What's In a Name?

“What’s in a name?” Romeo famously asks in Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet; “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” And while that statement may be true for the names that Shakespeare chose for his characters, the names of John Bunyan’s characters in Pilgrim’s Progress carry heavy meaning. The name of each character says something about him or her. Take Faithful, for example,  a man on the journey to Celestial City, who stays faithful to God even when it costs him his life at Vanity Fair. Or take Pliable who quits his journey to the narrow gate when times get difficult. There’s also Worldy Wiseman who finds Christian’s beliefs foolish, arguing against him with the wisdom of the world.  In Bunyan’s allegory, each name implies what the character is like before he or she even says a word.

A few months ago, I asked my middle school students as we finished studying this book to write a paragraph about what they would want their names to be if they were characters in this allegory. What would they want to be known as? What would they want their names to say about them? Reading these assignments proved quite interesting. I came across names like Loyal, Encourager, Faith, Perseverance, and Friend. But the one that brought tears to my eyes was from a student whose life over the last few years has not always been easy. The name she chose and explained in her paragraph was Trusting-Sheep. I have thought about that multiple times since reading her paper. And I find that in the situation we now face with a pandemic that has brought our nation and our world to a halt and caused us to clearly see our lack of control, this is a name that we as believers need to be sure that we are wearing. For this name would say a lot about us and our God to a world that is bound by fear.

How would Trusting-Sheep face the fears of a virus that has proven deadly for thousands? Specifically in my case, how would Trusting-Sheep face the fact that her husband has cancer? How would she react when his surgery and multiple-day hospital stay must take place in the midst of the pandemic?

I sat on my couch two weeks ago, the day after finding out that the hospital in which my husband would be having surgery would not allow me to stay with him or even visit him during his time there. Overall I had not been anxious about the upcoming surgery (a testimony of God’s great work in my life over the last year), but this news caused fears to take root in my mind. My bible study for the day led me to Abraham’s life, and the author of the study noted that throughout Abraham’s life events, it was as if God repeatedly asked him the question, “Abraham, do you trust Me?” Immediately, God turned that question on me. Though I didn’t audibly hear His voice, I knew He was asking, “Amy, do you trust Me?” So, I asked myself, do I believe that this is God’s timing for my husband’s surgery? Do I believe that He is sovereign and good over this virus and how it may or may not touch my family and friends?  And my only answer is “Yes, Lord, I trust You.” The outworking of this trust then is that I leave my concerns and fears with Him. That I choose the name Trusting-Sheep.

You see, sheep are not smart or fierce. They can’t protect themselves, and they have no control over their lives. This is why they need a shepherd. They need a shepherd who is far wiser than they are, who has the ability to protect them, and who will lead them through the dark valleys. All they need to do is trust his leading and follow him. It’s no wonder that in one of the most famous psalms, the Bible compares us to sheep and the Lord to our Shepherd. The New Testament expounds on this as Christ walks amidst a broken world and calls Himself the Great Shepherd whose sheep know Him, hear His voice, and trust Him enough to follow Him (John 10:27). We, as His sheep, can entrust ourselves to the Shepherd, Creator, and Overseer of our souls (I Peter 3:25; 4:19). I have found that there is freedom in realizing that as a sheep, I can control nothing, but that my Shepherd holds all I love in His capable hands. My job in this dark valley is to keep my eyes on Him, trust Him, and follow His lead.

Sister, what is your name right now? What does your family know you as? What name are you projecting on social media? What name are you giving forth to the unbelievers around you? I am not saying that trust is easy or that we can never be honest about our fears. But we must show forth to others and ourselves that despite our fears, or even through them, we trust. We speak truth to ourselves and others. We don’t let panic and uncertainty take hold. For we have a Shepherd who is leading the way for us. We keep our eyes on Him though we don’t see the path ahead or know where He’s leading. For while we don’t know what tomorrow will hold, we do know what eternity holds and nothing can take that away (John 10:28-29). And we know that our Shepherd on Whom our eyes are fixed is leading us with loving care. We are His; He will not abandon us. May all who know us hear these unspoken words as they witness our lives: “Hello. My name is Trusting-Sheep.”

(A side note: I wrote this two days before my husband’s surgery. According to the surgeon, the cancer is now removed. Praise the Lord!)

--Amy O'Rear

Hope Revisited

On a shelf above the window in my dining room is a gold glitter word.  It stands about five inches tall.  The word is HOPE.

In this strange world we live in right now we “hope” that we won’t get the Coronavirus.  We “hope” that our family members and friends won’t get the virus.  We “hope” that this strange self-isolation won’t last long.  We “hope” we will still have a job. We “hope” we will have enough hand sanitizer and toilet paper.  We “hope” there will be enough respirators, masks, medical equipment for those who need them.  Could this quarantine last longer than this month?  Will the economy recover?  What will the new normal look like after the pandemic has run its course?  The list of “hopes” could continue forever. But that “hope” is very uncertain.  We don’t know how that hope will play out.

That word on my shelf represents a far different hope.  This week I have been tracing the Biblical hope through Scripture and I am much encouraged.  The Biblical definition of hope is “confident expectation of what God has promised and its strength is in His faithfulness.”  What a different view of hope!

Hebrews 6:19, “This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast.”

Psalm 42:5, “Why are you in despair, O my soul?  And why have you been disturbed within me?  Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, for the help of His presence.”

Psalm 62:5, “My soul, wait in silence for God only.  For my hope is from Him.”

Psalm 71:5, “For you are my hope, O Lord God.  You are my confidence from my youth.”

Psalm 71:14, “But as for me, I will hope continually and will praise You yet more and more.”

Hebrews 10:23, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”

II Corinthians 1:10, “We have set our hope on Him, and He will yet deliver us.”

I Timothy 4:10, “We have fixed our hope on the living God.”

Romans 15:13, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

I Timothy 1:1, “Christ Jesus is our hope.”

I will end with this line from the hymn, The Solid Rock.  “ My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.”  I do not fear this pandemic.  My hope is in Jesus Christ.

Faith Himes Lamb

Hope

If you’re a long-time reader of this blog, you will recognize a theme that I keep returning to, but it was much on my mind this week.

Walking around in my slightly overgrown back yard, I paused to watch the winged seeds make their twisty way from the tips of maple branches, and a poem by Lisel Mueller came to mind. I’ll include just a piece of it here, but you can read the whole thing in someone else’s blog post.  https://pollycastor.com/2017/07/11/hope-poem-by-lisel-mueller/

Hope

It hovers in dark corners
before the lights are turned on,
it shakes sleep from its eyes
and drops from mushroom gills,
it explodes in the starry heads
of dandelions turned sages,
it sticks to the wings of green angels
that sail from the tops of maples.

Emily Dickinson also spoke of hope. Her lovely poem compares hope to a bird that sings even in the middle of a storm.  

Dickinson’s  poem begins, “Hope is the thing with feathers/ that perches in the soul/ and sings the tune without the words/ and never stops at all.” I imagine its lilting voice piercing darkness and fog, giving encouragement and renewed strength to some weary soul. If you’ve ever had a Carolina wren singing outside your door, you will know what I’m thinking of!

If we ever needed hope, friends, we need it now. Someone I love sent me a link to an article about how long this current crisis may continue. I read most of it and remarked, “That’s pretty alarming.” “That’s the point,” my friend countered. “You should be alarmed.” Well, yes. And no. I am concerned. I’m taking the virus seriously. I know many people have died, and many more are likely to die. What if that’s me? Or someone I love? I want to enjoy teaching high schoolers about great literature for a few more years.  I want to watch my four granddaughters grow up. I want to spend my remaining years with my kind and funny husband. What if the virus gets one of us? It might.

So I promise my family that I will be careful. I will avoid crowds and will wash my hands with great care. But I will remember the words of Jesus: “Do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on. Is not the life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. . . .Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

We could find many sermons in this passage alone and in the words surrounding the passage. But here’s just one message: Worrying won’t help. I can—and should—plan ahead. I can—and will—take care of myself as I am able. My hope, however, is in God and his provision.

So look around. Trees are putting out new leaves, tulips are in glorious bloom, the wisteria smells heavenly, birds are building nests . . . . You get the picture. Take hope.

--Sherry Poff

The Blind Man

My granddaughter, Lyla Rose, who is almost two, loves to say, “See! See!” when she wants me to show her what I’m doing on the counter. In John 9 we are given a story about a blind man who also wanted to see. Jesus healed him by mixing dirt and saliva to make mud and putting it on his eyes. He then instructed him to go wash in the pool of Siloam. Everyone knew this man had been born blind, so his being healed created quite a commotion when he showed himself to the Pharisees. Twice they called to question him. They even questioned his parents.

This passage tackles two types of blindness: physical and spiritual. When Jesus healed the man physically, He no doubt worked on the pathways in his brain too so that his brain would be able to make sense of what his eyes took in. Sometimes I read Scripture or hear a sermon or sing a worshipful song, but I don’t absorb the meaning. My heart and brain do not take in what my eyes and ears are telling me. They are empty words to me. But I’m working on this. I am training myself to slow down and take in. When do I need this the most? When I am the busiest and most rushed – when I don’t feel like it because my adrenaline is pumping!

Here’s a good exercise: Sit quietly and breathe deeply – breathe in for 5 seconds, hold 5 seconds, release 5 seconds. Repeat 3-5 times or however many times you need to relax. Try it! Sometimes it’s hard! It helps me focus when I need to pray or read Scripture. With so much technology, many of us are having focus problems we never had. It can help with digestion too if you do it at the start of a meal. (My daughter is teaching Lyla Rose to do this whenever she gets inconsolable. She gets her to look at her and then breathes with her. It really helps.)

Once I have relaxed, I’m ready to pay attention to God’s Words. Then it’s time to reread, discuss it with the Lord, ask questions, and follow Spirit-led rabbit trails. We must take time to “see” what God has for us, and He will not be rushed. It might be a matter of saying “no” to good things to make room for better things. Sadly, the Pharisees refused to see; they would not consider something different from what they had always been taught. We are all guilty of that. We close our minds and refuse to listen to others, even God. It’s hard to acknowledge we might be wrong, but it’s good to allow God to challenge our reasoning.

So, let’s practice! These verses are fitting for the stressful times we are currently facing. Breathe deeply, relax, read and reread, discuss it with the Lord, ask questions, and follow Spirit-led rabbit trails. Soak Him in. If we have Him, we have all we need.

Psalm 107: 1-9

Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
He led them by a straight way
    to a city where they could settle.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
    and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
for he satisfies the thirsty
    and fills the hungry with good things.

joyce hague

Meditation on Psalm 4

In 2018, my goal was to fill a journal with verse-by-verse meditations on the Psalms. Guess what? In 2020, I am just getting back to it. Not that I didn’t read my Bible - I did - but my ONE YEAR BIBLE kept me going. SO...2020 is the year of my Psalms meditation...as far as I can go. J

Psalm 4:1a - “Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness...” As I thought about this, I do not believe this is a demand to God. It is a cry from my heart, a plea:

                   

“Oh, God, You know that I have accepted Your grace and that is the only way I can be righteous. Please hear my prayers, my heart cries, I send to you for my family, my friends, my health, my job...”

Psalm 4:1b - ESV says: “You have given me relief when I was in distress.”

I like the positive term used in the KJV: “Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress...” How can God enlarge us through distress?? Have you been “planted” in a distressful place so you can grow? 

Of course, you can add much to this:

1. Your “scope” of life should be greater to see those who are in distress because you have suffered.

2. You should immediately have more empathy for those who need encouragement through your witness of God’s grace.

3. Your perspective on distress and trouble should be outwardly focused and positive because of verse 3...

Psalm 4:3 - “Know (have confidence) the Lord hath set apart him that is godly for Himself: The Lord will hear when I call unto Him.”

Vs. 4: Say “Wow!” - Be in “awe” of this righteous God who hears you.

 “When you are on your beds, search your hearts and be still.” Are you ever awake in the night, tossing and worrying? What is God saying to you in the night? Be still and listen.

Vs. 5 - As you are still, is He bringing to mind “sacrifices of righteousness” that you should offer for Him? Praise? Hospitality? Prayer? Love gifts? Your testimony? Then “trust in the Lord” that He will use these gifts.

Vs. 6, 7 -When we might envy the “increase” of others, remember that “the light of God’s countenance” will put gladness in your heart. His light helps us find our way through a dark world...and that will cause others to see His light in us.

Vs. 8 - The final promise: “I will both lie down in peace, and sleep,
for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” I can trust this righteous God, who never slumbers nor sleeps (Psalm 121:4), to care for me!

 --Maylou Holladay

Mommy Got Run Over by a Reindeer

To be perfectly honest, it wasn’t actually a reindeer; it was just an ordinary kind of deer. But it had antlers. Close enough, given the season.

My dad died early in the morning, a week before Christmas, in 1998. By evening, we were traveling north through Illinois, on our way from Chattanooga to northern Iowa. Paul and I were in our full-size van with our three children, ages six, nine and 11. It was pitch black outside, as a snowstorm was moving in. It was my turn to drive.

When I saw the deer, he was probably 12 inches in front of my left headlight. One millisecond later, he centered the grill. Another millisecond later, every auto part in front of the engine was destroyed. I’ve never been much for thrill rides. That was the ride of a lifetime – 65 miles an hour with a dead engine, no power brakes, no power steering and an 8-point buck for a hood ornament. God, or perhaps my guardian angel sent directly from Him, covered my hands as I fought to maintain control of the van as we rolled off to the right shoulder and stopped. We told the kids what had happened, then we all five sat in stunned silence. A very long stunned silence. My thoughts ran along the lines of, “What do we do now?” and the natural follow-up, “What do we do now?” Our youngest, with her perpetually unique perspective, broke the silence quietly, soberly, with, “Mommy killed Rudolph.”

You’ve heard the phrase, “It’s a long story.” This one could be a series of very long stories, but there simply isn’t enough cyberspace to contain the whole. I want to tell of God’s provision for us in this event, and the gifts just go on and on.

Recognizing our helplessness and vulnerability, Paul began to pray aloud. While he was yet speaking, we saw the blue flashing lights in our rear-view mirrors. The state trooper who stopped to help us called another. One stayed with the family while the other called a wrecker and took me to a car rental. The snowstorm arrived, and the car rental business was packed with customers. I was given the last available car, a Malibu. A Malibu? For five people and a wheelchair? We had to leave a great deal of our luggage and possessions in the van. The officers got Paul out of the van; we couldn’t use the wheelchair lift without the van battery, which had an antler stuck in it. We went to a hotel and the next day made arrangements with the mechanic. We told him to repair only the essential pieces, not the cosmetic items. He told us it would be hard to get parts this close to Christmas, as UPS was overloaded.

We went on to Iowa, arriving late, halfway through the visitation for Dad. A relative of a relative insisted we stay with her and showed us incredible, over-the-top hospitality. She refused to let us leave at night, as the temperature was 20 below zero. But Paul’s wheelchair could not fit through the bathroom doorway in her house. So she yanked the door off the hinges and promised him privacy, even though she had eight extra people staying in her house!

For three days after the funeral, we kept calling the mechanic asking if our van was repaired. Always he gave the same answer, “No, the parts haven’t arrived.” Finally, we decided we could not impose on the hospitality of our hostess any longer, and we drove back to the hotel at the town where our van waited. We had to stay a couple more days, waiting for parts to come in. Our mechanic was just one lone fellow, not a company or a national chain. We might have been a little concerned about his abilities, but the trooper had assured us he was the best. We then found that he was a little concerned about us, as he had often repaired vehicles for out-of-town folks and been left with a bad payment! Here was another provision of the Lord. Normally, when we traveled, I carried a certain amount of cash for small purchases and our credit card for larger ones. When we left home this time, I did something I had never done before and have never done since. I didn’t know why I did it, but I was sure I should. I took an extra $800 cash with us. When the mechanic showed his anxiety about payment, I assured him we would pay in cash. I did not tell him how much we had. He finished the repairs and brought us the van on Christmas Eve at 4 p.m. The bill was $760.

It was too late to start for home, so we looked for a church in the town. We found a First Baptist Church and went to the service. It was a small church so we generated a great deal of attention! When they asked for our story, we were mobbed with offers of help. “Would you eat Christmas dinner with us tomorrow?” “I have an extra car; do you need it?” “Do you need money? I can give you money.” We didn’t take them up on any of it, but we were overwhelmed with the generosity and kindness from God’s people who had never met us.

We drove home on Christmas Day, so happy to be home, and rejoicing over all the ways God had provided for us. If I could choose, we would not have had to go through that accident. But now, more than 20 years later, we continue to be amazed and thankful for all God’s provision in a frightening and baffling event. With the help of Illinois State Troopers, an innovative hostess, the nervous mechanic and a church full of kind and generous people, we were protected, provided for and encouraged. Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of Lights!

--Lynda Shenefield

An Unplanned but Powerful Family Tradition

Traditions are interesting things, aren’t they? Some you plan out, knowing that this tradition is one you want to develop in your family. One example of this type of tradition in our family is reading the Christmas story together on Christmas morning and singing Christmas carols before we open gifts. However, other traditions just sort of happen, and once they become a part of your routine, they become deeply integrated into the rhythm of life. For our family, that is the singing of two particular songs most nights before bed. Since the kids were little, we have read to them at bedtime, and somewhere along the way, without meaning to make it a habit, we began singing “Our God is an Awesome God” and “Oh God, you are my God” at the end of this reading time. My husband had introduced the kids to these Rich Mullins’ songs at some point, and now for several years, these two songs have been part of our nightly ritual, a tradition of sorts.  

The other night as we began singing our songs, the lyrics of “Awesome God” struck me anew. “Our God is an awesome God. He reigns from heaven above with wisdom and power and love.” He reigns! Do you need to remember that today? I do. We have a God who is sitting on the throne, sovereign and reigning over every circumstance in our lives. Nothing catches Him off guard. He rules over all, and He works it all for good on behalf of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). And I love the words that follow that specify how He reigns.

He reigns with wisdom. Wisdom speaks of the ability to know what’s right and what’s wrong and to act accordingly. God is all-wise. In every situation, He knows what is best for His children, what will further His kingdom, and what will bring Him glory. My wisdom is limited; I never see the big picture as God does. I try to imagine how God should work (according to my wisdom) and struggle at times when He works differently in ways that I personally would not have found wise. Paul cautions us in Romans 11 from this type of thinking when he declares, “Oh the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been His counselor?” (33-34). I can’t counsel God. The finite limited mind doesn’t give advice to the infinite, all-knowing God. My response is to trust. I think that is why in I Peter 5, the call to cast all our fears on God (7) is actually related to the command to humble ourselves before God (6). In the context, casting our cares on Him describes how we humble ourselves. We recognize His sovereignty and wisdom and allow Him to do in our lives as He pleases, and we give the things that we fear and can’t control into His all-wise sovereign care.

He reigns with power. He is able to do what He wills to do because He is all-powerful. Pastor Adam has been preaching through God’s attributes, and the statement that has stuck with me the most from this series came a few weeks ago when he was speaking on this very topic. God is sovereign both in his authority and His ability. But so often, we want the authority ourselves while asking God for His power to bless our plans. God uses His power to ultimately accomplish His will, not mine. I can pray for certain outcomes (indeed I’m commanded to bring my requests before God), but I submit those desires to God’s will. Whatever He then wills will come to pass, because His power makes it happen. In Isaiah 46:10-11, God says, “My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose, calling a bird of prey from the east, the man of my counsel from a far country. I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed, and I will do it.”

He reigns with love. Aren’t you grateful for that? God is for us, not against us! “If God is for us, who [or what situation] can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with him graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:31-32). God is working on your behalf out of the loving heart of a perfect Father. And though at times it may feel that His hand is against us in the sufferings we face in a broken world, we know that this is not true. For even in the sufferings, He is purifying us and growing our faith, and He promises as a result of the suffering to bring about greater glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ (I Peter 1:6-7). Sisters, may we together pray for each other what Paul prayed for the Ephesian church, that we “being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge” (Ephesians 3:17-19).

What then should our response be to our God who is reigning with wisdom, power, and love? It’s the second song we sing every night: “Oh God, you are my God, and I will ever praise You. I will seek You in the morning, and I will learn to walk in Your way, and step by step You’ll lead me. And I will follow You all my days.”

--Amy O'Rear