What good will it do?

Posted on January 7, 2015 by Margaret

One of life’s great privileges is being able to talk to the Almighty. After reading the Old Testament and seeing how he kept a distance between himself and people to the point of causing whole mountains to shake, it’s astounding that he allows us to approach him at all. He not only allows it, he encourages it, warmly inviting us to come into his throne room. He even suggests we “come boldly,” and that we do it “with confidence.”

One of my great joys during the last 24 years has been to sit with others for extended times in God’s throne room. This week while meeting with 4 women to pray over a list of requests given to us through the church, a spirit of discouragement flooded me.

As we got ready to pray, we divided up the requests so each of us could cover some of them out loud while the others prayed silently. We do it this way each week, but for some reason this time I felt swamped by so many needs. There were nearly 100 in all, some of which had mini-requests within the bigger ones.

How could we pray for them all in the 90 minutes available?

As the first woman began praying, my mind stayed stuck in the enormity of our task. My head was bowed, but my eyes weren’t closed. They were reading the requests: physical maladies, emotional crises, relationship divisions, financial struggles. How could our little band of 4 accomplish anything significant for this mob of needy people?

My desire to converse with God began plummeting, snowed under by the overwhelming odds against us. God’s simultaneous point of view, however, was the exact opposite. His desire to talk to me remained strong. And talk he did.

“Do you think your invitation into my throne room is so you can show me what you can do for these folks? Or is it for Me to show you what I can do?”

And that’s all it took. He had pulled me into the conversation.

I’m thankful for his timely reminder that prayer is all about God, not me. My part is just to approach him, believing he hears and answers. And sometimes he does it well before reaching #100 on the list: “Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.” (Isaiah 65:24)

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)

Let’s see!

Posted on December 24, 2014 by Margaret

The marvel of Christmas is “God with us.” Though this is absolutely astounding, it’s difficult to grasp the depth of it, so during church last week our pastor went back into the Old Testament, before Christ’s birth, to see what God’s presence looked like.

First he mentioned the “thick and dreadful darkness” * that came over Abraham in conjunction with God’s arrival on the scene. Then he described the pillars of fire and cloud which were God’s actual presence when he brought the Israelites out of Egypt. **

Pastor Jay also described the time when God allowed Moses to see only his backside as his presence passed by, reminding him that if he saw his face, Moses would die. *** He also read about God’s presence coming in a whirlwind much like a terrifying tornado. **** In other words, the message of God’s physical presence was that we keep our distance and acknowledge a healthy fear of him.

And then we come to Luke 2 where an angel says, “You will find him!”

That’s followed by the shepherds’ response, “Let’s go and see!”

The limited-access God of the Old Testament was announcing that everything would be different from then on. No more keeping our distance. No more dreadful darkness. No more whirlwind. No more smoke. No more fear.

In other words, no more unapproachable Divinity. Instead it was going to be, “Come and see.” Approach him. Get close. Interact. Worship. That night the presence of God became accessible in a brand new way. An unexpected invitation was extended to “Come and see that God is with us!”

And that’s the astounding truth of Christmas.

“The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today…. and you will recognize him…” (Luke 2:11-12)

*Genesis 15:12 **Exodus 13:22 ***Exodus 33:20 ****Job 40:6

Praising and Praying with Mary

I’m praising God for being surrounded by my loving family, now 26 strong, and for still being able to say I’m feeling good.

Gift-giving

Posted on December 23, 2014 by Margaret

All of us have experienced Secret Santa gifts. Maybe it was in elementary school or Girl Scouts or even in an office setting, but we’re familiar with the inexpensive gift-giving done anonymously to someone assigned to us.

Keeping secrets is always fun, at Christmas or any time. Last week, for example, I received something that was given in secret. While I was away from home, someone came to our door and left an envelope on the front mat.

I didn’t recognize the writing, and when I opened it, I expected to see a “from who.” Instead of a signature there was just a short message: “Go get some donuts, diapers or dog treats – whatever you need. Wishing you God Speed. Your friend.” Tucked inside was a gift card for $100!

Birgitta and I studied the handwriting, trying to determine if we’d seen it before. Was it a woman’s writing? A man’s? Was it a young person? Someone older? I began asking around, but no one would claim responsibility. I wish I could say thanks, but anonymous gift-givers usually aren’t looking for that.

Giving anonymously is done only with careful intention, and very few do it. But when Jesus said, “It’s more blessed to give than receive,” he meant it for non-credited givers as well as those hoping for credit. Maybe those whose gifts are given in secret somehow enjoy their giving even more than the rest of us.

What kind of person gives anonymously? Maybe it’s someone who simply loves keeping secrets. Or it might be a person who doesn’t want a relationship to be tipped one way or another by the size or type of gift. It’s also possible the anonymous giver wants to be sure the gift can’t be given back, in case the receiver considers it too generous.

God is all for secretive giving. Using an interesting metaphor, he says in Scripture that we shouldn’t even let one of our hands know what the other is giving. The Bible also says that if no credit is sought on earth, the giver will be credited in heaven. (And if I know God at all, it’ll probably significantly magnified.)

So, dear anonymous friend, thank you for your very generous gift. God watched you leave it at my house and is personally planning something very special for you!