly have in common? A lot, as it turns out!

Recently, we experienced a dire transportation crisis in which both of our vehicles were disabled. Our everyday, dependable 2011 Expedition was flashing warning lights at us, and it was finally determined that the brake module had failed. Turned out, we were number 900 on the wait list for a part that hadn’t even been manufactured yet. Then there was our back-up, a 2008 Toyota in need of so many expensive fixes that we only drove it for short, local errands. In general, while everything we need is within a one-to-five-mile radius from home, there was no way it would have been safe to drive either vehicle on the freeway. But – a big BUT – we had a couple  of important places we were scheduled to go, each of which would require about a 200-mile round trip. What to do?

Perhaps the least expensive option would be to have the Toyota repaired, so my husband consulted with our auto repair shop, only to discover that there were even more issues than we thought. It just wasn’t worth the money required to fix such an old vehicle, no matter that the body looked almost new and the interior was still in very good shape. Again, what to do? Prayer had been on our agenda all along, but thus far there had been no clear answers. Isn’t that the way life’s challenges often seem? Difficult problems without obvious solutions routinely persist in spite of prayer; and that’s where faith comes in. Whether the issue is a relatively minor need like ours for reliable transportation, more serious issues such as relationships, schools, jobs, etc.; or the desperate needs brought about through loss or infirmity; the solutions always rest in waiting on the Lord and holding onto faith in Him.

Ultimately for us, the Lord provided someone who wanted to buy the Toyota for more than we ever thought we could get, and then intervened to provide a new-to-us used car that looks and runs like new. It is a gift from Him, one that we couldn’t have dreamed of; and it came about through prayer and faith that He would supply our need. But the point of our story isn’t so much to talk about what happened with our transportation problem, but to introduce an analogy between cars and faith using our new car as an example. They have much in common.

We see our car as a gift from God; as is faith:

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. [i]

It’s very comforting and to know that we have reliable transportation, secure in the knowledge that we can safely drive to our destinations. Faith is the very basis of security with God, and through faith we can proclaim with the psalmists:

I have set the Lord always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.[ii]

You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again. You will increase my greatness and comfort me again.[iii]

Our car allows us to travel, to seek out new destinations and enjoy the ride. By faith, we also travel into the unseen realms of the Lord:

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.[iv]

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.[v]

Our car comes with unexpected upgrades that we’ve not had in other cars. Faith enables us to experience upgrades in our lives, which we could never have anticipated before we knew Jesus:

Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.[vi]

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.[vii]

A good car is both highly desired and a tremendous blessing. It’s easy to forget that many people in the world are so poor they must still walk, ride a bicycle or depend on other people or animals to get from place to place. Faith is also highly desired, and it is a much greater blessing than any car:

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.[viii]

When one has a reliable car, it can be used for good to help others. How much greater is the good that arises out of faith:

But the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions: joy that overflows, peace that subdues, patience that endures, kindness in action, a life full of virtue, faith that prevails, gentleness of heart, and strength of spirit. Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless.[ix]

Car ownership comes with tremendous responsibilities; one must understand and follow the rules of the road in order to remain safe. So it is with faith, a powerful weapon of righteousness when placed in God; but misplaced faith is very dangerous:

Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things… And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.[x]

Both cars and faith  may appear miraculous, perhaps impossible, to those who haven’t experienced them. Imagine the awestruck wonder of people who watched Model Ts chugging down the road. While some were awestruck, others wanted nothing to do with those new-fangled machines. Sadly, many people today doubt the reality of God and His promises; wanting nothing to do with Him, but the scriptures speak for themselves regarding the necessity of faith:

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.[xi]

Both cars and faith are useless without fuel. Clearly, there has to be a source of power for a car, which began with steam, transitioned to gasoline, and now has been expanded to include electricity. The source of faith, as well as other spiritual gifts, is the Holy Spirit:

For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.[xii]

Faith is not something that just happens automatically; it comes packaged as small as a mustard seed, but Jesus said that mustard seed faith would move mountains. How is that even possible? By exercising our tiny faith, it grows through trial and error, again and again. But remember, with just a few words from the Lord, the heavens and the earth were created; imagine what what just one of His words, encompassed in a mustard seed, can do when we respond by faith.

The results of my faith don’t rest in me; for within myself there is no ability to move mountains. Rather, it’s faith in the One who gave me the faith in the first place; it’s faith in what He can do.

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.[xiii]

[i] Ephesian 2:8

[ii] Psalm 16:8

[iii] Psalm 71:20-21

[iv] Ephesians 2:5-7

[v] Colossians 3:1-4

[vi] 1 Peter 1:8-9

[vii] 1 John 5:4

[viii] Hebrews 11:1-3

[ix] Galatians 5:22-23 TPT

[x] Romans 1: 22-23, 28031

[xi] Hebrews 11:6

[xii] ! Corinthians 12:8-11

[xiii] Philippians 3:12-14

Knowing God

Barbara Kain Parker Biblical Insights, Inspirational , , , , , ,

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. Proverbs 9:10

Do you remember the lyrics from Game of Love, the popular oldies-but-goodies tune from the sixties? “It started long ago in the Garden of Eden, when Adam said to Eve, baby you’re for me?” That phrase wasn’t so far off the mark:

Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man. “At last!” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh!
She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’ ”
Genesis 2:22-23 NLT

Unfortunately, the first couple made the fateful decision to eat from the fruit of tree of the knowledge of good and evil, choosing to disobey God’s perfect plan for their lives in an effort to be more like Him; and it’s been all downhill from there as mankind has continued his quest to gain intellectual understanding about all that we encounter. We send our kids to the best schools and push them to study, study, and study some more. We work hard in our jobs to stay abreast of the latest developments so new technology won’t render us obsolete. We become obsessed with reading, studying, taking notes and memorizing facts about the things that are of most interest to us. To be honest, that’s not always a bad thing. After all, God did invent knowledge, and intellectual understanding can often be a good thing. Sadly though, the events in the Garden skewed God’s concept of righteous knowledge, spinning it out of balance from His perfect plan.

And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. Isaiah 11:2-3a

You see; wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge and the fear of the Lord are meant to work together in conjunction with the Spirit of the Lord. They are meant to complement each other; but all too often we place knowledge at the top, constantly seeking facts and figures as we try to extrapolate wisdom and understanding from the corrupted knowledge of the world.

We do this not only in our day-to-day roles at work, home or play, but also in our pursuit of God; which is not His perfect plan. Yes, He wants us to be knowledgeable about Him, but studying everything we can find and trying to pack our brains full of such knowledge isn’t the way we’re going to get it. By so doing, we fall into the same trap as Adam and Eve, seeking after the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We seem to think if we just absorb enough of this knowledge we’ll have all the answers, but that never happens and can easily get so caught up in the quest to figure God out that we never get around to experiencing Him. We miss the truth:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! Romans 11:33

Wanting to know God is admirable, and we should constantly seek Him out:

Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the Lord. Zephaniah 2:3

But if knowing Him isn’t the same thing as having an intellectual knowledge of Him, what are we to do? One morning, the Lord woke me up and gave me a quick overview of how to know Him intimately, and I remembered God’s promise in Isaiah 33:6:

… and he will be the stability of your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is Zion’s treasure.

It was very clear to me that it is His desire that we know him, and then I was shown five ways it will happen outside of our own pursuit of knowledge:

1) Hunger for God: Moses cried out, “Teach me your ways so I can know you.” This was after he’d been up Mt. Sinai the first time and had come back down to find the people in sin, worshipping a golden calf. God’s response to Moses’ plea was to place him in a protected place, in the cleft of a rock, as He passed by in the fullness of His glory. God called Moses His friend. Why? Because he was always hungry for more; he just couldn’t get enough of His Lord.

Consider the necessity of food to sustain life: As the body approaches death, it is a very normal thing for a person to lose all desire for food or water. In fact, they eventually lose the ability to swallow anything; and even if they did, their body could no longer process it. The need for food and water is evidence of life, and if we carry the analogy over into the spiritual realm, hunger for God is what keeps us alive spiritually; it’s what keeps us growing in our understanding or knowledge of Him.

2) Intimacy with God: Just as intimate relationships between people are developed through a process of building trust and communication over time, so are the intimacies of God revealed to us. In high school, teenage girls tell secrets to girlfriends they trust; sweethearts who are dating begin sharing secrets with one another; in a good marriage, husbands and wives are even more intimate, sharing not only their hearts and minds, but also their bodies. The manner in which relationships deepen as trust is gained reflects the manner in which we gain knowledge of God. The more time we spend with Him, the more He shares His mysteries with us.

How do we do that? Reading His Word is a start; but reading with a listening ear for the Spirit’s prompting that there is something special there for you; or perhaps reading until a particular verse just jumps off the page and burns itself into your heart. Then it will be clear that you’ve heard from the Lord; that He has imparted experiential knowledge.

Praying and worshipping are helpful practices, but simply waiting quietly for Him cannot be undervalued. Be still and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10a) is not about just asking for things, but silently waiting on the Lord. Then, suddenly He speaks and you have a new understanding of something; or, you may actually hear his voice. You will have found knowledge through intimacy.

3) Experiential knowledge: God is gracious in that even when we aren’t willing to hungrily seek after Him, He shows himself in other ways and we experience His intervention on our behalf; we experience His hand, His power, at work in our lives.

Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. Exodus 6:6-7

Here, you shall know equates to experiential knowledge. How many times has God delivered each one of us from a difficult, seemingly hopeless situation? Perhaps it was financial or relational, or perhaps an illness that had no solution aside from God’s intervention. Such times, whether we recognized it or not, were opportunities to know Him better, to know His love, His power; to gain that elusive knowledge that cannot be found in books.

4) Observation: All we have to do is open our eyes – open our hearts – and observe God’s Hand at work in the lives of mankind to gain knowledge of Him. He’s not out of the miracle working business either, so watch and see what the Lord can do:

And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”  Exodus 14:18

But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he then said to the paralytic—“Rise, pick up your bed and go home.” Matthew 9:4-6

Well, some may say, that’s fine for the ancient Egyptians and the people of Jesus day, but when do we have the chance to observe such things? Scripture is clear that His works surround us daily:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. Romans 1:18-20

Did you notice that last sentence? So they are without excuse. When we stand before God, we will be left with zero justification for not knowing Him!!!

5) Judgment: All men everywhere will eventually have knowledge of the true and living God!  Surely this is not the way we would choose to came to know God:

And they will be loathsome in their own sight for the evils that they have committed, for all their abominations. And they shall know that I am the Lord. I have not said in vain that I would do this evil to them.” Ezekiel 6:9b-10

How much better to learn of Him now, and to experience all of God’s blessings that to gain experiential knowledge of His wrath once it’s too late:

For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 6:2 NLT

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him… Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 1 John 5:1, 10-12

Invisible People

Barbara Kain Parker Biblical Insights, Inspirational , , , , , , , , ,

He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
John 1:11

Have you ever felt like you were just a nameless face in a crowd; unknown, unwanted, without value? I have. You see, I was never one of the popular crowd; always the last one picked for a team, never invited to other kids’ parties, always wondering what was wrong with me.

One example: Linda was a girl across the street who I played with a lot, and in my mind she was my best (and only) friend, but… A year ahead of me in school, she quickly found new friends and moved on. One day Linda had another friend over and they were playing in a building behind her house. Standing outside of the fence, I longed to join the fun as I heard them laughing, clearly having a great time. They even came out and teased me about how much I was missing.

Another time: There was a huge playground at school, and given that we were only a block from the beach, it was mostly sand. A group of kids started building sand castles, which over the course of a week evolved into a sand city. Other kids were invited to help but though I asked, they told me no; and I remained on the sidelines.

Those are very simplistic examples of a lonely child; and as an adult I came to understand the deep agony of others who weren’t just rejected by other children, but by parents and family; often abused or abandoned. I am so blessed that I had parents who truly loved and did the best they could for me and my younger siblings; but my point is that no matter how good or bad our backgrounds may have been, most of us have felt like invisible people at some time, lost in a swirling crowd of humanity.

Biblical examples of the misunderstood are almost too numerous to mention; but consider a short list:

  • Joshua and Caleb – nobody believed their report of the wonders that the Land of Canaan offered; so they had to spend forty years wandering around in the desert until all of those rebellious people died
  • Joseph – his jealous brothers not only scoffed at him but also sold him into slavery, where he spent 17 years (some of them in prison) before he came to the attention of Pharoh and was exalted to the highest office in Egypt, second only to the king
  • King David – persecuted and pursued by Saul even though he sought to honor the king throughout his life
  • All of the Old Testament prophets – condemned, criticized, and many who were martyred for their faith
  • The apostles, all of whom except John were martyred, and he was certainly persecuted

I’m sure that Jesus himself would have known what that felt like. Sure, thousands of people flocked to hear Him teach; individuals sought Him out for healing; but even among His disciples, did anone really know Him? He wasn’t welcome in His own home town, and even His mother and brothers doubted:

And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read.When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which
their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff.
But passing through their midst, he went away.
Luke 4:16, 28-30

So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.”
For not even his brothers believed in him.
Matthew 7:3-5

Almighty God, I AM, Jehovah understands:

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man
and birds and animals and creeping things. Romans 1:19-23

No matter how invisible we may feel, there’s good news. God knows each of us intimately:

O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high;
I cannot attain it. Psalm 139:1-6

Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me. Isaiah 49:15-16

I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep … I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. John 10:3, 14-15

The Lord sees what we are enduring:

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. Psalm 139:7-16

And the best news yet – He gives us hope:

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. John 16:33

Yet sometimes, life gets hard and we may easily fall back into our invisibility cloaks. In such moments, consider Jesus’ prayer for you. Consider that just hours before He was nailed to the cross, you were on His mind:

When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” John 17

If I Were A Tree, What Would I Be?

Barbara Kain Parker Biblical Insights, Inspirational , , , , , ,

Memories of the wondrous redwoods have appeared often in my posts, for I grew up along the magnificent northern coast of California in the land of the giants. One day, the Lord impressed me to start going back to older hand-written journals to refresh my memories of old dreams, Spirit-inspired insights, and lessons learned. Doing so, I was surprised to find a poem jotted down during a journaling session that I don’t even remember writing.  I share it here now, not because I’m a gifted poet; trust me, I’m not! I share it because it illustrates scriptural principle of unity:

If I were a tree, what would I be? 

A redwood you see, a redwood for me

Standing, standing, so strong and so tall; years upon years, staying strong through it all

Planted by God beside the sea; centuries before they ever saw me

Through lightnings, thunderings, and winds big and small; reaching up to the heavens standing so tall

Supported by others, so like our churches; left alone they’d fall, like baby birds from perches

So many wonders in redwoods I see

Yes, oh yes; if I were a tree, that’s what I’d be

Redwoods can reach heights of over 300 feet, and live for over 2,000 years; and one of the secrets of their strength and endurance is their root system. Typically, the roots only reach about 6 to 12 feet deep, certainly not enough to keep such giants standing through the storms of time; except for one thing – unity. Each tree’s roots intermingle with those ot its neighbors, creating a networked system that quite literally holds them up.

Biblically, we see many examples of both unrighteous and righteous unity. First the ungodly version that leads to destruction:

Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth. Genesis 11:1-9

The people of Nimrod’s kingdom built a tower into the heavens, using ungodly unity to tap into false glory and false unity, using a valid spiritual principle to establish an evil kingdom. The Lord recognized what was happening and, in His wisdom, turned disunity loose among the people by confusing the language. They could no longer communicate and were scattered across the earth.

Ungodly unity always sows seeds of discord; it reared its ugly head time and again throughout the scriptures, as is well illustrated by the persistent agreement of the pharisees against Jesus, the stoning of Stephen, and the persecution of Paul:

So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” … So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.
John 11: 47-48, 53

But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. Acts 7:57-58

But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law.” Acts 18:12-13

Currently, one need only look at wars and rumors of war, personal and political animosities against anyone who doesn’t share one’s view, rioting, rampant crime—in other words, the world in general—to observe glaring examples of disunity. Clearly, the enemy is still up to his old tricks thousands of years later, but we can’t say we haven’t been warned. Jesus himself described in great detail the chaotic world in which we now live in Matthew 24.

But enough bad news! Let’s turn to the good news, which gives us hope and should definitely make us feel a whole lot better.

Clearly, the enemy is the prime promoter of disunity, so how great it is when God steps in and uses it against him. King David certainly understood this when he wrote:

God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered; and those who hate him shall flee before him! As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away; as wax melts before fire, so the wicked shall perish before God! But the righteous shall be glad; they shall exult before God; they shall be jubilant with joy! Psalm 68:1-3

This was Gideon’s experience, when God whittled his army down to just 300 men who were expected to defeat the forces of Midian, which were innumerable:

That same night the Lord said to him, “Arise, go down against the camp, for I have given it into your hand. But if you are afraid to go down, go down to the camp with Purah your servant. And you shall hear what they say, and afterward your hands shall be strengthened to go down against the camp.”… When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling a dream to his comrade. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.” And his comrade answered, “This is no other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel; God has given into his hand Midian and all the camp.” As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped. And he returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Arise, for the Lord has given the host of Midian into your hand.”…Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. And they cried out, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!” Every man stood in his place around the camp, and all the army ran. They cried out and fled. When they blew the 300 trumpets, the Lord set every man’s sword against his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled. Judges 7:9-11a, 13-15, 20-22

The characteristics of unity are diametrically opposed to disunity; complete opposites, and certainly much more pleasant! Synonymous with unity are agreement, accord, consensus, peace, harmony, solidarity, unison, assent, unanimity, concord, wholeness and oneness; [i] and unity can be defined as:

  • The quality or state of not being multiple: oneness
  • A condition of harmony: accord
  • Continuity without deviation or change (as in purpose or action)
  • The quality or state of being made one: unification
  • A totality of related parts: an entity that is a complex or systematic whole [ii]

God in His three persons as Father, Son and Holy Spirit is the perfect example of unity: “God’s unity is an incommunicable attribute of the divine essence that refers to the absolute oneness and uniqueness of God (unity of singularity) and to the utter simplicity of his essence (unity of simplicity). Divine unity is an attribute of God which affirms God’s uniqueness and absolute oneness (unity of singularity) as well as the qualitative unity of the divine essence (unity of simplicity). The former implies that there is only one divine being. God is numerically one, not in the sense that he is one among others, but exclusively and solely the one God. All other beings exist from him, through him, and to him. The latter, God’s unity of singularity, is the inner unity of God’s essence by which all composition is denied. It affirms that in God everything is one; his attributes are identical with his being.” [iii]

Time and again, Jesus taught of His oneness with Father and Spirit, and their perfect cooperation was displayed after Jesus’ baptism:

And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:16–17

Jesus’ prayer for us just before He went to the cross was about being in unity, both with God and with one another:

I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. John 17:9–11

Nothing comes from ungodly unity aside from chaos, confusion and all manner of destruction. How much better is the Lord’s righteous version of unity!

[i] Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

[ii] Inc Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. (Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2003)

[x] Gayle Doornbos, “God’s Unity,” in Lexham Survey of Theology, ed. Mark Ward et al. (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018).

Storm Warnings

Barbara Kain Parker Biblical Insights, Inspirational , , , , ,

Behold, the storm of the Lord! Wrath has gone forth, a whirling tempest; it will burst upon the head of the wicked. The anger of the Lord will not turn back until he has executed and accomplished the intents of his heart. In the latter days you will understand it clearly.
Jeremiah 23:19-20

From encouragement to warning, continuing from the Lord’s encouraging words in my last post…

The angels are coming; the angels are coming
The devils are coming; the devils are coming

One if by land; two if by sea
What does that mean to you and to me?

Sound the alarm; ring out the bells
Evil released from the deep pits of Hell

But the Son rises up; He draws near, He draws near
To lead in the battle: You have nothing to fear

For years and for years, you have all asked Me why
The time has now come; hear the Lord’s battlecry

Onward and upward; follow My lead
I’m sufficient My Bride, for all that you need

The victory, the victory, the victory is won
Keep your eyes on Me; keep your eyes on the Son

In some of His final words to the disciples shortly before He was crucified, Jesus couldn’t have been clearer that time is short and we should heed the ‘storm warnings’:

And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Matthew 24:4-14

Sadly, even as everything Jesus mentioned happens right before our eyes, many people (Christians included!) could be compared to those who have ignored modern-day warnings of natural disasters, with tragic results. Warnings such as:

  • 2005 – Hurricane Katrina: Three years previously, the city’s main newspaper, The Times-Picayune, had devoted several days of coverage to a special series, Washing Away, in which that dangers associated with failing to correct weaknesses in the levees that were meant to protect New Orleans were addressed.
  • 2007 – Minneapolis Bridge Collapse: Thirteen people were killed and another 145 injured in a sudden bridge collapse, despite the fact that officials at multiple levels of government had been warning of structural defieciences for almost twenty years.
  • 2011 – Fukashima Meltdown: No one could have forecast the massive earthquake, which triggered a disastrous tsunami that not ony killed over 15,000 people but also triggered the failure of the nuclear power plant and forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people. The negative effects of that meltdown are still being felt, yet the Carniegie Endowment for International Peace concluded that the disaster could have been prevented, “Bureaucratic and professional stovepiping made nuclear officials unwilling to take advice from experts outside of the field. Those nuclear professionals also may have failed to effectively utilize local knowledge. And, perhaps most importantly, many believed that a severe accident was simply impossible.”

Such a list could go on and on. It seems that mankind routinely ignores valid warnings time and time again, the worst of which is when multitudes fail to receive Jesus:

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:12-15

Jesus was clear; the end-of-times ‘storm warnings’ are clear throughout both the Old and New Testaments. May we all be wise and heed God’s words:

Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining. The Lord roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth quake. But the Lord is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the people of Israel. Joel 3:14-16

The Lord Spoke

Barbara Kain Parker Biblical Insights, Inspirational , , , , , , , , , , ,

The words of the Lord are timeless, as relevant today as they were thousands of years ago, and if we listen we will hear His voice. When it happens, may we all be like the young boy, Samuel:

And the Lord came and stood, calling as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant hears.” 1 Samuel 3:10

One day I heard the still small voice of the Spirit whispering truths as I journaled. As thrilling as that was, it was also very encouraging because each word that was spoken was a relection of familiar scriptures, and evidence to me that over the years I had hidden His words in my heart.

I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes! With my lips I declare all the rules of your mouth. In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches. I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways. I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word. Psalm 119:11-16

The secret place, the secret place
Treasures are hidden in the secret place

Follow my way, follow my way
From darkness into day, from darkness into day

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,”
when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. Isaiah 30:21

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5

Evil may think that it has you trapped
The entrance caved in and the road isn’t mapped
But a way has been opened, a way bright and clear
And the angels cry out, “Never fear, never fear”

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19

And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord
shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.
And the angel said to them,“Fear not, for behold,
I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior,
who is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:9-10

I am the way, the truth and the light
As you focus on Me, I’ll increase your sight

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.
Psalm 119:18

Go steadily forward; in pain persevere
You’ll soon be amazed as I wipe every tear

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete,
lacking in nothing. James 1:2-4

Stand faithful, stand faithful; the trial’s almost done
And you’ll walk in the light, hand-in-hand with the Son

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for,
the conviction of things not seen.
For by it the people of old received their commendation.
By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God,
so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
Hebrews 11:1-3

Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.
You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.
Psalm 73:23-24

The Spirit’s voice continued, but the message changed from one of encouragement to one of end-times expectations, which I will share in my next post. We are there, folks! If ever there was a time in history to hide His words in our hearts so as to be prepared when trouble comes, it is now. In my next post, In the meantime:

Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Proverbs 30:5

Why, God?

Barbara Kain Parker Biblical Insights, Inspirational , , , , , , , ,

For nothing will be impossible with God. Luke 1:37

I was twenty-eight years old, and the biblical women with whom I could relate the most were Sarah, Rachel, Hannah and Elizabeth. Why? They were barren and could not conceive a child. I wanted a baby desperately, yet after much testing my doctors could find no reason why I couldn’t become pregnant. Full of sorrow over what might never be, I could no longer attend baby showers or watch new moms with their sweet babies without my heart breaking.

At the time, while working as a private duty RN, an assignment was given to care for a young woman who had just given birth. Along with the task came the warning that she was going to be very hard to handle; a poor little rich girl, spoiled rotten, separated from her husband and living with her mother, who was pretty loony in her own right. Not only did the patient not want her child but she refused to even see her; on top of that, she was driving the entire staff crazy with her complaints. Long story short, she lived up to all the hype and wins the prize for the most difficult patient I ever had throughout my nursing career. Day 1 was beyond awful, dealing with her hysterics as she refused the very treatments that would have helped her feel better; but day 2 was just as bad, or even worse. The dad came to visit and they decided to go see their child, escorted by yours truly. That baby girl was one of the prettiest little darlings I’d ever seen, and she stole their hearts (and mine!); after which they decided Mom would take her home where they would live with the the sex-crazed, drugged-out grandmother in her multi-million dollar Beverly Hills mansion. That broke my heart almost as much as the mom not wanting the baby because I knew there was little chance she would grow up to be a happy, well-adjusted adult; let alone the fact that short of a major miracle, there would be no godly influence in her life. I wonder to this day how her life turned out and if she has ever come to know Jesus.

After all of this, while walking to my car after work I could’nt keep the tears from flowing. Literally railing at God over the injustice of it all, I argued with Him all the way home; asking over and over, “Why God, why?” I felt convicted that I should read my Bible as soon as I arrived, but was so angry with Him that scriptures and prayer were the last thing I was interested in. All I wanted to do was yell and scream and pretty-much throw a fit! Finally, I gave in and told Him, “OK, I’ll only read the daily devotional, but that’s it unless You give me some answers.”

Backtracking a little, this was before the days of easy search engines where you can type in a few words of a Bible quote and immediately locate the chapter and verse. I had been searching for weeks for a particular scripture but couldn’t find it even though I’d checked printed commentaries and indexes, all to no avail; it seemed like those verses had disappeared from my Bible. Now, I entered my home and, with a rebellious, I’ll-show-You God attitude, picked up my devotional booklet. Wouldn’t you know it? The very passage I’d been searching for was the verse of the day:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6

Broken, I collapsed on the floor in tears; repenting for my fears, impatience, lack of trust and everything else I could think of. By the time I got up He had made all things new, the angst was gone. Shortly afterward, a friend from church was about to give birth and I hosted her baby shower. I remember so clearly sitting there in complete peace; but there was also a quiet sense that I was pregnant, though it was much too early to even suspect it. Sure enough, I was; and about nine months later our son was born. I still identified with those biblical women, but this time it was because I understood how each one felt when they gave birth – Sarah, the mother of Isaac; Rachel, the mother of Joseph; Hannah, the mother of Samuel; and Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist:

He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the Lord! Psalm 113:9

Why me? Why did I have to go through that? Certainly, I don’t have all of the answers; but I do know that the experience has enabled me to comfort other women over the years. I also understand that why-questions are not limited to infertitily and that whatever the issue, God is always faithful to His own. He’s proven it to me time and time again; through life-threatening illnesses, financial difficulties and family difficulties, just to name a few, He has proven His sufficiency:

Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:8-9

Clearly, we don’t have all the answers and often cannot understand, but the truth remains:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9

Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:30-31

But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me. Psalm 13:5-6

For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in. Psalm 27:10

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13

The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself. Timothy 2:11-13

Life is full of hardship! Seemingly, about the time we overcome one thing, somthing else comes along. My prayer is that each person reading this post will embrace the reality of His sufficency and experience His perfect peace in the midst of the storms. Whatever the problem, He cares and He will help!

Connected!

Barbara Kain Parker Biblical Insights, Inspirational , , , , , , , , , , , ,

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38

It was just after Christmas in 2009. We’d celebrated Christmas with our son’s family, which now included our first grandchild, a precious 1-month-old boy. Now, I was left in their home to dog-sit with our two granddogs while my husband, Jack, flew off to Alabama for a holiday visit; and our kids left for a few days to attend our daughter-in-law’s family reunion.

Aside from a bad cold, I was all set to enjoy myself with left-over Christmas goodies, the dogs, and a movie marathon. But then… Isn’t there always a but?

I journaled: “Jack’s computer charging cable didn’t get packed and he called, desperate, because he had no way to show the very-old super-8-to-DVD movies we’d made for his family. I located a nearby post office, went out with my cough and runny nose, and sent the cord via priority mail, hoping it would arrive before he had to fly home. But now (another but!) apparently my phone cord did make the trip to Alabama! I am so grateful that my connection with God can never be lost, stolen or broken.”

Our guaranteed God-connection does have one mandatory requirement – to receive Jesus Christ as Savior:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
John 3:16

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. John 1:12-13

Yet, sometimes it just seems like God is so far away and, like King David, we may begin to doubt:

Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? Psalm 10:1

Or, perhaps we wonder if He’s even aware of our difficulties. Scripture is clear that He is:

O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high;
I cannot attain it. Psalm 139:1-5

For every concern there is a corresponding biblical truth, so let’s look at a few common questions. First, how can we know that He even hears our prayers, let alone listens and answers them?

Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear. Isaiah 65:24

“Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it—the Lord is his name: Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. Jeremiah 33:2-3

We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him. John 9:31

How can I be sure God will not just give up on me and walk away?

It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. Deuteronomy 31:8

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
1 Corinthians 10:13

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. John 3:18

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:1

Is it even possible for me to ever become close to God?

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place
from which I sent you into exile. Jeremiah 29:11-14a

But I’m afraid. How can I trust Him?

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish. You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those who war against you shall be as nothing at all. For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.” Isaiah 41:41:10-13

I am a Christian, but I need to grow closer to God. I really want to have a secure connection with Him. How do I do that?

Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! Psalm 46:10

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16

The Apostle Paul summed it up well in his letter to the Colossians:

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:1-17

An Ode to Joy

Barbara Kain Parker Devotional, Inspirational , , , , , , , ,

Falling asleep recently while praying something to the effect that my life would be pleasing to God, I seemed to hear the words, “Ode to Joy.” This was a poem written by Friedrich Schiller in 1795, and is best known as the fourth movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, which was completed in 1824.

Ironically, Schiller, who died in 1805, wrote a letter in 1800 to a longtime friend and patron whose friendship had originally inspired him to write the ode. He said that he considered his poem to be, “detached from reality [and] of value maybe for us two, but not for the world, nor for the art of poetry”.

Like Schiller, I imagine we may often underestimate the legacy that both our words and actions have left behind. For example, I cherish enduring lessons from a teacher I had in eighth grade, a teacher with such a reputation for being ‘mean’ that I was really disappointed to find out I’d been assigned to her class. Yes, she was pretty old, kind of grumpy and yes, she was definitely strict; but she also turned out to be one of the best teachers I ever had. Mid-year, she became very ill and was never able to return, so we had a substitute. Interestingly, I can recall nothing about her except that she was younger and more easy-going. I wonder if Mrs. Light ever knew what an impact she made on students throughout her long teaching career. Probably not.

Consider just a few biblical figures with enduring legacies. Did Jonah have any idea that thousands of sermons would be preached in years to come about his story? Did the minor prophets such as Joel, Habbakkuk or any of the other minor prophets ever dream that the God-given words they recorded would touch millions of lives? Doubtful!

How many of the members of the Faith Hall of Fame (Hebrews 11) had any idea that their sacrificial faith would still inspire people thousands of years later, near the end of time? Not likely!

But our God sees the end from the beginning; he knows both what has been and what is yet to come:

“…remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose’…”
Isaiah 46:9-10

We should also keep in mind that bad examples often live on in infamy. Whom among us would like to carry the reputation of the hard-hearted Pharoh or Judas Iscariot, Hitler or Musolini? Few, I hope. But what of the bad examples set by ordinary people: perhaps parents, teachers, pastors or polititions who’ve done irreperable harm to both individuals and large groups of people? For better or worse, righteous or unrighteous, things that we say or do may well be remembered far longer than we’d expect, perhaps touching people we may never even meet, but God sees it all:

For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the Lord, and he ponders all his paths.
Proverbs 5:1ESV

The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.
Proverbs 15:3 ESV

O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.
Psalm 139: 1-6

We would all be wise to live as if everything that we say and do will endure long after we’re gone, and to focus on living for Christ Jesus:

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God,
what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:1-2 ESV

May we, like the Apostle Paul, be able to declare:

For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Galatians 1:10 ESV

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Philippians 1:21 ESV

What’s in a Name?

Barbara Kain Parker Inspirational, Biblical Insights , , , , , , , ,

Names are important, as is illustrated by expectant parents pouring over lists of potential names for their child, often accepting or rejecting one after another as they look up an inherent origin and meanng.

Names are even more important than many of us realize, as is illustrated throughout the Bible. Time and again, God either instructs what a name is to be or changes one to conform to the sybolic meaning He desires. Consider these examples:

  • Abram (many) became Abraham (father of a multitude), and his wife Sarai (contentious) was re-named Sarah (princess)
  • Jacob (holder of the heel) became Israel (he who struggles with God, or prince of God)
  • Simon (God has heard) became Peter (a little rock or stone)

The Hebrew etymologies may be open to interpretation, but suffice it to say that with these famous name changes, God was making a point about the individual concerned; He was memorializing their spiritual accomplishments or potential, and His blessings upon them.

In other instances, God told people what to name their children. Hosea is a good case in point, for his kids’ names illustrated prophetic messages to Israel shortly before the nation fell to the Assyrians. The scriptures speak for themselves:

And the Lord said to him, “Call his name Jezreel, for in just a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.” She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the Lord said to him, “Call her name No Mercy, for I will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all. But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God. I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen.” When she had weaned No Mercy, she conceived and bore a son. And the Lord said, “Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God.”
Hosea 1:4-9 ESV

“And in that day I will answer, declares the Lord, I will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth, and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil, and they shall answer Jezreel, and I will sow her for myself in the land. And I will have mercy on No Mercy, and I will say to Not My People, ‘You are my people’; and he shall say, ‘You are my God.’ ”
Hosea 2:21-23 ESV

For a long time, I had a love-hate relationship with my name, Barbara. It was popular around the time of my birth, and my parents gave it to me because they liked it; but much to my dismay in an eleventh-grade Latin class, I learned that I was the not-so-proud owner of a name that meant barbarian. Translated into English, that means strange, foreign or barbarous, and carries the concept of being an alien; in Greek, it’s foreign, strange or ignorant. My classmates got a big laugh out of that, and I became the class joke. To me it didn’t seem so far off base because I’d never been part of the in-crowd, and was always the last to be picked for any sports team or group activity. I deinitely felt like a foreigner trapped in a hostile territory called high school.

Fast forward to May, 2006. I awoke one night around 2 AM with such a restlessness that it was impossible to stay in bed, let alone sleep; so I took my Bible and a notebook into the living room to try and hear from the Lord. Initially, it seemed like the words He had for me were, “Feed my sheep.” Then there was something about Leviticus, but no specific verse; so I scanned through the book, observing anew how the Old Testatment sacricifes foreshadowed the perfect sacrifice of Jesus. The only further words I heard were, “I have called you.” I continued to pray and listen for more from the Lord while sitting in my chair, feet on the floor, trying to focus on Him. The next thing I knew, I opened my eyes feeling completely refreshed, and it was 5 AM! I journaled my thoughts: “Maybe I went somewhere? What happened last night? I know I was praying, ‘Here am I, send me.’ Did He send me somewhere? Or, did I spend those hours with my spirit soaking in the presence of the Lord? The song lyrics in my mind at the moment are, ‘He has shown you, oh man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you; but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.’ ” I knew that the lyrics echo the words of Micah 6:8, but there seemed to be no clear answers to my questions.

A few weeks later, I had a dream in which I was identified as one of God’s elect with the ability to encounter the realm of the Spirit, and to find rest there. Going to 1 Peter 1:1, I noticed that God’s elect were identified as strangers in the world. Wow! That described me – I am a stranger or foreigner who is much loved by God, as my name actually attests! Other scriptures resonated:

“Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; hold not your peace at my tears! For I am a sojourner with you, a guest, like all my fathers.
Psalm 39:12 ESV

I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me!
Psalm 119:19 ESV

Thus says the Lord: “Keep justice, and do righteousness, for soon my salvation will come, and my righteousness be revealed. Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil.” Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely separate me from his people”; and let not the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.” For thus says the Lord: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. “And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant— these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares, “I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered.”
Isaiah 56:1-8 ESV

In God’s kingdom, to be a foreigner is to be protected in a special way by Him; it is to be a citizen of Heaven, it is to dwell in one place physically while longing for another; it is a perfect description of me.

It became aparent that the role of a forerunner requires faith, a gift that God has blessed me with. It also requires suffering in greater degrees than others, and it seems as if I’ve been given a good-sized plate of suffering. So my prayer became, “Lord, continue to reveal your truth about this to me.”

Then, two months after my night in the chair, I finally came to understand that foreshadowing equates to forerunning; and I am to be a forerunner, preparing the way of the Lord by walking humbly and justly in communion with, and obedience to, my God. John the Baptist was a forerunner, preparing the way of the Lord; and he was considered to be an unusual man who was very different from others, to say the least:

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’ ”
Matthew 3:1-2 ESV

Perhaps being a foreigner or stranger in the land was a piece of my puzzle in regard to being a forerunner. The patriarchs of Hebrews 11, identified as strangers and exiles, were certainly forerunners who lived by faith:

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God,
for he has prepared for them a city.
Hebrews 11:13-16 ESV

Regardless of the meaning of my name, I am not alone, for all of us who have accepted Jesus and follow Him faithfully in this life will receive a new name in eternity as well:

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone,
with a new name written on the stone that no one knows
except the one who receives it.
Revelation 2:17 ESV

You see, Christians are not simply citizens of the world that is seen, but of the one that is yet to come; and it is there that our true names, our everlasting names, are written:

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power
that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
Philippians 3:20-21 ESV

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage,
and I will be his God and he will be my son.
Revelation 21:5-7 ESV

Regardless of any earthly name or its meaning, a child of the King has a name that is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life:

And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Revelation 21:27 ESV

FOREIGNERS, STRANGERS AND ALIENS NO MORE!!!

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